Jake Rowland 
Some tennis courts are famous for the matches played on them; others stay in the memory because of their setting, surface or atmosphere. A handful combine all three. From Wimbledon’s immaculate grass to the red clay of Paris and a stadium perched above the Mediterranean, these courts offer a vivid way to experience tennis—and, with … Read more
When both opponents stay behind the baseline, the tempting response is to hit harder and try to blast through them. That often gives them exactly what they want: a steady stream of balls they can return from comfortable positions. A better doubles plan is to make one baseliner move, bring your team forward behind a … Read more
A booming serve can make a doubles match feel as if it’s over before the returner has touched the ball. But the serving team still has to win the next shot—and doubles gives you several ways to make that harder. The aim is not to return every serve for a clean winner. It’s to put … Read more
An aggressive doubles returner can make a routine service game feel like a series of emergencies. They step in, take the ball early and aim hard at the net player—or drive it low at the server’s feet. The answer is not simply to serve faster. You need to take away their favorite contact point, make … Read more
Four players on one court can do much more than play a set and hope their doubles improves. A few short, focused drills can sharpen the shots that decide most points: the return, the first volley, a clear call between partners and the move forward behind a strong ball. Use the drills below with two … Read more
The quickest way to see why doubles feels different is to watch the space beside the singles court: in doubles, those narrow side alleys suddenly count. But the extra width is only part of the change. Singles is a one-on-one contest built around covering the court alone; doubles adds a partner, new serving and receiving … Read more
A player can be ranked No. 10 in the world but enter a tournament as the No. 8 seed. That isn’t a mistake: ranking and seeding are connected, but they answer different questions. A ranking measures a player’s results across the tour; a seed sets that player’s position in one tournament’s draw. The distinction matters … Read more
A professional tennis player’s day is rarely just a long stretch of hitting balls. It is a carefully managed mix of practice, fitness, food, recovery and waiting—because arriving fresh for the next match can matter as much as working hard today. The routine changes with the tournament calendar, whether a player has a match, and … Read more
A player can win a Grand Slam, take a few weeks off and still wake up as world No. 1. That’s because the ranking is a rolling points race, not a weekly vote on who played best most recently. Staying at the top for months—or years—means repeatedly earning enough points to hold off every rival, … Read more
The year-end No. 1 is not simply the player who wins the most Grand Slams or finishes strongest in December. It is the player who ends the season at the top of the ATP singles rankings—a position earned across tournaments, surfaces and months of pressure. The record book stretches back to the start of the … Read more