Cincinnati 1000 Week 1
When Do Most Pros Peak?
Why It’s Interesting: Looking at career-high rankings across over 1,000 players reveals two clear patterns: women arrive earlier than men, and players on both tours are enjoying later primes.
On The Table — Reduction Of WTA 500 Requirements
Why It’s Interesting: The WTA could reduce the number of 500-level tournaments top players are required to play. Tournament organizers are warning that fewer commitments could make it harder to keep increasing prize money.
What Makes Aryna Sabalenka Different
Why It’s Interesting: Sabalenka has become one of tennis’s biggest personalities partly because she lets fans see the parts most champions try to hide. Sean Gregory from TIME traces how that openness developed through some brutal stretches of her career and why she has decided that controlling every emotion was never going to work for her.
Futterman On Writing The Book On Pro Tennis Brutality
Why It’s Interesting: Matthew Futterman spent years talking to the game’s biggest names about childhood pressure, burnout, identity and the strange reality that even becoming one of the best players in the world can still feel like falling short.
Howard Bryant Takes On The Venus Wildcard Debate
More: Williams is 1-19 in her last 20 matches, ranked No. 615 and earned direct entry into a main draw in more than five years.
Novak Djokovic On Life Beyond Tennis
Why It’s Interesting: Djokovic gives a more personal look at the tradeoffs behind one of tennis’s longest runs at the top, including the guilt he still feels over time away from his children and why he wants his son to have a very different relationship with tennis than he did.
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Dominic Thiem Isn’t The Only Tennis Player Playing Soccer
Leaving You With Diehard Cincinnati Reds Fan, Daniil Medvedev
On Monday Match Analysis, Gill Gross rattles off takeaways from the National Bank Open in Toronto and Montreal, featuring Coco Gauff, Rafael Jodar, Brandon Nakashima, Ben Shelton, Daniel Merida and Iga Swiatek. Then, a quarter-by-quarter preview of the 2026 Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati. Alexander Zverev, Felix Auger-Alissime, Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev round off the seeds.
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Hey everyone, Gill Gross here. While I’m grateful for any amount of success I’ve had talking tennis on the internet for the past half decade, I believe we should all be doing better in this sport as creators and as fans. The tennis content economy is far behind other sports by metrics of engagement and popularity. This newsletter is our effort to DRAW the great things we find in tennis every week- we search for content that teaches us, makes us think, makes us laugh and ultimately makes loving this sport the best possible experience. Our vision is to speed up the growth of a robust content economy in tennis, for the benefit of fans, players and creators alike.
