How to watch the US Open
+ a novel that's a play that's a novel
The US open takes place over, roughly, the two weeks that take us from blazing summer to brand new fall. My sibling-in-law asked for a guide to the US open this year so I figured why not make it a whole thing. I first got into tennis three years ago through my girlfriend’s mom (also named Mary and regular reader of this newsletter, shoutout) and got pretty crazy into it last year when I was recovering from surgery and watched every single match of Wimbledon. That was the first time I realized that you could watch a grand slam from start to finish (not just the final match, which if you’re not a big tennis fan, is the one you hear about). Usually someone named Djokovic or Sinner or Alcaraz or Sabalenka or Swiatek or Gauff is in that final match. But there are a lot of really great players outside of these six players and the best time to watch a grand slam is in the first half of the tournament. Tennis really has it all. It’s emotional, it’s mental, it’s dramatic. This is MY version of the US Open based on MY lens and understanding. I tend to go on vibes.
The stars
This will be focused mostly on American players because the US Open is truly everything to them. It’s the super bowl paired with their weddings but let’s get the international darlings out of the way. For the men, the two names you probably hear most are Sinner and Alcaraz. There are four grand slams in professional tennis (Australian Open, Wimbledon, US Open, and French Open). Winning one is career defining and millions of dollars are on the line for prize money. Sinner and Alcaraz split grand slam wins last year and, so far this year, Sinner has won two (Australian Open and Wimbledon) and Alcaraz has won one (French Open) so there will be a lot of chatter about which of them will win the US Open year. BUT these two are not necessarily in the finals. Anything can happen and the whole point of this guide is to get you watching way before the finals. On the women’s side, Jasmine Paolini is an italian woman who’s a bit shorter than your typical tennis player and totally electric. If you need one person to follow, follow her. Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek are extremely dominant. Aryna Sabalenka has a tiger tattoo and a great personality. I’ve noticed that she sometimes plays the role of translating the behavior of Russian, Belarusian, and other eastern european tennis stars to the western media.
The Americans I’ll be watching are Coco Gauff, Ben Shelton, Tommy Paul, Madison Keyes, Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, and Taylor Townsend. Coco Gauff requires no introduction. If you live in America and haven’t at least seen her name in passing, I’d be surprised. She carried the American flag at the olympics with Lebron James. She just got a new coach like ten days ago, which is VERY rare for a player to do days before a grand slam. (There’s a lot of drama around players swapping coaches and coaches becoming “available.” I’m not really at the level to be super plugged into that. I think I probably have to get more into reddit or be employed by the WTA or something.) I have a soft spot for Ben Shelton because the first US Open I watched, he was making his run to the semi-finals as an athlete fresh on the tour (Oh, this is important. “The tour” is what the traveling circus called professional tennis is called. Players on the tour (all the players I’m talking about) play countless tournaments all year long everywhere from Texas to Dubai - it’s a grueling and pretty awful schedule). I want to dislike Tommy Paul but I actually love him. His fiancee is ai-generated (more on that later) and he says really dumb stuff like ‘I realized if I drank less beer I could be good at tennis.’ It seems like he’s gotten this good without really trying but he’s super entertaining to watch and it feels like his matches are always close. Madison Keyes won the Australian Open this year in a truly emotional fabulous unexpected moment. Her husband is her coach and I’m sorry that you’re just joining tennis now and couldn’t experience that. Taylor Fritz is the little engine that could. He makes it really far in most tournaments and he’s really good but emotionally he may be a wreck; it always seems like he’s on the verge of tears even when he’s winning by a lot. Frances Tiafoe is a fan favorite at the US Open. He got into tennis because his dad was a janitor at a tennis facility in Connecticut. A lot of pro tennis players are big time rich (there are two daughters of billionaires on the tour) so it’s worth noting and giving all the kudos when someone has the grit to make it in professional tennis without significant financial backing. Though I bet he’d like to hear a new story about himself like 2025 US Open champion. Taylor Townsend is a decorated doubles player but she had a really exciting singles win today. You might have seen it online, her opponent threw a fit claiming she was encouraging the crowd’s bad behavior. At a tennis tournament, the crowd is supposed to have a certain etiquette (see country club sport) and be quiet during key moments of play. Because tennis is basically like chess with more sweat, players will try to get the crowd on their side to mess up their opponent’s mental game. It can get dicey at the US Open where the crowd is American, thus, have zero sense of decorum. I’m a new tennis fan so I think crazy crowds are fun but more seasoned fans think the crowds have gotten out of control.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the tennis stars’ girlfriends who are stars in their own right (unfortunately tennis habs (husbands and boyfriends) aren’t really a thing besides Madison Keyes’ husband so I’m gonna focus on the wags (wives and girlfriends). Not to pit women against each other, but if it’s a battle, Morgan Riddle and Ayan Broomfield win. If you love ai-generated images and maga then Tommy Paul’s fiancee will be your star. Fresh in to the wag line-up this year is Ben Shelton’s girlfriend, Trinity Rodman, who’s really just a celebrity/athlete/star in her own right but it’ll be interesting to see how she chooses to integrate herself or stay separate from the general wag population.
Billy Jean King is a very big deal. You’ll hear her name every time you turn on a tennis broadcast. She’s like the World War II of tennis history. Once you scratch deeper, you’ll learn about lots of other important figures (Althea Gibson) but especially in the US Open, you hear about her a lot because the complex is named after her and she sits front row at a lot of matches. She’s like the spiritual figure head of tennis (“pressure is a privilege” is her line and it’s posted on the wall of all the courts at the US Open) and she is responsible for women getting equal prize money to men, which is what makes women’s tennis so absolutely gangster.
The scoring
I played tennis for three months in middle school so I sometimes take for granted understanding the scoring but here’s what you need to know. “Love” is zero. The players switch off serving. If a player is “broken” or it’s a “breakpoint” that means that the person not serving is about to win the game. That’s a big deal because it’s harder to win a game when you’re not serving. “Deuce” means the game is tied and a player has to win by two. Actually - just watch a youtube video.
The streaming
The best way to watch the US Open is with Youtube TV (or your preferred cable provider) and recording all the matches so you can go and watch the ones your interested in on your own time. You should download ATP WTA Live App. It has all the match schedules, live scores and draws (tournament brackets). Just like the Kentucky Derby, the US Open has its own drink- the honey deuce, which you can make while watching.
Something to read
I read The Hypocrite, a novel by Jo Hamya this month. It truly blew me away. It’s about a famous author watching his grown daughter’s play she wrote about him. The time scope of the book and the humanity offered to every single character made me want to stand up and clap. OH I forgot the best part of tennis, which is that it’s the perfect thing to have in the background while reading. You don’t need to hardcore pay attention to the entirety of most tennis matches. They’re great to have simmering in the background while you read and you can really lock in at certain key moments.
Happy tennis and good luck with the end of summer transition!
