August 25

1997 – The United States Tennis Association dedicates Arthur Ashe Stadium with a dramatic evening-time on-court ceremony featuring Ashe’s widow Jeanne Moutassamy Ashe, 38 former U.S. champion and Whitney Houston, who sings “One Moment In Time” to the sell-out audience of 23,000 fans.

“He embodied the best in tennis and sports,” John McEnroe said during the ceremony of Ashe. “He was a remarkable athlete who led an even more remarkable life. He was far and away the greatest ambassador tennis has ever had.”

Former champions participating in the on-court ceremony include Don Budge, Jack Kramer, Rod Laver, Billie Jean King, Chris Evert and Monica Seles, who stays on the court for the festivities following her first-round night-match win over Kristie Boogert 6-2, 6-1. Earlier in the day, Tamarine Tanasugarn of Thailand wins the first-ever match on Arthur Ashe Stadium defeating Chanda Rubin 6-4, 6-0.  

“I feel very happy that I played in the stadium, to be the first,” says Tanasugarn.

The first men’s match on the court feature two American greats, Jim Courier and Todd Martin with Martin beating his U.S. Davis Cup teammate 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.

“This facility is vastly improved,” says Martin of the new $254 million refurbishment of the grounds of the USTA National Tennis Center. “It’s a great reward for American tennis players. It gives us something to be very proud of, to be able to play not only in one of the most unique cities in the world, but also in one of the more unique and one of the nicer, if not the nicest, tennis facilities in the world. I think the USTA deserves a lot of credit and a lot of praise for what they’ve done. I’m sure there’s going to be a few nitpicky complaints and criticisms here and there, but I think the public should be pleased and the players and (the media) and everybody else involved with the tournament should be pretty pleased. I think some people in the public might get the short end of the stick, but that usually comes with change.”

“I like this one a lot better than the old one,” says Courier, comparing Louis Armstrong Stadium to the new Ashe Stadium “I think it’s a lot warmer inside. I think one thing that’s good about it, too, for some reason, with the construction of this one, the winds don’t swirl. They’re much more consistent. The other one, it was kind of like a toilet bowl, went all the way around. You can quote me on that.”

Future world No. 1 and two-time U.S. Open champion Venus Williams makes her U.S. Open debut, also on Arthur Ashe Stadium Court, and defeats Larisa Neiland of Latvia in the first round 5-7, 6-0, 6-1.

“It was definitely a privilege playing on this court,” says the 17-year-old Williams. “Definitely a perfect name to name the court after. And Arthur has done a lot for the game, a lot for the world. He was a great role model, not just on the court but off the court also. It’s a good thing.”

The post What Players Said About Arthur Ashe Stadium On Its Debut On August 25, 1997 appeared first on World Tennis Magazine.

Weather has long defined tennis. Rainy days will postpone a Grand Slam semifinal. Heat can cause medical time-outs. U.V. damage to both players and courts will occur over the course of many years. To date, tournament managers and private clubs are creating new ways of playing in response to climate conditions. As such, there is growing support for all levels of the sport to be played on covered or climate-controlled court facilities.

Weather Disruption at the Top of the Game

The four Grand Slams offer the clearest picture of how climate influences elite tennis. The Australian Open introduced its Extreme Heat Policy in 1998 and refined it in 2019 into a five level Heat Stress Scale that measures air temperature, radiant heat, humidity, and wind speed. When conditions reach the top level, play on outside courts is suspended and matches on Rod Laver Arena, Margaret Court Arena, and John Cain Arena continue under closed roofs.

Wimbledon added a retractable roof to Centre Court in 2009 and to No.1 Court in 2019, after decades in which rain delays regularly reshaped the schedule. Roland Garros completed its roof over Court Philippe Chatrier in 2020, becoming the last of the majors to protect its main show court. At the US Open, the roof over Arthur Ashe Stadium opened in 2016 and Louis Armstrong Stadium followed in 2018.

These projects share a common logic. Broadcast contracts, ticketing, and player welfare all depend on predictable playing conditions. A roof turns weather from a scheduling risk into a controllable variable.

From Show Courts to Clubs and Academies

Below the professional tier, similar pressures apply, often more acutely. A regional club that loses six weeks of court time to rain, snow, or heat can see membership renewals drop and junior programmes stall. According to the ITF Global Tennis Report 2021, there are roughly 87 million tennis players worldwide and around 489,000 courts, but availability varies sharply by region and climate. In Northern Europe, Canada, and parts of the northern United States, indoor courts are the only way to sustain year round play.

This is where structural solutions for clubs, schools, and academies come into focus. A modern tennis court covering can range from a permanent steel and membrane hall to a modular tension structure designed for seasonal use. Specifications typically address clear height above the net, span width to accommodate one to four courts side by side, thermal insulation, and lighting integration. The European standard EN 12193 sets illuminance and uniformity requirements for indoor tennis, with training levels starting at 300 lux and national competition typically requiring 500 lux or more.

Ventilation is another factor that separates well designed halls from improvised solutions. Condensation on the playing surface, particularly on hard courts or acrylic coatings, creates slip hazards and accelerates wear. Mechanical ventilation, air handling units, and in some cases dehumidification systems keep humidity within a workable range.

Surface Choice Under a Roof

The decision to cover a court also interacts with the choice of surface. Clay behaves differently indoors, since natural evaporation and rainfall no longer regulate moisture. Many indoor clay facilities use sub irrigation systems, such as the Belgian company Advantage Red Court solution, to maintain consistent playing characteristics.

Acrylic hard courts remain the most common indoor choice, largely because they tolerate temperature swings and require less daily maintenance. The ITF Court Pace Rating classifies surfaces from Category 1, slow, to Category 5, fast, and covered venues can select a pace that matches their programme, whether that means a slower surface for junior development or a faster one for high performance training.

Carpet, once widespread in indoor tennis, has declined at the professional level since the ATP phased it out of tour events in 2009, but it remains in use at some clubs where quick installation and low cost matter more than tournament conformity.

Economics and Utilisation

The financial case for covering courts rests on utilisation. An outdoor court in a temperate climate might see 1,200 to 1,500 playable hours per year. A covered court, lit and heated, can reach 3,500 to 4,000 hours. That difference supports league play, coaching revenue, and off peak rentals for schools or corporate programmes.

Capital costs vary widely. Air supported domes tend to fall at the lower end, while insulated steel frame halls with permanent cladding sit higher but offer longer service life and better acoustic and thermal performance. The Tennis Industry Association has published operator surveys showing payback periods that typically range from seven to twelve years, depending on climate zone, membership base, and energy costs.

For clubs weighing an investment, the questions worth asking early are practical. What is the local wind and snow load rating? Which surface will attract and retain members? How will the roof structure meet fire safety codes and accessibility standards? Answers to those questions, more than any single design trend, tend to determine whether a covered venue succeeds

The post Climate, Court Surfaces, and the Growing Case for Covered Tennis Venues appeared first on World Tennis Magazine.

For those looking for a more traditional tennis experience, TopSpin 2K26 is built around realistic gameplay, with overhauled ball physics, a timing-based shot system and more than 60 licensed ATP and WTA players. Its career mode takes players from qualifying events to the biggest tournaments, while sponsorships, training and rivalries add extra depth, making it a top slots game online.

For tennis history fans, Tennis Legends 2026 offers a nostalgic journey, featuring icons like Björn Borg, Steffi Graf, and Pete Sampras, alongside era-appropriate courts and equipment, inspiring pride in tennis heritage.

If realism isn’t your priority, arcade-style games like Super Sports Smash: Tennis Edition and Hyper Rally Tennis offer fun, fast-paced experiences with power-ups and neon visuals, catering to players seeking casual, energetic gameplay.

Mobile players can enjoy tennis on the go with games like Tennis Clash, which offers swipe controls and quick three-minute matches, fostering a sense of ease and fun for casual players seeking quick entertainment.

Tennis-inspired slots like Beach Tennis from Caleta Gaming and Centre Court from Microgaming are popular choices, featuring familiar themes such as beach courts and Wimbledon settings, helping fans identify titles they might enjoy.

Other options are available for players who want something different. Game Set Cash uses a progressive multiplier mechanic and has an RTP of around 96.50%, while Grand Slam Tennis centres on four bonus stages representing the major tournaments. Ace Serve focuses on the serve and offers a medium-low volatility experience, while Hot Shots Tennis brings a faster, more energetic style.

Whether you prefer building a career, competing online, playing a quick mobile match or enjoying a tennis-inspired slot, this year’s selection shows how widely the sport has spread across gaming. The common thread is simple: tennis remains just as engaging when the racket is in your hands virtually.

The post Many Digital Tennis Offerings Available To Fans appeared first on World Tennis Magazine.

Gambling competencies apply well beyond the table as transferable life skills. The competencies include probability thinking, strict discipline, risk management, and emotional control. Practicing a strategic mindset refines everyday judgment, resource management, and emotional resilience. These ten daily habits sharpen these essential skills:

• Think in EV: Calculate expected value during routine choices to weigh long-term probability against potential risk.
• Manage Bankrolls: Structure personal finances strictly by setting clear spending limits to prevent impulsive choices.
• Crush “Tilt”: Regulate emotions during sudden setbacks to prevent frustration from compromising objective logic.
• Do Daily Math: Practice mental arithmetic and percentages daily to maintain fast quantitative reasoning.
• Read Body Language: Observe non-verbal cues during conversations to evaluate confidence, sincerity, and intent.
• Ignore Sunk Costs: Abandon failing commitments promptly, disregarding past unrecoverable investments of time or money.
• Play Strategy Games: Engage in chess or tactical games to practice risk-reward calculation and foresight.
• Track Outcomes: Log personal decisions systematically to audit judgment quality and eliminate cognitive biases.
• Diversify Risks: Distribute personal time, capital, and effort across multiple options to prevent total failure.
• Master the Exit: Set explicit departure thresholds before starting projects, stepping away once goals or limits are met.

1. Think in EV 

Bettors place bets based on mathematically weighted average outcomes across probability distributions over time by evaluating Expected Value (EV). The EV originates in probability theory and poker analytics. Positive EV marks wagers where anticipated long-term payouts exceed statistical costs. Applying EV to daily life replaces emotional impulse with objective decision-making under uncertainty. Multiplying potential financial or personal outcomes by their calculated probability reveals whether a choice generates positive expected value overall in the long term. Bettors evaluate whether to purchase an extended appliance warranty or switch careers, which trains them to systematically prioritize process quality over short-term result variance.

2. Manage Bankrolls

Managing bankrolls is the discipline of allocating a dedicated pool of capital and risking only fixed percentage units per individual wager to survive statistical variance. Budget oversight means setting up a professional sports betting and poker bankroll management system. The method prevents total financial depletion during inevitable losing streaks. This habit instills strict personal budgeting and structured risk mitigation against financial ruin. Managing bankrolls mirrors maintaining a dedicated, isolated discretionary entertainment budget completely separate from essential long-term emergency savings. Bettors ensure that unexpected personal expenses or market downswings never compromise primary personal living capital or cause severe financial insolvency.

3. Crush “Tilt”

Crushing “tilt” is the skill of maintaining emotional self-control and logical decision-making when facing frustrating setbacks. The “tilt” describes a compromised emotional state where a player, agitated by bad beats or unexpected losses, abandons sound strategy to make reckless wagers. Overcoming tilt preserves cognitive clarity and prevents momentary anger from compromising long-term goals. Bettors must maintain emotional resilience when encountering abrupt flight cancellations or heated personal and professional conflicts. Crushing tilt enables an individual to evaluate alternative options calmly rather than making impulsive wagers. 

4. Do Daily Math

Doing daily math is the habit of routinely practicing mental arithmetic, percentage conversions, and statistical estimates without digital aids. Math calculation originates in casino table games like poker pot-odds calculations and blackjack card tracking. Rapid mental math allows players to evaluate risk-reward ratios instantly. Maintaining sharp numerical intuition reduces cognitive fatigue and protects individuals against deceptive marketing or financial miscalculations. Calculating bet bonuses and promotional incentives, evaluating vigs, or determining bet slips amount frequently ensures accurate betting decisions. The daily calculation keeps the brain agile and less susceptible to numerical manipulation during routine commercial transactions.

5. Read Body Language

Reading body language is the skill of interpreting non-verbal physical signals, facial micro-expressions, and posture variations to decode underlying human intent. The method starts in live poker as identifying body language, where players observe competitors’ involuntary physical habits to detect hidden bluffs or strong hands. Evaluating non-verbal cues sharpens interpersonal perception far beyond spoken statements. Recognizing body language helps bettors make informed decisions from hidden hesitation or actual negotiating leverage during intense moments. 

6. Ignore Sunk Costs

Ignoring sunk costs is the cognitive discipline of disregarding past bet slips when making present decisions. The method starts from gambling as the trap of “pot commitment” or chasing losses, where players pour additional capital into losing wagers simply because money was already committed. Overcoming the sunk cost fallacy ensures that future decisions are evaluated purely on prospective value rather than past expenditure. Recognizing when a live wager or multi-leg parlay is statistically failing allows a bettor to cash out or refuse further hedging, preventing additional capital loss on an already unviable outcome.

7. Play Strategy Games​​

Playing strategy games is the habit of engaging in structured, rule-based mental exercises to refine tactical foresight, game theory, and resource allocation. The strategy originates in skill-based gambling formats like poker, backgammon, and card-counting blackjack, where ultimate victory depends on mathematical probability and strategic positioning rather than pure chance. Engaging in strategy games strengthens cognitive resilience and second-order thinking during complex everyday problem-solving scenarios. Practicing key game-theory principles enables a smart bettor to anticipate line movements, model opponent adjustments, and exploit market inefficiencies by placing value wagers before sportsbooks adjust their odds to shifting public betting action.

8. Track Outcomes

Tracking outcomes is the practice of systematically logging performance data, wager metrics, and decision results to audit performance objectively. The tactic maintains detailed ledgers, prevents reliance on selective memory, and eliminates cognitive distortions like confirmation bias. Record-keeping replaces emotional assumptions with empirical evidence, enabling continuous performance optimization. Tracking stakes, odds, sport categories, and return in a spreadsheet allows a bettor to identify profitable market niches, uncover money-draining betting leaks, and refine future strategy based on objective statistical data rather than subjective perception.

9. Diversify Risks

Diversifying risks is the practice of allocating capital across multiple uncorrelated options to minimize exposure to single points of failure. Bettors spread bankrolls across varied matches, market types, and bookmakers to flatten variance and mitigate loss. Risk diversification protects capital and resources against catastrophic events instead of placing a single stake on one match winner. Bettors distribute funds across Asian handicaps, over/under totals, and prop wagers across multiple fixtures, ensuring an unexpected penalty or referee error in one match does not eliminate their bankroll.

10. Master the Exit

Mastering the exit is the habit of establishing predetermined profit targets and stop-loss boundaries before initiating any risk-based decision. Knowing when to walk away prevents greed or loss-chasing from destroying accumulated profits. Setting a specific betting fund and expectation protects capital, time, and personal energy from diminishing returns. Defining strict target prices ensures bettors exit decisively once financial goals are achieved, locking in realized gains before market reversals or unexpected downturns erode accumulated value.

What are the Benefits of Improving Gambling Skills in Daily Life?

Improving strategic gambling skills directly enhances everyday cognitive performance and practical financial judgment. The method delivers sharper decision-making under uncertainty, better money management, emotional discipline, and clearer risk assessment. These core analytical competencies yield measurable practical advantages across critical everyday life areas, including project management at work, portfolio asset allocation in retail investing, and tactical leverage during commercial negotiations. Developing systematic statistical reasoning and strong emotional self-regulation enables individuals to assess complex risk-reward trade-offs objectively. Bettors establish a structured decision-making framework for evaluating real-world probabilistic outcomes across both routine daily operational challenges and modern casino online platforms. 

How Can Daily Routines Develop Gambling Skills?

Developing strategic gambling competencies requires deliberate daily habits that refine quantitative reasoning, disciplined financial control, and self-auditing capabilities before accessing a verified Latest Ufabet Login. Integrating targeted cognitive and analytical exercises into routine daily activities builds essential real-world risk-assessment skills. 

• Practice Quick Mental Math: Calculate percentages, odds conversions, and mental arithmetic daily without digital tools to maintain sharp numerical processing speed.
• Journal Decisions and Outcomes: Document major personal choices and their corresponding results systematically in a log to audit judgment quality and reduce cognitive biases.
• Play Strategy Games: Engage in chess, poker, or tactical board games regularly to strengthen second-order thinking, game theory awareness, and foresight.
• Review Probabilities: Analyze real-world statistical metrics, sports analytics, or financial odds daily to sharpen intuitive baseline probability estimates under uncertainty.
• Set and Review a Budget: Track daily personal expenditures against strict predetermined limits to cultivate rigorous bankroll discipline and capital management habits.

Is Applying Gambling in Daily Life a Good Idea?

Yes, applying the core analytical skills of gambling is valuable in daily life, whereas promoting the physical act of gambling itself is not. The fundamental distinction lies in adopting the underlying mathematical mindset and cognitive frameworks rather than engaging in monetary risk-taking. Utilizing probabilistic reasoning, structured capital allocation, and systematic outcome-tracking whether applied to daily decisions or when evaluating data on UFABET Mobile enables objective decision-making under conditions of uncertainty without exposing personal finances to unnecessary hazards. Maintaining firm responsible-gambling boundaries ensures that these strategic analytical methods enhance everyday life choices while remaining entirely separated from impulsive, speculative, or compulsive wagering behaviors overall.

The post 10 Ways to Improve Gambling Skills in Daily Life appeared first on World Tennis Magazine.

By Chloe Wellington-Hunt
X/Instagram: @chloemwhunt

For much of Martin Damm’s life, tennis was already there.

It was there through his father, Martin Damm Sr., a former top-50 singles player and major doubles champion. It was there through his older brother. It was there when Damm was still young enough to experience professional tennis from the outside, watching what the highest level looked like before he was old enough to fully understand what it demanded.

And then, eventually, tennis became his own.

“I mean, it’s given me a lot of cool opportunities, a lot of opportunities that I don’t think many have gotten from a young age,” said Damm after his first-round 6-4, 7-6(4) win over Abdullah Shelbayh at the Winston-Salem Open. “I got to see the tennis world at the highest level with my brother at an extremely young age, through my dad and his career.”

That access helped shape a player who became one of the best American juniors of his generation. But it also created an unusual challenge. Damm did not simply have a father who understood professional tennis. He shared his name.

“I was a pretty good junior at a young age, and then I got stuck for a bit,” Damm said. “The journey that I’ve been through obviously hasn’t been easy at times, but I’m super grateful for all of it. I think everyone has their own kind of story, and I think my story is pretty cool.”

There is a temptation to look at a player with Damm’s background and imagine a straightforward ascent. He had the genetics, the knowledge around him and exposure to elite tennis almost from the beginning.

Damm knows that perception exists. He also knows what it leaves out.

“But at the same time, when your dad was a pretty successful tennis player, and you share the same name and everything, obviously there’s a bit of pressure that comes with it,” he said. “But I’m super grateful for it, and everything that he’s done for me in my game. I think when I retire, hopefully I’ll be remembered for myself and not for the son of my dad.”

That may be the thread running through Damm’s career now: becoming his own player, but also his own person.

Because somewhere between being the talented kid who had everything prepared for him and becoming a professional responsible for his own career, things stopped being easy.

Damm left home at roughly 13 years old. It is the kind of detail that can sound almost ordinary within professional tennis, where young players routinely travel internationally and organize their lives around tournaments. Damm is quick to point out that it isn’t ordinary at all.

“Tennis is super unique because you’re always alone,” Damm said. “I left home more or less when I was 13, so that’s not really normal. We don’t really live normal lives.”

Instead, there are hotels. Restaurants. Deliveries. Airports. Practices. Matches. Then another city and another hotel.

“We live in hotels, we live out of restaurants, Uber Eats and stuff like this,” Damm said. “It’s definitely not made for everyone, and it takes quite some time to get used to it.”

For Damm, there was another adjustment underneath all of that. Growing up surrounded by people who knew professional tennis meant much of the infrastructure had already been built around him.

“I think that’s something that I struggled with because, I’m not saying that everything was given to me, but everything was prepared for me, for my age,” he said.

It took losing some of that certainty for him to understand it.

“In the moment, you don’t realize it, you’re not really super grateful for it,” Damm said. “When you do hit a wall and you hit rock bottom, you just turn everything upside down. You start from the bottom up, and I think that’s something that I’ve done such a good job with.”

For Damm, rock bottom was not merely a bad stretch of results.

An injury kept him away from the sport around which virtually his entire life had been constructed. He spent eight weeks in a boot — twice — and struggled to find a way to get healthy. When tennis disappeared from his daily life, so did some of the structure that had defined him for years.

“I think majority was off the court,” Damm said of what the injury taught him. “I think us tennis players were just, you know, we’re used to doing everything just for ourselves and you know we’re out there competing by ourselves and everything kind of walls around us.”

Then suddenly, he couldn’t compete.

“So I think when you’re hurt and you can’t play tennis, you know what you do for a living, you view things a lot differently,” he said. “Obviously I was in a pretty dark place there and I just couldn’t figure out a way to get healthy.”

For an athlete, there is an obvious cruelty to that kind of injury. But Damm now talks about the period less as lost time and more as the experience that forced him to change.

“I went into boot for eight weeks, two different times, so you know it kind of tears you down,” he said. “But I was very fortunate that I had good people around me and I was able to look at life and tennis from a totally different perspective and I think I matured tremendously and I think that’s something that I needed.”

The realization is striking because Damm can now separate being talented enough to play professional tennis from actually understanding how to live as a professional tennis player.

He had been good early. Then he stalled. He began moving forward again. Then his body stopped him.

“I was obviously good at a very young age and I hit a wall kind of for a lot of years and it seemed like I was trending upwards, but yeah then the injury came,” he said.

Now, with enough distance from it, Damm can say something that would have been almost impossible to imagine while he was stuck in a boot.

“Now looking back I think it’s the best thing that could have happened to me,” he said. “I’ve learned a lot about myself. I’ve learned about a lot about you know people in my corner and what it actually takes to you know to be a professional tennis player, which I don’t think I knew you know completely back then.”

The people in that corner remain central to the way Damm talks about his resurgence. There is his family, his coaches and the people back home who allowed him to accept being knocked backward without treating it as the end of the story.

“It’s thanks to everyone that’s behind me, my family, my coaches and everyone back home,” Damm said. “That’s made it a lot easier for me to take a step back and settle in, being down and working our way up.”

And he has been working his way up.

The progress has increasingly put Damm across the net from players who provide an immediate measurement of where his game stands. He faced Alex de Minaur on grass in the Netherlands. He played Ben Shelton in Washington, D.C. He faced Stefanos Tsitsipas in Montreal.

“In the last few tournaments, I’ve been lucky enough to play some pretty darn good tennis players,” Damm said. “I played Deminar in the Netherlands on grass. I played Ben in a close match in DC. I played the full-on league, Tsitsipas, in Montreal.”

Those matches matter even when they don’t end the way Damm wants. The names become less intimidating. The pace becomes more familiar. The level stops being an abstraction and becomes something he has actually experienced.

“I feel like I’ve slowly gotten used to that level, but at least I’ve experienced that level a little bit,” he said. “It makes it a lot easier for me.”

There is confidence in that statement, but Damm’s assessment of himself remains unsentimental.

Asked about his game heading toward New York and the US Open, he did not pretend that reaching the top 100 meant the work was finished.

“I’m always working on something,” Damm said. “I’m 90 something in the world for a reason and you know if I was better at a lot of things I’d be higher rank.”

The US Open carries particular significance. Damm played well there last year, and for an American, there are few stages that offer a greater opportunity to measure progress.

“Obviously I want to do well at the US Open,” he said. “I did well there last year. So it’s obviously a tournament that you want to peek at. You always want to do well at Grand Slans, but especially as an American at the US Open is something that we all strive towards.”

There are concrete pieces of his game he wants to sharpen before and beyond New York. He wants his serve to make his life easier, his return to make opponents’ lives harder and more variety to give him options between the two.

“I wanna keep developing my serve. I wanna have quicker holds developing that game, kind of a little different variety in my overall game,” Damm said. “And yeah of course I’m not known to be the best returner so keep working at that game and yeah making guys you know work to hold serve and for me just to kind of ideally breeze through my serve games.”

Yet perhaps the biggest difference in Damm is no longer technical.

The player who once admits he did not fully appreciate how much had been prepared for him now understands what happens when that structure falls apart. He knows what it is like to be unable to play. He knows what it is like to hit the wall after early success. And he knows that rebuilding a career can require rebuilding the person inside it, too.

That perspective has changed the way he approaches opportunities against the game’s best.

“I have full belief that I can take it to him,” Damm said ahead of his next match. “Hopefully, I can do my best game and test myself where I am.”

And then, regardless of what happens, comes the part of professional tennis he seems to understand far better now than he did as a teenager: you go back to work.

“After the match, learn from my mistakes or learn what worked and continue to evolve as a tennis player.”

For someone whose tennis story began with a famous name already attached to it, evolution may be the most important part.

Damm does not reject his father’s influence. Quite the opposite. He talks about it with gratitude. But he is also building something that cannot simply be inherited — a career shaped by the periods when tennis was difficult, when his body failed him, when progress stopped and he had to decide whether he could start again from the bottom.

There is still, as Damm repeatedly acknowledges, “a long way to go.”

But perhaps that is the point.

The kid who grew up seeing professional tennis at its highest level is now discovering for himself what it takes to stay there. And if he gets his wish, when his career is eventually finished, the name Martin Damm will no longer require an explanation of whose son he is.

It will be his own.

The post The Making of Martin Damm: Injury, Identity and Starting Over appeared first on World Tennis Magazine.

@TennisPublisher

Successful tennis careers are usually started by a series of incremental victories moving a player from a lower level of tennis upward.

Jordan Lee of Orlando, Florida chalked up another one of these cumulative match wins Monday from the first round of the U.S. Open qualifying tournament.

Less than four months ago, Lee turned 16 years old and was earning his second career ATP point at the $15,000 Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships, an entry level USTA Pro Circuit event in Vero Beach, Florida. From there, in a matter of six weeks, he was the Wimbledon junior boy’s singles champion. And a month after that, he was reaching the singles final of the USTA National Boy’s 18s Championships in Kalamazoo, Michigan, where he unfortunately had to retire from the final after only three games with a chest problem.

However, the runner-up finish accorded him an automatic wild card into the U.S. Open qualifying rounds where in his opening match on the opening day he defeated the No. 152-ranked player in the world, Mark Lajal of Estonia 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 for his best career victory in a spawning tennis career.

Lee became a buzz-worthy character in American tennis with not only his Wimbledon junior title, but how he won it and who he beat in the final. He only got into the Wimbledon junior singles field by advancing via the qualifying rounds and then beat Cruz Hewitt, the son of Wimbledon and U.S. Open champion Lleyton Hewitt, in the final after losing the first set and coming back from Hewitt serving for the match in the final set.

Lee again showcased this “never-say-die” attitude also against Lajal, an experienced player who is seven years his senior. Lee had his serve broken in the opening game of the match, but stayed toe-to-toe with Lajal for the rest of the set, but was not able to break the Lajal serve to get back on serve. Benefitting from a flurry of mishit forehands by Lajal, Lee broke serve for a 2-0 lead in the second set, waving his hands in the air to work to get the New York crowd behind him. He fought off a break point while serving for the second set at 5-3 before tying the match at one set apiece. In the third set, both players had their serves broken in the first five games before Lee finally held serve for 4-2 and then again for 5-3, capping his service game with a leaping overhead that harkened back to another athlete who has the last name of Jordan, leaping to make slam dunk in basketball. Lee was able to avoid the pressure of serving for the match by closing out the match in the next game on Lajal’s serve to give him the biggest pro singles win of his career so far.

“I’ve always dreamed of this moment and when I knew it would come, I would be ready, ” Lee told the USTA’s Tom LaDue following the victory. “I did a good job at that today, handling the nerves and I’m happy.”

Next up for Lee in the second round of U.S. Open qualifying is No. 208 Daniel Rincon of Spain.

The post Jordan Lee, Age 16, Reaches Another Level In Competitive Tennis With First Round U.S. Open Qualifying Victory appeared first on World Tennis Magazine.

Fils captured the biggest title of his young career Sunday, defeating Frances Tiafoe 6-3, 1-6, 6-0 to win his first ATP Masters 1000 championship. A few hours later, Gauff completed her own Cincinnati coronation, defeating fellow American Jessica Pegula 6-2, 6-4 to claim the women’s singles title.

For Fils, it was a breakthrough. For Gauff, it was a return to a place where she had already experienced one of the defining moments of her career.

Fils Finds Another Gear

The men’s final appeared to be heading in a completely different direction after Tiafoe dominated the second set.

Fils had taken control early, jumping ahead and winning the opening set 6-3. But Tiafoe responded immediately, racing through the second set 6-1 and seemingly carrying all of the momentum into the deciding set.

Instead, Fils produced his best tennis of the afternoon.

The 22-year-old Frenchman completely shut down Tiafoe in the third set, breaking twice and taking advantage of an increasingly erratic American. Fils eventually completed the 6-0 set to become a Masters 1000 champion for the first time.

The victory was particularly meaningful given what Fils has endured. A lower-back stress fracture forced him to miss the Australian Open, and injuries had interrupted his progress during the previous season. He returned to competition in 2026 and gradually rebuilt his form, reaching the final in Doha, making deep runs at Indian Wells and Miami, and winning the Barcelona title on clay.

Cincinnati represented another level entirely.

Fils arrived as the No. 21 seed and navigated a difficult draw that included Alex de Minaur, Thiago Agustin Tirante and seventh-seeded Flavio Cobolli before reaching the final. He then overcame Tiafoe in three sets to become the youngest French Masters 1000 champion in history.

The final also carried historic significance. Fils and Tiafoe became the first two Black players to meet in an ATP Masters 1000 final.

Fils’ victory also made him only the third Black man to win a Masters 1000 singles title, joining Ben Shelton and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Gauff Returns to the Top in Cincinnati

Gauff’s path to the Cincinnati championship was different, but the destination was familiar.

Three years after winning her first major WTA 1000 title in Cincinnati, Gauff returned to the winner’s circle at the same tournament.

The fourth-seeded American was outstanding against Pegula, winning 6-2, 6-4 in an all-American final.

Gauff came out firing, breaking Pegula twice to race to a 5-0 advantage in the opening set. Pegula eventually settled into the match, but Gauff had already established control.

The second set was more competitive, yet Gauff continued to apply pressure with her forehand and athleticism. Pegula mounted a late challenge, but Gauff closed out the championship in straight sets.

It was Gauff’s second Cincinnati singles championship and the 12th singles title of her career.

Her road to the final included victories over Liudmila Samsonova, Ann Li, Marie Bouzkova, Marta Kostyuk and Czech left-hander Sara Bejlek. Bejlek had been one of the surprise stories of the tournament, but Gauff stopped her run with a 6-4, 6-1 semifinal victory.

Pegula, meanwhile, had eliminated defending champion Iga Swiatek in a dramatic semifinal before facing Gauff in the final.

Two Champions With Momentum

The Cincinnati champions leave Ohio at very different points in their careers.

For Fils, this is the arrival of a player who has been threatening to break through for some time. His combination of power, athleticism and improving serve makes him an increasingly dangerous hard-court opponent — and his performance against Tiafoe demonstrated that he can regroup even after losing momentum.

For Gauff, Cincinnati represents something equally important: confidence.

She has already won a Grand Slam title, reached the top of the sport and experienced the extraordinary expectations that accompanied her rise as a teenager. Returning to Cincinnati and winning the tournament again provides another reminder that she remains one of the most formidable players in women’s tennis.

And the timing could hardly be better.

With the U.S. Open approaching, both champions have given themselves an enormous boost.

Fils has finally captured his first Masters 1000 title.

Gauff has reclaimed Cincinnati.

Now, both head toward New York with trophies in hand and plenty of reason to believe something even bigger could be waiting.

The post Coco Gauff, Arthur Fils Crowned Cincinnati Open Champions appeared first on World Tennis Magazine.

By Chloe Wellington-Hunt

X/Instagram: @chloemwhunt

Stefanos Tsitsipas came to the Winston-Salem Open for, admittedly, a simple reason: matches.

But as the former world No. 3 prepares for his 10th US Open, the work he is doing extends far beyond getting more time on court. After a season of impressive wins mixed with frustrating losses, months of experimenting with his equipment and changes to his life away from tennis, Tsitsipas is searching for something that has been difficult to find this year: consistency.

“I had a lot of ups and downs, that’s true. I was also going through a phase with two racquet frames that I was trying. I’m a player that never switched or changed things during my career.”

For Tsitsipas, even experimenting with his racquet represented a significant departure from the approach he had taken throughout his career.

“I was very superstitious and very close-minded with a lot of equipment,” he said. “The last 8 to 10 months have been quite difficult because I’ve been going through little experimentation on my gear and my equipment. I did gain on some things, then I lost on some things.”

Those tradeoffs made it difficult to know whether the changes were actually moving his tennis in the right direction. Now, after months of tinkering, Tsitsipas believes he has finally reached a point where he can stop searching and start building.

“Playing and feeling certain things can make you doubt sometimes whether that’s a good change or not,” he admitted. “In the last 2-3 weeks, I have established a solid foundation. I’m not conducting any more changes moving forward.”

With the equipment questions behind him, Tsitsipas hopes the certainty will allow him to focus fully on his game.

“I’m just hoping this stability and this peace of mind will finally bring something solid behind it, will allow me to take my game to the next level and just have a bit more consistency in everyday life.”

Consistency has been one of the defining challenges of his season.

Tsitsipas has produced results that show he can still compete with the best players in the world. But those performances have been accompanied by losses that have been harder for him to reconcile, particularly when he compares his current results with the standard he established earlier in his career.

“It’s been a difficult year,” he said. “I’ve had some really good wins, as you said, and then I’ve lost to players I personally don’t think I would have lost, let’s say, 4 to 5 years ago.”

The disparity has left him looking for a level he can reproduce from tournament to tournament rather than occasionally reaching his best tennis.

“It is kind of concerning that there’s inconsistencies in how I perform because I’ve beaten a few top-10 players this year, but then I’ve also lost to quite a few that are probably outside the top 30 or top 40,” he said. “I’m looking to build something a little bit more healthy in terms of my performance and my game consistency.”

That is part of what brought Tsitsipas to Winston-Salem.

Asked what he hopes to gain from the tournament, his answer–met with a smile–was immediate.

“Matches.”

Tsitsipas played both Montreal and Cincinnati during the North American hard-court swing, but he did not get the volume of competitive tennis he wanted before the year’s final Grand Slam.

“The reason I’m here are matches, so that’s pretty clear. I haven’t had a lot of matches,” he said. “I’ve played in Montreal and Cincinnati before, but that was not enough for me to build that rhythm before the US Open.”

His return to Winston-Salem gives him another opportunity to find that rhythm before traveling to New York, where another milestone awaits.

The 2026 US Open will be Tsitsipas’ 10th appearance at the tournament. Yet despite nearly a decade of trips to Flushing Meadows, the event has not produced the same defining moments he has experienced at some of the other majors.

“The US Open has been the Grand Slam that hasn’t treated me with too many good memories, to be honest,” the Greek player said. “Most of my Grand Slam memories have been built at the Australian Open, Roland Garros.”

The problem, again, comes back to consistency.

“I’ve had some good wins, but consistency would be definitely one thing to say I wasn’t in that particular event.”

Yet Tsitsipas’ search for greater consistency does not mean he wants to become more conservative.

In fact, he believes the opposite may be necessary.

When asked how he would approach coaching someone, Tsitsipas’ answer offered insight into the way he has begun thinking about his own tennis. Rather than emphasizing immediate results, he focused on giving a young player the freedom to evolve.

“Number one, I feel like we lose sometimes the importance of improvement and evolution as players,” he said, “and there comes a time where you’re constantly chasing wins, and you’re literally going to do anything to get wins under your belt.”

Winning can reinforce what a player already does well. But Tsitsipas believes that winning isn’t what matters when on the journey–it’s the process.

“But the problem with that sometimes is you lose the process of improvement because you only work around things that make you feel comfortable when you win.”

This is a lesson that the Greek star hopes to apply to his own career.

“It’s rare that you’re going to really try and experiment with things that don’t feel too comfortable with you when you’re playing,” he said. “And in my case, I felt like I’ve been stuck to my patterns a bit too long.”

For Tsitsipas, the next stage of improvement may require a lot of discomfort.

“And I’ve always looked for convenience and comfort instead of maybe being a little bit more of a risk taker and playing a style of tennis that is a little bit more daring and a little bit more evolutionary.”

That willingness to act on small openings is something Tsitsipas has observed in the players at the very top of the sport.

The difference does not always come from spectacular shots. Often, Tsitsipas believes, it is about recognizing a small advantage before it disappears.

“They’re literally taking the smallest opportunities and the smallest chances that they’re given and they go for them with high percentage tennis,” he said. “And I feel like I’ve had moments where I’ve been too passive as a player. My tennis is not to be played passively.”

Tsitsipas knows what his physical game allows him to do. The challenge is committing to it consistently.

“I’m an adult player. I have got big levers when I play, so I have big reach and I can hit hard and I can play big tennis,” he said. “And sometimes I’ve settled for a little bit too safe, in my opinion.”

One of Tsitsipas’ most significant recent changes has nothing to do with his forehand, serve or racquet. It begins with when he goes to sleep.

“I’ve started going to bed earlier. I’m a night owl.”

For years, Tsitsipas found something valuable in being awake while much of the world around him was quiet.

“I’ve always been a night owl. I feel like I just find peace and relaxation later at night because everyone is asleep,” he said. “And my biggest inspiration, my best moments come really late at night.”

Over the past six months, however, he has deliberately moved away from that routine.

“So I’ve changed that version of me, becoming more of a morning person. So in the last six months, I would definitely say I’m a morning person,” he said. “I go on about my routines earlier during the day.”

Tsitsipas sees the adjustment as part of a broader increase in discipline in his everyday life, something he credits both to himself and the support around him.

“And much more disciplined in my life. My partner also helps me with that. So we’ve established some good foundations in our life.”

For a player currently trying to establish a more stable foundation in his tennis, those small changes away from the court have become part of the same pursuit.

“And I really couldn’t be in a better place in my professional life right now,” he said, “in the way I’m building habits, in the way I’m executing small things daily to allow me to try and take my game to the next level.”

Despite the difficulties of the season, Tsitsipas feels better about the structure of his daily life than he has in some time.

“If there is a disciplined version of me, this is the disciplined version of me now. The best that I’ve seen in many years now.”

While the motivation to change came from Tsitsipas himself, he also recognizes that personal discipline does not develop in isolation.

“That came from me. It also sometimes, what I’ve noticed with it, it also sometimes comes from the people that surround you. From the people that you share your life with.”

The right environment, he believes, can influence everything from daily habits to motivation.

“All these things play out. And I’ve noticed they do help and they do give you inspiration.Sometimes you lack inspiration.”

Tsitsipas has therefore become more conscious of the effect the people around him can have on his own outlook.

“And I know it’s maybe negative saying that, but sometimes the people that surround you make you feel less inspired about certain things. So it’s really important for me to be surrounded by people that are constantly inspiring you. Constantly there for you.”

He connected that idea to the concept of Ubuntu — the idea that people become better through their relationships and shared humanity with others.

“And then automatically I feel like you want to be a better version of yourself too. Because everyone else, it’s almost like the concept of Ubuntu. I don’t know if you’ve heard of the Ubuntu concept.”

Tsitsipas summarized what that means to him simply.

“It’s the same thing. I am better because of you and vice versa.”

For all the changes Tsitsipas has made, Winston-Salem offers a chance to temporarily simplify things. Soon, the quiet will give way to New York and the intensity of another US Open. Tsitsipas will arrive there hoping the matches in Winston-Salem have given him the rhythm he came searching for.

But the larger project will not be decided by what happens during one week in New York.

After a difficult year, Tsitsipas is trying to create greater stability in nearly every part of his professional life. The racquet experimentation is finished. His daily routines have changed. He is thinking more carefully about the people around him and challenging himself to play a more assertive style of tennis.

And at this stage of his career, he appears willing to give that process time.

“The long-term vision is two, three, four, five years from now. The vision is not if you’re going to win tomorrow or the next week,” he said. “Like, that’s something I don’t really care as much for.”

Photo credit: Wick Photography/ WS Open

The post Stefanos Tsitsipas Opens Up About Doubt, Discipline and the Search for Consistency appeared first on World Tennis Magazine.

X/Instagram: @chloemwhunt

Quinn Vandecasteele of Murray, Utah did not look particularly rattled during a tense three-setter match. Taking advantage of the week when most players usually play qualifying at ATP 250 events but are otherwise playing in the U.S. Open qualifying event, the No 483-ranked battled for two and a half hours against Pierre-Hugues Herbert, earning him a valuable spot in the main draw for a player of his ranking..

Vandecasteele reached a career-high rank of world No. 449 in April 2026. Recently, at the Brownsburg Challenger in Indiana, he lost in the Round of 16. And now, he defeated current world No. 287–former world No. 36–Herbert 3-6, 7-6 (4), 7-5 to get into his first ATP Tour main draw.

Even as the pressure increased in the match, Vandecasteele could be seen smiling at his brother–Luke Vandecasteele–and keeping a sense of energy around him. It was not a sign that he was taking the moment lightly. If anything, it was part of how he managed it.

That approach became especially important in the second-set tiebreak. Vandecasteele had struggled to consistently land his first serve earlier in the match, but rather than allowing that frustration to carry into the biggest points, he narrowed his focus.

“Yeah, just focused on playing my game,” Vandecasteele said. “Was not making a lot of first serves up until then, and just trying to make first serve and first big shot, and then see where it takes me. It was good to get an early lead, though.”

The early advantage allowed him to settle into the tiebreak, but his demeanor throughout the match suggested something else about his game: Vandecasteele is at his best when he does not become consumed by the pressure of the moment.

While some players deliberately shut out everything around them during competition, Vandecasteele takes a different approach.

“Yeah, that’s what keeps me calm the most, is trying to make sure I’m having fun out there and not getting too far in my own head, and yeah, having my brother here,” he said.

Luke and Quinn have played together since before they can remember. At the University of Oregon, the pair played doubles together.

“I mean, we’ve played since I was born together, so there’s nobody better to help me stay calm,” Quinn said.

Luke attributed some of that dynamic to their years around junior and college tennis, where interaction and team energy are far more common than on the professional circuit.

“Yeah, I mean, the smiling and stuff is definitely something I know that helps them after spending so many years with them in the juniors and then also in college tennis, where you have the team aspect,” Luke said. “That’s the kind of thing that builds that sort of relationship, I think, more than some of the guys that come up a more traditional way, so.”

From Luke’s perspective, though, there was not much need to overanalyze the performance.

“He played great, I mean, I think the result speaks for itself.”

The third set provided perhaps the clearest example of what Luke was talking about.

As his opponent began to look less settled, Vandecasteele resisted the temptation to chase the finish line. Instead, he kept points physical, stayed consistent and made his opponent continue to come up with answers.

“Just staying solid, just making work for it,” Vandecasteele said. “I’ve got the crowd as good support for me, and starting to press him a little bit. And so, just as long as I keep asking questions out there, he’ll, if he comes up with it, too good.”

It was a straightforward philosophy, and that was largely the point.

Rather than changing his game because the match had reached its most consequential stage, Vandecasteele trusted what had gotten him there. He focused on his serve, looked for the first aggressive ball and kept applying pressure without forcing the issue.

And when the match threatened to become stressful, he found ways to keep it from feeling that way.

For Vandecasteele, smiling and engaging with his brother are not signs that the competitive edge has disappeared. They help preserve it. The more relaxed he remains, the less likely he is to disappear into his own head.

On a day when several pivotal moments could have pulled him there, Vandecasteele instead stayed loose — and kept playing his game.

The post Utah Native Quinn Vandecasteele, Ranked No. 483, Takes Advantage of Winston-Salem Open Opportunity appeared first on World Tennis Magazine.

@TennisPublisher

The free-to-the-public U.S. Open qualifying tournament has been for years been a huge fan favorite event

In 2026, the event is set to be perhaps the best ever.

The four-day tournament that runs from Monday, August 24 to Thursday, August 27 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center will determine the final 16 positions in the men’s and women’s singles draws, respectively, and will feature some of the most accomplished names to ever play in this portion of the tournament.

Here’s a look at some of the players who will be participating

Qinwen Zheng – Just two years ago, Zheng won the Olympic gold medal at the Paris Olympic Games. She also was a finalist in 2024 at the Australian Open. Injuries to her elbow have seen her ranking drop below No. 100 on the WTA Tour, forcing her to play in the qualifying tournament just to get into the main draw.

Kei Nishikori – The greatest player ever from Japan was a U.S. Open finalist in 2014 when he lost in the championship match to Marin Cilic. The former world No. 4 is in his farewell year on tour and he was accorded with a U.S. Open qualifying wild card by the USTA with his ranking dropping to No. 479

Bianca Andreescu – In 2019, Andreescu was beating Serena Williams in front of a raucous crowd in Arthur Ashe Stadium in winning the U.S Open women’s title. A slew of injuries has hampered her career since and she has even ducked down into the Futures and Challenger levels of tennis to try to return to her top form. She now is having to win three matches in qualifying to earn a spot into the main draw of the U.S. Open.

Grigor Dimitrov – The former world No. 3 and former U.S., Australian Open and Wimbledon semifinalist is crawling his way up the rankings after his chest muscle injury at Wimbledon in 2025. An interesting fact on Dimitrov is the last player to beat Roger Federer at the U.S. Open when he defeated the five-time champion in the quarterfinals in 2019.

Three Awesome 16-Year-Old Americans – Three 16-year-old Americans – Jordan Lee, Michael Antonius and Andrew Johnson – have shown signs this year that they are set to become the next generation of great American players. Lee won the Wimbledon junior boys singles title beating Lleyton Hewitt’s son Cruz in the final in a match that received considerable amount of buzz. Antonius and Johnson each won USTA Pro Circuit ITF World Tennis Tour events this year (Antonius actually won two!) to become the youngest players to win on this “minor league” level of tennis since Carlos Alcaraz in 2019.

While the U.S. Open qualifying is free, fans should go to the USTA’s USOpen.org website for procedures to gain admittance to the event.

The post The Free-To-The-Public U.S. Open Qualifying Tournament In 2026 May Be The Most Star-Studded Ever appeared first on World Tennis Magazine.