Can Rafa do more? Could you hit it like Iga?

ATP-BASTAD
Nadal exceeded expectations in Bastad

It might not be enough for you. It might not be enough for him. But, realistically, Rafael Nadal had a great week in Bastad. When he beat Cameron Norrie, it was already a good week. When he won that insane four hours of battle against Mariano Navone, it was a fantastic one. When he actually recovered enough to stay in the tournament? Terrific news. I didn’t think he would recover from that Navone match (sorry, Rafa…). “I need to check how I wake up tomorrow,” Nadal said after that epic quarter-final, and not only did he wake up good enough to keep playing but also to keep winning. A Win.

So either I’m very pessimistic, or you all are still delusional about that Rafa Nadal situation. I’m still at: he’s able to play several days in a row and win a few matches, that is spectacular. Have you all forgotten where we were before Barcelona? I mean… Where we were even before Roland-Garros? Like, final in Bastad, the first in two years: we take it, it’s great, thank you very much. He’s still in one piece and able to play at the Olympics? Santa Klaus kind of stuff.

Nadal didn’t play between his first-round loss at Roland-Garros and that first match in Sweden. There was no way to be sure he’d go through that week the way he did. He looked great physically; he sounded like he was having much fun battling out there in front of a full stadium. He got his eye of the tiger back in a way I wasn’t sure was possible again. And, yes, it all collapsed in the final against Nuno Borges (6-3,6-2). Again, maybe it’s just me, but wasn’t it to be slightly expected after the awfully long week he had, not forgetting he also played the doubles? He was bound to have one very bad day at the office after all these efforts, and he nearly found a way to dodge it. But it still came in that final. The one-match-too-many. Borges, 27, won the first ATP career of his career, and maybe that was a great ending, too.

“I feel sad that I played that bad in a final. Probably, the energy wasn’t there anymore. But even like this, I should be able to play much better than what I did. It was difficult to play worse,” Nadal said in the press conference after the match. “Mentally and physically, I’m no longer used to play four days in a row and long matches,” he added. And because Nadal remains Nadal, he was quick to point to tennis issues that he needs to fix for what’s coming next. “A lot of things can’t happen on court if you want to play at the level I want to play. (…) I arrived here practicing much better than what I did during the tournament, and that’s something I am not satisfied with. (…) I need to play much better. (…) I need to look inside myself to know why I’m not able to compete in the same way that I am practicing. I’m going to focus on trying to get myself in a position to play well at the Olympics.”

WTA/ATP 
Fils, Berrettini and Zheng win big

Who said getting back on clay right after the grass season was tough? Not these players.

Arthur Fils, who played the second week of a Grand Slam for the first time at Wimbledon, won his spot in the Top 20 in the best possible way by clinching the biggest title of his young career in the ATP 500 of Hamburg. And by beating (6-3, 3-6, 7-6(1)) Alexander Zverev on his home soil as a bonus in a match that ended in a little bit of a tense atmosphere, to say the least.

Matteo Berrettini keeps getting back on track! The Italian will return to the Top 50 thanks to the title won in Gstaad against Quentin Halys (6-3, 6-1). Marcos Giron (30) declined the clay, stayed on the grass…and did well as he ended with the trophy in Newport, his first ATP title.

Look out for them at the Olympics because these two have everything to set foot on the podium. Qinwen Zheng, obviously, sent a reminder to the field when she beat Karolina Muchova (welcome back!) for the title in Palermo (6-4, 4-6, 6-2). It was the first time in her career that she successfully defended a title. In Budapest, Diana Shnaider impressed again when she ended victorious against Aliaksandra Sasnovich (6-4, 6-4) for her third title of the year. She has won three titles on three different surfaces.

QUESTION OF THE DAY 
Are you into it?

You were 90% to think that a Grand Slam title is more valuable than a gold medal.

BUSINESS / MEDIA 
Hit It Like Iga

I absolutely love that feature from Tumaini Carayol for The Guardian on how to get that Iga Swiatek’s forehand. So many talks have happened through the years over Rafael Nadal’s forehand, and it’s now high time for Iga’s weapon of choice to get some coverage. “Midas touch: how to hit a topspin-heavy forehand like Iga Swiatek”: so good. And something you kinda can try at home!

• We’ve already wondered here if the Olympic spirit was on the way out, so it’s very interesting to read that piece from The Athletic about how “At the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, tennis is as odd a fit as ever.”

• TSS was also already on the trend, asking if tennis players were the new influencers. Well, it seems the answer - for athletes in general - is now increasingly a resounding yes. Digiday is digging into the trend, noticing that the partnerships between athletes and their brands look a lot like the influencers’ system nowadays. “We are seeing athletes operate a lot more like creators,” said Sophie Berman, head of talent and influencer at Havas Play UK, to Digiday.

• The media coverage for women’s sports keeps raising its profile, and podcasting is getting into it, too. Sarah Spain, a well-known ESPN reporter, “will host a daily women's sports podcast on a major radio network, called Good Game with Sarah Spain,” reports Forbes. The podcast will be a part of the Women’s Sports Audio Network produced by iHeartMedia and Deep Blue Sports & Entertainment.
  
  So what is the show going to be about? Here’s how it is described by Forbes: “Spain’s vision for the show is to be a daily one-stop shop for the biggest stories in women’s sports. Along with breaking news and interviews, Spain will be regularly joined by a roster of guests from the women’s sports world, like athletes, coaches, reporters, celebrities, and fans, to discuss everything from “the play on the court to the drama of it.” Spain, who says she hopes to create a community, describes it that way: “We're going to be the place that hopefully gives you all those stakes, stars, stories, and stats that make you want to watch more games,” said Spain. “The goal of the show is to make a community for people who love women's sports (or want to love women's sports) by giving them interviews, conversations, debates and content that both informs and entertains them.” Women’s sports are having a moment, and it’s time for the content available to catch up.

MENS SANA IN CORPORE SANO 
It really is injury season, unfortunately

• It’s this time again. Which time? The bubblewrapping time. Bubblewrap me those tennis joints, please. We spent the Roland-Garros to Wimbledon journey talking about Novak Djokovic’s knee, then it seems it started to spread at Wimbledon. Knee injury after knee injury after shoulder injury and all that slippery grass. So what now? Well, it keeps going. Holger Rune’s dream of playing at the Olympics is in serious doubt after he injured a knee in Hamburg and also as he keeps suffering from a wrist injury. This Rune situation comes as Hubert Hurkacz, who had a procedure done after diving and hurting his knee at Wimbledon and who was still trying to make it to Paris, announced on Monday that he had to withdraw from the Olympics. Marketa Vondrousova, who won silver in Tokyo, will also not play in Paris due to a hand injury. Simona Halep has also announced she was taking a break from her comeback due to…a knee injury. Really: bubblewrap season.

• Is Technological Doping The New Doping? The Conversation is wondering, “Where do we draw the line when technological advances used in sports cross over into performance enhancement, sometimes referred to as “technological doping”? The case they’ve decided to study? Shoes or, more like, Supershoes.

• Being paid to talk about your periods? Knix says, absolutely. The brand has partnered with Megan Rapinoe to set up a reward system for athletes willing to speak about their periods and their experience in the sport they play. "Yet 1 in 2 teens drop out of sports because of their periods and I can say that even at the highest level there is still stigma. (From cycle syncing, the fear of leaking through your uniform, to the reality of showing up for the biggest game of your career while managing period cramps, there is a lot we can talk about to help normalize periods in sports.) Athletes should not feel ashamed to talk about their periods and I'm looking forward to changing the narrative this summer and breaking open this conversation with Knix,” said Rapinoe. Do you want to join? Click here.

• “Why athletes choke under pressure, and how they reduce the odds of it happening again”: isn’t it an excellent timing for that type of feature? I mean… Well done, ABC Science, for a detailed, informed, and empathetic feature about why every champion in every sport can freeze under pressure. And what can be done about it.

• George Russell counts on Novak Djokovic for his longevity. Well, too bad Formula One didn’t decide to join forces with Tennis to save Break Point on Netflix! But Tennis is coming to Formula One rescue now, or kinda. It seems that Novak Djokovic is kind of coaching George Russell to help him have a longer career. Good idea, George. "We've shared ideas together, and he's been really open with me with things he's trying and what's working for him. We're just talking, many different ideas. Physical and mental,” Russell said before also adding that it is a win-win because Djokovic wants to know more about motor racing. But did they even know each other? Well, Russell bumped into Djokovic at the gym in Monaco. Go to the gym, people. I guess… 😂 

SOME BREAK POINTS… 
Swiatek is already in the place

• The Boss has landed. Iga Swiatek is already hitting on the Chatrier in Paris, even if the court looks a little bit different those days 😉 Her road to the Gold has officially started.

• Elina Svitolina has parted ways with her coach, Raemon Sluiter. "I just wanted to let you all know that Raemon Sluiter and I have decided to end our working relationship. We have had a great run and Ray has helped me become a better player, in my opinion he is one of the best out there on either tour and I will always be grateful of what we achieved together through his and our hard work and efforts,” the Ukrainian wrote on Instagram. With the former Kiki Bertens coach, Svitolina won the title in Strasbourg, reached the quarter-finals at Roland-Garros and the semi-finals at Wimbledon last year.

• Carlos Alcaraz got parental approval and got that tattoo. As he said after his win at Wimbledon, he still hadn’t gotten that Tour Eiffel tattoo to celebrate his win in Paris. And he wasn’t sure if he’d get one for Wimbledon after all. Why? Because of parental wrath to avoid. But all is good in the end as the 21-year-old also won that battle and got that drawing on his skin.

• The ATP Tour and Sportradar are teaming up to protect players from social media abuse. “The service, which the Tour is calling Safe Sport, will be made available for free to those who opt in among the top 250 singles players and 50 doubles players beginning this month.” In December, the ITF, the WTA, the AELTC, and the USTA said they were working with Signify Group “to deploy its AI-powered social media monitoring system, Threat Matrix, in a similar capacity for players who regularly compete in their respective events.”

PLAY HARD, TRAIN HARD, DRESS THE PART 
Tennis in the streets

Naomi Osaka has been busy after Wimbledon and right before the Olympics. Last week she was for example shooting a Maybelline commercial in NYC, as reported by WWD. I personally love these Nike sneakers and I’d also say that the hair beats the outfit here.

Osaka sporting a tennis outfit for that Maybelline commercial is very fitting with the overall trend of tennis players wardrobe taking over the streets. I mean, even Good Morning America shot a video about how to style your ‘tenniscore’ fashion for “tennis-inspired looks for the summer.”

EDITOR’S PICKS 
Coco sends a note to Younger Coco

By the way, I will also try to gather recommendations for you here regularly.

WATCH: Front Office Sports makes a deep dive into Maria Sharapova’s business journey. Once again, I can only tell you to sign up for their newsletter because their content rarely disappoints. Sharapova showing up at Wimbledon seems to have really had an effect, as The Athlete Exec also reported on her business success.*

READ: Coco Gauff wrote a letter to her younger self about being devasted when she tested positive for Covid-19 ahead of the Games in Tokyo. Also, if you’re curious about how to build your sports career, The Scouting Report* has a case study for you to read here.

LISTEN TO: Olympics.com has a podcast channel, and now is the best time to get ready for the Games by listening to its stories. What do you know about the Refugee Olympic Team? Not enough? Well, fix it here.

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