Pivot!

MENS SANA IN CORPORE SANO
We’ve lost Andrey Rublev on the way

I have no idea what’s going on with Andrey Rublev these days, but something is very wrong. And it’s even distressing to witness. Many of us surely thought his rough patch following his Dubai disqualification in the semi-finals was over when he won Madrid’s Masters 1000. But no, it’s getting worse since then.

On Wednesday, despite being the defending champion, he lost in his first match in Bastad, beaten by Thiago Agustin Tirante (7-6(5), 3-6, 6-4). Overall, it was a surprising day in Bastad, as Casper Ruud went down, too, beaten by Thiago Monteiro (6-3, 6-3). It’s not that Rublev lost that match in Bastad; it’s that it’s the third time in a row that he lost in the first match he played after Halle and Wimbledon. It’s the sixth time he has lost that early since March. And it comes after a third-round exit at Roland-Garros, where he spent the whole match in some kind of angry despair where he said he “killed himself” mentally. At Wimbledon, he hit himself multiple times in a row with his racquet.

Even John McEnroe said it was too much now. “Whether or not he crossed a line is irrelevant at this point,” McEnroe said after the incident at Roland-Garros. “I don’t think he crossed a line; he crossed a line for himself. Take it from someone who knows about going crazy; if you’re going to go crazy, you’ve got to know when you’ve got to pull back so you can keep your focus and concentration and play well. If it’s helping you, which it often did with me, you keep doing it until they say, ‘One more and you’re out.’ If it’s not helping, you’ve got to go to a plan B. (…) I’ve seen Rublev go crazy before. This isn’t the first time. He’s a guy that wears his emotions on his sleeve. My agent, Gary Swain, when Andrey was 15 or 16, told me, ‘You got to coach the guy!’. In some ways, I think he was right. We were cut out for each other.”

At this point, the issue isn’t that he’s on the verge of losing his spot in the Top 10; it’s about witnessing someone having a very public mental health crisis. And wondering if the sport should do something about it. At which point should the Tour be able to take a player off the court because he’s losing his mind on it? Should there be an option for a psychological assessment after these episodes? Players are independent contractors, so I don’t think implementing this would be an easy option. But the scenes of Roland-Garros and Wimbledon can’t keep repeating themselves, first and foremost for Rublev’s sake.

Rublev, who has openly condemned the war led by Russia in Ukraine, also decided to skip the Olympics despite being allowed in as a neutral athlete and the Games being played on his best surface. For health reasons, as it was announced after Roland-Garros. It also all comes when Global Rights Compliance, a human rights foundation, claims that some athletes from Russia and Belarus are still taking pro-Russia stances that should see them banned from the Games as it violates the rules set by the IOC. The ICO answered that the screening was done the way it should have been done.

BUSINESS / MEDIA
“Be Delusional,” says Coco Gauff

• Sometimes, being a bit Delulu is a good thing. That’s what Coco Gauff thinks and what she’d say to entrepreneurs, as quoted in the interview she gave to Forbes.“I think delusional is great,” Gauff said. “All of the greatest athletes and greatest artists have to have a little bit of craziness and delusion. Having a little bit of craziness in your goal is kind of healthy.” It comes as Gauff announced a new partnership with “shipping giant UPS to create a campaign intended to uplift small businesses.” The campaign is named Coco vs. The Doubters. “I realized a lot of (negative) things that are told to small business owners are also told to athletes,” said Gauff.

• The Athletic went deep into the relationship between Iga Swiatek and Wimbledon, trying to decide if the World No.1 really has an issue with grass or if we have the bad habit of taking the extraordinary for granted.

• The WTA keeps its International Payments Provider. The WTA and Corpay, Inc. (NYSE: CPAY), “a global leader in corporate payments,” announced on Thursday that they will extend their partnership with Corpay’s Cross-Border business “for a further three years through 2026.” The company has provided a range of corporate foreign exchange payments for the WTA and its members since 2017. “This includes the execution of prize money payments to players competing at more than 70 tournaments across six continents on the Hologic WTA Tour.”

• The ATP signs a deal for the guts. Kinda. On Wednesday, it was announced that the ATP signed a multi-year global partnership with Fitline, the premium sports nutrition brand. “Fitline becomes the Official Sports Nutrition Partner and Official Energy Bar Partner of the ATP Tour through 2026. Fitline’s premium range of products is designed for athletic performance and to support energy as well as immune function. The global brand, developed and distributed exclusively by PM-International, offers a variety of supplements that can be tailored to meet individual needs.”

QUESTION OF THE DAY
The Slam or that Gold?

Surprisingly (to me), 55,56% of you thought Novak Djokovic would not win another Grand Slam title. History has proved that doubting that man was rarely a good idea, but let’s see who’ll be right in the end!

SOME BREAK POINTS…
The WTA Coach Inclusion Program is expanding

The WTA announced that they partnered with the LTA starting in December to expand the Coach Inclusion Program into Great Britain for the first time. The program will “focus on increasing the number of women coaches on the Hologic WTA Tour by promoting professional coaching as a compelling career choice to current and former women athletes and coaches based in Great Britain. Coaches will receive the chance to shadow WTA players and coaches, mentoring, and access to specialist resources. The program has already run successfully in North America for the past year, and this will be the first extension of the program to Europe.”

“Building on the success of our very own Female Performance Coach Engagement Programme, we are excited to be partnering with the WTA to give our female coaches unprecedented access, insight and opportunity at the very top of the game,” said Nick Weal, Head of Performance Coach Education & Development at the LTA, in a statement. “This is an important step towards increasing the number of female coaches on the tour and will hopefully help build their confidence by providing specialized support and opening doors.” Mike Anders, WTA Director of Member services, added: “This program has proven in North America to be an excellent start towards increasing the number of successful women coaches on Tour and will continue to be an exciting opportunity for British women to be equipped with the tools and training to coach at the highest level.”

What does the program include, and how does one get into it?

• Phase 1 in December: Experiencing a week of offseason training with several WTA players under the guidance of WTA registered coaches and coach-educators

• Phase 2 from January to April 2025: “Participants will receive individualized support from an experienced performance coach and qualified LTA mentor, who will support them as they cover a range of key performance topics relevant to their development. The group will have access to the Performance Coaches Institute and will be brought together for regular live meetings from leading industry experts.”

• Phase 3 in the summer of 2025: Shadowing an existing WTA coach and player at multiple WTA tournaments.

You can register “by sending a coaching resume to the WTA Coach Program at [email protected], with applications officially opening on September 2nd.”

Seville sends the BJK Cup to Malaga

We don’t know why, but Seville told the Billie Jean King Cup to pack and enjoy Malaga instead. In a surprising move, the ITF announced on Wednesday that the BJK Cup Finals will still happen at the same dates (13-20 Nov) but no longer in Seville as "the relocation was required by the event's host partner, Junta de Andalucia (government of Andalucia), and supported by the city and diputacion (provincial council) of Malaga,"said a statement. No more details have surfaced for now.

It creates a fantastic new event and some headaches to organize it all. Why? Because Malaga is already hosting the Davis Cup Final (19-24 Nov), so it creates an overlap of a couple of days. On paper, it’s amazing to get both Finals at the same place, but having them also around the same time on such short notice will be a challenge. “Our priority is to ensure the Billie Jean King Cup Finals continue seamlessly as the most exciting and unique women’s team tennis tournament on the 2024 calendar,” said Ilana Kloss, Chair of Billie Jean King Cup Ltd. “Malaga, just 130 miles from Sevilla, has been a fantastic host of the Davis Cup Final 8 since 2022 and we know that its world-class facilities and passionate fans will help create another unique and memorable world championship.” 

Conchita Martinez, Tournament Director, said: “I know that Malaga, just a two-hour drive from Sevilla, will deliver the exceptional atmosphere and passion that fans of the Billie Jean King Cup have come to know and love. We are set for a blockbuster fortnight of tennis this November and I can’t wait to welcome the tennis world to Malaga this November.” Malaga also seems very happy about that new development: “We are thrilled to host the Billie Jean King Cup Finals,” saidFrancisco del Torre, Mayor of Málaga. “Our city is passionate about tennis and committed to delivering an unforgettable tournament for everyone involved. Hosting these back-to-back events is a tremendous honour that will bring unprecedented excitement to our city.”

What happens to BJK Cup ticket holders? They can switch their tickets to Malaga or ask for a refund.

Women are back on the grass of Newport

There will still be a men's tennis tournament in Newport next year, and, even better, there will also be a women's one.

• What happened?Last year, it was announced that the ATP 250 of Newport Tennis Hall Of Fame would be taken off the calendar starting in 2025, as the ATP was revamping its whole schedule.

• What was the issue? You can imagine that taking tennis away from the Hall of Fame town with such a long tradition of hosting that tournament wasn’t precisely excellent optics.

• How did they solve that? As often, they brought the women to the rescue 😉 Well, they did! And for the first time at Newport since the end of the Virginia Slims of Newport in 1990. From 2025, the International Tennis Hall of Fame will host a combined ATP and WTA tournament (6-13 July). It’s an original idea combining an ATP Challenger 125 and a WTA 125. The event will be the only WTA Tour stop on grass outside Europe. The tournaments will award equal prize money to both the men’s and the women’s draws.

• How will it be managed (size of draws, what about the Hall of Fame induction ceremony?): Both the ATP Challenger and WTA 125 draws will consist of 32 singles players and 16 doubles teams. The WTA event will feature an 8-player qualifying draw, with a 24-player qualifying draw for the Challenger Tour event. Matches will be played on five courts simultaneously for at least four days of action. The International Tennis Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and Celebration will remain in Newport and moved to August.

• What did they say?
  “Elite tennis has been a part of Newport's history since 1881. The 2025 Hall of Fame Open represents the next exciting chapter in the International Tennis Hall of Fame's rich history of honoring the sport,” stated ITHF CEO Dan Faber. “Our distinctive venue and traditions will continue to deliver an exceptional experience for tennis fans in New England.”

  
  “The Hologic WTA Tour is excited to return to Newport for the first time in nearly 25 years. As one of tennis’ most iconic venues, the International Tennis Hall of Fame is the perfect location to extend the grass season for our players. We are proud to work with the ITHF on this incredible opportunity for both organizations,” said Melissa Pine, Vice President, WTA 125 Operations
  
  “The ATP is pleased to continue its longstanding relationship with the International Tennis Hall of Fame as the newest Challenger Tour venue. Newport will continue to be a highlight of the grass season and provide a world-class experience for our players,” said Eric Lamquet, Director, ATP Challenger Tour 

Nadal to play at the US Open?

Well, nobody knows, but at least his name is on the entry list, which was made possible due to the use of his protected ranking (#9). Rafael Nadal said multiple times already that he still hadn’t decided what to do after the Olympics and that he wouldn’t make a decision before the end of his run in Paris. But at least we know he still wants to keep all the options on the table.

EDITOR’S PICKS

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

READ:The Marketing Brew wondered what happened for leagues’ social media teams during the off-season, “How team marketers keep their socials active year-round.” Tennis doesn’t have this issue, I guess, as there’s barely an off-season!

WATCH:“Day in the Life: Angella Okutoyi”: the latest episode in the ITF-produced YouTube series which goes behind the scenes with tennis players around the world. Angella was the first Kenyan girl to win a Junior Grand Slam match at the AO 2022, and won the Junior doubles at Wimbledon the same year. She had a very special journey. “She was orphaned when her mother tragically passed away giving birth to her and her twin sister, Roselida Asumwa. She spent a brief period in an orphanage before living with her grandmother, Mary, and finding tennis on the grounds of the Loreto Convent School where her grandmother worked. She topped the podium at the African Games this year, and attends Auburn University in the United States. She’s part of the Grand Slam Player Development Programme/ITF Touring Team.”

LISTEN TO:In the last episode of the Business Case for Women’s Sports, Caroline Fitzgerald sits down with Megan Gokey, the Head of B2C marketing for North America and the UK at Klarna, whose team partnered with Sports Innovation Lab, to study the untapped potential of the women’s sports merchandise market. The size of that market? $4 Billion.