Jake Rowland 
A first serve can look like a small thing: one ball in, one ball out. But across a match, that percentage can decide whether a server is cruising through service games or spending every changeover feeling the returner breathe down their neck. The catch? A high first-serve percentage does not automatically mean a high hold … Read more
Imagine winning a major tennis title, then being told you’re no longer allowed to enter the sport’s biggest tournaments. That was Pancho Gonzales’s reality. He turned professional in 1949, and the moment he did, the doors to Wimbledon and the amateur-era Grand Slam championships slammed shut. So while the public watched other stars collect the … Read more
You’ve got an hour, a racket, and a very specific goal: hit one more forehand crosscourt until it finally lands deep instead of floating short. A ball machine can make that kind of focused practice wonderfully simple—if you can find a nearby court that rents one, lets you book it alone, and doesn’t surprise you … Read more
A player can create break point after break point, watch every one disappear, then lose the match—and the box score may label their break-point conversion rate a grim 0%. Another player gets one chance, takes it, and looks ice-cold. So who was actually better under pressure? The answer is not hiding in one percentage. To … Read more
Picture the scene: Althea Gibson strides onto Centre Court at Wimbledon, racquet in hand, with the crowd watching a Black woman compete at the sport’s most famous tournament for the first time. Six years later, she would lift the Wimbledon trophy. Then she would do it again. And at the U.S. Nationals, the tournament that … Read more
At 6:15 a.m., a junior player is hitting serves. By 8:30, they’re in algebra class. On Friday, they’re finishing a history assignment in a hotel lobby while a tournament draw gets posted—and tomorrow’s match could start at 8 a.m. Sound like a lot? It is. Balancing school, travel, and daily tennis takes more than a … Read more
Picture the scene: a packed stadium, a punishing rally, and an opponent waiting for Björn Borg to blink first. The ball comes back again. And again. Borg stays low, drives it deep with heavy topspin, and gives away almost nothing—not a loose shot, not a visible flicker of panic. Then, when the opening finally appears, … Read more
A break point is the moment when a returner can smell the game—and the server knows it. The returner is ready to pounce, the crowd leans forward, and suddenly the safest-looking serve can feel like the most dangerous choice. So why do servers sometimes aim straight at the person standing across the net? Because a … Read more
You land in a steamy tennis destination, unzip your bag, and find a racket that feels like it spent the flight in a sauna. Your strings seem softer, your grip is damp, and your first hit is suddenly a guessing game. Heat and humidity can quietly change how your equipment feels—and careless storage can put … Read more
Imagine a tennis champion who seemed to arrive from the future: racing across the court in a flowing skirt, taking the ball early, attacking without fear—and drawing crowds as if she were a movie star. That was Suzanne Lenglen. In the 1920s, she did more than win matches. Her athletic style changed what women’s tennis … Read more