MARVELOUS MAC – McDonald Loses a Match But Gains Our Hearts
Bill Simons Melbourne The boy first picked up a tennis racket on an island – Alameda, California. He learned at a resort under palm trees from a pro named Rosie (Bareis) and went to a celebrated...
View ArticleAUSSIE OPEN BUZZ: Never Mind a Boy Named Sue, How ’bout a Tennis Player Named...
Bill Simons MELBOURNE – NICK AT NIGHT: The gloriously talented Nick Kyrgios, who has been said to be the greatest athlete to come into the men’s game since Federer, scored an emotional four-set win...
View ArticleAUSTRALIAN OPEN BUZZ: It’s a Free-Form Jazz Exploration Out There
NICK AND PANCHO – REBELS WITH A SERVE: He blasts, he flicks, he broods. He’s Nick. He combines flash power with a jazzy spontaneity like no other player ever. Whoosh – he slaps forehands and blasts...
View ArticleAUSTRALIAN OPEN FLASHBACK: The Most Beautiful Tennis Match Ever Played
With Roger Federer set to face Tomas Berdych in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, the time is right to flash back to Federer’s glorious win over Berdych at last year’s Aussie Open: ROGER’S...
View ArticleAUSTRALIAN OPEN – TENNYS IS NOT DEAD
MELBOURNE— American tennis was dead. But Tennys is alive and kicking. Let me explain. Just a week ago the US endured one of its worst starts in Slam history, when 14 American women went packing in the...
View ArticleAUSTRALIAN OPEN – TENNYS AND POLITICS
Tennis is a simple game. Get the ball over the net, don’t double fault. That’s about it – just a sport – not! Tennis is not only an international sport played by men and women aged five to 95. It...
View ArticleA SAD DAY FOR TENNYS
Bill Simons MELBOURNE – Maybe I shouldn’t, but I take my role seriously. Sure, I’m just a lowly tennis writer and sports are merely games. One of my favorite quotes came decades ago when Jantzen...
View ArticleAUSTRALIAN OPEN: Is Roger Human?
Bill Simons Melbourne – In preparation for reporting a story on a Korean tennis player, I watched a documentary on Hyeon Chung’s homeland. It reported that 65 years ago Korea was “a country of abject...
View ArticleWOZ CONQUERS OZ
Caroline Wozniacki and Simona Halep were two boxers. In and out, probing and battling, hitting out, then suffering painful jabs. Each was on the ropes – then off. Each would wrest control – seemingly...
View ArticleALL THAT’S GOULD GLITTERS – After 51 Years, Stanford’s Legendary Dick Gould...
Bill Simons I admit it – it was a major character flaw. In 1980, as I was starting Inside Tennis, I heard all these fabulous comments about Stanford coach Dick Gould. “That guy’s a legend – none...
View ArticleNELSON MANDELA, ARTHUR ASHE AND THE TRANSFORMATIVE POWER OF SPORTS
On the 25th anniversary of Arthur Ashe’s passing, here again is our reflection on the unique connection between Ashe and the singular Nelson Mandela: By Bill Simons Our great figures, those who touch...
View ArticleUNFATHOMABLE: TYLER NII, 1990-2018
The adventurous kid from the San Jose neighborhood headed off on a grand, solo journey. Tyler Nii, a popular Bay Area tennis teacher, journeyed to New Zealand’s distant South Island. He would never...
View ArticleTHE DESERT BLOOMS: The World’s Best Come to Indian Wells’ Garden
FED: The Swiss fellow who can’t help but astonish us is obviously a mountain guy. But, with a home in Dubai and his love of the Coachella Valley, it’s clear he’s also into deserts. Bring on the heat!...
View ArticleROGER KNOWS THE WAY TO SAN JOSE – A Bay Area Tennis Night Like No Other
SAN JOSE— Bill Simons Peak experiences. To many, that’s what life is about. So some run marathons. Others climb mountains. For tennis players it can be a matter of winning the club championship or...
View ArticleNICK KYRGIOS – Tennis’ Endearing Rebel Without a Cause Is the Most...
Bill Simons MELBOURNE—Rebels have their appeal. Whether you prefer John Lennon, the feel-good dreamer, or Vladimir Lenin, the Russian rabble-rouser, whether you fancy rebels with a cause from Joan of...
View ArticleBNP PARIBAS OPEN: HOT SHOTS – FAN EDITION
They call it Tennis Paradise and it’s in bloom this year. The BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden offers fans a chance to see the top pros up close, all against a gorgeous desert...
View ArticleSAVE THE SOUL OF TENNIS – SAVE THE DAVIS CUP
By Bill Simons AN OPEN LETTER TO MY FRIEND, ITF PRESIDENT DAVE HAGGERTY Dear Dave, As writer Thomas Moore suggests, “The soul is not a thing. It represents an area of experience that conveys...
View ArticleVAMOS RAFA! Embracing the Genius of Nadal
Does any athlete have more gestures and tweaks than Rafa? Time and again we see his endearing rituals. He obsessively arranges his bottles by his bench. Like Steph Curry, he sprints out when he first...
View ArticleFROM UNDER-THE-TABLE PAYMENT TO OVER-THE-TOP JOY – Celebrating 50 Years of...
Back in the 1950s when a man of means was asked his profession, he might well reply, “Gentleman.” It was an era where Victorian amateur ethics still flourished and were celebrated as the end-all in...
View Article50 YEARS OF OPEN TENNIS – A Dozen Trends
A DOZEN TRENDS 1. GLOBALIZATION: Until well into the Open Era, the game’s foremost players were, with two exceptions, white. English, with a smattering of French, prevailed. Year-end tourneys were at...
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