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Three days away from the Olympics draws and four from the start of play, tennis continues apace everywhere else on the planet even as Rafael Nadal gets besieged in the Olympic village ahead of his final Games.

Pre-Games prep is heavy in Prague, where three of the four women headed to Paris are competing at home. That includes Katerina Siniakova, who was added in singles Monday when Marketa Vondrousova bowed out.

She’s also playing with Barbora Krejcikova, the longtime partner with whom she split at the end of last year, in doubles.

It’s their first time on court together since they lost to Canada in the Billie Jean King Cup finals last November. But for those two, it’s probably like riding a bike.

Tuesday women’s sked:

WTA Tour – Tuesday, July 23, 2024 final results

Tuesday men’s sked:

ATP Tour – Tuesday, July 23, 2024 final results

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Last dance for Sir Andy

It’s actually here – another dose of longtime tennis fans feeling their mortality as another member of the “Big Four” is about to bow out. Or, in Parisian terms, tirer sa révérence.

It’s hard to believe. But this will be the final tournament of Sir Andy Murray’s career.

It was just three weeks ago that he regretfully had to bow out of his final WImbledon, just days recoved from having surgery on his spine after some serious pain at Queen’s Club.

And now, the end looms. Hopefully not TOO soon in the week.

Arrived in Paris for my last ever tennis tournament @Olympics
Competing for 🇬🇧 have been by far the most memorable weeks of my career and I’m extremely proud to get do it one final time! pic.twitter.com/keqnpvSEE1
— Andy Murray (@andy_murray) July 23, 2024

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New Canadian prospect has great DNA

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There aren’t that many gleaming lights in the immediate future on the Canadian tennis scene – although you never know, so never say never.

But a new name popped up this week that we didn’t recognize.

And in her first professional tournament, Charlize Celebrini has already won two matches and is in the final round of qualifying at a $15,000 ITF in Romania.

This wouldn’t be that notable – except it’s her first pro tournament. And she’s only 15 years old.

Celebrini – who goes by “Charlie” and hails from Vancouver – also has some outstanding athletic genes in the family.

Her big brother Macklin, who played hockey for Boston University and was the youngest player, at 17, to ever win the Hobey Baker Award (given to the best player in U.S. college hockey every year), was selected first overall in this month’s National Hockey League entry draft by the San Jose Sharks.

As it happens, the Celebrinis have lived in the San Francisco Bay Area the last five years as their father Rick, a former pro soccer player, works as a physiotherapist and the director of sports medicine and science for the NBA’s Golden State Warriors.

Charlie’s other big brother, Aiden, was drafted in the sixth round by the Vancouver Canucks last year.

***Still 13, Celebrini was the under-14 provincial indoor champ in B.C. in early 2023.***

Celebrini only started playing ITF-level junior tournaments about a year ago; she won four of the first six events she entered.

No pressure, kid. But we’ll keep everyone posted on her development.

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Two Bastad Trophies for Rafa

As the runner-up on Sunday in the final of the Nordea Open, Nadal got a trophy that kind of looked like a big … tennis ball candle.

But the night before, at a gathering attended by Nadal (suited and booted even though he must have been dead tired), the tournament gave him something just as special.

Another trophy.

When Nadal was last in Bastad in 2005, at age 19, he won the tournament (one of 11 he won that year).

They’ve changed the trophy since then. But they presented him with a copy of the original 2005 trophy. Which, as you can tell by the big smile, he was very touched by. It will be displayed at the museum at his academy.

This week the @NordeaOpen honoured @RafaelNadal with the 🏆 he won in 2005. Looking forward to seeing it on display at the Rafa Nadal Museum! VAMOS‼️ pic.twitter.com/JjZlYOtXse
— Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar (@rnadalacademy) July 22, 2024

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Legends matches are the latest thing

The Atlanta Open had the Bryan brothers take on John Isner and Andy Roddick in an exhibition match Monday night.

(Won by the brothers, 7-6, 7-5).

We had a night, didn't we, Atlanta?

We loved having our champs back home ❤️ pic.twitter.com/aLLRWwCkOv
— Atlanta Open 🎾 (@ATLOpenTennis) July 23, 2024

Now comes word that there will be another such event at the Cincinnati tournament. It will take place on the Saturday at 2 p.m. before the start of the event, on “Community Day”.

It will be Isner and Andre Agassi (who is everywhere these days) against Roddick and his lifelong BFF Mardy Fish.

(Note the new logo – commemorating the tournament’s 125th anniversary).

The day, which otherwise includes watching practice and attending the draw – but no actual matches – isn’t free. The tickets cost between $10-$50 US, with the proceeds going to charity.

They are inviting the women legends, too – although they’re not actually letting the girls play.

Lindsay Daveport and Steffi Graf (Agassi’s admittedly much better half) will be there. But they’ll “help officiate and commentate the match”

Normally the Saturday is the first day of qualifying. But the Olympics have pushed back things a bit. The Canadian events go Tuesday through Monday’s final. And it will be the same in Cincinnati. So the qualifying won’t actually start until Sunday.

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Fatherly advice from Papa Safin

Back in his day, Marat Safin was kind of an 00s version of Andrey Rublev – a mercurial talent, but prone to flights of meltdown we can look back on in retrospect and consider fairly benign.

Now 44, it turns out Safin (who was very young when he retired – just 29) has imparted some life lessons to another mercurial Russian, Andrey Rublev.

Now, we’ll grant you Rublev probably would be better served to seek help from a professional, as he is clearly battling some demons out there yet continues to play every week.

Safin, like Rublev now, trained in Spain during his career and is close to Rublev’s Spanish coach Fernando Vicente. He happened to be in Barcelona when Rublev was training there after Wimbledon, and they … had a chat.

Rublev spoke to a Russian journalist ahead of this week’s Umag tournament. No details, but it was a long heart-to-heart.