Pick And Choose Era

MENS SANA IN CORPORE SANO 
Djokovic to tennis in 2024: thanks, but no thanks

Will he or won’t he? Win? No, play. That’s been the whole mood around Novak Djokovic this year. He, of course, knows all the things we don’t know regarding why he played so little this year. When he damaged that meniscus at Roland-Garros, he hinted at previous knee pain being managed, so we could guess that there have been pain-related reasons.

But why not come to Paris for this year’s last Masters 1000 when you’ve just played the final in Shanghai and an exhibition in Saudi Arabia? Especially when you can still qualify for the ATP Finals? Well, I'm not sure he even wants to play the Finals right now, and he repeated the past few weeks that the event was not on his to-do list anyway. We know that he said he would attend the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga to be courtside for Rafael Nadal’s last match and that he will play an exhibition match with Juan Martin Del Potro in December.

What seems to be a pattern, though, is that Djokovic has entered an era of his career where he’s only going to play the events he really wants to play. He might spice the calendar up here and there if he finds himself lacking matches to win what he wants to win, aka the Grand Slam titles, but that’s it. Could his body do more right now? Good question. Could his mind do more right now? The answer is no because if it could, then Novak would. With him, it’s always been the willpower in the driving seat.

Nobody was surprised when Roger Federer and Serena Williams seriously reduced their schedule in the last stage of their careers. I guess people are more taken aback by Novak’s 2024 because it came very suddenly. He won the ATP Finals in 2023, lost in the semi-finals in Melbourne to start 2024…and then disappeared until Indian Wells and started to pick and choose his schedule. No warning, no hints. He went full-time to part-time in the blink of an eye.

Did he even see it coming? It’s been decades of him giving nearly 100% of his life to tennis. Being unable to conceive that sport at anything else than a 200% commitment. It must be quite the change for him, too, but also, it has to be the sign that he’s been hitting a wall, whatever that wall is. I do not expect him to leave the sport in the short term, and he confirmed he had no intention of following Federer, Nadal, and Murray. But being the last of the Big 4 standing has to be meaningful to him. “I still enjoy competing, but a part of me left with them,” he said in Shanghai. Finally clinching that gold at the Olympics might have triggered other things, too. And there’s no way fighting with Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner can replicate the rivalries that made him the player he is today. “Tennis is still my biggest platform for sharing the messages that I care about, whether it's related to tennis, society, or business. I still feel that I enjoy the process, and it brings me all these benefits, so why not?” he told La Nacion. How long can we expect tennis to keep Djokovic? Let me answer with two other questions that will, in my opinion, be the key: How long can Djokovic hope to keep winning Majors? How long will his personal brand need to be playing?

Dimitrov: “I had severe moments of anxiety”, “Three times, I was about to retire”

In Stockholm, where he reached the final, Grigor Dimitrov opened up about his struggles to keep his head in the game. In an interview, he showed a lot of honesty about the toll the sport has sometimes taken on his mental health and encouraged more male players to be open about that side of the job.

"I had severe moments of anxiety, panic attacks, even throughout the tennis match. Of course, I think it always helps when you can talk to people and share, even if it's another tennis player. I always say we all should be more open to each other. I know it's difficult. I know it's a very individual sport. I know it's brutal, but at the end of the day, we're all human and no different than anyone else. It just happens that we play good tennis, that's all. (…) We don’t speak enough about it. I totally understand I’m talking from my side, like men in general. We don’t speak about it often, but I think we should. It's not a weakness. I think it’s totally the opposite. I think showing vulnerability is an absolutely huge strength. You sit on your own ground. As a man, I’m very proud of that."

"We all want to look good from the outside, but the most important work is from inside out. And I think I’ve been trying to focus on that a lot, but I’m still struggling with it. Even where I’m at in my career, through the experiences I’ve had off the court, the heartbreaks, and the moments where I felt like the whole world was crumbling in front of me. The matches I’ve lost, judging myself for losing a match, playing the victim—those things are inevitable. But it’s how you harness them, how you address them. You have to walk with them, and that’s what I’ve done in very big moments in my life. (…) Take 2019, when I entered the US Open being ranked 82 in the world. That same year, I ended up being third in the world. Three times, I was about to retire from tennis. You may wake up feeling like crap. What do you do? You try, you go on with it, you put one foot in front of the other. If you win, great. If you lose, you take it on the chin and move on. There’s no other way."

Serena’s health scare

Serena Williams revealed that she had surgery to remove “a cyst the size of a small grapefruit” on her neck that a biopsy deemed noncancerous. She found it in May and ended up having to get that surgery when the cyst kept growing. In true Serena fashion, she’s been counting all the nice events that things made her miss. She has a tight schedule to maintain, places to go and people to see, and no time for the hospital. In the end, health came obviously first, and she’s on the road to recovery.

QUESTION OF THE DAY 
Do you believe it?

You were 75% to feel you were consuming more women’s sports content than before.

FEATURE 2 
Siniakova: “Doubles really suits me, and I also like that I’m not alone out there.”

Say her name more. Katerina Siniakova (28) is doubles World No.1 and one of the most successful doubles players in history (27 titles, including 9 Grand Slam titles, made the career Grand Slam and won the Olympics in Tokyo with Barbora Krejcikova in 2021). She’s also a Top 20 to 40 singles player in singles, having won five titles throughout her singles career. The Czech went through a crazy stretch this summer by winning the titles at Roland-Garros, Wimbledon, and the Olympics (mixed doubles with Tomas Machac ). We sat down to chat in Wuhan, where she would reach the semi-finals with Ekaterina Alexandrova.

Tennis never stops, but did you have time to reflect on what this crazy summer meant?
Definitely, it’s really tough in tennis, and sometimes you cannot even remember what you did after the season because you have one day, or maybe not even one day, after winning a title to think about it. So far, it’s definitely amazing, but I will surely realize more after I’m done with tennis.

What’s been the impact back home or in the locker room?
I would say the Olympics made the biggest difference as you could see that people who don’t even like sports and don’t usually watch sports know what’s happening. Whereas to care about Grand Slams, you need to know about tennis and really be in it. The biggest change was the Olympics, but I have amazing friends and an amazing family who are supporting me, so it was really nice.

In Juniors in 2023, you won RG, Wimbledon, and the US Open: a natural doubles player from the start…
I guess! I don’t know… Doubles has never been my priority, but it all kind of went my way there. Singles was and is priority, and I don’t even practice for doubles so I’m just really happy that it’s going so well. The way you play doubles is different, but I was lucky to have some talent! Everywhere when I was young, I played singles and doubles. I started when I was 10, playing doubles. I didn’t focus on it; I just wanted to be good at singles and doubles. It was really nice, but then when I turned pro, it got more separated, and yet I never thought I wanted to play just one and not the other. It all went along, and I did really well (she laughs).

Fewer and fewer top singles players are also doubles players. Have you always known you would play both?
I didn’t think about it, actually. When I started playing both in juniors, I knew I was physically ready, so I wanted to play both. Then, when I turned professional, it was the same. I got lucky to be able to stay healthy and ready for both. Definitely, it’s challenging for the schedule; it can be difficult, but not for the physical side because I would practice anyway. At the beginning of my career, I used doubles for practice because it’s much better to get matches than practice matches. Doubles really helped me at the beginning of my career by giving me more match experience and getting used to the nerves. Sometimes you can also be more relaxed because you are not alone there. And I’ve always felt very good physically, so it’s never been a problem.

Is your journey inspiring for younger players? Being Top 40 in singles and World No.1 in doubles… To show them that it’s possible…
I would love to. It’s really nice to be able to do both but it’s really tough because now everyone is being pushed to think that if you play singles you need to rest, you need to be just so focused on everything you’re doing so for the young players it’s really tough. A lot of top players are now just playing singles, so doubles is on the side. But I’d say many singles players on the WTA Tour are playing doubles, so it depends on the person and how they feel. But the new generation is told, and so say, that you need to focus on singles if you want to be better. It really needs to be a feeling about what you prefer to do if you’re healthy, and of course, it’s tough to know at the beginning of your career. But above all, you need to like it. And then you work hard.

Singles was your priority when you started: Have you ever been tempted to drop the doubles?
Singles was and is still my priority. My schedule is all for singles and I never practice just doubles, I know it sounds crazy. I was changing my schedule at some point, not playing as many doubles tournaments as I did in the past, but I definitely wasn’t thinking about dropping it. Because when I was in the part of my career when I was thinking, ‘maybe I should start trying what people say and focus more on singles,’ I decided not to do it because it’s very hard to stay in the Top 20 and even if I think about money, doubles gave me the feeling it was making it easier for me to pay my team for example. And I have fun in doubles! So, I didn’t want to give it up.

Why would you say you’re so good at doubles?
I would say the way I play at the net, for sure. Also, the reflexes, the fact that I’m fast. I am, I guess, talented because you can learn the reflexes and all that, but I never practiced this, so I have to be lucky. Also, sometimes, as a great athlete, you just have it in you, but then you still have to work, and everything needs to click together. In this case, doubles really suits me, and I also like that I’m not alone out there.

Do you think there’s a lack of recognition for doubles?
Definitely, it’s different than singles. I feel a lot that even when I’m number 1, I don’t get the same advantages, the same practices situations, I don’t get to do any media, so it’s a really big difference.

Has your crazy summer changed that?
No! (She laughs). Unfortunatley no. And it’s really sad about doubles. I can just speak for myself, and I think I’ve achieved a lot in doubles, but no one cares. But that’s how it is; I don’t care anymore, and I don’t think it’s gonna change. Sometimes, you need to save this energy for something else. I know I did great stuff. But sometimes I’m in the main draw in singles, being Top 30 or Top 50, and I get better chances to practice than when being here as a World n°1 doubles player, and that’s how it is.

Has playing doubles made you a better singles player?
Good question! At the beginning of my career, yes, it definitely helped me with the serve and the return because, in doubles, you need to be more solid there as you have the player at the net. I think, yes, it’s helping me. Even when I had some big singles matches on big stages, it helped me to go and play because I had already been there.

How do you deal with the wait list as, for sure, everybody wants to play with you?
I need them to play on the deuce side! (She laughs) Usually, it’s a little bit about the game style and then about having a nice feeling. I’m ready to try with anyone, but maybe now I prefer someone who’s playing more aggressively, as it’s what I need so I can do more stuff at the net. It’s a little bit tricky with me because I don’t play the small tournaments.

After you won the Olympics, you were all over the gossip sites because of your personal life: was it weird?
Actually, it was so funny with all these stories. I never thought it could happen. If we hadn’t broken up, nothing would have happened, but here, anything got turned into a whole story. It really helped me because I found out that I could keep my personal life more secret because it doesn’t matter what happens next: it taught me I would keep it more for myself. You don’t have to say it, even when people ask and are waiting to learn something more. They’re waiting for the story. It was a very emotional and tough journey, but I wouldn’t change it: it’s life, tough and good.

There are so many great tennis players in your country: how is life when you’re home?
When I go back, I feel free, and I like it. I can go into the city without feeling they really recognize me. I really like it because it’s tough when you cannot do anything. There are so many players so people in Czech Republic really need to watch tennis, but when you’re in public you can still feel many people still don’t know about tennis! (She laughs)

SOME BREAK POINTS… 
Thiem leaves tennis and goes to fight for Earth

Dominic Thiem is another layer to the belief that there’s something as “too nice to crush it” when professional sports is concerned. The Austrian was surely one of the nicest players I’ve had the chance to work around. And also surely one of the most talented ones to leave the sport with a stellar résumé that still feels fitting in a “yet, could have been even better” file. Unfair? Of course. Welcome to professional sports: oh sure, you’ve won this and this and been ranked this and that, but you had so much more potential!

Thiem played his last official match in Vienna this week, gave a lengthy interview about what went right and wrong in his career, and another one about his career highlights and best shots. Then, he left the scene with a smile. He gave everything he had (he for sure played an insane schedule for too long) but damaged that right wrist and never came back from it. He’ll be missed: for that backhand, for that work ethic, for being the guy-next-door-that-everybody-likes in a sport filled with ego. He also should be a sort of cautionary tale for every young player thinking - or be made to think - there will be no consequences in not giving proper rest to one’s body, whatever the natural abilities of said body.

What I absolutely love about Thiem is that he has always been making sense. It is not the norm out there. He never thought he was someone else and never acted like someone else, either. The Austrian has been vocal throughout his whole career about the need to protect the environment, and so he goes after his career to fight for Mother Nature. Nowadays, someone would praise how aligned he is with his beliefs. Aligned is so on-brand right now, you know. But yeah, Thiem makes sense. As reported by The Times, he will now dedicate part of his time to combine business and fight for the environment: “Already he has used some of his £23million prize money to create two companies in his name: Thiem Energy, which aims to develop community-based solar power, and Thiem View, which creates sunglasses from sustainable materials.”

In his long list of tennis achievements, I still think one should always be mentioned before his US Open title: Thiem is one of only two players to beat Rafael Nadal more than four times on clay.

Tennis, assisted

Let’s be honest: I am not a fan of that unlimited off-court coaching and so of the fact that it’s now here to stay. I will tend to side with the likes of Denis Shapovalov, Taylor Fritz, and others who don’t get why we’re removing one of the specific traits of the sport. Tennis is about problem-solving on your own on that court. And seeing players looking at their box after each point to be told what to do is always getting on my nerves. Figure it out yourself! I understand that some might feel they’re paying for a coach who can’t help them at the crucial moments of a match but: tennis is 1-1, and you chose that sport, and you have already used that coach to prepare for that match (and you’re anyway going to find ways to receive some advice here and there during said match, please). Also, I’m gonna say it: if your players are still unable to figure it out for themselves on that court, I think it’s a sign that the coaching fails.

I also fully disagree with the saying that allowing off-court coaching will make things fairer. How is it going to do that when it is actually giving an edge to players able to afford a coaching team? And maybe even a data science team, as now players will also be able to consult data sets on the court: Do you think the average player who’s not been taught how to use data can take advantage of that? All I see is the letters gate-keeping shining bigger.

I would prefer everybody to be honest about it: off-court coaching is now here to legally stay without any real kind of limits because 1) it has happened forever anyway, 2) the Tour doesn’t want to lose time and temper in policing it, 3) the Tour hopes it’ll be so good for the show, aka for the drama, aka for television, streaming and social media. Like, please, let’s tell it like it is. The only thing that is going to limit the whole off-court coaching era from taking fully over the actual play is that players are having less and less time between the points. But just wait for them to spend most of it still arguing with the coach, parent, partner, physio, or whoever would have told them the serve would come this way when it actually went that way.

I was honestly fine with the on-court coaching trial as it opened a real window into what was going on in a player’s mind and on the player-coach dynamic. You were learning stuff. But having coaches - and in worst cases, Apostolos Tsitsipas-style people - talking, yelling, arguing with players from the first to last point of a match? Oh no, thank you very much. Nobody needs that, starting with the players. And even the coaches: gosh, they’re going through it…

BUSINESS / MEDIA 
It Is Not ideal…

• Well, if tennis thought it had found new deep pockets with Kering - via Gucci’s love for Jannik Sinner), it might want to reconsider. And remain in the good graces of Louis Vuitton. Why? Because it’s been yikes after yikes for Kering lately, and it’s getting worse: sales fell 16% in third-quarter revenue. “The French group forecast full-year operating profits would drop more than 45 percent year-on-year to €2.5 billion, citing “major uncertainties likely to weigh on demand among luxury consumers in the coming months,” reports the Business Of Fashion, adding that Gucci’s sales are down 25%. Maybe Kering and Nike should start their own support group…
  

• In other fashion and sports news, here’s for a birth: WWD reports that a new magazine is coming to try to merge these two powerhouses. Carine Roitfeld, former editor-in-chief of Vogue Paris and founder of CR Fashion Book, is launching - with her son Vladimir - “a biannual magazine for men and women and what CR describes as an “interdisciplinary platform” encompassing e-commerce, exclusive brand collaborations, capsule collections and merchandise drops from athletes and designers.” Dwyane Wade will be their first guest editor. The new venture should launch in the first half of 2025, and we’re still waiting on the name. I’m curious about it, especially because it sounds very ambitious: “Content is expected to include exclusive interviews, essays that highlight the synergy between fashion icons and athletic legends, activewear trends, in-depth features on fashion-forward athletes, style tips from industry experts and insights into how sport continues to influence the world of high fashion.”
  

• Last minute news! Maria Sharapova, Mike, and Bob Bryan have been inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. When is the party? August 21-23, 2025, in Newport.

PLAY HARD, TRAIN HARD, DRESS THE PART 
Tennis, tell me when…

I’m sorry, but the NFL getting a fashion editor and not tennis or the NBA? Something’s not adding up. Granted, I hadn’t even thought about it before falling on this NFL news. But now that it’s in my brain, I cannot stop from being offended on tennis's behalf. Also, for real, when are we bringing these tunnel walks? Tennis, give me something (Venus tried at least!).

As reported many times in this space, luxury fashion brands are all over tennis right now and all over sports in general, so maybe for once, tennis could try not to miss the potential of the bag and the train to the mainstream station. Do I need to remind anyone that we already missed the streaming train by bombing Break Point on Netflix? No, I don’t think I need to. So, anyway, a fashion editor? Gosh, for the first (and surely) last time in my life, I’m jealous of the NFL coverage beat.

EDITOR’S PICKS 

You can find other picks here, including my go-to newsletters for anything tech*, anything backstage* or professional sports*, and the one for everything NIL*. If you’re a solopreneur, you might like this one, by the way. I also have a sweet spot for The Creator Spotlight*, which provides examples of other creators’ journeys. If you are a collector of anything sports-related, have a look at Above the Mantel.

READ: The Athletic about the “it could go south” side of video review in tennis. “Tennis, welcome to VAR: the source of existential angst, frustration, and rage across the English Premier League.”

WATCH: “Dominic Thiem: Reliving a memorable journey,” an interview made by the ATP

LISTEN TO: Allyson Felix about the launch of her women’s sports management firm on “The Business Case for Women’s Sports” podcast.