👋 Welcome back to The Daily Theory, our morning rundown to help you stay on top of your favorite sport. I’m Allen McDuffee, your guide to all things tennis.

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On tap today: ESPN spins up new streaming plans, the ATP makes its public case, the Menendez brothers get re-sentenced, Carlos Alcaraz takes on Jack Draper, plus more in today’s tennis news.

Let’s tennis!

Three Points

🎾 ESPN goes direct: On Tuesday, ESPN announced it will launch a new service in the fall that will roll all of its channels and services into one app. It’s an advantage to sports fans who wish to access the channels without getting locked into a cable or streaming package, which is currently the only option. The new service, simply called ESPN, comes at a $30 per month price point. The company says it will offer a special launch bundle with Hulu and Disney+.

  • What about ESPN+?: That will get repackaged as a different tier within the new app at $12 a month.
  • What it means for tennis: Tennis fans who only pick up ESPN+ for the majors likely won’t have to worry about this until Australian Open 2026.

🎾 ATP goes direct, too: In a new strategy, the ATP is making its case for the structure in pro tennis by speaking directly to fans on social media — an apparent reaction to the PTPA’s success in making its grievances heard by millions of tennis fans around the world.

  • Speaking directly to the camera: In a new YouTube video, ATP Chairman and CEO Andrea Gaudenzi speaks for five minutes about the governance structure of the ATP, claiming the organization is dedicated to the players and that they are equal partners with the tournaments.
  • Wrong: This, of course, isn’t true, or things wouldn’t be in the state they’re in. But this strategy is a serious departure from the one of arrogance that the ATP has attempted thus far. Is it too late? We’ll see.

🎾 Menendez brothers re-sentenced: Erik and Lyle Menendez were re-sentenced on Tuesday to life in prison with the possibility of parole, paving the way for a possible release after more than three decades of incarceration for killing their parents in their Beverly Hills mansion in 1989. In recent years, as their story has been retold in multiple movies and series on streaming services, new generations have learned about the prominence of tennis in their personal stories, as well as their trial.

  • “Fun” fact: Just days before the Menendez brothers committed the murders, Erik played a friend of yours truly at the USTA Boys’ National Championships at Kalamazoo. He said: “Everything seemed fine.” 😬