Nice Pants Bud

By Steven Kaplan
Tennis icon and Hall of Fame journalist Arthur "Bud" Collins Jr., the voice of the sport for generations, has died at the age of 86. While Bud Collins was a self-described "hacker" as a tennis player, he was actually very good, winning the U.S. Indoor Mixed-Doubles Championships in 1961. There is...Read more

No News Is Good News

By Steven Kaplan
The weather in March may "Come in like a lion," but things in the tennis world are tranquil after a stormy winter of discontent as the headlines of match fixing in the sport have faded. I Googled the term "Tennis" today, and the top two stories that came up were "Roger Federer Drinks Tequila on the...Read more

Australian Open 2016 Takeaways

By Steven Kaplan
1. Novak Djokovic is the best hard court player in tennis history Forget the statistics and the titles, while Djokovic is closing in, Federer's numbers still have the edge. After watching Novak play Down Under, however, I suggest that no one has played better hard court tennis, not Roger, not Pete...Read more

Match Fixing Casts Shadow on Start of 2016 Season

By Brian Coleman
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...Read more

Limping Into Melbourne

By Steven Kaplan
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...Read more

Free for All

By Steven Kaplan
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...Read more

Opposite Day

By Steven Kaplan
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...Read more

Battle of the Sexes Overkill?

By Brian Coleman
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...Read more

Testing, Testing ...

By Brian Coleman
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...Read more

Lendl Could be the Start of Something Big

By Steven Kaplan
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...Read more

Young American Guns

By Steven Kaplan
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...Read more

Fred Hersch Riffs on Tennis

By Steven Kaplan
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...Read more
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