I made a surprise and unexpected return to the DC Open, and I am so happy I did. I usually don’t stay for finals weekend at tournaments, and I got a lot of questions as to why when I posted about that.

First is cost. Tickets for the first few days of a tournament are cheaper than the later days, and as a fan I was always cost conscious. You get the best bang for your buck, see the most players, and do it for less. When I started covering tennis as media, I stuck to the same habits. Even though I get free entry to the tournament as media, I am still cost conscious. I am traveling to all these tournaments and putting myself up, and as Ground Pass is still self funded, I can’t afford to be at tournaments the whole time. Also, the fact still holds that it’s easier to talk to players at the start of the tournament than in the later rounds. So that’s the reasoning.

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But it’s still nice to experience the final weekend. It helps me give a full picture to tennis fans who are looking to attend. And what a final weekend it has been.

Alex Eala has completely taken over the DC Open. In the match of the tournament, she defeated Naomi Osaka, then showed up to the Tennis Channel desk to a packed crowd. It’s so great to see fans show up from all over the world for Alex Eala. We have been asking for this sort of player popularity in tennis, and it’s nice to see it in person.

Alex Eala will be meeting Jessica Pegula I the finals on Sunday and both their press conferences were very insightful. I asked Jessica if she hears all the coaching coming from the fans during her matches and Alex if she follows the rankings religiously. Those answers and the full audio of their press conference is below.

Coming for the final weekend also meant I got to talk to some doubles players. With the announcement of the changes the ATP would like to bring to doubles, as a reminder: reduced draws and prize money, I was interested to see how the doubles teams would respond.

And boy did they respond. At the DC Open they have been trialing micing up players during matches, but instead of it being for broadcast, it’s just for social, which has been fun to watch. They tried mic’d up matches a couple of years ago for the broadcast, but to be honest the setup was not that comfortable for the players, and most teams don’t talk all the time. Picking select moments for social works better. I got to talk to Max Gaggino of Backstage Tennis about the new setup. As he points out, this is not a new concept. It’s been done in basketball and football (NFL) for years. Even F1 has team radios that are popular among fans. Trialing it in tennis was a no brainer, and the doubles players are trying to use it to boost their social profiles and help save their category. I am a broken record at this point, but storytelling is the best way to sell a sport, and it’s nice to see its growth in tennis. My quick interview with Austin Krajicek and Nikola Mektic is below, and in a later edition of our newsletter I’ll share my interview with Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool.

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The finals are set at the DC Open: Jessica Pegula v Alex Eala and Taylor Fritz v Rafa Jodar (is it just me, or is Rafa Jodar just Spanish Taylor Fritz?). Whoever wins, it will be a great story. Join me on the next podcast for a full breakdown.

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