{"id":413895,"date":"2026-01-18T00:00:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-18T00:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/413895\/"},"modified":"2026-01-18T00:00:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-18T00:00:11","slug":"tennis-on-and-off-court-battles-head-to-australia-plus-another-shock-mlb-signing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/413895\/","title":{"rendered":"Tennis\u2019 on- and off-court battles head to Australia. Plus: Another shock MLB signing"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Pulse Newsletter \ud83d\udce3 | This is The Athletic\u2019s daily sports newsletter. Sign up here<\/a> to receive The Pulse directly in your inbox.<\/p>\n

\u00a0G\u2019day! Go sign a massive deal.\u00a0Coming up:<\/p>\n

Down Under: Tennis\u2019 most pressing clashes, on and off the court<\/p>\n

Australian Open action begins in Melbourne tonight. See the full draw here<\/a> and key storylines here<\/a>. For now, let\u2019s take a step back and check in on the state of the tennis world.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll start on the court, where the word \u201cparity\u201d is on the verge of extinction from the tennis lexicon. Well, at least on the men\u2019s side.<\/p>\n

Since 2024, only two other men have won a tournament that both Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have entered: Andrey Rublev in Madrid nearly two years ago (Sinner withdrew due to injury) and \u2026 amateur Jordan Smith, who won the exhibition \u201cOne Point Slam\u201d<\/a> this week. To further contextualize their dominance:<\/p>\n

Alcaraz and Sinner have split all eight Grand Slam titles over the last two seasons. By comparison, the women\u2019s game saw four different Grand Slam champions last year alone.
\nReminder: Alcaraz is 22, Sinner is 24. A title in Australia would make Alcaraz the youngest man to earn a career Grand Slam. (Rafael Nadal was 24, Roger Federer was 27 and Novak Djokovic was 29.)
\nIt\u2019s also quite remarkable how evenly matched these two are. Across 16 head-to-head matches, Alcaraz and Sinner have each won exactly 1,651 points<\/a> against each other. Truly absurd. \ud83e\udd2f<\/p>\n

Assuming both are healthy, what are the chances someone not named Alcaraz or Sinner wins any of the four Grand Slams this season? The Athletic\u2019s Charlie Eccleshare<\/a> weighed in:<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcac \u201cI\u2019d go something like 10 to 15 percent. Sinner and Alcaraz are just so far ahead of the field. While there are a few players who could get hot and beat one of them, to beat both of them? That\u2019s a huge ask, especially with many of the chasing pack struggling for fitness and\/or confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t disagree with Charlie. These two are constantly one-upping each other<\/a>. On the women\u2019s side, world No. 2 Iga \u015awi\u0105tek could also achieve the career Grand Slam in Australia, but she\u2019d have to get past some familiar obstacles<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, off the court, tennis\u2019 governing bodies have faced mounting pressure from players that culminated in a pivotal antitrust lawsuit<\/a> last year. Chief among the players\u2019 complaints:<\/p>\n

An increasingly grueling schedule that runs for 11 months of the year.
\nAn unbalanced revenue split that sees players receive about 15 to 20 percent of revenues from the Grand Slams, a stark contrast<\/a> from most sports.<\/p>\n

Last week, The Athletic\u2019s senior tennis writer Matthew Futterman<\/a> reported that the ATP and WTA held a secret meeting<\/a> to begin digging the sport out of what has become something of a mess.<\/p>\n

I followed up with Futterman to get his thoughts on the most realistic change that could materially change the trajectory of the sport moving forward:<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcac \u201cThe easiest change, at least on the men\u2019s side, would be the removal of the word \u2018mandatory\u2019 as a descriptor from the eight Masters 1000 tournaments. Right now, players get penalized in their year-end bonuses if they don\u2019t play in all eight tournaments. No one likes having money taken away from them. It would also serve as an olive branch from the tour to the players.\u201d<\/p>\n

It sounds pretty simple, but this saga has been anything but. The sides appear to be on an unavoidable collision course<\/a> this season. Here\u2019s to hoping it doesn\u2019t overshadow a blossoming product on the court.<\/p>\n

News to Know<\/p>\n

Fallout from Tucker signing<\/p>\n

Roughly 12 hours after missing out on Kyle Tucker, the Mets agreed to sign Bo Bichette to a three-year deal worth $126 million<\/a> (with opt-outs after the first two years). The 27-year-old shortstop was The Athletic\u2019sNo. 2 free agent this offseason and is expected to play third base in New York, per our reporting. The Mets just wanted a star<\/a>, wherever he fit.<\/p>\n

After learning of Bichette\u2019s deal yesterday, fellow suitor Philadelphia also went ahead and locked in a reunion<\/a> with top free-agent catcher J.T. Realmuto.<\/p>\n

More news:<\/p>\n

Duke\u2019s Darian Mensah, one of the top returning quarterbacks in college football, notified the school he intends to enter thetransfer portal<\/a> \u2014 less than a month after he announced his return to the Blue Devils.
\nIn other CFB messes: Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss filed a lawsuit challenging the NCAA\u2019s decision to deny him a sixth year of college eligibility, contending he could lose millions of dollars if forced to enter the NFL Draft. Read our full report<\/a>.
\nThe University of Nebraska announced plans to add women\u2019s flag football, making it the first athletic department in a Power 4 conference to introduce the sport. So in<\/a>.
\n\u201cHeated Rivalry\u201d actor Fran\u00e7ois Arnaud called on the NHL to improve its relationship with the LGBTQ+ community as the league embraces the hit TV show. Strong quotes here<\/a>.
\nAn update to a story we shared earlier this week: The Angels have committed to insuring<\/a> injured prospect Rio Fosterthrough 2026, and paying out his contract for the season, after he suffered devastating injuries in a September car crash.
\nOlympic swimmer Yannick Agnel was indicted by a French criminal court for alleged acts of rape and sexual assault on a minor under 15 years old. More details here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcf0\u00a0Find more news here 24\/7<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Watch Guide<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcfa NFL: Bills at Broncos | 4:30 p.m. ET on CBS<\/p>\n

A banged-up Bills squad heads to Mile High to take on the No. 1 seed Broncos. This matchup will be much different<\/a> than last year\u2019s 31-7 Buffalo rout in the playoffs. Our panel of NFL coaches and executives picked the Broncos<\/a>, but bet against Josh Allen at your own risk.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcfa NFL: 49ers at Seahawks | 8 p.m. ET on Fox<\/p>\n

Speaking of injury-ridden squads that continue to defy the odds, the 49ers are this weekend\u2019s biggest underdog. Seattle\u2019s defense dominated<\/a> this matchup in Week 18. Seahawks QB Sam Darnold popped up on the injury report this week, but should be good to go<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcfa Australian Open: No. 3 Alexander Zverev vs. Gabriel Diallo | ~8:40 p.m. ET on ESPN<\/p>\n

Zverev is a distant No. 3 behind Alcaraz and Sinner. Diallo is a young, 6-foot-8 Canadian who could be dangerous. This is today\u2019s best match played at a reasonable hour. (Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka, the No. 1 seeds, both play in the middle of the night in the States.)<\/p>\n

Get tickets to games like this here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Pulse Picks<\/p>\n

This week is a balancing act for the 12 NFL assistant coaches who are preparing for playoff games \u2014 and for head-coaching interviews. Jourdan Rodrigue takes a look at the league\u2019s timing puzzle<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Coffee subscription services can guarantee access to the freshest possible beans, conveniently delivered to your door. (Plus, no more morning panic that you forgot to restock!) After months of testing, these are the subscriptions<\/a> that impressed me and my fellow kitchen experts the most. \u2014 Lesley Stockton<\/p>\n

Test your knowledge of this week\u2019s sports news with this quiz<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I really enjoyed Pablo Torre\u2019s interview<\/a> with Rainbolt, who has one of the better and more encouraging internet stories of the last few years. \u2014 Chris Branch<\/p>\n

With the transfer portal closing yesterday, Antonio Morales examined its frequent flyers and picked college football\u2019s Perpetually in the Portal Team<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Pro or semi-pro indoor soccer is a great way to get a live soccer fix with little kids. Lots of action and super affordable. We love our local (first-place!) Crunch<\/a>. Find a league to tap into. \u2014 Chris Sprow<\/p>\n

Add these small-batch buttermilk biscuits<\/a> to your list of recipes that use up odd amounts of common leftover ingredients. \u2014 Torrey Hart<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfa5 \u201cThe Athletic Show\u201d played a game of \u201cWho Said It?\u201d with quotes from athletes and other celebrities. LeBron or Taylor Swift? Harder than you might think<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: The inside story<\/a> of Mike Tomlin\u2019s final meeting as Steelers head coach.<\/p>\n

Most-read on the website yesterday: NFL insider playoff predictions<\/a>. (They nailed every pick last week.)<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udceb That\u2019s all for now! Say hello at thepulse@theathletic.com<\/a>, and check out our other newsletters<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Pulse Newsletter \ud83d\udce3 | This is The Athletic\u2019s daily sports newsletter. Sign up here to receive The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":413896,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[72],"tags":[99,428],"class_list":{"0":"post-413895","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tennis","8":"tag-sports","9":"tag-tennis"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/413895","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=413895"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/413895\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/413896"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=413895"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=413895"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=413895"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}