Talk About Tennis 2.0

At the WTA Finals in Texas now, the WTA is using the same type of plastic/rubber net at the ATP has used for several years. This type of net allows for the printing of words/designs on it, as opposed to the more traditional weaved material net, which does not easily lend itself to that.
I have no doubt that sponsors will eventually make their way onto these new nets.

For now, though, the ATP has been writing the ingenious 'ATP Tour' on their nets, and the WTA is countering with the extremely original 'WTA Tour' on theirs now.
This is for the .000000000001% of the population who can't figure out that when the men play, it's the ATP, and when the women play, it's the WTA.

If the WTA continues to use the plastic/rubber net, the silly net changes at the Majors and the other tournaments where both genders play at the same time will continue. I find this ridiculous and a complete waste of time and effort to swap one net for an identical net, which performs exactly the same purpose - simply in order to inform people that when the men are on court, it's the ATP, and when the women are on court, it's the WTA.

Meredith McGrath Stadium Court

Starts at 02:00 PM

LIVE MATCH
Semifinal
USA A. LI vs GER A. FRIEDSAM
15 4 2 -
40 6 2 -

UPCOMING
Semifinal
USA P. STEARNS vs USA C. MCNALLY (7)
UPCOMING
Final
USA A. MUHAMMAD/USA A. PARKS (1) vs GER A. FRIEDSAM/UKR N. KICHENOK

Maybe a bit of proof that, if your game is not working, going back to a Challenger could be a good idea.
Better to play 4 matches against some good quality players, than play 1 and lose in the first round of a bigger tournament. Agassi did it around '96, I think.

Caty McNally def Anna-Lena Friedsam 6-3, 6-2 to win Midland

^ Caty seems to have been doing well - a steady, consistent progression - since she split with Gauff in doubles and began focusing somewhat more on her singles.

That win earns her a top 100 debut and a ticket to AO main draw. Very well done indeed.

Associated Press


MELBOURNE, Australia -- Former world No. 1 Ash Barty has emphatically ruled out ever making a comeback to tennis, or switching to another sport.

Launching her autobiography at Melbourne Park -- scene of her Australian Open triumph in January just two months before her shocking retirement announcement -- the 26-year-old said she had no desire to return to high-level sport, and was sure she never would.

"Nope, I'm done," Barty told Australian Associated Press on Monday. "You can never say never but no. No, no, no. I'm done."

The three-time Grand Slam singles winner, who spent 121 weeks with the top ranking, had played professional cricket with the Brisbane Heat during a hiatus from tennis.

She also plays golf off a handicap of four, prompting some observers to suggest she could pursue a future in that sport.

But, launching her memoir "My Dream Time," Barty insisted she was happy with her new, more settled life off the WTA Tour and had no professional sports plan in mind.

"I miss competing and challenging myself against the best of the world but I don't miss a lot that comes with it," she said. "I'm still competitive with myself when I train at home. I still try and push myself but there's no white-line fever any more.

"And I never really felt like there was this void that needed to be filled in because there was a genuine sense of fulfillment at the end of my career."

Barty, who married longtime partner Garry Kissick in July, said she was unsure what her future held, although she was already enjoying mentoring young players -- something that could point to a future role as Australian Billie Jean King Cup (formerly Fed Cup) captain.

She said that when she walked away from tennis for the first time in 2014, she was "searching ... searching for stimulation, I was searching for other things."

"But now I don't need that. Now I have probably understood and realized that I've had an extremely full, fulfilling, incredible journey in my athletic and professional career, and now it's time to close that chapter," she said.

https://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/ ... ther-sport

Hard to disagree when she explains it that way.
But I would say she is leaving at least 3 more slams on the table. If she is fine with that, I gather nobody can ask for more.

ponchi101 wrote: ↑Mon Nov 07, 2022 7:07 pm Hard to disagree when she explains it that way.
But I would say she is leaving at least 3 more slams on the table. If she is fine with that, I gather nobody can ask for more.

At least 3 because she was competitive on all surfaces. She might feel differently in a few years. People change, especially in her stage of life. I hate to second-guess women and it's probably 80-20 that she won't return, but it wouldn't surprise me if she feels differently later.

In my book, she didn't "retire" at 17 or 18 - she took a long, indefinite break. She might be taking another one. How many players have retired prematurely and stayed gone?

meganfernandez wrote: ↑Mon Nov 07, 2022 9:00 pm
In my book, she didn't "retire" at 17 or 18 - she took a long, indefinite break. She might be taking another one. How many players have retired prematurely and stayed gone?

There's probably differing definitions on what constitutes "early retirement." But I think Ash seems considerably more well adjusted than many of the ones that I can think of that retired early and came back. But there are some that retired and stayed retired.

Also, Ash never seemed to take to the travel. Maybe it would be different if she was European or American and had much more of a chance for reasonable breaks during the season at home. And that was before the pandemic made travel to and from Australia more difficult.