The elephants are dancing as the sports powerbrokers jockey to control the future of the sport. Rafael Nadal’s farewell to tennis limps on as Coco Gauff embraces adulthood. Be sure to check out BJK’s new vest!
The powerbrokers of tennis have big plans. Their ideas might not be good for the sport: The overlords of professional tennis have some big plans − big for their pocketbooks, big for their power over the sport, and big for a group of players at the top who already enjoy a pretty comfortable life on tour. Full Story: USA Today
Tennis’ Grand Slams premium tour plan: More money, equal pay, fewer tournaments: After months of playing shots off the back foot, the four Grand Slam tournaments have gone on the offensive in the battle for the future of tennis. Full Story: The Athletic
Rafael Nadal’s Farewell to Tennis Limps On: The 22-time major champion advanced past 16-year-old American Darwin Blanch in Madrid on Thursday. It was only Nadal’s 10th match since the start of 2023. Full Story: WSJ
Coco Gauff dishes on ’embracing adulthood’ in TIME magazine’s May cover story: The cover shoot for the in-depth feature teases that the US Open champion is now ‘playing for herself.’. Full Story: Tennis
BJK Cup finals group stage replaced with knockout round: The tournament, which used to feature 12 national teams in four round-robin groups, will now have eight teams in a knockout round, with four seeded teams receiving a bye to the quarterfinals. Full Story: ESPN
Is a WTA ‘Big Four’ coming?: For the past year, there’s been some chatter about a ‘Big Four’ forming in women’s tennis. It was a ‘Big Three’, comprised of Iga Swiatek, Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka, but then Coco Gauff won the U.S. Open and became a seriously consistent presence in the business end of tournaments. Full Story: The Athletic
Garbine Muguruza retires: Two-time major champion Garbine Muguruza announced she is retiring from professional tennis at age 30 after an extended time away from the court. Full Story: ESPN
Zendaya and her tennis boys teach us a lesson about the sport: Challengers may not really be a tennis movie — but it has plenty to say about the quintessence of the sport. Full Story: The Athletic
‘Challengers’ Review: Zendaya’s Tennis Courtship: The actress stars as a coach caught in a love triangle with two players in director Luca Guadagnino’s flashy but overly digressive film. Full Story: WSJ
‘Challengers’ features, promotes brands just like real life: The brands featured in director Luca Guadagnino’s tennis drama “Challengers” featuring Zendaya and Mike Faist “don’t simply augment the movie, they’re integral to it from start to sweaty, invigorating finish” as the movie “promote brands just as their real-life counterparts would.” Full Story: Sports Business Journal
Billie Jean King gets a new vest: Congratulations to the NWTO on their 50th anniversary!
This Week in Professional Tennis
| Date | Tournament | Tour/Level | Location |
| 4/23-5/5 | Mutua Madrid Open | ATP 1000 WTA 1000 | Spain |
| 4/29-5/5 | Catalonia Open | WTA 125 | Spain |
| 4/29-5/5 | L’Open 35 de Saint Malo | WTA 125 | France |
