Welcome to Tennis Canada’s first month-to-month mailbag of 2025. This month, esteemed tennis journalist and Canadian Tennis Corridor of Famer Tom Tebbutt solutions questions submitted by you, the followers.
Play the commissioner of tennis for sooner or later. What’s one rule change you’ll implement?
All of us have pet peeves about tennis. This isn’t precisely a rule, however for a few years my most important pet peeve was that two weeks was not sufficient time between Roland-Garros and Wimbledon. For a number of of these years, that significantly utilized to Rafael Nadal, who was in so many French Open finals. I felt he, and customarily all of the gamers, wanted one week to get well and get accustomed to grass, one week to play a grass-court prep match, and one week to kind of fine-tune within the relaxed ambiance many gamers favor the week earlier than a Grand Slam match.
Imagine it or not, once I first went to Wimbledon in 1975, there was just one week between Wimbledon and Roland-Garros. That was modified just a few years later after which a 3rd week was added in 2015, which lastly made sense.
I suppose now what I’d change is bouncing the ball earlier than gamers serve. I see no purpose why they shouldn’t be restricted to 5 bounces. I bear in mind a scenario a few years in the past once I was taking part in and late within the match, my opponent immediately began bouncing much more earlier than serving. I believed, and nonetheless do, that it’s unfair to returners as a result of they are often distracted, questioning precisely when their opponent is lastly going to serve. If a participant needs to have ‘a assume’ about serving ways – do it earlier than beginning to bounce the ball. In different phrases, not whereas the receiver is poised and questioning when the server will ultimately cease bouncing and begin the ball toss.
If Canada had been to realize extra tournaments on the ATP and WTA most important excursions, what cities would you wish to see host tournaments?
I’ve been round for some time and have listened to complaints for years in regards to the too-long and too-crowded yearly schedule. I all the time use the phrase ‘intractable’ to explain it.
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Event sanctions are mounted and it’s very onerous to vary them. It was unhappy to see the Quebec Metropolis WTA match go. However, contemplating dimension and markets, Vancouver could be the apparent selection. Calgary and Edmonton is perhaps potentialities, in addition to Halifax. But it surely’s unlikely there could be a spot out there on the already over-crowded calendar.
Which of the brand new faces that we’ve seen make noise recently impresses you probably the most?
Jannik Sinner is a very good participant however Carlos Alcaraz is the man that I get pleasure from watching. After Roger Federer retired many people questioned if one other participant together with his type of selection would ever come alongside. Then – growth – Alcaraz fell from the sky. It was identical to Federer did within the early 2000s when extra one-dimensional gamers like Marat Safin and Lleyton Hewitt regarded like they had been taking up as all-court champion Pete Sampras was winding down.
I additionally like Holger Rune. He’s exasperating and might be tough, however he has an athleticism that’s enjoyable to look at.
Among the many ladies at present there are just a few. Coco Gauff and Jasmine Paolini are a deal with to look at as is Karolina Muchova, though she’s been round a bit longer. The identical with Jelena Ostapenko. She’s a ridiculous drama queen however the explosiveness of her pictures is nice leisure. Sadly, they don’t all the time land in.
Who’s an upcoming under-the-radar Canadian participant that individuals ought to find out about?
I’m not likely excellent at this as a result of I’ve principally targeting the professional excursions. I all the time thought Gabriel Diallo was spectacular and would break by means of earlier than he now has. In the meanwhile, Liam Draxl looks as if a fairly decided younger man on the rise.
However Filip Peliwo gained the Wimbledon and US Open juniors in 2012 – the yr Genie Bouchard gained junior Wimbledon – and completed No. 1 within the ITF year-end rankings. However you by no means know the way issues will play out. Genie made a Wimbledon remaining and reached to No. 5 on the earth. Filip is about to show 31 and presently ranks No. 586 with a career-high of No. 161 in 2018. Now representing Poland, he is an effective man, sensible and a tough employee. However the actuality is that not everybody makes it to the highest ranks – and in his case it isn’t for lack of making an attempt.
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Among the many ladies – Marina Stakusic has an enormous sport and might make plenty of gamers uncomfortable. She’s simply 20 and has a excessive ceiling however her hard-hitting tennis includes extra threat and she is going to in all probability take a bit extra time to mature.
What are your ideas about being talked about in Pete Sampras’ autobiography?
I’ve by no means thought of it. I suppose it happened as a result of I had the news that Pete had Thalassemia Minor, which happened after he vomited on courtroom and regarded utterly out-of-it throughout a 1996 US Open quarter-final towards Alex Corretja. He gained the match and went on to win the US Open for a fourth time.
Right here’s how I described it in a 1996 Globe and Mail article – “it has been discovered that Sampras has an inherited situation that’s virtually definitely thalassemia minor, a congenital type of anemia widespread amongst individuals from the Mediterranean. Sampras’ mom, Georgia, was born in Greece, and his father, Sam, is of Greek ancestry.”
Pete was No. 1 on the time and it was huge information. The news kind of fell in my lap after which I related the dots – with assist from a few medical doctors. Thalassemia Minor (Thalassemia Main – the unhealthy genes from each dad and mom – is way more severe) did considerably restrict his capacity to coach. However the situation doesn’t have an effect on his life expectancy. He was 25 on the time and I believed for certain it will be a difficulty sooner or later throughout the remainder of his profession. But it surely actually wasn’t. There might have been just a few different incidents (the 1997 French Open semifinal on a scorching day towards Yevgeny Kafelnikov) – however nothing once more ever got here near being as horrible as that 1996 US Open match.
Have you ever ever been star-struck by a participant you bought to talk to? In that case, who?
At my first Canadian Open in Toronto in 1974, I discovered myself sitting on a patio round a desk with just a few different individuals and Jimmy Connors, who had simply gained Wimbledon. I couldn’t fairly work out how I received there.
I additionally as soon as did an interview with Arthur Ashe throughout a automotive journey when he did a promotional look in Toronto. And in 2003 in Montreal, Journal de Montreal journalist Mario Brisebois and I interviewed just-crowned Wimbledon champion Roger Federer informally down on the courtroom after considered one of his pre-tournament observe classes.
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I suppose I used to be a bit star-struck a few years earlier once I interviewed tennis greats like Fred Perry, Alice Marble, Pancho Gonzales, Rod Laver, and extra lately Yannick Noah and Mats Wilander – each nice guys. The nicest participant ever was, simply, Kim Clijsters.
What’s the coolest interplay you’ve had with somebody within the tennis world?
One yr throughout Wimbledon, in all probability 1980, I had an interview scheduled with Arthur Ashe and someway discovered myself driving in a London taxi with him, and American legend Jack Kramer, on the best way to his lodge – The Westbury.
Additionally, I labored at a WCT (World Championship Tennis) occasion in Montreal in 1979 and took then four-time Wimbledon champion Bjorn Borg of Sweden to a Canadiens hockey sport on the Discussion board. After he completed a match, we travelled by Metro from the Maurice Richard Area within the east finish of town. There weren’t many individuals round us on the subway and nobody acknowledged Bjorn till we received contained in the Discussion board.
Heading into week two, who WERE your picks (males’s and girls’s singles) to win the Australian Open?
Folks assume since you cowl a sport, you’re some kind of an knowledgeable with inside data about what’s going to occur. I’m normally no higher at predicting than the typical tennis fan.
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I bear in mind proper earlier than the 2019 US Open ladies’s remaining, I used to be interviewed by Radio-Canada. They requested me who I believed would win between Serena Williams and Bianca Andreescu. I had no clue. However within the seconds I had to consider it, I made a decision selecting Bianca could be a better option as a result of she’s a fellow Canadian, and I’m on Canadian tv. I suppose I ended up wanting like a wise man however it was only a calculated private resolution – not one based mostly on any deep analytical evaluation of who really was going to win.
If I needed to choose at first of the week – I’d have picked Swiatek and Alcaraz.
Tickets for the Davis Cup Qualifiers 1st Spherical tie between Canada and Hungary at the moment are on sale. Be part of us February 1 and a couple of at IGA Stadium in Montreal, because the Canadian group begins their quest for the 2025 Davis Cup Closing 8. To entry tickets at early-bird pricing, click on right here.
