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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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France 2-0 down to Canada, and Maxime looks for worse than the worst case
France trail Canada 2-0 after the opening day of their 2026 Davis Cup second-round tie, on the night of 19 September. Arthur Rinderknech lost to Liam Draxl, ranked 205th (6-2, 7-5), and…
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Gille calls Belgium outsiders in Vienna doubles, Jean-Pol smells a tactic
The Austria-Belgium doubles starts at 11am on Saturday in Vienna: Sander Gillé (ATP D-55) and Joran Vliegen (D-175) face Lucas Miedler (D-24) and Neil Oberleitner (D-41). The winners put their team one…
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Rinderknech says Draxl wasn’t what he’d been told, Maxime hunts the source
Arthur Rinderknech was beaten 6-2, 7-5 by Liam Draxl. Afterwards he said the match was not what he had “heard or understood” about his opponent, and refused to say more.
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Connors says he bounced the ball up to eighteen times, Jean-Pol counts the same
Penalised several times for taking too long over his serve at the 2026 US Open because of his ball bouncing, Alexander Zverev has been backed by Jimmy Connors, who said on his…
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Tsitsipas lands in Košice for a rematch, and the club player knows that third set
Stefanos Tsitsipas has arrived in Košice with Greece to face Slovakia on Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 September, in the first round of Davis Cup World Group I. In 2023, Slovakia won…
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Onclin opens for Belgium because the draw said so, and Maxime wants answers
The Austria-Belgium draw, held on Thursday at the foot of Vienna’s giant Ferris wheel, sends Gauthier Onclin (ATP 164) out first on Friday at 1pm, against Jurij Rodionov (ATP 142).
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Fritz can’t find the US Open balls in any shop, and Jean-Pol saw it coming
Taylor Fritz, the world number 10, has criticised the way balls change from one tournament to the next on the ATP Tour. After his US Open exit against Francisco Cerúndolo, he could…
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Vienna’s clay built like Roland-Garros, and the club player wants the measurements
The Davis Cup play-off between Austria and Belgium is being played on clay in Vienna, in a temporary 4,000-seat build. The court was laid using the same method as Roland-Garros: on top…
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South Korea resurfaced its court before India, Maxime asks if that’s allowed
South Korea host India on Friday 18 and Saturday 19 September at the Seoul Olympic Park Tennis Center, in the second round of Davis Cup qualifying. The hard court was resurfaced before…
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Quarter-finals in another building in Brussels, and the club player knows the drill
The BNP Paribas Fortis European Open, the ATP 250 in Brussels, runs from 17 to 25 October 2026 across two halls at Brussels Expo. The early rounds are at the ING Arena,…
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Mouratoglou says he’s not here to give advice, Jean-Pol recognises a colleague
On 17 September 2026, Patrick Mouratoglou posted a note on his LinkedIn account about the US Open women’s final, lost by Aryna Sabalenka. He writes that emotional management is the only reason…
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Buse says a world No 1000 would beat Rybakina, Maxime hunts for the scorecard
Ignacio Buse, ranked 35th in the world, said on a live stream that a player ranked 1000th would beat Elena Rybakina, the new world No 1, and that he himself would have…
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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.