The impending retirements of Roger Federer, Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal — winners of a combined 65 major singles titles — have some worried about the end of the glory days of tennis. But a bigger existential crisis is facing the sport: climate change. All sports, if they haven’t already, are expected to suffer in […]
In recent years, older athletes have held a grip on tennis like never before in the Open era. When younger players do break through, it’s big news — and speculation always runs rampant as to which up-and-comer will supplant one of the old guard. But the side of the sport familiar to most viewers isn’t […]
Great Britain’s Emma Raducanu stunned the world when she won the 2021 U.S. Open. At 18, she became the first singles qualifier since the Open Era began in 1968 to win a major championship. But less than two weeks later, Raducanu fired her coach. The teenager, who had played in only four tour-level events, said […]
First, we recap the results of the Australian Open. Naomi Osaka earned her fourth Grand Slam after defeating Serena Williams in the semifinals and Jen Brady in the finals. This result certainly doesn’t mean Serena is done with tennis — no matter how much her cutting short a post-match press conference might suggest otherwise. She […]
Year after year, experts repeat the same mantra about the Australian Open: expect upsets. “Tennis’s annual surprise party,” read one headline years ago about the first Grand Slam of the tennis year. But in the past decade, compared to the other majors, the Happy Slam has resembled more of a Somber Slam for underdogs. Despite […]