All Things 2025 Tennis Thread

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BleedGopher said:
Absolutely incredible story for Keys!!! So happy for her. What a win, what a tournament!


Go Madison Keys!!
Click to expand...
Absolutely thrilled for her. And as everyone observed, including Sabalinka, Keys won it. Sabalinka didn't lose it Keys just plain won it. The people she beat prior makes it all the more impressive.

Also, I laughed out loud when Sabalinka told her team she hates them. . I know a few people were unhappy with her for smashing her racket and leaving the court but she did it for a good reason. Got herself under control and gave her really nice speech.
 


Crazy scene in Davis Cup this past weekend:


Go USA!!
 



Great read on Indian Wells...for those that haven't attended I highly recommend it. It's a fantastic tournament.

How a billionaire built the world's greatest tennis tournament (in the middle of the desert)​


Nearly 500,000 people will gather this week in California’s Coachella Valley, roughly 15 minutes from Palm Springs. They will listen to music and eat gourmet food, but they aren’t in town for Coachella; they are in the desert to watch world-class tennis.

Unofficially known as tennis’ fifth grand slam, Indian Wells has become the premier event on the annual tennis calendar. In 2014, the event was voted by the men’s and women’s players as the best tournament on the world tennis tour. This was the first time a tournament had received that distinction from both the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) in the same year. The Indian Wells event then repeated the feat in 2015 (and every year over the last decade).

Indian Wells will never be able to match the history of tennis’ Grand Slams; the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open have all been around in one iteration or another for more than a century. However, for what Indian Wells lacks in history, it makes up for in quality. The players love going to Palm Springs every year, with Rafael Nadal previously saying “Indian Wells is the best two weeks of the year.”

Indian Wells wasn’t always like this, though. The real story involves a tournament on the verge of extinction, saved by a tennis-loving billionaire whose meticulous attention to detail has reenergized American tennis for an entire generation of players.

The story starts in 1974. That’s when the Indian Wells Open was founded by former tennis pros Charlie Pasarell and Raymond Moore, with the basic premise being that they could build a great tennis tournament because they knew what players wanted.

Despite being two hours away from the closest major city, the Indian Wells Open was almost immediately successful. Players loved the warm weather and Pasarell and Moore ensured they were treated right. This helped turn a previously small event at the La Quinta Hotel into one of the most popular tennis tournaments in the world.

That required Moore and Pasarell to think bigger. With loans from local banks, the former tennis professionals built a 350-room resort — now known as the Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Resort — complete with a tennis stadium and a dozen courts.

This was an expensive project with a lot of risk, but everything went well. Each year, the world’s top tennis players played in the tournament, hundreds of thousands of fans showed up, and Moore and Pasarell were riding high. They had created the world’s fifth most popular tennis tournament out of thin air (in a remote location).

But success can also bring problems. By the late 1990s, just over a decade after the new resort officially opened, the Indian Wells Open had become so popular that it had outgrown its facility and needed to be moved to a new location with even more space.

So, Moore and Pasarell raised money by selling 50% of the business to IMG. They then took out a large mortgage to build the now world-famous Indian Wells Tennis Garden in 2000.

Complete with a 16,000 seat stadium, this new facility was incredible. It was big enough to support the continued growth of the tournament and completed the event's transformation from the small La Quinta Hotel to a more long-term sustainable venue.

But then everything went south. In the early 2000s, a few sponsorship deals fell through, and the tournament faced high operating costs, jeopardizing its future.

With Indian Wells having to refinance its $77 million mortgage on the facility, investors from Shanghai and Qatar smelled blood in the water. Tennis tournaments essentially own a spot on the calendar, so these groups wanted to buy those dates to move the event internationally, with Shanghai reportedly offering over $40 million.

However, Moore and Pasarell couldn’t stomach seeing their event move to a different location, so they brought the deal to an unlikely source: Oracle founder Larry Ellison.

Ellison started playing tennis in the early 2000s after pickup basketball became too hard on his body. The billionaire received private lessons at his residence five days a week, and his instructor just so happened to be a mutual friend of Raymond Moore.

This is how Larry Ellison ended up buying the Indian Wells tournament for $100 million. He obviously has a lot of money and could afford it, but this wasn’t just a passion project. Ellison had been attending the tournament for several years and wanted to run it like a legitimate business, reinvesting profits back into the fan and player experience to build something truly special — and that’s precisely what he did.

Ellison eventually invested more than $130 million into the facility. This included a second 8,000-seat stadium with three full restaurants overlooking the courts, including a Nobu that is only open for two weeks all year during the tournament.

In 2011, Indian Wells became the first tennis event to use Hawk-Eye line-calling technology on every match court. Ellison partnered with a production company that had worked on the NFL’s Super Bowl to create custom set lists for player walkouts. He also pioneered the now-standard idea that fans should watch practice sessions, releasing practice schedules ahead of time and building stands around practice courts.

Ellison purchased dozens of additional acres around the facility to build on-site parking so fans didn’t have to walk from remote lots. He made the grounds feel like a tropical oasis, bringing in dozens of new palm trees, flower gardens, and water displays. The player facilities even resemble what you would find at a Grand Slam, including everything from weight rooms to gourmet food spreads for player guests.

These improvements have turned a good tournament into an exceptional tournament. Celebrities like Timothee Chalamet, Kylie Jenner, Ben Stiller, Will Ferrell, Mike Tyson, and Bill Gates have already been spotted at this year’s tournament. VIP suites frequently sell for over $100,000, and nearly 500,000 fans show up each year, making Indian Wells just a little bit smaller (from an attendance perspective) than Wimbledon.

2024 Attendance (for the four Grand Slams and Indian Wells)

  1. US Open: 1,048,669 fans
  2. Australian Open: 1,020,763 fans
  3. French Open: 675,080 fans
  4. Wimbledon: 526,455 fans
  5. BNP Paribas Open: 493,440 fans
The success of Indian Wells has also profoundly impacted the local economy. George Washington University estimates that the 2024 event generated an economic impact of $852 million, including $50 million in tax revenue for city and county governments.

This number is even more impressive when you remember its net-new tax revenue, since 94% of all unique tournament visitors travel to Palm Springs from another city.

But even though Indian Wells generates a substantial amount of revenue over two weeks, the best part about the tournament is that it is still incredibly accessible. The average fan attends 3.18 days of the tournament because grounds passes can be purchased for $40, and if you happen to live in the Palm Springs area, you can even become a full-time member for just a $400 initiation fee and $175 in monthly dues.

huddleup.substack.com

How a billionaire built the world's greatest tennis tournament (in the middle of the desert)

Nearly 500,000 people will gather this week in California’s Coachella Valley, roughly 15 minutes from Palm Springs.
huddleup.substack.com huddleup.substack.com


Go USA!!
 

An end of a great career...

World No. 1 Jannik Sinner sent Frenchman Richard Gasquet into retirement Thursday with a 6-3, 6-0, 6-4 hammering in the battle of generations at the French Open to ease into the third round.

It was the second time in as many years in Paris that the 23-year-old Sinner beat local hero Gasquet, who said he would end a career that began over two decades ago and yielded 16 tour-level singles titles after his home Grand Slam.

"It's obviously a very special place for me to play and against Richard. We played last year too. It's very tough but I'm happy to be in the third round," Sinner said.

www.espn.com

Sinner beats Gasquet to end Frenchman's career

Jannik Sinner sent Frenchman Richard Gasquet into retirement Thursday with a 6-3, 6-0, 6-4 hammering at the French Open.
www.espn.com www.espn.com

Go USA!!
 





A shame Tiafoe couldn't pull out that 3rd set, that was the match.

And now Tommy Paul is getting bitch slapped by Alcaraz.

And the U.S. men's Slam streak continues...

Go USA!!
 



I've watched Jagger throughout the years at junior tournaments, it's going to be fun to see him in college and then eventually how far he can get as a pro. He recently decommitted from TCU and committed to Stanford.


Go USA!!
 



BleedGopher said:
Wish this was a semifinal match. Hope Coco can win it all.


Go Coco!!
Click to expand...
It was really excited for the semi final lineup but unfortunately they didn't really live up to their potential.

This first set in the final now...Wow!
 

COCO!!!!

What a win!!! She’s such a likable player, meanwhile Sabalenka is always a B when she loses, her post match comments suck, she’s always yelling at her team and she nearly hit a ball kid with a ball.

Go Coco!!
 



That was one of the best tennis matches of all time. Absolutely epic match, the level of play got better and better, 5+ hours and the level was as high as it was all match.

Just as the Big 3 end their careers tennis now has an incredible new rivalry that is just as good. We can just hope and pray an American can elevate their game to get into this mix. But Sinner and Alcaraz are so far ahead the next group.

Wow that was epic.

Go Tennis!!
 

BleedGopher said:
Reason #329 why I can’t stand Sabalenka.


Go Coco!!
Click to expand...
Yeah I understand that she's kind of hot headed which is one thing. She hasn't generally been so directly disrespectful of her opponent and does compliment them.
In this instance she did compliment Coco but only online after making these s***** comments at the press conference and the presentation ceremony. Really really needs to reel it back in after this and the racket smash in Australia. Just really immature and disrespectful.
 



McEnroe is right. These two have elevated the game so quickly, they would beat peak Nadal on clay.


Go USA!!
 


The Athletic: How Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner’s tennis rivalry went stratospheric at Roland Garros

It was just like tennis dreamed it.

Five and a half hours of thrilling play and unrelenting drama between the two new stars of men’s tennis. The introduction to the wider world of a new rivalry that this sport hopes can carry the torch handed over by the Big Three of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

In serving up one of the best and most dramatic matches in tennis history, this felt like the moment Jannik Sinner, 23, and Carlos Alcaraz, 22, announced themselves to the world at large. Tennis needs their rivalry to be epochal and their first Grand Slam final against each other delivered beyond its most fanciful expectations.

They are already stars to anyone who follows tennis semi-regularly, but this catapulting of their talents, personalities and profiles into transcendence means more than any sporting statistics. Still, they have split the past six Grand Slams between them, winning three each. Alcaraz has won five aged 22 and one month, the same age as Nadal when he got to that number.

This was the pair’s 12th meeting overall (Alcaraz leads the head-to-head 8-4 after his fifth win in a row), but a first Grand Slam final means more to the wider world than any other kind of match. These encounters take tennis players into the mainstream. Not just for the great shots, but the revealing of who they are as people, exposing them in a way that few sports can, creating bonds with the audience through five hours and 29 minutes worth of shared experience.

It feels almost immaterial in some ways, but eventually it was Alcaraz’s French Open final. He came through 4-6, 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(3), 7-6(2), having saved three championship points when down 3-5 in the fourth set. He then withstood Sinner serving for the match, as well as the disappointment of failing to serve it out himself in the fifth set, to come through in a tiebreak in which he went god mode at the end of the second-longest Grand Slam final in history. Alcaraz became only the third man in tennis’ Open Era (since 1968) to save championship points and go on to win a major final. It was also the first time Alcaraz had come back from two sets to love down in a match, at the ninth attempt.

All of which means that the snap judgment is that it belongs in the conversation with the great finals of lore, the ones that tennis fans, and many casuals, can rattle off without even thinking. Björn Borg vs John McEnroe, Wimbledon 1980; Federer vs Nadal, Wimbledon 2008; Djokovic vs Nadal, Australian Open 2012. The quality of this match was not as high on both sides of the net at the same time as some of those, but they share something more important for tennis as a whole: the way those players were looked at was never the same again.

It was a final that showcased their personalities and the rivalry’s dynamic, as well as their ludicrous shotmaking abilities. Sinner was generally steadier, but in being so, he showed the world that his base level of tennis is borderline ridiculous. Alcaraz, whose floor is less secure, rose from a few troughs to hit his scintillating ceiling, which is peerless as of now.

In the final few games, with Sinner showing scarcely believable fortitude to come back again and hit sublime shots of his own, Alcaraz produced a reflex volley, a flicked backhand winner, and then a passing shot on the same wing from deep behind the baseline that flew miraculously past his opponent. In the tiebreak, Alcaraz went supernova and fittingly sealed the match with a forehand passing shot up the line on the run.

The contrast in styles, with Alcaraz possessing more variety but also being more of a tortured genius who can fluctuate from absurd highs to seemingly inexplicable lows, is a compelling element of the rivalry. Sinner’s the world No. 1 and more consistent, but Alcaraz’s highs are higher.

Sunday illustrated that and the world also got to see Alcaraz’s showmanship — the finger to his ear after one of his incredible steals, as well as his refusal to accept he was beaten. Sinner matched him in this regard and such was the emotional toll of this final that the normally calm Italian let out his frustration at points in the fifth set. Nothing reveals a tennis player’s personality like this kind of occasion and few sports are as revealing as this one. Even once the match has finished, asking losing players to put their devastation into words is brutal.

There was no tearful Andy Murray after losing the Wimbledon 2012 final to Roger Federer, when Murray delivered the “I’m getting closer” line heard around the world, but Sinner still endeared himself to many simply by holding the mic and being gracious enough to, after all that, praise the man who had just shattered his dreams.

“It’s an amazing trophy, so I won’t sleep very well tonight, but it’s OK,” Sinner said.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/64...ner-french-open-final-tennis-result-analysis/
Alcaraz was as generous in his tribute to his beaten rival and then addressed the adoring crowd: “To Paris, you have been really important support to me since the first practice for the first round. You were insane, unbelievable for me. I can’t thank you enough. You were really important, you are in my heart, and you will always be.”

A few minutes earlier, as the match was reaching its conclusion and the tension swelled, half the supporters chanted “Carlos, Carlos,” while the other half responded with “Jannik, Jannik.” As the noise on Court Philippe-Chatrier grew louder and louder, it was impossible not to be transported to Wimbledon 17 years ago and remember the Federer-Nadal final.

Many of the greats of the game were comparing this final to that one, and there’s generally no higher praise for a tennis match than that. “For sport, it’s something amazing to have these players after Roger, Rafa, and Novak is still playing, but this kind of rivalry,” said Juan Carlos Ferrero, Alcaraz’s coach and a former world No. 1 and Roland Garros champion.

“Having these two guys fighting for big trophies, I think we have to be very happy about it in the sport of tennis. For them, for sure, it’s something that they raise their level every time they go on the court. They know they have to play unbelievable tennis to beat the other guy and it’s something that is going to help each player to raise the level even more.”

Who knows where this rivalry will end up, but after the end of the Big Three, men’s tennis couldn’t have asked for more.

www.nytimes.com

How Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner’s tennis rivalry went stratospheric at Roland Garros

Men's tennis needed this rivalry to be stratospheric. Their first major final against each other sent them into another galaxy
www.nytimes.com www.nytimes.com

Go Tennis!!
 

BleedGopher said:
The Athletic: How Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner’s tennis rivalry went stratospheric at Roland Garros

It was just like tennis dreamed it.

Five and a half hours of thrilling play and unrelenting drama between the two new stars of men’s tennis. The introduction to the wider world of a new rivalry that this sport hopes can carry the torch handed over by the Big Three of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

In serving up one of the best and most dramatic matches in tennis history, this felt like the moment Jannik Sinner, 23, and Carlos Alcaraz, 22, announced themselves to the world at large. Tennis needs their rivalry to be epochal and their first Grand Slam final against each other delivered beyond its most fanciful expectations.

They are already stars to anyone who follows tennis semi-regularly, but this catapulting of their talents, personalities and profiles into transcendence means more than any sporting statistics. Still, they have split the past six Grand Slams between them, winning three each. Alcaraz has won five aged 22 and one month, the same age as Nadal when he got to that number.

This was the pair’s 12th meeting overall (Alcaraz leads the head-to-head 8-4 after his fifth win in a row), but a first Grand Slam final means more to the wider world than any other kind of match. These encounters take tennis players into the mainstream. Not just for the great shots, but the revealing of who they are as people, exposing them in a way that few sports can, creating bonds with the audience through five hours and 29 minutes worth of shared experience.

It feels almost immaterial in some ways, but eventually it was Alcaraz’s French Open final. He came through 4-6, 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(3), 7-6(2), having saved three championship points when down 3-5 in the fourth set. He then withstood Sinner serving for the match, as well as the disappointment of failing to serve it out himself in the fifth set, to come through in a tiebreak in which he went god mode at the end of the second-longest Grand Slam final in history. Alcaraz became only the third man in tennis’ Open Era (since 1968) to save championship points and go on to win a major final. It was also the first time Alcaraz had come back from two sets to love down in a match, at the ninth attempt.

All of which means that the snap judgment is that it belongs in the conversation with the great finals of lore, the ones that tennis fans, and many casuals, can rattle off without even thinking. Björn Borg vs John McEnroe, Wimbledon 1980; Federer vs Nadal, Wimbledon 2008; Djokovic vs Nadal, Australian Open 2012. The quality of this match was not as high on both sides of the net at the same time as some of those, but they share something more important for tennis as a whole: the way those players were looked at was never the same again.

It was a final that showcased their personalities and the rivalry’s dynamic, as well as their ludicrous shotmaking abilities. Sinner was generally steadier, but in being so, he showed the world that his base level of tennis is borderline ridiculous. Alcaraz, whose floor is less secure, rose from a few troughs to hit his scintillating ceiling, which is peerless as of now.

In the final few games, with Sinner showing scarcely believable fortitude to come back again and hit sublime shots of his own, Alcaraz produced a reflex volley, a flicked backhand winner, and then a passing shot on the same wing from deep behind the baseline that flew miraculously past his opponent. In the tiebreak, Alcaraz went supernova and fittingly sealed the match with a forehand passing shot up the line on the run.

The contrast in styles, with Alcaraz possessing more variety but also being more of a tortured genius who can fluctuate from absurd highs to seemingly inexplicable lows, is a compelling element of the rivalry. Sinner’s the world No. 1 and more consistent, but Alcaraz’s highs are higher.

Sunday illustrated that and the world also got to see Alcaraz’s showmanship — the finger to his ear after one of his incredible steals, as well as his refusal to accept he was beaten. Sinner matched him in this regard and such was the emotional toll of this final that the normally calm Italian let out his frustration at points in the fifth set. Nothing reveals a tennis player’s personality like this kind of occasion and few sports are as revealing as this one. Even once the match has finished, asking losing players to put their devastation into words is brutal.

There was no tearful Andy Murray after losing the Wimbledon 2012 final to Roger Federer, when Murray delivered the “I’m getting closer” line heard around the world, but Sinner still endeared himself to many simply by holding the mic and being gracious enough to, after all that, praise the man who had just shattered his dreams.

“It’s an amazing trophy, so I won’t sleep very well tonight, but it’s OK,” Sinner said.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/64...ner-french-open-final-tennis-result-analysis/
Alcaraz was as generous in his tribute to his beaten rival and then addressed the adoring crowd: “To Paris, you have been really important support to me since the first practice for the first round. You were insane, unbelievable for me. I can’t thank you enough. You were really important, you are in my heart, and you will always be.”

A few minutes earlier, as the match was reaching its conclusion and the tension swelled, half the supporters chanted “Carlos, Carlos,” while the other half responded with “Jannik, Jannik.” As the noise on Court Philippe-Chatrier grew louder and louder, it was impossible not to be transported to Wimbledon 17 years ago and remember the Federer-Nadal final.

Many of the greats of the game were comparing this final to that one, and there’s generally no higher praise for a tennis match than that. “For sport, it’s something amazing to have these players after Roger, Rafa, and Novak is still playing, but this kind of rivalry,” said Juan Carlos Ferrero, Alcaraz’s coach and a former world No. 1 and Roland Garros champion.

“Having these two guys fighting for big trophies, I think we have to be very happy about it in the sport of tennis. For them, for sure, it’s something that they raise their level every time they go on the court. They know they have to play unbelievable tennis to beat the other guy and it’s something that is going to help each player to raise the level even more.”

Who knows where this rivalry will end up, but after the end of the Big Three, men’s tennis couldn’t have asked for more.

www.nytimes.com

How Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner’s tennis rivalry went stratospheric at Roland Garros

Men's tennis needed this rivalry to be stratospheric. Their first major final against each other sent them into another galaxy
www.nytimes.com www.nytimes.com

Go Tennis!!
Click to expand...
Great article. The Athletic has gathered some of the best writers around.
 

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