Muguruza at Eastbourne in 2022
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There is tennis literally all over the place – in Wimbledon qualifying, in Mallorca, in Germany, at Eastbourne and .. at the BOODLES!
We take you around the track today, the day after the WTA Tour announced that … the recently-retired Garbiñe Muguruza will become the tournament director at the WTA Finals, relocated to Saudi Arabia this year and renamed the “WTA Finals – Riyadh”.
Also under the radar, before the official news on the Canadian Olympic squad later Thursday, is that Denis Shapovalov looked like he’ll be playing the hard courts in Hotlanta instead.
With a … pitstop on the clay between the grass and the cement.
Dig in (and thanks for clicking on an ad or two to show your continued appreciation).
We’ll never ask you for money, only your thumbs for a hot minute.
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Muguruza named WTA Finals tournament director
In a surprise twist, the recently-retired Garbiñe Muguruza has been named the tournament director of the newly renamed “WTA Finals Riyadh”, which will be held in Saudi Arabia for the next three years.
The official quote says Muguruza “will work with WTA, the Saudi Tennis Federation and the Ministry of Sport to oversee strategic planning and delivery of the event for the next three years (2024-26). In particular, she will work to grow the profile of tennis across the Middle East and play a central role in promoting healthy lifestyles to young people around the region.”
Now, it goes without saying that Muguruza has exactly … zero experience in “overseeing strategic planning and delivery” of an event of this magnitude. So you would imagine the “in particular” part is the main part of the gig.
There is literally nothing in Muguruza’s resumé that would indicate she’s a great fit for the role. That said, Steve Simon, still WTA chairman, is quoted as saying “Garbiñe is a global role model who understands the power of sport to make a difference to people from all walks of life.”
While the WTA lists other former players who have become tournament directors without any experience in that area, all of those players have done so in their own countries, where they became well-known figures in the tennis ecosystem during their careers.
If this was the route they were going to take, we’d have opted for former WTA Tour player Selima Sfar of Tunisia, an Muslim woman and an Olympian who was a trailblazer long before countrywoman Ons Jabeur arrived on the scene. Sfar has organized clinics in Saudi Arabia in the past and would be an obvious role model and ambassador for the women in the region.
They didn’t ask us, though.
It’s going to be a ride.
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A Wimbledon update from Andy Murray
An update from our two-time champion, Andy Murray#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/CSGahOxgU5
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) June 27, 2024
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No Olympics for Shapo
It’s not a shock, given Canadian Denis Shapovalov has made no secret that the clay isn’t his favorite (even though he did well in Paris this year).
But with Canada still not having announced its Olympic team as of early Thursday, it went almost under the radar that Shapovalov has committed to playing the Atlanta Open, on hard courts the week before the Olympics.
(Later in the day, they did make the announcement. And the Citi Open also announced that Shapovalov would be playing there as well).
With his ranking mired at No. 120 as he returns from a long absence in 2023, you can see how Shapovalov, whose prime time is the North American hard courts, feels the need to not miss events in Atlanta, a 500 in D.C. or compromise the two ATP 1000s in Canada and Cincinnati.
Shapovalov also took a pass on Tokyo in 2021.
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Except … a clay pit stop on the way
Shapovalov also will be playing an exhibition on July 11, after Wimbledon.
It involves Dominic Thiem and Pablo Llamas Ruiz, and also Magda Linette and Elina Avanesyan on he women’s side.
(The event is nearly 100 years old, although last year’s roster – Coric, Andujar, Rublev and Verdasco looks rather superior).
Huelva is about 75 km west of Sevilla, just east of the border with Portugal on the coast of the Gulf of Cadiz.
But here’s the thing: it’s on … clay.
Makes sense.
(Thanks to our Twitter follower GbeyApuestas for the tip).
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Young Mensik making grass moves
Still just 18, Czech youngster Jakub Mensik missed making his Roland Garros debut – where he’d have been straight into a Grand Slam draw for the first time – because of injury.
But he made some waves in Mallorca, where on Thursday he was looking to become the youngest ATP Tour semifinalist in a grass-court event since … Andy Roddick in 2001.
(Roddick was 18 1/2 when he made the quarters at a far bigger event, the ATP 1000 in Miami).
After losing in the first round of both ‘s-Hertogenbosch and Halle to players ranked outside the top 200, Mensik upset defending champion Christopher Eubanks in the the first round, then beat wild card Fabio Fognini 7-5 in the third set (Mensik also defeated Fognini in the first round of qualifying at the US Open last year – see above pic).
He faced Canadian-Chilean Alejandro Tabilo, more known for his clay prowess but the No. 4 seed in the event. But Tabilo handled tough, windy conditions a little better.
Roddick’s mark remains as Mensik went down 6-4, 6-4.
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The Olympics – and Atlanta, and D.C.
This will be the final year for the ATP Tour event in Atlanta.
It’s getting squeezed out by the expansion of the ATP 1000 tournaments in Canada and Cincinnati to 12 days each, to take place over a period of three weeks starting in the summer of 2025.
To add insult to injury, it’s taking place the week right before and running into the Olympics, on the other side of the pond, on a different surface.
But with Americans Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe taking a pass on Paris, the field in Atlanta should at least be decent.
Adrian Mannarino, Shapovalov and David Goffin have committed as well as other players who have taken a pass on the Olympics like Jordan Thompson and Miomir Kecmanovic.
The tournament was won by John Isner (six times), Roddick, Alex de Minaur and Mardy Fish (twice each), Nick Kyrgios and Taylor Fritz.
Roddick and Isner, along with the Bryan brothers, will be there playing an exhibition before the tournament along with Venus Williams and another non-Olympian, Sloane Stephens.
The Citi Open in D.C., a 500-level event for both the men and women, is in an even tougher slot this year – the same week as the Olympic event.
But it, too, will manage a good field with the non-Olympians.
Expected there are Madison Keys, Ons Jabeur, Stephens, Emma Raducanu, Paula Badosa, Sofia Kenin and Anna Kalinskaya on the women’s side, and Tiafoe, Grigor Dimitrov, Karen Khachanov and Sebastian Korda (among others) on the men’s side.
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Exhibition grass tennis? We’ve got it here!
In the meaningless match department, here are some results from the two posh grass-court events being held this week in the London area.
At the Boodles:
Andrey Rublev def Arthur Fery (GBR) 64 76(6)
Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) def. Dusan Lajovic (SRB) 64 46 10-6
Andrey Rublev def. Dusan Lajovic 61 64
Felix Auger-Aliassime def. Diego Schwartzman 76(4) 62 (That was supposed to be Tsitsipas, on Wednesday)
Borna Coric def. Diego Schwartzman 76(4) 62
Thursday’s matches: Tsitsipas v Korda, Auger-Aliassime vs Laslo Djere, Thanasi Kokkinakis v Schwartzman.
At the Hurlingham Club, Holger Rune defeated Karen Khachanov 6-2, 6-4 on Wednesday, after which France’s Arthur Cazaux took care of Matteo Arnaldi 6-4, 6-2.
On Thursday, the matches are expected to be Zhizhen Zhang vs. Frances Tiafoe, and Cameron Norrie vs. Rune.
You can watch those matches here:
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A Charlotte December for Carlitos
The Charlotte area might have been rebuffed in its efforts to lure away the Cincinnati Open with a proposed $400 million tennis complex (it felt very “baseball” to have the new owners of the tournament leverage a sweet alternative offer to get the folks in Cincinnati to pony up for upgrades and improvements, didn’t it?)
But there will still be tennis there this year – indoors, on Dec. 6, during the offseason.
The Charlotte Invitational will have Carlos Alcaraz as its headliner, with Frances Tiafoe, Madison Keys and Sloane Stephens.
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More Olympic announcements – Germany
It looks like Germany will have a full complement of its best players at the Olympic in Paris, led by Roland Garros finalist Alexander Zverev.
Here’s the announced squad:
🇩🇪🇩🇪🇩🇪
— ITF (@ITFTennis) June 27, 2024
Germany announces its full line-up for the Paris 2024 Olympics#Olympics | #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/nree1QY7Il
Angelique Kerber is in on her protected ranking with Tatjana Maria (currently No. 61), Laura Siegemund (No. 73) and the astonishing Tamara Korpatsch (No. 75) behind her.
The full max-out of four.
On the men’s singles side Zverev will be joined by Jan-Lennard Struff (No. 41) and Dominik Koepfer (No. 66.
The doubles duo of Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz (tied for No. 15 in the doubles rankings) complete the squad.
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