Following the retirement of the Williams sisters, it’s been commonly claimed that American tennis is in safe hands. However, despite the absence of a superstar in either of the two – ATP and WTA – the fact remained that tennis in the country witnessed a dip in popularity. Things could now be finally changing for the sport in America due to the release of Zendaya’s movie “Challengers” and the presence of two players from the country at the Madrid Open 2024 semifinals.
Owing to a great run in Madrid, Taylor Fritz and Madison Keys clinched a spot in the semifinals of the ATP/WTA 1000 tournament. Fritz, who also had a successful BMW Open 2024, became the first American man in almost two decades to reach the last four stage of the tournament. Whereas, Keys is only second among the women to make it as far as the Caja Magica since Serena Williams in 2013.
Up until now, Taylor Fritz has had a nearly perfect performance so far. Apart from dropping a set to Francisco Cerundolo, the Californian destroyed Luciano Darderi, Sebastian Baez, and Hubert Hurkacz in straight sets.
Following his win over the Argentine, the World No.13 tried to reveal the reason behind his exceptional performances. Speaking to Tennis Channel, the San Diego native claimed that the Madrid dirt was favoring him.
“The bounces are still high and explosive, which is great for my forehand,” Fritz said. “It’s great for me to just serve and attack.”
With the incredible form that he’s in, the 26-year-old is expected to defeat Andrey Rublev and eventually overcome either of the two – Jiri Lehecka or Felix Auger Aliassime – to lift the title.
On the other hand, Madison Keys didn’t have the most convincing outings. But, she did manage to overcome two top-10 seeds – Coco Gauff and Ons Jabeur – before suffering a humiliating loss to Iga Swiatek. Shedding light on her mentality that helped her reach her first semifinals of the year, Keys said:
“I was trying to force something to happen, and I think, as everyone knows, when you’re trying to force something to happen it seems like it gets further and further away from you.”
“So finally really just honestly saying, f*** it, and I’m just going go out and do my best, and we’ll see what happens. Then I really feel like Ive finally been able to kind of work myself into playing some good tennis here.”
Fritz and Keys have had a week that they would be proud of. However, they did receive huge help from the release of “Challengers” in getting Americans hooked on the sport once again.
Challengers’ release witnesses a spike in searches for ‘adult tennis lessons’
The trailer of “Challengers”, starring Zendaya, took the tennis world by storm in mid-2023. And in April 2024, the movie hit the cinemas. Despite the mixed reviews that the movie received, it has helped revive American tennis.
Merely a week after the 131-minute movie was released, Google searches for ‘Adult tennis lessons’ saw a 245% rise. Clearly, the sport is regaining interest in the American audience.
With American tennis receiving a massive boost from the movie, the players need to capitalize on the remainder of the clay swing and bring back American tennis to its glory days. Taylor Fritz winning the Madrid Open 2024 will be a huge step in the same direction.
