👋 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.

On tap today: the Madrid Open gets underway (sort of), Jelena Ostapenko wins in Stuttgart, the ITIA raises eyebrows...again, Naomi Osaka explains why Patrick Mouratoglou is in her camp, Emiliana Arango takes on Camila Osorio, and more tennis news.

Let’s tennis!

Three Points

🎾 A light start: The Madrid Open main draw kicks off today with two courts of women’s action while the rest of the men’s and women’s qualifying play out. Like almost all the combined 1000-level events, day one is a little light on action. Still, there are a few headlining names, such as Naomi Osaka and Alexandra Eala, as well as three Americans: Hailey Baptiste, Caroline Dolehide, and Peyton Stearns. More on all of that below.

🎾 New ride, who dis: Jelena Ostapenko drove out of Stuttgart in a brand new Porsche on Monday after taking out Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. It was a blistering 6-4, 6-1 performance in which she smacked away 27 winners and logged only 8 unforced errors, marking her first win over Sabalenka. Earlier in the week, Ostapenko kept her perfect record against Iga Swiatek intact, which added to a week of perfection by defeating the top two players in the world in the same week.

  • What she said: “Honestly, I didn’t tell to anyone, I was keeping it to myself, but I felt very confident since the first day,” Ostapenko said, noting that she had something of a premonition. “I had, like, strange — not strange but in a good way, strange feeling. When I came here, I felt like something is going to happen this week. I pretty much felt that I can win this tournament. Because I think I’m improving day by day and I’m playing better and better. Yeah, I think I deserve it.”

🎾 Not exactly showered with praise: The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) is raising eyebrows after issuing a reminder about anti-doping rules that say players who have been selected for post-match urine samples must remain in full view of chaperones if they insist on hitting the shower immediately after the match. In other words, if a player is required to give a urine sample after their match and that player wants to shower first, the chaperone may observe them in the shower to make sure they aren’t passing urine that is meant to be collected.

  • What they said: “Player welfare is a priority and so we will continue to advocate for their right to do this,” the ITIA said of post-match cool downs, showering, and ice baths. “However it is important any activity does not impact the integrity of the sample. We regularly remind players of specific rules, and we are happy to answer any questions they may have.”
  • The reaction: Although the policy is far from new, there seems to be some renewed aversion to it. Some are pointing to the fact that with so many teens on the tour, there is something particularly grotesque about the shower policy.