Every week the Fiend at Court combs the newswires to find the low-profile yet important tennis stories that you probably missed.
Fifty Years Ago, Billie Jean King Won Equal Pay — but She’s Not Done Yet: The tennis champion’s activism won equal pay for women at the 1973 U.S. Open. Now 79, she is still leading the fight for equity — in sports and beyond. Full Story: The New York Times Editorial Note: This storyline will be featured prominently as the USTA promotes the US Open this year. However, they will gloss over important details of how this really came about. The full story is in “1973: The US Open Becomes First Major to Offer Equal Prize Money.“
A rare example of a woman coaching a woman at Wimbledon: Interesting insight into the social dynamics of so few women coaches in professional tennis from Lynn Nabors McNally, a key member of her daughter’s coaching team. Caty McNally was one of the few female entrants at Wimbledon with a female coach this year. Full Story: Spectrum News
John Wertheim’s 50 Parting Thoughts From Wimbledon 2023: The sportswriter and Tennis Channel commentator flushes his Wimbledon notes folder. The first unseeded women’s champion, underarm serves, emerging tennis stars, and celebrity appearances punctuate this year’s list. Full Story: Sports Illustrated
Spain’s Tennis Pipeline Keeps Producing Great Players: Carlos Alcaraz’s victory at Wimbledon and his meteoric rise to the top should not be all that unexpected. There is a reason that Spaniards are so good. It is all about the Spanish tennis pipeline. Full Story: NPR
Sinclair Announces Tennis Channel Distribution Agreement with Hulu: Sinclair, Inc. today announced a distribution agreement with Hulu to carry the Tennis Channel and T2. Both channels are scheduled to debut on Hulu + Live TV in January 2024. Full Story: Sinclair Investor Relations
Denis Shapovalov and Mirjam Bjorklund announce engagement: Denis Shapovalov shared a heart-warming series of images on social media Thursday to announce his engagement to fellow player Mirjam Bjorklund. The pair have been together since 2019. Full Story: Tennis
‘Break Point’ Is the Best Way to See the Full Psychodrama of Tennis: The New York Times weighs in on the series by observing that the series got tennis right. Full Story: The New York Times
Yet another community in a pickle regarding tennis and pickleball: Pickleball play has increased exponentially and tennis play has remained consistent. Conflicts over dual-use tennis courts have increased. A blow-by-blow transcript of the debate from one local community. Full Story: Bainbridge Island Review
Four Countries to Host 2024 ITF Masters Tour World Championships: Japan, Mexico, Portugal, and Türkiye will each host selected age groups of the 2024 World Team Championships from 30+ to 85+, and the 2024 World Individual Championships from 30+ through to 90+. Full Story: ITF
ITF Releases Annual Financial Report: The International Tennis Federation has announced its 2022 financial results. Revenue increased by 47.6% year-on-year to $98.3 million. Full Story: ITF
Stunning Architecture for New Wimbledon Indoor Facility: Beautiful photos of British studio Hopkins Architects designed indoor tennis facility at the All England Lawn Tennis Club. The undulating timber-coated roof was created to resemble a tennis racquet. Full Story: dezeen
This Week in Professional Tennis
| Date | Tournament | Tour/Level | Location |
| 7/24-30 | Hamburg European Open Hamburg European Open | ATP 500 WTA 250 | Hamburg, Germany |
| 7/24-30 | Atlanta Open | ATP 250 | Atlanta, Georgia |
| 7/24-30 | Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag | ATP 250 | Umag, Croatia |
| 7/24-30 | Ladies Open Lausanne | WTA 250 | Lausanne, Switzerland |
| 7/24-30 | BNP Paribas Warsaw Open | WTA 250 | Warsaw, Poland |
I beleive in equity. I believe that tennis players should be treated equally.
We were fortunate to be able to attend Wimbledon this year and enjoyed a 4 hour mens singles match and a ladies singles that lasted 1 hour. The mens match was four sets and the ladies match was 2 sets. Both matches were good quality.
Of course men play the best of 5 sets and ladies the best of three. I am not advocating ladies play best of five sets in these events.
Isn’t ‘equity’ the equal treatment ? I know the ‘argument’ about equal pay was settled a long time ago – but I fail to see how equal prize-money can be ‘equitable’.