Good morning, Court Theorists! ☕️

While we’ve had a little lull in the on-court action, I’ve been hard at work behind the scenes building some new things for you all (expect some announcements in the coming days). But with the ATP Next Gen Finals kicking off on Wednesday, it’s time to put The Daily Theory back in your inbox.

Today’s tennis mood: Curious with a strong current of anticipation.

Let’s tennis!
-Allen

Four Points

🎾 One big move: On Friday, there was some late-breaking news you may have missed that Craig Tiley, the current CEO of Tennis Australia, is nearing a deal to become the CEO of the USTA. Tiley, a native of South Africa, is widely credited with completely overhauling both the Australian Open and the organization, which he took over in 2006 and 2013, respectively. According to Sportico, Tiley was selected following a six-month process.

  • What they said: “While we do not have any news to share at this time,” the USTA said in a statement, “we are confident that our next CEO will continue to build on the USTA’s long-standing commitment to growing the game of tennis in communities across the United States and elevating the U.S. Open as the biggest stage for our sport.”
  • Noteworthy: Part of the reason for Tiley’s comprehensive success is his dual role as the head of Tennis Australia and as the tournament director of the Australian Open. That wouldn’t be the case in the U.S., however, after Eric Butorac was named U.S. Open tournament director last month.
  • Previously: The top spot at the USTA became vacant when the then-CEO Lew Sherr resigned to become the president for business operations for the New York Mets in May, which sure doesn’t seem to be an accident.

🎾 Your attention, please! 🏆: The WTA announced the first set of winners in the 2025 WTA awards, with more to come during Awards Week.

  • Player of the Year: Aryna Sabalenka (for the second year in a row)
  • Doubles Team of the Year: Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend
  • Most Improved Player: Amanda Anisimova
  • Comeback Player of the Year: Belinda Bencic
  • Newcomer of the Year: Victoria Mboko
  • ICYMI: Last week, the ATP named its 2025 award recipients.

🎾 Jeddah draw: On Wednesday, the Next Gen Finals kicks off, and the ATP has released the draw.

  • Blue Group: Learner Tien, Martin Landaluce, Nicolai Budkov Kjaer, Rafael Jodar
  • Red Group: Alexander Blockx, Dino Prizmic, Nishesh Basavareddy, Justin Engel
  • Zoom in: The ATP has the rundown on each of the players.
  • Noteworthy: Joao Fonseca, who would have been the top-ranked player at number 24, turned down the invitation this year. That makes Learner Tien the top seed at number 29.

🎾 From Meddy to Basavareddy: Nishesh Basavareddy has shown up in Jeddah for the ATP Next Gen Finals with a new coach in tow. Gilles Cervara, who coached Daniil Medvedev for eight years until they went their separate ways after the Russian’s first-round loss at the U.S. Open this year, has joined the 20-year-old American’s camp.

  • What he said: “Obviously he had a long and successful partnership with Daniil, who was a good player before they started working together, but they did a lot of great things together,” Basavareddy told ATPTour.com. “I thought that experience at the highest level could help me where I’m at in my career. It’s not just the tennis; he’s interested in all aspects. He’s diligent and professional in areas such as nutrition and fitness and that will help me.”
  • Intriguing: Basavareddy, who reached his career-high ranking earlier this year by breaking into the top 100, has backslid to 167. Might the fresh eyes of a new coach be the answer?