[vc_empty_space height="5px"]
By Giri Nathan
[vc_empty_space height="15px"]Tennis players are gathering again. The pro tours are humming to life, as players huddle inside a bubble to play Cincinnati in New York. The public courts are as lively as ever, and the USTA has radio spots telling people to get out there and hit. Isolation is steadily, often ill-advisedly, coming to an end. But don’t forget how lonely these past few months have been, how many odd hobbies and habits you cultivated along the way. Our new Issue No. 14 is devoted to all those “solitary pursuits,” and inside you’ll find stories of private obsessions, missed vacations, digital romances, with tennis as the through line. You’ll also find my essay about the chief “solitary pursuit” the sport has to offer: hitting against a wall. Worldwide, the wall was the most popular tennis partner in the year 2020. Probably every other year, too.