A new rivalry that transforms tennis, robotic innovations, pasta with strawberries, and personal comebacks. Tennis news from the past week.
Why the Sincaraz Era Is Tennis Reborn: In Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, the sport has not only its next great rivalry but a moment that highlights everything the sport can be. Full Story: The New Yorker
Tennis serve bots, on the verge of extinction, star at Wimbledon: Two wider trends in tennis are current playing out. The first is the reclamation of the term by a new generation of players, all of whom like to log their speed-gun readings, but also want to win the biggest prizes in the sport. The second is that being a serve bot, and having a faster serve than everybody else, is no longer the most important edge in men’s tennis. Full Story: The Athletic
How to play tennis on grass at Wimbledon – by not practicing on grass at all: This year Taylor Fritz prepared for Wimbledon by training with balls and rackets on a hard court, and doing strength and conditioning in a grass field next door. Full Story: The Athletic
Iga Swiatek slams tennis calendar as ‘too intense’: The former world No. 1 (now ranked fourth) described being trapped in a system where she had to choose between representing her country and focusing on herself after she skipped Poland’s Billie Jean King Cup qualifier in April. Full Story: ESPN
Why the depth in women’s tennis is better than ever: In the past few weeks alone, the women’s tour has given us both a grand show of star power in one Slam and an epic early display of parity in another. And despite the first-round upsets, the second-round slate in the ladies’ draw is still loaded with tantalizing matchups. It sure feels as if the women’s tour is in better shape than it’s been in a long time. Full Story: ESPN
Lindsay Davenport: “Something has to change” in Naomi Osaka comeback: “Something has to give there, whether it’s playing a little less or bringing her daughter on the road with her a bit more, maybe try a new coaching set-up…It just seems like something’s got to change for her to have a little bit more success.” Full Story: Tennis
Gaby Dabrowski shares journey from breast cancer diagnosis to Olympic medalist As Gaby Dabrowski was preparing for her 2024 season and a chance to play in the Summer Olympics, her journey took an unexpected detour. A diagnosis of breast cancer threatened her dream and her life. What followed was a carefully coordinated plan at Mayo Clinic, designed not only to treat the cancer but also to preserve her ability to compete on the world stage. Full Story: The Mayo Clinic
Luxury Brands Have Tennis Fever: High-end labels are piling into tennis, but the women’s tour remains an untapped opportunity. Full Story: The Business of Fashion
A Smart Design for a Robotic Tennis Partner: A fascinating new design for a tennis ball machine. The Acemate Tennis Robot is a rolling box that can track struck balls using a pair of cameras, and catch them anywhere on the court thanks to mecanum wheels, and return another ball from that position. Full Story: Core77
Kentucky man’s massive tennis memorabilia collection is a grand slam: A recently-retired physician boasts one of the largest tennis memorabilia collections in the world. A tour of his collection that boasts anywhere from 4,000 to 5,000 pieces. The items come from around the world and span more than 150 years, but his obsession started small, at a garage sale in the early 80’s. Full Story: Lex18
Strawberries and pasta? Iga Swiatek’s Unique Wimbledon Tradition: The five-time Grand Slam champion mentioned the combination during an on-court interview, urging fans “you should try it guys — pasta, strawberries, a little bit of yogurt.” She later posted a photo on her Instagram account that showed a bowl of pasta and strawberries. Full Story: AP
This Week in Professional Tennis
| Date | Tournament | Tour/Level | Location |
| 6/30-7/13 | The Championships (Wimbledon) | Grand Slam | London |
