NEW YORK—Tennis is a sport with serious heft these days because it is blessed with the “Big Three” (Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic), but one of the more intriguing subtexts in the sport is that it wouldn’t take all that much for tennis to be all about a “Super

We’re wrapping up our “best of” matches list here at TENNIS.com, although to me it’s just as much fun to look back at the “worst of” the year as well. Just call me Grinch. But really. Truly horrific matches are as much a part of the pro game as certifiably

Now that Novak Djokovic appears to have silenced any speculation about who might finish No. 1 in 2015 (before that conversation has even taken wing), maybe we should look at the next most logical question: Who is going to end up No. 2? Alright, it doesn’t have quite the same

Howdy, everyone. Now that the smoke and din of the US Open have cleared, I want to say a few words about the player about whom I wrote next to nothing during the last Grand Slam of the year - Justine Henin. The odd thing is that I don't feel

Since the dawn of the Open era in 1968, the French Open—the only Grand Slam tournament played on clay throughout its history—has been the site of championship matches that have left a lasting footnote in the sport. Displays of dominance, breakthrough performances and career-defining moments have all been part of

It accelerates from zero to 150 in 0.005 seconds, 1000 times faster than a Formula One car, and compresses to half its size at point of impact. If the racquet is a tennis player’s rifle, the ball is his bullet. But is tennis shooting itself in the foot by using

HIGHLIGHTS: Ben Shelton goes deep at the Australian Open

WATCH: Martina Navratilova announced earlier this year that she beat breast and throat cancers.

PARIS—A good way to describe Andrea Petkovic and Bethanie Mattek-Sands: cult players. Skilled enough to have had excellent and rewarding careers, but also occupying that place separating aspirants from Grand Slam singles champions that can best be defined as indeterminate. Petkovic and Mattek-Sands each bring considerable flair to the court.

TenniStory: Martina Navratilova, who believes the best-of-five-set format is the reason for the ATP Next Gen's struggles at the Slams

The Fan Club returns this weekend in honor of a former U.S. Open champion who will be making her 15th appearance in Flushing Meadows next week, Venus Williams. I'm talking about the unique appeal of Venus with Bobby Chintapalli, a freelance tennis writer who contributes regularly to USA Today. We'll

Third in a series about players to watch in 2012. At the start of the 2010 season, I wrote an article about Roger Federer that I titled “The Afterlife.” By that I meant that Federer, who at the time had 15 Grand Slam wins and was going to be 29

“A lot of people believe competition is like life. That’s not how I see it. I love to win, I love the competition, and I’ll try my best until the last moment. But what happens away from the court is not going to affect what happens on the court. We

WATCH: Players leave video messages to a retiring Andy Murray:

It wasn’t so long ago that Mary Carillo, while commenting on U.S. television, could make the words “Uncle Toni” sound like something of a joke. What kind of tennis pro brought his uncle along to coach him at a Grand Slam? That would be Rafael Nadal, of course, a teenager

LONDON—When Dudi Sela completed his five-set, second-round victory on a sultry Thursday afternoon at the All England Club, he raised both of his arms up high and tossed his racquet skyward. On the Y-axis, Sela’s defeated opponent, John Isner, probably still stood taller than either the clenched fists or the

Howdy. It was a rainy weekend in game-rich Andes, where little son Luke and I mostly hunkered down with Thomas the Tank Engine DVDs. On Saturday morning, we watched a few big tom turkeys strut and gobble in the hay meadow right below the house despite the rain. They’re enormous

This article comes from the May 2025 edition of Racquet Sports Industry. Click here to read the full issue. National Tennis Month started just four years ago as a way to offer tennis providers a natural—and national—platform to help grow the game in their communities, and to help highlight their

I’m back from a week in Prague and Vienna carrying a suitcase full of smoky clothes—how did we live with that smell every time we went to a bar here in the old days?—and about five extra pounds, consisting primarily of pork, potatoes, and unpasteurized Czech lager (mmmm, unpasteurized Czech

Petra Kvitova is no longer haunted by the queasy feeling she sometimes experienced when picking up a racquet with her surgically repaired left hand. She doesn’t scan public places any more, anxiously looking for strangers. She’s gotten over her fear of being alone, something she felt even in the safe