Evelyn Reynolds

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    A Tennis Reporter on Familiar Grounds

    Matthew Futterman, a Sports journalist, reflects on his many years attending, and later, covering, the Grand Slam tournament in Flushing, Queens.Times Insider explains who we are and what we do and delivers behind-the-scenes insights into how our journalism comes together.As a reporter who covers tennis for The New York Times, I am often asked which of the four Grand Slam tournaments — the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon or the U.S. Open — is my favorite.I admit I’m biased, as I’ve lived in New York most of my life. But my answer has never wavered: the U.S. Open.I’ve been coming to the tournament since 1978; I was a 9-year-old tennis-head who grew up in Westchester County during the American tennis boom. The tournament had just moved from the West Side Tennis Club at Forest Hills to what is now the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows Corona Park.I remember scant details about that first tournament. My parents took my two brothers and me. We sat way up in the red bleachers of Louis Armstrong Stadium, the venue’s main arena. It was hot and breezy, as it often is when you’re a stone’s throw from Flushing Bay. Roscoe Tanner was playing. He could serve the ball 150 miles an hour in spite of racket technology that is now considered ancient.The coolest thing about that stadium, which was later renovated, and then torn down and replaced, was that if you climbed to the top of the bleachers, you could lean over a railing and watch the action on the Grandstand court about 150 feet below. It seemed incredibly unsafe. But it was also awesome in the way that so much of New York in the 1970s and ’80s was — it felt dangerous and wonderful all at once.One year, my brother and I snagged seats a few rows up from the court on the Grandstand and watched Vitas Gerulaitis win an epic match in an early round. Gerulaitis, who died of carbon monoxide poisoning in 1994, was one of the great New Yorkers, a Long Island boy with shoulder-length blond curly hair. The little bandbox of a stadium was teeming with fans screaming their lungs out for him.Like Gerulaitis, John McEnroe, another tennis great, grew up playing at the Port Washington Tennis Academy on Long Island. I knew people who knew them. An older cousin used to tell me stories of leaving Studio 54 at 2 a.m., just as Gerulaitis and his posse, which sometimes included Bjorn Borg, were entering the club. New York felt like the center of the tennis universe.In my 30s, I became a sportswriter and eventually a specialist who mostly covers tennis and the Olympics. Most people think I have one of the world’s greatest jobs. They’re not wrong. I typically spend about three months a year on the road, covering the major tennis tournaments and a handful of other sporting events. The two weeks when I get to sleep in my own bed in Manhattan and cover the U.S. Open are extra special.All the Grand Slams are great in their own ways, with many wonderful people, including new and longtime volunteers, who make them possible.I’m not sure any nation’s fans relish sport as much as the Aussies. The French Open has those beautiful red clay courts. Wimbledon has the tradition, but there is also the Royal Box, where princes and queens sit. But monarchies aren’t really my thing.Matthew Futterman at the U.S. Open, his annual pilgrimage.Gabriela Bhaskar for The New York TimesThe U.S. Open is how I think tennis should be: welcoming, with limited emphasis on staid decorum. The tournament is largely removed from its reputation as an elitist sport for the rich.We have Billie Jean King, Arthur Ashe, the Williams Sisters, Frances Tiafoe, Coco Gauff and many others to thank for that. It also helps that the country’s signature tennis event happens in a public park, rather than a private club.The stadiums aren’t hallowed grounds but utilitarian concrete boxes. Yes, there are some fancier, corporate enclaves and very pricey cocktails, but there is a lot about the space that signals inclusion; the complex is named for King, a woman who proudly identifies as lesbian, and its main stadium honors Ashe, a Black man and civil rights activist. Look around the grounds on a busy day and the place somewhat resembles the city that hosts it.Shortly after the tournament ends, you can reserve a time and play with your buddies on those same courts. I’ve hit plenty of balls there. I’ve watched one of my kids practice and play matches there. Try doing that at the All England Club.This year’s tournament is steaming toward the finish. So many of the big names have played deep into the tournament: Djokovic. Alcaraz. Gauff. I will be in the lower bowl, about 10 rows up from the court, for the men’s and women’s finals — two of my favorite days of the year — though the other 12 days of the tournament are sometimes even better.Shortly after the tournament ends, I will be shifting to The Athletic, the sports website that The Times owns, which will take over the traditional sports coverage for the company this month.I don’t know how many years I’ve attended the Open since 1978. Most would be a very safe bet, including in 2020, after New York had become a hot spot for the coronavirus, when I was one of a tiny handful of journalists permitted on site for the Open. It was like reporting from the surface of the moon.Thankfully, at The Athletic, I’ll continue to do what I do, including, of course, covering those other Slams and the U.S. Open every year, chasing the stories of agony and ecstasy that this beautiful and cruel sport always produces.Tennis, anyone? More

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    Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka to Meet in U.S. Open Final

    After a lengthy delay caused by protesters, Gauff and Sabalenka emerged as winners. Both will play the first U.S. Open final and second major final of their career.They grow up fast these days, and none faster than Coco Gauff.In early July, she was a shaky tennis teenager possibly heading into the sport’s wilderness, struggling to answer questions about how someone who had once appeared so precocious, so destined for greatness, could still be waiting for her big moment.In September, she is a U.S. Open finalist, the star attraction of her home Grand Slam tournament and the new face of her sport in America.Gauff, the 19-year-old prodigy from steamy South Florida, beat Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic, 6-4, 7-5, to reach her first U.S. Open singles final on a warm and heavy Thursday night at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Gauff had been tested as never before by Muchova’s all-court game and the strangest of atmospherics, but in the end the night went her way in front a crowd that exploded for her over and over along the way.“Some of those points were so loud I don’t know if my ears are going to be OK,” she said in her on-court interview.Aryna Sabalenka beat Madison Keys, 0-6, 7-6 (1), 7-6 (10-5).Hiroko Masuike/The New York TimesGauff will face Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus in the final. Sabalenka, who will become the world No. 1 when the new rankings come out next week, clinched her spot in a topsy-turvy, three-set slugfest against Madison Keys, 0-6, 7-6 (1), 7-6 (10-5), that stretched until nearly 1 a.m. Keys served for the match at 5-4 in the second set and was up a service break midway through the third. But she could not get across the finish line to set up an all-American final, as Sabalenka’s error-strewn power game proved just good enough.“Amazing player,” Sabalenka said of Gauff. “I’ll be fighting for every point.”Gauff was controlling her match when a climate protest early in the second set caused a nearly 50-minute delay. The New York Police Department and security officials struggled to remove protesters, one of whom had used an adhesive to glue his feet to the concrete in an upper level of the stadium.Gauff had won the first set and led 1-0 in the second when protesters interrupted the match.Michelle V. Agins/The New York TimesAt the time of the interruption, Gauff held a lead of 6-4, 1-0 and was playing as well as she needed to take advantage of a seemingly tight Muchova, who played with a black compression sleeve covering her right arm from her biceps to her wrist and, she said, tape beneath the sleeve.During the delay, Gauff and Muchova headed off the court and tried to stay loose in the locker room and the warm-up area. Muchova got a massage and jogged lightly in the hallway outside the locker room. Gauff, seemingly loose, wandered over to a worker from the United States Tennis Association and leaned over to see pictures of the protesters circulating on social media.She said later that she woke up Thursday morning thinking that a climate protest might break out, as they had at the French Open in 2022 and Wimbledon this year.Maybe that was a premonition. Maybe it was preparation by a player with a reputation for always doing her homework. She earned her diploma on time in the spring of last year despite spending all her high school years on the pro tour. She and her family celebrated in Paris, then she won six matches at the French Open before losing to the world No. 1, Iga Swiatek, in the final on a day when she said the moment overwhelmed her.The delay on Thursday took the early juice out of a capacity crowd of nearly 24,000 fans who arrived ready to celebrate a new American tennis queen a year after watching Serena Williams play her last match, signaling the end of an era for American tennis.Over the past four years, Gauff has evolved into the most likely candidate to fill the void, breaking out at Wimbledon when she was 15 and making her French Open run last year. Since then, though, her progress seemed to stall, especially on the big stages, and she had yet to move past the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open, the tournament where the spotlight shines brighter on her than anywhere else.Gauff made her second career major final. She lost the 2022 French Open championship match to Iga Swiatek of Poland.Hiroko Masuike/The New York Times“I’m having way more fun than I was three years ago,” she said.Two months ago, this run, and a championship that is now one match away, didn’t seem possible, but Thursday night Gauff showed every reason it suddenly is. She has long had so many of the tools needed to join the sport’s elite — a dangerous serve, a tough-as-nails backhand, and the speed and athleticism that combine for the best court coverage in the women’s game.In the past five weeks, she has learned just how to use those tools, stabilizing the shaky forehand that was her nemesis. Against Muchova, she mixed power forehands with looping ones, and she hammered serves while also slicing some into the corners. She cut backhands and charged the net. She took control of points and rallied with Muchova until the Czech star fumbled them away. She got her first match point on a feathered drop shot.“She’s moving well, she really gets that extra point back,” Muchova said of Gauff. “So you have to be focused and finish points. You have to be really there on the court and then see where she is running. You have to think where to put the ball to finish it at the net or try to play it earlier.”Gauff wobbled midway through the first set, losing three straight games after taking a 5-1 lead as Muchova started to hit out and pushed Gauff onto her heels. Gauff lost her serve once more as she tried to close out the match at 5-3 in the second.It would take another three games; one more break of Muchova’s serve; five more match points; a nearly endless, penultimate lung-busting, 40-shot rally filled with a slew of shots hit within inches of the net; and moon balls that floated 10 feet above it.Gauff had inklings both before and in the middle of that marathon point. She said she knew a point like that was coming, and knew that she had both the legs and the lungs for it and that it would just be a matter of patience. As the balls flew back and forth, she began to think that this point would change the match, and if she could win it, Muchova would not be able to survive yet another long test on the next match point.“She was definitely going to go for the winner or miss,” she said. “That’s what happened.”Gauff fought off one last sharp serve from Muchova and hung on until one last backhand sailed long.New York has been hers since her first match of the tournament, and now this night, and a spot in the finals, was hers, too. More

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    Climate Protesters Stop U.S. Open Semifinal Match

    The delay of 49 minutes during the match between Coco Gauff and Karolina Muchova was caused by environmental protesters, including one who glued his feet to the ground.As the protesters chanted, many other attendees booed the disruption.Mike Segar/ReutersThe U.S. Open semifinal match on Thursday night between Coco Gauff and Karolina Muchova was delayed by 49 minutes early in the second set by four environmental protesters in the upper levels of Arthur Ashe Stadium who were calling for an end to fossil fuels. One protester glued his bare feet to the ground.The protest confused fans, television commentators and the players themselves, who were trying to understand what the group was protesting and why the match had been delayed so long. When play stopped, Gauff, the eventual winner, was leading, 6-4, 1-0. Both players left the court.As stadium security tried to remove the protesters from the stadium, at least 10 New York City police officers were seen surrounding the disturbance in the loge level.Chris Widmaier, a spokesman for the United States Tennis Association, which hosts the U.S. Open, said after the match that three of the four protesters were escorted out of the stadium without any issues. But police officers and medical personnel were brought in to safely remove the fourth protester who had affixed his feet to the cement floor with some sort of product, Widmaier said.“We plan for it,” Widmaier said. “We prepare for a lot of things. To my knowledge, this kind of protest seems to be happening at other places. We are very aware of environmental protests. It happened at Wimbledon. It happened at the Citi Open.” The Open, especially in its late rounds, is among the more expensive sporting events in New York City, and attracts an affluent crowd of New Yorkers, tennis fans and celebrities.The U.S. Open had a designated area for protests outside the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, so long as groups have a permit, Widmaier said.A spokesman for the New York Police Department said four protesters inside Arthur Ashe Stadium were taken into police custody “without incident.”It was unclear whether the police had charged the demonstrators. The protest was still under investigation late Thursday night, the spokesman said.It was also unclear how security and the police officers were able to unstick the man’s feet from the stadium floor.As the delay went on, several people in the crowd were heard chanting, “Kick them out,” referring to the protesters.Given the history of similar protests at tennis matches, Gauff told reporters after the match that she had a feeling there would be a protest at the U.S. Open. Gauff said she didn’t know exactly what the protesters were calling for, but added that she believes in climate change.“I think there’s things that we can do better,” Gauff said. “But I prefer it not happening in my match.”Muchova said after her loss that the delay “obviously changed the rhythm” of the match.“It is what it is,” Muchova said. “What can we do about it?”At about 8:50 p.m., about 45 minutes into the delay, the players returned to the court to warm up.A protester glued his bare feet to the floor in the stands, Stacey Allaster, the U.S. Open tournament director, said in a television interview.Elsa/Getty ImagesThis was not the first instance of an environmental protest at a major tennis tournament this year. At Wimbledon in July, environmental protesters halted play during a match by throwing confetti onto a grass court. In 2022 at the Rod Laver Cup in London, a protester set fire to his arm after running onto the court during a match, briefly setting fire to the playing surface.Extinction Rebellion NYC, an environmental activist group, said in a statement after the delay that its activists were there to call for an end to fossil fuels, and that there is “no tennis on a dead planet.”Miles Grant, an Extinction Rebellion spokesman, said in a phone interview that the protesters at the U.S. Open were safely escorted off the tennis grounds.“They were not hurt,” he said. “That was really important to us.”Grant, who was not at the U.S. Open on Thursday, said in an earlier statement that “the climate is already more disruptive than any activists can possibly be.”“Just look at the U.S. Open and other big tennis events — year after year, the average temperatures have been rising, making it hotter and more dangerous for the players and spectators,” Grant said. “At some point, there will be fewer outdoor sporting events due to excessive heat.”The scene at Arthur Ashe Stadium after protesters caused a delay.Hiroko Masuike/The New York TimesThe group’s protest came as players at the U.S. Open have been forced to contend with some of the hottest weather of the tournament, with temperatures this week rising into the 90s and humidity making it feel even hotter at times. Highs in New York this week have been about 10 degrees above normal for this time of the year, according to the National Weather Service.Nicole Andersen, a nutritionist from Brooklyn, was sitting about 12 rows behind the protesters in Section 114 of the loge level. Initially, Andersen said she thought they were cheering loudly for Gauff.“Then we realized it was some kind of protest,” Andersen said. “Then they would not shut up and stop.”Andersen said that climate issues are “certainly a problem,” but added that the protesters at the match may have chosen “not the most effective way to protest for change.”During the delay, Gauff and Muchova tried to stay warm and loose in the locker room and the warm-up area. Muchova got a massage and jogged lightly in the hallway. Gauff talked with tournaments workers, leaning over to see pictures of the protesters circulating on social media.On the broadcast, Gauff could be heard telling her coaches that security and police were “negotiating” with the protesters, “like it’s a hostage situation.”An announcement of the delay at Arthur Ashe Stadium.Hiroko Masuike/The New York TimesBy 8:55 p.m., the players resumed the match, with Muchova to serve down 1-0 in the second set. Gauff went on to win the set, 7-5, and advance to her first U.S. Open singles final.Gauff’s matches during the tournament have drawn many boldface names and Thursday night was no exception. Lin-Manuel Miranda, the Broadway writer and performer, Julius Randle, the Knicks star forward, and Naomi Osaka, the four-time Grand Slam singles champion, like all in attendance, got more than a tennis match.Gauff will now play Aryna Sabalenka, who beat Madison Keys in the night’s second semifinal at Ashe Stadium, in their singles final set for Saturday afternoon.Orlando Mayorquin More

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    Coco Gauff Plays Karolina Muchova in US Open Semifinal Thursday

    Gauff, 19, is one match win away from making the U.S. Open singles final for the first time in her career.Two American women will play on Thursday for spots in the U.S. Open final.One, Coco Gauff, the No. 6 seed, will play in the semifinals against 10th-seeded Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic. On the other side of the draw, 17th-seeded Madison Keys of the United States will face off against second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, this year’s Australian Open champion.Much of the spotlight in this tournament has been on Gauff, 19, in part for how far she has advanced on the tour while still a teenager. She reached the French Open final last year, and she is the first American teenager to reach the U.S. Open semifinals since Serena Williams did it in 2001.To reach the final, Gauff will need to defeat Muchova, who reached the French Open final this year.Here’s what to know about the match between Gauff and Muchova, set for Thursday at 7 p.m., Eastern time.How did they get here?Muchova has effectively cruised into the semifinals. Through her first five matches, she has dropped only one set, which came in the fourth round against Wang Xinyu. She advanced to the semifinals after defeating Sorana Cirstea, 6-0, 6-3, in the quarterfinals.Some of Gauff’s matches have gone on longer than she would have liked. She played a full three sets in the first round against Laura Siegemund, in the third round against Elise Mertens and in the fourth round against Caroline Wozniacki. In the quarterfinals, Gauff defeated Jelena Ostapenko, 6-0, 6-2, in just over an hour.Gauff says she’s feeling fresh.Gauff has spent a lot of time on court this tournament. In the single’s draw alone, she has played 9 hours 19 minutes. She has also played four matches through the quarterfinals in the women’s doubles draw with her partner, Jessica Pegula. She also played one match in the mixed doubles draw with Jack Sock.But despite all the court time, Gauff said after her victory over Ostapenko that she has been working to build her endurance for the later stages of Grand Slam tournaments.“I’m still in the mind-set that I’m in the beginning of the tournament,” Gauff said. “I just feel so fresh, to be honest. I don’t know if it’s because I’ve been tricking myself or maybe when this is over I’m going to hit a wall. But I’m really proud of how I’m able to get through these matches.”Gauff beat Muchova recently.Gauff and Muchova have played each other only once. That match was in August in the final of the Western & Southern Open in Ohio, which Gauff won, 6-3, 6-4.Gauff said she was going to plan a different approach to playing Muchova this time because she thought Muchova was struggling physically in that match.“I don’t think that will be the case again,” Gauff said.Muchova didn’t want to reveal too much about her tactics against Gauff in the semifinal, saying she would focus on her own game. But Muchova said she knows Gauff has several tools to use in matches.“She’s very athletic,” Muchova said. “She never gives up, runs for every ball, doesn’t do many mistakes. She has kind of all the strokes.”Both players have reached a Grand Slam final.Now they want to win one. Muchova reached the final of the French Open this year, but lost in three sets to Iga Swiatek. Gauff experienced the same thing last year at the French Open, where she also lost the final to Swiatek.But while experience in a Grand Slam final is important, Muchova will also face a loud crowd that will be eager to cheer for an American in Arthur Ashe Stadium on Thursday night.Aryna Sabalenka or Madison Keys will be next.The winner of the Gauff-Muchova match will play the winner of the other semifinal matchup, between Sabalenka and Keys, which follows. Sabalenka is favored to win, but, like Gauff, Keys will have an American crowd backing her in Arthur Ashe.“Of course, they will support her more than me,” Sabalenka said of Keys on Wednesday. “I’ll just try to stay focused and try to play my best tennis.”The women’s final is scheduled for Saturday at 4 p.m. More

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    At the U.S. Open, Stifling Heat Causes Some Players to Lose Their Cool

    An unseasonal stretch of extreme heat and humidity has left the stadiums at the Open sweltering. But a few players, Coco Gauff among them, say the hotter, the better.In most years, there is a very specific climate pattern at the U.S. Open.The tournament starts at the end of the dog days of August, in the lingering heat and humidity of a New York summer. By the final matches, at the end of the first full week of September, it’s a good idea to bring a light sweater or a windbreaker to the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.Not this year. Not even close.A first week filled with cool, breezy afternoons and crisp nights has given way to some of the hottest days — and nights — of the summer, with conditions that have brought some of the fittest athletes in the world nearly to their knees, even when they are playing in twilight and after sunset. It is heat and humidity so oppressive that it parks itself in the brain, sparks fear and makes it difficult to focus on anything else, especially returning serves of 130 miles per hour and chasing forehands and backhands around the court for as many as five hours.Earl Wilson/The New York TimesIt is the first thing that Daniil Medvedev has been thinking of when taking the court for his warm-ups this week, sessions that take place hours before his matches.“I was like, ‘Oh, my God,’” Medvedev said the other day as he prepared to play Alex de Minaur of Australia. Medvedev is from Russia and, like many of the Eastern European players, can become awfully cranky in extreme heat.In a quarterfinal match on Wednesday, he struggled to see the ball and relied on instinct to survive a grinding battle with his countryman and close friend, Andrey Rublev. For the second consecutive day, organizers used a new measure to bring relief — partially closing the roof of Arthur Ashe Stadium to shade the court.“One player gonna die, and they gonna see,” Medvedev muttered in the middle of the match.Even still, after Medvedev prevailed in straight sets in two hours, 47 minutes, he slumped on his chair, draping a towel packed with ice around his neck, his head between his knees, begging for water. Had the match stretched to a fourth set, Medvedev said he would have used the 10-minute break to take a cold shower, even though he knew it might make his body stiff as a board.Gabriela Bhaskar for The New York Times“I didn’t care, I was going for the shower,” said Medvedev, the skin on his face raw hours later from rubbing it with a towel too much.“Brutal,” is how Cliff Drysdale, the longtime tennis commentator for ESPN, described the afternoon.As the planet warms, officials in every warm-weather sport are searching for a balance between safety and maintaining the belief that elite sports demand elite fitness and the ability to win in challenging conditions. International soccer has incorporated water breaks in extreme heat. Track and field has started scheduling marathons at dawn or at night.Tennis, which has become more physical and taxing during the last 20 years thanks to improving racket and string technology and court conditions, is navigating the issue as well.“It’s part of the sport,” Stacey Allaster, the tournament director for the U.S. Open, said of the heat.Frances TiafoeAmir Hamja/The New York TimesBen SheltonAmir Hamja/The New York TimesHiroko Masuike/The New York TimesTennis players are not strangers to extreme temperatures. Their seasons begin in the Australian summer in January, where hot winds from the arid plains can send temperatures into the triple digits and make the tournament feel as though it’s taking place inside an oven. At the Australian Open in Melbourne, shifting winds and temperature swings of 20 to 30 degrees within a few hours are not uncommon.After Australia — though there are a handful of indoor tournaments — the sport essentially spends the next 10 months chasing the sun. There are steamy stops, such as Doha, Dubai, Florida, and Mexico; and even August events in Atlanta, Washington, D.C., and outside Cincinnati ahead of the U.S. Open in New York’s “big heat,” as Novak Djokovic refers to it.This week, that heat has been very big indeed, requiring Allaster; Jake Garner, the tournament referee; and their team of advisers to keep a close eye on the WetBulb Globe Temperature, a measure of the heat stress in direct sunlight, which also takes into account temperature, humidity, wind speed, sun angle and cloud cover.When it rises above 86 degrees, mitigation measures kick in, including the 10-minute break between the second and third sets of the women’s matches and the third and fourth sets of men’s matches.Garner said in an interview on Wednesday that officials this summer decided that when the index hit 90 degrees, he and his team would meet to consider whether to partially close the roofs at its two main stadiums, Louis Armstrong and Arthur Ashe.It crossed that threshold on Tuesday, nearing 92 degrees on the court during Coco Gauff’s quarterfinal win over Jelena Ostapenko. Had that match gone to a third set, the roof would have been partially closed, but Gauff won in straight sets. So officials shaded the court for the next match, Novak Djokovic’s straight sets win over Taylor Fritz.“We both struggled,” Djokovic said. “A lot.”On Tuesday, temperatures became so hot that officials shaded Arthur Ashe Stadium during Novak Djokovic’s quarterfinal victory over Taylor Fritz.Amir Hamja/The New York TimesLater in the afternoon, on one of the field courts, Stephane Houdet, who is participating in the wheelchair tournament, stashed a water bottle in the box near the baseline where players keep their towels, sipping from it between points.“A great idea,” said Brian Hainline, the chairman of the United States Tennis Association, who is a physician and the chief medical officer for the N.C.A.A. The problem for the U.S.T.A. — and, ultimately, the players — is that even with the roofs closed, both stadiums are designed as open-air venues that cannot be sealed. They have air circulation systems that prevent moisture from settling on the court when the roof is closed, rather than fully operational air conditioning systems. On the bright side, the complex is just a stone’s throw from Flushing Bay, and when there is wind coming off the water, it can be cooler there than in many spots in New York City. Unfortunately, the wind has been lifeless in recent days.As players booked their spots in the semifinals set for Thursday and Friday, there seemed to be a clear pattern emerging — Florida. Two of the three women who had made the final four by late Wednesday afternoon, Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka, make their homes there. A third, Madison Keys, who lives in Orlando, claimed the final spot on Wednesday night with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic. Ben Shelton, the 20-year-old with the cannon serve who will play Djokovic in the semifinals on Friday, lives in Gainesville, Fla.Aryna Sabalenka said training in Florida helped her cope with the heat during her quarterfinal win over Zheng Qinwen.Earl Wilson/The New York TimesSabalenka, who grew up in Belarus, hardly a tropical locale, credited her summer training near her home in Miami as she managed to resist wilting in Wednesday’s heat during her win over Zheng Qinwen of China.“What can be worse than Florida?” Sabalenka said.For Gauff, the 19-year-old from Delray Beach, Fla., who has become the darling of the tournament, the heat represents an opportunity to thrive rather than something to merely survive.“The hotter the better,” Gauff, who will face Karolina Muchova, of the rarely hot Czech Republic, on Thursday, has said on more than one occasion.That may be especially true against Muchova. She struggled against Gauff in the Ohio heat last month during the final of the Western & Southern Open. She walked onto the court for the warm-up that day, and said, “Oh, Jesus.”“Ouch,” she said when it was over.On Wednesday, one of Muchova’s coaches, Jaroslav Blazek, said he would have her focus on trying to keep her body cool. Many players have been sticking black hoses that spray cold air under their shirts during the changeovers. But he anticipated the challenge would be as much a mental battle as a physical one.“You should be ready that it’s going to be like in hell,” he said. More

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    Naomi Osaka Makes U.S. Open Return. But Not for Tennis.

    Osaka, the four-time Grand Slam singles champion, has taken breaks from tennis for her mental health and to start a family, but she is aiming to compete again in 2024.Naomi Osaka didn’t bring any rackets with her when she arrived at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on Wednesday afternoon. Osaka had no plans to play tennis.“For me, coming back here, it means a lot,” Osaka, a four-time Grand Slam singles champion, said. “It’s like seeing an old friend that you haven’t seen in a long time.”Osaka was speaking in the main news conference room on Wednesday inside Arthur Ashe Stadium. She knows it well. It’s where she got to field questions from reporters on some of her best occasions, like her U.S. Open championships in 2018 and 2020. It’s also where she has been during low moments, including a first-round exit at last year’s tournament.“There were some tears shed,” Osaka said about the room. “A lot.”On Wednesday, Osaka had returned for a panel with Michael Phelps, the American swimmer who stands as the most decorated Olympian ever; Dr. Vivek Murthy, the surgeon general; and Dr. Brian Hainline, the chief medical officer of the N.C.A.A. and the chairman of the United States Tennis Association board.Michael Phelps, the decorated Olympic swimmer, said in the past he trained more intensely instead of reaching out for help with mental health issues.Hiroko Masuike/The New York TimesThe topic of the panel, mental health and sports, is one that Osaka has spoken about often since she cited mental health concerns in her withdrawal from the French Open in 2021. Her exit then led to a break from tennis.Osaka, who turned pro in 2013 as a teenager and came to be seen as the heir apparent to Serena Williams, is away from tennis now, too. In January she announced she was pregnant but planned to play in the 2024 Australian Open. She gave birth to her daughter in July, calling it on Instagram “a cool little intermission.”On Wednesday, Osaka, 25, said she had plenty of time to reflect during her most recent leave from the sport.“It definitely made me appreciate a lot of things that I took for granted,” she said.Osaka did not say when she planned to return to tennis during the panel, but she later told ESPN in an interview that she had designs on playing in 2024, adding that she has been training and should be hitting balls soon.Speaking back in that room, Osaka alluded to the idea of having a long career.“I just remember watching the Australian Open and being very devastated because I’ve never missed an Australian Open,” Osaka said. But while watching, Osaka said, she thought about how late Serena and Venus Williams played into their careers.Serena Williams, who retired at last year’s U.S. Open, played until she was 40. Venus Williams, 43, played at this year’s tournament, losing in the first round of singles.“I was thinking I probably no way will ever play at their age,” Osaka said. “But sitting here, I’m like, you know what? I might do that.”Osaka said pregnancy gave her a lot of time to think, and that she felt isolated at times. She had to force herself to ask for help.“I actually felt lonely during my pregnancy just because I felt like I wasn’t able to do a lot of things,” she said.She added: “Normally I’m thinking, ‘If I’m going to be an independent woman, then I’m not going to ask anyone for help. Whenever something happens, just take it on the chin.’ But then I got to a place where I needed to ask for help.”For decades, many athletes have been reluctant to share their struggles with their mental health. It’s especially the case for professionals, whose jobs require them to push their bodies to perform at the highest level. But in recent years, athletes have gradually become more open about discussing mental health. Besides Osaka, they include the gymnast Simone Biles, the basketball star Kevin Love, and, in tennis, Amanda Anisimova, the young American once ranked in the top 25 who in May cited mental health concerns in deciding to step away from the sport.Among Olympians, Phelps has also led a push to speak out on mental health.Osaka spoke on a panel with Michael Phelps, third from left; Dr. Vivek Murthy, left, the surgeon general; and Brian Hainline, fourth from left, the chief medical officer of the N.C.A.A. and the chair of the United States Tennis Association board.Hiroko Masuike/The New York TimesPhelps, who has also faced mental health issues, said that, like for Osaka, working through those problems required realizing he had to reach out and ask for help.“I learned that I couldn’t do it all by myself,” Phelps said.After winning six gold medals at the 2004 Athens Games, Phelps entered what he described as a “post-Olympics depression.” But instead of reaching out to someone for help, Phelps said, he compartmentalized his issues by swimming and training more.It wasn’t until about 2014, Phelps said, when he hit a “breaking point.”“I decided that something had to change,” he said. “So for me, I had to become vulnerable for the first time in my life.While Osaka didn’t say exactly when she’ll play again, when she returns the difficulties of life on tour will follow, such as time away from family and the pressure of competing in an individualistic sport. But this time, Osaka said she will be more comfortable seeking help when she needs it.Osaka said that she had two friends she counts on when she is dealing with loneliness.“I know I can reach out to them at any time, and I think it’s really important,” she said. “You’re not alone in anything.” More

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    Ecuavoley, Anyone? Sport of Ecuador Thrives in Shadow of US Open.

    Each summer, Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens hosts one of the most distinct, continually functioning sporting events in New York City. It features hundreds of players hitting balls, delicious food on offer and spectators sipping drinks while soaking in the entertainment. And on the other side of a fence, there is also a tennis tournament.For virtually as long as the U.S. Open has been held at its current site, families, mostly immigrants from Ecuador, have made the surrounding parkland and parking lots home to their own kind of championships.Their game is known to many as ecuavoley, a brand of three-a-side volleyball believed to have originated in Ecuador, where many consider it a national sport alongside soccer. It is also one of the primary activities in this corner of New York.“This is my game,” Miguel Tenecela, 41, an electrician from Corona, Queens, said between games. “It is in my blood.”Ecuavoley, anyone? An Ecuadorean game that resembles volleyball, ecuavoley is played in Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens, near the site of the U.S. Open. The games are lively, and sometimes bets are wagered.Because of its diversity, Queens is sometimes called the world’s borough, but some areas enjoy a pronounced Ecuadorean flavor. Some estimate the number of people in Queens originally from the Andean country at well over 100,000, with many concentrated in Corona, the neighborhood just west of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. And as it is with the U.S. Open, the park is where they showcase their favored sport.Last weekend, Tenecela and many of his friends and family members gathered, as they often do, for hours of ecuavoley, also called voley or boley, a game with Andean roots dating to the 19th century. On Friday, Yarina’s “Rosalia-Ecuador” pumped from a speaker as barbecue grills billowed savory smoke from under the many red and blue canopies surrounding the playing courts.People laughed, children darted around on bicycles and scooters, young parents — including some women in traditional Andean clothing — pushed baby carriages, and players hustled and perspired as spectators cheered. At night, portable lights were hoisted into tree branches, powered by batteries and generators, and money changed hands, the wagering adding some sizzle to the heated competition.Watermelon, mango and grilled chicken are among the foods on offer in the park.Mostly on weekends in the summer, dozens of courts are lined out by thin ropes anchored into the dirt by metal spikes. The courts are carefully placed alongside the New York Hall of Science, near where many tennis fans park their cars before entering the U.S. Open. Some of the tennis enthusiasts glance at the festivities on their walk to the stadiums and see scores of players, many wearing the jerseys of Ecuador’s national soccer team or their favorite club teams, pushing large, highly inflated soccer balls over thin nets.Metal spikes keep the court lines in place, and scores are kept on homemade devices.The ecuavoley games form a parallel universe to the professional tennis being played nearby.At least twice as many canopies, courts and people — ecuavoley and soccer players, spectators and picnickers — were spread across other areas of the park on Sunday, at least a few thousand in all, a parallel sporting universe to the trendier tennis championships on the other side of the tall fences.At night, the ecuavoley courts are lit by portable lights affixed to branches and run by batteries or generators.Years ago, the game was played almost entirely by immigrants from Ecuador. But as people with backgrounds from other countries, like Peru, Mexico and Colombia, saw their Ecuadorean neighbors play the game, some joined. On Sunday, a large Mexican flag was draped over one of the tents. But the vast majority of players last weekend were from places like Cuenca and Chimborazo in Ecuador.“It is very important for our community,” said Arnold Saquipulla, a welder who is from near Cuenca and has been playing ecuavoley in the park for 20 years. “People work hard. This is what we love to do to relax. It keeps us connected.”Food vendors set up shop on weekends to cater to the large crowds.The sport has been especially important for the community after the early weeks of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 ravaged Corona, Elmhurst and other parts of Queens. One in every two people in the neighborhood was diagnosed with Covid-19, according to the city health department, and one in every 160 residents died from it in that area. Many were friends of Teresa Benitez and her family, longtime ecuavoley participants from Corona.“We lost maybe 200 people we knew from here, people who came here to play volleyball with us,” said Benitez, a retail worker. “There was a time I was afraid to look at my phone. I did not want to see another text about someone who was gone. It was terrible.”“Now,” she added, spreading her arms to indicate the entire area of play, “we make sure we enjoy all of this.”During the U.S. Open each year, some minor restrictions are imposed, Benitez said. Some areas are lost to temporary parking lots, and a heightened police and security presence can sometimes limit movement. Still, the games go on.“It’s only a couple of weeks,” Benitez said. “You have to share. It’s the fair thing.”Benitez came to New York from Cuenca in 1982 at age 11 with her family, including her younger sister, Blanca. Back then, people played their special brand of volleyball close to the Willets Point-Shea Stadium subway station on the No. 7 line. Gradually it has grown and moved to other locations nearby.Most of the players are men, but Benitez said her father encouraged her and Blanca to play sports, too, and she passed that on to her children. She loves playing soccer the most, as does her daughter Adriana Tito, a nursing student. Tito won her league championship game in soccer on Sunday morning, then went to the park to play ecuavoley with her mother, father, aunt and family friends. Her knees were scarred and bloodied from both games.“I hate losing,” Tito said with a laugh. “I’ll do whatever it takes to win.”With three players per side, each team is allowed to touch the ball only three times before sending it over the net, which is higher and thinner (more like a banner) than an ordinary volleyball net. Players may carry the ball in their hands a bit longer than in traditional volleyball. The large, hard ball takes its toll on arms and wrists.“When you start playing in the spring, after a long winter with no playing, it can hurt a lot,” said Segundo Roque, 42, a construction worker, who is also originally from near Cuenca. “Now I can only play about six games, then it is too much on the arms.”Games are usually divided into sets of 10 or 12 points, and the first team to win two sets takes the match. On rare occasions, teams stop after one or two sets, which is called medio pollo, or half chicken — a dodgy tactic employed to avoid losing a bet. Tenecela, the electrician, was noticeably sour after an opposing team pulled a medio pollo at one set apiece.“I don’t like playing against people like that,” he sneered. “It’s not the right spirit.”Of course, not everyone shares that passion for ecuavoley. Soccer is fiercely contested across the park, and that is the game that Luis Cueva, 51, prefers.“For me, the volleyball is boring,” said Cueva, a construction worker. “But so many people love it.” More

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    Ben Shelton Beats Tiafoe and Advances to U.S. Open Semifinal

    Shelton, 20, becomes the youngest American man to reach a U.S. Open semifinal since Andy Roddick in 2003.There was a time when a U.S. Open quarterfinal match between two big-hitting American men could just be referred to as “tennis,” rather than as a historic night for the sport in this country.This is the way the home Grand Slam tournament would always be for the country that has won the Davis Cup, the team event contested by several nations, more than any other. But it wasn’t that way, not for 18 years, and then on Tuesday night, two young Black men, Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton, made it so again.They came to it from different places — Tiafoe, the son of a maintenance man at a tennis center in suburban Maryland; Shelton, the son of a former top-60 tour pro who became a highly regarded college coach. During the last year, they have become brothers of a sort, Tiafoe, the 25-year-old veteran who has become one of the tour’s most popular players, guiding the 20-year-old Shelton, who didn’t have a passport a year ago, through his first season as a professional.“Great guy off the court, but on the court a nightmare to deal with,” Shelton said of Tiafoe over the weekend.Shelton’s serves, at nearly 150 miles per hour, have become the buzz of the tournament.Amir Hamja/The New York TimesShelton, the powerful lefty whose serves, at nearly 150 miles per hour, and 112 m.p.h. forehands have become the buzz of the tournament, was right about that.“Ben has wanted to play me at the Open for a long time,” Tiafoe had said in discussing his game plan. “Make him play a lot of balls, just try to make it a really tough night for him.”On a thick, sweaty and breezeless night at Arthur Ashe Stadium that seemed to get hotter as it wore on, Tiafoe and Shelton put on the sort of tight, nervy show that stretched past midnight and into Wednesday morning. The U.S. Open is known for its late-night spectacles, storied battles that only so many can stick with until the end. It wasn’t that way Tuesday and into Wednesday, as the stadium stayed loud and live and Shelton and Tiafoe traded punches and counterpunches from start to finish.When it was over Shelton had prevailed, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (7), 6-2.Shelton struck early, playing the first set like a loose, midcareer pro who had done this before, his arm whipping serves and forehands as Tiafoe appeared tight and sloppy, giving up two service breaks and doing much of Shelton’s work for him.Tiafoe had his serve broken twice in the first set.Amir Hamja/The New York TimesBut then Tiafoe reverted to form, resisting playing the match like a testosterone-fueled hitting contest. He ground out points and games and let Shelton cool off and tighten up, as younger players often do, to draw even.The match turned on a crucial third-set tiebreaker, a seesaw battle that Shelton was on the verge of cruising through before hitting two consecutive double faults. Suddenly Tiafoe, who had given up control of the set a few games before, was on the precipice once more.Barring an injury or some other calamity, Shelton is likely to have plenty of moments like the one that happened next, with Tiafoe a point away from taking a two-sets-to-one lead.There is a specific sound that comes off Shelton’s racket when he lays into a serve or a stroke like only he and Carlos Alcaraz, the world No. 1, can these days. It’s nothing like the familiar thwop of strings hitting a felt ball, but more like a sledgehammer nailing a spike into a railroad tie. Tiafoe’s serve was plenty good. Shelton’s forehand return blasted onto the line inches from the corner. Tiafoe barely moved for it.The match turned on a third-set tiebreaker won by Shelton.Amir Hamja/The New York Times“Sometimes you just have to shut off the brain, close your eyes and just swing,” Shelton said.Two errors later, Shelton had the set and, for all intents and purposes, the match, breaking Tiafoe’s serve in the first game of the fourth set and never looking back.“Left it all out there tonight,” Shelton said. “Emotional battle.”Next up is Novak Djokovic, the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion, in the semifinals on Friday.“Doesn’t get any better than that,” Shelton said.Maybe it will. More