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2021 US Open Television Ratings

On By Teresa Merklin

Television ratings are a leading indicator for the future financial prospects of professional sports. While tournaments also earn money from from sponsorship and ticket sales, television broadcast ratings arguably have the strongest influence on the future revenue across all other categories. Television ratings drive future broadcast contracts which directly translates into media exposure of the sport. That, in turn, is how the majority of fans experience tennis. The number of people who watch an event is factored in when corporations make sponsorship decisions.

A Tennis Rankings Anomaly: Raducanu Sets a Record

On By Teresa Merklin

Emma Raducanu’s professional tennis ranking has risen meteorically this year. That should not be much of a surprise as breakout performances at Wimbledon and the US Open earned her two fairly significant chunks of WTA rankings points. Additionally, her US Open performance was both a rankings point record and anomaly. Raducanu is guaranteed to lose ranking points at the 2022 US Open, even if she successfully defends her title. The situation is unprecedented.

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Tennis Match Charting

On By Teresa Merklin

During the fourth round of the 2021 US Open between Bianca Andreescu and Maria Sakkari, one of the player’s coaches was observed to be charting the match. It is the first time in my recent memory when that activity was highlighted during a broadcast. It probably occurs more frequently than the television commentators notice and mention. More notably, he was using old school paper and pen, which is a throwback to an earlier era.

TCD Meatball Soup

On By Teresa Merklin

Since I have been writing this weekend about culinary traditions associated with the Grand Slam tennis tournaments, I decided to share a tennis associated food tradition in the Fiend at Court household. Labor Day weekend signals the unofficial start of our favorite season, which of course is “Football.” It is also signals the start of the Tennis Competitors of Dallas (TCD) Adult Mixed league.

The US Open: It’s a Hard Court Life

On By Teresa Merklin

Throughout the history of the US Open tennis championships, the tournament was traditionally conducted on grass courts. That all changed in 1975 when the court surface was switched over to clay. Three years later, the event changed once again to a hard court surface. The original transition from grass to clay was prompted by player complaints about uneven and soft grass courts previously used for the tournament. The subsequent change to hard court was most likely driven by economics.