The Catcher

MONICA SELES AND THE SIN OF ENVY

August 30, 2026
When I was in high school, I was a very good tennis player. I certainly wasn’t great. I also played on a team which had the two best players in Illinois (they played each other in the state finals when I was a Sophomore). My best friend was a better

Take a Look at the Wild Card

Tsitsipas is hardly an isolated case. Marko Djokovic, Novak’s brother, received eight wild cards into ATP tournaments without winning a match. In 2021 Emma Navarro, then ranked No. 492 in the WTA rankings — this is the WTA, but the principle is the same — received two consecutive wild cards

Serve&… Full Stop

July 12, 2026
I have been watching Wimbledon finals for some fifty years now, which entitles me to the odd comparison which entitles me to the odd comparison and, evidently, to a measure of nostalgia.. Well then: this Sinner–Zverev is, beyond much doubt, one of the ugliest I can remember.

Stan and Gaël, The Weight and the Wonder

May 26, 2026
Stan Wawrinka and Gaël Monfils left Paris on the same day, or almost in the same breath, as happens with certain characters whom fate never quite brings together, only to summon them at the end, when there is no longer any need to explain anything. One had the gait of

The low-cost revolt

Rafael Nadal’s old “if, if, if… doesn’t exist” line has become part of tennis folklore. These days, however, the “if” is everywhere. If the Slams paid 22%. If revenues were calculated transparently. If the new money really reached the less wealthy players. If the top players were ready for a
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