A weekly roundup of curated news from the tennis world that you might have missed.
Wimbledon and the French Open To Allow Coaching. Wimbledon and the French Open were the last to join the rest of the tennis tour to introduce the rule. Full Story: The Express
I Want to Talk to You About My Mom. Jessica Pegula shares her story about her mother, her family, and events over the past year. Full Story: The Player’s Tribune
Zvrev and Kyrgios Allegations Resolved. Two top players. Two partner abuse allegations. Two instances of the ATP’s lack of a collectively bargained policy make for bad optics. Full Story: Sports Illustrated
Tennis player banned for life. Younes Rachidi, a former player from Morocco was banned for life Thursday after being found guilty of 135 match-fixing offenses. It is the highest number of match-fixing offenses by one person detected in the sport. Full Story: USA Today
Grand Slam Player Development Program Player Grants Announced. Fifty-one junior and professional players will receive Grand Slam Player Grants for the 2023 season through the support of the Grand Slam Player Development Programme. Established by the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments in 1986, the Grand Slam Player Development Programme strives to inspire players from developing tennis nations and regions by ensuring they have access to greater competitive pathways at an international level, inclusive of the Grand Slams. Full Story: ITF
ITF Masters World Championships Update. The ITF Masters (30, 35, 40, 45, 50) World Team & Individual Championships is scheduled to take place in Manavgat, Türkiye from 19 March to 1 April 2023. The site was not impacted by the recent earthquake disaster and host preparations continue. However, there is a national suspension of sporting activities currently in place that would have to be lifted for the event to be conducted. A decision on whether the event will proceed is anticipated to come this week. Source: Direct ITF email to registered Master’s players.
Malivai Washington opens up on his life. Washington reflects on his tennis achievements, and what he’s been doing since his retirement. His namesake charity foundation supports under-resourced youth in Jacksonville, Florida. Full Story: US Open
How Stan Smith Became A Driving Force In Sneaker Culture. The man behind the most iconic shoe in tennis history joined Kamau Murray for a chat about life on the court, and how his greatest legacy was achieved off of it. Full Story: Tennis (Podcast)
Sloane Stephens meets … Sloane Stephens. On one of the Dallas Open’s practice courts Saturday, 10-year-old Sloane Stephens of Far North Dallas worked on all aspects of her tennis game. She was hitting forehands, slapping backhands, and smashing overheads. The person tossing balls to her and providing encouragement was none other than 29-year-old American tennis star … Sloane Stephens. Full Story: The Dallas Morning News
As pickleball’s popularity grows, tennis players fight for their courts. More than 23.6 million people played tennis in the United States in 2022. That is still about 12.9 million less than the number of people who played pickleball, some 36.5 million, according to the Association of Pickleball Professionals. In East Lansing, pickleball courts replacing tennis courts is a “huge, huge topic right now.” Full Story: Lansing State Journal
Public Art: A Very Cool Tennis Bench. A beautiful sculpture, created by artist Eugene Sargent, is a functional bench and a tribute to a local coach. Full Story: Fayetteville Flyer
And finally… yet another reason why Madison Brengle is one of my all-time favorite players. She’s just like us!
This Week in Professional Tennis
| Date | Tournament | Tour/Level | Location |
| 2/13-18 | Qatar TotalEnergies Open | WTA 500 | Doha, Qatar |
| 2/13-18 | ABN AMRO Open | ATP 500 | Rotterdam, Netherlands |
| 2/13-18 | Delray Beach Open | ATP 250 | Delray Beach, Florida |
| 2/13-18 | Argentina Open | ATP 250 | Buenos Aires, Argentina |
