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Rafael Nadal received support from his compatriot Carlos Alcaraz amid criticism for being an ambassador for the Saudi Tennis Federation. Meanwhile, Chris Evert paid tribute to the late American tennis coach Andy Brandi.
Nick Kyrgios reminisced about delivering the fastest second serve in Grand Slam history against Nadal at Wimbledon 2019. Karolina Pliskova's husband voiced frustration over the WTA's scheduling as his wife had to play in the Qatar Open mere hours after winning a title in Romania.
On that note, here's a quick recap of the day's biggest headlines:
Rafael Nadal receives support from Carlos Alcaraz amid backlash for being a Saudi ambassador
Last month, Rafael Nadal became the ambassador for the Saudi Tennis Federation. In this new role, the Spaniard will work to promote tennis in the Gulf Country and establish a new Rafa Nadal Academy there.
Nadal's decision has sparked varied reactions from the tennis community with his compatriot Carlos Alcaraz recently saying that he has no issue with it. Alcaraz told the media before his Argentina Open title defense (via Marca):
"I haven't heard much criticism, I have heard people say that they have criticized him. Rafa has decided to sign as an ambassador and it doesn't seem bad to me."
"He has signed as an ambassador of tennis in a country that is developing and opening up to the world of sport. Who better than Rafa to promote tennis in places where perhaps it was never played before?" he added.
Chris Evert pays tribute to late American tennis coach Andy Brandi
Andy Brandi, a former women's tennis coach at the University of Florida, passed away at the age of 72 on February 8, 2024. During his 17-season tenure, his teams achieved an impressive .914 winning percentage and secured three national championships.
Under Brandi's leadership, team Florida bagged 14 Southeastern Conference regular-season titles, 10 conference tournament championships and three national titles in 1992, 1996, and 1998. Additionally, he served as a coach at Chris Evert's tennis academy in Boca Raton.
After Brandi passed away, Evert took to her X (formerly Twitter) account to honor him, writing:
"Andy Brandi was a special man and will be greatly missed. A master at teaching and coaching tennis; I learned so much from him when he coached at @EvertTennis. Thoughts and prayers to his family…🙏."
Nick Kyrgios recalls delivering fastest second serve in Grand Slam history against Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon 2019
Nick Kyrgios and Rafael Nadal locked horns in the second round of the 2019 Wimbledon Championships, with the latter prevailing with a score of 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(3).
Even though Kyrgios lost the match, he caught everyone's attention by blasting a 143mph (230kph) second serve-ace during the first set, marking it as the fastest second serve in Grand Slam history.
The Aussie took a trip down memory lane today and shared the video of him delivering the historic serve at SW19 on his Instagram Stories, writing:
"Biggest second serve in history baby."
Karolina Pliskova's husband blasts WTA's scheduling as she plays in Qatar hours after winning a title in Romania
Karolina Pliskova won the Winners Open title in Cluj-Napoca, Romania on Sunday, February 11, defeating Ana Bogdan.
She had no time for the victory celebration, as she immediately had to travel to Doha as the tight scheduling by the WTA forced her to play her opening round match at the Qatar Open against Anna Kalinskaya the very next day.
Shortly after, Pliskova's husband Michal Hrdlicka expressed his dissatisfaction with the scheduling of the women's tennis governing body and turned to X to voice his frustration.
"She caught the flight from Cluj via Istanbul to Doha at the last minute. If the final in Romania had been played just a little longer, she would not have reached Qatar at all," he wrote.
"This is how she arrived at the hotel at 8 in the morning, slept for 4 hours, had a quick lunch, 14:30 play-off and a match. Extremely challenging conditions," he added.
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