The Legend of Midtown’s Secret Courts…

Tudor City had fantastic courts a stone’s throw from the UN. But development won… again

A recent New Yorker cartoon — originally published in 2018 and reissued on the website this week — lampooned the situation of the city’s tennis court availability. “The U.S. Open skirts what can seem like the game’s most insurmountable hurdle: getting on a court,” it reads, before surmising how the Grand Slam would fare if professionals had to fend for themselves without Flushing Meadows. 

It would be an unending match. The situation may not be as bad as the housing crisis, but the pedestrian tennis player who isn’t a Wall Street banker is getting quickly out-maneuvered all over the city. Courts for which it used to be difficult to get a time, prove nearly impossible. Courts where an eager player could always count on a pick-up game, still mandate signing in and waiting. And those secret courts — the ones that were permitless? Published in the Times’ U.S. Open edition long ago.

Once upon a time, however, there were fantastic courts in East Midtown, a stone’s throw from Grand Central Station. Bill Tilden played there, as did Jack Kramer and Pancho Segura. Katharine Hepburn would come down from her 49th Street digs and have a match. After his sets, Bobby Riggs would smoke a Chesterfield, which had Riggs under contract at the time, and look cool.

Tennis courts came to Tudor City not by design but by a twist of fate. The Fred F. French Company owned the entire development rising above 42nd Street and 1st Avenue, advertised as a respite from the commuter train to the suburbs. The roaring 20s brought that building boom; the Depression caused a lull. French put the brakes on constructing another edifice of studio and one-bedroom apartments. Instead, he did something communal: he set the land aside for activities, such as concerts, dancing, ice skating and even ski sliding. Tennis stuck.

Inaugurated in May 1933, the Tudor City Courts arrived when there were few outdoor courts in Manhattan — and only one indoor (the Heights Casino in Brooklyn). Forest Hills was long opened and Central Park had consolidated into one central location from many random, hand-lined courts, but Tudor City had it all: location, East River views and a place to sun. It was also dirt cheap: about $1 per hour ($14 adjusted for inflation) during off-peak and $2.50 during peak ($34).

The French Company realized the public relations value of the courts — much like Chase bank uses Grand Central as its Squash HQ in January — and promoted them heartily. 

Tennis in Tudor City reigned until the post-World War II, when the last holdout of a four-story rowhouse constructed in the 1870s, finally sold, and No. 2 Tudor City Place broke ground in 1954. City dwellers would have to wait another couple of decades to have more available courts. With demand currently at capacity, they are now popping up in the courtyards of buildings with co-ops in the $1 million range (Atelier on the West Side), studios going for $3,000-per-month (River Place in Hell’s Kitchen) and in those nooks and crannies of the city yet undiscovered (Staten Island).

FILA Players To Take The Court In Flushing

Meadows Debuting Iconic Heritage Collection 

The newest edition of FILA’s iconic Heritage Collection has arrived just in time for the final Grand Slam of the season, with FILA sponsored ATP and WTA players set to sport a mix of classic looks and colors at the biggest tournament on American soil. 

Women’s Heritage Collection 

The new FILA’s Women’s Heritage collection will be worn by Barbora Krejcikova and Karolina Pliskova, two players who are no stranger to success under the bright lights of New York. 

Krejcikova, the reigning women’s doubles champion, will debut two new Heritage kits during the tournament, the first being a FILA Navy-based Heritage Racerback and Heritage Knit Skort Combo. Both pieces are complemented by an elegant Fuschia Purple color pattern seen throughout. The second of Krejcikova’s looks will be another Heritage Racerback Tank, this time pairing with the Heritage Pleated Woven Skort. These two pieces blend together in an eye-catching wavy color scheme that showcases the Women’s Heritage collection’s modern take on classic FILA colors. Krejcikova is pictured below modeling her Wave/FILA Navy Heritage Racerback Tank with a Fuchsia Purple Heritage Pleated Woven Skort. 

Pliskova, a former singles finalist in New York, will also sport two unique Heritage looks in New York, with the first being an all-green Heritage Racerback Tank paired with the Heritage Knit Skort. Both pieces feature Pinstripe jersey material, a nod to one of FILA’s signature fashion styles of the past. Pliskova’s second look will pair a FILA Navy/Fuschia Heritage Halter Tank with the Heritage Pleated Woven Skort in the Fuschia Purple colorway modeled by Krejcikova above. 

Although unable to compete in New York this year, Shelby Rogers is pictured below modeling some of the Heritage collection’s other signature pieces. On the left, Rogers wears the Heritage Long Sleeve Crew, which includes stitched FILA lettering for a retro look and feel. Rogers is also pictured in the FILA Navy Heritage Dress with Ecru secondary coloring compliment. This performance dress is complete with an elastic V-neck, pleated skort bottom, and inside forza ball short for maximum comfort.

Men’s Heritage Collection

The Men’s Heritage Collection will be worn by John Isner and Diego Schwartzman in New York, each sporting different combinations of the new release that includes three shirts and two shorts.

Isner, a two-time quarterfinalist in New York, will sport the collection’s two polos, the Heritage Colorblock Polo and the Heritage Pin Stripe Polo. Isner’s Colorblock Polo will feature an Ultramarine Green color base with accents of FILA Navy and Ecru around the chest and collar. The Pin Stripe Polo consists of an Ecru base color with drop needle striping and FILA Navy contrast accents, a modern take on a vintage FILA look. 

The American veteran is pictured below in his Heritage Colorblock Polo paired with a pair of

Heritage Woven Shorts in FILA Navy.

Diego Schwartzman will take the court donning two colorways of the Heritage Short Sleeve Crew – the final of the collection’s three shirts. The two-time quarterfinalist in Flushing Meadows is pictured below sporting the crew in FILA Red to go along with a FILA Navy Woven Short, and will also wear a version of the crew that is FILA Navy based with Ultramarine Green and Ecru trimming.

Reilly Opelka is pictured below sporting the Heritage Short Sleeve Henley Shirt in a FILA Navy-based color with accents of the collection’s green and ecru colors. The Heritage Collection also features a version of the Henley in an Ecru/FILA Navy/FILA Red color scheme, paying homage to the United States’lone Grand Slam tournament. Opelka is pictured below in a pair of the Heritage Woven Shorts in green with a touch of FILA Navy and Ecru secondary color striping on the right side.

The Heritage Collection is rounded out by archival-inspired tracksuits for both men and women that celebrate FILA’s distinguished history in tennis. The men’s tracksuit focuses on signature FILA colors with a classic FILA Navy Track Jacket and Track Pant. The women’s tracksuit also features predominantly in FILA Navy with secondary color striping of Ecru and Fuschia Purple throughout the jacket and pants.

The jacket includes a full front zipper and two front pockets, while the pants are complete with an interior drawcord waistband and two front pockets.

Both the Men’s and Women’s Heritage collections are available for fans to shop on FILA.com and select tennis retailers nationwide.

Where are the Gay Men in Tennis?

U.S. Open Pride Day Highlights the Discrepancy Among LGBT Players

It was an otherwise ordinary day in the world of tennis. Just two weeks before, the men had wrapped their 2022 season in Turin and the women had said goodbye in Texas. But on 7 December, the LGBTQ+ papers lit up with front page news: French doubles players Fabien Reboul (ATP Doubles No. 46) and Maxence Broville (ATP No. 737), had posted an Instagram photo of the pair passionately kissing each other.

The image has since been removed, but anyone following Reboul’s account (Broville’s is private) might have seen it coming. Previous posts allude to the relationship multiple times; Reboul’s photographs often feature him shirtless; captions included “When your BAE is looking at you” and “People can talk, people can judge, but I am still gonna do me” with likes from Jan-Michael Gambill and other gay men. 

Rebould, 27, and Maxence, 24, weren’t the only LGBT players to come out in 2022 — Russian player Daria Kasatkina (WTA No. 14) condemned President Vladimir Putin in her process; Argentinian Nadia Podoroska (WTA No. 70) announced her relationship with fellow player Guillermina Naya (WTA No. 434); and Belgian Alison Van Uytvanck (WTA No. 280) pledged to marry Emilie Vermeiren — but the Frenchmen finally opened up the possibility that the ATP Tour could finally have open, active gay players for the first time in its history. 

Since the US Open has celebrated its now annual Pride Day, the issue of male gay players on the ATP Tour has remained perplexing — even Rebould and Maxence have not publicly affirmed or denied the Instagram posting. Although Top Ten standouts Taylor Fritz and Daniil Medvedev have stated that the ATP is progressive enough to accept gay players, former players who are now out of the closet say different things. 

“Tennis is perceived as that country club sport, a highly competitive individual sport played across every country of the world. There are a lot of reasons not to come out as a gay man,” says Brian Vahaly, the highest-ranked tennis player to ever cross that rubicon — after retirement. (Vahaly, ATP No. 57 in 2003, retired in 2007 and announced his sexual orientation on a 2017 podcast.) “Outside of the States and Europe, there are a lot of countries not accepting of gay men. It’s not a team sport; there are not teammates on whom you can rely — you practice with your competitors.

“There are a lot of homophobic locker room comments made in jest so it’s not going to feel like a safe space. And after 20+ years of grinding hard work, to get to the finish line and then for (the media) to focus on your orientation rather than your achievement, may be a bridge too far for people.”

Vahaly has a point: despite efforts at LGBTQ+ acceptance and inclusion worldwide, more than 25 countries in Africa and nearly every one in the Middle East — places that are holding not only more Challenger events, but also high-level tournaments — criminalise homosexuality with either significant prison time or in some cases, death. A 2022 ATP Tour survey found that 75 percent of players had reported having heard colleagues use homophobic slurs. It also indicated a “strong fear of rejection, isolation from others on tour, and loneliness” as being likely barriers to LGBTQ+ players’ publicly disclosing their sexuality. Finally, the study also overwhelmingly concluded that the ATP should take action to combat homophobia leading the tour to partner with the You Can Play Project, an organisation committed to furthering LGBTQ+ inclusion in sports.

“I’m not sure if there are homosexual tennis players in the top 100,” Taylor Fritz told Reuters last December, not long after the news of the gay Frenchmen broke. “Statistically speaking, there should be. 

“Myself and my friends, other players on tour wouldn’t have any issues with it; it would be totally normal and I think people would be accepting. I couldn’t tell you why (no one has come out),” Fritz added. “That would be a lot of big news and maybe people just don’t want to be in the spotlight, maybe they don’t want the distraction of getting all the attention and stuff like that.”

While many tour players may lend an encouraging word and the ATP has support programs, one thing neither can necessarily provide is an actively playing — or even actively on tour — mentor. As far as the records book indicate, only two openly gay men have played at an elite level, both before World War II, according to the book, A People’s History of Tennis by journalist David Berry. The first, Gottfried (Baron) von Cramm, a German aristocrat noted for his gentlemanly conduct and fair play, won the 1934 and 1936 French Open before the German government arrested him in 1938 for having a gay affair with a Jewish actor. He was jailed for six months before marrying a heiress, facing down a ban from Wimbledon after the incident, being conscripted by the German Army and unwillingly fighting in World War II. 

The second, Bill Tilden, an American, won 14 Major singles titles, including 10 Grand Slams,  before he was arrested in November 1946 on Sunset Boulevard by the Beverly Hills police for having sex with an underage male. Tilden was sentenced to a year in prison, served seven months and received five-year parole conditions so strict that they virtually erased all his income from private lessons. After having another encounter with a 16-year-old hitchhiker, he was arrested again in January 1949 and was incarcerated for another 10 months. In both instances, Tilden believed his celebrity, privileged background and friendships with the Los Angeles elites would keep him from both detention and social death. It didn’t. 

The Hollywood tennis clubs banned Tilden from giving lessons and as a result of that and a subsequent injunction from public courts, he had fewer clients — and less money. At one point, a prestigious professional tournament at the Beverly Wiltshire Hotel invited Tilden to play and then kicked him off the draw. His one true friend, Charlie Chaplin allowed Tilden to use his private court for lessons. But the former No. 1 — and a candidate for the greatest male tennis player of all time — died of heart failure, in poverty at age 60. 

But remaining closeted can be its own asylum.

“I played Pat Cash at a tournament in Forest Hills on 2 May 1986 and a couple of nights before that match, I had gone to a gay bar in New York City for the first time and I can’t even begin to tell you the panic attacks and the stress I had when I had to do media,” said Bobby Blair, one of Nick Bollettieri’s first protegees and a junior standout. “I felt like if I was going to be outed, if I am going to have ‘this curse’, no one can tell by looking at me.

“I never felt I would be welcomed; if I had a breakthrough would never get any sponsorships. The summer before I quit I won a big tournament in Spain, but I said to myself that I can’t deal with this fear anymore and I quit sooner than I should have…” Blair, a friend and contemporary of Billie Jean King published a 2014 memoir, Hiding Inside the Baseline, about his dual life and the suffering of gay male athletes in the past.

For now, however, the past remains present in men’s tennis. Although there are openly gay players in men’s football, baseball, basketball, rugby and American football, it seems as if in tennis, gay players’ “love for the sport and what sport gives them overrides the exclusion they feel,” according to Vahaly, who is on the USTA Board of Directors and was instrumental in starting and continuing the U.S. Open Pride Day. “The women’s tour is 40-50 years ahead (of the men’s),” Vahaly said from Washington where he now lives with his husband and two sons. 

“There are people fighting for rights and inclusion, and we have no conversations with active players about how to change things. There needs to be a camaraderie. I  have spoken with players who are still reluctant to come out. But there is tremendous joy for athletes who feel less alone.” 

When Forest Hills Almost Lost the U.S. Open

But per the usual, the West Side Tennis Club saved the day

Over the weekend, the U.S. Open qualifiers were crowned, Forest Hills kept tennis tourists busy with  celebrity cameos and clinics on the fresh grass (with each participant dressed in all-white attire, of course) and the last Slam of the season finally kicked off. 

And while grass may be the West Side’s signature surface, for years the U.S. Open there was played on clay. But way before the U.S. Open, some crafty New Yorkers had to take the U.S. National Championships from Newport, R.I., set it up in Queens and prevent it from going to Philadelphia — permanently.

And while grass may be the West Side’s signature surface, for years the U.S. Open there was played on clay. But way before the U.S. Open, some crafty New Yorkers had to take the U.S. National Championships from Newport, R.I., set it up in Queens and prevent it from going to Philadelphia — permanently.

How did they manage this? By relocating the West Side Tennis Club in Queens, then building a grand stadium.

The West Side Tennis Club did actually start on the West Side — of Manhattan’s Central Park, that is, in 1892, when 13 tennis players rented land for three clay courts and a clubhouse. In 1902, they moved the club to the Upper West Side and expanded it to eight courts, only to have to relocate again to 238th and Broadway (the Kingsbridge Section of the Bronx), six years later. After hosting the Davis Cup in 1911 and drawing thousands of fans, the club realized it still needed more room and in 1912 bought land in Forest Hills, a planned community based on English “Garden Cities”, and put up the Tudor-style clubhouse.

Following the construction of the new facility and the vociferous exchanges led by Karl Behr, a tennis champ and Titanic survivor, and Lyle Mahan, a Columbia University stand-out, who argued that tennis had outgrown the “dwaddling methods” of the Newport Casino — or that traveling there inconvenienced most New York players — 58 of them signed a letter to the United States Lawn Tennis Association (the forerunner to the USTA) demanding the U.S. Open be moved to New York. “It is asserted that tennis is no longer the pastime of a few but has grown to be a national heritage, and as such, it is contended that it is the duty of all interested in the sport to expand, rather than retard the sport,” the New York Times wrote about the debate at the USLTA’s annual meeting at the Waldorf Astoria.

It worked, and West Side hosted the U.S. Nationals on grass — up until 1920, anyway, when the Germantown Cricket Club in Manheim, Pennsylvania claimed them. With a Beaux Arts clubhouse designed by famed architects McKim, Mead & White — also known for the Brooklyn Museum, the original Penn Station and the Columbia University UWS campus — and swayed by hometown boys Bill Tilden and Victor Seixas Jr., the Nationals remained just outside Centre City for two years.

It was a battle of the architects until 1923, when Germantown eventually ceded the championships to the West Side after the club built Forest Hills Stadium, a 14,000-seat, horseshoe-shaped arena between April and August 1923. Designed by West Side member Kenneth MacKenzie Murchison, the building became a paean to the Beaux Arts, not the superstructures in Paris, Rio, and London for which Murchison’s firm was known.

Forest Hills Stadium became the first tennis stadium built in the U.S. The Times approved. “….the proposal to erect the stands that are expected to represent toward American tennis what the Wimbledon stadium does to the game in England.” The U.S. National Championships returned to New York.

The West Side had a number of “firsts” despite its stuffy reputation. It was the first club to host a professional Black tennis player when it allowed Althea Gibson to play the U.S. National Women’s Championships in 1950. It was the first place to host a Grand Slam in the Open Era in 1968. And it was the first court to host a tournament in which a transgender player competed, when Renee Richards played the U.S. Open in 1977.

New York’s Last Undefeated Hitting Partner

It sounds like a riddle: Who never swings a racket, but wins every point? The answer, at least in New York City, is a simple one. It’s the same hitting partner New Yorkers have dueled with for decades: the handball wall. 

The wall––think a singles court bisected by a giant concrete wall instead of a net––offers practical relief from the supply-and-demand chaos that is finding an open tennis court in New York City. Limited space, long lines, and ludicrous fees prevent even the most dedicated amateurs from scoring a weekend court time. The wall adheres to a simpler economic model: show up, grab a ball, and start hitting. There’s no pretense, dress code, or online booking portals. If you hit it back, the rally continues. All hail the ball machine of the people.

But the handball wall deserves credit beyond its accessibility. There is beauty to this brand of tennis. It does not offer a gradual acclimation back into city life. There is no post-match martini by the pool. The city submerges you in its signature mix of sounds and smells. Rap music blaring from a passing car. Garbage piling up on the sidewalk. And you’re there––struggling, showing off, bargaining. Against the wall, the only option is to surrender your senses to the simplicity of an unbeatable opponent: backhand, backhand, backhand, backhand…

My wall on Roosevelt Island, the small stretch between Manhattan and Queens, is next to a playground and two basketball courts. I showed up on a Saturday morning around 8:30 AM. As I opened the gate, a red-faced man stepped off the court, carrying a racket and three balls. “Enjoy,” he said, panting. The wall’s first victory of the day.

I laced my shoes, picked up a ball, and pounded it three feet above my imaginary net. It shot wide off the wall to my backhand, forcing me to my left. I dug the ball out with a lunging slice. It angled off the wall to my right, bouncing ten feet behind me. 0-15.

Over the next 30 minutes, the wall answered every question I asked. Heavy topspin forehand? No problem. Backhand down the line? All day. Dropshot? Nice try. Chipped white paint, sprinkled in the vague outline of an imaginary net line, served as a record of the players who came before me.   

With defeat inevitable, my mindset changed from playing the wall to playing myself. I realized the lesson of New York City’s undefeated hitting walls. The wall is so consistent, so perfect that it almost becomes invisible. It doesn’t disguise wild spins or unexpected angles. It echos an adage every player knows by heart: you have to play yourself. 

I began seeing NYC’s brand of tennis everywhere. Unlike tennis courts, typically constrained to big parks and private clubs, handball courts are tucked tight into corner lots and playgrounds. They don’t redirect the city’s flow––they channel it.

The courts off West 4th Street in Greenwich Village, known simply as “The Cage,” lure a passing crowd of downtown train riders, basketball players, and NYU undergrads. Further down the island, in Rockefeller Park, an errant forehand on the handball court might just end up in the Hudson River. The game continues outside of Manhattan. Off Jackson Ave in the Bronx, players step into St. Mary’s Park––an ampitheater of barbeques, birthday parties, and blaring speakers. Down across Randall Island in Astoria, Queens, tennis balls echo off the underside of the RFK Bridge. These walls mark the contours of the city. They cover its boroughs, map its neighborhoods, and mirror its cultures.

The next time your hitting partner oversleeps or misses the train, try your luck against the city’s last undefeated tennis player. It won’t brag, miss a line call, or make you sit in two-hour lines. And it already lives in your neighborhood. Try the wall. It’s tennis for one––and for all.

“New York was no mere city. It was instead an infinitely romantic notion.”

Joan Didion

The arid, Californian sun beats down on me as I begin to pack my bags for the US Open. I pick through my dresses and summer wear, my comfortable and not so comfortable shoes, as my brain fills with images of the New York I’ve consumed over the years. From sitcoms to films to music to the writings of many great authors, New York’s image is palpable and ever present. I’ve seen her as many have seen her; broadcast across not only the remaining 49 states, but the world as well. Watching her from afar in the small bedrooms I’ve lived in across Northern and Southern California. She’s become an amalgamation of all the media made in her image, of all the odes to her we’ve consumed. We feel we know her, or the image of her we’ve been shown. She’s cultured, never sleeps, storied and most importantly: she’s authentic.

But even without those images broadcast across our screens, there are distinct echoes of New York on my own Californian shore. There’s the Brooklyn Dodgers who moved west to become the Los Angeles Dodgers — or as we call them Los Doyers. And who can forget their age-old rivalry with the Manhattan Giants? Who themselves moved west to San Francisco, poetically maintaining their feud with a dual journey from sea to shining sea.

But not all echoes are one way. Most prescient to my current voyage to the US Open, are the halls of Arthur Ashe Student Health and Wellness Center that nursed me back to health many times as a student at UCLA. An inclusive, safe space where any student could go to get care without question or judgment. Named after Arthur Ashe, who played for UCLA tennis winning both the NCAA singles and doubles titles, before becoming the international titan of tennis, civil rights and social justice he became known to be. Now the US Open’s largest stadium, where the greatest matches are played, bears his name — the Arthur Ashe Stadium. 

Yes, so much connects the two cities of LA and NYC, of California and New York. But just as the image of New York rings in the minds of children elsewhere as a romantic place that’s served as the backdrop of so many of their favorite stories, so does it ring in the minds of Californians.

I hate California, I want to go to the east coast. I want to go where culture is like, New York, or Connecticut or New Hampshire.

Are the lines Christine Mcphersen acerbically points at her mother in Lady Bird. Christine, who prefers to go by “Lady Bird” – a stage name worthy of a New York transplant – has the same romantic notion as many teenagers, and even adults, around the United States. You’re meant to giggle at the idea of Connecticut and New Hampshire having any more culture than California, and perhaps to acquiesce to the idea that New York holds a special place in the cultural memory of the United States. After all, not only is New York seen as a cultural capital of the USA, it’s also old. It’s established in the memory of the USA. In fact it’s one of the first 13 states. A history that is distant to those of us from California and the west. 

California is young when it comes to being a part of the “United States of America”, declaring statehood in 1850 after being a territory of the Republic of Mexico, a province of New Spain and of course its own pre-colonial history prior to Spanish expansion and colonization. This difference is so marked that in our schools we have to learn our history in parallel with those of the “First 13 States”. Creating a separation in our minds; one that makes clear that New York, Connecticut, New Hampshire and so on to the remaining 10 original states, have a history different from ours. A history that’s as old as the formation of the United States.  A history that converges with that of the west through the bloody movement of manifest destiny and westward expansion.

One might gasp at Christine asserting that she “hates” California. But consider for a moment the media you yourself have consumed about California and New York. In these sitcoms and films New York is glamorous, filled with culture and is above all “real”. California is sunny, stuck-up and above all “fake”. Of course these simplifications aren’t true and Christine eventually realizes the youthful ignorance of her own words. Coming to a crescendo of emotion as she sits on the steps of a Catholic Church in New York listening to hymns pour out the heavy, wooden doors. Their sound transporting her to thoughts of her own hometown of Sacramento, California, leading her hands to grasp for her phone and dial home. An emotional moment anyone who’s moved far away from home can understand. And a moment particularly full of Californian imagery. Catholic Churches line our state, their missions forming “El Camino Real” — something far apart from the Protestant and Quaker history of New York and the East Coast.

That moment where Christine reaches for her phone, led by the pull of homesickness, not only holds imagery inherent to California but also of “New York”. It’s a moment of yearning that many New Yorker’s themselves can understand. They say New York is a world unto itself. Made by the many people who move there from all corners of the world, crossing over its waters past the protruding figure of the Statue of Liberty and into Ellis Island. It’s many Burroughs and blocks full of food, sights and sounds unique to many different cultures. Home’s away from home built in a new and daunting place. Just as the steps of that Catholic Church were for Christine.

I said earlier that New York is an amalgamation of all the images we’ve consumed, and for Californians it’s the images we’ve consumed in our history books as well. New York is towering not only in its importance in art and media but in a historical sense as well. As people from around the world rush into NYC for the hectic frenzy that is the US Open, frenzied themselves to see for the first time how that image of NYC they’ve consumed through their screens and the pages of their books holds up — so will I.

This and all that I’ve ruminated on above is why it only makes sense that the US Open is held in NYC. New York is not only an amalgamation of all the stories we’ve read, heard and watched, it’s also an amalgamation of our 50 states. At some point in time some child, in some bedroom in the vast United States, has sat and watched a movie, read a book, or listened to a song about New York and made a silent pact to themselves right then and there that they’d one day live in that city. Just as Christine did. And just as so many others have done. Because not only is New York a fantastically romantic notion that graces our screens and pages, it also holds a distinct place in the historical memory of the United States. Those two truths meld together to make New York a unique cultural and historical landmark. Similar to her Statue of Liberty.  And one perfectly fit to host the US Grand Slam.

Why Stefanos Tsitsipas?

Who is your favorite player? This is always the first question that occurs when I talk about tennis. I answer even though it doesn’t really matter to me. Roger Federer made everyone agree for a long time. Now that the has Maestro retired, a silence often follows the question. I always need a few seconds to be honest with myself. I could answer Novak Djokovic or Rafael Nadal, and no one would judge. However, I always end up saying Stefanos Tsitsipas – I can’t help it.

I always kept an eye on the French Open without being a huge tennis fan. The 2020 edition, which took place in October due to Covid-19, wasn’t an exception. I just started my senior year and hurried to come back from school every day to catch the last couple of hours. I ended up watching Dominic Thiem by pure chance. I remember being hypnotized by his one-handed backhand and his devastating forehand. I followed his remaining matches with a lot of passion – but there weren’t enough according to me. I went through a roller coaster during his thriller encounter against Hugo Gaston (6/4 6/4 5/7 3/6 6/3) before having to face a huge disappointment when he lost to Diego Schwartzmann in the next round (6/7 7/5 6/7 6/7 2/6).

I thought that the French Open had lost its taste. I didn’t watch any match for a few days – until Friday night. I turned on the TV to kill my boredom. Stefanos Tsitsipas played Novak Djokokvic. The Greek, who I didn’t know then, was about to lose by two sets to love. I thought I would just watch the end of a platonic encounter before going to a family diner. I didn’t consider the ATP Finals champion’s fighting spirit. Stefanos Tsitsipas took me on a journey of several hours. All dressed in black, he made a string of slides on clay and ran after each of his opponent’s dropshots. While Novak Djokovic served for the match, he won a sixteen strikes rally by using his power on the forehand side. Astonished by the game of this unknown player and the suspense of the match, I couldn’t take my eyes off the TV. I decided to keep watching in the streets, in the subway and while eating (with my phone under the table). His loss (3/6 2/6 7/5 6/4 1/6) left me with a bitter taste in my mouth. 

When the Philippe-Chatrier reopened its gates eight months later, the name of Stefanos Tsitsipas remained in my mind – as well as Dominic Thiem’s. The Austrian was defeated by Pablo Andujar (6/4 7/5 3/6 4/6 4/6) in the first round. I focused all my energy on Stefanos. I didn’t miss any of his matches. A class of philosophy? I watched his dazzling forehand accelerations from my phone that was hidden in my pencil case. A test the next morning? I learnt my history lesson while watching my new favorite player’s rises to the net. By chance – and with a lot of talent – Stefanos Tsitsipas reached his first Grand Slam final. I devoted my Sunday to it. 

His match against Novak Djokovic had me in a tizzy. In a few hours, my enthusiasm transformed into a huge disappointment. His hidden dropshots and forehands down the line gave way to the Djoker’s indisputable domination. This loss (7/6 6/2 3/6 2/6 4/6) was even harder than the year before. It left me wanting more. How could I spend a year without watching a single match? I couldn’t. I dove into the ATP Calendar and discovered that I could watch tennis everyday if I wanted to. This simple fact changed a lot of things in my life. 

I spent the next few weeks watching the tournaments on grass before Wimbledon. As Stefanos Tsitsipas isn’t at his best on this surface, I discovered new players. Alexander Zverev’s serve and backhand were enough to convince me. I thought that Roger Federer could do the impossible one last time at the All-England Lawn Tennis and Criquet Club. Novak Djokovic’s game was so perfect that I couldn’t resist to it. In the blink of an eye, I was totally in love with tennis. From this summer – and all the ones after that – I spent sleepless nights watching the American swing before enjoying the US Open climax. 

After all these lines, I still haven’t answered the must burning question: Why him and not another player? I often talk about his one-handed backhand and his abilities at the net to summarize. Some think that the first aspect is his biggest flaw, but I actually think that it is what defines his game – that I love so much. When it is perfectly hit, there isn’t a more beautiful gesture in tennis. Can grace take over efficiency? Stefanos Tsitsipas managed to unite both. His devastating forehand – crossed, down the lined or as a lifted volley – leaves his opponents meters away from the ball while his dazzling backhands, his dropshots and his talent at the net leave them speechless. 

Stefanos, why does your first Grand Slam title still isn’t a reality? Years go by, there are more and more competitors and I sometimes think that your dream is escaping. I feel disappointed when you walk on the greatest courts of the world without really being there, when you lose in the first round of the US Open or in the Monte-Carlo quarterfinals. But when you free your talent and your will to win – against Dominic Thiem and Andy Murray at Wimbledon – I remember that you made me love tennis. There aren’t a lot of people still believing in you, but I am sure that you will win a Grand Slam one day. 

Three years after the 2020 French Open, my ambitions have never been clearer. For years, I have driven myself crazy trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. Today, there isn’t any doubt. Becoming a tennis journalist is my biggest dream. Who knows, Stefanos Tsitsipas might be right in front of my in a few years to talk about the biggest achievement of his life – his first Grand Slam title.

Pourquoi Stefanos Tsitsipas ?

Qui est ton joueur préféré ? Cette question est toujours la première à tomber lorsque je discute tennis. Pour moi, elle n’a pas grande importance mais j’y réponds tout de même. Roger Federer a eu l’avantage de faire l’unanimité pendant de nombreuses années. Maintenant que le Maestro a tiré sa révérence, un blanc suit souvent cette interrogation. Quelques secondes me sont toujours nécessaires pour être honnête avec moi-même. Je pourrais répondre Novak Djokovic ou Rafael Nadal sans prendre de grand risque. Cependant, presque malgré moi, ce sont deux autres mots qui s’échappent de mes lèvres : Stefanos Tsitsipas.

J’ai toujours gardé un œil sur Roland-Garros sans être une passionnée de tennis. L’édition 2020, qui a lieu en octobre à la suite du Covid-19, ne fait pas exception à la règle. Je commence alors mon année de terminale et me presse de rentrer du lycée pour regarder les dernières rencontres de la journée. Par un pur hasard, je tombe sur un match de Dominic Thiem. Je me souviens avoir été transportée par ce joueur. Son revers à une main me séduit et son coup droit ravageur m’impressionne. Je suis avec attention la suite de son tournoi, qui ne sera pas assez longue à mon goût. Je passe par toutes les émotions pendant son marathon contre Hugo Gaston (6/4 6/4 5/7 3/6 6/3) avant de faire face à la déception de son élimination au tour suivant contre Diego Schwartzmann (6/7 7/5 6/7 6/7 2/6).

Je pense que ce Roland-Garros n’aura plus de saveur. Je me désintéresse des matchs qui se déroulent les quelques jours suivants – jusqu’au vendredi soir. Afin de combler mon ennui, j’allume la télé sans grand espoir. Stefanos Tsitsipas affronte Novak Djokovic. Le Grec, qui m’est alors méconnu, est bientôt mené deux sets à rien. Je crois regarder une fin de match platonique avant de m’enfuir à un dîner de famille. C’était sans compter l’esprit combatif du vainqueur de l’ATP Finals. Stefanos Tsitsipas m’emporte dans une épopée de plusieurs heures. Tout vêtu de noir, il enchaîne les glissades et pourchasse les amorties adverses au filet. Alors que Novak Djokovic sert pour le match, il remporte un échange de seize frappes en libérant toute la puissance de son coup droit. Subjuguée par le jeu de cet inconnu et le suspens du match, je suis incapable de lever les yeux de mon écran. Je décide de poursuivre la rencontre dans la rue, le métro puis à table en toute discrétion. Sa défaite (3/6 2/6 7/5 6/4 1/6) me laisse un goût amer dans la bouche. 

Lorsque le court Philippe-Chatrier rouvre ses portes huit mois plus tard, le nom de Stefanos Tsitsipas est encore ancré dans mon esprit. Il est aux côtés de celui de Dominic Thiem. L’Autrichien est évincé dès le premier tour par Pablo Andujar (6/4 7/5 3/6 4/6 4/6). Je dirige alors toute mon énergie sur Stefanos. Aucune de ses rencontres ne m’échappe. Un cours de philo ? J’observe ses fulgurantes accélérations de coup droit depuis mon téléphone caché dans ma trousse. Une évaluation le lendemain matin ? Je récite mon cours d’histoire devant les montées au filet de mon nouveau joueur préféré. Par chance – et avec beaucoup de talent – Stefanos Tsitsipas atteint la première finale en Grand Chelem de sa carrière. J’y consacre mon dimanche. 

Son match contre Novak Djokvovic me met dans tous mes états. En quelques heures, mon extase se transforme en une grande déception. Ses amorties camouflées et ses coups droits longue ligne en bout de course laissent progressivement place à une domination indiscutable du Djoker. Cette défaite (7/6 6/2 3/6 2/6 4/6) m’atteint encore plus que celle de l’année passée. Elle me laisse sur ma faim.  Comment attendre encore un an avant de revoir un match ? Impossible. Je me plonge alors dans le calendrier ATP. Une révélation s’impose à moi : je peux regarder le tennis chaque jour de l’année si cela me chante. Ce fait change pas mal de choses à ma vie. 

Je passe les semaines suivantes à découvrir les tournois sur gazon qui précèdent Wimbledon. Stefanos Tsitsipas n’étant pas un grand adepte de l’herbe, je m’attache à de nouveaux joueurs. Le service et le revers d’Alexander Zverev sont suffisants pour me convaincre. Je me persuade que Roger Federer peut réaliser l’impossible une dernière fois à l’All-England Lawn Tennis And Criquet Club. La perfection du jeu de Novak Djokovic s’impose à moi, sans que je puisse y résister. En un claquement de doigts, je suis éprise d’une nouvelle passion : le tennis. A partir de cet été – et tous ceux qui suivront – je passe des nuits blanches à suivre la tournée américaine avant de profiter du climax de l’US Open. 

A ce stade de l’article, la question la plus cruciale demeure encore sans réponse : Pourquoi lui et pas un autre ? J’ai souvent tendance à évoquer son revers à une main et son talent au filet pour simplifier les choses. Si certains pensent que le premier est son plus grand défaut, je reste persuadée qu’il définit l’identité de son jeu qui me plait tant. Lorsqu’il est réalisé à la perfection, il n’existe pas un geste plus beau dans le tennis. Mais l’élégance doit-elle primer sur l’efficacité ? Stefanos Tsitsipas a réussi la prouesse de réunir les deux. Son coup droit ravageur – croisé, longue ligne ou en volée liftée – laisse ses adversaires sur place tandis que ses gifles de revers, ses amorties et ses finitions au filet les laissent sans voix. 

Stefanos, pourquoi ton premier titre en Grand Chelem se refuse encore à toi ? Les années passent, les concurrents se multiplient et je me surprends parfois à penser que ton rêve t’échappe. Un sentiment de déception s’empare de moi lorsque tu foules les plus grands courts de tennis du monde en paraissant désintéressé, que tu perds au premier tour de l’US Open ou en quarts de finale à Monte-Carlo. Mais quand tu libères ton talent et ta hargne de gagner – contre Dominic Thiem puis Andy Murray à Wimbledon – je me souviens que c’est grâce à toi que j’aime autant le tennis. Plus grand monde n’y croit mais je reste persuadée qu’un Grand Chelem t’est destiné. Il ne te reste plus qu’à l’attraper. 

Trois ans après ce Roland-Garros 2020, mes ambitions n’ont jamais été aussi claires. Des années durant, je me suis creusé la tête pour savoir ce que je ferai de ma vie. Aujourd’hui, l’incertitude est levée. Devenir journaliste de tennis est mon plus grand rêve. Qui sait, Stefanos Tsitsipas sera peut-être assis en face de moi dans quelques années pour me raconter l’accomplissement d’une vie – celui d’un premier titre majeur. 

Les Mousquetaires

Traduit par Marnie Abbou

Je me dois de vous avertir. L’unique tension de cet article réside dans la raquette. Il n’y a aucun retournement de situation ou événement inattendu. Il s’agit d’une histoire de patience et de précision. Elle évoque un groupe de personnes qui utilisent des mots tels que « poids d’équilibre », « résine époxy » et « fibre de carbone ». Des personnes qui ont l’air de parler une autre langue lorsqu’ils vous expliquent – avec des yeux de passionnés – qu’ajouter trois grammes à cet endroit précis de la raquette impacte la capacité de transférer l’énergie à la balle ce qui joue directement sur la puissance de frappe. 

L’industrie des raquettes de tennis est un monde si vaste qu’il est facile de s’y perdre. Pour les amateurs, il peut être compliqué de jeter son dévolu sur une raquette. Face à une telle diversité de modèles, on a l’habitude de se réfugier chez les marques que l’on connait. Ces géants de l’industrie sont souvent liés à des athlètes de même stature tels que Rafael Nadal avec sa Babolat Pure Aero ou Novak Djokovic et sa HEAD Graphene 360 Speed Pro. Le prix est exorbitant mais que peut-il mal se passer avec une raquette qui a remporté autant de Grand Chelem ? On arrive alors au moment où les personnes mentionnées dans le premier paragraphe ne seront plus d’accord. Elles se souriront d’un coin de la bouche, tels des croupiers au casino qui savent déjà si tu as gagné ou perdu.

C’est une idée reçue assez répandue. Au mois d’avril, Artengo, la branche d’équipement de tennis de Decathlon, a pris un malin plaisir à casser le mythe. Au siège de la marque situé à Villeneuve d’Ascq près de Lille, un groupe d’ingénieurs, de créateurs et de spécialistes de raquettes se sont réunis pour fabriquer une pièce en temps réel. L’objectif n’était pas de remonter le rideau pour quelques minutes mais plutôt de le faire tomber à jamais. « A un moment, j’ai montré tous les plans et les données scientifiques à la caméra. C’était comme dévoiler le code de mon coffre-fort », explique Paul Forichon, ingénieur de raquettes chez Artengo. « Tout le monde pour répliquer notre raquette. Mais nous n’avons rien à cacher car nous sommes fiers de ce qu’on a accompli. Si un concurrent veut la copier, on s’en fiche car il la vendra à un prix bien supérieur au nôtre ».

Les raquettes ont fait un pas de géant en termes de technologie durant les trois dernières décennies. Artengo reste persuadé que ce progrès ne justifie pas le prix auquel les leaders du marché vendent leurs modèles. « Une raquette ne devrait pas couter 300 euros. Elle ne vaut pas ce prix » affirme Cyril Perrin, le dirigeant d’Artengo. « Artengo ne peut pas révolutionner l’industrie seule. Faire évoluer les mentalités prendra du temps ». 

Les produits Artengo ont toujours été perçus comme inférieurs à ceux de leurs concurrents – en termes de prix mais aussi de qualité. Le premier point est considéré comme l’un des meilleurs atouts d’Artengo tandis que le second représente un sérieux obstacle au succès de la marque. Récemment, Artengo a décroché un partenariat avec Gael Monfils, un des leaders du tennis français. Au moment où j’écrivais cet article, il était en train d’éblouir le public parisien sur le court Philippe Chatrier. Cette relation vise à étendre la popularité de la marque et à la rendre plus attractive. C’est exactement le même principe que l’affiliation de marques plus reconnues, comme HEAD et Wilson, avec leurs joueurs. Et pourtant, la stigmatisation d’Artengo comme une raquette pour les amateurs persiste. « On a reçu, et Gaël aussi, énormément de messages qui disaient que ce n’était qu’une raquette camouflée, qu’il y avait une Wilson cachée en dessous. Honnêtement, cela nous a un peu dérangé », avoue Perrin. 

Les messages n’ont pas été la motivation première derrière ACE, l’Artengo Conception Expérience à Villeneuve d’Ascq, mais cela a joué en sa faveur. « Cet événement est en adéquation avec notre volonté de montrer au monde que nous sommes de vrais créateurs de raquettes », explique Perrin. L’entreprise a fait un grand pas en avant. Deux heures durant, les professionnels d’Artengo ont occupé la scène pour expliquer le processus de fabrication – de l’émergence d’une idée au produit fini exposé dans les rayons Decathlon.

Grâce à des vidéos en direct dans différents ateliers, Artengo a pu présenter les étapes de fabrication d’une raquette. Le processus est long et délicat à bien des moments. Déposer de la résine époxy mélangée à de la fibre de carbone sur un moule en forme de raquette, faire chauffer l’ensemble à 160°C pendant une demi-heure, manuellement lisser les imperfections apparues pendant l’opération, ajouter les couleurs et les détails esthétiques et enfin corder la raquette. Voilà ! Le produit est prêt à inonder les magasins. Ce que l’événement n’a pas pu montrer, mais simplement raconter, sont les trois années d’effort pour aboutir à la création de la raquette. « Actuellement, je travaille sur des produits qui ne seront mis en vente qu’en 2025 » affirme Laure Pétré, directrice artistique chez Artengo. « J’anticipe les tendances fortes qui définiront le marché du tennis à cette période ».

Pendant la soirée, Artengo rappelle la ligne directrice de la marque et sa volonté d’être à la pointe de la technologie. Un des changements les plus visibles dans le jeu est le lift avec lequel les joueurs frappent la balle, et Artengo a envie de répondre à ses nouveaux besoins. « La capacité à générer du lift, à faire tourner la balle, ne découle pas forcément d’une volonté consciente chez les joueurs », pense Perrin. « Mais quand on regarde l’évolution des styles de jeu, on constate que les joueurs impriment de plus en plus de lift à leurs balles. Rafa [Nadal] y est évidemment pour beaucoup ». On peut observer la naissance de nouvelles tendances autant sur les plus grandes scènes du tennis mondial, qu’aux plus petites échelles. La facteur le plus important est le développement du jeu, à la fois sur le circuit masculin et féminin. Heureusement, Artengo possède son propre laboratoire secret – la French Touch Academy au Cap d’Agde. Ses 80 joueurs sont d’une aide précieuse pour tester les nouvelles innovations.

Grâce à son partenariat avec Monfils, Artengo espère améliorer sa gamme de produit pour enfin se positionner comme un créateur de raquettes adapté aux besoins des joueurs professionnels (l’entreprise a aussi ajouté Daria Kasatkina, actuellement neuvième mondiale, à son portfolio d’athlètes). Cette collaboration a surtout permis de mieux comprendre la relation d’un joueur à sa raquette. « Quand Monfils nous a rejoint, nous n’étions pas certains de la marche à suivre. Nous avons pensé à personnaliser la raquette pour l’ajuster à ses gouts », se souvient Pétré. « Au fil du temps, nous avons opté pour un compromis basé sur la cocréation ». L’expérience de Monfils a permis d’améliorer la viabilité des raquettes Artengo au plus haut niveau. Mais il a également ajouté sa patte au processus de fabrication dans son ensemble. « Grâce à Gaël, nous avons aussi beaucoup appris sur les besoins des joueurs débutants. Les deux sont totalement liés » ajoute Perrin. 

Paul Forichon rappelle tout de même qu’une raquette faite pour un professionnel comme Monfils, n’est pas ce qu’il y a de mieux pour un joueur du dimanche. Cela s’explique par la différence de niveau (il y a très peu de chance que toi ou moins devions retourner un service à la même puissance que Monfils) mais aussi par les aspects techniques de la raquette. « Même si les sensations d’un joueur professionnel et d’un amateur sont totalement différentes, le processus de traduction d’une sensation en caractéristiques techniques de la raquette reste le même », ajoute Perrin. En fin de compte, le plus important est de créer une raquette avec laquelle le joueur se sente à l’aise. « Nous voulons donner à chacun de nos clients la bonne raquette et pas un même modèle à tous », insiste Forichon. 

Artengo est relativement jeune dans l’industrie de la raquette, mais l’entreprise est déjà tournée vers le futur. Dans les prochaines années, la marque espère créer une gamme écologique de raquettes en aluminium. « Une politique zéro déchet n’est pas possible », reconnait Perrin. « L’objectif est de minimiser les déchets autant que possible sans radicalement transformer les matériaux utilisés. Cependant, un jour pourrait arriver où nous sommes contraints d’utiliser des fibres différentes qui pourraient modifier l’essence de l’équipement. Le jeu a évolué vers des raquettes de plus en plus rigides à base de carbone. Il est peut-être temps d’inverser la tendance et de revenir à des matériaux plus flexibles, sans carbone et moins polluants ». 

Artengo a conscience de l’impact environnemental du tennis, et l’entreprise est déjà en quête de solutions alternatives. Des prototypes de raquettes à base d’aluminium ont déjà été créées dans le laboratoire Artengo. « Nous voulons élaborer un produit qui est autant efficace tout en étant moins nocif pour l’environnement » explique Forichon, qui est aussi responsable de la durabilité de la marque. 

Le message d’Artengo est limpide. Ce n’est pas parce qu’une raquette est moins chère que celles des leaders du marché qu’elle est de moindre qualité. Un logo bien connu collé sur le cadre ne définit pas ses performances au haut niveau, comme l’ont démontré les exploits de Monfils. Cyril Perrin, Paul Forichon, Laure Pétré et le reste de l’équipe Artengo consacrent des centaines d’heures à développer, améliorer et tester leurs créations. La prochaine fois que tu entres sur le court avec ta raquette bien aimée – qu’elle soit une Artengo ou pas d’ailleurs – accorde une pensée à ce trio qui est probablement penché au-dessus d’un moule de raquette ou d’un échantillon de résine époxy. Ils ne sont peut-être pas tout proches, mais ils pensent à toi. 

Tennis Players who swing golf clubs

Judging from the number of tennis players taking up golf these days clearly demonstrates just how popular the sport has become amongst players although most are happy to admit that they play golf more as means of escaping from the hustle and bustles of the professional tennis circuit.

Much to the envy of many regular club players, tennis players appear to achieve eye watering low handicaps in the shortest to times while some even achieve a scratch handicap. Then there are those who after retiring from tennis, feel confident to take up professional golf only to discover that reaching top level golf is far harder struggle than first anticipated. Yet this is by no means something recent in tennis; for decades players have frequently swapped rackets for golf clubs enjoying the tranquility of famous golf course around the world. 

As natural athletes it’s little wonder that players take to golf like ducks to water, most never even bother to have lessons yet are relatively low keyed about their achievements. Once, after being asked for his handicap, Rafa Nadal nonchalantly replied , “I think it’s 1.7 but I don’t know what that means!”

During his days as a top tennis player, Ivan Lendl often disappeared to  play a relaxing game of golf with chums when in the middle of a tennis tournament even before retiring he became hooked on golf and was determined to make his mark on golf’s pro tour. However, no matter how hard he practiced, he never made  it to top echelons of the sport first playing the in a few low level events and was once invited to compete in the Austrian Open. It was then he realized the unbelievable accuracy needed to reach anywhere near top level golf! However, he still continues to enjoy playing recreational golf. .

Other former players are less ambitious. The “Daddy” of golf Tim Henman who at one stage of his career played both tennis and golf in equal measures, has a better than scratch handicap than most and once shot 69 in Augusta and often be seen competing in pro-am events.

Many of today’s top players spend time hitting golf balls on a golf course  a form of relaxation whenever opportunities arise, some even travel with golf clubs. During the recent Acapulco tournament, the ATP organised  “a long drive contest” where players were invited show off their driving skills. Some who turned up, had never hit a golf ball in their life before yet produced amazing long drives while others with more experience, appeared to have little trouble reaching the 200 yard mark. As to be expected, the overall winner was no other than Sebastian Korda with a 278 yard drive; well Seb’s two older sisters, Nellie and Jessica are both top golfers on the LPGA tour.

Regarded as the three Musketeers, Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic have dominated tennis for the past couple of decades, and also boast low handicaps.  Rafa leads the trio with a scratch handicap but then he had already started playing golf as a teenager and once boasting never having had a golf lesson in his life. But beware, he  has an aversion to chatting to chums on the golf course, like tennis, he prefers concentrating on playing. 

Djokovic also frequently swaps tennis rackets for golf clubs and readily admits to finding solace on the golf course. During the Wimbledon season he can often be seen playing local courses, and once casually walked into the club house of a well-established local  club wearing jeans and a baseball hat only to told by the club’s manager that jeans and baseball hats were not permitted inside the club house to which an angry Djokovic turned tail, jumped into his awaiting chauffeured car and left without hitting a ball in anger.

Former tennis brat, John McEnroe, now matured and playing as much golf as he does tennis, was once invited to play at The Richmond  Golf club by former doubles partner, Peter Fleming, a member who also invited the club’s manager to join them as he was  a big McEnroe fan. Despite being a known stickler for club etiquette, he somehow managed to look the other way whenever Mac became incensed either by his play or the number of trees in his way.

Some may not have heard of world number 4, Casper Ruud but he is also an experience golfer. As a youngster he played both with equal passion only by his thirteenth birthday he was compelled to follow in his father’s footsteps, a former professional tennis player and relinquish golf for tennis. Recently the fulfilled a childhood dream and played the tough par 72 Winged Foot course in the States finishing with a commendable score of 77 – and that he achieved between matches during the US Open.

The other surprise player who has emerged with hidden golf talents and now regarded as ATP’s star golfer, is Mardy Fish who is currently attempting to qualify for the US Open (golf Championships), (note to editor, will find out if he qualifies)?  

Other established players who boast low handicaps, are Andy Murray (well he does come from Scotland where most of the best golf courses can be found), he often plays alongside Sky TV tennis presenter Marcus Buckland and Barry Cowan. Another player addicted to golf is American Jack Sock, a former top ten player, and  surprisingly both the Skupski brothers and Dan Evans are single figure golfers.

Watch out Wimbledon, there could be a deluge of tennis players chasing tee times on local courses in and around the days leading up to The Champions!

 

Voir cette publication sur Instagram

 

Une publication partagée par Rafael Nadal Fan Page🇪🇸 (@rafanadal9_seven)