Leadership changes at the USTA, retirement news, a new tennis royal title, legal drama, and a duet with Bocelli. A little bit of everything.
USTA adds four leaders in new roles: The USTA announced the addition of four experienced leaders in new strategic roles across grassroots and pro tennis that will underpin the ongoing focus to grow tennis to 35 million players in the U.S. by 2035. Grassroots efforts include new roles to advocate for more courts, expand court inventory and grow digital engagement. A role in athlete performance and operations has also been added. Full Story: USTA
Wild cards: A Grand Slam golden ticket and the sporting nationalism that powers it: Wild cards and home-country favoritism remain pro forma in tennis, even though at every tournament there are plenty of players, ranked far higher than the people awarded special entry, who are on the outside looking in. Full Story: The Athletic
US Open Mixed Doubles Championship Features Tennis Dream Teams: The top stars in tennis team up for the 2025 US Open Mixed Doubles Championship. Full Story: Sports Illustrated Editorial Note: I shared my own thoughts last Thursday in “Mixed Doubles Makeover.”
Is an antitrust suit against top tennis organizations a grand slam — or an unforced error? Harvard Law School expert says that lawsuits filed by professional tennis players aren’t likely to upend the sport. Full Story: Harvard Law Today
How women’s tennis returned to Queen’s in London after more than 50 years: The original Queen’s Club Championships was a joint men’s and women’s event from 1890 to 1973, before, with echoes of the modern day, a squeezed schedule led to the women’s event being removed from the tournament calendar. Full Story: The Athletic
Online abuse of tennis players led to law enforcement investigations in 2024: Tennis players last year received abuse so threatening that 15 cases were escalated to law enforcement agencies, according to a joint report released Tuesday by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) and International Tennis Federation (ITF). Full Story: The Athletic
Rafael Nadal granted noble title of marquis by King of Spain: Spain’s King Felipe VI on Thursday granted tennis great Rafael Nadal the noble title of marquis, recognizing his contribution to the nation through sporting prowess, according to a royal household statement. Full Story: ESPN
Petra Kvitova to retire in September: Kvitova said on X that she had surpassed her dreams during her career and will retire after September’s US Open.”I never imagined becoming a professional tennis player, being able to travel the world and play in the most beautiful stadiums around the world. Full Story: BBC
Jannik Sinner and Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli release song: op-ranked tennis star Jannik Sinner and Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli collaborated on a new song titled “Polvere e Gloria,” which they released Friday. The song, which translates to “Dust and Glory,” features Bocelli’s renowned vocals while Sinner delivers speaking lines focused on advice for others. Full Story: UPI
Is Tennis the Key to a Long Life? If there is a connection between racquet sports and somewhat better levels of mortality and perhaps brain health, that might be due to the fact that it’s not simply exercise, it’s exercise with others — and social interaction has been found to have benefits for cognitive and brain health. Full Story: Inside Hook
“Secret” Audition Tapes for “Tennis: A Reality Show” Unearthed: See the “actors” reading for player roles on the ATP tour. Full Story: ATP
This Week in Professional Tennis
| Date | Tournament | Tour/Level | Location |
| 6/22-28 | Bad Homburg Open powered by Solarwatt | WTA 500 | Germany |
| 6/23-28 | Lexus Eastbourne Open | WTA 250 ATP 250 | Great Britain |
| 6/22-28 | Mallorca Championships presented by Ecotrans Group | ATP 250 | Spain |
