Good morning, Court Theorists! ☕️

Today’s tennis mood: Pleasantly surprised + suspense.

We’re almost there! Australian Open qualifying is all wrapped up, and the singles draws have been released. But there are still some other matters to settle in Adelaide, Auckland, and Hobart. In other news, Billie Jean King has a new gig, and we here at Court Theory HQ are absolutely loving it!

Let’s tennis!
-Allen

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🎾 The draws are out: We’re just a couple of days away from the start of the Australian Open kicking off, and the draws are out! Qualifiers have been placed, so you can check out the full women’s singles draw and the men’s singles draw, as well. Doubles draws are forthcoming. Expect the Court Theory Australian Open preview tomorrow!

🎾 ICYMI: Don’t miss it this time. We’re talking about Welcome to the Party. It’s a new show with Billie Jean King, Abby Wambach, and Julie Foudy. And the conversations are incredibly valuable, because, in no small part, they’re telling the stories about women and sports that have been left on the cutting room floor. But they don’t shy away from serving up some dessert, too…like BJK’s highly excited interest in Heated Rivalry.

🎾 One to watch: Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard vs. Jakub Mensik (Quarterfinals - ATP 250 - Auckland): If you love power tennis, this one’s got you covered at both ends of the court. But it’s more than that. Mensik isn’t some kind of pot-shot player. He can grind at that high pace. Mpetshi Perricard has incredible hands for a man 6’7”, and he’s got that beautiful one-hander — and it’s fun watching him at the net.

(Yesterday’s poll results: 55.56% of you said Madison Keys would defeat Victoria Mboko. Mboko won, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2.)

And that’s game.