FOMO keeps Clara Tauson going through busy 2025 schedule in Cincinnati

CINCINNATI, Ohio—This summer, Clara Tauson may be the hardest working woman in tennis. After taking a whopping four days off following Wimbledon, the world No. 15 has played all three weeks of the US Open swing and went straight from the Omnium Banque Nationale to the Cincinnati Open with less than 48 hours from landing in Queen City to playing her first match.

“I didn’t really have any turnaround, to be honest,” said Tauson, a semifinalist in Montréal. “I had a one-hour hit on Friday and then I was playing doubles first match on Saturday. I wasn’t too happy about that, but nothing I could do, apparently.”

**Stream a replay of Clara Tauson vs. Ajla Tomljanovic on the Tennis Channel App!**

In the midst of a breakthrough season, Tauson reached her second WTA 1000 semifinal of the season up North and opted to take advantage of the private jet offered by the tournament following the singles final, a decision that yielded mixed results for the Dane.

“It took a really long time,” she said after a three-set singles victory over Ajla Tomljanovic on Sunday. “We landed here, like, 3AM, and I was on the practice court in the afternoon and then playing doubles was obviously hard. I made the most of it.

“I’m practicing a little bit less, obviously, because I’ve had so many matches in a row. I’m still in it in doubles [with Magda Linette] here, also. We won our first match, so I don’t really have too much down time, to be honest! Hopefully, a day off tomorrow and just a light hit. Then we’ll see for the next day.”

The 22-year-old hardly looks worse for wear despite a long opening round against Tomljanovic, Tauson confessing she prefers match play to practice—even as the tight schedule continues to put the squeeze on her and her fellow players.

I would love, say, one or two weeks where there’s no tournaments, and there’s nothing to look at or be annoyed by that you’re not playing...t’s obviously a lot when you can see other people playing and maybe you took the week off, and you feel left out. Clara Tauson

“It’s obviously been a really long year, and there’s a really long time left,” she smiled. “I always find peace in knowing there’s a tournament every single week, so if I don’t do well this week, I have another week next week and the week after. I can’t really complain about my situation right now.”

If she could make one change, it would be for the tour to institute an official summer vacation after Wimbledon, one that would offer a more substantial break and cure her raging sense of FOMO or, “fear of missing out.”

“I would love, say, one or two weeks where there’s no tournaments, and there’s nothing to look at or be annoyed by that you’re not playing. Then, obviously, the pre-season could be a little bit longer. But that’s my take on it. It’s obviously a lot when you can see other people playing and maybe you took the week off, and you feel left out.”

The Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships runner-up has been a self-described “tennis geek” since her teen years, admitting it’s hard to unplug from the sport even on her off weeks.

“You see it everywhere: social media, Resultina, all the apps,” said Tauson, who’ll next face Veronika Kudermetova in the third round. “So, you can’t really log out completely. I try to not look as much, but it’s really difficult.

“Maybe I’m looking a little bit less at the lower tournaments, but most of the time, I know what’s going on, even in the juniors!” she added with a laugh.