Bagel Bites: Gimme everything

Tap. Tap. Is this thing on? I sure hope so!

I'm officially back after a fairly long blog-hiatus, which was the result of my time being consumed by actual work at the China Open and Wuhan Open and a fantastic three-week vacation in Tokyo with my family. I came back to California just in time for the end of both WTA and ATP seasons (sorry, I don't count Davis/BJK Cup that's a different thing best of luck to all), but I'll be completely honest with you all: I did not watch a single point from either year-end finals. Real life felt a bit more important and I had a lot of that to catch up on.

Of course, now that tennis is pretty much over, I'm more inclined to lock in lol. This goes to the point Tim Henman makes in a link below: we need more weeks where there is no tennis because how can we miss you if you won't go away?

• This is a good summary of how we got here, but boy oh boy the yelp I yelped when I read this: "Gaudenzi said he understands the criticism, and that he is not wedded to a 12-day format. There will be a review of the expanded tournaments in 2030...." TWENTY THIRTY?????? WE'RE GONNA BE SO OLD, MAN! (The Athletic)
• If you want to go deeper, here's Gaudenzi's press conference from the ATP Finals in Turin. (ASAP Sports)
• The thing is this: he is 1000% correct that creating a schedule that will make every cohort of pro tennis player and tennis fan and tennis tournament owner happy is impossible. If you shift the needle one way, a bunch of stakeholders lose. I genuinely do not think there is a silver bullet solution that does not involve ripping things up in a very meaningful and revolutionary way. Novak is also right when he said y'all shoulda complained and you didn't and now here we are and you kinda have to eat it.

"More than 15 years ago I was talking about us needing to come together and reorganise the schedule," said the 38-year-old, a 24-time Grand Slam champion. "It's an individual sport... at the end of the day you can still make choices," he said. However, "there are people who just don't want to change things in our sport for the better... when it comes to the players' welfare", he added. Players are "still not united enough", or investing enough time and energy into trying to make change happen, he said. "You need the top players, particularly, to sit down and roll up their sleeves and really care," he added.

• Thanks to the no fewer than 14 people who Whatsapped me Tumaini's article. (The Guardian)
• A very entertaining run down the rabbit hole to try and figure out what exactly tennis stat packages are trying to tell us. "Why expect quality? Everything is marketing." Zing! (Defector)
• Thanks to the no fewer than 28 people who Whatsapped me the Andy Murray interview where we learn in the first three minutes that he pees sitting down in front of Kim while brushing his teeth:

• A very thorough breakdown of the WTA's year-end rankings. (WTA)
• A salute to our short king, Alex De Minaur. (The Second Serve)

"Maybe de Minaur’s destiny is not that of David but Fingolfin, the Tolkien character in The Silmarillion who pecked, poked, and punctured the towering evil god Morgoth in single combat before finally dying, and even when being crushed to death still made sure his sword went through Morgoth’s foot. Let’s not forget that Fingolfin was a king himself. Alex followed up his brave stand in Beijing by losing to Sinner in straights in Vienna, though he still broke serve twice, which amounts to worthy resistance given that Sinner dropped serve three times across five matches in his title run in Paris. I still don’t think de Minaur can beat Sinner, but watching him try is becoming kind of fun." 

• LEAVE THE USTA ALONE, ERIC ADAMS, and don't let the door hit you on the way out. (The City)

• I have always been in favor of a tennis media ecosystem that has space for rights holders, broadcasters, journalists, writers, influencers, bloggers, social media, and content creators SO LONG AS that ecosystem is a balanced one. But there is no denying that over the last year, the balance has completely shifted away from written press – aka boring-ass nerds (complimentary) – and in favor of non-traditional media. The result has been a sport that is trying so hard to drift off The Challengers-girlypoppification of tennis that everything just seems...unserious. The beat writers and journalists who actually do the work of driving narratives and reporting are being boxed out by tokkers and grammers and your mileage may vary on whether the results have been for the better or worse. So yeah, I can absolutely understand the frustration expressed here by former ITWA co-president Sebastian Fest. And I suspect that this will become a louder conversation in 2026. Because buckle up, folks, no one – players, tournaments, federations – wants to talk to journalists anymore. And that's a very, very, very bad thing for the health and future of the sport. (Clay Tenis.

• ANYWAY: Here is a perfect picture of Learner Tien, who capped off his incredible breakout season by winning his first ATP title in Metz and finishing inside the Top 30.

• For years I have heard very smart, very convincing, very well-meaning people chastise me for my firm and unwavering belief that the WTA and ATP are better off as separate entities and I'm glad I can now point to a concrete example to illustrate my logic:

"For decades, Silver has complained publicly about the WNBA's lack of popularity and profitability, all while doing very little to invest in its success. Usually, people who own businesses talk them up publicly and laud their successes; instead the NBA has empowered the WNBA's detractors and publicly treated the league as a burden, essentially tanking their own asset. Not coincidentally, these public degradations always ramp up when its time for a new CBA to be bargained – last year, as the WNBA was coming off of one of its most successful seasons ever and players were on the verge of opting out of the current CBA, some NBA owners leaked their frustrations and impatience with the league's financial situation to the media." (CBS Sports)

• Valerie Camillo has been brought on to be the new Chairperson of the WTA and WTA Ventures, taking over from Steve Simon. Reading up on her professional background and a couple of words come up a lot: marketing and revenue. Quite the change in direction when you consider the last few WTA Chairs – Larry Scott, Stacey Allaster, Steve Simon, wait...maybe ALL the WTA Chairs? – came from within tennis with more operational and service-based backgrounds. Not surprising if you've been seeing the winds shift, but notable nonetheless.
• Am I crazy or was this kind of the most predictable thing that could have happened that week? (BBC)
• Congrats to big tennis fan Kevin Nguyen (no relation) on his upcoming – and very timely – book Mỹ Documents, which I requested through my library and you can do the same or pre-order at your local bookstore:

• Can Nike get its swoosh together and, like, be awesome again? (The Guardian)

• Indian Wells is going from Fila to lululemon. (Desert Sun via Yahoo)
• Jess and Jack have committed to Queens, which I only point out so I can use drop this in because it's still very, very funny:

• Becky Sauerbrunn will always be MY captain:

"The proposed “Save Women’s Sports Act” does nothing to protect or support girls and women in sports. If those putting forth this legislation actually listened to the needs and concerns of women in sports, they would outline clear steps to protect women and girls from the rampant sexual assault and harassment plaguing sports — issues we’ve been fighting in the NWSL. They would clarify what’s being done to ensure all institutions in Missouri are Title IX compliant. They would outline a plan to promote equal pay for women athletes. They would ensure young women and girls have equitable resources in sport, especially young women and girls of color. Instead, they’re pushing kids away from the life-changing power of sports, forever depriving them of the invaluable lessons sport teaches, and the best friends they would find on their teams." (Springfield News-Leader)

• Simona Halep sounds like she's at peace and I think that's great. She'll always hold a place in my heart and in my memory. So much of my time in the early WTA Insider days was focused on her turbulent quest to win RG and get No.1. (The National)

• Drew Magary's son wants to be a sports journalist and Drew nailed the advice:

"That brings me to the next big thing I told my son, which was to focus exclusively on the quality of your work. You can’t control the state of any industry, let alone the entire world. All of that shit will do whatever it does. You also can’t worry about competition, in academics or in the workforce, otherwise you’ll just drive yourself nuts. But as an individual, you CAN control whether or not the work you do is up to your learned standards. If you keep high standards, and do work that meets those standards, you’ll build your professional confidence, enough to make you hirable. That ain’t a lock, of course; I know plenty of great journalists who have essentially been forced out of the game. But they knew what the fuck they were doing, and that’ll serve them well in future jobs and, more important, for life in general. Just be someone who knows what they’re doing, and let it play out from there. Because I’m sure that you can make more money as a prospective journalist by selling out and joining a Barstool-funded AI farm … but that’s not a definition of “success” that I subscribe to. The more of us that are driven to become smart, capable, and ethical, the more holistically successful we’ll all be. Oh, and start blogging right now. " (Defector)

• COBRA is really expensive. (USA Today via Yahoo)

• From Discord Harlan: Reem Abulleil reports the ATP's Next Gen Finals will leave Jeddah, with December's staging to be its last. I think it's been a great product for the ATP. Hope it gets picked up and put in a better place in the calendar or integrated into the ATP Finals. (The National)
• Sigh. (BBC)

• From Discord Joe M.: No, I do not know why Jelena Ostapenko is doing this but yes, I am fully supportive of destashing as a concept and way of life. (Reddit)
• From Discord Grey: Sloane Stephens has invested in Project B, a new global women's basketball league. I am fascinated by how all these leagues are going to shake out, but I think the business competition is very good and healthy and will ultimately force the WNBA (NBA?) to do right by these players and accelerate its growith. (Front Office Sports)
• I love listening to people be passionate about something, even if I have no clue what they're talking about. So my favorite podcast moment of the tennis season goes to The Body Serve's incredible deep-dive into Mariah Carey's new album in this October episode (starts at 50:10):

• From Discord KC152: Renee Rapp at the Australian Open? Ok!
• Yalla Habibi! (Instagram)
• Regardless of how you feel about it – and I am and have always been very anti-sports gambling – if you want it to exist "cleanly" in tennis then everyone has to keep talking about it. (Bounces)

• I was delighted to see Felix qualify for ATP Finals. Good for him on making the semifinals. (NY Times)
• Portia Archer says she wants the WTA Finals to renew in Riyadh. Next year is the final year of the initial three-year term. (NY Times)

• One thing that never comes up when we talk about the merits of dominance vs. parity is the fact that context matters. In the post-Big 4 Era, the ATP, in my opinion, absolutely needs a run of dominance to paper over a few cracks and give the tour and fans time to adjust. One thing I don't think people give Iga Swiatek credit for is her 37-match win streak and 2022 dominance in the wake of Ash Barty's retirement. DO YOU KNOW WHAT CHAOS (aka parity) THE WTA WOULD HAVE BEEN FLAILING THROUGH IF SHE DID NOT DO THAT? In the same way, I think what Carlos and Jannik have done is really, really, REALLY good for the ATP and, in a rising tide lifts all boats world, for all of tennis. Similarly, there are times where dominance gets old and you need parity to break things up and inject some life into things. Neither is better than the other. It's just about context. So I do appreciate this read on the current state of the WTA, but I don't think contrasting it to the ATP works. Both tours have what they need going into 2026. That's great.

Women’s tennis, by contrast, now has a rotation of stars defined as much by their self-belief as by their talent, who are repeatedly facing off against each other for the biggest honours. A wide-open field at the start of a major means there is drama from the start, not just in the final weekend; that jeopardy gives the entire tournament a sense of purpose missing from the men’s side. The sense of genuine rivalry, the clashing personalities, the occasional off-court drama, all help too.

So Rybakina’s win over Sabalenka in Riyadh may not have been the most expected result (although given her 10-match win streak going into it, minus a walkover in Tokyo, it probably should have been), but it encapsulated the narrative of the entire year – and provided the perfect cliffhanger. Roll on next season. (The Independent via Yahoo)

• Worst kept secret in tennis, honestly lol. (NY Post via Yahoo)
• Ok that's a cute story from Novak about him first hearing about the existence of Jelena. (NY Post via Yahoo)
• Can someone make me a plate of these? (NY Times)
• Here's a feel-good moment: The Streamer Award nominations, which are fan voted, were announced over the weekend and this woman who has a puzzle channel was nominated and it's so awesome and I hope she wins:

• I've been watching this at least once a week because it makes me so happy and hopeful:

• On that note, Adam Friedland x Lina Khan was a collab I never thought I'd ever see:

• If you prefer your antitrust conversation more adult and serious (no judgment!) you have this also very good option:

• What I'm into these days when I'm not watching Lina Khan interviews on YouTube:
  • ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER is my favorite movie of the year and now that it's on digital I've just been running it on loop 24/7.
  • I got sucked into SUPERMARKET SIMULATOR and have been playing it all night, which has not helped my sleep schedule. I need to ween myself off so I can spend my time finishing ASSASSIN'S CREED: SHADOWS, so I can play GHOST OF YOTEI, CLAIR OBSCUR, and DISPATCH.
  • If you're in the Bay Area and are looking for something to do when the weather is gross, might I recommend The Art of Manga exhibition at the De Young? I had a blast.
  • I had galbijim for the first time and I have not stopped thinking about it. Koreans are incredible.
  • I've decided that 2026 is the year I knuckle down and really do the work to learn Japanese and Mandarin Chinese. I've slowly started Japanese – no, I am not using Duolingo because I'm a serious adult person – and it's been very challenging and very fun. I decided to use the Tobira books and I use the Mango app as well (it's free with my library card). They say what you should do what you can to create an immersive environment where you're hearing the language as much as possible, so I've also started a rewatch of Haikyuu and One Piece. LET'S GOOOO.
  • Chinese is so much more intimidating because of its tonalities so...yeah...I gotta psych myself up for that. I even looked into taking classes at the community college, but I'm not sure I can commit until I figure out what my 2026 travel schedule will actually be.
  • YOOOOOOO the third season of THE DIPLOMAT was CUHRAAAAAAZY. I loved it.
  • I've checked out a bunch of books on J.M.W. Turner.
  • I went to the Tokyo International Pen Show and it was absolutely amazing. I came back with an absurd amount of ink, which I'll probably swatch on a Twitch stream for funzies.
• Speaking of which, there will be Twitch streams coming, starting this upcoming week. Join the Discord or follow me on Twitch for notifications.