The Boycott Bombshell, Sinner's Freaky F1 Connection and Arkansas Tennis May Have a Pulse
Plus: New details on Stan Wawrinka's retirement tour
Welcome to your weekly 5 Setter, an express roundup of all things racquet sports with Producer Mike. In this episode:
Project RedEye Takes Flight
Razorbacks Answer the Calling
Rackets and Race Cars for Italy
The Met Gala: Tennis Edition
Stan Books His Last Dance
Tiebreak Trivia
Click below to watch today’s 5 Setter on YouTube, and come back here for this week’s bonus stories.
WTA Player Accuses Tour of Censorship
Ukrainian player Oleksandra Oliynykova is accusing the WTA of censorship and intimidation in response to her social media posts about the war in her home country, where she continues to train.
Oliynykova, world No. 68 and into the third round in Rome, has spent the past two months publicly naming Russian and Belarusian players who, she says, post war propaganda, attend Kremlin-aligned events and normalize the invasion of Ukraine. She says the WTA has pushed back, calling her into meetings and pressuring her not to name specific players.
🎤 Oleksandra Oliynykova
“I was asking them to clarify [the rules]. I was also asking them to protect me, because I feel unsafe on tour after all these situations. But I’m just not getting answers to my questions. I’m getting pressure from their side—that’s what was happening for the last two months … [and it] caused me immense psychological harm.”
An excerpt of the WTA’s response: “All WTA athletes have the right to express themselves. At the same time, the WTA is committed to maintaining a professional and respectful environment for all athletes, regardless of nationality or country of origin. Our Code of Conduct exists to uphold this standard consistently across the Tour.”
Journalist Ben Rothenberg published a long interview with the 25-year-old yesterday on Bounces. It also includes the WTA’s full response. The article is free to read.
The ATP’s Oldest Player Vs. Its Youngest
At a $15K Futures event in Vero Beach this week, the oldest ranked ATP player faced the youngest in what tournament director Randy Walker believes is the first time that has ever happened. The age gap is 30 years.
Ryan Haviland is 45, a Stanford NCAA champion with 11 surgeries behind him who still competes every spring to feed his competitive fire and set an example for the juniors he coaches in South Carolina. Teodor Davidov is 15, a Bulgarian-American prodigy who trains in Bradenton, Florida, and just earned his first ATP ranking points in February.
Haviland won the qualifying match 6-7, 6-3, 10-6 in front of a sold-out gallery on Stadium Court. “That was a good one for the older generation,” he said afterward.
One thing Haviland had no scouting report for: Davidov plays ambidextrously, hitting a forehand off both sides and alternating his serving hand. “I’ve never played a player like that,” Haviland said. “Normally, you’re fairly safe rallying to their backhand, but with him, both forehands are aggressive.”
Haviland entered the record book just in the nick of time. This week, 46-year-old Aqeel Khan of Pakistan won a match at the Pakistan ITF Championship. When his point puts him in the ATP rankings next week, Khan will take the oldest title.
French Open Kits Are Here
Roland Garros fashion season is underway and brands are rolling out their new kits for clay’s biggest stage. The most interesting look so far belongs to Aryna Sabalenka. Nike is calling it a “supersuit” inspired by the fluidity of movement, or “clay ballet.”
Sabalenka will wear an exclusive black-and-red colorway, but other Nike players might wear the mesh dress in another hue. The world No. 1 has teased that her first fully signature kit is coming in 2027. It’s long overdue.
Speaking of Sabalenka’s expanding fashion portfolio, she walked onto the court in Rome for her first match carrying a Gucci “Paparazzo” medium top-handle bag. According by Jessica Schiffer of Hard Court, it’s the first courtside debut of her Gucci ambassadorship, which the brand announced during the Australian Open. The bag looks just big enough for Ash.
Quick Hits
Madrid champion Marta Kostyuk has pulled out of Rome, citing hip and ankle injuries. Bummer, but love the choice of photo.
Kathy Rinaldi is stepping down as the USTA’s head of women’s tennis after 18 years. Chris Evert spared no superlative.
The French Open wild-card watch is on. Nishesh Basavareddy and Akasha Urhobo won the U.S. French Open Wild Card Challenge with their spring point totals. Two former Top 5 players are crossing their fingers.
Veni, vidi, Djokovici ⬇️
The Weekend Draw
Mutua Madrid Open
ATP/WTA 1000
Madrid, Spain
Friday, May 8 through Sunday, May 10: Men’s and women’s early rounds
Full international WTA and ATP broadcast lists
NCAA Division 1 Men’s National Team Championships
Super Regionals
8 sites in the U.S.; all times are Eastern
Friday, May 8: Ohio State vs. Illinois (4:30 p.m.), Wake Forest vs. Central Florida (5 p.m.), Virginia vs. South Carolina (5 p.m.), Texas vs. San Diego (7 p.m.), Baylor vs. Pepperdine (7 p.m.)
Saturday, May 9: Georgia vs. Mississippi State (1 p.m.), TCU vs. Stanford (2 p.m.), Arizona vs. Oklahoma (4 p.m.)
NCAA Division 1 Women’s National Team Championships
Super Regionals
8 sites in the U.S.; all times are Eastern
Friday, May 8: Texas A&M vs. USC (3 p.m.), Georgia vs. UCLA (4 p.m.), North Carolina vs. Michigan (5 p.m.), North Carolina State vs. Texas (5 p.m.), Oklahoma vs. Pepperdine (6 p.m.), Auburn vs. Duke (6 p.m.)
Saturday, May 9: Virginia vs. LSU (1 p.m.), Ohio State vs. Vanderbilt (1 p.m.),
Matches stream live on Cracked Racquets YouTube Channel
Q&Andy Recap
Italian legend Fabio Fognini tells Andy about beating Rafael Nadal three times, the growth of Italian tennis, his greatest meltdowns and Dancing With the Stars. Plus, Andy answers reader mail.
📮Submit a question by emailing askandy@servedmediagroup.com or send it through our website or social media.
Love All Recap
Hailey Baptiste joins the show from Rome, fresh off her breakout in Madrid where she upset world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka. Plus: Kim and Blair break down the boycott.
Tiebreak Trivia
In today’s episode, Producer Mike explained the latest on the University of Arkansas tennis program drama. Arkansas belongs to the SEC (the NCAA’s powerhouse Southeastern Conference, for the 40 percent of our audience outside of the United States). The SEC has produced many storied college tennis programs. Which SEC school has won the most NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championships?
Answer: The University of Georgia. The Bulldogs have won six national titles (one with John Isner in 2007). But that’s just in the SEC. The overall record belongs to the University of Southern California, with 21 rings.
💡Have an idea for Tiebreak Trivia? Send it our way and score some Served merch if we use it.
📝 We’ll be back Tuesday with a new episode. In the meantime, join us on Substack and Reddit to connect with other Chuckers and Served’s staff about the latest news in tennis.
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That Nole video is adorable. Another reason why it must be hard to contemplate retiring … so many people are still ecstatic to see you play and come out to support you.
Another request for Techie Sean to read instead of Mike. No disrespect to Mikes knowledge, but it’s Kei ( KAY) Nishikori not KEY.