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The Top 15 Nicest Players In Pro Tennis

24 Comments · Posted by Scoop Malinowski in Bios

In no particular order, here is my unofficial complilation of the nicest professional tennis players…

Grigor Dimitrov: The mild mannered Bulgarian looks you in the eye during a one on one interview or press conference and is, not seems, IS genuinely interested to answer your questions. There is no sense of being forced or getting it over with, because of ATP obligations, Dimitrov likes fans and he likes media. He takes selfies and thanks the person who asks. He even thanks the media. After his press conference after the Pella match at Citi Open, as he walked out of the room in front of me, I heard him say softly, “thank you.” But no reporter heard him. You won’t find a nicer man in pro sports.

Ricardas Berankis: Very similar to Dimitrov, when you approach him or talk with him, you can see he brightens, he’s happy to meet you, whether you’re a stranger or someone who spoke with him years ago. Very approachable, friendly and always nice.

Michelle Larcher De Brito: A fireplug on the court and a tenacious competitor, she’s a sweetie off the court, with an easy smile, engaging, happy personality, and always nice with fans and media.

Benjamin Becker: Another player who could qualify as the nicest guy in pro sports. He’ll walk around the grounds of a major or challenger, and if he’s not busy or in a hurry to practice, or whatever, he’ll engage in conversation and share interesting tidbits. You almost feel like you’re talking with another fan, not an established successful ATP pro.

Gilles Muller: Might be perceived as a bit intimidating given his height, serious expression, and powerful lefty attacking game, Muller is just a normal regular guy, approachable, friendly, nice, cool.

The Bryans: The brothers take seriously their role as ambassadors and value their relationship with fans. They will sign autographs for as long as it takes, even if it makes them a half hour late for a press conference. Have covered the Bs for over a decade and never once seen even a hint of arrogance from them. Approachable, kind, inspiring, friendly, they are truly a great credit to the sport. I witnessed them do a clinic in Delray Beach and schmooze and hobnob with fans on the court for long after the event ended – and they enjoyed every minute of it. They also are known to thank reporters for doing interviews with them and saying, “Thank you for all you do for tennis.” With their historical records, The Bryan Brothers will be an impossible duo to beat not only in terms of achievement but in the way they treat fans and media.

Sam Querrey: Sam’s a throwback gentleman from the bygone eras of tennis. Just a regular pleasant guy who happens to be able to play world class incredible tennis. You can’t say a bad word about Big Sam, who is always approachable and has a natural embedded grin on his face.

Dudi Sela: Another gem of a guy, well liked by all on the circuit, always straight forward and friendly, and appreciative of his fans. Four shirtless Dudi fans with big blue letters on their chests cheered Dudi on vs. Chung this week at Citi Open. Down a set and four to one in the second, the Dudi fans tried to pump up their man as he walked back out to the court, with a Lets go Dudi Let’s go chant. Dudi smiled and looked at them for a good fifteen seconds, before the first point, a look of appreciation and wonder and awe in his demeanor. A simple yet touching moment of pro tennis theater. Inspired by a special guy. Only a special person could inspire such an action from his fans.

Xavier Malisse: Always found X man to be super nice and friendly, every single time I approached him for an interview or quick chat, he always was friendly and hospitable, every single time. To a degree that he made you an instant fan, on the spot.

Christina McHale: Just a really really nice simple friendly girl from New Jersey. No drama, no BS, just a cool sweet young lady.

Kei Nishikori: Always a perfect gentleman, seems physically and mentally incapable of showing anger or saying a bad word. Especially nice with kids, but nice and easy with everyone, from selfie asking adult or deadline pressed reporter.

Ivo Karlovic: Has a somewhat scary countenance, but it’s a misperception. Dr Ivo is another good friendly respectful superstar who can convey a look of being too serious but he’s funny and witty and in my experiences, always been obliging for any interview request, whether scheduled or not.

Stan Wawrinka: Have interviewed Stan one on one at all stages of his career and he’s never changed despite the superstardom, still the same Stan now that he was in his early years, straight shooter, friendly, nice, a gentleman. And very well liked by the tennis media contingent, never heard even a remotely bad word said about Stan.

Alexander Dolgopolov: Another star player who is always nice to fans and media, win or lose. I once even had late dinner with him and a Japanese photographer at the US Open media cafeteria. Dolgopolov ate and chatted with us because the player’s café was closed before his late match ended. I have never seen a star player in the media cafe, in 20 years of covering pro tennis. What was Alex eating for dinner, you may ask? Yes, I still remember, a turkey sandwich.

Tim Smyczek: Just a class act, as fine a sportsman you will ever come across, on and off court, always has time for fans, media, whoever. Completely approachable, accessible, friendly, easy going, down to earth, gives the impression he is grateful and privileged to be a part of pro tennis and does his utmost best to be an ambassador for the sport. Just a natural good person, well liked and respected by everyone in the game. Even Federer gave Tim a personal acknowledgement of congrats when he qualified for his first US Open.

Honorable mention: Gilles Simon, Gael Monfils, Robby Ginepri, Denis Kudla, Mikhail Youzhny, Mike Russell, Milos Raonic, Caroline Wozniacki, Yen Hsun Lu, Alejandro Falla, Juan Martin Del Potro, Marin Cilic, Richard Gasquet, Leander Paes, Fernando Verdasco, Rafa Nadal, Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Ana Ivanovic, Garbine Muguruza, Peng Shuai.

(Note: The author of this article has not met or interviewed every single player on the ATP and WTA tours, though he has interviewed hundreds of players since the 90s. This list is completely unofficial. Also, Scoop’s latest book “Facing Nadal: Symposium of a Champion” is available at amazon for $9.99.)

24 comments

Dan Markowitz · August 7, 2015 at 9:46 pm

Who are the mean guys and gals on the tour? I mean, how well do you really know these guys? When I interviewed Kyrgios at Indian Wells, I thought he was a real nice respectful guy, but obviously we’ve seen a more irascible side of him that he seems to be embracing.

Sock v Johnson playing a real close first set here at 9:45 pm EST.

Scoop Malinowski · August 7, 2015 at 10:04 pm

Matosevic can be rough. Rosol and Janowicz have avoided fans at the US Open but that was years ago. Hewitt is not exactly engaging but he does take time to oblige all fans who seek a photo, the times I’ve seen him recently. No player can get away with being openly mean, not in this media age.

Scoop Malinowski · August 7, 2015 at 10:06 pm

Sock vs Johnson figured to be close. I saw them play first round at Sarasota Challenger three years ago, they went to a tiebreak and Johnson eked it out somehow from being down, then Sock retired suddenly early in the second set, because it was hot. Both have improved very much since. They used to be practice partners training together but that’s changed, Sock trains in FL now with Isner and Johnson is LA based.

Dan Markowitz · August 7, 2015 at 10:49 pm

Sock just doesn’t have it, Scoop. He can score a nice win like the one over Gasquet yesterday, but his game doesn’t have enough strengths. His serve is not an ace machine. His backhand is solid but not spectacular. He doesn’t volley real well and his forehand has such a big windup he has to resort to chipping it at times.

I don’t think he has a burning desire to be great either. In Newport, he responded to a question I asked him about being so laid-back and carefree, saying he was “goofy.”

Goofy doesn’t win big titles. Also, he hires a coach who no one’s ever heard of, Troy Hahn. He’s not cut out for greatness. He’s nice player, good personality, but he’s not an outsized talent. He’ll be lucky if he has a Blake-like career.

Scoop Malinowski · August 8, 2015 at 7:46 am

He’s a Wimbledon doubles champion – that’s greatness right there. Even Lendl wishes he had a doubles title at the big W. Sock looked and played unbelievable vs Gasquet, I saw most of the match. Didn’t see vs Johnson, must’ve been some letdown. He’s an up and down player, capable of magic and dud losses. Johnson is no joke, he’s a solid #55 now and does well in DC, beat Isner last year. Johnson has shown he can beat Sock. Tough loss, also nice win for Johnson.

Coach Skelly · August 8, 2015 at 9:26 am

How you gonna leave Federer and Spadea off yo list!That whipping you took in DC must of dulled your senses!!:)

Scoop Malinowski · August 8, 2015 at 9:31 am

Fed is on the list as honorable mention ) and Spadea is an ex player, because he did not play Newport qualies. Yes I did lose to your Futures player, after playing an hour and a half of six baseline games earlier that morning with JG on har tru at Georgetown Prep, but I did beat you by default in our three month long hyped showdown, with your double ammo excuses of neck injury from a sleep walking fall and head cold issues. Coach Skelly knew he was gonna get smoked by Scoop )

Scoop Malinowski · August 8, 2015 at 9:36 am

I definitely rate Fed as super nice, he’s pulled in so many directions now as a global icon it’s hard to see him in a natural normal situation, everything is superstardom and centerstage now. But I do remember his younger days when he used to take the media out to eat or for a beer (according to biographer Rene Stauffer), when he treated the workers at US Open kindly (as one woman told me which I put the anecdote in my Facing Federer book), was told by ATP insider he does about 30 one on one interviews after winning a major, never complains or shows frustration, and treats every interview like it’s the first one, also talks with the interviewer off camera, not just all business, let’s get this over with ASAP. Fed is definitely very nice.

Hartt · August 8, 2015 at 10:11 am

Thanks for this article. Enjoyed reading these positive comments about the players. We fans don’t get many opportunities to see the players behind the scenes.

EddietheEagle · August 8, 2015 at 3:07 pm

These two (ex)-players are quite approachable in that they’re happy to throw a match for you if you ask (pay) them nicely.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/08/italian-tennis-players-banned-life-match-fixing-150807103733513.html

Dan Markowitz · August 8, 2015 at 3:11 pm

Cilic is looking like the 2014 US Open Cilic in taking 4-1 lead over Nishikori. He is such a fluid player for a big guy. The thing about Cilic is applies continual pressure. He’s not like a Murray who hits soft second serve. Cilic keeps on slinging arrows and that’s not easy to do against Kei who also is a constant supplier of pressure.

Cilic will even throw in a serve n volley which you won’t see Murray do. Courier on TC is saying his toss is significantly lower now than before Goran was his coach. I just like the way Cilic smothers his opponent by playing close to the baseline and hitting steaming ground strokes. He doesn’t play around. He’s not a defensive player the way Murray is at heart.

Scoop Malinowski · August 8, 2015 at 7:25 pm

Well, looky here, Stefan Kozlov and Tiafoe are in the finals of Kalamazoo, Tiafoe beat Opelka QF and Paul SF and Kozlov beat Fritz. Stefan will play Cincy qualis after Zoo. Harrison fell in Montreal qualies to Kudla in straights. The struggle continues for Harrison.

sharoten · August 9, 2015 at 6:12 am

No player is as accommodating these days as Rafa Nadal. Doesn’t matter if it’s after practice, after games, after press, in his hotel lobby, on the street, in airports and on planes, wherever, he will sign autographs and take selfies with fans for ages and ages. Both Federer and Djokovic practice off site as much as possible because they don’t like dealing with the crowds but Rafa is always there.

The backstage people love him too because he is so down to earth and friendly and respectful to everyone. I can’t tell you how many articles I’ve read which have interviewed the transportation people or the court booking people or the maintenance folks and they all say Rafa is so pleasant and polite. He still books his own courts and carries his own bags and whatnot so the staff at tournaments have an opportunity to interact with him and he gets rave reviews from them all. The ones that have been around for years say he hasn’t changed a bit from the young shy kid he was 12 or 13 years ago and celebrity and fame haven’t gone to his head at all.

Dan Markowitz · August 9, 2015 at 7:27 am

That’s not true he hasn’t changed. He seems to be a good guy from the interactions I’ve had with him, but starting a few years ago, he’s gotten much more wary of the press. I remember a press conference I attended at the US Open a few years ago just before the start of the tournament where I couldn’t believe how non-responsive he was. His answers were basically non-answers so it was very frustrating. It wasn’t that his command of English wasn’t so good because it’s improved. He just refused to say anything interesting. I remember Murray came in after Nadal and was much more civil and interesting.

Scoop Malinowski · August 9, 2015 at 8:41 am

Rafa is definitely an amazingly nice person. He once practiced on Armstrong at US Open during qualies and signed everything for everyone circling the court, then he didn’t sneak out the tunnel, he went over the barrier and went through the crowd, with no security or no entourage with him, by himself, and he signed more and took more photos. I still can’t believe he did that and would not believe it if someone told me, but he really did do that. I’ve seen him many times with chances to dodge kids but he waited for them and signed. Also very well liked by media. Thanks for sharing those details Sharoten.

JG · August 9, 2015 at 6:08 pm

Scoop, good hitting last week, look forward to next time. Did anyone see the Tiafoe-koslov match, 5 sets, koslov falling over with cramps but doesn’t give up, Tiafoe in 5 sets and gets direct entry to US open. Koslov is a fighter, most players would have given up ( he was down 2 sets).

Scoop Malinowski · August 9, 2015 at 8:09 pm

THanks JG, yes that was some excellent hitting, you were a lot tougher than Dan advertised lol, I saw the end of the fifth set from 2-1 on, what a compelling captivating battle it was. Very dramatic, won by a whisker by Tiafoe who seemed the physically stronger at the end. I feel both players deserve WCs after this, maybe Kozlov will get one too but his dad texted me that he has a WC into qualies. Who knows, maybe they will make exception, I think Kozlov deserves it more than someone like Ginepri or Russell who has never won a main draw US Open match.

Eric · August 10, 2015 at 1:13 am

Scoop I know your speaking of Russell but let’s not overlook ginepri making it to semifinals of 2005 open

Scoop Malinowski · August 10, 2015 at 7:39 am

Eric, I just mentioned last week about Ginepri making SF in 2005 where he lost to Agassi 64 57 63 46 63 in the fifth set. It’s a tough call, Ginepri’s done little in the last year and is pretty much done, while Kozlov can really use a WC and deserves it. But Ginepri was a quality classy American and also deserves a nice send-off, maybe a doubles main draw WC would be fair. Welcome to the site.

Dan Markowitz · August 10, 2015 at 8:31 am

Now wait, I haven’t played tennis with JG since high school so I don’t have any idea how he progressed as a player after that. As you say, Scoop, JG is now a tennis machine, very steady. I’m glad to hear it and would love to get on the court with JG sometime in the near future.

As for Kozlov getting a wildcard into the Open main draw, I say no way. I don’t even think Tiafoe should get one. This is pro tennis. Why should the 18’s junior champ in the U.S. get a wc into the main draw? Tiafoe had already turned pro as have Kozlov. In the true nature of amateurism, I don’t think either should have even been allowed to play Kalamazoo. We’ve all seen what happened to DY and then Harry because of all the wc’s they received early in their careers.

Let these guys get entry into the Open Qualis and see if they can qualify. By all means, I give a wc to Ginepri on his last Open and then I give the others to American guys who are showing good Challenger results, maybe Buchanan and Frantangelo.

JG · August 10, 2015 at 12:49 pm

Dan-maybe we can hit some at Harbor Island later this summer! Koslov and Tiafoe were essentially playing a money match–winner gets at least 40k for the chance to lose in the first round of the Open. Curious to know how many Boys 18’s Nationals winners have actually won a first round match in the Open, and also how many NCAA singles champs?

Dan Markowitz · August 10, 2015 at 1:48 pm

I’d love to get out on the Harbor Island courts, Jon. Let me know when you’re in town. I’m going to have to ask Sharko if he can give me a list of the Kalamazoo champs who’ve won first round Open matches. The NCAA champ doesn’t get a wild card into Open Main Draw I believe.

Coachskelly · August 10, 2015 at 3:40 pm

Russel deserves a wild card!At least into the qualies!

Scoop Malinowski · August 10, 2015 at 10:25 pm

Coach Skelly deserves a wildcard – into a match to get his behind whooped by Scoop )

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❖ 8  top ranking players compete for the championship

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© Albert Cesare / USA TODAY NETWORK

Rafael Nadal Nets First Top 20 Win Since 2022 With Victory at Madrid Open

• Author: Tim Capurso

Rafael Nadal defeated world No. 11 Alex de Minaur 7–6 (6), 6–3 in the second round of the Madrid Open on Saturday, earning his first ATP Tour victory vs. an opponent ranked inside the top 20 since November of 2022.

Nadal, 37, at times showed flashes of the form that helped him win 22 Grand Slams in his career. The Spaniard had his signature, lefty forehand-down-the-line shot working well, in addition to his crosscourt backhand, which he fired for winners multiple times.

Nadal, with a raucous crowd behind him, won a thrilling, 77-minute first set in a tiebreak, then quickly broke de Minaur's serve to grab a second set lead he would not relinquish.

When told during a post-match interview that it seemed like "the old Rafa Nadal was back," Nadal pushed back on the notion.

Are we beginning to see the return of the old Rafael Nadal? 🤩 @RafaelNadal #MMOPEN pic.twitter.com/cKrwHWYYmN — Tennis TV (@TennisTV) April 27, 2024

"No, no, no not yet," Nadal said with a laugh. "It needs time, and I think for moments have been good level of tennis. I was able to do positive things but still on and off."

Nadal missed nearly the entire 2023 season after requiring surgery on his hip, an injury that had the decorated tennis pro pondering retirement going into 2024. On Wednesday, Nadal would not fully commit to playing in the French Open, a tournament he has won a record 14 times.

If he can maintain the form he displayed Saturday while staying healthy, it's likely he'll be on the court at Roland Garros when the French Open begins on May 20.

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Novak Djokovic explains why ‘nice guy’ Holger Rune reminds him of himself

Fit physically, great on defense, an excellent counter-puncher and aggressive of the returns are just some of the qualities that Novak Djokovic have highlighted from Holger Rune ahead of their Italian Open clash.

Djokovic and Rune will meet for a third time on the ATP Tour on Wednesday and if their previous encounter is anything to go by then fans are in for a treat.

The first clash came in the first round of the 2021 US Open with Djokovic winning in four sets, but Rune turned the tables in the final at the Paris Masters last year as he stunned the tennis great 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 to win the biggest title of his career.

And the Dane has continued his rise since then with many describing him as the future of the sport along with Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.

Djokovic is certainly a fan of the 20-year-old and believes there are a lot similarities between himself and Rune.

“He kind of reminds me [of me] a little bit, the way he plays. Really fit physically, great defense, but also great counter-puncher,” the 22-time Grand Slam winner said.

“He can hurt you from both forehand and backhand side. Really solid serve. Aggressive returns. Just all-around player on all surfaces. Particularly on clay I think he finds himself really comfortable playing. He played finals of Monaco, was really close to win the title there. He’s in very good form and I look forward to a challenge. I think it’s going to be a very physical match.”

He continued: “Even though he’s really young, I know his game quite well. He’s been on the Tour now for last few years playing some great tennis, particularly in the last I would say six to eight months.

“He’s been really establishing himself as a top player. He’s a top-10 player, deservedly so. He’s been playing some really high-quality tennis. He’s one of the hardest workers out there. Nice guy. I get along well with him. On the court obviously we certainly want to win against each other.”

When Rune was told how complimentary the world No 1 was about him, he was naturally delighted.

“It’s a good thing I think. Novak, obviously he has an amazing career,” he said. “But yeah, I’m feeling better and better coming into Roland Garros. I feel like I’m getting closer to my best level. Still a few things that I feel like I can do better, which is nice because I still have time.”

READ MORE: Novak Djokovic rips into Cameron Norrie after Rome spat – ‘He brought the fire, and I responded’

Tennis’ Grand Slams premium tour plan: More money, equal pay, fewer tournaments

After months of playing shots off the back foot, the four Grand Slam tournaments have gone on the offensive in the battle for the future of tennis . 

In meetings with representatives of the men’s ATP and women’s WTA tours last week in London, and with players and agents this week in Madrid, leaders of the Grand Slams have presented their strongest plan yet to reform the current structure of professional tennis . It consists of a premium tour anchored in the four Grand Slams and more top-level combined events, featuring the best players from the ATP and WTA circuits.

According to a person briefed on the proposal from the Grand Slams and the ensuing meetings, who spoke on condition of anonymity to protect relationships, the details include the following:

• Doubling the prize money for the top 300 men.
• ⁠Almost quadrupling the prize money for the top 300 women.
• Using a portion of their own media rights to finance these changes.
• Equal pay , from inception, for men and women at all the events on the premium tour, instead of making women wait until 2027 to receive the same pay as men at some of the biggest tournaments.
• A schedule that includes the four Grand Slams, plus 10 other mixed top-level tournaments, with locations and dates to be determined, and a team event.
• The tour would end in time to allow for an off-season of six to eight weeks.

The plan would capitalize on the lucrative media rights of the Australian, French and U.S. Opens, alongside Wimbledon, and those of the other top Masters tournaments, to create a premium tour — various versions of which have been at the core of their previous proposals, but with little meat on the bones beyond that. ESPN’s 11-year-deal for the U.S. Open is worth almost $800 million (£647.7m), and it is estimated that media rights account for over half of the annual revenue for the All England Tennis Club, which stages Wimbledon, year in, year out.

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The Slams say the plans will vastly increase pay for men and women more quickly than the ATP and WTA can achieve, focus the season around 15 events in a premium tour and extend an off-season that has shrunk to just a few weeks for the top players.

Leaders of the Grand Slams and the tours were not immediately available for comment. 

How to fix tennis

Leaders of the ATP and the WTA, who have long viewed the collective plan from Wimbledon and the U.S., French and Australian Opens as a threat to their relevance and perhaps their existence, are not enthusiastic about this latest idea, according to the person briefed on the plan and the meetings.

Discussions between the tours and the Grand Slams have become less fraught in recent weeks, according to reporting from the BBC . While one official recently described “productive discussions” among the parties of late, this latest move could jeopardize any hint of detente that may have started to develop in the past few months.

It shows that even as the tours moved to firm up their control of the sport, the Grand Slams continued to work toward wresting it from them, something they have been pushing for since last summer.

The leaders of the two tours have long sought guarantees that they will have significant roles in governing the sport, and this iteration of a premium tour would relegate most of their tournaments to a lesser status which top players would have much less incentive to participate in. 

Now, the tours’ lack of enthusiasm might be moot, because by bringing the players into the discussion for the first time, the Grand Slams are playing a significant card.

It is their strongest move yet to curry favor with the people who have proven time and again to hold the most power in tennis — the stars of the sport, who attract the fans to buy tickets and to watch the matches at home.

They are now promising to give those players many of the things they have been seeking for years, including accelerating the closing of the gap in prize money that endures at several mixed 1000-level events and, overall, including greater financial rewards for a less demanding schedule than the current 11-month slog that incentivizes players to risk their health and wellbeing by playing in as many tournaments as possible.

The Grand Slams’ leaders have pushed for months to use existing 250 and 500-level tournaments to create a qualifying tour for players outside roughly the top 100. Top players could potentially participate in those events but not earn rankings points from them.

Most importantly, to help finance this premium tour, the Grand Slams have committed for the first time to include a portion of their media and sponsorship rights, which are the most expensive in the sport and that they have long kept largely for themselves.

For months, the Grand Slams had held back on such a commitment as they negotiated among themselves about how much of their resources they wanted to invest in an effort that would make them major financial partners in the future of the professional level of tennis, rather than independent entities that hold annual competitions — even if they are the sport’s biggest annual competitions of all.

However, during the past year, the tours have made a series of moves that the Grand Slams have viewed as a threat to their primacy, including potentially disrupting a schedule that climaxes four times a year with the Grand Slams.

Leaders of the organizations that control the Grand Slams have decided that the only way to ensure that they maintain their strength is through further investment in the overall management of the sport.

In meetings, and in a presentation at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, in March, top tennis leaders were still waiting for a premium tour plan that the Grand Slams had purportedly been fleshing out for months — to the extent that the proposed presentation had slipped from last November, at the ATP Finals in the Italian city of Turin. Four months later, no framework for the integration of media rights and other commercial partnerships was in place.

Now, another month on, the Slams have made their move.

The latest move comes after Andrea Gaudenzi, the leader of the ATP, pushed for the tours to invest in a plan that would bring in roughly $1billion of investment in tennis from Saudi Arabia . Most of that money would come from the sale of a new tournament, a 10th Masters 1000 event. 

A bid process for the event is ongoing, also involving Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, fellow Gulf state Qatar’s capital Doha and Australia, with most people involved in the process expecting the Saudis to prevail, adding the tournament to its three-year deals for the season-ending WTA Tour Finals in Riyadh, in November, and for the Next Gen Finals the following month.

Inside Saudi Arabia’s growing influence in sport

• Why the country bought into Premier League soccer
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While a portion of the infusion of cash from Saudi Arabia would eventually filter down to the players, it comes with costs to the schedule that players already say is far too long, including adding another top-level, mandatory tournament, possibly at the very start of the calendar after the already-shrunken off-season. It’s also not yet clear what opportunities for additional growth would be available after the money from the additional tournament is spent.

The Grand Slams are operating on the principle that, in contrast, a premium tour that can pool its media rights and sell them as a singular, elite, exclusive package to sponsors and media companies — in the fashion of Formula 1 — could bring to the market the kind of focused tennis product that the fractured sport has been trying in vain to come up with for decades. 

The battle moves on.

(Top photo: Glyn Kirk/AFP)

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Matthew Futterman is an award-winning veteran sports journalist and the author of two books, “Running to the Edge: A Band of Misfits and the Guru Who Unlocked the Secrets of Speed” and “Players: How Sports Became a Business.”Before coming to The Athletic in 2023, he worked for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Star-Ledger of New Jersey and The Philadelphia Inquirer. He is currently writing a book about tennis, "The Cruelest Game: Agony, Ecstasy and Near Death Experiences on the Pro Tennis Tour," to be published by Doubleday in 2026. Follow Matthew on Twitter @ mattfutterman

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Gaming   Mario Tennis: How to do a "nice" serve?

• Thread starter Gute
• Start date Nov 22, 2006
• Views 20,156

• Nov 22, 2006

How do I serve a "nice" serve in mario tennis? There has to be a way to do it on purpose... I checked the guides on gamefaqs.com but i didnt find anything about it. One of the training sessions requires that you serve only serve "nice" and there has to be a way to get past it without serving randomly until getting a "nice". Anyone here who can help me?  

to get the "nice" serve you should time your hit when the ball is at its peak or just before it falls down, i think you have about a split second to hit the ball to get it, i used to get frustrated when i couldn't get it when i was just starting playing it but i did get the hang of it. i've finished this game with all characters and power-ups unlocked. good luck!!!  

Well-Known Member

• Nov 23, 2006

You should actually begin to press the button just a split second before it reaches the top, that way when the command gets registered, the ball will be hit right at its peak. The easiest way to consistently serve "Nice" is to simply practice, practice, practice.  

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Charlie Woods will play U.S. Open local qualifier Thursday

Charlie Woods looks to earn a spot at this year's U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2. (Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)

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Charlie Woods’ road to Pinehurst begins Thursday.

Woods, the son of 82-time TOUR winner Tiger Woods, will compete in an 18-hole U.S. Open local qualifier Thursday at The Legacy Golf & Tennis Club in Port St. Lucie, Florida. The younger Woods is slated to tee off at 8:18 a.m. ET Thursday.

The road to the U.S. Open features 109 local qualifying sites across April and May, leading to 13 Final Qualifying sites in late May and early June. Final Qualifying is known as Golf's Longest Day, requiring competitors to navigate 36 holes to earn a tee time at the season’s third major championship.

To be eligible for qualifying, a player must have a Handicap Index not exceeding 0.4 or be a professional.

The elder Woods is a three-time U.S. Open champion, but he has yet to win at Pinehurst No. 2. Tiger Woods finished T3 at Pinehurst in 1999, two strokes back of winner Payne Stewart, and he placed solo second at the venerable venue in 2005, two back of Michael Campbell. He didn’t compete at Pinehurst in 2014.

Earlier this spring, Charlie Woods competed in a pre-qualifier for the TOUR’s Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches, his first foray at attempting to qualify for a TOUR-sanctioned event. The younger Woods shot 86 that day but will look to apply learnings in Thursday’s U.S. Open local qualifier.

Tiger and Charlie Woods have paired together in the last four PNC Championships, the two-player team event contested each December that utilizes a scramble format. Team Woods finished runner-up in 2021 but has yet to win the event.

Other notables in the field at Woods' site include Cameron Kuchar (son of Matt), Sunny Kim, Garrett Willis, Reed Greyserman (brother of Max), Austin Lemieux (son of Mario) and Michael Buttacavoli.