ON THE RECORD: America’s Top Tennis Players On Summer, Life Without Grand Slams

The official beginning of summer’s Grand Slam tennis season would have started this past week at the French Open on the red clay at Roland Garros, bringing hundreds of thousands of fans from around the world to Paris’s streets, bars, and cafes.

That would have been followed a few weeks later by tennis’s penultimate grass tournament at Wimbledon in London. In August, America’s Grand Slam, the U.S. Open, would have commenced at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center hanging every celebrity in Manhattan on the edge of their seats until 1:30 am in New York City’s brutal summer heat and humidity, as is its trademark.

In March, COVID-19 ground all of that glory, thrill, and pomp to a screeching halt—like everything else in sports. As of right now, tennis’s summer Grand Slam season is teetering on being cancelled altogether as the virus’s continuing spread remains uncertain and cities like New York and Paris are still largely locked down to travel and public events.

The “Slams”, as the sports four major tournaments are called, are tennis’s Emmys. For the greatest players, they solidify the endurance of one’s career at the sport’s most elite level. Roger Federer leads all men’s singles players with 20 Slams, followed by Rafael Nadal with 19, and Novak Djokovic with 17. All three players are still active, so there are likely more trophies to be hoisted between them. America’s most legendary players aren’t much farther down the list. Pete Sampras won 14 Grand Slam singles titles between 1988 and 2002. Andre Agassi netted 8, as did Jimmy Connors. John McEnroe hauled in 7, plus an additional 9 in doubles.

On the women’s side, Serena Williams has notched 23 Grand Slam singles titles, one away from tying Australian Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24. German great Stephie Graf racked up 22 in the 1980s and 90s. American Chris Evert snatched 18 during her iconic rivalry with Martina Navratilova a decade earlier, who has the same number of trophies on her own mantle.

For those who don’t know tennis by the numbers, these are epic achievements. Michael Jordan, Tom Brady, Wayne Gretzky, Lance Armstrong kind of numbers. The Slams will define forever these players’ careers as the greatest of all time. For most players, just winning one means all the hard work and sacrifice was worth it.

For tennis fans, the black hole left by the Grand Slams’ postponement makes summer a shadow of its former self. Hundreds of thousands, like me, wait all year to see Federer, Novak, Rafa, Serena, and the rest of the world’s top players slug it out on center court and travel across oceans to see them play live. We stay up late, wake up early on Paris and London time, and endure summer’s brutal months of mid-season baseball waiting for the next record-setting, five-hour, five setter to unfold. But for the first time since World War II, many of us find ourselves lost—reduced to spending our weekends at home watching Sex In The City and Seinfeld re-runs.

Tennis’s Grand Slam forced hiatus is also taking a toll on the players, both physically and emotionally. For players like Federer and Serena, who are still eyeing new records, there’s only so much time left. For next generation stars for whom 2020 could have been a breakout Grand Slam summer—like Grigor Dimitrov, Dominic Thiem, Alexander Zverev, and Sloane Stephens—COVID-19 snatched a precious year from careers that sometimes last only a decade before injuries catch up and the body says enough.

I recently caught up with several of America’s top players both past and present, including Sloane Stephens, Sam Querrey, the Bryan Brothers (Bob and Mike), and former U.S. Open Champion and world #1 Andy Roddick, to find out what life without tennis is like right now, how they’re coping and staying in shape, and what it will feel like when the roar of center court returns.

For every top player, it all started in Indian Wells, California in March, at the BNP Paribas Open, which is America’s most prestigious tennis tournament outside of the U.S. Open, and the unofficial kick-off to the summer Slam season.

“I was getting ready to go to the stadium for my annual WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) photo shoot,” Sloane Stephens recalls, “When I got a text from the Player Council saying that there was an emergency meeting. That was when we were told what was going on and of their decision to postpone the tournament at the last minute. It was super tough to hear, because like all of the players, I was already there, practicing and gearing up for the week. It all happened so abruptly. One minute I was in my hotel room getting ready for my photo shoot and the next I was looking for flights back home.”

Like the rest of the sports world, it all went downhill from there as COVID-19 cases surged in Italy, Spain, and France, and eventually began to consume the U.S. in April.

“The first couple of weeks were the hardest because there was so much we didn’t know,” says Stephens, who won her first Slam at the U.S. Open in 2017. “No one was sure how bad the virus was, how long it would last, or how many tournaments would be affected. Once it became clear that COVID would potentially affect the entire tennis season, I adjusted my training schedule and my mindset immediately. It was hard, but we all realized that this was bigger than just our sport.”

Twin brothers Bob and Mike Bryan, who comprise tennis’s winningest doubles team in history, including winning 16 Grand Slams, were equally blindsided.

“We had just played our last Davis Cup match in Hawaii and took red eye to California to play Indian Wells,” the twins recall of that week in mid-March. “It was our last match to play for Team USA and we were coming off of a high and really looking forward to playing in Indian Wells which we consider to be our home tournament. The day we landed we played in a charity Pro-Am event in the desert and as soon as the event ended we got the news that the tournament was done. It was really tough to hear because we love Indian Wells, and playing in-front of our ‘home fans’”.

In early April, French Open officials formally moved the clay court Slam to September (though it’s still uncertain to take place). A few weeks later, Wimbledon officials cancelled their 2020 tournament altogether. For the players, the decision to postpone Europe’s pre-eminent Slams dropped like back-to-back bombs, transforming what was previously a wait-and-see game into the stark reality that the entire 2020 Grand Slam season might not happen at all. Every player reacted differently. Confusion morphed into frustration, especially for players who thought this was their year, but quickly settled into a collective will to do whatever was needed to keep their teams and fans safe, and stay ready to play.

“At first there was a lot of confusion, but players stayed pretty optimistic and now want to do as much as they can to stand together to be ready when we can get back to playing. We also knew that (COVID) was affecting the entire world and we understood the importance of flattening the curve for everyone,” says Stephens.

Sam Querrey, who welcomed his first child with his wife while the pandemic began unfolding, agrees that players have to stay prepared to get back on the court at a moment’s notice, but that protecting everyone in the sport—players, trainers, broadcasters, umpires, and stadium staff—is the game’s first priority as it considers when and how to re-open.

“At first, there was so much confusion and uncertainty,” Querrey tells me, echoing Stephens. “This is the longest break that any of us have had to take off tennis without being due to injury, so everyone’s pretty keen on getting back to work and playing again. But everyone wants to be sure that when tournaments go back into play that it’s all being done in the safest way possible.”

Former U.S. Open champion, Andy Roddick, who retired in 2012 and has seen tennis endure 9/11, the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, and the Great Recession, isn’t as immediately sanguine that tennis’s new normal is right around the corner, since it’s not like NASCAR or golf where players, fans, referees, and support stagg could plausibly be safely distanced from one another. “I haven’t heard anyone who’s super optimistic about a clear path forward,” says Roddick. “People might be clinging to hope more than anything else right now. Tennis has its own unique set of challenges. There’s also still so much uncertainty around the virus itself. Ultimately, it’s completely out of the players control, and like the rest of things in life right now it’s just a wait and see situation”  

What is certain is that current players are ready to get back on the court as soon as the Tour says go. In the meantime, however, it’s the nostalgia is killing most of them.

“There is always this excitement during these few months,” Bob and Mike Bryan tell me of their training leading up to summer. “We do everything we can as a team to gear up for the opportunity to add another Grand Slam title, and we really miss all the work we put into the weeks leading up to the Slams, arriving at the stadiums, and having all of those moments unfold during those tough points on the court in front of our fans. The Slams are what we live and train for.”

Sloane Stephens, who’s still only 27, hasn’t been around the block as long as Roddick or the Bryans, but she’s already missing the exhilaration that comes with the potential get back to Center Court and the friendships she’s built with other players on the Tour.

“I was looking at my Instagram memories and the French Open ones are starting to come up,” says Stephens. “It made me super emotional. I miss the buzz around the sport itself, but I also miss my friends on tour and going out to eat with my team at our local restaurants in the cities. I really miss the fans and the atmosphere that each of the Slams brings out on the court. It’s a crazy feeling that we’re all just not there right now.”

For Querrey, even though he’s getting an unexpected opportunity to be a hands-on father when he would have otherwise been traveling non-stop, it’s missing out on Wimbledon that hits him hardest, which has historically been his best major tournament.

“Wimbledon is a really special Slam for me for a lot of reasons,” he tells me. “I normally play pretty well there and last year had the opportunity to play some pretty big matches. I was looking forward to being super healthy and playing my best tennis. I miss the site, but I also really enjoying having a house for the two weeks in the players Village with my team and my wife. There’s something about it that almost makes Wimbledon feel like home.”

For the dozens of players still stalking their first Slam at the peak of their careers, there’s also the sense of missed opportunity, especially after months of intense training and preparation. Few people know this better than Roddick, who several times was on the cusp of notching another Slam, including coming with an inch of dethroning Federer in the 2009 at Wimbledon in one of the tournament’s most legendary five-set finals.

“It has to be brutal for the players,” says Roddick of a Slam season lost. “Especially Roger, Rafa, and Djokovic, plus Serena, who are all vying for the all-time Slams record this year. You hate to think that (the pandemic) could potentially dictate who ends up on top. We don’t get an infinite number of prime years.”

With presumably years left in their legs, Stephens and Querrey are trying to take a longer view on what comes next. For the Bryan Brothers, who announced last fall that 2020 would be their last year on Tour, life without tennis this summer has presented an entirely different set of questions about the future.

“We’re still very unsure what we’re doing at this point,” they tell me. “Obviously we’re really disappointed with the way that 2020 has unfolded. But we know that this is out of everyone’s control and variables are changing week by week so we have just agreed to ‘hang tight’ and make a decision down the road once we know how the rest of the 2020 calendar is coming together. We haven’t retired yet!”

With so much uncertainty still, most players’ focus right now is staying at the top of their game, maintaining their training routines, and being ready to pounce when the Tour says go.

“I have a pretty small team,” says Querrey, “So I typically practice in the morning then work out with my trainer and physio afterwards then practice again later in the afternoon. I also do a ton of yoga and floor strength classes. This has actually been great down time.”

Stephens has let up either, taking the time to train more with less time on the road.

“I’ve decided 2020 is a reset year for me,” says Stephens. “I’m a big believer that everything happens for a reason. So I’m staying really busy with my personal fitness. We’ve transformed my garage into an at-home gym so I can be socially distant but still maintain my fitness. I’ve really tried to make sure I’m also taking care of my mental health too and making time for myself.”

As for what tennis’s “new normal” looks like, every player seems to agree on one thing: remain flexible while staying sober about the risks that COVID-19 still presents to a sport whose essence is packing stadiums with tens of thousands of fans in close physical contact.

“There are obviously still serious concerns about restarting the Tour,” says Stephens. “A pandemic is something we’ve never experienced before so we’re all just trying to get as much information to make informed decisions. I’m on the WTA Player Board and am in regular contact with the WTA Board, their doctors and know that everyone is doing absolutely everything they can to make sure that players will be safe whenever play resumes.” 

Reflecting back on his own 12-year Grand Slam career, Roddick doesn’t think that playing is actually the issue. It’s everything else that goes into managing the sport’s marquee tournaments. “It’s the proximity in locker rooms, the press conferences, the warm-ups with fans watching. There needs to be a concrete plan in place for everything else that happens off the court.” 

For the Bryan brothers, the concern is everyone else. “For us, safety is a huge concern for our teams, our families, and the fans around us. But we’ve been on tour over half of our lives so we have a lot of confidence in the leaders of the Tour to advise us on the best scenarios for how to eliminate risk and keep all of the players and personnel healthy.

One of the options being considered is playing the rest of the summer’s Slam without fans, similar to what Major League Baseball and other sports’ leagues are considering. But the jury’s still out on that.

“That’s so hard to envision,” says Stephens. “But if that’s our only option, then it is what it is. TV and online streaming is so sophisticated now that the experience for fans would still be great. It would change the atmosphere for athletes out on the court though in a big way, since the fans are such a huge part of the game and the energy for us.”

Querrey know as well as anyone how important that energy is, especially at the U.S. Open when he’s playing in front of a home-court American Crowd over Labor Day weekend. “Tennis is different than a lot of other sports, especially during the Slams, because the crowd can really affect the momentum of a player. That said, I think that players would be willing to play without fans rather that miss an entire season if that’s what we have to do.”

Whatever happens next, it will take tennis a while to find its new normal. In the meantime, COVID-19’s impact on players’ careers, brands, earnings, and their futures will continue to take a toll. No one I spoke with professes to know what that is just yet.

“I don’t worry about the top players or tournaments,” says Roddick. “They’ll be fine and will still get the majority of their endorsement contracts. I worry about the lower level players and tournaments that run on a year to year budget. A lot of them can’t handle a zero for the year. I’d be shocked if we got through this without some individual tournaments going away—or some players giving up—since there’s so little margin for error. I think it’s a fool’s errand to compare anything to the ‘old’ normal right now. It’s time to make lemonade.” 

For tennis fans, however, the good news is that the players who’ve dedicated their lives to the sport and the fans aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.   

“I know that everyone is struggling in different ways right now,” Stephens say, “It’s important remember to take care of ourselves. It’s OK to have days where you can’t get out of bed and are unmotivated. It’s ok to miss your friends and family. I think it’s safe to say that we are all going through this rollercoaster of emotions together—the players, the fans, the tournament organizers. I just want to remind people that you are not alone, and this is not forever, and we will get through it.”