It was a relatively slow week for tennis news. We have ATP players behaving badly, while Andrew Abdo outlined his plans for the Australian Open. Coco Gauff and Serena Williams both make pop culture appearances.
New Australian Open boss Andrew Abdo throws shade at critics: ‘I’m not an outsider’: New Tennis Australia chief executive Andrew Abdo pledged more shade and more seats for outer courts at the Australian Open in 2027, as the former rugby league administrator believes his background as a tennis outsider will fuel the tournament’s “relentless pursuit of growth”. Full Story: The Guardian
What Daniil Medvedev’s China Open disqualification says about tennis officiating: An unceremonious ending to a match saw Medvedev defaulted for striking a fan in the face with a ball that he swatted into the crowd. This should also give tennis a wake-up call that it had long needed about the way it enforces one of its rules. Full Story: The Athletic
Terence Atmane fires racket toward crowd and nearly hits spectators in epic tantrum: The racket clanged off the metal bar and didn’t injure any fans, but the crowd audibly gasped at Atmane’s petulance, as the racket didn’t miss them by much. Incredulously, Atmane was only issued a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct and received a point penalty instead of being defaulted. Full Story: Fox
Coco Gauff responds to receiving racist abuse: The slew of commentary had led Gauff to post a screenshot of a post she had made on Threads, explaining an incident that occurred in the first set against Sun, when Gauff was serving down 5-4, 15-15. Full Story: The Athletic
Serena Williams gets Barbie signature doll based on 2005 Australian Open win: From the department of, “this hasn’t happened already?”: Serena Williams, the 23-time Grand Slam champion and the greatest women’s tennis player of the modern era, has a signature Barbie — for the sport she dominated. Full Story: The Athletic
Coco Gauff featured in rapper Gunna’s ‘Pop It’ music video: The WTA singles No. 4-ranked player was teased to be in the video in the days leading up to its release, appearing in a promotional trailer where she and the rapper play tennis — one more successfully than the other. Full Story: ESPN
Wimbledon boss jokes military would love to ‘sort out’ influencers: Royal Marine commandos providing security at Wimbledon would like “nothing more than to sort out” disruptive social media influencers at the prestigious tournament, its chief executive has joked. Full Story: BBC
This Week in Professional Tennis
| Date | Tournament | Tour/Level | Location |
| 10/12-18 | Wuhan Open | WTA 1000 | China |
| 10/7-18 | Rolex Shanghai Masters | ATP 1000 | China |
