While these next two weeks should be a celebratory time for the sport of tennis and its fans, a BBC and BuzzFeed report about match-fixing at the highest level have cast an ominous shadow over the game during the year’s first major, the Australian Open. The two news agencies were able to obtain documents from…
The sweltering courts of the Australian Open seem inviting right about now, as the local area is starting to freeze. Some hot weather might be helpful to warming the bones of the best women's tennis players in the world because they are hurting. World number one Serena Williams has an injured left knee. Second-ranked Simona Halep has achilles tendon issues. Garbine Mururuza,…
Fresh on the heels of its first Davis Cup victory since 1936, the LTA, the governing body of Great Britain tennis, is giving away 10,000 free rackets and tennis lessons to children across the country. It's a wonderful idea to grow participation and create excitement for the sport. The great American player, Vitas Gerulaitius, championed…
The ITF and newly anointed President David Haggerty have just announced a sponsorship deal for both Davis and Federation Cups with Betway, one of the world's leading betting and gaming companies. While Haggerty acknowledges the potential conflict of interest, he assures us that that this partnership will maintain the cleanliness of the sport. Now maybe it's…
Fox Searchlight has announced that Emma Stone will play Billie Jean King in its production of “Battle of the Sexes,” the story of when King defeated former world number one, and 55-year-old, Bobby Riggs in a landmark event that symbolized the cultural shift of the United States during that time. Stone was originally casted before…
With the start of the ATP World Tour Finals just a couple of days away, the best eight players in the world have gathered in London for numerous pre-tournament festivities and formalities. This included a lot of press conferences and interviews to talk about the finals but also talk about the state of tennis. One…
The USTA announced the hiring of eight-time Grand Slam champion Ivan Lendl to work with top-ranked U.S. juniors, and I could not be happier. As a player, Lendl was a true student of the game, possessing great mechanics, supreme fitness and a relentless work ethic. Lendl might be the best ball striker I have ever…
The current group of young American men is impressive. You would have to go back to 1977 to find two Americans with junior Grand Slam titles. Today, U.S. tennis has three with Taylor Fritz the current U.S. Open Junior Champion; Tommy Paul, the reigning French Open Junior Champion; and Reilly Opelka, the Wimbledon Junior Champion….
Jon Wertheim talks with the great jazz pianist and composer Fred Herch on his podcast "Sports Illustrated Tennis Beyond the Baseline" and it's fascinating to hear Mr. Herch parallel tennis and jazz. His first bit of advice is that young pianists, like young tennis players, should learn to "slow down take their time and don't try to…
The U.S. Open is the biggest tennis tournament in the world, and because of that, thousands upon thousands of people from all over the world flock to New York for a couple of weeks at the end of the summer. While the tennis is exciting enough, players and fans alike have an opportunity to visit…