Submissions have been edited for brevity and clarity.
Hey everyone …
• Here’s the latest Served podcast, a Miami recap (tennis talk!) and a discussion with Chris Eubanks about the PTPA lawsuit (tennis politics talk!).
• A few of you asked. Here’s George Clooney on 60 Minutes (sadly, no tennis talk).
• A nod to Courtney Nguyen, a tennis treasure, who—with a mix of quiet grace, smarts and a wink—did more for the WTA, its product, and its players than perhaps any of them knows.
• This week’s unsolicited book recommendation is Our Beautiful Boys from Sameer Pandya.
First, here are some scattered wrap-up thoughts on the Miami Open:
• Tennis in the post-Big Four—Rodger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams—Era. Reliable excellence has been replaced with surprise and story line. If you have a ticket to the later rounds of events, you will likely be surprised by the player you’re watching. It might be a teenager from the Czech Republic. Or the Philippines.
And if you rate an ascendant star like Jack Draper or Mirra Andreeva, don’t be too disappointed if their results from Week N don’t carry over to Week N+1. But, if unpredictability is one reason we love sports, you won’t be disappointed.
• An era of unpredictability doesn’t mean socialism. Aryna Sabalenka is, indisputably, the best player in the women’s game. And she cemented that by winning the women’s event. This was “only” her second title of 2025, but note that she is a full 3,000 points ahead of No. 2 Iga Świątek as we switch to clay.
• Barely 100 days removed from the Next Gen event, 19-year-old Jakub Menšík won the biggest title of his career, taking out Djokovic in the final. “I am pretty sure that this was just the first of many,” said Menšík. And who can argue?
• The ATP Next Gen might take place way too late on the punchline that is the tennis calendar, and it might be hidden in Saudi Arabia. But in December, Menšík, João Fonseca, Arthur Fils, Learner Tien, all competed. That’s a strong field for any event.
• In keeping with the rhythms of the aging tennis player, Djokovic reached the final only to lose to Menšík, 7–6, 7–6. Players don’t lose their games (or conditioning or confidence) overnight. What goes is the consistency. One round, Pete Sampras was still killing it; the next, he was losing to Marat Safin or Lleyton Hewitt in the U.S. Open final. Serena was angling toward that 24th major; then she lost to Angie Kerber or Bianca Andreescu in the final. Federer cruised for a three-peat in Australia, but there stood Stefanos Tsitsipas. The glass half-full: Djokovic is a few weeks from turning 38 and is still reaching the finals of Masters 1000 events.
• The revelation of the event: 19-year-old lefty Alexandra Eala of the Philippines beat three major winners (Jeļena Ostapenko, Madison Keys and Świątek) and took a set off of Jessica Pegula in the semifinals. A wild card, she is suddenly ranked No. 75. There are players who used lesser results to launch careers. (True, there are also players who have had events like this and were seldom heard from again.) But what a fun story to follow.
• Football stadiums are cool. Food trucks are cool. Raucous Fonseca fans add propulsive energy. And the Miami Open suffers from the nostalgia and precedent set at Key Biscayne. And rain delays. And the Miami Dolphins’ lamentable color scheme. Despite the record crowds, it’s hard to recall a tournament drawing more scheduling and atmospheric complaints from fans, viewers and players.
Onward …
Jon, I feel happy for Daria [Kasatkina], considering her history with her homeland. Let's not let this paper over the cracks of Australia struggling to produce local players (bar Ash Barty, who surely would have been successful in virtually any sport such was her sporting talent). Although, Tennis Australia won't have any reservations doing so, Jon, I can assure you.
Russell
• Yes, while the ATP and PTPA lawyers rack up billable hours and trade menacing briefs, here is the real off-court tennis news of the week.
Since the Ukraine Invasion—and that’s what it was, despite some politicians’ aversion to observable truth—Kasatkina has been dignifiedly critical of her home nation. To trumpet her courage (and not as an exercise in self-promotion), I link to this CBS Sunday Morning piece we did last year. I try to use this term reservedly, but what a freakin’ hero.
The other day, Kasatkina took the next step with this post. How do you not look at this move with anything other than admiration? So many people ask, if my country became undeniably autocratic or undeniably cruel or undeniably inconsistent with my values, what would I do? Well, Kasatkina gave her answer.
To Russell’s question … if the issue is papering over cracks, forget about Aussie tennis. Let us not elide the reason for her exodus. Russia is an autocracy that—in the most basic violation of international law—did not respect borders and invaded a neighbor unprovoked. It is also homophobic, not ideal for any of us, but particularly when you are a prominent woman in a romantic relationship with another prominent woman. (Let the shortcomings of Australian talent development—actually of all Slam countries, as opposed to countries like Italy and Czech Republic—be a discussion for another day!)
A cardinal rule of media: The writer doesn’t create the headline. So, when the UK Express screams breathlessly that a “Tennis star hit with suspension” only to reveal in the story that the “star” is 409-ranked Mina Hodzic, don’t blame the writer. The reverse holds, too. Note the headline of the CBS link above. I had nothing to do with it. Someone who saw the piece—and likely knew nothing about tennis or the story—made that editorial decision. Which is telling.
Here is my question: who is representing the interests, or even acknowledging the role, of the person who is just a fan? Among the issues being addressed, litigated over, and so on, is anyone thinking about the bedrock of it all, e.g., the playing public? I propose the idea that the positions of the various constituencies would become clearer, and maybe even resolvable, if they remembered who is paying for all this, and who at the end of the day will be either satisfied as a consumer, or head out the door.
David W.
• Great point. While tennis’s warring factions—whose abbreviations, much less stances, are alien to most—go at it, the interest of the average fans erodes further. This sport has so much to recommend. I will never be convinced otherwise. Collectively, the players are extraordinary. Apart from metaphor, the mix of power and control is often breathtaking. A tight tennis match makes for such gripping theater. We can go on.
But tennis asks so much of its fans. The scheduling of the calendar. The scheduling at tournaments. The 12-day masters events which only nine people on planet Earth like. (The eight relevant tournament owners plus Ted Sarandos, as all bored parties fire up Netflix during the intolerable gaps between matches). To quote the late Bud Collins, “You gotta love this sport, to love this sport.”
Question for Tennis Mailbag: Any chance to do a small dive on the top doubles player and best player of all time from El Salvador, Marcelo Arévalo? If there's any player that has come from nowhere to reach the pinnacle of one of the tours, it's Marcelo Arévalo! Follows his brother onto the tour, from Sonsonate and unpaved roads to the capital San Salvador because his parents want more than a day per week of tennis for their kids; in a place dominated by soccer and baseball becomes Central America's best junior; delights in the availability of public courts as he goes international as a top ten junior; lands at the University of Tulsa and loves it; and, after an insane amount of time on tour nabs the top ranking in front of an appreciative crowd in Miami. Even with this thumbnail sketch devoid of nuance, we've got to hand it to this guy!
Andrew Miller, Silver Spring, Maryland
• You have done so eloquently. Thank you for that. (Andrew also sent this link.)
As we talk constructively—not destructively—about improving doubles, backstory should play a central role.
Watching Fils-[Frances]Tiafoe, I noticed that Fils called for the towel, and the ball boy brought it to him. Has this sweaty privilege returned?!?
P.R.
• Alas, yes. Nonsense about how essential it is for maintaining the integrity of the serve clock. You see these PowerPoint presentations about how tennis needs to do a better job A) connecting with younger fans and B) shedding that image of tennis as this redoubt of the privileged. Someone raises their hand and says, I’ve got it! Let’s conscript kids to handle the players’ soiled linens that get casually flung and requested on demand!
One of the only good things I can think of coming out of the [COVID-19] pandemic was the change in policy where tennis players had to handle their own messy towels. But it seems like in Miami, they are back to expecting that of ballkids … What gives?
Barbara
• Barbara, PR … PR, Barbara.
FINALLY, John Rossitter of Middletown, CT, take us out:
I have been watching tennis on TV since the 1950s (when the current teen phenom was Maureen Connolly). Then and since, I've also enjoyed numerous other sports on TV, although tennis has always been number one. Sadly it seems to me that while the game itself has changed a lot, TV's presentation of tennis has changed far less than it has for other sports.
For instance, when I watched the World Series last fall, the speed and location of every pitch was shown along with the type of pitch (curve, fastball, slider, etc.) as well as much other game data. Tennis isn’t similarly viewer-friendly, not even flashing the service speeds on screen that are posted on court. (We used to get this often useful information for each serve, but now get it only when the spirit moves our generous commentators.)
Another pet peeve: the virtual absence of “court-level” tennis views on TV. Although I have now seen court-level views on Tennis Channel, it is still extremely rare, usually lasting only a few seconds. Yet most fans who have sampled it (there are many court-level videos available on YouTube) seem to agree that it's a considerably more exciting vantage than the traditional “bird’s eye” view. And, of course, it needn't be either/or; tennis viewing would be enhanced with a generous helping of both.
More Tennis on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Tennis Mailbag: Recapping a Miami Open Filled With Surprises .
