Pressure flying high all around, as NYC is looming

WTA - CINCINNATI
Swiatek and Gauff, contested leaders

I really didn’t intend to manifest Coco Gauff’s struggles when I wrote about how she was in a tricky situation after the Olympics. But she was and now it’s proved. Gauff lost in the second round in Toronto and was beaten in her first match in Cincinnati despite being the defending champion. Is it ideal before starting to defend her US Open title? No, it is not. Is it worthy of ringing the alarm? Absolutely not. Let’s reconvene after NYC.

The issue for Gauff is that she’s going into her first time as the defending champion of a Grand Slam with a low level of confidence. If you want to get the full picture of the tangible reasons to worry a bit, here’s a good summary from The Athletic: “It is Gauff’s fifth consecutive defeat to a player inside the top 50 and the 20-year-old will now be seeded No. 3 at the US Open, dropping below Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka in the WTA rankings. As a result, she will no longer guarantee avoiding world No. 1 Iga Swiatek until the final, against whom the American has a 1-11 record.”

What is she saying about it all? "I feel like I have to work on consistency overall. I'll probably go home and try to reset. Obviously, I have a lot coming up soon with the US Open, so I think just trying to reset and be ready for that." It’s obviously easy to say now, but she alluded to it after losing in Canada: she might have needed a break after the Olympics instead of getting more tennis. And finally, it’s a lot of pressure all around for a player who is still very young (20).

But, also, Iga Swiatek took a break after the Olympics and is still finding herself in a tricky situation. I mean, on paper, she is not; she’s just fine. In the tennis mind game that has been trying to have a go at her lately, she could be. So, yes, the World No.1 lost in the semi-finals in straight sets in Cincinnati against one of her biggest rivals, Aryna Sabalenka. And now you’re finding people more worried about Swiatek’s tennis than about Sabalenka who has been struggling with a right shoulder injury for weeks and who hasn’t won a title since the Australian Open. But is Sabalenka the World No.1 and overall boss of that Tour? No, so she’s allowed all of this. Swiatek is under the well-known curse descending on any dominating player: any tournament entered and not won is a failure. It’s coming with the territory, everybody knows the deal.

Swiatek, who called again for a lighter schedule, didn’t play right after the Olympics, so seeing her a bit rusty in Cincinnati was absolutely normal. And she honestly had everything she could have hoped for there and everything she said she wanted, that is to say, practice time: a lot of time on the court, a lot of tough situations to get out of. She struggled against Varvara Gracheva and had to battle it out against Mirra Andreeva, which will help her get ready for NYC. The only recent pattern she needs to fix is how she loses track at the moment when she should close all the doors. She was 6-0, 5-2 up, and had five match points against Gracheva before finding herself in the third set, for example. She was 4-0 up against Qinwen Zheng in the second set of that semi-final at the Games. She scares the rest of the field because she’s wow clutch. She cannot lose that.

Talk about one player who could benefit from this! Jessica Pegula. I didn’t see it coming after the past week weeks she had, but she made quite the impression on this hard court stretch so far. She kept her title in Toronto, despite coming from clay, and is now in the finals in Cincinnati. She won a crazy battle on the way against Leylah Fernandez (who had ousted Elena Rybakina), and the more she gets out as the winner of these tight battles, the more dangerous she’s going to get.

ATP - CINCINNATI 
Sinner back in business, Alcaraz out of it

“I felt like it was the worst match that I ever played in my career,” said Carlos Alcaraz after losing against Gaël Monfils in his first match in Cincinnati. He hadn’t played since the Olympics final and surely thought he had enough margin to build his hardcourt form through the Cincinnati event. Well, we all thought the same. But Alcaraz is still a human being and not already Team Avengers so he was sent back to Earth. His anger through that loss is a very good sign regarding how hungry he still is with the US Open around the corner. He has sufficiently proved how few matches he needs to be competitive for the biggest titles, so there’s no reason to think it’ll impact his chances at the US Open. Unless the mark left by the Olympics runs deeper than even he thinks.

Frances Tiafoe going through a draw is always something worth a watch. He just puts so much heart into it. And so here he went all the way to the Cincinnati final, his first in a Masters 1000 event and so the biggest of his career. He did it Tiafoe style by coming back from 5-2 down in the third set against Holger Rune, saving two match points on the way (4-6, 6-1, 7-6(4)).

Jannik Sinner also went through that draw, Sinner style: quietly, sometimes on the brink, but solid as a rock in the end. The Italian may not play his best yet, but he showed again lots of guts in Cincinnati against Andrey Rublev and Alexander Zverev. He really made big steps in the mental strength department this one in the last couple of years. "The physical aspect, of course, I have to improve, because if I want to win Grand Slams or a bigger title I have to be, for sure, more in shape. But I just tried to stay there mentally, which I'm very proud of. Sometimes you have to play a bit with the gut feeling. And I think this today was my strength," he said.

QUESTION OF THE DAY 
Will it all matter in the end?

You were 66,67% to say that, yes, tennis needs Naomi Osaka back at the top. It was way less enthusiasm than I thought it would be, I have to admit. An overall feeling summarized here by Shirley, who said, “I think it would be nice to have Naomi Osaka back at the top, but don't think that tennis NEEDS it. I enjoyed your piece on her comeback, thought it was interesting and fair.”

BUSINESS / MEDIA 
A raise, some perks, and a hard stop

Who is getting more money? The ITF World Tennis Tour. The ITF has announced that it will significantly raise the money allotted to several categories of events. “2025 to see a fourth consecutive year of prize money records for women ($20.7m, up from $15m in 2022), and a third consecutive year for men ($14.6m, up from $10m in 2022). (…) A record total of $35.3m will be on offer in 2025 where over 1,100 tournaments will be played across the world. This is a 20% increase on the $29.4m total available in 2024,” the ITF said in a statement. 

David Haggerty, the ITF President, said the overall raise was a new layer in their goal of gender parity and a fairer Tour. "The ITF World Tennis Tour is a key part of the tennis eco-system, and is the recognised pathway to the top level of the game. Today’s announcement is further evidence of the ITF’s continued commitment to deliver better prize money, higher standards and sustainable scheduling which make the tour a fair and inclusive environment for female and male players to fulfil their potential. Crucially, another year of enhanced hospitality and accommodation for women and a fourth consecutive year of record prize money reflects our commitment to achieving gender parity at all levels. The progress we have seen on the ITF World Tennis Tour in recent years is continuing at great pace, and we are excited for the future."

So who’s getting what?

• Prize money at the two entry-level categories to be raised to provide an additional $5m of prize money (26% increase) to improve player earning potential.

• Prize money at W15/M15 tournaments to increase from $15,000 to $20,000, and at W35/M25 tournaments from $25,000 to $30,000

• Mandatory hospitality to be provided at W100, W75 and W50 women’s events (at least 150 tournaments, up from 25 in 2024) to help with player costs.

• Prize money to increase at W75 tournaments from $60,000 to $70,000.

A judge rained on Venu’s parade. Yes, she did. First of all, if you have forgotten what Venu is, it’s a sports streaming joint venture between Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery that was supposed to launch this month (Aug. 23). Well, it’s not happening. And it’s kind of a huge deal. Why isn’t it happening? Because FuboTV said “over my dead body” and sued for antitrust reasons and…won.

“[I]t appears to the Court that Fubo is likely to succeed on its claims” that Venu would “substantially lessen competition and restrain trade. (…) Together, they own over 60% of the telecast rights to nationally broadcast live sports, and an even larger share of the most-watched sports like football and basketball and the most-watched events like playoff or championship games,” Judge Margaret Garnett said as she blocked the launch. Hmmm, so now what? It’s a temporary injunction, and an appeal is on the way, but it also appears that Disney could get second thoughts. So, overall, it’s a mess.

The US Open bends it like Wimbledon. No, they haven’t switched to grass. But they’re going to let IBM’s AI write their match reports this year. The system will have reports out for all the men’s and women’s singles matches, available within minutes of conclusion. The content will be reviewed by humans before publication.

"One of the key goals of the US Open Digital Platforms is to provide fans worldwide with comprehensive coverage of all the action taking place during the three weeks of the tournament," said Brian Ryerson, Sr. Director of Digital Strategy at the USTA. "AI Match Reports enables us to efficiently deliver concise, factual match previews and reports for over 150 matches to fans across our platforms. The efficiency of providing this content at scale allows our editorial teams to focus on other storylines and interviews, ensuring we can provide the most comprehensive coverage possible." It wasn’t exactly flawless at Wimbledon, and it landed in hot water.

Also, regarding the US Open, if you’re in NYC and want some free tennis-inspired ice cream scoops, it’s going to be a thing. If you’re attending the US Open and you own an AmEx, other perks are on the way.

• And to finish, here’s another fund that decides to bet on women’s sports. “Fortuna Investments, a venture capital and advisory firm focused on high-growth industries, announced the launch of a new investment platform dedicated to providing resources to support women’s professional sports, at a time of exciting and rapid expansion in the sector.”

MENS SANA IN CORPORE SANO 
It’s the joints again

• Jannik Sinner’s right hip is still playing tough to convince. Yes, the Italian is having a great week in Cincinnati, but there’s a nagging feeling again that his body isn’t fully cooperating. We’ve already talked about the riot of his immune system, but now we’re back to being concerned about that hip. This one has been sending distress signs since Madrid already. And again, tennis people really don’t like hip injuries. Sinner, as he often does, is opting for optimism, and so he said before the event that “he’s not afraid” and feels “quite good.” 
  
  He’s also 23 of age and World No.1, meaning it’s a good combination for feeling like you’re made of steel. But Sinner has unfortunately had his fair share of injuries already in his young career so he and his team for sure know to be careful. “Physically, I feel good and it was important to play matches here before the US Open, which is the main goal. Sometimes I felt a discomfort in my hip, but it is something different and less serious than what I had in the spring. Probably, the fact of having been inactive and having faced these tournaments in succession with little recovery has made itself felt. After this event, we will see what it is exactly, but I am not worried, and the goal is always to be 100% fit in New York,” Sinner told the press after his semi-final.
  

• Marketa Vondrousova and Cameron Norrie are both out of the US Open. The Czech, who hasn’t played since losing in the first round of Wimbledon as the defending champion, had already missed the Olympics due to a hand injury. As for the British player, he’s still suffering from the forearm injury that prevented him from playing at the Olympics.

SOME BREAK POINTS… 
It is not the year of umpiring

Umpires are having quite the year on the court—not in a good way. It seems every week brings its own umpiring drama this year, and it just won’t stop. I was just there last week, letting you know what happened to Taylor Fritz in Cincinnati, and, guess what, drama happened again in Cinci.

How? When Jack Draper won the GOAT of the controversial match points, and shouldn’t have. Why are players, coaches, and fans mad? Because a simple video replay would have prevented tennis from looking stupid, and that it’s not the first time, and so many are having enough, including Novak Djokovic and Darren Cahill. The ATP was quick to act after what happened to Taylor Fritz (losing a point despite his rival’s shot being out), so let’s see what will now happen after this new issue. The Times, for example, isn’t sure that things will move faster despite this mess. “There are considerable costs in making this system available at all tournaments in various locations around the world, and the protocol for a range of variable scenarios is far more complex than the two-outcome nature — in or out — of ELC, which uses 12 cameras to track the ball’s trajectory and determine where it landed within a tenth of a second,” it says. 

But between the electronic system failing and human beings on the chair failing, it’s starting to pile on. Sure, bad streaks happen. But also, if we have the tools to prevent that and keep everybody’s sanity intact, why not use them? Who still got praised despite the storm? Felix Auger-Aliassime. The Canadian, despite being on the losing side, stayed so composed and polite through the whole thing that he gave a lesson on how to stand up for yourself without making a scene. We can all name the players who would have burnt the ground of the entire stadium if it had happened to them. Not saying they’d have been wrong nor that we don’t like a scene, just noticing that “FAA” not losing his mind out there was a feat in itself. Oh, and who’s breathing a sigh of relief? The US Open, as it had already decided to get the VAR on its courts again this year (hoping to avoid last year’s glitch though).

Alcaraz is sorry…

For what? Breaking a racquet. Carlos Alcaraz took to social media to apologize for his outburst. Somewhere, Novak Djokovic, Stan Wawrinka, or the legendary Marat Safin are having a good laugh at imagining having to say sorry each time they’d have broken a racquet. But Alcaraz is well aware of the Rafael Nadal legacy on his shoulders. Some might say, maybe too much.

Tiafoe and Tabilo join the Laver Cup fun

The Laver Cup announced on Thursday that Frances Tiafoe and Alejandro Tabilo will join Team World in Berlin (20-22 September). They will join Alex de Minaur, Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton, and Tommy Paul on Captain John McEnroe’s team. Tiafoe sealed the first victory of Team World in London in 2022.

“I’m thrilled to have Frances back on the team in Berlin,” McEnroe said. “He’s proven he can hold his own against the world’s best players. His power and speed make him a threat in both singles and doubles, giving us lots of options. He’s a big personality and brings a great vibe to the team, whether he’s on the court or on the bench. (…) Tabilo has demonstrated he is capable of beating the best players in the game on all surfaces this year. He should inject some fresh energy to what is an experienced and successful core team.”

PLAY HARD, TRAIN HARD, DRESS THE PART 
Osaka gives Etsy the tennis treatment

Naomi Osaka and Etsy are launching another part of their “multi-phased collaboration.” Osaka, who will be a guest-judged at the Etsy Design Awards this year, is now launching a jewelry line with Etsy. The Japanese player co-designed the collection with Etsy seller Krista Young of Gem & Blue. “I often choose shopping on Etsy because it's nice to know that everything is from a small business. As an entrepreneur myself, I have so much respect for independent designers and the hard work it takes to launch your own business,” Osaka said.

EDITOR’S PICKS 

You can find other picks here, including my go-to newsletters for anything tech*, anything backstage* of professional sports*, and the one for everything NIL*. If you’re a solopreneur, you might like this one, by the way.

READ: There’s a secret warehouse for Titanic’s artifacts (no, it's not related to Leonardo DiCaprio), and I am low-key obsessed. The BBC has the story.

WATCH: As it’s soon time to watch tennis being played at the Arthur Ashe Stadium again, maybe find some time to watch (or watch again) Citizen Ashe, about the life and career of this game-changer.