Good morning, Court Theorists! ☕️☀️

Today’s tennis mood: Satisfied and reflecting.

It’s been a fascinating two-plus weeks of Wimbledon, and I’ve been thinking about some big themes in tennis as a result. I’ll get into some of that below.

A programming note: The Daily Theory will be a little different this week to give me time to prepare for the North American hard court season. So, be ready to ride this wave.

Next task: Getting in touch with the giveaway winners and arranging the delivery of goods thanks to our partners at Babolat!

Let’s tennis!
-Allen

🎾 Jannik Sinner defended his title. And he’s still number one. By a lot. Like, 5,000 points a lot. Yes, he was a little shaky in his first-round match against Miomir Kecmanovic. After that, he didn’t drop a set until the final against Zverev, who is now number two in the world — but so far back in the rearview mirror that Sinner can’t even see him.

🎾 Linda Noskova proved exactly how deep the women’s game goes. For two weeks, Noskova out-hit, out-served, and out-competed her opponents. It resulted in taking down some of the best grass court players in the world (something she did a few weeks earlier when she won the title in Berlin). But there is undoubtedly one thing she wishes she could change about the moment.

🎾 Playing grass court tennis still matters. Just ask Arthur Fery, who, at 5’9” and outside the world’s top 100, ran all the way to the semifinals playing brilliant, classic British grass court tennis. Linda Noskova, when she wasn’t blitzing winners from the baseline or knocking down aces, came into the net 24 times against Karolina Muchova in the final, winning 16 of them. Yes, there is greater homogenization of the surfaces than ever before, but playing the extra advantages on each surface can mean the difference between winning a major and not.

🎾 Doubles deserves center stage…ahem…Centre Court. Wimbledon should receive much credit for putting the men’s and women’s (and even mixed!) doubles on Centre Court. It is the tournament’s tradition to do so. But at a time when the ATP is working to cut men’s doubles, it was heartening to see these events showcased — and with full, enthusiastic crowds. After winning the men’s doubles title, Henry Patten took part of his speech to point out exactly that.

And that’s game.