One thing this match could've been was an audition for Nick Kyrgios' hopes of getting a last-minute Australian Open wildcard...but he looked so gassed by midway through the first set that surely best-of-five is a nonstarter.

Tuned into the Battle of the Sexes, telecast announces a "sellout" crowd of 6,000. Coca-Cola Arena has a capacity of 17,000. 🙄

Was on BBC News last night sharing my thoughts about today's fast-approaching "Battle of the Sexes" farce, which I think is a long-term lose-lose for tennis in all ways. (Wish I could upload it directly here but Bluesky is still pretty strict on video files). substack.com/@benrothenbe...

Coco Gauff played 18 tournaments in 2025 and repeated an outfit just twice all year (Doha-Dubai, IW-Miami). I asked her about it in Riyadh and also spoke to New Balance earlier this year about why brands find it difficult to stay in tennis and the challenge of delivering new looks all season

This was a very fun project to be a part of!

That was a seriously remarkable season of television, Heated Rivalry.

Counted them up: I've done more than 160 stories on Bounces in 2025, which is a whole lot. For this year-end post, I went back through to dust off some of my favorites from the year. I hope you've enjoyed the ride! Subscriptions make great gifts! www.benrothenberg.com/p/the-merry-...

The Australian Open has announced four more main draw wild cards for next month, all to Aussies: Priscilla Hon Talia Gibson Taylah Preston Rinky Hijikata

It’s not always easy, when an overwhelming favorite on paper, to actually do it. But #28 Learner Tien, the only Top 100 guy in the field, did it, bouncing back from an opening loss to win ATP NextGen as Beat Blockx 4-3, 4-2, 4-1 to become the second American NextGen champ.

Americans Learner Tien and Nishesh Basavareddy about to begin their ATP NextGen semifinal in Jeddah. Winner to face Belgium’s Blockx.

This PSA where Urban Meyer is reading off cards is a grim use of taxpayer money.

Naomi Osaka confirmed yesterday’s Bounces report this morning. (My article does have more information, confirmed by several sources, about where she is heading next.)

It had been a relatively non-newsy autumn in tennis until this week, honestly, so thanks to all the new Bounces subscribers in the last 48 hours who slingshotted Bounces back up the Substack Sports charts! benrothenberg.com/subscribe

Woke up this morning to this news😳

Breaking some big tennis business news at Bounces: Naomi Osaka is leaving her longtime agent Stuart Duguid and the agency they cofounded in 2022, Evolve. Subscribe to read more about Naomi’s business history and where she’s going next. www.benrothenberg.com/p/breaking-n...

On today’s big breaking news: ATP No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz ending things with his longtime coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero. On the surprise (and the clear divides between the two): www.benrothenberg.com/p/carlos-alc...

On today’s big breaking news: ATP No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz ending things with his longtime coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero. On the surprise (and the clear divides between the two): www.benrothenberg.com/p/carlos-alc...

Great list of tennis book recs that I’m flattered to have my forthcoming FINDING RENÉE RICHARDS (August 2026) included on. Thank you @benrothenberg.bsky.social and @girinathan.bsky.social!

Wrote (and talked with @girinathan.bsky.social) about some of my all-time favorite tennis books, if you’re looking for a great read for yourself or someone on your list. www.benrothenberg.com/p/the-gift-o...

John Williams confirms his time coaching Taylor Townsend has ended. Their pairing began in 2021. It's a big change for TT after biggest season of her career, reaching WTA #1 and winning AO in doubles + a US Open R16 in singles. (News first posted on here by @blackspinglobal.bsky.social)

Friendly reminder that the Bounces subscriber chat with Giri Nathan is starting in about 30 minutes! The Zoom link info (and a place to leave questions and topics, if you have any ideas) is here: bit.ly/BouncesBookC...

WTA's big press Mercedez-Benz sponsorship conference underway in Stuttgart. Billie Jean King and Roger Federer both in attendance.

"I'm not in denial, I'm in open rebellion" damn that quote goes hard

For the tennis fan on your shopping list: shop.thesecondserve.com/products/man...

I went to the Trump Kennedy Center Honors Cursed By The Monkey’s Paw and all you got were these 1500 words of observations www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/...

#AusOpen entry lists: Women: #64 Danielle Collins and #76 Ons Jabeur out. Protected entries: Karolina Pliskova Wang Yafan Mananchaya Sawangkaew Men: #15 Holger Rune out. Protected entries: Jerry Shang Zhang Zhizhsen Emil Ruusuvuori Thanasi Kokkinakis

New at Bounces this morning: Talking through my votes and showing my work on the 2025 WTA Awards ballot. Also, an anthem for the year in men’s tennis: “Duopoly” by Dan Bern. Read and listen here: www.benrothenberg.com/p/sinner-alc...

Good on the USTA for not giving (all the way) into Trump, I guess, I say on the same absurd day on which FIFA invented a “peace prize” to give Trump.

A ridiculous coda to this story: A USTA source tells me that Trump wanted to hand out the trophy to the winner of the US Open men's final but the organizers said no and compromised by displaying the trophy on the balcony of the Rolex suite where he was sitting.

I wrote for @theatlantic.com about the NFL's baffling scoreboard mystery: Why has a game never ended 36-23? Join me (via gift link!) on this @nflscorigami.bsky.social quest w/help from @jonbois.bsky.social, Dave Mattingly, some Scorigami-loving academics, and more www.theatlantic.com/science/2025...

After coming out last week in video form on Bounces and the NCR Patreon, my chat with Mary Carillo on the occasion of her Hall of Fame induction is now available in audio form on the No Challenges Remaining feed, wherever you listen to your podcasts: open.spotify.com/episode/4UOA...

Both a seismic and completely unsurprising day for Eurovision, alas.

We launched a GoFundMe last week to help fund our 2026 season. It is #GivingTuesday! (we'll be back later with some other worthy causes). If you like what we do and want to show your appreciation, this is how! Grateful to you for helping us remain independent after 11 years. gofund.me/e1055aba4

Updated this post with Serena's Twitter denial of the news...there's not really any reason why a person would sign up for the hassle of doping tests without having had an intention to compete again.

April posted about this story even before I did because she’s a subscriber and got it instantly! Be like April and subscribe to Bounces! 🤗 Benrothenberg.com/subscribe

Big breaking news at Bounces: Serena Williams has applied for reinstatement to tennis, adding herself back into the tennis anti-doping program to set herself up for a comeback to competition in 2026. Read all the details here: www.benrothenberg.com/p/serena-wil...

If you love Mary Carillo like I love Mary Carillo you will love this conversation with International Tennis Hall of Fame inductee Mary Carillo!

Beyond delighted to catch up with Mary Carillo on the occasion of her being voted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Lots of stuff here, including the importance—and costs—of saying the things others in the sport don’t and won’t. Watch at Bounces: www.benrothenberg.com/p/mary-caril...

Beyond delighted to catch up with Mary Carillo on the occasion of her being voted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Lots of stuff here, including the importance—and costs—of saying the things others in the sport don’t and won’t. Watch at Bounces: www.benrothenberg.com/p/mary-caril...

Ahead of our WTA year-end show tomorrow, we've launched our GFM for Season 12 of TBS. Thank you to everyone who helped us create new memories this year, not least of which visiting SW19 for the first time! gofund.me/c9bdf1a0a

Grateful for the years of support and looking forward to bigger and better things in Season 12 of TBS!

As someone who paywalls, genuinely laughed out loud at that paywall.

New overnight at Bounces: Lots of bits and bobs from a fairly newsy week in tennis, including an interview with Patrick Kypson. Read here: www.benrothenberg.com/p/patrick-ky...

I think it's very much up for debate what the stakes are of Davis Cup this week, but the atmosphere and intensity in this Cobolli-Bergs match have been deeply super duper.

Learned quite a bit about the Tennis HOF here

Good news from Cincinnati (and h/t to @jonwertheim.bsky.social for flagging it in his mailbag): After a few adrift years of maddening Monday finals, the tournament is reverting to Sunday finals for 2026. Also makes it a more doable turnaround for players who are playing US Open mixed.

New: After the interest in my earlier table, I decided to look ahead at who is coming up on the Hall of Fame ballots for the jam-packed next few years, too. Serena, Nadal, Murray, and *many* more locks and maybes. www.benrothenberg.com/p/roger-fede...

News: Roger Federer was voted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, but the other two nominees in the recent player category—Svetlana Kuznetsova and Juan Martin del Potro—did not clear the 75% threshold for induction. Mary Carillo was voted in as a contributor.

Come join the Bounces chat for the Sinner-Alcaraz final in Turin! bit.ly/SinnerAlcara...

Come join the Bounces chat for the Sinner-Alcaraz final in Turin! bit.ly/SinnerAlcara...