Policy shifts, gender flashpoints, Serena rumors, big money, big names, and farewells, tennis news spans controversy, legacy, and change.
USTA bans trans athletes from competing as women to comply with Trump executive order: The USTA quietly revised its Player Eligibility Policy page on October 25th, as noted at the bottom of the page. There was no prior warning about the change and there has been no press release published by the USTA. Full Story: The Handbasket
BBC showing tennis’s new Battle of the Sexes will belittle women’s sport: No matter how you couch it, as jolly banter or some kind of science experiment, this event will be unavoidably toxic. Scroll the internet for a while, and the gender stuff around it is already moronic and pre-weaponised. What we have here is a massive opportunity for women’s sport to be belittled, dismissed, and gloated over by “incels” and career misogynists, to blow its own foot off with a single dog-whistle publicity stunt. Full Story: The Guardian
Lindsay Davenport Extended as U.S. Billie Jean King Cup Captain Through 2027: Since taking over the captaincy in 2024, Davenport has led the U.S. to a 5-2 record in Billie Jean King Cup competition, including an appearance in the Final this year – the U.S.’s first since 2018. Full Story: Racquet Sports Industry
Making Sense of the Serena Williams Comeback Rumors: Speculate at your peril, but Serena’s decision to include her name is … interesting. (Not that the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics are only two years away.) At a minimum, by putting herself back in the pool, she is giving herself the option to play again. Full Story: Sports Illustrated
Serena Williams, 44, denies that she’s resuming tennis career: Hours after the news broke on Tuesday that Serena Williams had reentered the International Tennis Integrity Agency’s (ITIA) registered testing pool, the 23-time major champion disputed that it meant she was planning a return to the sport. Full Story: ESPN Editorial Note: But it would open up the possibility of wildcards, including the US Open Mixed Doubles events which is where my crystal ball thinks this is heading.
The year of the messy handshake: The heated exchanges, miscommunications, sarcastic bows, and viral insults that defined this year’s tennis drama. Full Story: Tennis
The burdensome bonus pool on the ATP tour, explained: This year, players had $3.8 million reasons to feel obliged to play even if they’d rather not: the ATP OneVision Bonus Pool. Full Story: Tennis
Coco Gauff tops Sportico’s highest-paid female athletes list for the third year running: Tennis continues to thrive, as 10 of the 15 athletes are WTA Tour players. Full Story: Tennis
Andy Murray’s life after tennis, coaching Novak Djokovic and facing the Big Three: A year on from the start of Andy Murray’s surprise coaching partnership with his longtime tennis rival Novak Djokovic, the three-time Grand Slam champion discussed that partnership, things he would have done differently in his career, and his matchups against Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer. Full Story: The Athletic
Potapova changes allegiance from Russia to Austria: The 24-year-old, who represented Russia in that tournament in 2018 and 2019, will be eligible to play for Austria next year. Full Story: BBC
Italian tennis great Pietrangeli dies aged 92: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, has died at the age of 92. Full Story: BBC
This Week in Professional Tennis
| Date | Tournament | Tour/Level | Location |
| 12/17-21 | Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF | ATP/Finals | Saudi Arabia |
(Yes, I know this isn’t happening until next week, but there is nothing on the professional tour calendar this week.)
