The French Open will finalize Olympic qualifications. Saudi Arabia’s influence continues to grow. New strategic alliances, film releases, and off-court controversies round out this week’s headlines.
Who will qualify for Paris Olympics in tennis? Standings going into French Open: Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula (who will miss the French Open due to injury recovery), Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul, and Ben Shelton (who may skip the Olympics) have already mathematically clinched spots in the Paris Games singles fields. Full Story: NBC Sports
How tennis inequality lets women down: Prize money, scheduling and Saudi Arabia: To exist as a female tennis player in 2024 is to endure what can feel like endless slights: the micro-aggressions baked in, the structural inequality foundational to a sport run mostly by men, and stark set-piece examples of inequality that can be hard to comprehend. Full Story: The Athletic
Saudi Arabia To Sponsor Women’s Tennis Rankings—In Third Major Deal This Year: Saudi Arabia is set to sponsor the Women’s Tennis Association’s rankings for the next five years in the third major tennis deal to be struck in the Kingdom this year, as the country continues its high-dollar push into the world of sports. Full Story: Forbes
The Unbearable Greatness of Novak Djokovic: Novak Djokovic may be the greatest tennis player ever—and many can’t stand him. Full Story: The Athletic
Iga Swiatek’s (tennis) bagels: How the WTA world No 1 bakes her 6-0 sets: Bagels — as sets that end 6-0 are known, because the zero looks like one — are seen as such an embarrassment largely because they are so rare. For Swiatek’s WTA career as a whole, an average of 40.6 percent of her matches have included either a 6-0 set or a 6-1. Full Story: The Athletic
USTA and ITA Enter Into Expanded Strategic Alliance to Elevate College Tennis: The United States Tennis Association (USTA) and the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) have entered into a new strategic alliance that expands upon the existing collaboration between the two organizations to strengthen and elevate collegiate tennis. Full Story: ITA
Another Twist in the Camila Giorgi Retirement Saga: Camila Giorgi has been accused of stealing antiques and failing to pay six months of rent before fleeing to the US. Full Story: Fox Sports
Iga Swiatek Shares About Business Side Of Tennis Ahead Of Short Film: The World No. 1 has done so in a new short film, “Beyond Number One,” presented by On, releasing May 22. Full Story: Forbes
Ons Jabeur steps up her tennis shoe game with new ASICS contract: The Tunisian has been rocking the brand’s shoes in competition since before switching from Lotto to Saudi apparel label Kayanee earlier this year. Full Story: Tennis
Perfect Match: Tennis film on Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf follows Challengers: A new tennis film depicting the relationship between Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf will screen later this summer. Perfect Match, which will premiere on June 28 on Amazon Prime, stars German actress Lena Klenke and British actor Toby Sebastian. Full Story: The Athletic
‘Nasty’ Serves Up Punchy Portrait of ’70s Tennis Bad Boy Ilie Nastase Who Helped Define Era: A co-production between HBO Documentaries Europe and Romania’s Libra Films, has a special screening at the Cannes Film Festival on May 23, and will drop across Europe on Max the following day. Full Story: Variety
All About Coco Gauff’s Tennis Coach, Brad Gilbert: Get to know Coco Gauff’s top-tiered tennis coach, who’s worked with the likes of Andre Agassi to win the 1994 US Open and Zendaya to prep for ‘Challengers’. Full Story: People
Louisville doesn’t need to convert tennis courts for pickleball. There’s room for both: A thoughtful editorial on why balance is important for recreational sporting infrastructure. Full Story: The Louisville Courrier Journal
This Week in Professional Tennis
| Date | Tournament | Tour/Level | Location |
| 5/26-6/9 | The French Open | Grand Slam | Paris |
