👋 Welcome back to The Daily Theory, our morning rundown to help you stay on top of your favorite sport. I’m Allen McDuffee, your guide to all things tennis.

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On tap today: Three American men make history, U.S. Open wild card playoffs kick off, questions for Queen’s Club, Emma Raducanu suffers an injury, Alexander Zverev is effing tired of Taylor Fritz, plus more in today’s tennis news.

Let’s tennis!

Four Points

🎾 American history: With Ben Shelton landing in the top 10 for the first time following a strong week in Stuttgart, three American men are in the top ten for the first time in 19 years. Shelton joins Tommy Paul and Taylor Fritz.

  • The backstory: The last time three American men were in the top ten at the same time was 2006, when Andre Agassi, James Blake, and Andy Roddick sat at the top of the game.
  • Meanwhile: American women have been sending that many (and sometimes more) to the top of the sport for years. Currently, there are four American women (Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, Madison Keys, and Emma Navarro) in the top ten, with Amanda Anisimova rushing the line.

🎾 Playoff city: The USTA National Campus in Orlando is the home of the inaugural American Collegiate Wild Card Playoffs to determine which college players will receive wild cards into the U.S. Open main and qualifying draws. Semifinal action kicks off today, and matches can be streamed on the USTA National Campus website.

🎾 One good question: Over on Bluesky, Court Theory reader Eric asked: “I may have missed one of your posts or this topic in an email, but what are your thoughts on the HSBC having women this [week] and men next [week]? I understand the facility is not big enough for a combined event but the grass is going to be so worn down for the start of the men's event. Will play suffer?”

  • The answer: The official (pre-emptive) answer from tournament organizers is that since Wimbledon hosts two weeks of tennis with more players, certainly their 32 draws at Queen’s Club wouldn’t be a problem over the same period. Matters are also helped since all the matches are best of three.
  • The optics: It perhaps isn’t the greatest look to kick off the men’s draw after a week’s worth of play rather than a pristine lawn.
  • Play: But will play suffer? Yes, and no. Bounces may start off a little more erratic than players are used to because of the worn spots. (Don’t get me started on the lack of worn spots anywhere but behind the baseline.) But, for the same reason, footing may be a little more secure because there’s less grass to trap moisture and become slippery.
  • An announcement: The Hopper, an advice/mailbag column that has been in the works for some time, is coming soon to Court Theory! If you’ve got a burning question right now, just hit reply to this email and send it along. Otherwise, further instructions are headed your way with the first edition.

🎾 Raducanu out of Berlin: Emma Raducanu pulled out of Berlin this week after suffering a bit of a back injury in London, citing extra match play from playing doubles with Katie Boulter.

  • What she said: “I’ve improved a lot and done a lot of good work behind the scenes, but there’s a lot to go to get to the next level. They are stronger than me and have had more time training – I need to do the same. I need to raise my level.”
  • Why it matters: Raducanu is under significant pressure during the British-centric grass season. A tender back isn’t going to help keep the press quiet, and she’s missing to compete against the best players in the world ahead of Wimbledon.

And, that’s game.

What They Said

Last, but not least, Taylor. I’m fucking tired of you. I don’t want to see you again over the next two, three years. Please stay away from me. Don’t come to Germany anymore.

-Alexander Zverev to Taylor Fritz after losing for the fifth time in a row to the American in the final of Stuttgart.

On The Radar

Tennis matches we’re monitoring today:

Berlin - WTA 500 (Grass)

  • Marta Kostyuk vs. Emma Navarro (1st round)
  • Caroline Dolehide vs. Ons Jabeur (1st round)
  • Paula Badosa vs. Eva Lys (1st round)

Nottingham - WTA 250 (Grass)

  • Kimberly Birrell vs. Clara Tauson (1st round)
  • Dayana Yastremska vs. Olga Danilovic (1st round)
  • Anna Blinkova vs. Kamilla Rakhimova (1st round)

London - ATP 500 (Grass)

  • Frances Tiafoe vs. Dan Evans (1st round)
  • Holger Rune vs. Matteo Arnaldi (1st round)
  • Jacob Fearnley vs. Alex Bolt (1st round)
  • Mackenzie McDonald vs. Gael Monfils (1st round)

Halle - ATP 500 (Grass)

  • Fabian Marozsan vs. Miomir Kecmanovic (1st round)
  • Daniel Altmaier vs. Daniil Medvedev (1st round)
  • Alexandre Muller vs. Alexander Bublik (1st round)
  • Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. Luciano Darderi (1st round)

📺 Learn how to watch today’s action over at Tennis Watchers.

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