Lots of US Open news this week before the Major gets underway next week. Bizarre athletic training techniques and Daria Saville teaches us how to pack for a tennis tournament.
US Open to use same tennis balls for women and men: After multiple players complained about the use of a different ball for women during the 2022 US Open, tournament director Stacey Allaster said the USTA would be using the same ball for both women and men during the 2023 event. Full Story: ESPN
US Open 2023: Tournament not planning to change night scheduling in New York: US Open organizers have no plans to change its scheduling to avoid potential late finishes at the upcoming Grand Slam event. Finishing matches in the early hours has been a regular source of concern for players. US Open night sessions start at 19:00 in New York and feature two matches. “At the moment, we are staying the course with two night matches. We will continue to evaluate it,” said US Open tournament director Stacey Allaster. Full Story: BBC
Billie Jean King Blue featured on Adidas Shoes For U.S. Open: Adidas Tennis celebrates Billie Jean King at the U.S. Open by dousing a women’s-specific Avacourt footwear model in blue. But not just any blue, the baby blue King made famous 50 years ago when she donned them as the main color for her signature Adidas tennis sneakers. Full Story: Forbes
Times Square is getting a (temporary) tennis court: A pop-up outdoor tennis court is coming to Times Square on Thursday, August 24, in celebration of the U.S. Open tennis tournament just a train ride away in Queens. The promotional event is sponsored by waterdrop. Full Story: TimeOut
IBM and the USTA Add Generative AI Commentary and AI Draw Analysis to the 2023 US Open Digital Platforms: Throughout the entire tournament, AI technology will automate the production of detailed audio narration and captions to accompany US Open highlight videos at an unprecedented scale – for every match in the singles draw, across all seventeen courts. Full Story: IBM
U.S. players get glammed up in Vanity Fair spread: Some of the red, white and blue’s best players, from Top 10 stalwarts and beyond, got glammed up in a new spread for the fashion magazine, aptly entitled “American Tennis Has Never Been Hotter.” Full Story: Tennis
US Davis Cup Roster Announced: The USTA and United States Davis Cup Captain Bob Bryan today announced that Frances Tiafoe, Tommy Paul, Mackenzie McDonald, Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram will represent the U.S. in the 2023 Davis Cup Finals — Group Stage matches September 12-17 in Split, Croatia. Full Story: Racquet Sports Industry
The Pros are There for a Reason… or a Wildcard: Players who, by sheer accident of birth, come from wealthy countries or those that host majors. They are subjective in a sport that prides itself on objectivity. They are a gateway to corruption. Yet … promoters invest significantly to stage events and need a means of placing marquee players who would not qualify on their own. Full Story: Sports Illustrated
Iga Swiatek trains TAPE over her mouth and other bizarre training methods: Iga Swiatek raised eyebrows by preparing for the Canadian Open with tape over her mouth. That sparked an examination of other strange training techniques used by professional athletes. Full Story: The Daily Mail
Pickleball problems: Players ignore signs, and force tennis courts to close: Pickleball has been prohibited on the tennis courts at City Central Park in Walker for quite some time. As recently as Tuesday, the city has taken more drastic measures— closing the tennis courts entirely because of pickleball problems. Full Story: Fox 17 Editorial Note: Everybody loses. Thanks, pickleball!
How Daria Saville Packs her Luggage: This is “Bag Check” on steroids. I will probably do a blow-by-blow breakdown of this in the future.
This Week in Professional Tennis
| Date | Tournament | Tour/Level | Location |
| 8/20-26 | Winston-Salem Open | ATP 250 | Winston-Salem |
| 8/20-26 | Tennis in the Land | WTA 250 | Cleveland |
| 8/21-26 | Chicago Women’s Open | WTA 125 | Chicago |
