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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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Kostyuk reaches the quarters without hitting a ball, and Jean-Pol saw it coming
Top seed at the Guadalajara Open, Marta Kostyuk has qualified for the quarter-finals without playing a single point: a first-round bye, then a walkover when Taylor Townsend withdrew through illness in the…
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A match finished at 3.30am, says Rennae Stubbs, and the club player thinks of court 4
In the podcast episode she devoted to wrapping up the end of the US Open, Rennae Stubbs came back to Carlos Alcaraz’s return to competition. She mentioned a match played until 3.30…
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Mathieu bills the tie as “nice, lovely and real”, Maxime hunts for the difference
Ahead of the Davis Cup second round between Canada and France, in Quebec City, French captain Paul-Henri Mathieu described the tie as “nice”, “lovely” and “real” in a single sentence.
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Darcis promises very physical matches in Vienna, and the club player agrees
Steve Darcis has picked Gauthier Onclin (ATP 164) and Kimmer Coppejans (ATP 223) for Belgium’s Davis Cup tie against Austria, in Vienna on 18 and 19 September, on a clay court he…
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Zverev passes Becker’s 22 wins from 1989, Roland was busy counting titles
Alexander Zverev won the 2026 US Open against Ben Shelton (6-3, 7-6(2), 5-7, 6-2). He is the second German to win the tournament after Boris Becker in 1989, and his 24 Grand…
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Boris Becker defends Zverev on a podcast, Jean-Pol still has no podcast
Alexander Zverev won the 2026 US Open, beating Ben Shelton 6-3, 7-6(2), 5-7, 6-2. A few hours later, Boris Becker took his side on « Becker Petkovic », the podcast he records with Andrea…
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Zverev thought he was serving at 5-1, it was 6-1: the club player knows the feeling
Alexander Zverev won the US Open on Sunday against Ben Shelton. After the final he admitted he had been a game out in the fourth-set count, which is why he did not…
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Rybakina celebrates her US Open title in under ten seconds, Maxime timed it
Elena Rybakina won the US Open on Saturday, beating Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 5-7, 6-2. After the ace that ended the final, she raised her arms and did three small knee bends: a…
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Coria films the tour’s backstage on YouTube, Roland preferred the door shut
Federico Coria, a former world No. 49 now ranked 900th, has announced he will end his career if he does not win a tournament by February. He is also known for his…
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A ring light stops Pegula’s serve, and Maxime goes looking for the rule
In late August, mid-match, Jessica Pegula was disturbed by an influencer’s ring light as she was about to serve on break point. The umpire stopped her serve and the point was cancelled.
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US Open fines add up to $112,500, and the club player converts it into restrings
US Open organisers handed out a total of $112,500 in fines at the 2026 edition, for smashed racquets, verbal abuse and unsportsmanlike conduct. The breakdown was made public on 15 September.
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Zverev at Tao Downtown after the US Open, and Roland reaches for 1980
Alexander Zverev won the 2026 US Open, his second Grand Slam title, as world number two. After the final he was seen at Tao Downtown, a well-known New York nightclub.
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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.