Photo : Tennis Canada
Bianca Andreescu – get well soon, champ!
Bianca Andreescu’s woes in her career have not quite yet let her fully come back to tennis. After a disappointing (but thankfully minor) foot injury in the Miami Open final against World No. 1 Ashleigh Barty, the Canadian superstar now has to deal with a positive COVID-19 test, and, as a result, is out of the prestigious Madrid Open.
Frustrating, yes, for all of us fans and for Bianca most of all. But you’re getting out of this one soon! Sending all the support. 😊
Please, everyone, be careful and let’s work together to get out of this bad season!
Ash Barty wins it all
Ash Barty, World No. 1 and just overall incredible player and person, has been amazing to watch now back on clay. Not only she won the singles tournament in Stuttgart, but all the doubles too with American Jennifer Brady!
They do have to work on their handshake, though. At least I can say I’m better than these two at something!
And did I mention that Barty won her titles in great “fashion”?? 😂
Tennis legend Andre Agassi turns 51
Yesterday was also a very special day: Andre Agassi! The 1999 year-end No. 1 and three-time National Bank Open champion turned 51 years young on April 29. The American legend won 8 Grand Slams singles titles, including all four slams, the year-end ATP Masters tournament, and the Olympic Gold Medal. You probably knew about all this already, but I wanted to brag about it for him again – because, by the way, none of the Big 3 have achieved this yet.
I wonder if by the time the current tennis greats retire they will be talking about these super tiny details about each other’s games that allowed them to beat each other so many times. The tip of Becker’s tongue? That’s some investigative skill.
Shapo’s great looks in Estoril
Although this was not the best week for the fiery Canadien, no one can take away Shapo’s style – on and off court. You’ll bounce back, Denis; I’m excited to see you ripping winners again in Madrid!
And Estoril did a great job with this short video of players telling us fans that they miss us. My oh my, do I miss a packed stadium witnessing an epic match and epic shots 😭
The Queen of clay?
Some players seem to bring their best on clay. Like, when I say their best, I mean utter domination. And I’m not talking about Rafael Nadal – Iga Swiatek, the 19-year-old from Poland who won Roland Garros 2020 without allowing any player even the thought of a chance to win, is back at it!
Plus, here’s some interaction from the new guard in women’s tennis, and two of the best people to follow on Twitter right now (but seriously, whose idea was that to make a life-size cut-out of Naomi Osaka? Because I want to congratulate them)
Victoria Azarenka wants better pics from matches
Speaking of photographs, it’s no news that people don’t exactly look amazing when playing sports. No, I mean, not the clothing or anything, but actually while playing sports. That’s why Victoria Azarenka, 2020 US Open finalist, puts forward her thoughts on pictures taken of players during matches:
And the players do agree. Honestly, who wouldn’t? Some of these photos can be really unflattering 😳
As an amateur photographer, I do understand that it’s hard to tell a story without shooting pictures at the very moment when things happen. But I wonder if we’re just too used to our old angles? Well, to be continued.
There’s plenty of tennis left to practice more photography!
No more middle sunday with strawberries and cream
Wimbledon, the oldest existing tennis tournament and pretty much the club that invented tennis as we know today, announced they won’t be having a middle Sunday rest anymore, starting in 2022.
Being the last bastion of tennis tradition, everything they do becomes news, no matter how simple. There were, thus, mixed feelings about it, but overall it looks like people were ticking the “mostly agree” box.
I still love Wimbledon, and maybe this decision was for the best. At least I can have a full two weekends of watching tennis, instead of having a Sunday in the middle of a Grand Slam with nothing to do.
