Leadership, scheduling, anti-doping rules, eligibility policy, coaching, and even the question of how tennis defines lasting greatness all feature prominently in this week’s news.
Incoming USTA CEO Craig Tiley Shares His Vision for the Future of American Tennis: The incoming USTA CEO shares his leadership philosophy, his commitment to the coaching community and his vision for the future of American tennis. Full Story: USTA Coaching This coaching centric article is one of the first published indicators of where Tiley intends to take American tennis.
How Aryna Sabalenka Became the Most Compelling Player in Tennis: Aryna Sabalenka has more followers across TikTok and Instagram, 7.2 million, than any other active women’s player aside from Serena Williams. She also has a YouTube series chronicling her life called Aryna’s Arena. Full Story: Time
Vondrousova’s antics put tennis doping tests in spotlight: The International Tennis Integrity Agency announced that Marketa Vondrousova had been suspended for four years after refusing an anti-doping test last December. The full reasoned decision makes for excruciating reading from Vondrousova’s perspective. The most compelling conclusion is that she was ignorant of basic anti-doping rules, that she acted arrogantly due to her irritation at the 8pm anti-doping call and her decision to sign a document refusing a doping test, despite being told there could be severe consequences, will go down as one of the most ill-advised, self‑sabotaging decisions from any tennis player in history. Full Story: The Guardian
PTPA concerned with tennis schedule as players withdraw from Canadian Open due to injuries: The Professional Tennis Players Association said that a string of withdrawals from the Canadian Open “underscored concerns that professional tennis’s lengthy calendar and expanded top-level events are increasing injury risks.” The association argues that reduced recovery time between tournaments “was contributing to injuries occurring earlier in the season and becoming more serious.” Full Story: Sports Business Journal
Advocacy groups call for WTA to drop sex-testing policy: The Sport & Rights Alliance on Thursday called on the Women’s Tennis Association to drop its sex-testing policy, calling it a discriminatory measure in the game. The women’s tennis tour said last month it would require players to clear a one-time gene test for the SRY gene, which helps in determining biological sex and can be conducted via cheek swab or blood test. Full Story: Reuters
A Late Submission to the GOAT Debate: Is Steffi Graf’s legacy underrated? Plus, towel talk, fixing Wimbledon court surfaces and more. John Wertheim’s tennis mailbag. Full Story: Sports Illustrated
Kathy Rinaldi’s latest chapter: A promising tennis academy, coaching Caty McNally & life after USTA. Full Story: WTA
The Cruelest Game’ Examines Tennis As Torture: Professional tennis has a way of breeding misery. It begins with the dream of reaching the No. 1 ranking, but almost everybody falls short. Those who find the promised land feel puzzlingly empty once there. Familial and coaching roles blur. Prodigious children bear the responsibility of feeding and enriching their families. The mechanism through which matches are decided is a torturous maze disguised as a scoring system. Full Story: Defector
What makes a tennis player immortal?: In “The Immortals of American Tennis”, Steve Flink has laid out his criteria for a lasting legacy in the sport, and documented the players who fit the bill. In an interview this summer, he discussed the evolution of the book, his definition of a tennis “immortal” and why he ranks Martina Navratilova ahead of Serena Williams. Full Story: The Athletic This book will be released September 1.
The Leadership Lesson Xero’s CEO Learned From a Tennis Legend: A CEO took a tennis lesson from a coach who was “older and joyful and I remember this point he said to us. He’s like, ‘Look, guys, every time I step onto the court, I just tell myself on every shot: Relish the challenge. Relish the challenge. Understand how unique a position you’re in, and relish the challenge.’” It’s a simple idea, she said, but true. Full Story: WSJ
USTA Florida Launches Redesigned Website to Better Serve the Florida Tennis Community: USTA Florida has officially launched a completely redesigned website at ustaflorida.com, built from the ground up to make it easier than ever for Floridians to connect with the sport of tennis. The new site is more than a visual refresh. Every element was rebuilt around one guiding question, “How do we make it easier for people across the state to find their way into tennis?” Guided by real data on how visitors actually use the site, the redesign puts the Florida tennis community first at every turn. Full Story: USTA Florida At first glance this looks to be a good exemplar for other Sections to model.
“Fierce” Exhibition Captures Tennis Icons in Motion: Ted Dimond brings an insider’s perspective to Fierce, an exhibition of paintings depicting tennis champions in the intensity of competition. The show at the White Room Gallery in East Hampton spans generations from Arthur Ashe and Billie Jean King to Serena Williams, Carlos Alcaraz, Coco Gauff, and Jannik Sinner. Full Story: The East Hampton Star
This Week in Professional Tennis
| Date | Tournament | Tour/Level | Location |
| 8/13-23 | The Cincinnati Open | WTA 1000 ATP 1000 | Cincinnati |
