Tennis News: Stefanos Tsitsipas, BJK Cup and Wimbledon

Stefanos Tsitsipas had a rough start to his 2023 ATP Finals after losing his first match to Jannik Sinner. No shame in that as Sinner is playing at an extremely high level right now. But what happened in Tsitsipas’ second match might be more troublesome.

After three games against Holger Rune, the Greek was forced to retire with a back injury. Tsitsipas said he first felt the issue when he was warming up and serving. He had quite a bit of pain and said after his retirement from the Rune match that he had a feeling he might not be able to play the entire match.

Back issues, especially for tennis players and tall players, can be long-lasting. Hopefully, this is something that is just a strain, and Tsitsipas, who withdrew from the ATP Finals due to the injury, can return to form in January. Not that the callous Torinese who whistled at Tsitsipas as he walked from the court in pain will care.

Stefanos Tsitsipas forced to retire at the ATP Finals and BJK Cup has a new winner

At the Billie Jean King Cup final this past weekend, Canada won for the first time. But the reason they won was because of Leylah Fernandez and Marina Stakusic. Fernandez won all four of her singles matches during the BJK Cup and looked to be in the same form that carried her to the finals of the 2021 US Open.

Stakusic might have announced herself to the world stage, though. The 18-year-old had never defeated a top-100 player but then won three matches over players ranked in the double-digits over the course of the tournament. She and the rest of her Canadian team will share a winning of $2.4 million.

Wimbledon issues

The All England Lawn and Tennis Club (Wimbledon) is trying to expand its footprint and create a new 8,000-seat stadium along with 38 more outdoor courts. To do so, they need the approval of the London Mayor, plus both councils from Merton and Wandsworth. The new development will stretch into those councils.

Merton seems to be totally OK with the proceedings. The London Mayor probably is too. Wimbledon brings in a lot of money and the Mayor probably likes the money. But Wandsworth? Not so much.

Wandsworth officers have reportedly advised councilors to vote against Wimbledon’s expansion. The officers’ reasons are that the expansion would be an “inappropriate development on Metropolitan Open Land, both by reason of impacts on openness and in principle.” If I had to guess, Wimbledon will be able to expand once some concessions are made.