Good morning, Court Theorists! ☕️☀️
Today’s tennis mood: Curious about returns, but also a bit exasperated.
Let’s tennis!
-Allen
🎾 Today in Rome: It’s all second-round all day today at the Foro Italico. But, more than that, it’s the return to the court for several players after layoffs, including Novak Djokovic, Madison Keys, and Emma Navarro. More on that below.
🎾 A follow-up: In yesterday’s issue of The Daily Theory, I shared an Instagram reel from Taylor Townsend that she posted on Wednesday about her crazy schedule. It got a bit crazier. The 1000-level tournaments give the top players lots of dead time. But somehow Italian Open organizers just made Townsend play four days in a row. Yes, it’s expected to play back-to-back days in qualifying. It’s even feasible to have to immediately play a first-round match the next day. But to then have to play her second match right away when the first round isn’t even complete? Come on. Nonetheless, she won and has moved into the third round.
🎾 No change: Russian and Belarusian tennis players will continue to play under neutral status after the ITF announced on Friday that it won’t “change its existing position” on the suspensions for the two countries. The announcement follows a decision from the International Olympic Committee, which will allow athletes from Belarus to compete with their full national identity, despite the fact that the war in Ukraine shows no signs of slowing down.
What they said: “The International Tennis Federation confirms that the IOC’s announcement does not change its existing position regarding the Belarus and Russian Tennis Federations’ suspensions, which remain in place,” the ITF said in a statement. “The membership status of the Belarus Tennis Federation will be considered at the ITF Annual General Meeting in October by the ITF’s voting member nations.”
🎾 One to watch: Naomi Osaka vs. Eva Lys (2nd round - WTA 1000 - Rome): Watch this one for what should be a fun match, even if it could be tension-filled on Osaka’s end of the court. Watch for Osaka’s calibration of ball-bashing and consistency, while Lys uses her counter-punching ways to use Osaka’s power against her.
The record: This is the first time Naomi Osaka and Eva Lys will face each other.
On the line: For Eva Lys, this is an opportunity to grab another round against a top player who isn’t exactly thrilled about playing on clay. Meanwhile, Osaka, who has never been beyond the third round of Roland-Garros, has put pressure on herself this year regarding the longevity of her career if she has too many early exits. This could be one.
🎾 🏆 🎤 YOUR CALL
(Yesterday’s poll results: 81% of you called for Amanda Anisimova to defeat Jelena Ostapenko, but she withdrew from the tournament just before the match was to begin. 😬)
And that’s game.
