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.
The record: Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard leads the head-to-head record over Jakub Mensik, 2-0. Their most recent meeting was this time last year in Brisbane.
On the line: For both players, this match is about keeping high confidence going into the Australian Open after disappointing ends to the 2025 season.
🎾 🏆 🎤 YOUR CALL
(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.
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Matches we’re monitoring today:
Adelaide - WTA 500 (Hard)
Kimberly Birrell vs. Victoria Mboko (Semifinals)
Mirra Andreeva vs. Diana Shnaider (Semifinals)
Hobart - WTA 250 (Hard)
Elisabetta Cocciaretto vs. Antonia Ruzic (Semifinals)
Taylah Preston vs. Iva Jovic (Semifinals)
Adelaide - ATP 250 (Hard)
Tomas Machac vs. Tommy Paul (Semifinals)
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina vs. Ugo Humbert (Semifinals)
Auckland - ATP 250 (Hard)
Ben Shelton vs. Sebastian Baez (Quarterfinals)
Eliot Spizzirri vs. Fabian Marozsan (Quarterfinals)
📺 Learn how to watch today’s action over at Tennis Watchers.
💬 For real-time match commentary and conversation, follow Court Theory on Bluesky.
Our friends at Racquet have released the newest Rallymaster timepiece with Maurice de Mauriac, and it’s stunning, as usual.
The Guardian takes a look at the stringing center at the Australian Open.
Sloane Stephens is feeling philosophical about her “weird” tennis journey.
Here’s how the Australian Open has made a tournament into a three-week tennis festival.
With help from Infosys, the ATP has released a new AI chatbot that’s meant to help fans get stats. (We here at Court Theory HQ will be highly appreciative if it just gives us basic winners and unforced errors.)
Thanasi Kokkinakis has withdrawn from the Australian Open singles after suffering an injury in Adelaide, but plans to try doubles with Nick Kyrgios.
