One year of Hard Court
Reflecting on one of the craziest and most memorable years of my life.
A year ago tomorrow, I sent out my first Hard Court post, eager to create a place for tennis conversations I wasn’t seeing elsewhere. I took it seriously from the jump, but envisioned it as more of a fun outlet than a total career pivot. It turns out that the old adage is true: a lot can change in a year.
On June 24th, 2025, I didn’t know a single soul in tennis. There were no strings readily available for me to pull, no calls a former boss or brother or second cousin once removed could make to help me out or acquaint me with “the right people.” One of the most common refrains throughout this wild year has been, “How the hell did you get all your sources?” and, the first time someone asked, it struck me that I hadn’t even stopped to think about the fact that that was a feat, that I’d essentially made a quantum leap. I’ll happily celebrate the concrete things, like reaching X number of subscribers, but I’m not good at stepping back to notice the more formless, and often m…
