Making a Racquet in April
A monthly update for the Tennis Yellow lifestyle.
Welcome to April
There is so much going on in the tennis world, both for the professional players, the fans and the club players. I am certain that the details of each of these topics go way deeper, but here is the surface look.
The Tennis world is in an uproar!
One of my favorite players, Yannik Sinner, is suspended until the Italian Open for using a banned substance in a massage. After reading Maria Sharapova’s book, there is a discussion to be had about banned substances and athletes. This is a complicated topic and I am not sure that the general public gets all of the details of what entails a banned substance, what are the politics of drug testing. Under no circumstance am I ok with “doping” but I would love for the governing bodies of tennis to be more clear as to what these substances are, and why they are dangerous.
Speaking of tennis governing bodies, The Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) has filed lawsuits against major tennis organizations, including the ATP and WTA, alleging antitrust violations and exploitation of players. The PTPA was founded in 2019 by 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic and Canadian player, Vasek Pospisil in 2019. The mandate of the PTPA is to unite and mobilize “tennis players to foster transparency and fairness in professional tennis.” Well, the 250 players that support this action and the leadership at PTPA have their work cut out for them. The PTPA alleges that the governing bodies of tennis, including the ATP, WTA and others, argue that the governing bodies of tennis act as a “cartel” and that they limit player earnings plus that they control the tennis schedule. More than that, the lawsuit specifically criticizes the organizations for capping prize money, restricting off-court earning opportunities, and implementing a demanding tournament schedule that jeopardizes player health. In an interesting correlation to the Jannik Sinner report, the PTPA also accuses the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) of employing overly aggressive and intrusive investigative tactics, including excessive drug testing and invasive searches. I will be following this emerging story with interest. I think that there are a lot of politics at work in the professional tennis world. This is true historically and seemingly, in real time.
One last note about the pro tour. What is going on with Iga Swaitek? Iga is an amazing athlete, but even though she is known to work with a sports psychologist she has been known to play mental games on the court and has been called “unsportsmanlike” by commentators for using stall tactics before serve and weird full body gestures, that looks like she is trying to distract the player during a point. However, at Indian Wells, that bad reputation went to another level when she was booed by the audience when she lost her mind during her match against Mirra Andreeva. In an angry gesture, she hit the ball at the ball kid! Um, hello?! BOO! Starting in October 2024, Swaitek has been working with a new coach, Wim Fisette, but in Indian Wells, she was falling apart. Mental health is a topic that is sometimes touched on by players, but it must be an important component to everyone, both on and off of the tennis court. I hope that Iga Swaitek will get the help that she needs to continue her career in a positive way. It would be a loss to the tennis world, to not have her play, but I contend that bad sportsmanship should not be tolerated for the very reason that it is a show of a mental struggle that needs to be addressed.
Spring Tennis is here!
So, in my neck of the woods, we are starting our 18 and up Spring Season. This is a very exciting season because it holds the opportunity to advance to Districts, Sectionals and possibly Nationals Competition. This is also a great time to consider investing in a team uniform. It is fun to see the teams show up and visibly look aligned. I have been on teams that decide to all wear the same outfit, and I have been on teams that like to select a color and coordinate that way. Whatever way you like to consider, here are some really cool tennis outfits that I think are great looking.
Spring Break
Sometimes Spring Break can be on a beach and sometimes it can be on a ski slope. Also, sometimes a Spring Break can be a staycation! Whatever you are doing for spring break, here are some ideas to help you pack smartly, relax beautifully and organize yourself into a wonderful break.
April 20 is Easter
Easter is one of those holidays that is always on a different day each year. Did you know that Easter is determined as the first Sunday after the full moon that occurs on or after the spring equinox. This year, 2025, Easter Sunday is on April 20. So, there is still plenty of time to plan your Easter festivities.
A tradition that we like to celebrate at our home is what we call, ‘A White Bunny Party’
Basically, think of a white elephant party, with some variations. Here is how we do it.
First, we have an egg hunt. In each plastic egg, there is a number. If I have four people hunting, then I have slips of paper going from 1 to 48, one number in each egg. This means that each hunter will get twelve eggs to open. Then, after they get the eggs, the kids open up the eggs to see what number they will draw a prize. There is a collection of 48 goodies on the table (I usually put a sheet over the collection to avert early peeking) and then they go in order of the numbers that they have. Just like in a white elephant gift exchange, each item can exchange owners three times until it is locked in. Some of the prizes that I find for exchange are similar to what I would have put in an easter basket, but sometimes it is items that I know that they enjoy, like a special box of cereal or a case of soda. One year, they were all going for some cement chalk! It’s fun to see what they are drawn to.
If you are looking for some White Bunny Party ideas, I will have some here in my LTK Shop.
Check Out This Book - Unstoppable:
My Life So Far by Maria Sharapova
This month’s book spotlight is Unstoppable: My Life So Far by Maria Sharapova. I put this book on my reading list when I heard that she was going to be inducted into the 2025 Tennis Hall of Fame, but bumped it up higher to try to understand more about the alleged doping charges she was charged with, in light of other players that are getting in trouble with similar situations.
This book was an interesting look into a player that achieved a career Grand Slam, meaning that she won the title at each of the Grand Slams during her career that spanned from 2001 to 2020. I loved learning about how she chose her name, Maria, (that is not her name at birth), hearing about her relationship with Gregor Dimitrov was really interesting but most of all, learning about her formative years, leaving Russia and the twists and turns that she and her father took that eventually ended in a career in professional tennis were simply, fascinating.
I am guessing that a lot of details are left out of the pages of her adult life, so that part fell a little flat, but the first half of the book made it all worth it. I would recommend this book to someone who enjoys reading about a phenomenal athlete and would like to learn more about the story of a young girl from Russia who is not being inducted into the 2025 Tennis Hall of Fame.
Recipe of the Month
Caprese Salad
Here is my recipe and a video below if you want to follow along.
I hope you are having a ball in the month of April and enjoy some great tennis vibes! It is a great time to be outside for exercise while the spring air is arriving. Now call up a friend or find a wall to hit against and get out there and hit! If you have any questions or want to reach out to me, please drop me a DM at katri@tennisyellow.com
Love all,
Katri
