SERENA NOT BACKING OFF THE CLAY
Serena Williams, says her coach Patrick Mouratoglou, will play the French Open.
It will be the former No. 1’s first Grand Slam tournament since returning to the tour from maternity leave. “Serena will play the French Open to win it,” Mouratoglou told the WTA tour’s website, saying she withdrew from Madrid and Rome because “she needed five weeks to be perfectly ready.”
The three-time French Open champion last appeared at Roland Garros in 2016 when she lost to Garbine Muguruza 7-5, 6-4 in the final. The French Open starts on May 27.
WANNA BET?
On Monday the U.S. Supreme Court legalized gambling in the United States. Early-adopter states are expected to be operating around early July to take advantage of the estimated $150-200 billion market, and tennis will be one of the sports getting the most attention.
“The beauty of tennis is that you could literally bet on every single hit in the match — every single point — and so it creates a lot of opportunity for people to engage in the sport,” said FanDuel CEO Matt King said on CNBC’s “Squawk Alley.”
An estimated 3-5 percent of Americans are addicted to gambling. Professional tennis players already receive numerous hate tweets and death threats over social media from gamblers after losing matches. Last month an independent panel released a report that match-fixing and corruption is already rampant in the minor leagues of pro tennis, a problem which would seemingly now multiply. Pundits say the ruling will release new waves of tennis and sports fans watching to see how their wagers pan out — but at what cost?
MISCELLANEOUS
Yesterday the USTA offered a media tour of the new Louis Armstrong Stadium at the US Open…After becoming the recipient of a bad line call and losing the match, former No. 1 Karolina Pliskova tried to chop down the umpire’s chair in Rome this week…Roger Federer, who is skipping the clay court season, is No. 1 again on the ATP rankings after Rafael Nadal’s loss in the Madrid final last Sunday…Actress Reese Witherspoon is producing a feature-length documentary on Martina Navratilova which will examine social and societal norms and “how people discover and choose role models.”…The USTA National Campus this weekend hosts the USTA Florida 55 & Over 3.5/4.5 League Sectionals where Broward County (shooting for a 3rd 4.5 men’s title in a row), Clay County, Collier County and Orange County defend their sectional titles from 2017…Building Design + Construction magazine detailed the labor and precision that went into building the USTA National Campus in Orlando…The Barry University (Miami Shores) women, a team with five German players, beat the University of West Florida in the final to win their second consecutive NCAA Division II national championship…A Reuters photographer took an amazing photo this week of a Palestinian protestor using a tennis racket to smack back a tear gas canister fired by Israeli troops…The ITF said this week it will retain February home-and-away ties in the first round of the 2019 Davis Cup, with winning teams then advancing to an 18-team tournament November tournament…Twitter is apparently not verifying celebrities anymore — unless you’re Serena Williams’ baby.
Venus, Keys, Stephens Exit Italian Open
The three remaining Americans were all defeated on Thursday at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, where upsets and injuries saw the final Team USA players off in Rome.
No. 13 Madison Keys was unable to take the court against world No. 1 Simona Halep, withdrawing from the tournament due to a rib injury.
“I am really sorry I have to withdraw from this year’s Internazionali BNL d’Italia,” Keys said. “I felt my rib in my match yesterday and after trying to warm up this morning it will still painful. I look forward to returning to this great event next year and seeing all my fans in Rome.”
No. 8-seeded Venus Williams was upset by unseeded Anett Kontaveit 6-2, 7-6(3), her second loss to the Estonian in as many weeks. In one of the last matches of the day in round of 16 play, No. 9 seed Sloane Stephens fell to No. 7 Caroline Garcia 6-1, 7-6(7).
On the men’s side no American players reached the round of 16 in Rome.
Next week, the final week before the French Open, will see the women in Strasbourg, France, and Nurnberg, Germany, and the men in Lyon, France, and Geneva, Switzerland.
They Said It
“If you think some of the things I did was crazy, well the craziest thing in the last 250 years of our history of the United States is that Donald Trump became president.”
— John McEnroe, recalling the time Donald Trump offered him $1 million dollars to play one of the Williams sisters, this week on the Graham Bensinger show
“I gave everything to tennis and tennis gave everything to me. Today, with no regrets, in front of this beautiful audience, ends my career. It was a magnificent adventure.”
— 35-year-old Italian Roberta Vinci, who retired this week during the Italian Open after a 19-year career. It was Vinci in 2015 who ended Serena Williams’ bid for a Grand Slam (winning all four majors in the same year) at the US Open.
“We are looking at a round of 24 home-and-away ties in February, in the week after the Australian Open, producing 12 winners. They would then go on to the November tournament, along with the four semifinalists from the previous year, and two invited teams. It’s important for the national federations to be able to stage [home] ties. It’s a way of promoting the sport and of connecting with fans.”
— ITF President Dave Haggerty speaking to the Telegraph on the new Davis Cup format in 2019
Tennis on TV This Weekend
(EST, times subject to change)
Friday
6am — WTA Rome (live), beIN Sports
6am — ATP Rome (live), Tennis Channel
8:30am — WTA Rome (live), beIN Sports
1:30pm — WTA Rome (live), beIN Sports
3pm — ATP Rome (live), Tennis Channel
Saturday
6am — WTA Rome (live), beIN Sports
8:30am — ATP Rome (live), Tennis Channel
10:30am — WTA Rome (live), beIN Sports
2pm — ATP Rome (live), Tennis Channel
Sunday
8am — ATP Rome (live), Tennis Channel
9am — WTA Rome (live), beIN Sports
