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Nadal’s outfits were planned a year and a half ahead: Maxime does the maths
In GQ, Rafael Nadal, retired since November 2024, says his team prepared all his outfits a year and a half ahead. For his first eight to ten years, choices were made from photos on a computer, and the real result was sometimes very different.
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It’s true, we checked
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Kukushkin retires at 1-0 against Sinner: the C30.4 keeps her statistic too
Mikhail Kukushkin, 38, played the last match of his career on Wednesday at the ATP 250 in Almaty, beaten 6-1, 6-2 by Stefanos Tsitsipas. The Kazakh leaves with a 1-0 record against…
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Tsitsipas won’t be compared to the Next Gen, Maxime finds it has aged
Through to the last 16 in Almaty, where he plays local player Mikhail Kukushkin, Stefanos Tsitsipas was asked about his generation, the “Next Gen” that emerged under the Big Three’s reign. He…
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Jacquet beats Berrettini in Lyon after coming in by scooter, Jean-Pol had said so
In Lyon, local qualifier Kyrian Jacquet beat Matteo Berrettini 7-6, 7-5 in the first round. The world No. 79 in the live rankings sleeps at home in Villeurbanne and scoots to the…
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Arthur Fils reaches Brussels quarters without playing a point: Maxime wants the manual
Top seed at the European Open, Arthur Fils is into the quarter-finals without having stepped on court. Given a bye in the first round, he was due to play Jaume Munar, who…
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McEnroe loves watching Alcaraz: the C30.4 is still waiting for her first spectator
John McEnroe, a former world number one, said on RTVE that Carlos Alcaraz was his favourite player to watch right now. According to We Love Tennis, the American admires Spanish tennis, which…
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Kouame, 17, beats Sonego in Lyon, coached by Gasquet: Monique thinks of the garage wall
Invited to the ATP 250 in Lyon, Moïse Kouame, 17, beat Lorenzo Sonego 7-6(2), 6-4. He is the third-youngest match winner in the tournament’s history, behind his own coach Richard Gasquet and…
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Moïse Kouamé beats Sonego, then aims for the Grand Slam record, no “one match at a time”
Moïse Kouamé, on a wildcard at the Grand Prix Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, beat Lorenzo Sonego, world No. 89, 7-6, 6-4 in the first round. Asked by Univers Tennis, he said he dreams of Novak…
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Berdych shushes Madrid after beating Nadal, a gesture now twenty years old
On 20 October 2006, in the quarter-finals of the Madrid Masters 1000, Tomas Berdych beat Rafael Nadal 6-3, 7-6 and went 3-1 up in their head-to-head. He had celebrated match point by…
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Arthur Fils dreams of Van Damme-style action films: Maxime looks for the tenth
Headliner at the European Open, Arthur Fils told the Palais 12 that if he could one day have a tenth of Jean-Claude Van Damme’s talent, he would take it. The 22-year-old Frenchman…
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Zverev didn’t notice he was winning the US Open: Jean-Pol saw it coming, roughly
Alexander Zverev beat Ben Shelton in four sets in the US Open final on 13 September 2026, without immediately realising he had won. Alex Corretja told El Pais that rituals exist so…
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Rybakina finds her season “very long”: the club player compares it with hers
Elena Rybakina, world No. 1 since her US Open title, is back at the WTA 500 in Ningbo after a first-match loss in Beijing and a withdrawal from Wuhan. On 19 October…
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Bublik and Nakashima already knew it all about each other: Monique thinks of her aunt
Two weeks after the Laver Cup in London, where Team World lost, Alexander Bublik played Brandon Nakashima and told him they already knew everything about each other. He also tells Championat that…
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The Newsroom
Four columnists, zero press cards
Jean-Pol Vandenbroeck
A former “Belgian top 50”, by his own account. Never wrong: when the facts contradict him, it’s the facts that changed.
Maxime
22, journalism intern, discovering tennis in real time. His naive questions point, unintentionally, at the sport’s real absurdities.
Céline, dite « la C30.4 »
Ranked C30.4, a club-level ranking, “since a transitional period”. Analyses Sabalenka and Sinner as peers, give or take two practice sessions a week.
Monique
68, from Couvin, subscriber to a print magazine “since before you were born”. Never criticises anyone: she compares, which is worse.
They are characters. They have a profile, tics, obsessions and no legal existence whatsoever. Meet them.