Cheers to Jamie Murray on a legendary career and doubles legacy he is leaving behind. He was gracious with his time last year in Dallas and chatted with Will and I for over an hour about the state of doubles. Congrats, Jamie! 🍻
Lindsay Davenport vs. Wim Fissette is an *elite* coaching matchup in this USA vs. Belgium tie at @BJKCup 🇺🇸🇧🇪
“I didn’t get the result I wanted in singles, but winning a doubles title here with a close friend like Andy is a good ending to leave on.”
I wrote about Shelton’s doubles run in Houston…and how more players can lean on doubles as a social and mental reset.
My take from Houston:
Q: “How will you prepare for Ben Shelton’s serve?”
A: “Buy a helmet!”
Fun post-match chat with Brazilians Orlando Luz and Rafael Matos. The No. 1 seeds play Shelton and Andy Andrade for the doubles title in Houston.
Post-match chat with Big Foe last night after his three-set thriller over Alexei Popyrin. Tiafoe is into his 4th straight U.S. Clay semifinal in Houston with a semifinal showdown vs. Tommy Paul today 🇺🇸🇺🇸
Ben Shelton may not win a singles title in Houston this week, but he’s now only 1 win away from his first ATP doubles title.
He and Andy Andrade, former Florida Gator teammates, are into the doubles final. Great turnaround for Shelton after a tough singles loss earlier.
🇺🇸 Four Americans
🇦🇷 Three Argentines
🇦🇺 One Australian
My quarterfinal preview in Houston which features each of top four seeds: Shelton, Tiafoe, Paul, and Tien 🇺🇸
“Having someone like Michael in my corner who’s had so much success and experience on clay has been a game changer. I’ve had some tough practices, but he’s always encouraging me.”
Learner Tien on coach Michael Chang’s influence at @mensclaycourt | #USClay
Frances Tiafoe is the winningest active ATP player in Houston (13-6) and seeks his 4th straight final this year. He’d be the first to do it since Andy Roddick (2001-2005).
My preview ahead of Thursday’s R16 action at US Clay 🧱
Some fun opening day media nuggets in Houston:
Ben: “Doubles is often more fun than singles.”
Tommy: “This is an event I’d never want to skip.”
Mackie: invited his Houston host family to attend his wedding this fall.
Kovacevic: mentioned Djokovic as a mentor given his family’s Serbian roots.
Crossing over into the singles waters this week on the media in Houston 🧱
Here’s my preview in a stacked field with 14 Americans and the last 3 tournament champions in the draw 🇺🇸
2025: Brooksby
2024: Shelton
2023: Tiafoe
mensclaycourt.com/trio-of-us-c...
Taylor Townsend hasn't lost a doubles match since January. After making the AO quarters, she has won 3 straight titles with 2 partners (Hunter in ATX, Siniakova for IW & Miami) and is now on a 14-match win streak.
Not to mention she just won her first Sunshine Double. Wow.
There’s a Sunshine Double on the line for 3 of the 4 finals slated in Miami 😎
Jannik Sinner
Aryna Sabalenka
Katerina Siniakova & Taylor Townsend
That was a rare fist pump and big “come on”from Tommy Paul. This match is funnn
All top 4 women’s doubles seeds are into the Miami semifinals 🔥
No. 2 Katerina Siniakova & Taylor Townsend are also two wins away from completing the Sunshine Double 😎
Everyone needs a hype woman in their box like Coco’s mom, Candi. Such good energy from the Gauff box tonight and a huge 3-set win for Coco over Bencic to book her spot in the Miami semifinals.
Next she plays Karolina Muchova, who she owns 5-0 H2H.
It’s funny to still hear some people say “the WTA field is wide open.”
It’s not wide open at all. There’s a clear top 10 pack with multiple tiers inside. And now multiple HOF-caliber players regularly battling at the deep end of big events.
This is the best WTA field we’ve seen in over a decade.
Katerina Siniakova & Taylor Townsend are into the finals with a dominant win 6-2, 6-2 over No. 1 seeds Sara Errani & Jasmine Paolini.
Kat & Taylor look to win their 1st title together in over a year (2025 Dubai), which is shocking it’s been that long for their standards.
Welcome back, Jack Draper 👋🏼
It’s been so good to see Jack Draper and Arthur Fils back on a tennis court this week competing at a high level. They’re both bringing much-needed life and energy back to the top of the men’s game.
It’s been a tough go for Madison Keys since she won AO last year.
She seems to be playing a Serena-like schedule in this stage of her career (mostly just big events), so it’s hard to gauge where she is week-to-week.
No. 2 Lloyd Glasspool & Julian Cash were quietly eliminated in the first round. Other other top ATP doubles seeds face tough openers against singles stars today:
No. 1 Granollers/Zeballos
vs. Sinner & Opelka
No. 3 Arevalo/Pavic
vs. Djokovic & Tsitsipas
No. 5 Krawietz/Puetz
vs. Tiafoe & Nakashima
No. 6 Erin Routliffe & Asia Muhammad suffer their 4th straight 1R loss, falling 6-2, 6-3 to Siegemund & Panova.
Despite being one of the most hyped new teams of 2026, they’re 3-7 so far.
I’m sensing a potential breakup for clay season unless they get a big result in Miami.
“It suddenly started to feel very real.”
Harri Heliövaara tells his story of being stuck in Dubai, with explosions going off while playing, a failed attempt to cross the UAE/Oman border with his wife and young kids, and the tears when they made it home ⬇️
www.nytimes.com/athletic/709...
As always, the Indian Wells doubles draw is delivering some fun surprises 🔥
Little known fact: Jannik Sinner’s lone ATP doubles title came with Reilly Opelka at the 2021 Atlanta Open. They’re 4-0 together.
How the times have changed since…
Taylor Townsend played 9 matches last week in Austin, flew to Palm Springs on Sunday for IW qualifying, and has since won both of her matches to advance.
Storm Hunter also qualified after winning the ATX dubs title the day before with Townsend.
New story on their unique scheduling journey ⬇️
In Austin, I spoke at length with Taylor Townsend, Storm Hunter, Caty McNally and Kim Birrell…
Four *tennis* players doing their best to manage life on tour when singles and doubles rankings are at odds.
New story from the ATX Open ⬇️
Ever reflective, Venus delivered one of the best lines in press all week about their role as entertainers and the importance of showing up for fans 💯
Highlights from a great post-match press chat with Storm Hunter in Austin:
1. Playing dubs with Maya Joint for Sunshine Double ☀️
2. Takes pride in mentoring younger Aussies to help pay it forward, just as Sam Stosur, Alicia Molik, and Casey Dellacqua did for her when she was coming up on tour 🇦🇺
