The US Open’s late-night scheduling, growing crowds, and expanding spectacle dominate this week’s tennis news, raising questions about how much the tournament can change without allowing everything around the tennis to overwhelm the tennis itself.
With late matches, intruding influencers and odd smells, is tennis losing at the U.S. Open? The U.S. Open has long prided itself as being the loudest, brashest and unmistakably New York-iest of tennis’ four Grand Slam tournaments. But through the first week of this year’s event, a question has intruded on the spectacle: When does atmosphere start to supersede tennis? Full Story: LA Times
Why the U.S. Open’s nights leave fans in the dark as tennis goes later in the earlier rounds: The U.S. Open is known for its late finishes, but there’s never been a year quite like this one. Several prime matchups got pushed to the wee hours of the morning. Full Story: The Athletic
Sorry, but Tennis at 3:33 a.m. Isn’t Cool. It’s Ridiculous: Ben Shelton defeats Carlos Alcaraz in a glorious match that finished at an inhumane hour. Why does tennis keep burying its best product? Full Story: WSJ
The U.S. Open is getting noisy. Not all tennis fans are thrilled: As the tournament surges in popularity, some casual fans and influencers aren’t attending for the tennis as much as for the vibes. And they can get loud. Full Story: The Washington Post
In the history of men’s tennis fashion, the tank top is no deep cut: Want to measure how far tennis has come from the days of starched polos and pleat-front shorts? Look to Carlos Alcaraz, who with his generously cut tank top — and good humor about the situation — is bringing on-court personality that is still gold dust in men’s tennis, in a style of top that its modern exponents say they wear for performance, as much as style. Full Story: The Athletic
Five-set tennis is under attack. Killing it would be a colossal unforced error: Five-set matches are physically punishing, occasionally absurd and increasingly under threat. They also produce much of what makes grand slam tennis great. Full Story: The Guardian
What Makes Tennis One of the Greatest Games: It wasn’t always regarded as the intensely athletic sport that it is. Full Story: The Athletic
At the U.S. Open, as in America, it has never been easier to win or lose money on sports: Tennis, with its dizzying array of in-match outcomes, granular scoring system and a nearly endless season, is one of the most bettable sports in the world. The U.S. Open is the peak of its spectacle. Full Story: The Athletic
Taylor Fritz Posts Rant on X About Wilson US Open Tennis Balls: The American player made a long post about the low quality of Wilson’s balls outside of official ATP tournaments. Full Story: Sports Illustrated
USTA announces Future Courts student design competition winners: Leading up to the U.S. Open the U.S. Tennis Association (USTA) hosted a design competition that challenged architecture students to reimagine spaces around tennis courts throughout the country. Future Courts received seventy submissions from students at 45 architecture schools. The three finalists were unveiled recently at the USTA’s Outstanding Facility Awards ceremony at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Full Story: The Architect’s Newspaper
The 30 Most Beautiful Tennis Courts Around the World: While the world’s most prestigious tennis facilities are well known—think the Centre Court at Wimbledon—there are also plenty of other beautiful tennis courts around the world that you’re probably unaware of. Often it’s their seclusion that makes them so alluring: One is built into the cliffs of the Amalfi Coast, another is set against the turquoise waters of the Indian Ocean, a few are even in private residences. Full Story: Architectural Digest
This Week in Professional Tennis
| Date | Tournament | Tour/Level | Location |
| 9/17-20 | Davis Cup Qualifiers | ITF | Various |
| 9/13-19 | Guadalajara Open | WTA 500 | Mexico |
| 9/14-20 | SP Open | WTA 250 | Brazil |
