What a strange time in general, let alone for tennis. It’s a “sneeze and you’ll miss it” year given that this is only the second slam to have commenced so far, and it is indeed sneezin’ season. If there were one visual to sum up myself anticipating what 2020 will serve at us next, it’d be this:
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| "I mean, Karolina doesn't serve that well, does she?!" |
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| Bloody Rona! |
As much as the organisers tried, the atmosphere went off like a deflated balloon given that there was no crowd. It was on par with the UTR Pro Tennis torment tournament, which is not a compliment. If someone farted inside the near-empty, reverberated cauldron that was Arthur Ashe Stadium (who says they didn’t?) it would have been incredibly awkward. The were so many plane flyovers that I thought the court audio was accidentally replaced by the foley track for Top Gun. I guess that even in the most alien of circumstances, New York will never stop being New York. Hopefully the USA stops being the USA so that no one gets shot.
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| “Don’t shoot pls” |
I’m not sure whose idea it was for the ball-kids and lines-people to wear grey polos. The New York humidity aka sweat certainly left its mark, as seen below. More fashion risks needed to be taken by the players’s sponsors. A lack of variety had me seeing double:
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| “Nice outfit.” “You too.” |
There were still some taken by the usual suspects:
| Cherries or coronavirus cells in Serena’s hair - take your pick! |
and more...
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| Growing Up Gotti - Tennis mum edition |
These are great, but everyone, we have a winner…
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| “Phwoar, I want that hat!” |
Everything is perfect. The bucket hat + the colours + the photo taking + the word "lit" + the thousand yard stare = Trippin' Balls in vivid colour.
The lack of linespeople on the outside courts changed the challenge gesture to mean only one thing:
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| “I don’t like that shot. Just sayin'." |
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| “The conspiracies attract a lot of tourists - and that’s just counting those who make it here!” |
Here are some more:
As there wasn’t much spectacle aside from these and Novak’s gaffe, the sewers of social media delivered as always:
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| #askingthehardquestions |
Another day, another round of incendiary Camilla Giorgi comments:
As well as unintentionally showcasing the scourge of trolls: (Shout out to Nick and Ally from The Warm-Up, though!)
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| Savage! |
In other news, I noticed that some players are doppelgängers of other famous people.
Caroline Garcia reminds me of the Wiggles with these moves. Or, Phoebe Waller-Bridge of Fleabag fame. Cool!
I don’t care what anybody and their two bobs have to say - Kim can still hit like a MF and will only get fitter while back on tour.
You know who else can hit like a MF? The super slick Jen Brady! She must have gotten some new fans!
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| “Ladiies, one at a time, please!” |
I hope Allie’s serves lived up to her name. It didn't look like it, though:
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| Allie’s surname sure has some Kiick to it… |
Naomi! With your speedy power and social awareness combined, I can say in every sense that you won the day!
Soaking it all in 🤗 pic.twitter.com/YkAzTD5Mn2
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 12, 2020