Racquet Polaroids: U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship; Houston, Texas

This year's pre-tournament festivities also fell on Oscars weekend meant that the worlds of sports and entertainment overlapped even more than they usually do—Coco Gauff turned up at the Academy Awards and Aryna Sabalenka hit the Vanity Fair Oscar Party. But the LA landscape, just weeks after devastating fires ripped through many parts of the city, was one in need of a comeback.

The first few days here at the tournament were for the die-hards. The ones who watch streaming matches all year, who know the players at every level—way below the top 100—and want to watch them try to play their way into the main draw of the BNP Paribas Open. By the weekend, all that changed.

Wendy Laird and photos by Alice Jacquesa

March 10, 2025

Rennae talks to the woman behind everyone's favorite Grand Slam success story about learning to love the process in tennis, her decades-long journey on the tour and how a little therapy and playing brave pays off. 

We give deserved standing ovations to the players who've gotten their inner games of tennis together—looking at you Mirra Andreeva, Andrey Rublev and of course, Madison Keys! Also a slightly inappropriate discussion of the hottest tennis match ever, a brief detour through South America, and most importantly, we'll see you in Indian Wells!