US Open ushers in a new generation of tennis stars

Scoreboard comes to you this week from a nation in mourning. The British sporting world has responded to the death of Queen Elizabeth II with widespread postponements. The Premier League and the English Football League have cancelled all games this weekend, while fixtures in golf, rugby and cricket have also been called off.

The Queen had a long and close relationship with sport. In 1966, she handed the World Cup trophy to Bobby Moore following England’s final victory at Wembley. At the London Olympics 46 years later, she made a memorable cameo at the opening ceremony (see this week’s Final Whistle for more). And horseracing was one of her great life-long passions. Charles III, the new king, is known to be more of a polo fan.

Transition is something of a theme in this edition of the newsletter. This weekend sees the US Open finals, the culmination of a tournament that has ushered in a new generation of tennis stars. And at Chelsea FC, the club’s US owners have ditched their Champions League winning coach and brought in someone known for taking on a project — often on a tight budget. We look at the implications both on and off the pitch. Do read on — Josh Noble, sports editor

Tennis ready to embrace the next generation of champions

No Novak Djokovic. No Roger Federer. The early departures of Andy Murray, Serena Williams, and this week Rafael Nadal: if ever there were a showcase for the future of tennis, the second week of this year’s US Open has been it.

Much of the attention during the first week of the New York tournament was devoted to the end of Williams’ career. With the absence of the “Big Four” on the men’s side and — with the exception of top-ranked Iga Świątek on the women’s — the final Slam of the year has proven a welcome showcase for up-and-comers like Spain’s 19 year old phenom Carlos Alcaraz and Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur.

Far from a fallow period for the business of the sport, industry insiders say they’re ready for — and welcome — a changing of the guard.

Ken Solomon, president of the Tennis Channel, told Scoreboard that the end of the Williams era in particular is “more emotional than commercial”. The Sinclair-owned speciality sports network carries broadcasts of ATP and WTA Tour events other than the US Open and Solomon says its highest-rated coverage tends to correlate with tournaments in which up and comers can build narrative over several rounds, such as the Charleston Open.

“We figure that if we can get you twice”, Solomon said, referring to viewers who return to watch matches on the cable network, “then we’ve got you”.

Chris Evert, the 18-time Grand Slam champion and commentator for ESPN, said the sport has always found ways to rejuvenate itself even after paradigm-setting careers come to a close.

“When Bjorn Borg retired I thought tennis was doomed. Where the heck is tennis going to go?” she said. “It just bounced back in one or two years . . . the high point of women’s tennis [today] is the depth. No one is dominating, you can’t say Świątek is dominating”.

Coco Gauff, a teenage phenom on the WTA who lost in the quarter finals to lower-ranked Caroline Garcia, said earlier that part of the strength of the women’s game at the moment is its unpredictability. “Every day you come up and are ready for the challenge no matter what the ranking is, what the situation is.”

“I just so happen to be the guy doing the run right now”, said Frances Tiafoe, who yesterday became the first American male tennis player to compete in a US Open semi-final since 2006. “Everyone is super capable . . . we are all starting to really get into our primes, and we will see where that takes us.”

Chelsea’s Moneyball approach starts now

Fresh from adding £250mn of new players to the Chelsea FC squad, Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital sacked the head coach after a run of poor results. It’s a sign that the US owners want to get the most out of the talent they already have, and that they want to change the way they acquire it in future.

The move to fire Thomas Tuchel came just over 100 days after the £2.5bn purchase of Chelsea from sanctioned Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich. Following the departures of the former chair Bruce Buck, ex-director Marina Granovskaia and technical adviser Petr Čech, Tuchel’s exit marks a final severing of ties with the Abramovich era.

Getting the best out of the club’s players — new and old — now falls to Graham Potter, 47, who was hired from Premier League rivals Brighton & Hove Albion FC on a five-year contract, signalling long-term ambitions. Boehly called Potter a “proven coach and an innovator” with “skills and capabilities that extend beyond the pitch”. 

The financier has already said the club will adopt a more data-driven approach to choosing and signing players, suggesting that this summer’s spending spree could prove an anomaly born out of necessity. Brighton’s farewell statement noted that Potter had given professional debuts to 20 young players, a positive sign for Chelsea’s highly productive academy.

The new head coach is a different breed of manager, with a degree in social sciences and a master’s in leadership and emotional intelligence. He is known for his tactical flexibility and a knack for squeezing more out of the assets at his disposal. Under his watch, Brighton players increasingly commanded major transfer fees — Chelsea paid almost £60mn to bring defender Marc Cucurella to Stamford Bridge.

After a playing career largely spent in England’s lower leagues, Potter cut his managerial teeth in Sweden, where he led Ostersunds from the fourth tier to the top flight.

His methods translated into Premier League success. Brighton’s ninth place finish last season was its best ever showing in the top division. Although he has never coached in the Uefa Champions League, Europe’s elite club tournament, Potter has transformed Brighton from relegation candidates to a team that beat Manchester United 4-0 in May.

He leaves the club sitting in fourth spot.

Potter is set to bring some of his backroom staff with him to Chelsea, including one or two who have excelled in navigating the transfer market. While the new owners will be hoping to see an instant impact on the pitch, the longer-term implications of the move should become clear when the window for signings reopens. If the club is to leave behind a business model that saw it lose almost £1mn a week under Abramovich, these are changes that make sense.

An invitation

Our Business of Sport Summit takes place in New York on October 24. Marc Lasry and Josh Harris will be among those there to share their insights. As a Scoreboard subscriber, you can claim your free digital pass using the promo code Premium22 and purchase access to our VIP in-person discussions and drinks reception. Register for your pass today.

Highlights

• Porsche and Red Bull scrapped talks on a partnership that would’ve brought the Volkswagen-owned brand into Formula One. This leaves the sports car maker looking for other routes into the global racing series. Porsche is also planning an initial public offering in Frankfurt.

• Cazoo is pulling out of continental Europe to focus on the UK, putting jobs and high-profile sponsorships in doubt. The lossmaking online car seller will try to end sponsorships with Real Sociedad and Valencia in Spain’s LaLiga, Lille Olympique and Marseille in France’s Ligue 1, Bologna FC from Italy’s Serie A and SC Freiburg in Germany’s Bundesliga.

• Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Greece are set to launch a joint bid to host the 2030 football World Cup, according to the Times of London, threatening an existing effort by Spain and Portugal.

Her Majesty

Among the late Queen Elizabeth’s many contributions to sport — her love of thoroughbreds most notably — was her dramatic entry to the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics. Her 70-year reign was defined by her resilience and commitment to modernising the institution of the monarchy, and what better single demonstration of that legacy than by parachuting into the London Stadium with Daniel Craig as James Bond. “Never can Her Majesty have been introduced to her public in a manner like that”, as the broadcast announcer described it at the time, as the crowd rose to its feet for a standing ovation.