Toughest sport in the world. No clock to run out. No timeouts to call. No subs to come in for you. No one to sit there and tell you what to doβ¦This is as good as it gets guys πΎ
Rafael Nadal played his first match on Court Philippe-Chatrier on May 25, 2005.
20 years later to the day, he gets honoured on Philippe-Chatrier as the greatest champion Roland-Garros has ever seen.
This is the stuff of movies.
Ben Shelton after losing to Zverev in Munich final:
*Ben adjusts mic*
βI guess all you guys are taller than me, huh?β π
βFirst I want to thank God. I feel blessed to play in front of you guys on Easter Sunday. Itβs really special for me. I want to congratulate Sascha. Home tournament. Big to get a win here. Itβs your birthday too. I didnβt know that. Happy Birthday. I wouldβve said like, this is a birthday gift, but I had no clue π. I was trying as hard as I could to return those serves today, but I couldnβt get it done. Congrats to you and your team. You guys are doing great work and playing really well. Good luck for the rest of the clay swing.β
"Florida is the best Men's Athletic Department in the 21st century" π
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@ClayTravis@FloridaGators
Tennis appears to be a glamorous sport for well-compensated athletes. The reality is a loss-making, health-threatening grind for all but the top 100 or so players.
The failure of the sport to provide for the basic needs and rights of the players is due to the corrupt leadership and monopolistic behavior of the tennis cartel β the @atptour, the @WTA, the ITF, and the ITIA. They have abused their market power at the expense of the players who, until the @ptpaplayers, had no way to organize to protect and defend their collective interests.
@DjokerNole (and my good friend Rebecca Macdonald) recruited me to this effort after he and @VasekPospisil launched the PTPA. The more I learned about the business of the sport I love, the more I understood the need for dramatic change to occur.
These lawsuits and the resulting judicial outcomes will revolutionize tennis for the players and create much greater opportunities for the most talented βregardless of their socioeconomic background β to make a living from the game. This will greatly improve the competitiveness of the sport, which will make for an even better fan experience.
As an active market participant and investor in the rough and tumble corporate world, I have never seen such abusive and anticompetitive activities and behavior. This corruption and abuse have been allowed to metastasize in tennis because of the power dynamics of the sport.
Young aspiring athletes focused on winning their next match β without the benefit of a teamβs backing, with little understanding of the law and without relevant business experience β have been pitted against well-capitalized monopolists captured by monied interests. The time for this to stop is now.
Allez!