Tennis Channel analysts Mark Petchey, Jimmy Arias, and Brett Haber recently discussed this important topic.
Recently Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic’s new coach, said “Novak has in the last few years cemented himself as the best tennis player of all time, certainly of his generation, with the records that he’s achieved.
Other racket and related paddle sports will no doubt increase in popularity, but tennis has met this challenge in the post-pandemic era. By most indicators, such as the number of participants, tournament prize money, endorsement income, followers on social media, and tournament attendance, tennis has more than held its own.
The “musical chairs” among coaches and players on the women’s tour led Tennis Channel analyst and all-time great Martina Navratilova to muse how much players should share with their coaches about the most intimate aspects of their tennis and personal lives. During the terrific Iga Swiatek-Naomi Osaka duel at the 2024 French Open, this issue arose and was particularly pertinent because renowned Belgian coach Wim Fissette was then coaching Osaka.
Midway through Jannik Sinner’s 6-1, 6-2 demolition of three-time major finalist Casper Ruud in the semifinals of the 2024 ATP Finals, Tennis Channel’s astute Brett Haber noted that Sinner breaks serve 29% of the time and holds serve 91%. Then Brett succinctly summed up his opponents’ predicament: “When are you supposed to win a game against him?”
