Ukrainians find support in the U.S. and a tennis serving record is smashed. The underrated news stories and skills that shape the sport’s evolving landscape.
After Trump’s berating of Zelensky, Ukraine’s tennis players find support on American soil: Marta Kostyuk was heartbroken when that meeting of the presidents went so poorly. But she has since come to embrace the idea that so many people in the U.S. wanted to help early on after Russia’s attack, and still do. Full Story: The Athletic
Tennis court conditions: Why players and weather mean as much as speed and bounce: This year, the court conditions at Indian Wells were supposed to be different. Tournament organizers had selected a new company to surface the courts, the same provider that does the U.S. Open and the Miami Open, which follows Indian Wells on the tennis calendar. It was supposed to be faster, but the surface is as slow and bouncy as ever. Full Story: The Athletic
Tennis rankings define players, for better or worse: When tennis players go into a soliloquy about how they don’t pay attention to the rankings or have the faintest idea how many points they have — or stand to lose — from week to week or match to match, they’re not being entirely honest. Full Story: The Athletic
Answering key questions about drying the tennis courts after rain at the BNP Paribas Open: If you have questions about wet courts are dried at professional tennis tournaments, here are some answers from the fine folks in the Indian Wells media director’s office. Full Story: The Desert Sun
BNP Paribas renews sponsorship with Indian Wells tournament: The tennis tournament in Indian Wells, California, will be officially called the BNP Paribas Open for at least the next five years after the French bank and event organizers announced a renewal of their title sponsorship deal. Full Story: ESPN
Winning Financial Strategies: Lessons From The Tennis Court: Just as a tennis player works with a coach to refine their skills and achieve their goals, business owners and high-net-worth individuals benefit from working with a financial professional to navigate their unique financial journeys. Full Story: Forbes
Ball Supplier for Courtside Smart Kiosks Announced: GoRaqt, the world’s first courtside smart kiosk designed to provide racquet sports players with instant access to premium equipment, has announced Dunlop as its first tennis ball supplier. Full Story: Racquet Sports Industry
Altadena and Pacific Palisades tennis communities try to go home again: The second part of an intimate look at the destruction, and heartbreak, caused by this January’s Southern California wildfires on the local tennis communities. Full Story: Tennis
Pakistan’s Talha Waheed breaks record for most serves in minute: Pakistan’s Talha Waheed has aced his way to a world record, smashing the record for most tennis serves in a minute. Waheed destroyed American John Perry’s 2019 record of 42 by delivering 59 successful serves in a November, a feat verified by Guinness World Records last week. Full Story: ESPN
10 stand out courts from a years-long quest to play at every L.A. tennis court: Public tennis courts don’t have to be great to be good. Played with an open heart, even a minimally adequate court can be a place of joy. And anyone can play on a public tennis court. That’s the spirit the author hoped to encourage on a 2 1/2-yearlong quest to play at every one in Los Angeles County. Full Story: The LA Times
Tennis professionals at Indian Wells teach a class in “Undervalued tennis skills”: From lining up water bottles at the correct angle, peeling bananas, taking selfies with fans, saluting the crowd correctly, and the best ways to sign a camera, this “Masters’ Class” offers insights into how to excel at some of tennis’s most undervalued skills. Full Video: ATP Editorial Note: I spotted a familiar face among the “students” in this video.
This Week in Professional Tennis
| Date | Tournament | Tour/Level | Location |
| 3/18-30 | Miami Open presented by Itaú | WTA 1000 ATP 1000 | USA |
