Good morning, Court Theorists! ☕️☀️
Today’s tennis mood: Snickering at the WTA trying to show how the players were good with the photoshoot results and bracing for one player to be out of contention in Indian Wells.
Let’s tennis!
-Allen
🎾 On tap: In Indian Wells, group stage matches continue with a critical match between Jessica Pegula and Linda Noskova to kick the day off. In Stockholm, where all the Swedish players (who made up the tournament’s three wild cards) have already lost, the match to catch is Holger Rune vs. Zizou Bergs. Also in action: Coco Gauff, Linda Noskova, Taylor Townsend, Alex Michelsen, Lorenzo Musetti, and Arthur Rinderknech, among others. Catch the rundown below.
🎾 Inbox: I heard from several of you yesterday (and a few more on social media) asking why the WTA Tour Finals are being held on Stadium 2 instead of Stadium 1. A few (rightly) pointed out that the ATP wouldn’t be placed on the second court.
The short answer: I think the WTA made the right call here. Because the Tour Finals have been in disarray for years, they haven’t had a true baseline for how big of an audience they could expect. I think that’s especially true since they had to, once again, switch locations late in the game this year.
Rightsizing the finals: While Sunday was a massive success, the WTA also knows that the weekdays will be the true barometer of how big a stadium is reasonable. We got a taste of that on Monday, which may not have been as full as Sunday, but was a healthy-looking crowd.
By the numbers: Selling out an ~8,000-seat stadium is a better scenario than an empty-looking stadium twice its size, because the latter would summon even more criticism. Plus, a bit of scarcity is a good thing for the hype the women of the WTA deserve.
A good question: Court Theory reader Eric wrote, “The WTA and their athletes deserve all the love, attention, and stability; it’s been far more entertaining than the ATP for quite some time,” and wondered if it was possible to move the final day to Stadium 1. It’s not a bad idea, and Sunday’s sellout crowd proved they could have gone bigger on the weekend. Perhaps it wasn’t feasible from a cost perspective (preparation, staffing, etc.) to have another court (especially one double in size) for just one day.
🎾 One to watch: Jessica Pegula vs. Marta Kostyuk (Group Stage - WTA Tour Finals - Indian Wells): Watch this one for the ongoing rivalry and for the consequences of today’s battle.
The record: Jessica Pegula leads the head-to-head record over Marta Kostyuk 4-3.
On the line: One player is going down 0-2 in the group stage and will likely be prevented from advancing in the tournament. Which will it be?
🎾 🏆 🎤 YOUR CALL
(Yesterday’s poll results: 89% of you called for Karolina Muchova to defeat Aryna Sabalenka. Sabalenka won 7-6, 7-5.)
And that’s game.
In partnership with
Introducing Fair Game from Vanity Fair
Join Mark Guiducci for a series of wide-ranging conversations with cultural leaders from the worlds of Hollywood, Politics, Style, Silicon Valley, and beyond.
On every episode, Vanity Fair pulls back the curtain on how some of the most interesting and powerful minds in our society work – and where they see us going. On Fair Game from Vanity Fair, no subject is off limits.
