The tennis word is in that weird interstitial time between Wimbledon and when the tour officially shifts to the North American hard-court season. The conversation, however, remains focused on much larger issues: the business of professional tennis, online abuse, integrity, and a career development program.
Budget cuts put men’s and women’s tennis tour merger on indefinite hold: Negotiations over a merger, which would have meant the tours pooling their commercial and media rights, have broken down over the terms of the proposed revenue share, with the WTA in effect walking away from a deal that had appeared close to being finalised last year. Full Story: The Guardian
Dramatic Wimbledon women’s final sets ESPN viewership record: The all-Czech final, during which Linda Noskova wasted five match points and a 5-2 lead in the second set before eventually winning 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 on Saturday, averaged 1.9 million viewers. Jannik Sinner’s four-set victory over Alexander Zverev in the men’s final on Sunday averaged 2.4 million viewers, down 16% from 2025, when Sinner defeated Carlos Alcarazin four sets. Full Story: ESPN
Noskova’s glimpse of Wimbledon trophies on bathroom break helped her regroup to claim 1st Grand Slam: After she had wasted five match points and a 5-2 lead and conceded the second set of a drama-filled final — Linda Noslova left the court completely for a bathroom break. During that brief time off the court, two shiny objects caught her attention: the Venus Rosewater Dish that is awarded to the women’s champion and the smaller dish for the runner-up. “I was like, ‘I’m not going to take the small one. I’m taking the big one.’” Noskova said. Full Story: AP
Linda Nosková and Karolína Muchová build on a Czech tennis legacy: Like so much in women’s tennis, it all goes back to Martina Navratilova. She was the first great female champion of the modern era from what is now called the Czech Republic. Full Story: The Athletic
5 Unanswered Questions in Tennis Entering Hard Court Season: Much to our chagrin, grass court season is over. While many of the top players have jetted off to various tropical locations for vacations and weddings, the rest of the sport has already begun the hard court season. Such is the life of a professional tennis player. But with three Grand Slams in the rear view mirror and nothing but hard courts ahead of us, there are still five unanswered questions that we want to know the answer to. Full Story: Sports Illustrated
Female tennis players faced 12,000 abusive posts in 2025: Data from the Signify Group’s threat matrix service, which uses artificial intelligence-led detection, showed a similar number of abusive posts in 2025 to 2024. The report highlighted some positive changes, however, with 66% of serious abuse being removed. 35 accounts linked to 12 individuals were also escalated to law enforcement. Full Story: BBC
Tennis player has match-fixing ban increased after appealing for reduction: A former tennis player has had a match-fixing suspension increased from just under two years to three years, following the dismissal of his appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Tennis integrity authorities initially suspended France’s Samuel Bensoussan, 34, for one year and 11 months, after he was found to have fixed four matches by an anti-corruption hearing. Full Story: The Athletic
Inside the WTA’s Player Business Mentoring Programme fueling careers beyond tennis: With the guidance of the WTA’s Player Business Mentoring Programme, players are learning to streamline that transition through exposure to successful, global business professionals in a mentor-mentee relationship. The program is a learning and development company that helps participants enhance leadership capabilities through coaching and soft-skills programs, and ensure players make the transition with clarity, confidence, and support. Full Story: WTA
Sloane Stephens to Receive USTA Foundation’s ‘Serving Up Dreams’ Award: The USTA Foundation announced that 2017 US Open Champion, Olympian, entrepreneur and philanthropist Sloane Stephens will be honored with the Serving Up Dreams Award at its annual Opening Night Gala on Sunday, Aug. 30, at the US Open. The Serving Up Dreams Award recognizes individuals dedicated to advancing the USTA Foundation’s mission of using the powerful combination of tennis, education, and mentorship to prepare young people from under-resourced communities for the life challenges they will face, both on and off the court. Full Story: Racquet Sports Industry
Real Tennis: An ancient game once played by Henry VIII enthrals and confuses spectators: The real tennis court resembles a medieval street brought indoors, which is roughly where the game began. Real tennis dates to at least the 13th century, and one of the earliest written references to a purpose-built court comes from Valencia, Spain, in 1298, centuries before rackets were introduced. Full Story: The Athletic
Drama, celebrations and outfits – The BBC’s end-of-Wimbledon awards: Wimbledon is always a very special tournament and one of the crown jewels of the British summer of sport. The 2026 tournament has been no different – full of excitement, great stories and, after a slow start for the home nation, some great British success.. Full Story: BBC
This Week in Professional Tennis
| Date | Tournament | Tour/Level | Location |
| 7/20-26 | Livesport Prague Open | WTA 250 | Czech Republic |
| 7/20-26 | MSC Hamburg Ladies Open | WTA 250 | Germany |
| 7/20-25 | Generali Open | ATP 250 | Austria |
| 7/20-26 | Millennium Estoril Open | ATP 250 | Portugal |
