Grand Slam Wimbledon WTA
Slices, sabbaticals and a strong team key to SW19 success?
More WTA takeaways from a wild 2025 Wimbledon Championships.
Should There Be Planned Sabbaticals?
For decades, the common path in women’s tennis was that a promising young player would dive headfirst into the pro tour. But as we’ve seen quite often, the circuit’s physical and emotional demands can rapidly leave a player frustrated and world-weary.
Wimbledon revealed that there might be alternative ways to build a far more sustainable career. As a start, nine women who’d played college tennis were in the main draw. Given that improvements in physical training have made it possible for players to compete well past the age of 30, there’s now far less need to dash into the pros. Perhaps time in college can help an ambitious young player learn many other life skills that will prove valuable over the long haul. NCAA champions Emma Navarro and Danielle Collins have each spoken about the value of attending college, from collaborating with others to living life as something other than a self-absorbed and enabled tennis prodigy.
There are also other ways to stay refreshed. Though semifinalist Belinda Bencic never showed signs of burnout, maternity leave gave her a chance to finetune her focus. “I think what I try sometimes in the household, in the tennis court, being a mom, I think you just have to let some things go. You have to compromise,” she said during Wimbledon. “I don’t practice as much as I used to. I still try to do the best on the practice court and on the match court. I feel like I am more productive because I have less time.”
Anisimova’s mental health break has also proven helpful. “Now, every tennis player will want to make eight months off,” Evert said on ESPN just after Anisimova beat Sabalenka in the semis. Evert, already number one in the world as a teenager, subsequently wisely paced herself in the late ‘70s with a few sabbaticals from the winter circuit.
College tennis. Coursework. Parenthood. Mental health. Consider each of these exiles a gap year from the harsh demands of singular competition. Why not make them a programmed part of the pro journey?
Teams Have Different Leaders
Many years ago, players traveled by themselves. Then came a trickle of a posse – parent, friend, coach. Now, thanks largely to increases in prize money, players throughout the ranks can afford to be joined at tournaments by much larger support teams. And though the coach is theoretically the most important member of the team, recent developments have proven that’s not always the case. In the late stages of Federer’s career, Pierre Paganini, his fitness coach, was arguably the most essential Team Roger member.
Consider the central role played for years by psychologist Daria Abramowicz on Swiatek’s team. At Wimbledon, Anisimova credited her physiotherapist, Shady Solemani, for many of her physical improvements. This eclectic range of leaders has shown that there’s an intriguing and creative aspect to how players go about building and working with their teams. Why not have the nutritionist be the leader? The meditation expert? The literature teacher? None of these possibilities is stated as a joke.
Stop Treating Underspin Like It’s Rodney Dangerfield
Like a tropical storm, there come those moments at a major when a player ranked outside the top ten will shake up the normal weather pattern by employing such tactics as taking pace off the ball, drop-shotting frequently, or hitting with some variation of underspin, slice, or sidespin. Recall Fabrice Santoro, the man Pete Sampras nicknamed “The Magician.” Then there’s doubles genius Hsieh Su-wei and Tatjana Maria, who on the eve of Wimbledon carved up four top tenners to win the title at Queens Club.
At Wimbledon, the dazzling disruptor was Laura Siegemund, who defeated Australian Open champion Madison Keys and then severely tested Sabalenka before losing a three-set quarterfinal. Invariably, the word “junk” surfaced — a passive-aggressive expression of mild regard, spiced with disdain, as if a player like Siegemund were more court jester than serious contender. Why? Was it “junk” when such beloved major champions as Ashleigh Barty and Roger Federer knifed their slice backhands? Further back, ask Rod Laver how he felt about Ken Rosewall’s sliced drive of a backhand.
A few slices even made cameo appearances during crucial stages of matches won by Sabalenka and Anisimova. When will the time come for coaches to build these tools in their players less as late-stage add-ons and more as operating system essentials?
ATP Davis Cup Grand Slam
Jamie Murray retires after 36 years, closing the ‘Murray era’ in doubles
Jamie Murray retires after 36 years, ending a career that included a doubles world No. 1 peak today.
Jamie Murray confirmed his retirement on social media Wednesday, announcing that his long run in professional tennis is over. The former doubles world No. 1 and seven-time Grand Slam doubles champion posted images spanning his career and wrote that “[his] tennis journey [is coming] to an end after 36 years.”
In the message, Murray acknowledged the role his family played in his career. He thanked his mother Judy and his brother Andy for their support, saying their backing helped him “achieve everything I could in the game.” He added: “I feel very fortunate and privileged for all the amazing experiences this great sport has given me,” the 40-year-old wrote in the Instagram post.
Murray finishes his career with 34 tour-level titles, two of those won alongside his younger brother. The Murray pairing was central to Great Britain’s 2015 Davis Cup triumph, the country’s first Davis Cup victory in 79 years, with the brothers taking crucial doubles matches in the quarterfinal, semifinal and final rounds.
In 2016 Jamie reached a milestone for British doubles players by becoming the first British man to attain the world No. 1 ranking in doubles; he held that position for nine weeks. He also joined Andy as his doubles partner for Andy’s final Wimbledon tournament in 2024.
The social post offered a reflective ending to a career that spanned more than two decades and encompassed Grand Slam titles, a stint at the top of the doubles rankings and a key role in a historic national team victory. Murray’s announcement marks the close of a defining presence in doubles competition and a notable chapter in recent British tennis history.
ATP Grand Slam
Becker’s 1989 US Open trophy sells for more than $357,000 at auction
Becker’s 1989 US Open trophy brought more than $357,000, becoming the priciest trophy sale on sale.
Nearly 40 years after he lifted it, Boris Becker’s 1989 US Open Men’s Singles trophy sold at auction for more than $357,000. The lot is now the most expensive tennis trophy ever sold and the second-most expensive piece of tennis memorabilia ever to reach the market, behind only Novak Djokovic’s racquet, which sold for $450,000 in February.
Prestige Memorabilia noted the rarity of the sale: “Such trophies virtually never leave the possession of the player who won them. To the best of our knowledge, this example represents the only known US Open Men’s Singles champion trophy from the Open Era ever to reach the public market.”
Becker received the sterling silver trophy after defeating Ivan Lendl in the 1989 final, a victory that represented his fourth Grand Slam title and his only US Open championship. Crafted by Tiffany & Co., the trophy had been on loan to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island before appearing at auction.
The trophy’s appearance on the market traces back to Becker’s bankruptcy proceedings. He was declared bankrupt in 2017 and, beginning in 2019, sold trophies and personal memorabilia to raise funds for creditors. Items reported as sold included the 1989 US Open trophy, a 1985 Wimbledon replica trophy, a 1988 Davis Cup trophy, and a Hall of Fame ring. The bankruptcy case led to criminal proceedings; Becker was convicted on four charges under the Insolvency Act, served a fast-tracked sentence in 2022, and was released in December 2022. During the London court proceedings he reportedly owed creditors $62.5 million and said a majority of his career trophies had been sold, gifted, or “lost,” leaving him unable to produce them for creditors.
According to the auction lot description, the trophy stands 14 inches tall, is made of sterling silver, and bears the inscription: “United States Tennis Association / United States Open Tennis Championship / Men’s Singles / Boris Becker / 1989.”
© 2026 David Benito
Equipment Finals Grand Slam
Sabalenka debuts Wilson Blade v10 and reflects on pressure, regret and grief in Esquire profile
World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka debuts a Wilson Blade v10, discusses grief, regrets and lessons. Read on
Fans missing Aryna Sabalenka at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix have been met with a steady stream of new material from the world No. 1. Sabalenka unveiled her new racquet and posed for a fashion-forward Esquire cover shoot while speaking with editor-in-chief Michael Sebastian.
The Wilson advertisement for the Blade v10 carries a simple declaration: “Pressure is power,” a line that echoed Sabalenka’s 2026 run. A four-time Grand Slam champion, the 27-year-old rebounded from an Australian Open final loss to Elena Rybakina by completing the Sunshine Double, taking back-to-back titles at the BNP Paribas Open and the Miami Open. In Miami she avenged the Australian Open defeat to Rybakina in straight sets.
Asked how she might have lived her life outside tennis, she said she would be a “boxer or a model,” and in the Esquire conversation she addressed mistakes and hard lessons.
“I have a lot of regrets. I think we all do,” she told editor-in-chief Michael Sebastian. “Mistakes make us better people. It’s tough to be the person without regrets and mistakes. You better stay away from those people.”
Sabalenka also revisited a difficult moment after the Roland Garros final, when she was hesitant to immediately praise Coco Gauff following a three-set defeat. “I have to take my time after the match before I go to the press conference when I lose the match, because when you do it straightaway, you’re still that emotional person,” said Sabalenka. The two players later smoothed things over and recorded conciliatory TikToks.
Beyond on-court swings, Sabalenka spoke about personal loss. She has carried the grief of losing her father in 2019 and urged emotional honesty. “It’s important to grieve, to cry, to go through the emotions,” she said. “Never hold it inside, because it’ll destroy you from the inside.”
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