A rumored Grand Slam “premier tour” is the lead story in an unusually lively week of tennis news. It may be the professional “off-season,” but the tennis business has been working hard.
Tennis’ Grand Slams plot deal for ‘premier tour’ that would revolutionize the sport: Tennis’ Grand Slams are attempting to partner with a collection of the sport’s other best-known tournaments in what could become the most revolutionary transformation of the game since the 1990s. Full Story: The Athletic
Billie Jean King urges the sport to work together after controversial season finale: The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Finals is a tournament that is supposed to celebrate the very best of women’s tennis, but instead drew the ire of some of the players involved and was even compared to the infamous Fyre Festival. Full Story: CNN
End-of-Year Awards for Coco Gauff and More Top Women’s Tennis Stars: Jon Wertheim shares how he voted in WTA’s media ballot … and dishes out a few honors of his own. Full Story: Sports Illustrated
Tennis Needs The Sound Of The Crowd After Davis Cup Brings The Noise: ‘The World Cup of Tennis’ certainly has a different decibel counter to individual ATP Tour events. Bringing the noise can elicit a drama that usual tennis etiquette restrains elsewhere. Full Story: Forbes
Meet the Carota Boys, the carrot-clad fan group rooting for Jannik Sinner: The Carota Boys, a team of six men decked in full-body, bright-orange carrot costumes are most likely to be found vociferously supporting world No. 4 Jannik Sinner, who, like them, also heralds from northern Italy. Full Story: CNN
John McEnroe to play tennis on the Serengeti despite bloody conflict over beautiful land: A seven-time Grand Slam winner, McEnroe is set to take part next week in what’s advertised as the first tennis match to be played on the Serengeti. The event, in which McEnroe is set to play against his brother Patrick amid roaming wildlife, is on the itinerary of an eight-day, tennis-themed adventure in Tanzania. The safari starts Friday and is drawing criticism from activists. Full Story: USA Today
Tennis Channel To Serve Up New Streaming Service Next Year: The Tennis Channel’s direct-to-consumer streaming service will include live and on-demand matches as well as original programming. Full Story: Kiplinger
This company is working to keep tennis balls out of landfills: Each year, 125 million tennis balls bounce into landfills with each ball taking 400 years or longer to decompose. Vermont-based nonprofit RecycleBalls.org has an excellent solution and is scoring a big win for our planet. Full Story: WUSA
Tennis Express Re-Acquired by Founder: Brad Blume, the founder of Tennis Express, has re-acquired full ownership in the retail and online business. Previously, Mr. Blume had sold a majority interest in Tennis Express to Signa Sports United (SSU) but had remained President of Tennis Express and a minority shareholder. Given the recent financial challenges faced by SSU, both SSU and Mr. Blume agreed that it would be in the company’s best interest for Mr. Blume to re-acquire Tennis Express. Full Story: Bicycle Retailer
Tennis vs. Pickleball: The Rivalry that Shook San Diego’s Courts: Two households, both alike in dignity, have been waging a not-so-quiet war over Point Loma tennis courts. For supporters of pickleball, an upstart paddle sport, the skirmishes are a sign of a city not receptive to new recreational demands, while for tennis players the saga has been one of an unreasonable hostile takeover. Full Story: The Voice of San Diego
This group of friends has played tennis nearly every week for almost 50 years: Twice a week, nearly every week, for almost 50 years, this group of four friends have gotten together at Westlake Country Club for a friendly tennis match. Full Story: KVUE
This Week in Professional Tennis
| Date | Tournament | Tour/Level | Location |
| 12/4-10 | Montevideo Open | WTA 125 | Uruaguy |
| 12/4-10 | Open Angers Arena Loire | WTA 125 | France |
Sorry about the off topic question but do you know why a player may not have been given an updated rating for end of ‘23? Everyone I know has been updated but my rating is still the one from the end of 2022. Do some players slip through the cracks?