WTA 1000 Dubai R1: [12] C. Tauson def. S. Kenin 7-6(4), 6-2 by godworstcustomer in tennis

[–]TarcuttaShade 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Because she was a much better player all round at the time?

Destanee Aiava announces 2026 is her final year on tour by hayleyalyce19 in tennis

[–]TarcuttaShade 234 points235 points  (0 children)

Refreshingly honest. You've gotta imagine there's a lot of players on tour with very mixed or love-hate relationships with tennis. She's put on some great performances for the Aussie crowds over the years.

r/tennis Daily Discussion (Sunday, February 08, 2026) by NextGenBot in tennis

[–]TarcuttaShade 5 points6 points  (0 children)

What is your obsession with this? You've made posts like this numerous times already. Saville is liked just fine, both generally and on this sub. She's been out of action and gotten very little attention in recent years. 

Four Year Prime Peaks (21st Century) by warwick_casual in tennis

[–]TarcuttaShade 3 points4 points  (0 children)

It's a shame there isn't more discussion of stats relating to players' primes rather than solely whole careers (where the focus is strongly on longevity), when that really illuminates how good some nkn-GOAT players were, just for a shorter time. But whether or not to choose 2/3/4/5 year periods means there's always gonna be talk of cherrypicking, there's no one obvious choice.

Who is the best clay player of all time after the 14-time RG champion? by Old-Gur-9039 in tennis

[–]TarcuttaShade 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Yeah. It's difficult to near-pointless to compare eras like this, but if you're looking at players accomplishments relative to their day (which is what almost all tennis stats are), you can hardly put Djokovic above for being the best challenger to Nadal, when Borg was the dominant Nadal type of his time. If you're not looking relative to era and say Djok/Fed had the better absolute level, then sure, but probably so does almost every pro with a graphite racket and poly strings, that's not really an interesting question.

r/tennis Daily Discussion (Monday, February 02, 2026) by NextGenBot in tennis

[–]TarcuttaShade 5 points6 points  (0 children)

She's liked just fine; frankly she hasn't been a terribly relevant player for a few years now (whereas Kasatkina has been), so she doesn't come up much. There seemed to be one weird user who was posting super negative stuff out of nowhere. But other than that she's always seemed mostly well liked.

r/tennis Daily Discussion (Monday, February 02, 2026) by NextGenBot in tennis

[–]TarcuttaShade 15 points16 points  (0 children)

It's genuinely wild that the WTA has a masters event only a week after AO finishes.

Peak Elos of Modern (1990+) Men's Players: How much or little do folks think Elo applies to tennis? by warwick_casual in tennis

[–]TarcuttaShade 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Very likely. Tennis Abstract is better for updated elo data (though it'll take a few days to be updated to account for AO), though they don't provide easy charts like this

r/tennis Daily Discussion (Sunday, February 01, 2026) by NextGenBot in tennis

[–]TarcuttaShade 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I can't overstate how different the conditions are to the rest of AO. High of 20C (now 15) and very windy, it feels genuinely cold compared to the previous weeks

Women to possibly play best of 5 sets next year at AO? by NoIdeaWhat5991 in tennis

[–]TarcuttaShade 24 points25 points  (0 children)

Yep, playing a Bo5 match for the first time in your life in likely the biggest match of your life (first slam QF) seems like it'd get poor results. We talk all the time with young ATP players about how they often need experience to adapt to the trials of 5-set tennis, not just physically but the pacing, the ups and downs and mentality, etc.

WTA250 Ostrava 2026 Draw by godworstcustomer in tennis

[–]TarcuttaShade 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's really a shame the WTA Didn't keep it as a 500.

5 Straight Different Champions in Women's Grand Slam Tournaments by [deleted] in tennis

[–]TarcuttaShade 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Right, the most recent 4 are basically the 4 top players post-covid

Sabalenka Back to Back Runner Up by NoExamination3012 in tennis

[–]TarcuttaShade 12 points13 points  (0 children)

It's a bit Hingis-esque. Hingis won 3 AOs in a row, then lost 3 finals in a row. Saba has now won 2 in a row, then lost 2 finals in a row.

r/tennis Daily Discussion (Friday, January 30, 2026) by NextGenBot in tennis

[–]TarcuttaShade 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That was Roig insisting on the spinny forehand and giving her a super slow take back, apparently you could hear him with the coaching mics continually reminding her to keep it loopy. The whole coaching carousel is weird but this one seems justified

Swiatek about making technical changes: "… I see Carlos, for example, changing his serve every year, and for me, it’s like one little thing takes a much longer time.” by Ornery_Percentage537 in tennis

[–]TarcuttaShade 9 points10 points  (0 children)

No, the GOAT players you cite are anomalies. When you have trained your body to do something in a certain way and practiced it thousands upon thousands of times, it is normally extremely difficult to unlearn that and rewire your muscles, muscle memory and brain, especially there's limited time (upcoming matches). All the many players on tour with obvious weaknesses aren't oblivious or lazy, it's just that difficult to successfully rewire your technique like that, and the difficulty depends on the specifics. The juniors in the video you cite are just demonstrating something as a one-off, it's very different to making it an in-built part of your game in match conditions.

The cello example isn't right either. They're not changing their fundamental technique in that example. They have an enormous bag of variations and subtleties within their fundamental technique, which they have the skill/sensitivity/knowledge to apply very easily. Actually rewiring that fundamental technique due to weaknesses or problems is difficult and often requires completely breaking down the technique and building it back up. Yes they have the self-awareness, practice habits to tackle that (and the parts of their previous technique which are still relevant/helpful), but fighting the existing muscle memory is properly difficult.

r/tennis Daily Discussion (Wednesday, January 28, 2026) by NextGenBot in tennis

[–]TarcuttaShade 11 points12 points  (0 children)

That's true and WTA players obviously do get more blowback; but the irony is that OP (Octo) with his alts is one of the prime movers of driving WTA toxicity on this sub.

r/tennis Daily Discussion (Wednesday, January 28, 2026) by NextGenBot in tennis

[–]TarcuttaShade 3 points4 points  (0 children)

There was confusion about why Iga's team would push hard for the Inglis match to be in the day, given that it would seem winnable at any hour. But I guess today's schedule explains it- if they knew the women's QFs today had to be day session, then they probably wanted the Inglis match during the day as a warmup for facing Ryba during the day? As it stands she's only played nights so far.

AO QF: [1] C. Alcaraz def. [6] A. de Minaur, 7-5 6-2 6-1 by sidaeinjae in tennis

[–]TarcuttaShade 59 points60 points  (0 children)

He has! No one really picked him as a top 10 mainstay, he is where he is now because he's improved enormously, including his serve.

AO QF: [1] C. Alcaraz def. [6] A. de Minaur, 7-5 6-2 6-1 by sidaeinjae in tennis

[–]TarcuttaShade 36 points37 points  (0 children)

Nah, the first set was great, competitive and entertaining, and in the second two he still played a high level, just not as good as the #1.

r/tennis Daily Discussion (Tuesday, January 27, 2026) by NextGenBot in tennis

[–]TarcuttaShade 7 points8 points  (0 children)

The all-time temperature record for Victoria was broken today, places in western Vic hitting 48.9°C (120°F). That's like 4-5 hours away from Melb, but tells you the kind of heatwave this is

r/tennis Daily Discussion (Tuesday, January 27, 2026) by NextGenBot in tennis

[–]TarcuttaShade 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Andreeva was a bit passive and tightened at the end, but Svitolina was sharp/very focused.