Week 40, 2024

Congratulations to those in a good time zone for Shanghai/Wuhan viewing! We’re jealous. Here’s what we found interesting this week:

We've partnered with Ice Shaker, the ultimate bottles, for a unique promotion. You can win back the value of your order if you correctly choose who will advance farther in the Shanghai Masters — Carlos Alcaraz or Jannik Sinner?

1. Click the “Click to Activate button” and simply choose Alcaraz or Sinner

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3. If you pick correctly you’ll receive a full refund in the form of an Ice Shaker gift card

The tiebreaker is whoever loses fewer games and the promotion will be open until 11:59pm EST on Thursday October 10th. Best of luck!

• Why That Tiebreak Should Still Be “Ringing In Your Head”

  Why It’s Interesting: We’re always fans of Giri Nathan’s work for Defector and we can find no better summation of the Beijing Final spectacle than this.

• So Many Major Coaching Changes

  Świątek-Wiktorowski Highlights (2021-2024): Four of Swiatek’s five Grand Slams, ascent to World No.1 and longest win streak of the 2000s with 37 consecutive wins in 2022. Wiktorowski was also voted the WTA's Coach of the Year by his peers last year.

  Note: Swiatek’s Wuhan withdrawal could help Aryna Sabalenka finish year-end number one.

• PTPA Makes Its Move On Calendar Reform

  Why It’s Interesting: Since the PTPA’s inception, it has struggled to force the meaningful changes it believes in. The association trudges on with its efforts, though. Simon Briggs’ reporting suggests that they’re exploring legal options to force the tour’s hand. What the PTPA wants for the players, less work and more money, is hardly novel, though it’s usually difficult to angle for both at the same time.

• Hot Take Artist Wilander Had Another Banger

  Reaction: Folks are not vibing with this one. Boris Becker and Alexandr Dolgopolov were among the dissenters. Gill Gross didn’t agree with Mats, but felt the blowback was over the top. “He didn’t say the Earth was flat,” Gross said in his Mailbag.

• Ben Rothenberg Goes Independent

  Why It’s Interesting: On Substack, an unshackled Rothenberg can write about whatever he wants, whenever he wants, however he wants. We’re expecting a blend of reporting and opinion that is rarely found together on the same pages within tennis content. His first two pieces are on the (relatively) new Serena docuseries on ESPN+ and Swiatek’s split with Wiktorowski.

• The Best Doubles Player In The World Doesn’t Practice For Doubles

  Why It’s Interesting: Siniakova’s thoughts on doubles popularity, doubles participation and landing on gossip pages during the olympics are delightfully candid and self-aware.

• How Did Nobody Notice This All-Time Error?

  History: Somehow, statistician extraordinaire Enrico Maria Riva has a running list of the rare instances this has happened.

• Caroline Garcia Interviews Dominic Thiem

  Why It’s Interesting: We live in fascinating media times, where a current player interviews a former player on the current player’s podcast. It’s sure to be rewarding hearing Thiem chat in long form about his career.

• A Parting Message For This Week’s Newsletter: Don’t Give Up

On this week’s Mailbag, Gill discusses some Carlos Alcaraz shot data from Beijing before getting into your comments, including: Alcaraz vs. Jannik Sinner Mats Wilander claims, if Daniil Medvedev should go title chasing, the chances Sinner is banned two years, adjustments Sinner should make against Alcaraz, thoughts on the Six Kings Trailer, and much more.

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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.

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