Submissions have been edited for brevity and clarity.
Hey everyone …
• Here’s this week’s Served podcast with Comedy Central’s Michael Kosta, author of the forthcoming book, Luck Loser: Adventures in Tennis and Comedy.
• Congrats to last week’s big winners Mirra Andreeva and Sebastián Báez.
• I keep hearing the ATP will add a 10th major—albeit nonmandatory—outside of Riyadh in February. The ATP gets the Saudi lucre. The players get a 10th major, without the required entry. Craig Tiley gets to keep his tennis summer intact in Australia. The Dubai and Doha events were shabbily treated, but the PR window dressing is that the ATP now has a "Middle East swing."
The losers? The other events in February, not least the Latin American swing, which offers some of the most flavorful atmosphere and energized crowds on the calendar. (On some level, this is a personal litmus test. Would you rather be well paid, working in relative anonymity, in Severance-style blandness? Or make less money, working in a blazing artistic environment?)
• For the New York crowd, Congratulations to Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe on the occasion of this exhibit at the Whitney Museum of American Art—what an absolute triumph.
• R.I.P. Bob Larson.
• R.I.P. Al Trautwig, longtime voice of Madison Square Garden, and also a longtime U.S. Open commentator. (And answer to the trivia question: Whose Long Island home was used for the pool scene in Meet the Parents?)
Onward …
Let’s start with Jannik Sinner and the continued fallout. Some quick bullet points …
• Maybe this is social media. Maybe this is human nature. But what does it say that this controversy draws more chatter than feats like Andreeva winning the biggest title of her career or South America revealing itself as a rollicking place to stage events?
• When Sinner’s “settlement” was first announced, I had two immediate thoughts.
1) Settlement? Since when does an authority lodge an appeal, discover no new facts or evidence, and then abruptly initiate settling for 75% less than the minimum sentence?
2) If Sinner is getting 90 days it must mean he was providing substantial assistance against the real culprit, WADA’s version of a cooperating witness getting a reduced sentence. Yet, this was not the case. In fact, the one person most at fault is still employed on tour, working with a player (Matteo Berrettini) who beat Novak Djokovic last week.
• I went back and read Article 10 of the WADA code, which deals with sanctions. I found nothing supporting the settlement. Again, I think 90 days for Sinner is a fair resolution. But—especially absent new evidence—how does WADA offer an athlete a settlement term that is not code-compliant?
• The response from past and current players has been noteworthy, if not newsworthy. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, of course. But this was made startlingly clear: The facts (remember facts?) have not captured the attention and awareness of other players.
Charitably: It’s a window into the relentless self-focus required to play this sport at a high level. If something doesn’t impact me directly, it is not in service of my interest to pay it any mind.
Outspoken as he has been about what he perceives as Sinner’s mendacious acts, Nick Kyrgios said this in December: “If he didn't do anything wrong, why did they take his prize money and points [at Indian Wells] away? Obviously they found something wrong with it. Obviously WADA has appealed it because of this.”
Kyrgios clearly didn’t realize that all players testing positive are stripped of points and prize money from the event; this is simply the procedure—from a code that players, indirectly anyway, have signed off on—and not an indication of guilt (or innocence.) Also, WADA did not appeal “because of this.” WADA explicitly stated that it accepted the facts or findings and the appeal was based on the belief that the penalty was inappropriate given the strict liability standard.
Likewise, get a load of this exchange immediately following last month’s Australian Open final. Again, this is not meant pejoratively. Just an illustration of how little some players have availed themselves of the facts of a case that has gripped so many others who follow the sport.
Q. You talk about how dominant Jannik is. How strange is it then that he could kind of get a lengthy ban? How much does that create uncertainty amongst the rest of the players?
Alexander Zverev: Wow … I don't know anything about the situation that he's in. I know he's been cleared once. I know someone over at the Tennis Integrity Unit is taking a look at it now. Yeah, I mean, he's a great guy. I have absolutely nothing against him. I don't know what will happen, but let's see in the next few months. I didn't expect this question, so I don't really know how to answer it, to be very honest.
Leaving open the possibility that Zverev simply wanted to punt and sidestep any controversy (which would have been reasonable) ... what a wild response. “I don’t know anything about the situation”? This controversy has been the talk of tennis for months. You just played this guy in a final. You are ranked No. 2 and if Sinner is suspended, odds are good you might ascend to No.1. And this isn’t even on your radar?
Yeah Doug got [screwed] especially since Guerrilla Tennis was the name of the greatest and best tennis commercial ever. I remember you decided not to weigh in on that one, which was the correct decision at the time as 2017 was a bizarre time period unlike now which is normal.
JB, PDX
• This pertains to last week’s piece by Doug Adler updating his whereabouts … I don’t want to dodge this one. A few of you asked why there wasn’t more support for Adler at the time. And I don’t have a good answer here. Though I did not know Adler personally, nor did I ever work with him, in retrospect, I wish I had been more outspoken. This was clearly an injustice. Whether it was the height of “cancel culture” or the “bizarre period” as the reader puts it, or laziness, it is a pity he was not defended more forcefully. I speak only for myself here, but I suspect I took my cue from ESPN. Shoot, if his colleagues at ESPN haven’t rushed to his defense … if the network not only failed to reinstate him but is fighting him in court … maybe there’s more to the story here.
Looking back, that was not a profile in courage. I wish I could play a let here. I suspect others do, too.
Not sure if he wants his name attached but a college coach reached out with an interesting question about postponed Grand Slam men’s singles finals. “If a player was injured or exhausted, [can] his finals opponent [reschedule] the final to a day his opponent was able to play. Are you able to advise? Thank you!”
• Good question. I consulted some experts here and it’s a bit mushy—as perhaps it should be. If players can’t post at the appointed time of the final, technically, it’s a default. Which, of course, is a bummer, a hollow win for the winner, and it deprives fans of a match. But there does seem to be some wiggle room. If the opponent graciously agrees to postpone the start time, the rules will bend. At the 1994 Miami final, Andre Agassi agreed to give Pete Sampras some time to recover from a stomach bug. (Sampras won the match and in turn, won the Sunshine Double.) A year later, Sampras and Courier played in the 1995 Australian Open quarters. Sampras struggled through an emotional breakdown brought on by the revelation that his coach, Tim Gullikson, faced a cancer diagnosis. Courier gamely consoled him, “We can do this tomorrow, you know?” The implication: The players know they can agree to shift times and no one will be the worse for it. (Sampras steadied and won the match in five sets.)
I went down the rabbit hole and found this, a Wimbledon final won by default. The great Weller Evans recalled the 1969 U.S. Open between Rod Laver and Tony Roche. Owing to rain, the match was played on a Tuesday and even then, they used a helicopter to dry the grass court. Laver won (consecrating his second Grand Slam) while wearing track spikes.
Speaking of the [Tennis Channel] gang, and this goes for the ESPN tennis crew also, why do you all get so excited about pro players who went to college? I don’t get the big deal. I mean, I guess it’s cool when someone actually won the NCAA title like [Danielle] Collins, but most of these “college” players were there for five minutes and came from some other country. A Brit at TCU, a Russian at NC State … these people get scholarships? It’s actually kind of gross. It shows the crass manipulation of college tennis more than … whatever it is you all like about it. Speaking of showing, none of my channels even show college tennis (TC included as far as I know). So even if I was interested in college tennis, I wouldn’t be able to watch it.
PR
• There are some extra-duty-heavy-felt college tennis ties at Tennis Channel and that probably shapes some of the coverage. On our Australian Open pregame shows a few weeks ago, Lindsay Davenport’s son is a highly-regarded college tennis recruit. Prakash Amritraj played excellent college tennis at USC (where Davenport’s husband played and her father-in-law was the longtime coach). Steve Weissman is active with the ITA.
But I would also make the point that college tennis is, undeniably, a real asset and force within the sport. And this should be discussed more, not less. More than ever, the college game is an incubator that helps dozens of players (from all over the world) transition from the juniors to the pros. It’s an increasingly popular pathway. With so many events migrating offshore, college matches are chances for more American fans to watch high-level matches. It helps dull burnout and expands pro careers. For as much as we talk about the darkness of doping and match-fixing and abusive coaches, here’s some tennis sunlight.
Hi Jon:
Can you suffer a frustration from a language major (me) who feels that if the ATP and WTA are going to the trouble of having players record the correct pronunciation of their names, that commentators should take the few seconds it takes to listen to them before calling their matches? Names are important, and as I listened to the Delray Beach runner-up's name get mangled (Da-VID-Oh-Vich vs. the correct Da-Vee-DOW-Vich), I had to write. Today I checked to find that we have been mispronouncing Karen Khachanov’s name all this time! I don't think we'll ever get Thiago Seyboth-Wild's name right ...
Now on to more important things ...
Kevin Roe, Fort Wayne, IN
• Thanks and no need to apologize. I have some mixed feelings here. Yes, as a matter of professionalism and a simple common courtesy, we should get names right. When the players provide the pronunciation, there’s really no excuse. That said, spend any time in foreign countries and Americans’ names get butchered (ven-OOS WeeYahms, Ahn-DEE row-DEEK, no-VATCH, YOKO-veek) and no one much seems to mind. Not that it’s an either/or, but I’d rather broadcasters mispronounce a name and say something substantive about the player than vice versa.
Jon I notice you don’t post on Twitter (or X) as much as you used to. I wonder if this is a conscious decision or if you are just busy with other stuff?
Brian T
• Since you asked, indulge a quick story. In December, I had to go to Louisiana for a 60 Minutes shoot. The good news: A) I love Louisiana and B) I got to have dinner with my friend Chanda and catch up with her.
The bad news was that I missed the tennis exhibition at Madison Square Garden. When I returned to New York the next morning, I spoke to the agent of one of the players who participated. He told me the event was a big success and that perhaps next year Sinner would be asked to play. Coincidentally, I spoke to someone on the venue side who also expressed enthusiasm and said words to the effect of I hear they might try to get that Italian kid next year.
Without thinking much of it—as one does on Twitter (I can’t bring myself to call it X)—I blurted some tweet to the effect of “Hearing the New York exo was a big success and perhaps Sinner will be asked to play next year.” Nothing earth-shattering, but I heard this twice in one morning, once from a prominent agent—who was negotiating with the organizers—and then again from someone who worked in the building. Typical X fare. Not a story per se. But a snackable item to share.
You would’ve thought I weighed in on presidential politics or predicted that Carrot Top would take over SNL from Lorne Michaels. A torrent of vitriol and brutal responses and messages followed, most alluding to Sinner’s doping, my irremediable stupidity, or what an asinine “take” this was.
The first instinct is to engage and play defense. No, no, no this was not a hot take. It was the product of informed speculation. I heard this from credible, independent sources! Then there is offense. What kind of person talks to a stranger this way? Why pollute the discourse?
Eventually, you recall that line from (dated reference alert) War Games: “The only winning move is not to play.”
In this context, it’s more like: I don’t need this. I don’t need to pick up my phone and get raked by strangers, often too cowardly to affix a name. I don’t need Sinner doping syringes—and, for that matter, his disproportionately aggressive supporters—clogging my feed. I make $0.00 from tweeting. If anything it distracts from the jobs that DO pay the bills. Who needs this toxicity, all this negative juju?
X is a bit of an occupational requirement. It’s still very helpful (indispensable?) for covering a global sport and staying informed in general. I engage with a lot of people—tennis fans, colleagues, sources, players past and present—through DM. I tried Bluesky, but I often forgot to post and it doesn’t have the engagement yet. I’m not going to quit X entirely. I will repost content, and link the weekly Sports Illustrated columns, 60 Minutes segments and the Served podcast, etc. I’ll still weigh in occasionally.
But you go to a restaurant for years and then it comes to have a terrible ambience. The food is uneven and the service sucks, and the people at the next table lack civility and want to challenge you to a fight … pretty soon you stop going there. Or at a minimum, it ceases to become your haunt.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Tennis Mailbag: The Continued Fallout From Jannik Sinner’s Ban.