The week before Wimby
Americans mow the lawn, fans fight over Fonseca, and sponsorships that don't suck.
It’s a miracle. I launched a tennis newsletter called Hard Court, and not a single person gave me grief about grass or clay. But I haven’t told r/tennis yet, and I’m sure they’ll have thoughts. On a serious note, thank you to all 101 of you who subscribed; it really means a lot that you’re supporting my work from the jump! I’m thrilled to have a place to dive into the sport I love so much with people who are equally obsessed. Consider this first issue a little snack—much more to come over the next few weeks.
The Replay
Tennis is the sport that never sleeps (and the only thing in the world I’ll give up all my sleep optimization efforts for), so despite Wimbledon starting tomorrow, let’s take a beat to digest what happened this past week.
At Eastbourne, Taylor Fritz claimed the 250 title for the fourth time, marking his tenth career title (half of which are on grass) and endless jokes about renaming center court in his honor, à la Andy Murray at Queen’s. In the lead-up to his win, he also managed to piss off the increasingly sensitive João Fonseca fanbase with his characteristic dry humor when he joked on a Tennis TV post of their match highlights that 80% would be of Fonseca. I’ve always found it funny when people pretzel themselves into a Fritz-hating position—the mental gymnastics required to hate on him of all people must be wild—but this round was especially hilarious, as he was essentially complimenting their #1 guy. Alas, reading comprehension has no place online, so the Fritz disses (including a since-deleted “highlight video” of him just serving) rolled out, sprinkled with a few death threats for disturbing measure. My biggest takeaway? Fonseca seems like a sweet 18-year-old kid whose fan base is doing him no favors by being so, well, rabid. Their behavior, paired with the endlessly debated media hype he’s received, has inevitably resulted in some backlash, but I worry that it’s all getting directed at him, a guy who’s just trying to have his first full year on tour.
Jessica Pegula earned an impressive third title of the year at the 500-level Bad Homburg Open, beating Iga Swiatek in two sets. Swiatek making it to a grass final at all, given that it’s historically been her worst surface, was the more surprising part of the tournament, especially given the year she’s had. I’m a big fan of Pegula, but I couldn’t help but root for Swiatek, who just looks like she so badly needs a win (and a hug). It’s been a title-less 12 months for the former world number one, complete with a coaching change and a one-month suspension, and while ebbs and flows like these are normal in any career, you just get the sense that she’s not at peace with it. Of course, very few champions would be, but there’s a continual sadness to Swiatek these days that’s difficult to see. Though she cried after her loss, it was nice to see her joking with Pegula about the abysmal runner’s up trophy at Bad Homburg—an elephant necklace so small it felt like the whole ceremony was a comedy sketch about the cruelty of making tournament losers stay on court to endure the winner’s celebrations after a loss.
What else stood out? Dan Evans backhand slicing his way to the quarter-finals at Eastbourne after a rocky year that’s seen him mostly playing on the Challenger tour as his ranking dropped. When he teared up on court after beating Tommy Paul in the second round, you could tell how much it meant to him, but in true Dan Evans fashion, he capped his run off with this response after Jenson Brooksby told him “good match” after knocking him out of the tournament. Multitudes, etc.
Kitted
It’s been a long time since a kit actually warranted some research for “looking cool,” so props to Maya Joint for making me sit up in my seat. The 19-year-old Australian tennis player (who actually grew up in the US if you find her American accent similarly confusing) won the women’s Eastbourne title this week in an emerald green tennis dress from the Melbourne-based Elite Eleven Sporting. Paired with a white visor and Oakley sunglasses, she looked like the run club girlies in District Vision et al. but with a tennis spin. Unlike Jannik Sinner’s green Nike kit at Roland Garros, which had us all scratching our heads to Super Mario music, this ultra-Irish combination of a red head in bright green made a bold statement we actually want to remember.
What else happened on the sponsorship side this week? Madison Keys partnered with the sustainable jewelry brand Brilliant Earth, becoming their first athlete partner and hinting at a product collaboration on the way. She’ll be wearing their pieces on court starting this week, and it will be interesting to see how that translates to brand awareness and sales. Jewelry partnerships are less common in tennis, although there’s ample opportunity given that both the top men and women players often wear more jewelry on court than I can bother with as a non-athlete normie. Both Serena and Venus Williams have had partnerships in the past with Zales and Reinston Ross, respectively, and Naomi Osaka often wore Louis Vuitton jewelry on court after becoming their brand ambassador in 2021, but it feels like there’s a lot of untapped potential here.
Of course, nothing caught my eye quite like the Bose headphones designed by Wales Bonner for Coco Gauff and Ben Shelton. Created specifically for Wimbledon, we’ll have to admire the all-white headphones with textured leather and pony hide from afar because these babies are not for sale (yet).
Unstrung
If there’s a tennis side story right now that I couldn't care less about, it’s all the Raducaraz shipping. After years of fans fantasizing (purely on the grounds that they’re friendly) about some sort of love affair between Carlos Alcaraz and Emma Raducanu, their teams decided to get in on the joke by pairing them up to play mixed doubles at the US Open. Now, everyone with an iPhone and proximity to both players is feeding us content to fuel this fan fiction, and it’s so overcooked at this point I can’t help but cringe. I love gossip as much as anyone, but it has to feel real to be remotely intriguing, and this… this is child’s play. Take it from Emma herself.
What can’t you stop thinking about from this week in tennis? What’s your most unhinged Wimbledon prediction? Let me know in the comments!
what do i have to do to be sponsored by chipotle?