Racquet Issue No. 21

When Aryna Sabalenka’s on-court intensity translates into campy, self-congratulatory TikToks, harmony is felt and sense is made. But Jannik’s on-court persona, tightly controlled like an unseasoned chicken breast, respectfully, need not be repackaged for YouTube. Because where is the flavor?!?

“To create one’s own world takes courage.” —Georgia O’Keefe

These days, American college tennis is barely that: American

Sure, game-play conditions may vary, and a maintained court is more enticing for actual play, but as purely aesthetic fascinations, the inherently satisfying rationality of court design endures. 

Frenchman Arthur Fils—the charisma bomb—is back and looking better than ever.

Racquet’s See You In Court is a regular column in which Melissa Kenny, a famously mediocre lifelong player, opines on pro tennis. She also writes Hard Hitting, a Substack about the thrills and frustrations of recreational tennis.