Anticipating potential platform confusion that could mar Roland Garros coverage. Coco Gauff makes plans to see Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter in the UK during the grass court season.
French Open Network Alert: Warner Bros. Discovery is the new broadcast home for the French Open in the United States this year. I am worried that ratings will be very low in the early rounds as tennis fans get wrong-footed trying to figure out when and where the matches are happening. For streamers, it looks like matches will be available across TNT, TBS, and the Max apps. I have not yet found a breakdown of what matches will appear on each platform. Full Story: TNT Roland Garros
WTA Tour chairman Steve Simon planning to retire in December: The WTA Tour has announced that chairman Steve Simon plans to retire in December. Under his watch, the women’s circuit committed to a $400 million increase in player compensation over the next 10 years, created a foundation to elevate its social impact in communities around the world, and entered a partnership with CVC Capital Partners to accelerate commercial growth and drive reinvestment in the sport. Full Story: ESPN
Billie Jean King Cup Finals Draws Announced: Italy will meet hosts China while the United States faces Kazakhstan in the Billie Jean King Cup Finals to be held in Shenzhen in September. Full Story: Billie Jean King Cup
Pope Leo XIV meets with Jannik Sinner: Pope Leo’s passion for tennis is well-known. In a video released by the Vatican, Mr. Sinner is seen offering the Pope a tennis ball and asking if he wanted to play. The Pope responded, “Here we’ll break something. Best not to!”. Full Story: Vatican News
Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic end coaching partnership: Novak Djokovic will no longer be coached by Murray following a poor run of results this season. Full Story: ESPN
Andy Murray Arena to be unveiled at Queen’s Club in June: The Lawn Tennis Association shared on Tuesday that Andy Murray will be at Queen’s Club on 9 June — the first day of the venue’s new WTA 500 event — when the court is officially inaugurated in his name. Full Story: ATP
Carlos Alcaraz wants to be a tennis serve bot: Carlos Alcaraz, has more magic in his right arm than anyone in the men’s game — except when he steps up to the baseline, ball in hand to serve. His tennis is so explosive, fluent, and unpredictable when a rally starts that it can go unnoticed when he ends up playing more of them than he should behind his own serve. Full Story: The Athletic
Newport’s International Tennis Hall of Fame shows off huge makeover: The International Tennis Hall of Fame recently underwent a multimillion-dollar renovation, giving the museum spaces and displays a facelift for the first time in a decade. It’s through these renovations, as well as new programming and tournaments, that the International Tennis Hall of Fame hopes to double, or even triple, the organization’s typical annual visits within the next two years. Full Story: The Providence Journal
What’s so funny about tennis? Daily Show’s Michael Kosta says it could prepare you for a life in comedy: Michael Kosta was once among the top-ranked tennis players in the world, and now he’s a successful, Emmy-winning comedian. His journey is as unorthodox as it is fascinating, and he says that tennis made him funny, although he wasn’t laughing much at the time. Full Story: CNN Editorial Note: I previously reviewed Kosta’s book, Lucky Loser: Adventures in Tennis and Comedy.
Coco Gauff is heading to Cowboy Carter tour in June: This ain’t Texas, but the United Kingdom is shaping up to be the perfect place for Coco Gauff to catch Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter tour. Full Story: Tennis
This Week in Professional Tennis
| Date | Tournament | Tour/Level | Location |
| 5/18-24 | Bitpanda Hamburg Open | ATP 500 | Germany |
| 5/18-24 | Gonet Geneva Open | ATP 250 | Switzerland |
| 5/18-24 | Internationax De Strasbourg | WTA 500 | France |
| 5/19-24 | Grand Prix Sar Lalla Meryem | WTA 250 | Morocco |
