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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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Elise Mertens 14th in the world after Beijing: Jean-Pol predicted it, and 12th too
Elise Mertens, 30, is now world No. 14 in the WTA rankings published Monday, after beating Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek in Beijing and then losing the semi-final to Zheng Qinwen. Her…
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Medvedev calmer off court than on it: the C30.4 says the same of her doubles partner
Disqualified on 5 October in the Beijing semi-final against Novak Djokovic for hitting a ball into a spectator’s head, Daniil Medvedev told BB Tennis he considers himself much calmer in everyday life…
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Mannarino beats a top-10 player, refuses to train less: the C30.4 feels called out
Adrian Mannarino, 38, beat Flavio Cobolli, world number seven, at the Shanghai Masters 1000, his first win over a top-10 player this season, before losing to Karen Khachanov in the third round.…
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Zheng Qinwen wins Beijing with 38% first serves: Jean-Pol saw it coming
Zheng Qinwen beat Mirra Andreeva 7-5, 6-4 in the final of the Beijing WTA 1000 on Sunday. A wild card and world No. 54 at the start, she wins her first WTA…
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Vacherot is Shanghai champion but “not defending”: Maxime looks for the nuance
Monaco’s Valentin Vacherot, last year’s winner in Shanghai, beat Argentina’s Sebastian Baez 6-4, 7-6 in the first round on centre court. He said he was not approaching the tournament as a title…
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Robinson Le Meur, -4/6, gives up tournaments: the C30.4 has done the same for years
Robinson Le Meur, a 23-year-old French player ranked -4/6, tells Ecolosport he sometimes prefers to give up tournaments rather than fly. He finds the French federation’s efforts (FFT), including the Fresque écologique…
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Alcaraz played more golf than tennis at Indian Wells: Maxime looks for the rule book
Guesting in Tomas Martin Etcheverry’s vlog, shot at the ATP 500 in Tokyo, Carlos Alcaraz named Indian Wells as his favourite tournament outside Spain. Asked by Jaume Munar, he cited golf, relaxing…
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Fritz says Shanghai balls wear out too fast: Jean-Pol claims the credit
Taylor Fritz, world No. 12, has criticised the balls at the Shanghai Masters 1000: very fast when new, worn out quickly, according to remarks reported by Championat. He plays Stefanos Tsitsipas in…
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Jodar sidesteps the Ferrero question in Shanghai: Monique calls it good manners
Asked after his win over Tirante (4-6, 6-2, 6-3) at the Shanghai Masters 1000 about possible talks with Juan Carlos Ferrero, Rafael Jodar neither confirmed nor denied them and went through the…
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Musetti beaten by wildcard Yi Zhou in Shanghai: Monique compares with Couvin
Lorenzo Musetti, ranked 25th, lost to local wildcard Yi Zhou at the Shanghai Masters 1000, 7-6(7), 3-6, 7-6(1). The ATP Tour account called it the biggest win of Yi Zhou’s career.
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McEnroe can’t understand why Nadal never broke a racket, and neither can Maxime
Guest on the Spanish radio show El Larguero, John McEnroe said he does not understand how Rafael Nadal never broke a racket in his career. He named Roger Federer and Carlos Alcaraz,…
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Mertens wins a 7-0 tie-break against Swiatek: Maxime discovers the tie-break
Elise Mertens beat Iga Swiatek 7-6, 6-3 in the quarter-final of the WTA 1000 in Beijing, winning the first-set tie-break 7-0, a first against the Pole on the tour. She plays Zheng…
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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.