The Tennis Thread

[Faulkner]

Alcaraz, Sinner, and Rublev all out in Rome; Norrie hit Djokovic with a ball… crazy times.

[Faulkner]

Never seen Frances get this hyped up. He’s not wrong. And the Roman fans ARE unbearable.

 

[Soapsuds]

Grigor!! Naughty naughty!!

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[Faulkner]

 

[Faulkner]

 

[Faulkner]

Lord. Seems like the big favorites for RG are either hobbled or playing like sh!t.

 

[Faulkner]

What an odd story but scary.

 

[Faulkner]

Rafa will miss the French and says that he expects 2024 to be his last year on tour.

 

[Fevuh]

I kind of expected this after Roger retired.  For years I think everyone expected - well, when Roger is retired, Rafa will be winning everything at that point. Or it will be Rafa and Djokovic winning it all for a few more years.  I suspected when Roger went, the other 2 wouldn't have much left really.  There really is no dominant force in either Men's or Women's now.  I thought maybe Tennis was in a lull but honestly if things don't change?  This could be a permanent downfall in the sport. I'm sure a group will come along but - near future?  Tennis sucks.  Everyone is on the Pickleball train and it wouldn't shock me to see them have their own version of slams within 5 years.  

[Faulkner]

I used to think that, but Swiatek/Sabalenka/Rybakina seem to be coming together as a force on the women’s side. It’s been a while since we’ve seen a new set of women consistently making big finals, and they all have. The problem is they don’t seem to be resonating that much with fans, and the powers that be don’t seem to be investing much in them. Partially it’s personality/charisma.

And we do need more contenders. If Osaka were still playing, Andreescu could get her body right, Emma/Leylah actually capitalized on their USO success, and Coco Gauff could show more growth, women’s tennis would be in a much better place. Lots of American contenders like Jen Brady, Anisimova, Sloane, Sofia Kenin, and Danielle Collins have been felled by injury or other issues. Pegula hasn’t really broken through in a big way. We’re in an odd transition now with Serena retired, Venus practically retired, Sharapova disgraced and done, Muguruza unraveling, Halep on a doping suspension, and Vika/Petra in their waning days.

On the men’s side, Alcaraz is a superstar, and Rune is a convincing “villain.” They’ve accomplished a lot more than most younger players have since the salad days of the Big 4. Alcaraz is already a slam champ and a World No. 1! When was the last time we had a young man break through on that scale? They do need players like Draper and FAA to step up. It’s also a shame that Thiem got injured right on the brink of something bigger for him.

Edited May 18, 2023 by Faulkner

[Soapsuds]

The irony

 

[DramatistDreamer]

Maybe it’s an function of my mourning/grieving period, but there’s nothing that currently interests me about tennis at this time. I guess I may tune into RG, only because I actually have Peacock this year but if I had to make the effort to actually find a match, I likely wouldn’t bother.

[DramatistDreamer]

And the professional tennis bodies are to blame. They have only made tennis less accessible over the last 15 years and have strived for a cookie cutter assembly line of anyone who emerged in the wake of the Big Three of the ATP. Anointing of hoping for the “next” Roger, Rafa or Novak is self-defeating as it diminishes the aspect of having diverse personalities.  I suspect that they reluctantly accepted a late-career Serena and they want a WTA player who has the winning record of Serena without actually being Serena. 

At the heights of its popularity, tennis had enough players with swag that could at least carry the rest who didn’t. Now, not so much. I knew we were headed downhill when I started to hear commentators exclaiming a player had a “good day at the office“ or a “bad day at the office”. I never aspired to work in an office in life and I don’t care about seeing it in my entertainment (nope, never got into the sitcom, not even the original British version). When commentators and tennis media are going on and on about work ethic and grinding out matches, is it any wonder ratings have plummeted over time.

While I am certainly no fan of pickleball, my guess is that no one is droning on about grinding out matches or putting in another ‘day at the office’, they’re probably too busy talking about having fun. 
Tennis world seems to have forgotten that players play and sport is actually supposed to be entertainment. I could go on in even more detail, don’t get me started! Tennis needs to make changes because the current model ain’t it!

 

[Faulkner]

Not looking good for Halep:

 

[DramatistDreamer]

Geez, I read about this earlier and completely forgot about it. Is Tennis Channel discussing the newest developments of l’affaire Halep at all?