Long regarded as a simple appetizer before the main show, qualifying week has now established itself as an event in its own right. Between raw emotions, spectacular innovations, and record attendance, Opening Week is shaking up the codes of world tennis.
In 1973, Billie Jean King did far more than beat Bobby Riggs: she toppled a symbol. Five decades later, the “Battle of the Sexes” is reborn between Aryna Sabalenka and Nick Kyrgios, but this time, the battle seems to have lost its soul.
Social networks have opened an unprecedented era for tennis: one in which notoriety is built as much on the court as on Instagram. But how far can this quest for visibility go without shaking the players’ balance?
Tennis never really stops… or almost. Behind the endless stream of tournaments, champions must learn to stop in order to last. From Federer to Alcaraz, an investigation into those decisive few weeks when everything is at stake: rest, release, and rebirth.
Fiona Ferro overturned Tina Smith and qualified for the round of 16 of the Angers tournament. On her side, Jessika Ponchet was defeated as soon as she entered the competition.
While the war in Ukraine continues, several tennis figures are preparing to step onto Russian courts for a controversial exhibition. Behind the event, a sponsor that disturbs: Gazprom.