Welcome to Tennis Canada’s first month-to-month mailbag of 2025. This month, esteemed tennis journalist and Canadian Tennis Corridor of Famer Tom Tebbutt solutions questions submitted by you, the followers.
Play the commissioner of tennis for someday. What’s one rule change you’ll implement?
All of us have pet peeves about tennis. This isn’t precisely a rule, however for a few years my predominant pet peeve was that two weeks was not sufficient time between Roland-Garros and Wimbledon. For a number of of these years, that significantly utilized to Rafael Nadal, who was in so many French Open finals. I felt he, and customarily all of the gamers, wanted one week to get well and get accustomed to grass, one week to play a grass-court prep match, and one week to form of fine-tune within the relaxed environment many gamers want the week earlier than a Grand Slam match.
Consider it or not, after I first went to Wimbledon in 1975, there was just one week between Wimbledon and Roland-Garros. That was modified a number of years later after which a 3rd week was added in 2015, which lastly made sense.
I suppose now what I might change is bouncing the ball earlier than gamers serve. I see no purpose why they shouldn’t be restricted to 5 bounces. I keep in mind a state of affairs a few years in the past after I was enjoying and late within the match, my opponent out of the blue began bouncing much more earlier than serving. I assumed, and nonetheless do, that it’s unfair to returners as a result of they are often distracted, questioning precisely when their opponent is lastly going to serve. If a participant needs to have ‘a assume’ about serving ways – do it earlier than beginning to bounce the ball. In different phrases, not whereas the receiver is poised and questioning when the server will finally cease bouncing and begin the ball toss.
Which chair umpires do you respect essentially the most and why?
I at all times thought Mohamed Lahyani was fairly good. However when he received down from the chair and tried to encourage Nick Kyrgios to make extra of an effort in his match in opposition to Pierre-Hugues Herbert on the 2018 US Open, he misplaced me. He solely obtained a two-tournament suspension which was ridiculously lenient for an umpire who truly took sides in a match. He stays an apparent showman however not that unhealthy an umpire.
It’s exhausting to select somebody however I’ll go together with two girls, each competent and businesslike: Aurélie Tourte of France and Marjia Cicak of Croatia.
What are your ideas on Denis Shapovalov’s present ups and downs?
What do I actually know? However folks ask me about him and I jokingly say he must take a tranquilizer. By that, I imply he ought to take his emoting down a notch or two and simply let his unimaginable expertise stream. It’s exhausting to consider anybody extra gifted and I’ve at all times stated that Denis is bull sturdy – I don’t assume I’ve ever seen him get drained.
Tremendous-skilled gamers like him are a little bit of a high-wire act and wrestle managing the distinctive expertise they’ve been given. Examples embrace a man like Nick Kyrgios, who by no means figured it out, and John McEnroe, who wasn’t ever capable of completely reconcile his expertise together with his flamable temperament.
On the optimistic aspect, Roger Federer overcame early-career demons. He took the expertise he was given, discovered to regulate his feelings and maximized his pure skill.
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I want Denis wouldn’t frequently look over at his workforce between factors. It might be higher if he might simply preserve his head down and get on with it whether or not issues are good or unhealthy – giving the impression that he’s in management. At his highest, I can’t consider many gamers that may beat him. He’s that good.
If Canada have been to achieve extra tournaments on the ATP and WTA predominant excursions, what cities would you prefer to see host tournaments?
I’ve been round for some time and have listened to complaints for years concerning the too-long and too-crowded yearly schedule. I at all times use the phrase ‘intractable’ to explain it.
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Match sanctions are fastened and it’s very exhausting to alter them. It was unhappy to see the Quebec Metropolis WTA match go. However, contemplating measurement and markets, Vancouver could be the apparent selection. Calgary and Edmonton is perhaps potentialities, in addition to Halifax. However it’s unlikely there could be a spot obtainable on the already over-crowded calendar.
Which of the brand new faces that we’ve seen make noise recently impresses you essentially the most?
Jannik Sinner is a extremely good participant however Carlos Alcaraz is the man that I take pleasure in watching. After Roger Federer retired many people puzzled if one other participant together with his type of selection would ever come alongside. Then – growth – Alcaraz fell from the sky. It was similar to Federer did within the early 2000s when extra one-dimensional gamers like Marat Safin and Lleyton Hewitt seemed like they have been taking on as all-court champion Pete Sampras was winding down.
I additionally like Holger Rune. He’s exasperating and could be troublesome, however he has an athleticism that’s enjoyable to observe.
Among the many girls at this time there are a number of. Coco Gauff and Jasmine Paolini are a deal with to observe as is Karolina Muchova, though she’s been round a bit longer. The identical with Jelena Ostapenko. She’s a ridiculous drama queen however the explosiveness of her pictures is nice leisure. Sadly, they don’t at all times land in.
Who’s an upcoming under-the-radar Canadian participant that individuals ought to find out about?
I’m not likely superb at this as a result of I’ve largely focused on the professional excursions. I at all times thought Gabriel Diallo was spectacular and would break via ahead of he now has. In the intervening time, Liam Draxl looks like a reasonably decided younger man on the rise.
However Filip Peliwo received the Wimbledon and US Open juniors in 2012 – the yr Genie Bouchard received junior Wimbledon – and completed No. 1 within the ITF year-end rankings. However you by no means know the way issues will play out. Genie made a Wimbledon last and reached to No. 5 on this planet. Filip is about to show 31 and at present ranks No. 586 with a career-high of No. 161 in 2018. Now representing Poland, he is an efficient man, sensible and a tough employee. However the actuality is that not everybody makes it to the highest ranks – and in his case it isn’t for lack of attempting.
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Among the many girls – Marina Stakusic has an enormous recreation and may make quite a lot of gamers uncomfortable. She’s simply 20 and has a excessive ceiling however her hard-hitting tennis entails extra threat and she’s going to in all probability take a bit extra time to mature.
What are your ideas about being talked about in Pete Sampras’ autobiography?
I’ve by no means considered it. I suppose it happened as a result of I had the inside track that Pete had Thalassemia Minor, which happened after he vomited on courtroom and seemed fully out-of-it throughout a 1996 US Open quarter-final in opposition to Alex Corretja. He received the match and went on to win the US Open for a fourth time.
Right here’s how I described it in a 1996 Globe and Mail article – “it has been discovered that Sampras has an inherited situation that’s virtually actually thalassemia minor, a congenital type of anemia frequent amongst folks from the Mediterranean. Sampras’ mom, Georgia, was born in Greece, and his father, Sam, is of Greek ancestry.”
Pete was No. 1 on the time and it was huge information. The news form of fell in my lap after which I linked the dots – with assist from a few docs. Thalassemia Minor (Thalassemia Main – the unhealthy genes from each dad and mom – is way more critical) did considerably restrict his skill to coach. However the situation doesn’t have an effect on his life expectancy. He was 25 on the time and I assumed for positive it will be a problem sooner or later throughout the remainder of his profession. However it actually wasn’t. There might have been a number of different incidents (the 1997 French Open semifinal on a sizzling day in opposition to Yevgeny Kafelnikov) – however nothing once more ever got here near being as horrible as that 1996 US Open match.
Have you ever ever been star-struck by a participant you bought to talk to? If that’s the case, who?
At my first Canadian Open in Toronto in 1974, I discovered myself sitting on a patio round a desk with a number of different folks and Jimmy Connors, who had simply received Wimbledon. I couldn’t fairly work out how I received there.
I additionally as soon as did an interview with Arthur Ashe throughout a automotive trip when he did a promotional look in Toronto. And in 2003 in Montreal, Journal de Montreal journalist Mario Brisebois and I interviewed just-crowned Wimbledon champion Roger Federer informally down on the courtroom after one in every of his pre-tournament apply classes.
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I suppose I used to be a bit star-struck a few years earlier after I interviewed tennis greats like Fred Perry, Alice Marble, Pancho Gonzales, Rod Laver, and extra lately Yannick Noah and Mats Wilander – each nice guys. The nicest participant ever was, simply, Kim Clijsters.
What’s the coolest interplay you’ve had with somebody within the tennis world?
One yr throughout Wimbledon, in all probability 1980, I had an interview scheduled with Arthur Ashe and someway discovered myself driving in a London taxi with him, and American legend Jack Kramer, on the way in which to his resort – The Westbury.
Additionally, I labored at a WCT (World Championship Tennis) occasion in Montreal in 1979 and took then four-time Wimbledon champion Bjorn Borg of Sweden to a Canadiens hockey recreation on the Discussion board. After he completed a match, we travelled by Metro from the Maurice Richard Enviornment within the east finish of town. There weren’t many individuals round us on the subway and nobody acknowledged Bjorn till we received contained in the Discussion board.
Heading into week two, who WERE your picks (males’s and girls’s singles) to win the Australian Open?
Folks assume since you cowl a sport, you’re some form of an professional with inside data about what’s going to occur. I’m often no higher at predicting than the typical tennis fan.
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I keep in mind proper earlier than the 2019 US Open girls’s last, I used to be interviewed by Radio-Canada. They requested me who I assumed would win between Serena Williams and Bianca Andreescu. I had no clue. However within the seconds I had to consider it, I made a decision selecting Bianca could be a more sensible choice as a result of she’s a fellow Canadian, and I’m on Canadian tv. I suppose I ended up trying like a wise man but it surely was only a calculated private determination – not one primarily based on any deep analytical evaluation of who truly was going to win.
If I needed to choose at first of the week – I might have picked Swiatek and Alcaraz.
Tickets for the Davis Cup Qualifiers 1st Spherical tie between Canada and Hungary at the moment are on sale. Be part of us February 1 and a pair of at IGA Stadium in Montreal, because the Canadian workforce begins their quest for the 2025 Davis Cup Ultimate 8. To entry tickets at early-bird pricing, click on right here.
