Five Point Friday: January 28, 2022
/January 28, 2022
Five Point Friday
Here’s your roundup of the five most interesting things I’m enjoying or thinking about this week.
1.) Women’s Aus Open Final
World No. 1, Ash Barty of Australia, and No. 30 Danielle Collins of the United States will meet in the finals of the Australian Open today. Ash Barty started the season strong and became the first local to reach the Australian Open women’s final in 42 years, previously accomplished by Wendy Turnbull in 1980. Danielle Collins is on an 11 match winning streak and guaranteed a top 10 debut next week. Both had convincing wins to reach the finals, and there’s plenty of pressure on Barty, who’s the favorite, so it should be a fun match.
2.) Kyrgios & Kokkinakis
Local wildcards Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis have reached the doubles final at the Australian Open, a first for both of them. During their semi-final match, the crowd was packed and brought tons of energy, making for some entertaining tennis. Now, they’ll face fellow Aussies Mathew Ebden and Max Purcell in the finals, which will undoubtedly be another fun match to watch.
3.) Raising a Champion
Tennis Majors produced a short series called Raising a Champion, which goes behind the scenes with the parents of up-and-coming players. As of now, there are three episodes, the first of which covered CoCo Gauff’s parents, Corey and Candi. I hadn’t watched them before, and although they’re not new, I found them interesting, especially for parents raising competitive athletes.
4.) 2 Juniors Make History
Teenagers Meshkatolzahra Safi of Iran and Angella Okutoyi of Kenya became the first female tennis players from their countries to win a junior Grand Slam match. Two historic milestones that will likely help inspire the next generation of players from home.
Two historic milestones in the #AusOpen juniors today:
🇮🇷 Meshkatolzahra Safi became the 1st girl from Iran to win a Grand Slam juniors match.
🇰🇪 Angella Okutoyi became the 1st girl from Kenya to win a Grand Slam juniors match. pic.twitter.com/8gQhcG5Yb3
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) January 23, 2022
5.) Point of the Year?
If you have a few minutes, the five-set quarterfinal match highlights between Felix Auger-Aliassime and Daniil Medvedev are well worth a replay. However, a point that stood out was at 4-4 in the first set – it’s excellent and one that I’m sure you’ll enjoy.
If you have a moment, I’d love to hear your feedback. Which topic is your favorite? What would you like to see more or less of each week?
Share your thoughts in the comments below and have a great weekend.
Five Point Friday: January 21, 2022
/January 21, 2022
Five Point Friday
Here’s your roundup of the five most interesting things I’m enjoying or thinking about this week.
1.) Netflix Tennis Documentary
The new documentary will follow ATP and WTA players throughout the 2022 season at all four Grand Slam tournaments, giving fans an unfiltered look at life inside the sport. The documentary will be brought to life by the same production company that filmed the series Formula 1: Drive to Survive for Netflix, and they suggest it will have the same spirit. I’m looking forward to checking it out!
2.) Samantha Stosur Retiring
World No. 15, Samantha Stosur of Australia played her last WTA singles match in the second round of the Australian Open. At 37 years old, Sam will leave the sport with six singles and at least 28 doubles titles, seven of which were Grand Slam victories. In 2011, she reached world No. 4 in singles and rose to No. 1 in doubles in 2006. With over $27M in prize money, Sam will walk away as the 22nd highest earner in women’s tennis. At the time of writing, she’s still alive in doubles, so it’s not quite over yet.
3.) Tourna Tuff [New Grip]
Tourna grips are among the most popular and widely used by players of all levels. They’re well known for their dry feel, which gets tacky as you sweat to help maintain a solid grip. However, their lasting durability has never been their strong suit. Enter Tourna Tuff, which has the same look, feel, and performance but improves longevity. They may be a bit harder to get your hands on at the moment but should be widely available come spring.
4.) Hurkacz Diving Volley
World No. 11, Hubert Hurkacz, put on a show in his first-round Australian Open match, which included a diving volley to break Egor Gerasimov at 4-3 in the fourth set. No. 69, Adrian Mannarino, eliminated him in the second round, but this shot will undoubtedly make a few highlight reels in the coming years.
Into the 2nd round @AustralianOpen 🚀
Thank you for your support 💪🎾#AusOpen pic.twitter.com/IW8AAOnJ3R— Hubert Hurkacz (@HubertHurkacz) January 17, 2022
5.) USTA Scouts & Analytics
ESPN writer and editor D’Arcy Maine breaks down how the USTA’s scouts and the organization’s performance analytics group provide every American player with scouting reports at Grand Slam tournaments and a few other significant events. In the article, she shares how their support helped influence Sofia Kenin’s win over Ash Barty in the semis of the 2020 Australian Open, which she went on to win. Although scouting is nothing new, it’s a unique job, and I thought the article provided some fresh insight you might enjoy.
If you have a moment, I’d love to hear your feedback. Which topic is your favorite? What would you like to see more or less of each week?
Share your thoughts in the comments below and have a great weekend.
Five Point Friday: January 14, 2022
/January 14, 2022
Five Point Friday
Here’s your roundup of the five most interesting things I’m enjoying or thinking about this week.
1.) Australian Open’s Start
Coverage of the 2022 Australian Open kicks off this Sunday, January 16, for US viewers, and fans are getting excited. At the time of writing, it’s still unclear whether world No. 1 Novak Djokovic will be permitted to play, but regardless, I’m looking forward to the excellent tennis that awaits on both sides of the tour.
2.) Rybakina’s Masterclass
Earlier this week, world No. 18 and US Open champ Emma Raducanu faced off against No. 13 Elena Rybakina at the Sydney International. Elena was all business and thoroughly outplayed Emma during the match, only giving up one game in the second set. Unfortunately, she retired from her second match due to a left thigh injury, so hopefully, she’s just taking precautions and is in good shape for the Australian Open.
3.) The MK Drill [Test Yourself]
High-performance coach Mark Kovacs developed a simple on-court test to evaluate tennis-specific endurance. To complete the test, players line up on the doubles sideline and sprint to the other side of the court and back, which counts as one rep. Players repeat, each time adding a rep with the rest time increasing along with the number of reps. Once at six reps with 120-second rest, players repeat the cycle, working their way back down to one rep. Check the link below to view a basic chart outlining the drill and a target time for completion if you’d like to give it a shot.
According to Mark, completing the drill in 17 minutes is a good target for competitive adult players.
4.) Gaël Monfils’ 11th Title
Last year, the tour took its toll on French tennis player and fan favorite Gaël Monfils. However, at the Adelaide International, he claimed his first title since 2020, overcoming Karen Khachanov 6-4, 6-4, and looked to be enjoying himself again on the court with a solid crowd. Unfortunately, a few days later, he had to retire due to a neck injury. Hopefully, it’s nothing serious, and he’ll be ready for his first-round match at the Australian Open.
5.) lululemon Taps Into Tennis
This week, lululemon announced US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez as their newest global ambassador who they’re working with as they develop a tennis-specific line of clothing for men and women, set to release this Spring. lululemon is also hinting at a footwear line, so plenty of new gear from a non-traditional tennis brand for players to look forward to this year.
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If you have a moment, I’d love to hear your feedback. Which topic is your favorite? What would you like to see more or less of each week?
Share your thoughts in the comments below and have a great weekend.
Five Point Friday: January 7, 2022
/January 7, 2022
Five Point Friday
Here’s your roundup of the five most interesting things I’m enjoying or thinking about this week.
1.) Djokovic’s Visa Cancelled
On Wednesday, Australian Border Force officials canceled Novak Djokovic’s visa, rejecting evidence to support his medical exemption from the country’s COVID-19 vaccination rules. Djokovic appealed against the government’s ruling on the visa, so he’ll remain at an immigration hotel in Melbourne until Monday, when his hearing is expected.
2.) Kenin & Osaka Return
World No. 12, Sofia Kenin, hasn’t played a WTA match for nearly six months, suffering from an injury and illness, while No. 13 Naomi Osaka’s last match was in September. Both went three sets to claim wins for their first matches back on tour, but Kenin had to fight extra hard, saving three match points in the second set.
3.) ATP Cup Doubles Drama
During the group stage of the ATP Cup, Greece and Georgia met in doubles, with the matching going to a deciding tiebreak. It’s one of my favorite replays from the past few weeks with both teams heavily invested and trading points, which ended with a score of 16-14.
4.) Wimbledon’s Expansion
To keep up with the growth of other Grand Slam tournaments, the All England club submitted a proposal to expand their facilities onto land they purchased in 1993. However, during the sale of the land, they agreed to never build on it, so local residents along with environmental and heritage groups are fighting back.
5.) Yonex EZONE 2022
Yonex has been teasing the new 2022 EZONE racquet line since early December of last year, and now the new frame is up for pre-order in the US. The seventh-generation EZONE 98 is a few grams heavier with a near-identical swingweight and mildly stiffer with a slightly thicker beam. I reviewed the prior model in 2020, so I’m interested to see what the changes bring to the racquet’s feel and performance.
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If you have a moment, I’d love to hear your feedback. Which topic is your favorite? What would you like to see more or less of each week?
Share your thoughts in the comments below and have a great weekend.