Hiring a coach is not an exact science. There is no single foundational principle that guides athletes through this process and there is no overarching hypothesis against which a coach’s worth can be tested. It’s more abstract, less quantifiable. In an individual discipline like tennis, it is all the more difficult. There is a need…
Novak Djokovic. File | Photo Credit: AP Novak Djokovic has claimed that he was “poisoned” by lead and mercury in his food while he was briefly held in Melbourne in 2022 before being deported on the eve of the Australian Open. The former world number one had his visa cancelled and was eventually kicked out…
Australia’s Nick Kyrgios. File | Photo Credit: AP Nick Kyrgios’ planned return to Grand Slam tennis at the Australian Open is in doubt after he sustained an abdominal injury and was forced to withdraw from an exhibition with Novak Djokovic this week. The 2022 Wimbledon finalist, sidelined with wrist and knee injuries since the 2022…
When Taylor Fritz, a 26-year-old from California, and Frances Tiafoe, a 26-year-old from Maryland, strode under the Arthur Ashe Stadium lights Friday night for the first U.S. Open semifinal matching two American men in 19 years, the crowd might have been forgiven for not knowing which to support. There was a burst of clapping right…
Jannik Sinner of Italy shakes hands with Jack Draper of Great Britain on day twelve of the U.S. Open tennis tournament at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. | Photo Credit: Reuters Italian top seed Jannik Sinner took down ailing Briton Jack Draper 7-5 7-6(3) 6-2 to reach the U.S. Open final on…
Jessica Pegula could do no right at the outset of her first Grand Slam semifinal. Her opponent at the U.S. Open on Thursday *(September 5, 2024) night, Karolina Muchova, could do no wrong. “I came out flat, but she was playing unbelievable. She made me look like a beginner,” Pegula said. “I was about to…
Jannik Sinner, of Italy, reacts after defeating Tommy Paul, of the United States, during a fourth round match of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Monday, Sept. 2, 2024, in New York. | Photo Credit: AP Top seeds Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek continued to blaze a trail through the U.S. Open draws on Monday, easing…
This is pretty much all anyone needs to know about defending champion Coco Gauff’s 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 loss to Emma Navarro in the U.S. Open’s fourth round on Sunday (September 1, 2024): Gauff wound up with more double-faults, 19, than winners, 14. “I don’t want to lose matches like this anymore,” Gauff said, attributing her…
Netherlands’ Botic van de Zandschulp celebrates his second round match win against Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz at the U.S. Open tennis tournament, in New York on August 29, 2024. | Photo Credit: Reuters Carlos Alcaraz’s 15-match Grand Slam unbeaten run ended at the U.S. Open with a sloppy 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 loss to 74th-ranked Botic van…
File photo of Sriram Balaji. | Photo Credit: The Hindu India’s doubles players made a stupendous start at the U.S. Open with Davis Cupper N Sriram Balaji and Yuki Bhambri progressing to the men’s doubles second round with their respective partners, in New York. Balaji, who has been doing well of late, and his Argentine…
