Welcome back to the Monday Tennis Briefing, where The Athletic\u00a0will explain the stories behind the stories from the past week on court.<\/p>\n
This week, Carlos Alcaraz took over clay season without hitting a ball, a very patriotic fuel source was key to one player\u2019s Italian Open run and the lawsuit hanging over professional tennis took a new twist.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019d like to follow our fantastic tennis coverage, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n How did Carlos Alcaraz raise the temperature of clay season off the court?<\/p>\n Judging by last week, Carlos Alcaraz<\/a> doesn\u2019t need to play in the French Open<\/a> to be a main character.<\/p>\n One reason he\u2019s still front of mind is the brow-furrowingly thin group of contenders who seem capable of stepping up to challenge Jannik Sinner<\/a>\u2019s push for the title at Roland Garros in Alcaraz\u2019s absence.<\/p>\n The other is a glossy magazine spread<\/a>. How old-fashioned!<\/p>\n Alcaraz was one of three athletes who each got their own cover for this month\u2019s showpiece sports issue of \u201cVanity Fair\u201d \u2014 alongside the WNBA\u2019s A\u2019ja Wilson and global soccer star Kylian Mbappe.<\/p>\n Both Mbappe and Alcaraz went with a sultry vibe for their cover portraits<\/a>, but what really got the internet aflutter was the cheeky photos of Alcaraz rolling around in the red dirt. In the seven-time Grand Slam champion\u2019s spread, shot by Ethan James Green, Alcaraz posed in an all-white ensemble of a vest, shorts, a top and a suit, stained with clay.<\/p>\n Not to constantly compare him to tennis\u2019s other Spanish superstar, but it was reminiscent of when Rafael Nadal left the confines of usual tennis-player branding and starred in a Shakira music video<\/a>.<\/p>\n There was also some rolling on the ground involved in that.<\/p>\n It\u2019s always nice to be reminded that a big, splashy magazine shoot can still make noise in tennis. Magazines \u2014 particularly ones that center on fashion or elements of culture that have little to do with sports \u2014 have been go-to spaces for tennis stars looking to reach a broad audience and perhaps cast themselves as more than just athletes.<\/p>\n Naomi Osaka cemented her place as a global figure at the intersection of business and fashion by sitting for covers with the likes of \u201cThe New York Times Magazine\u201d in 2018,<\/a> \u201cWall Street Journal Magazine\u201d in 2020<\/a> and the cool British lifestyle mag \u201cDazed\u201d in 2022<\/a>. Coco Gauff went with the most mainstream coronation there is and wore a glittering gold dress on the cover of \u201cVogue<\/a>\u201d after winning the U.S. Open in 2023.<\/p>\n Only a few players per tennis generation become successful crossover brands. It\u2019s interesting to watch it happen from the early stages, in part because how a player positions themselves in culture feels like a window into their values, goals and self-concept.<\/p>\n