Rivard: When basketball and tennis pass the ball

Seeing the tweet that night, Tiafoe simply couldn’t believe it.

“In the locker room I couldn’t believe it, I was amazed, Tiafoe said at the time. That’s my man. So when I saw his post, I was like, “Should I retweet this now?” I was like, “You know what, I’ll keep it quiet and pretend I didn’t see this and retweet it three hours later.” »

However, this episode is not the only one to contribute to the osmosis of the two professional disciplines. Because, despite this beautiful anecdote, remember that Tiafoe does not identify with basketball like his ATP colleague, Nick Kyrgios.

The Australian is literally crazy about this sport.

Kyrgios always wears basketball shoes before and after his games. To his clothes he often adds a tank top, with the colors of the NBA teams before the start of his match. Without forgetting his caps with the different training logos.

By the way, Nick isn’t just an enthusiast… he can play!

Last April, he took part in a celebrity match as part of a charity event in Australia. And this montage will prove to you beyond a doubt that it works well. Very good too.

Shooting, dribbling, blocking… he can do it all. In just 20 minutes he had 16 points, two assists and two blocked shots. And while the other participants clearly weren’t Steph Curray rivals, there’s no denying the talent of the mischievous ATP scoundrel.

So this is a passion that “NK” and “Foe” now share

But not just these two.

Will you be surprised if I add the names of Djokovic, Tsitsipas, Tsonga, Monfils, Zverev, Paul, Munar, Fritz, Isner? This video produced in 2021 will amaze you, because anyone who has already watched some basketball will have confirmation that these guys really have style and that they have already played.

When they tell you these guys are good… it’s not just at their favorite sport. They are complete athletes and, at times, true chameleons of the sport.

Gold Retirement for Roger

When Roger Federer retired last September, it was the richest tennis player in history who said goodbye.

And, barring a miracle, it will remain so forever.

In fact, it is not clear how his most illustrious contemporaries (a Spaniard and a Serbian) could have reached him. If Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have surpassed the Swiss Master in terms of Grand Slam titles, they will never catch up on the road to the bank.

As we know, it is not on the field that the greatest fortunes of sportsmen are played out, but in the offices of the companies that make them their rich spokesmen.

Numbers don’t lie.

Over the past two years, Federer has earned just $730,000 on the courts. Out, $180 million. Year after year he has been in the Top 10 rankings of the Forbes magazine in the section “Luck of professional athletes”. And that included the last two seasons where he barely played.

In 11 years (2012-2022), it has never been lower than seventh.

By comparison, Djokovic has never taken a seat there and Nadal has only shown up once. In 2014 (9^Andsound).

The Maestro found himself at the top of the rankings of the highest paid tennis players of the last 16 years. And his retirement probably won’t change anything in the next few years.

Given his image, his qualities as an ambassador and the visibility he will continue to have for several years to come, he could very well join the select club of sports billionaires (having been an athlete, of course) and find his place in the company of the two basketball stars, Michael Jordan and LeBron James, without forgetting Tiger Woods.

Here is the ranking as of today.

The greatest fortunes of athletes

We can safely assume that Uniqlo, Wilson, Rolex, Mercedes, Lindt, Credit Suisse will remain loyal to him for years and will allow him to reach a ten-figure fortune. Without forgetting that he will continue to be able to demand compensation for exhibiting in exhibitions of all kinds.

Let’s add the sneaker company ONwhich he invested in in 2019 and which is enjoying meteoric success and whose market capitalization has just reached six billion.

Ah yes, let’s not forget that Squad 8, his management company, founded with his agent and friend Tony Godsick. The company, in which it also participates ON and in the Laver Cup, he negotiates the contracts of Federer, former player Juan Martin Del Potro and young star Coco Gauff.

That should be enough fertilizer for his bank account. And that can take decades.

Until he retired with Mirka to a distant Swiss canton, listening to the tolling of the bells hung around the necks of the Swiss cows grazing on the green pastures of his retreat, on the mountainside.

After all, haven’t you been an ambassador for Switzerland Tourism since 2021? A job for life if he wants since he has the flag of his country tattooed on his heart and has already said that he has no intention of going to live elsewhere.

I send you the promotional message of the organization, published on this blog last year.

With its surprise guest…

Come on Mon Leo!

This year, a teenager has gone from 2,214^And rank at 509^And . A dizzying leap of 1,705 pegs.

This teenager may deserve to be named Most Improved Player of 2022 as part of my end of year special, but he won’t be a part of it as his yearly crop is just 69 ATP points.

But here I will devote an entire segment to him. Because it’s not just anyone. Or… at least, not anyone else’s child.

Yes, when you carry a famous name like Borg, you don’t need to search from noon to 2pm to find out who his father is. And imagine, when the player plays Sweden, their country. In Stockholm, their hometown.

19, resembling his father, Leo doesn’t have the precociousness or unique talent of Bjorn Borg.

At the age of 19 years and five months, his father was fourth in the world and had already achieved his first professional title for two years (at 17 years and six months), as well as, a few months later, his first Grand Slam title. , in Paris.

But it doesn’t matter, because given the difficulty of carrying such a prestigious name on their shoulders, those who have managed to equal or surpass the performance of a famous parent in tennis don’t run on the streets. If you missed it, I invite you to read what I wrote about these star children on September 7th.

This first title, Leo Borg obtained at the end of October in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, when he won an M15 level tournament. So 575^And world championship, he defeated the Slovenian Bor Artnak, 18 years and 792 in the final^And at the ATP, 3-6, 7-5 and 6-4.

Leo finished the year with a 69-29 record (including 30-19 in U15s and 8-4 in U25s). But the highlight of his year will certainly remain on October 18, at the central stadium of Kunglinga, where an ATP 250 level tournament was played.

He had obtained a free pass from the organizers who thought it was the right time to give him this first push by opening the doors to the big stage for him.

And to attract a lot more viewers, let’s face it.

Poisoned gift? Because we can imagine the pressure to evolve like this at home. One can imagine what it’s like to even have his father sitting a few feet behind him. Not just any father, I must repeat.

But the young man did not let anyone down. Neither his father, nor the spectators, nor the organizers. Even if he didn’t win.

Against American Tommy Paul, 31 years old^Andworld and… reigning champion, Leo Borg was inspired, also winning the first set 7-5 to the cheers of the crowd, who never thought they’d experience such a moment.

Because, let’s face it, a modest 577^Andthe world was obviously the favorite to… lose to a player of Paul’s caliber. But this first round has shown everyone, especially Leo, that he can belong to this group. It was also his first round win in ATP Tour tournaments.

Leo Borg lost 5-7, 6-2 and 6-2 to Tommy Paul. If this accomplishment had little effect on his ranking at the time, needless to say, it made a giant leap up the ladder of his confidence.

Prior to today, the Swedish teenager had only faced a player of this caliber once. And that was… Tommy Paul! Yes, a year earlier, in this same tournament and thanks to an identical pass, he had measured himself against Paul who was then 52nd in the world. But the defeat was quicker (6-2, 6-2).

If there is a player between 400 and 500^Andworld championships that will be interesting to follow in 2023, will be Borg.

Leone Borgo.

Email : privard@tenniscanada.com