Tennis is hard. To succeed you need to be fast, strong, have deft hands and joints of steel. It’s also a solo sport against a single opponent so you need to be a strategist as well as an athlete. The games can go for more than five hours. The elite players compete for large pools of prize money, fiercely defend their rankings and travel the world constantly to maintain their edge. They play for 11 months of the year.
Tennis is also incredibly chic.
And despite the ferocious competition and lonely lifestyle, tennis is in its sweetheart era.
The men’s draw is home to the most wholesome rivalry in living memory. The world No 1 and 2 have been exchanging those rankings for years, they normally play the finals of major competitions against one another and the wildest thing about them? They seem to genuinely like each other.
Carlos Alcaraz is a freakish player, he grew up in a tennis centre in Spain, is elite at every shot, has an ability to be everywhere on the court and has a fierce competitor mindset. He also seems to have the personality of an overly friendly puppy.
Jannik Sinner is a lanky redhead from the Dolomites who belts the ball as if he is trying to hurt it and seems to never lose his composure. He is a generational talent and many excellent players must groan when they see their name next to his on the draw, such is his casual ability to calmly dominate a tennis match. He is trying to make the fox emoji happen, his fans turn up to his matches dressed as carrots. He could have been a competitive skier, but he said the starts were too early and it was too cold – relatable!
But you could forgive him for being delighted when Alcaraz, the man who stands in the way of the only grand slam he hasn’t yet won, the French Open, announced that he had to withdraw with a wrist injury. “Tennis needs Carlos” is what he actually said, while wishing his friend well.
In previous eras the great players would yell and scream and carry on (I loved this era too) or perform psychological warfare on their opponents during their matches. Not these two. They’re human, they constantly congratulate each other, seem genuinely friendly with each other’s families and staff and both speak about how their rivalry makes them better players.
In fact, they have even copped criticism for being too close. After Jannik won the Monte-Carlo Masters (think fluoro orange clay and sweeping Mediterranean views, yachts cruising by, tell me it’s not the most chic sport!) part of the victor’s ritual was to dive off a high diving board in full display of the press. Carlos was walking back to his room and casually turned up to watch Jannik briefly chicken out, then dive in and film it, like the friendly king he is. This was apparently a sign to some that he was satisfied with losing and needs to harden up. Personally I love to see professional athletes with a gentle side.
I had the profound joy of watching both players at the Australian Open this year. Carlos’s opponent pulled every trick in the book to try and disrupt his domination, including two controversial underarm serves in a row. Some consider them unsporting, Carlos had a smile on his face, scrambling like mad and casually hitting winners in response.
I was there as Jannik suffered through the infamous heatstroke incident. I watched the defending champion and noted tennis robot stumble around the court like a newborn foal, while sweating through my clothes seated in the shade with a cool drink. He managed to return to win that match, which to my mind shows that you can be gentle, considered and kind and also have unthinkable mental fortitude.
Australia is also contributing to tennis’s sweetheart era with our precious Alex de Minaur, who has the general demeanour of not being able to hurt a fly, while crushing players’ hopes and dreams on the tennis court on the regular.
As a tennis fan, I am loving these sweethearts and their approach to the game that demands so much of them. Tennis has had rivalries before and this era-defining rivalry is unlike all of them. I want them both to win.
Emily Mulligan is a writer based in Sydney
