Culture
Keegan Bradley makes Team USA’s Presidents Cup roster but Justin Thomas excluded
![Keegan Bradley makes Team USA’s Presidents Cup roster but Justin Thomas excluded Keegan Bradley makes Team USA’s Presidents Cup roster but Justin Thomas excluded](https://cdn.theathletic.com/app/uploads/2024/08/25180831/GettyImages-2167462705-scaled.jpg)
By going chalk, United States captain Jim Furyk has created intrigue ahead of this month’s Presidents Cup.
Furyk selected Nos. 7-12 on the team standings for his six captain’s picks, announced on Tuesday. The move means Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley will be playing for Team USA for the first time in a decade, but longtime American stalwart Justin Thomas will be left at home.
The other American picks were Sam Burns, Russell Henley, Max Homa, Brian Harman and Tony Finau. Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa, Wyndham Clark, Patrick Cantlay and Sahith Theegala were the six automatic selections to the team.
The Presidents Cup is at Royal Montreal Golf Club from Sept. 26-29.
“Just trying to put the puzzle pieces together,” Furyk said in explaining his pick, calling it a “tough omission” but otherwise not offering an explanation to Golf Channel for leaving out Thomas. The 31-year-old was No. 19 on the points standings.
Bradley was initially slated to be a captain’s assistant for Furyk, his only chance to get team leadership experience ahead of the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black in New York. Instead, he’ll be relieved of those duties, Furyk said, and will instead be allowed to focus on playing.
International team captain Mike Weir selected Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Corey Conners, Mackenzie Hughes, Si Woo Kim, Min Woo Lee and Taylor Pendrith. Conners, Hughes and Pendrith are all Canadians, giving the team a true maple flavor with a Canadian captain and three players. They’ll join Hideki Matsuyama, Sungjae Im, Adam Scott, Tom Kim, Jason Day and Byeong Hun An.
What to think about the United States team
This is simultaneously unsurprising and incredibly disappointing. Furyrk going chalk with the players ranked No. 7-12 saves himself from criticism because he can say “It’s fair,” but it means the U.S. has a team that fails at both current form and ushering in young talent. Max Homa has dropped to No. 86 on DataGolf amid a mess of a season, and Brian Harman has just one top-10 finish since March. Meanwhile, Justin Thomas is a U.S. Cup legend and is having a much better season than both of them. Thomas is 9-3-2 at Presidents Cups and finished T14 at the Tour Championship, and Akshay Bhatia won the Texas Open this year. It could have been invaluable to get the 22-year-old rising star in the team room for the future. It all feels like a missed opportunity that neither brings the best team nor helps the team going forward. — Brody Miller
Furyk might have gone straight down the list and picked the next six players on the U.S. Presidents Cup standings list, but a few of these selections are still baffling. Harman and Homa have been outplayed by several players who would have been excellent fits for the squad — including Thomas, who is widely known as one of the best American match-play players of this generation. Harman was likely picked for his driving accuracy in preparation for a tight and narrow Royal Montreal, and Homa will provide the fire and spirit that comes naturally to him in team environments. But think about Bhatia or even someone like 20-year-old Nick Dunlap. This year’s Cup could have been the perfect opportunity to prepare young blood for future team events, and instead, Furyk went with an older set of picks who aren’t even necessarily playing that well right now. Statistics most likely played a huge role in these decisions, in addition to partner fit. But you can’t ignore recent form, and it appears that Furyk did exactly that. — Gabby Herzig
What to think about the International team
Weir gives his native Canadians love, but maybe not the ones we thought. It would have been impossible for Weir to leave out Lee or Kim — two of his top talents — or Bezuidenhout, who is having a great year, so it essentially left three decisions to make. You could argue Conners is one of the five best international players, so that’s a no-brainer. Same with Pendrith, who has jumped to No. 25 in the world in DataGolf with a career year. It’s the choice of Hughes over potentially better talents in Adam Hadwin and Nick Taylor that’s so tough to make. Both Hadwin and Taylor have struggled mightily the last few months, so I get it, but Taylor is a killer with two big boy wins in the 2024 WM Phoenix Open and the 2023 Canadian Open, until an absolute mess of a summer. That stings. (Leaving off Australian Cam Davis is the right move. His nice win in Detroit was more of an outlier.) — Miller
Weir considered a variety of factors in his captain’s picks. Still, the Canadian home game element and an emphasis on recent form seem to have dominated his decision-making process. Of Weir’s captain’s picks, the three Canadians will relish playing on familiar turf in front of a supportive crowd. Hughes — who came in ranked No. 15 in the International Team standings — was notably left off the squad in 2022. He’s also known to welcome leadership roles, and should be an excellent fit for the team room. Pendrith and Conners got the nod, seemingly over Hadwin and Taylor, who are perhaps the more recognizable and fiery Canadians. The choice indicated that Weir prioritized consistency and recent tournament results. Then you have Kim: He brought some memorable heat to the 2022 matches and was undoubtedly a no-brainer pick for the locker room energy. Plus, Weir specifically mentioned Kim’s putting, which has been shaky as of late, but seems to be improving with a putter switch. Bezuidenhout sneaked into the FedEx top 30 and put together an underrated season, and Lee has emerged as one of the best drivers on the PGA Tour and has cemented himself as an easy fan favorite. Overall, not too many surprises here, besides the Hughes curveball and Davis being skipped over at No. 8 in the standings. Weir’s picks are strong and represent a deliberate, versatile strategy. — Herzig
Required reading
(Top photo: Keyur Khamar / PGA Tour via Getty Images)
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Culture
Premier League players who didn’t get a move: The Uncertain XI
![Premier League players who didn’t get a move: The Uncertain XI Premier League players who didn’t get a move: The Uncertain XI](https://cdn.theathletic.com/app/uploads/2024/09/02080120/uncertain-xi.png)
Although the Premier League’s summer transfer window has closed, many big-name players still have their futures unresolved.
Other transfer windows remain open, including in Turkey, whose clubs can do business until September 13, so moves could still happen. But with four months until the start of the January window in the major European leagues, The Athletic has picked a starting XI of players who currently find themselves out of favour at their top-flight side.
Though not all have been ostracised completely from first-team action, their futures look uncertain.
GO DEEPER
‘Fair market value’ and ‘pure profit’ – The Premier League transfer window is messier than ever
GK: Odysseas Vlachodimos
Vlachodimos, who made just seven appearances in his sole season at Nottingham Forest before joining Newcastle United on July 1, was signed as a makeweight to assist both clubs in complying with profit and sustainability rules (PSR), with midfielder Elliot Anderson going the other way.
While Anderson, a highly-rated 21-year-old Newcastle academy graduate, has played in each of Forest’s opening three matches of the season, Vlachodimos is not expected to play an on-pitch role under Eddie Howe.
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Why clubs are signing so many backup ’keepers: Training help, PSR value and homegrown slots
The 30-year-old Greece international was free to leave on loan, but Newcastle failed to find a suitable deal before Friday’s deadline. As it stands, he ranks behind Nick Pope and Martin Dubravka and is yet to make a Newcastle matchday squad — though Vlachodimos could become Howe’s No 2 should Dubravka, who is looking for first-team football, find a move in January.
With Raheem Sterling securing a deadline-day season-long loan to Arsenal, Chilwell holds the unwanted tag as the face of Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea ‘Bomb squad’.
It’s only a year since Chilwell looked set to play an important role under Mauricio Pochettino, with the newly-appointed Argentinian handing him the vice-captaincy in pre-season. Now, Chilwell is firmly out of favour at Stamford Bridge and appears set to struggle on the fringes.
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Maresca: ‘Better’ if Chilwell leaves Chelsea this summer
Maresca prefers inverted full-backs, which does not fit with Chilwell’s overlapping game. Marc Cucurella is the Italian coach’s first choice at left-back, and he has also trialled Malo Gusto, a natural right-back, in that position in pre-season. Levi Colwill, who has started in central defence in each of Chelsea’s three opening matches of the league season, is another option at left-back, though his future appears to be set at the heart of the defence.
Chilwell, 27, is one of Chelsea’s highest earners, so it may be challenging to engineer a move away in January unless one of the elite sides in the Premier League or continental Europe are willing to take on his salary. Arsenal are paying less than 50 per cent of Sterling’s wages, so Chelsea may be willing to cut their losses for Chilwell to engineer a move away.
Tierney was expected to leave Arsenal this summer, having spent last season on loan at Real Sociedad in La Liga, but a hamstring injury suffered while playing for Scotland at the European Championship ruled him out of a move.
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‘There is no spite from me – Mikel Arteta was 100% right’ – Kieran Tierney interview
The 27-year-old played an important role at the Emirates Stadium after leaving Celtic in summer 2019 but was a casualty of Mikel Arteta’s desire to elevate the team into title contenders when he was appointed at the end of that calendar year.
While he may not be a good fit under the Spaniard and may never play for Arsenal again with so much competition in his position, Tierney has the quality and experience to find himself another Premier League club in January — should he not suffer any setbacks on his return from injury.
Tierney assisted twice in 20 league appearances last season as Real Sociedad finished sixth in La Liga.
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Tierney spent last season on loan at Real Sociedad (Aitor Alcalde/Getty Images)
Unlike team-mate Chilwell, Disasi is still around the first team under Maresca, but he is set to play a significantly reduced role this season.
Signed for £38.5million (€45m) last summer from Monaco of France’s Ligue 1, Disasi made an immediate impression, scoring on his debut in a 1-1 draw against Liverpool. His best performance of the season came against Manchester City in another 1-1 in February, where he made 16 clearances, the most by a Chelsea player in the league in eight seasons.
But after suffering an injury which sidelined him for the 6-0 defeat of Everton in April, Disasi struggled to get back into the side as Chelsea’s results improved. Disasi started just once in the final eight league matches, and that was the humiliating 6-0 defeat to London rivals Arsenal.
Despite him featuring regularly under previous manager Pochettino, Maresca does not favour the 26-year-old. Disasi did play in both legs of the Conference League qualifier against Swiss side Servette as Chelsea confirmed their place in the league phase with a 3-2 aggregate victory and made the matchday squad for the 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace on Sunday, but he is yet to register a minute in the league this season.
Kiwior proved a valuable and versatile squad player for Arsenal in 2023-24, filling in at left-back on 13 occasions in the league, including during a seven-match winning streak. On that run, Kiwior scored once and provided three assists.
However, due to Jurrien Timber’s return to fitness after missing the majority of last season with a cruciate ligament tear and the £42million signing of Riccardo Calafiori, Kiwior does not appear to have a role under Arteta. After missing out on the matchday squad in the opening-weekend 2-0 win over Wolves, Kiwior has been included in Arteta’s two most recent squads, but he is yet to get onto the pitch.
The 24-year-old is a Poland international and undoubtedly has the quality to start in the Premier League. If his situation does not change before January’s transfer window, he could push to move elsewhere for the second half of the season.
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(Andrew Kearns – CameraSport via Getty Images)
Lamptey has been around at the Premier League level for a long time, so it is easy to forget he is still just 23.
He has a breakout season in 2022-23, but injuries and Brighton team-mate Joel Veltman’s consistency have meant Lamptey has struggled to re-establish himself as a starter.
A first appearance of the season came in last week’s Carabao Cup win over League One neighbours Crawley but he is yet to register his first minutes in the Premier League. There could now be a window for Lamptey to impress under new head coach Fabian Hurzeler, as Veltman went off with an injury in the 1-1 draw against Arsenal on the weekend.
Still, as it stands, he remains on the fringes of Brighton’s squad.
It has been a difficult few years for Guedes, who once looked set for a career at the top of the game.
Guedes has failed to establish himself in the starting XI at Wolves since moving from Spanish club Valencia in 2022-23 and has spent portions of the last two seasons on loan at Benfica in Portugal and back in La Liga with Villarreal. The 27-year-old was linked with a transfer all this summer, but after one failed to materialise, he finds himself on the fringes of Gary O’Neil’s starting XI.
He has yet to start in the league this season, but he impressed in the Carabao Cup last week, scoring twice as Wolves beat recently-relegated Championship side Burnley 2-0. Due to his impressive performance midweek, O’Neil gave him an opportunity in the league on the weekend from the bench, replacing the goalscorer Jean-Ricner Bellegarde in the 75th minute in a 1-1 draw away to Nottingham Forest.
Given Wolves’ long-term struggles in front of goal, O’Neil could be tempted to give Guedes another shot — even if he looked set to depart in this window.
After spending a season out on loan at Watford in the 2022-23 Championship, Choudhury broke back into the Leicester City side for their title-winning campaign in that division last season but now finds himself out of favour again at the King Power Stadium.
Choudhury was an unused substitute in Leicester’s opening two Premier League fixtures, then came off the bench to assist a goal in their 4-0 Carabao Cup win over Tranmere Rovers of League Two last Tuesday. However, Choudhury did not make the squad for the league game at home against Aston Villa on Saturday, where Leicester lost 2-1, and he appears firmly out of manager Steve Cooper’s plans.
While Eriksen continues to retain an important role for Denmark’s national team, he is now little more than a fringe player at Manchester United.
The now 32-year-old was an important part of the United side in his 2022-23 debut season, making 28 league appearances, but saw his role diminish in the following on as teenager Kobbie Mainoo emerged from the academy ranks to take his place in the team.
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Christian Eriksen has become the odd man out in United’s midfield
Despite fellow central midfielder Scott McTominay recently departing for Italy’s Napoli, Eriksen was an unused substitute in United’s first two league matches of the season and was only brought on with five minutes remaining in the 3-0 defeat to rivals Liverpool on Sunday.
Eriksen could still be a backup to Mainoo under Erik ten Hag, but it appears his days as a starter at the club are over.
Almiron, who had a significant impact for Newcastle in the 2022-23 season as they qualified for the Champions League, was linked with a move away from St James’ Park for much of the summer’s transfer window.
Earlier in the window, a move back to MLS with Charlotte FC fell through. Almiron knows the North American league well after spending three years at Atlanta United from 2016 to 2019, helping them win the title in his final season.
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Almiron’s proposed transfer to Charlotte FC collapses
As Friday’s deadline drew nearer, the now 30-year-old was involved in discussions for a swap deal involving Anthony Elanga, but Nottingham Forest declined Newcastle’s proposal. Almiron made his second league appearance of the season on Sunday, coming on as a 90th-minute substitute as they beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-1, but he does not appear close to Eddie Howe’s starting XI despite a lack of natural right-sided wingers in the squad.
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(Paul Ellis ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)
West Ham United made Ings available for transfer back at the beginning of the window, but he did not secure a move.
The former England international played five minutes off the bench in the 2-1 opening-weekend loss to Aston Villa, one of his former clubs, but was an unused substitute in the 2-0 win over Crystal Palace the following Saturday.
Ings was then left out of the matchday squad by new head coach Julen Lopetegui for both the 1-0 win against Bournemouth, his first pro club, in the Carabao Cup last Wednesday and on Saturday, as Manchester City beat them 3-1 in the league. Now aged 32, his future at the east London club remains uncertain.
(Top photos: Getty Images)
Culture
The inevitability of Haaland, Everton’s new weakness, Fulham’s Arsenal connections – Data column
![The inevitability of Haaland, Everton’s new weakness, Fulham’s Arsenal connections – Data column The inevitability of Haaland, Everton’s new weakness, Fulham’s Arsenal connections – Data column](https://cdn.theathletic.com/app/uploads/2024/09/01173442/dychehaaland.png)
Three down, 35 to go.
An international break is upon us just as the Premier League was clicking into gear. On Saturday, Arsenal dropped points at home for the first time since mid-April, Manchester City continued a 12-game winning streak and we were treated to the latest comeback from two goals down in Premier League history at Goodison Park.
Sunday did not disappoint, either. Newcastle United edged a fiercely contested clash with Tottenham Hotspur before Liverpool made light work of Manchester United in a comprehensive 3-0 victory, with Arne Slot becoming the first Liverpool manager to win his first game at Old Trafford since George Kay in 1936.
A trio of Premier League weekends is barely enough time for any statistical trends to emerge but there have been plenty of tactical tales to get our teeth into in the opening stages. Allow The Athletic to walk you through some of the quirks we have spotted from the weekend’s fixtures…
Haaland is inevitable
It feels too obvious to start with Erling Haaland scoring goals, but there is an obligation when the Norwegian scores successive hat-tricks.
That takes him to seven goals (including one penalty) in the first three Premier League games of 2024-25, more than any player has managed in a team’s opening three games of a season.
To wrap some context around that, those seven strikes are already more than Michail Antonio, Evan Ferguson, Gabriel Jesus, Danny Welbeck, and Taiwo Awoniyi managed in 2023-24 — and more than 17 Premier League teams this season.
Saturday’s hat-trick at West Ham was his first away from the Etihad, taking him to eight hat-tricks in his Premier League career — the joint-fourth highest in the division’s all-time records alongside Thierry Henry, Harry Kane and Michael Owen — and his 11th in a Manchester City shirt. He signed in the summer of 2022, this is not normal.
Breaking down those hat-tricks per game shows how lucrative his opportunities have been. Of the 24 goals in this sample, only two have been outside the box — both coming this season.
We know it by now, but Haaland does not need to be involved in City’s build-up play to impact the game. Among all players with 900-plus minutes played since he joined the league in 2022-23, Haaland has just 6.2 touches per shot — the fewest of any other player, edging ahead of Fulham’s Rodrigo Muniz (7.1) and Liverpool’s Darwnin Nunez (8.1).
He looks well-rested and more clinical than ever. A deadly combination for opposition defences.
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(Charlotte Wilson/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)
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A defensive weakness is emerging for Everton
Everton’s capitulation was a story in itself on Saturday afternoon, but more worrying was the theme that ran through the goals they conceded — not just against Bournemouth, but across all three of their games.
Of the 10 goals they have conceded, five have been from failing to deal with crosses.
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Their three goals conceded against Bournemouth saw two situations of poor defending at the back post, with Vitalii Mykolenko out of position or unable to defend the cross.
A similar pattern can be seen on the opposite flank in the opening-day loss to Brighton. This time, Ashley Young is too far advanced as Kaoru Mitoma gets free at the back post for a simple tap-in from Yankuba Minteh’s cross.
Set-piece crosses were the weakness against Tottenham, with James Tarkowski uncharacteristically dominated in the air by Christian Romero, who rose to head home a corner.
A glance under the bonnet does not provide much positivity for Everton fans. Sean Dyche’s side have conceded the most successful crosses (21) of any team in the opening three weeks of the season.
For a side whose defensive numbers stood up among the best in the league last season — with 1.3 goals conceded per 90 being the fourth-strongest rate — there are clear problems to address.
The good news is the issues are obvious. Deal with crosses at source and ensure that nothing gets past you at the back post.
Can Newcastle keep injuries at bay?
Newcastle overcame Tottenham in a scrappy contest at St James’ Park on Sunday — so scrappy that each of the seven midfielders from both sides picked up a yellow card for their troubles.
That is not a statistic to be proud of, but it showed that Eddie Howe’s team have regained their bite after last season’s campaign was ravaged by injury.
Not including Sandro Tonali’s suspension for betting offences, Newcastle players lost a combined total of 2,154 days to injuries last season — a huge uptick from previous campaigns and comfortably the most under Howe.
Howe’s squads have been littered with injury problems across his managerial career and there are still some important players on Newcastle’s treatment table but this season, his side look recharged.
A campaign without European football might see a cleaner bill of health, with Sunday’s victory over Spurs keeping Newcastle undefeated at the start of the season.
Will Southampton learn their lesson quickly?
When playing against Southampton, the pre-match tactics talk writes itself — pressure them high as they build out from the back.
A high press is a staple of the modern game, but Russell Martin’s side are providing some gift-wrapped opportunities with their deep build-up that is not quite sharpened to the elite level of the Premier League.
We knew this would be a key part of Martin’s play, who is uncompromising in his approach — aside from some subtle tweaks during Southampton’s play-off success. Only Tottenham have averaged a higher rate of possession than Southampton’s 68 per cent in the opening weeks.
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They have already lost the ball in their defensive third on 18 occasions this season, which is the second-highest in the league. Crucially, six of them have led to an opposition shot or goal — as it did for Bryan Mbeumo’s second on Saturday.
Debutant goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale was indecisive in possession, going long with 17 passes in the game — more than Southampton’s previous two matches combined.
Parallels with last season’s Burnley spring to mind, with Southampton seemingly unable to exert their Championship superiority at the highest level.
Should Martin double down or inject a dose of pragmatism into his side after the international break?
Fulham’s left side is cooking
Their 1-1 draw with Ipswich Town may not have stood out among the weekend’s fixtures, but a flowing move for Fulham’s goal uncovered a spark that looks to be igniting in Marco Silva’s side.
The combination of Antonee Robinson, Alex Iwobi and Emile Smith Rowe is prospering in the early weeks of the season and the trio linked up for Fulham’s equaliser against Ipswich. A flowing move saw Robinson’s cross finished by Adama Traore.
Iwobi and Smith Rowe, former team-mates at Arsenal, scored a goal each in the previous gameweek as Fulham overcame Leicester.
With Adama Traore, Kenny Tete and Andreas Pereira finding their own triangles on the right side, there looks to be a nice balance in Fulham’s attack on both flanks.
The arrival of Sander Berge will strengthen Fulham’s midfield further, but playing Smith Rowe and Pereira as attacking central midfielders is an exciting prospect for Silva.
The Arsenal connections also continue to grow as Reiss Nelson completed a loan move before the window shut last week. If Smith Rowe can continue to get consistent minutes and strengthen those connections with Iwobi and Robinson, Fulham might surprise a few people this season.
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(Top photos: Getty Images)
Culture
How tennis couples like ‘Tsitsidosa’ navigate what it’s like to date a tennis player
![How tennis couples like ‘Tsitsidosa’ navigate what it’s like to date a tennis player How tennis couples like ‘Tsitsidosa’ navigate what it’s like to date a tennis player](https://cdn.theathletic.com/app/uploads/2024/08/31185518/0830_TennisCouples.png)
Follow live coverage of Day 7 at the 2024 US Open
NEW YORK — In the late afternoon sunshine Friday, spectators were forced to stand in the bleachers of a packed Court 11 at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre. Outside, more queued to get in. Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe, two superstars of American tennis, were busy slugging it out on Arthur Ashe Stadium, but a first-round, mixed-doubles match on the outside courts was the hottest ticket at the U.S. Open.
This is the pull of Paula Badosa and Stefanos Tsitsipas, more familiarly known as “Tsitsidosa.”
Badosa and Tsitsipas, both 26, are the most talked-about couple in tennis. Like any celebrity couple, there are TikToks. There are fan cams. There are hashtags. Unlike nearly any celebrity couple, there are Grand Slam tennis tournaments to play in together.
In their first ever competitive match, they ended up losing, 7-6(3), 6-4 to Mexican pair Giuliana Olmos and Santiago Gonzalez.
Then, on Sunday, Badosa, who is the No. 26 seed in the women’s singles, beat Wang Yafan of China 6-1, 6-2 to reach the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time since 2021. She had never been past the second round in New York before.
Tsitsipas, the men’s No. 11 seed here, sat and watched. He had lost to Thanasi Kokkinakis, the Australian, on day one.
A few weeks ago, the 2024 Olympics in Paris were abuzz with are they/aren’t they speculation around mixed doubles gold medallists Katerina Siniakova and Tomas Machac. Siniakova announced the couple’s split on social media before the Games, but they seemed pretty close when they won the final. Since then, they have been coy about their relationship status. Siniakova even told a press conference that “we like to make you a bit confused”.
Machac and Siniakova won Olympic gold in mixed doubles after breaking up — so they say. (Daniela Porcelli / Eurasia Sport Images via Getty Images)
A month earlier, Alex de Minaur sped across the Wimbledon grounds in the name of love.
As soon as he finished his second-round match against Jaume Munar on Court 3, he jumped on the exercise bike, downed a protein shake, showered, and then sprinted over to Court 1, to see his girlfriend Katie Boulter in action against her British compatriot Harriet Dart. After being directed to the wrong entrance, he eventually found his seat — to endure the agony of watching Boulter lose a final set tiebreak.
It’s been another summer of love in tennis.
World No. 1 Jannik Sinner and world No. 15 Anna Kalinskaya recently started dating; there are married couples, including Elina Svitolina and Gael Monfils, who was in the stands watching his wife lose to Coco Gauff on Friday. There are likely many more under the radar.
These relationships are as different as the individuals involved; they are both relatable and difficult to imagine. Most people can envisage dating someone who does the same job or works for the same company. But most people’s jobs don’t involve travelling the world to play a very selfish sport in front of thousands of people, sometimes with — or even against — your partner.
Like every relationship, tennis romances have as many upsides as they do challenges. And wrapped up in all of them is that cursed question: What happens if you guys break up?
There have always been relationships in tennis.
Love is a key part of the tennis vernacular (even if it’s actually a derivative of the French “l’oeuf,” meaning egg). A scene from the 2012 film “Diary of a Wimpy Kid,” in which the main male character replies, “Whatever you say, love” to a girl just calling the score, has recently given this connection new life. It’s been used as a sound on TikTok, with real couples reenacting the video on real courts.
In the 1970s, the romance between American golden couple Chris Evert and Jimmy Connors became an obsession; 22-time Grand Slam champion Steffi Graf started dating eight-time winner Andre Agassi soon after her retirement in 1999. They are now close to their silver wedding anniversary and have two children, Jaz Elle and Jaden. A film about their relationship, Perfect Match, was released on Amazon’s German streaming platforms this year.
Agassi documented much of their courtship, which was on-and-off for nine years, in his autobiography, Open, including having his hopes of dancing with Graf at the 1992 Wimbledon champions’ ball spurned when organizers cancelled the event.
The early 2000s saw two of the young stars of the game, Lleyton Hewitt and Kim Clijsters, date before their split in 2004, while 2015 U.S. Open champion Flavia Pennetta and one-time world No. 8 Fabio Fognini married eight years ago and now have three kids.
Tennis relationships have become even more commonplace in the last few years, and that’s just going off the couples that the wider world knows about. Tennis insiders put this down partly to the proliferation of combined events.
Most tournaments now host men’s and women’s events, but the picture was very different even as late as the mid-1990s. Back then, the Miami Open and the Sydney International were the only combined tournaments outside the four majors.
There are other, more technological reasons for the tennis love boom.
“My theory is that it’s because of social media that players are now a bit more straightforward. Sliding into each others’ DMs and things like that,” says Andrea Petkovic, the retired former world No. 9, who earlier this year wrote an enlightening blog post about the challenges of dating as a tennis player.
One of the things these players value is having someone who understands exactly what they are going through.
“I can always reach out to my partner, who has spent the same amount of time that I have spent on the court trying to figure out the game,” Tsitsipas said of Badosa. “We both share the same passion and we both do the same thing in life.
“Outside of it, we still have times where we completely disconnect from tennis. It’s a great relationship, because we can combine from both worlds and we can, I feel like, understand each other’s lives so much better than any other type of relationship because we know the struggles of it and the rhythms.”
Siniakova, who is still in the women’s doubles here, expressed similar sentiments about Machac at the French Open in June.
“From my side, it’s totally different when someone is going through the same thing. It’s harder if someone is trying to support you but they have no idea how it feels on the court.”
![](https://cdn.theathletic.com/app/uploads/2024/05/17071649/GettyImages-830246234-e1715944650642.jpg)
Graf and Agassi at the Wimbledon champions’ ball — before they started dating. (AP Images)
Svitolina added that “when we have tough moments, we know what to say. After losses, I can be really moody for a couple of days, really difficult to handle. He knows how to treat me and how to comfort me. I let him play video games to release all these negative things that sometimes he has after the losses.”
After losing to Gauff on Friday, Svitolina said that it was strictly logistics when she spoke to Monfils, and the kind of admin every tennis player knows too well: sorting out flights so they can get home as quickly as possible.
For De Minaur, “It’s pretty simple, because we’re both in the same job, so we both understand what it is to be a tennis player.”
People close to De Minaur and Boulter say that both have improved as players since they began dating. Boulter believes the relationship has helped her game immeasurably, because she can share her concerns with someone both on her side and inside the top 10. Boulter, the No. 31 seed at this year’s U.S. Open, exited in the second round on Thursday; on Saturday night, De Minaur got through a fading Dan Evans in four sets to reach the fourth round.
Badosa and Tsitsipas have expressed similar sentiments. Badosa asks Tsitsipas for his tips and analysis of her opponents.
“Our primary goal is to help each other figure certain things out,” Tsitsipas says. “I feel like we’re equally as knowledgeable in our craft and hold a lot of understanding of how certain situations shall be dealt with. Paula keeps saying all the time that she wishes she had my forehand. Sometimes I also think, ‘Oh, gosh, I wish I had her returns’. She destroys the ball on the returns, and it seems so effortless from her side.”
On Friday, the pair were often deep in conversation during the change of ends, with Tsitsipas animatedly shadow-swinging.
![](https://cdn.theathletic.com/app/uploads/2024/09/01111834/GettyImages-2168534291-scaled.jpg)
Stefanos Tsitsipas and Paula Badosa have played exhibition events, but the U.S. Open marked their first tournament together. (Robert Prange / Getty Images)
Doing the thing you love with the person you love can be great. But tennis is a sport with one winner and one loser. One player might want to celebrate a win, while their partner is trying to process a crushing defeat. This has been the dynamic at the U.S. Open this week for Tsitsidosa, with Tsitsipas going out in the first round while Badosa builds on her recent form. Over the course of this summer, she has peaked while he has troughed. A tricky dynamic for any couple.
Meanwhile, one can only imagine the awkwardness one Sunday in June, when Sinner won a title in the German city of Halle. At the same time, Kalinskaya was in the middle of losing a final a couple of hours’ drive away in Berlin, squandering six championship points in the process.
“Hi, darling. So how was your day at work…?”
Petkovic says that this is one of the biggest challenges of going out with a fellow player.
“As the one bearing the loss, you don’t want to take the joy away from the one who has won,” she writes in her Finite Jest post about dating. “As the one bathing in triumph, you don’t want to rub the euphoria of winning in your partner’s face. So, you just circle around each other in subdued moods hoping to get through the day.”
Badosa said earlier this week that “to manage (this situation), you have to have a very good heart and zero ego. And he (Tsitsipas) has that, I have it. We manage that really well. We just want the best for us.”
The stress of watching each other’s matches is also an occupational hazard.
Machac, who plays Jack Draper in the U.S. Open fourth round tomorrow (Monday), said he was so tense watching Siniakova at the French Open that he “couldn’t look”. Badosa said this week that she and Tsitsipas “both suffer a lot” watching each other.
After reaching the fourth round by beating Elena-Gabriela Ruse in an excruciatingly tight match, Badosa revealed that Tsitsipas came running towards her and said, “I almost had a heart attack.”
![](https://cdn.theathletic.com/app/uploads/2024/09/01112045/GettyImages-2160265592-scaled.jpg)
Gael Monfils lives through Elina Svitolina’s matches, in every sense. (Andrej Isakovic / AFP via Getty Images)
Badosa knew it was coming. “When it was six-all in the (deciding) tie-break I was like, ‘Stef for sure is having a heart attack right now,” she laughed.
Unlike Monfils, Tsitsipas prefers not to be in the stands for his partner’s matches, as he finds it too stressful. Being on-site, and travelling the world together, can also be stressful enough. Tennis players have very tailored schedules, so couples can end up feeling like two ships passing in the night.
Svitolina talked about this at Wimbledon in relation to her and Monfils, while at the French Open, Machac said that when he finally had an afternoon off, 11 days into the tournament, Siniakova was busy playing doubles. He added the pair had only seen each other for breakfast once, explaining “our schedules have been totally different, and you don’t wake up at 7 a.m. if you can sleep until 10 a.m”.
In a scene from the Netflix documentary Break Point, Matteo Berrettini is preparing to play in the Australian Open semifinals. He clashes with his then-girlfriend, Ajla Tomljanovic.
“I have to sleep. You go downstairs and ask for a room,” Berrettini says to Tomljanovic, who is getting up early the next morning to film a TV appearance from their hotel.
“I’m going to say on air that you kicked me out,” Tomljanovic replied, jokingly.
“But they’re going to agree with me,” Berrettini said. “I’m still in the Australian Open!”
The pair broke up a few weeks later.
Recently-retired Alison Van Uytvanck has a particularly informed perspective on breaking up as a tennis couple.
The former world No. 37 and French Open quarterfinalist played doubles with, and singles against Greet Minnen, her girlfriend of five years.
Van Uytvanck loved training together in their native Belgium, and becoming the first couple to play doubles together at Wimbledon in 2019 was a “dream come true”. But there were challenges too.
“There are some disadvantages that everything is a competition,” Van Uytvanck said. “Even without tennis. Let’s say you’re doing something physically, then it’s like, ‘I want to do better than you’. We were always talking about tennis, tennis, tennis, and there was nothing else. That was something not as nice, I would say.”
As they shared in each other’s successes and Minnen climbed up the rankings, they also had to do the thing they’d been dreading: Play against each other.
It happened in July 2019 at the Liqui Moly Open in Karlsruhe, Germany, a few weeks after they’d played doubles together at Wimbledon. Van Uytvanck won, as she did when they played again at an ITF event in Nottingham, England, a couple of years later.
“It wasn’t fun,” Van Uytvanck says. “We knew exactly how the other one was going to play, and it was tough to just focus on yourself.”
Van Uytvanck and Minnen, who remain on good terms, broke up a few months after that second meeting. But they still kept running into one another at tournaments. “At the beginning, it was a bit weird,” Van Uytvanck says.
![](https://cdn.theathletic.com/app/uploads/2024/09/01112234/GettyImages-1228862378-scaled.jpg)
Alison van Uytvanck (left) and Greet Minnen played the French Open together. (Ao Leilian-Molisaer / Xinhua via Getty Images)
“And then we were just like, ‘Hi. How are you doing?’ Some small talk.”
Both are with other partners now, though they do still share a dog back in Belgium.
Badosa and Tsitsipas have also broken up in the past, with their respective social media accounts turning into goldmines for fans-turned-sleuths trying to figure out if their romance would go from off to back on, as it has now.
Their on-court exploits aren’t always rosy either.
Tsitsipas smashed his racket into the court Friday, even though he said afterwards how much he’d enjoyed himself. During the match, the pair comforted each other following missed shots and earnestly talked tactics. They shared a warm embrace when Badosa couldn’t retrieve an Olmos smash to end the match and may play again together at the Australian Open.
Once the match was done, Badosa’s focus turned straight to Sunday, and her fourth-round encounter with Wang. She raced through, playing aggressive, confident tennis, as she has done all summer while her boyfriend’s form has taken a dive.
For Tsistipas, he had to endure the agony of watching, but came out with the joy of his partner’s success.
It’s the balance you have to strike to make it work as a tennis couple.
(Top photos: Getty Images; design: Demetrius Robinson)
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