An engineer overthinks tennis in a daily journal.
As dominant as the United States women are in professional tennis at the moment, there is one country that is arguably just as strong: The Czech Republic. The small country currently boasts five players in the top 50 in the WTA singles rankings. Additionally, with six of the top 50 WTA doubles players including three in the top 10, the tiny country is a usually a prohibitive favorite to carry the Fed Cup doubles tie.
In the United States television broadcasts of the 2021 Roland Garros tournament (more popularly known as the French Open) was carried by a partnership between NBC and the Tennis Channel. For the first time in history, the addition of lights at Roland Garros enabled a night session at the tournament. The tournament organizers decided that the start of the night session would be 9pm time in Paris. From a media perspective, this should have created a viewing bonanza in the United States. Unfortunately, tennis fans will likely remember what happened this year as the Peacock disaster.
Last week the Umpire who Gave Birth to Me clipped out a column from my hometown newspaper titled “Where have you gone Conners, McEnroe, Agassi and Pete?” When exploring the fragmented nature of media coverage of professional tennis in the United States yesterday, I may have stumbled onto a possible answer to that question. The stars of American tennis didn’t leave the sport but rather the sport left the United States.
Televised tennis in the United States is not at all viewer friendly. Fragmented coverage is spread across whatever network happens to own the rights to the sport in any given week. It is a is a real problem for the overall tennis ecosystem. In order to increase participation in any sport, prospective players have to be exposed to it. Television broadcasts are an effective way to raise awareness and attract participation. All sports are filled with stories of how a player watched it in their youth that sparked their dreams to play at the highest level.
In 1990, the organization known as the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) transitioned from an association that only represented the players to a partnership between the players and the tournament organizers. The ATP Board of Directors is composed of three player representatives and three tournament representatives. The Chairman of the ATP Board only votes in the event where there is a tie between the players and the tournaments. That structure is what ultimately emerged following “The Press Conference in a Parking Lot.”
Yesterday we discussed how the organization known as the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) was established as an influential force in tennis via the Wimbledon player boycott of 1973. When the ATP was first founded, the fledging organization considered creating their own tour. However, the ATP lacked both the financial resources and confidence to make it happen at that time. The Men’s Tennis Council (MTC) was formed to fill the void and oversaw the professional men’s tennis tour from 1974 to 1989. The demise of that arrangement is a fascinating tale of power and politics in tennis.
The organization known as the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) was founded in 1972. Initially the ATP membership consisted of only the players and the organization didn’t have all that much power. That all changed in when the ATP membership pulled together to boycott Wimbledon in 1973. It was one of the most effective labor strikes in the history of professional sports.
Strawberries and Cream at Wimbledon is arguably the most iconic food associated with any of the Grand Slam tournaments. Noshing on strawberries and cream is the perfect way to get into the spirit when watching the final rounds of the tournament this week. Despite the claims of many recipes on the internet, at Wimbledon fresh strawberries are served with unsweetened (and not whipped) cream. It couldn’t be easier to prepare.
In 2019 Wimbledon announced that female players would no longer be referred to by titles that reflected their marital status when announcing the score during matches. The change to “move with the times” was a result over controversy at the tournament the previous year when “Mrs. Serena Williams” was used after she was married. Since she did not take the name of her husband, it would have been incorrect to refer to her as Mrs. Alexis Ohanian.
The “lace on Gussie Moran’s panties” is a metaphorical expression that originated from tennis. It indicates that something is a distraction from more important issues of concern. Gussie’s famous panties are an indelible part of the history of Wimbledon and the All England Tennis Club. It is the perfect story to examine in the midst of the current fortnight.