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A Tennis Rankings Anomaly: Raducanu Sets a Record

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

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

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

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.

Who is the Only Woman to Win the US Open on Clay?

In anticipation of the start of the 2021 US Open on Monday, I am continuing to explore trivia related to the court surfaces historically used by the tournament. Yesterday we identified the only man to win the singles championship on all three US Open surfaces: grass, clay, and hard. Today’s question is to name the only woman who won the US Open during the three years when the tournament was played on clay.