The BBC documentary “Gods of Tennis” takes viewers into the epic battles of tennis legends Billie Jean King and Arthur Ashe. In the world of tennis collectibles, a rare print of an early British tennis tournament fetched £4000 at auction.
Tension Overshadows the Tennis Between Sabalenka and Svitolina: Players from Ukraine do not shake hands with players from Russia and Belarus. Aryna Sabalenka waited at the net anyway. Full Story: New York Times
US Open Marketing Campaign to Feature Social Media Star Cookiee Kawaii: The USTA announced that its 2023 US Open marketing campaign, “Spectacular Awaits,” will feature the music and voice of multi-platform artist and social media star Cookiee Kawaii, as the US Open markets a new generation of talent to a new generation of fans and players through a social-first lens. Full Story: Racquet Sports Industry
Competition heating up over future of Western and Southern tennis tournament: The cities of Mason and Charlotte are both working to become the host city of the future for the tournament. The Western and Southern is among the top nine tennis tournaments in the world. Full Story: WLWT
Pro tennis player Maria Sakkari on the feeling of winning and pressure on the court: An interview with Maria Sakkari on pressures in the court, her go-to ways to exercise, and the most memorable moment of her career. Full Story: Cosmopolitan Middle East
Growing the Game of Tennis in the Inland Region and Beyond: Even though tennis is still a White dominant sport, you can still recognize some of the early successes of young Black women playing professional tennis right now, like Naomi Osaka, Coco Gauf, and Sloane Stephens, and you may ask yourself why the numbers are so low at the collegiate level. According to the NCAA demographics database, in 2022, African Americans made up 2% of Division 1 women’s tennis players, not including Historical Black Colleges and Universities. Full Story: Black Voice News
Tennis-Playing Robot Could to Help With Athlete Training: Georgia Tech University researchers have unveiled a tennis-playing robot that could be a game changer in the future of robotic sport training. The wheeled robot is designed to move around the court to provide players with a more interactive training partner than a stationary ball feeder, taking inspiration from wheelchair tennis. Full Story: IOT World Today
How a Tasmanian tennis racquet helped Jack Crawford claim Australia’s first French Open title: Called the Cressy Wizard, the “flat top” racquet was made by Launceston’s grandly named Alexander Patent Racket Company. Full Story: ABC Australia
Rare print of an early British tennis tournament stars sells at auction: A Tennis Match at Manchester, a very rare print marking one of the first British tennis tournaments, part of a lot sold for £4000 at Graham Budd Auctions. Full Story: Antique Trader Gazette
Gods of Tennis review – a hefty tale of the epic battles that rocked tennis: The BBC’s three-part documentary Gods of Tennis allows fans to relive those relatively halcyon days, with its first episode focusing on the slightly earlier era of Billie Jean King and Arthur Ashe. Full Story: The Guardian
The Exclusive, Elusive World of Real Tennis: “If you wanted to design a game that was going to put people off from playing it,” one court tennis enthusiast said, “you would probably design a real tennis court.” Full Story: The New York Times
Pickleball has a noise problem. He’s trying to fix it: Pickleball sound exists right in that most sensitive range. Garbage truck backup beepers are right in the same pitch of pickleball. Why did they pick that sound for beepers? Because it’s the most annoying frequency.” Full Story: NPR
Could Nick Kyrgios Become Ben Stiller’s Tennis Coach?: Nick Kyrgios received a surprise taker when he asked on Twitter Tuesday whether anyone would be interested in his coaching. Actor Ben Stiller volunteered. “I’m open to it. But would need to know you’re serious,” Stiller wrote. “Let’s do it. I’m all in, what you thinking?” Kyrgios replied. “First we need to decide who is coaching who,” Stiller said. Full Story: ATP
Hey! That’s My Double’s Partner: Cancer patient Joanna Suskic caught one of the autographed balls hit by Sloane Stephens following her win at the ATX Open earlier this year. Stephens later replied to a tweet from Suskic about how the ball gave her strength heading into a chemotherapy session. The story was picked up by the Sportskeeda site. Full Story: Sportskeeda Editorial Note: Suskic is a very good tennis player who was once ranked #1 in NCAA doubles when she played for the University of Texas. She is a teaching pro in the Austin area.
This Week in Professional Tennis
| Date | Tournament | Tour/Level | Location |
| 6/12-18 | BOSS OPEN | ATP 250 | Stuttgart, Germany |
| 6/12-18 | Libema Open | ATP 250 WTA 250 | ‘S-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands |
| 6/12-18 | Rothesay Open | WTA 250 | Nottingham, Great Britain |
| 6/12-18 | BBVA Open Internacional de Valencia | WTA 125 | Valencia, Spain |
