That enormous tennis bag is not just there to make players look as if they are moving house. Open it up and you will usually find several rackets, often prepared in slightly different ways, all waiting for their moment. So, why do tennis players carry multiple rackets? The short answer is simple: because tennis is unpredictable. Strings break. Conditions change. Tension drops. A player’s feel can vanish for no obvious reason, usually at 30-40 when the universe is being rude.

There are moments in tennis when the sport looks, to the untrained eye, hilariously precious. A player asks for the “other” towel. Not that racquet, the one with the slightly different string tension. Someone in the crowd coughs at the wrong time and receives a stare usually reserved for minor crimes. A ball kid sprints over with a drink, a banana appears like room service, and somewhere nearby a coach, physio, hitting partner and fitness trainer are all trying to look calm w

Watch enough tennis and you start noticing the little rituals. The tug of the shirt. The look down the court. The slow breath. Then comes the bounce, bounce, bounce of the ball before the serve. On e good example is US Open winner Alexander Zverev, where his trademark pre-serve ritual rhythmically pounding the ball into the court two dozen times before every delivery-pushed time regulations to their absolute breaking point. So, why do tennis players bounce the ball before ser

You can watch tennis for years and still have the same small thought every few games: why are they wandering off to the other end again? It can look like habit, or a chance to towel down, sip something mysterious and stare into the middle distance. But switching sides is not just part of tennis theatre. It is built into the rules, and it matters more than it first appears. Why do tennis players switch sides during a tennis match? Mainly to keep conditions fair. Sun, wind, sha