From on-court tempers and fashion statements to military tributes, pickleball’s rise, and the future of tennis media, the biggest tennis stories from last week.
Tempers flared at the US Open. But why?: A series of tense post-match exchanges have erupted at this year’s US Open, prompting players to speculate why tempers have flared so much. Full Story: CNN
Electric New York energy reignites etiquette debate: The pulsating energy of New York is like no other. So it is perhaps not surprising there has been a charged atmosphere at this year’s US Open. “New York City tends to bring out a lot of drama,” said American fourth seed Jessica Pegula.”The crowds are pretty crazy. They kind of get everyone riled up.” Full Story: BBC
All the Best on-the-Court Fashion at the 2025 US Open: Pro tennis players are having fun with their game-day kits like never before, experimenting with bright colors and patterns, repping exclusive brand collaborations, and even adding some shimmer to their looks. Full Story: Harper’s Bazaar
WWII Hero Honored at U.S. Open Tennis Championships: The U.S. Tennis Association hosted the 2025 Lt. Joe Hunt Military Appreciation Day at the US Open this year. Hunt was a U.S. Nationals champion, an NCAA champion, a Naval Academy graduate, and a Navy football star. Like so many of his generation, he put aside his personal achievement to answer his nation’s call. Hunt is the only U.S. Open champion to die in service to his country. Full Story: The Department of Defense
What the 2025 US Open Says About the Future of Tennis: NPR sat down with a panel of experts to discuss the biggest takeaways from this year’s event and the sport’s future. Full Story: NPR
The New Direction of the Tennis Channel: Jeff Blackburn, a 25-year Amazon executive who helped launch Amazon Prime, is taking over the Tennis Channel CEO role. “If you look at my background, you get a sense of why I was hired and where we might be going,” Blackburn said. “I ran Prime Video for 12 years. The digital part of where we are headed is getting a lot of emphasis right now.” Full Story: Source Editorial Note: I sincerely hope that is true because the Tennis Channel Plus streaming service and adjacent digital media need a lot of work.
Björn Borg’s prostate cancer now in remission: Björn Borg’s upcoming memoir, “Heartbeats,” reveals that he was diagnosed with an “extremely aggressive” prostate cancer that has been in remission following an operation in 2024. Full Story: ESPN
What Happens to Your Body When You Play Tennis Regularly: Here’s what experts had to say about the pros—and possible cons—of hitting the tennis court. Full Story: Health
How Pickleball Took Over Thousands of Tennis Courts, as Seen From the Sky: By analyzing nearly 100,000 aerial photographs, The New York Times was able to identify more than 26,000 outdoor pickleball courts made in the last seven years, a majority coming at the expense of once-exclusive tennis spaces, More than 8,000 tennis courts have been transformed to pickleball. Full Story: The New York Times
Failing Better: On The Tennis Player and The Writer: Examining the parallels between two joyous (and thankless) vocations. Full Story: Lit Hub
Can You Ace The NYT’s Tennis Quiz?: Test your knowledge of the drama on these real and fictional courts. Full Story: The New York Times Editorial Note: I scored 10/14, which was probably good considering the amount of pop culture. I’m a little peeved that I mixed up the grunts of Sabalenka and Sharapova.
This Week in Professional Tennis
| Date | Tournament | Tour/Level | Location |
| 9/12-14 | Davis Cup Qualifiers (Second Round) | ITF | Various |
| 9/8-14 | Sao Paulo Open | WTA 250 | Brazil |
| 9/8-14 | Guadalajara Open | WTA 500 | Mexico |
