Week 2, 2025

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Gill Gross & Ben Ornstein
January 14, 2025

ATP Events This Week: Australian Open

WTA Events This Week: Australian Open

  • Investigative Journalism On Tennis Balls

    Why It Was Interesting: The tennis ball griping from players has been well documented, but is it rooted in reality? Giri Nathan gets to the bottom of it.

Has The Tennis Ball Gotten Worse? | Defector

The best way to snap an athlete out of platitude autopilot in a press conference is to get them to vent about some technical complaint. Like everyone else, they have esoteric gripes about their workplace, and are happy to explain them in full when given the chance. During my time at the ATP Finals, a year-end tournament in Italy for the top of the men’s tour, I asked several players to reflect on the object they clobber all day.

defector.com/has-the-tennis-ball-gotten-worse?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAaa_sbJ30iyDjXntt3w0pZVsGUnTMV1ehFcxAmeC3E0nGDbJ3ueFUzZkt20_aem_cOOKRqjKLw00ZkkZjpEtXA

  • Australian Open Coaching Box Changes

    More: See the full story from the Sydney Morning Herald here

    Gill’s Take: For the record, I’m anti-coaching. But, if there’s going to be coaching in tennis, then it should be leveraged to enhance the product for fans. Making the player’s box more visible is a small step towards highlighting the support team as a character in the show. Next, I’d like to see coaches take on more press obligations. My point is: if we’re doing it then let’s do it all the way.

  • Andrey Rublev Says He’s Doing Better

    Why It Was Interesting: In a conversation with The Guardian, Rublev’s disarming vulnerability is at its rawest. He describes hitting rock bottom last year and cites Marat Safin as a key figure in his recovery.

Andrey Rublev: ‘I don’t feel any more that crazy anxiety and stress’

Russian world No 9 has become as well-known for hurting himself on court as for his tennis but tells Donald McRae he feels he has turned a corner

www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/jan/12/andrey-rublev-i-dont-feel-any-more-that-crazy-anxiety-and-stress

  • Novak’s Prize Possessions

  • Inside Gauff’s Serve & Forehand Journey

    Why It Was Interesting: Since this is the New Yorker, there’s a lot of background information here that the most engaged tennis fans will already be aware of. Still, Louisa Thomas’ razor-sharp writing is an enjoyable window into trials, tribulations and triumphs of Gauff’s career to this point.

Coco Gauff Edits Her Game

Will the tennis star’s small technical adjustments deliver big at the Australian Open?

www.newyorker.com/sports/sporting-scene/coco-gauff-edits-her-game

  • No Quit In Nishikori

    More: Nishikori talks about what helps him maintain energy for 5 set matches 😂. His 29-8 record in 5-set matches is tied with Novak Djokovic for the third-highest win percentage in the open era.

  • Leaving You With This Incredible Common Grounds’ Coffee & Tennis Concept

On Monday Match Analysis, Gill works his way through the 2025 Australian Open men's singles draw. He names dark horses, upset alerts, popcorn matchups and predictions as always.

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Hey everyone, Gill Gross here. While I’m grateful for any amount of success I’ve had talking tennis on the internet for the past half decade, I believe we should all be doing better in this sport as creators and as fans. The tennis content economy is far behind other sports by metrics of engagement and popularity. This newsletter is our effort to DRAW the great things we find in tennis every week- we search for content that teaches us, makes us think, makes us laugh and ultimately makes loving this sport the best possible experience. Our vision is to speed up the growth of a robust content economy in tennis, for the benefit of fans, players and creators alike.