30-Love: Good Vibrations

From individuals to organizations, weekend warriors to professional players, minute observations to big-picture ideas, tennis has been top of mind across the board over the past two years.

“I feel like this is the tennis boom part two,” says Trey Waltke, general manager of the Malibu Racquet Club in southern California. “Everyone is talking tennis. Everyone is playing. People are rediscovering how great tennis is.”

Tennis shouldn’t rest on its laurels; the first boom didn’t last forever. But this is as good of an opportunity to reflect on what the sport has gotten right, during a time when so much has gone wrong.

Over the next few weeks, we'll do just that, with a series of stories—30-Love—that highlights 30 things worth celebrating about the New American Tennis Boom. Look for past articles on the left side of each page.—Ed McGrogan

Reilly Opelka’s celebratory Instagram caption after reaching his second ATP Masters 1000 semifinal this year, in Toronto, let the emojis do the talking:

☝️👋😐

The last one has special significance. His vibration dampener features the same “poker face” emoji; for Opelka’s fans, it has come to symbolize a “taking care of business” mentality on the court.

Opelka is one of many pros who get creative with the tiny tennis accessory. Madison Keys uses a bespectacled emoji, Bianca Andreescu uses a Canadian flag and Novak Djokovic uses his personal logo, to name a few.

While the benefit of vibration dampeners is debatable, they allow players of all ages a fun way to add some personal style (vibes?) to their frame. The array of eye-catching designs available might even make it easier to locate when an untimely shank sends it sailing.