Bagel Bites

Bagel Bites: Open and Shut

Well sheesh, that escalated quickly!

Courtney Nguyen

Courtney Nguyen

— 16 min read
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Bagel Bites: Open and Shut
Photo by Parastoo Maleki / Unsplash

Internet ephemera from the tennis world and beyond. Have something you want to include? Join the Discord  – we have a really nice and active community growing there – or hmu on Bluesky.

Nadal about Alcaraz's injury: "I’ve had that injury twice in my career, in 2014 and 2016. The best news is that it’s an injury you can fully recover from,it’s not a chronic condition. It’s not something like my foot that will continue to hold him back for the rest of my career; it will heal"
by u/Ornery_Percentage537 in tennis

thank you dr. rafa

  • Let's start with the big news: Carlos Alcaraz is out of the grass season. So that will be a total of two Grand Slams and two Masters that Carlos will have missed due to this wrist injury. Assuming he's good to go for Montreal, that is. Lorenzo Musetti, last year's semifinalist, also withdrew. (BBC)
Sinner’s health won’t keep him being the overwhelming favorite as the sport moves to Paris next week. But it will certainly be something to watch as he negotiates best-of-five in weather that will likely get warmer.

Svitolina, even with her homestretch charge in Rome, hasn’t quite put herself in pole position for Roland Garros. I’d say Aryna Sabalenka and the three women she beat in Rome—Swiatek, Rybakina, and Gauff—are still the favorites. Unlike all of them, Svitolina has never made a Slam final. But she’s a five-time quarterfinalist in Paris, and if she can transfer her energy from Rome to Roland Garros, she could be capable of anything.
  • What a run for the Ukrainians: Marta Kostyuk wins Madrid, Elina wins Rome, and Dayana Yastremska wins the 125K in Parma.

respect for queen of wasia!

Just like last year, Gauff was the runner-up at the Italian Open — a major clay-court warmup for Roland Garros.

“There’s a lot of positives I can take from this tournament and a lot I can learn from,” Gauff said after losing the final in Rome to Elina Svitolina. "This week I experienced all the ups and downs of a tournament...I’ve been down, had the lead, lost the lead, I’ve been in the final, been down match point. I think I’ve experienced every scenario that can prepare me for Roland Garros.

“Hopefully I can actually learn from each scenario and do better.”

let us take a moment to pour one out for kaja, who lost in the second round of qualifying today. sad!

  • Tumaini Carayol goes long with Arthur Fils, who thankfully says he's fit ahead of what should be a raucous return to Roland Garros. Fils withdrew with a back injury in Rome, but tests showed he's good to go. I'm guessing there's a very good chance France's No.1 gets the night-session spotlight at some point during the fortnight. If so, that will be a must-watch spectacle of French pride. (The Guardian)
In his short time on the tour, it has been fascinating to witness so many opponents attempting to test his patience and temper: “Older people are always going to try to teach you some lessons,” he says. “Some of them are pretty good. Some of them are just because of ego. And when it’s because of ego, then they just say that because you are younger and that’s it. Some guys tried to get under my skin because I was young.”

As many of his contentious moments with opponents are relayed to him, including Dan Evans, Alexander Zverev and Thiago Seyboth Wild needling Fils during matches, his mouth slowly forms a mischievous smile. The assertion that he is tough and never backs down instantly provokes a fiery response: “No, no. Hell, no. I never back down from a fight,” he says. “It’s how my dad raised me. My mom as well.

“When guys are talking to me, we’re on the same level. I’m not the kid and they’re not the adult.”
  • Random thought: Is Eva Lys the Zizou Bergs of the WTA? Or is Zizou Bergs the Eva Lys of the ATP?

He wasn't going to be unemployed for long.

  • As much as we, as journalists, would love for credentials to be our Lord-ordained right, they are not. The best way to assure you get credentialed is to apply by the deadline, and if you are denied, to immediately – AND POLITELY AND PROFESSIONALLY – follow up and try to negotiate the denial, knowing full well that you are at the tournament's mercy. If you were late on your application, you are also full well at the tournament's mercy re your late application. Sometimes, tournaments are accommodating! Sometimes they are not! You reputation and, frankly, usefulness can make or break those discretionary decisions!
  • All that is to say: don't be a jackass when applying for credentials and most definitely do NOT be a jackass when your application is denied. Some of you new media folks have not handled that second part well. This is a word of mouth sport and, boy oh boy, does word spread pretty quick!
  • I love how the PTPA source told Kaplan the judge might take offense to being told by the FFT and AELTC that she does not have jurisdiction over EU/UK entities. Lol, no she won't bro. Chances are she'll take more offense to the PTPA wasting her time.
  • Say this louder and cc tennis agents and tennis players and tennis coaches: "TALKING TO PRESS ISN'T A VANITY PROJECT IT'S PUBLIC EDUCATION"
L'Equipe newspaper reported Wednesday that many players competing at Roland Garros, which begins Sunday, are planning to limit their conversations with reporters to 15 minutes during Friday's traditional pre-tournament media day.

The French tennis federation (FFT), which organizes the French Open, said in a statement to The Associated Press that it regrets the players' initiative "which penalizes all stakeholders involved in the tournament: the media, broadcasters, federation staff and the entire tennis community that enthusiastically follows each edition of Roland Garros."
  • Admittedly, I rolled my eyes when I first read the AP story, because it sounded like a pretty half-baked idea. Oh, you’re not going to talk to the independent written press? Well joke’s on you, because the FFT doesn’t care whether you talk to the written press or not.
  • But The Guardian had more details and, frankly, this actually could be an effective way to hit the FFT where it hurts because it could impact their contracts, depending on how it’s implemented.
Players selected to take part in Friday’s opening press conference at Roland Garros will walk out after 15 minutes, symbolising the fact that the slams allocate an average of 15% of their revenues to prize money. The rest of the draw will refuse to conduct additional interviews with the tournament’s main media rights partners, TNT Sports and Eurosport.

A source close to the players said that, after the French Open confirmed this month this year’s prize pot will be €61.7m (£52.6m), locker room talks have led them to respond with what they described as a “work to rule strategy” in Paris, with their off-court activities to be kept to a bare minimum.

The players are understood to have studied the tournament rulebook and concluded they will not be fined as long as they fulfil their contractual obligations to conduct a short flash interview with rights holders after each match.
  • It would have been badass if they committed to skipping the on-court flash interviews as well – dare them to fine all of you! – but it is what it is. Easy for me to say, I guess. Not my money lol.
  • I’m still a bit confused though: press conferences, even in multiple languages, are rarely allowed to go over 10 minutes. The only time they do is for the champion’s press conference. So does this 15 minute thing just apply to the press conference? Or does this apply to the entirety of the player’s media obligations, meaning after 15 minutes from the start of their media rounds (which includes general press conference, national press, approved 1-1 interviews, tournament media, rights holders), they’ll bounce? Cuz if it’s just the press conference then this is pretty hollow lol.
  • By way of background: If the players refuse or limit their time for (1) tournament-sponsored/affiliated media and (2) tournament rights-holders, that is actually how you flex your financial power and, in some cases, cost the FFT actual money. Those organizations have paid big bucks for the right to interview you for their channels, and if the tournament cannot deliver on that contractual promise, those rights-holders are going to be quite angry! And they will let the FFT suits know that! Same goes for tournament-sponsored/affilliated media, namely, the tournament’s own media channels (unclear whether they’re part of the protest). The players’ refusal to speak to these groups would actually affect the FFT’s bottom line. That would be a maximally effective media boycott and it shows that you understand how the money and power moves in this sport. So not speaking to TNT and Eurosport isn’t nothing.
  • If you really want to put your money where your mouth is, then you as a player should just not post or reshare any tournament content throughout the two weeks. Again, the tournament is leveraging YOUR popularity. Shut down that pipeline. If you keep saying “we are the show and there is not tournament without us” this is an additional way to show that. This is fully in your control.
  • What I hope the players understand – and I’m not always convinced they do – is that there is a meaningful difference between the independent press corp and the paid media outlets – whether paid b/c they pay for access (rights holders) or the tournament pays for content (tournament media (website, social, video, influencers). Independent media – almost entirely written press and photographers – are not paid by the tournament to provide coverage or content. Nor do they pay the tournament a dime for access. If your protest means limiting your time with independent press, I think that’s clown behavior. Because THAT does not hurt the FFT’s bottom line. All you’re doing is punching down at people who have zero control or influence over your paycheck.
  • Credit to former WTA CEO Larry Scott – who was at the helm when Venus helped get equal prize money through at Wimbledon – who has been advising the players. There’s been a marked change since he got involved last year. More discipline, more unity, and, well, just smarter. He’s set to talk to Gilles Moretton and Amelie Mauresmo on Friday.
  • Again, I’m excited to see how this actually plays out on Friday.
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  • Aryna Sabalenka gets a digital Vogue cover and a glowing profile, though I did raise an eyebrow at the two instances of defining her against other players, namely Iga – Aryna is not a robot – and Serena – Aryna knows how to apologize.
There has long been more than a whiff of a double standard when it comes to expressed emotion in women’s tennis, and anachronistic notions about what is “ladylike” persist in fan forums and even among some commentators. (Serena Williams faced similar criticisms—for the volume of her shrieks, for the shape of her body, for her temper and her tone in defeat.) The internet has also taken a malevolent pleasure in imagining feuds between women players. Sabalenka and Gauff were quick to quell this fantasy when they teamed up for a TikTok video, dancing together in their tennis whites on Wimbledon’s Centre Court, within a few days of the French Open controversy. By then, Sabalenka had already publicly apologized to Gauff for what had occurred in that infamous press conference. To her credit, she excels at something Williams never mastered: the public mea culpa. And for every spectator whom she alienates, there is another who recognizes a prodigal daughter in those apologies and thinks: Here, among the famous and false, is a genuine human being.
  • Side note to editors, reporters, and influencers: There is a meaningful difference between a Vogue cover and a Vogue digital cover. Saying a player got a cover, when it is in fact a digital cover, is a pretty inaccurate thing to say. There's a reason why getting the print cover of Vogue is a HUGE FRICKIN' DEAL: there are only 12 of them in a year. Exclusivity is the point of the flex.
  • To that point: Carlos' Vanity Fair cover? Legit.
  • Win or lose, Bianca Andreescu remains a compelling personality, story, and athlete. Unfortunately, she bowed out in the second round of Roland Garros qualies on Wednesday. (BBC)
The make-up of the ITF tour tends to be youngsters who are trying to make their mark on the sport, women who were unable to break on to the WTA Tour or players who are using it to regain previous form.

The crowds might be tiny and line judges rare, but competition on the court is fierce.

"The hunger the women had that I was playing against, every match was so difficult, and I feel like maybe on the WTA Tour, the athletes are maybe a bit more comfortable with certain things," Andreescu says.

"Certain things are getting paid for [on the WTA Tour]. But on that [ITF] level, nothing's getting paid for, and you're barely breaking even. I was there too at one point, so I know how it is.

"I don't want people to get the idea that the ITF tour is Mickey Mouse compared to the WTA Tour, because that's not the case.

"I feel a lot of admiration and respect for the women that continue to grind on the tour, because it's not easy, even on the WTA Tour, it's just not easy."

if you take prize money and divide by minutes played, mayar might be the lowest paid player in all of professional tennis

  • AI sports graphics are bullshit and terrible and no, you're not fooling anyone. If it’s an artist-made graphic then tag the artist, otherwise we’re allowed to assume otherwise at this point. Just completely embarrassing and fans should absolutely call it out when they see it because CLEARLY these organizations only respond to negative social media. (Front Office Sports)
“I put a lot of weight on my shoulders to make graphics that make people feel good about the brand they represent,” Smiley says. “And that’s the thing I hate about AI the most, people are trying to take out that human nature.”

Both Osborn and Smiley think AI-generated art lacks the distinct identity that a designer brings. Many AI graphics take on the same “grungy” style with a “spray-painted font” that lacks originality, Smiley notes. 

“Sure, you could have somebody put in some very specific prompts and come back with a specific-looking image,” Matheson says. “However, it’s soulless.”

Tracy Austin's reaction killlled me. She's the best.

  • I regret to inform you that the Naomi Osaka jacket is fire and I want it and it's $185 bucks and I'll never have it. (Nike)
Newsletters, live coverage, a one-time magazine: The World Cup is becoming a testbed for journalism experiments
“It’s one of those huge, gigantic things that sort of go beyond sports. It’s like a life-measurement mechanism.”
Nieman LabNeel Dhanesha
Loverich’s entire profile — along with all of his articles — were scrubbed from Sports Illustrated‘s website.

Speaking to Futurism, Bernstein shared that it was “frustrating” to see his work plagiarized by a high-trafficked brand like Sports Illustrated.

“If someone was plagiarizing my work and no one was actually seeing it, then it would be semi-annoying,” said Bernstein. “But the idea of a plagiarized version showing up in Google over my own version, or someone seeing the plagiarized version and then citing the plagiarized version instead of my own, that’s kind of frustrating.”
  • The internet is dying because that's what the creators and owners of the internet want. Well, to call them the creators and owners of the internet is bullshit because while they might create the products, USERS create the content and therefore USERS do have more power than they think. All that is to say, you can very easily start weaning off the GoogleVerse, starting with divorcing yourself from Google Chrome on all devices.
  • You can migrate over to DuckDuckGo as your default browser and search engine across all devices, which is what I have used for a while now, which not only has increased privacy protections, but it also allows you to disable AI search assistance and hide AI images. It's just flat-out a better search experience. And you can set up a dummy email address that will automatically forward all your email to your current client after stripping it of any email trackers. And yes, you can import all your saved passwords/bookmarks etc and within 30 minutes you're all set up and everything works seamlessly.
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i finished CARELESS PEOPLE. these dorks are absolute chumps.

  • Never let them convince you that slop is inevitable. It may be, it may not be, but we can all do what we can to prove them wrong. If we're wrong then so what, it was inevitable. But at least we fought. And if we're right, god DAMN will that be a good feeling.
  • Bop of the Day: Pipes.

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