The Australian Open is underway. The ultimate reason for Naomi Osaka’s withdrawal from the tournament becomes clear. The much anticipated Netflix series Break Point has released the first five episodes.
Naomi Osaka announces pregnancy and plans to return to tennis. Osaka shared the news, along with a photo of a sonogram, and messages, in both Japanese and English, on social media. “I know that I have so much to look forward to in the future, one thing I’m looking forward to is for my kid to watch one of my matches and tell someone, ‘that’s my mom,’ haha,” Osaka wrote. Full Story: NPR
Australian Open ballkid Profile. Teenager Tia Bellotti, 15, travelled to Melbourne after being accepted into the National Indigenous Ballkid program. Throughout the Australian Open, ballkids are responsible for picking up used balls and providing new ones to players on court. Full Story: ABC (Australia)
Five Questions with Iga Swiatek. Iga Swiatek on the Australian Open, Growing Up an Extreme Introvert, and Netflix’s New Tennis Docuseries. Full Story: Vogue
Tennis and fashion’s love game – on and off the court. From Agassi’s fluoro threads to Federer’s Rolex watches to Serena Williams’ – well – everything, fashion and tennis have long been happy bedfellows. Full Story: The Sydney Morning Herald
NCAA To Test Individual Championships in Fall. The NCAA Division I Competition Oversight Committee approved a two-year pilot program to hold the Division I men’s and women’s individual tennis championships in the fall of 2024 and 2025. The Division I men’s and women’s team championships will continue to be held in the spring both years. Full Story: NCAA
International Tennis Hall of Fame Announces New “Tennisworthy” Podcast. “TennisWorthy,” a podcast presented by the International Tennis Hall of Fame, seeks to uncover what it takes to become the greatest of champions. Featuring Hall of Famers and tennis legends, these wide-reaching conversations go beyond on-court results, and reveal the mindset of the sport’s legends. Hear from greats like Lleyton Hewitt, Tracy Austin, Ivan Lendl and more on what it takes to set yourself apart. Full Story: International Tennis Hall of Fame
Sometimes Tennis Is a Waiting Game. And Waiting and Waiting. Games can take a long time, and players waiting to take the court for the next match have to find ways to stay sharp. Full Story: The New York Times
The Articulate Mind of the Gifted Athlete. As the game of tennis advances, it will do so by using analytics, and more sophisticated strategies. All this requires the use of one’s brain power. And the smarter you try to be, the more you will win. The mind has become another tool that pros use to win so don’t be afraid to use yours. Full Story: Long Island Tennis Magazine
How Blind Tennis is Played. Players of blind tennis – which is also known as sound ball – generally use their hearing to locate a foam ball with a bell that tinkles when it bounces or is struck by a racket. Full Story: The Age
U.S. tennis participation grew for third straight year in 2022. U.S. tennis participation grew by 1 million players in 2022 with more than 23.6 million playing the sport–the third consecutive year that the sport has seen an increase. Full Story: USTA
USTA Issued Tennis and Pickleball Statement of Guidance. Earlier last year, the USTA issued a two page brochure to address how tennis and pickleball can exist in harmony. The USTA vision essentially boils down to single use courts for each sports with dual-lined courts as a last resort. Full Story: USTA Statement of Guidance Editorial Note: My previous post “Blended Lines: Sharing Court Space” provides some more practical advice dual use courts.
Break Point Misses Why Tennis Really Inspires Love. A review on Slate claims that Netflix’s sleek new show fails to translate the sport’s true drama and glory. Full Story: Slate Editorial Note: I have only watched one episode so far. My full review is slotted for January 26.
Tennis Channel Launches Tennis Bets Podcast. Tennis has an uneasy relationship with gambling and the national associations (including the USTA) prohibit it’s representatives from promoting gambling. In fact, my current volunteer role with the organization prompts me to make the statement that inclusion of the existence of this new media offering is for informational rather than promotional purposes. I am linking this story to highlight the uneasy economics and relationships between tennis and the sports wagering industry. Full Story: Tennis
Shocking Incident from the Oeiras Challenger
This Week in Professional Tennis
| Date | Tournament | Tour/Level | Location |
| 1/16-29 | The Australian Open | Grand Slam | Melbourne, Australia |
I too am amazed Tennis Channel can get away with promoting gambling while showing professional tennis matches where any semblance of involvement with any form of gambling is completely forbidden.
I retired from Officiating at College Tennis matches where we were reminded before every match to put the score onto the electronic scoreboard before announcing it. The reason given was that sharp gamblers could place a bet between an announced score to the crowd and the score going up onto the electronic scoreboard.
In the first paragraph of the Tennisworthy section, the word Tennisworthy is missing the “T”. The first sentence also has an extra return after the word “because” that causes the line to split.