Tennis365’s A to Z of tennis for May: Featuring balls, GOATs and more

We give you an A to Z snapshot of some of the important things that happened in the world of tennis during May that you may have missed.

A is for App: Namely the BBM app, which has Tennis365’s live centre in its Discover menu. Install it now!

B is for balls: Not the yellow ones, the sort the Next Gen stars need to show to start troubling Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and co in the Slams, so says Tim Ellis.

C is for catsuit: If you have been living under a rock, then you probably won’t know that Serena Williams donned a catsuit on her return to Roland Garros. Here are pics of THAT outfit and her other fashion statements.

D is for double(s) disappointment: Bob and Mike Bryan’s record consecutive Grand Slam doubles appearances came to an end at 76 as Bob had to withdraw from the French Open due to injury. To add insult to injury, Mike and his new partner Sam Querrey then lost in the first round.

E is for early exit: Jelena Osapenko’s early exit at the Roland Garros meant she was only the second French Open champion to lose in the first round of the tournament after Anastasia Myskina in 2005.

F is for first: Kyle Edmund and Denis Shapovalov both reached their first ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final in Madrid. Oh and Edmund also claimed a first win over Novak Djokovic in Spain.

G is for GOAT: The greatest player of all time debate was back in the news as first Maria Sharapova called Rafael Nadal the GOAT after practicing with him and then Roger Federer described Serena Williams as “probably the overall greatest player of all time”.

H is for hip surgery: It may cause Andy Murray to miss Wimbledon – so we don’t like it, and neither did the Scot.

I is for indoor courts: The indoor courts at Roland Garros can’t come soon enough for Rafael Nadal with the 10-time French Open winner saying it’s a “necessary change” after his first match of this year’s tournament had to be suspended due the weather. It is set to be completed by 2020 at a cost of €358m.

J is for Jared Donaldson: He is proving to be a controversial figure after he twice produced underarm serves against Grigor Dimitrov at the French Open. A few months ago he also had a run-in with a chair umpire.

K is for Karolina Pliskova: The Czech smashed a hole in the umpire’s chair at the Italian Open after she lost her match against Maria Sakkari. She was fined for the incident, but then decided to donate the same amount to charity and later described it as “good marketing”.

L is for lexicon: We’re going to write one which covers all the bases for tennis. Coming soon! You’re welcome.

M is for money: You need to have plenty of that if you want to buy a Moet & Chandon limited-edition champagne magnum that celebrates Roger Federer’s 20-year career milestone. €19,998 (£17 420) is what you’ll need.

N is for new heights: Kyle Edmund reached a career-high of 17th in the ATP Rankings in May.

O is for out of pocket: Peter Gojowczyk had to pay €25,000 out of his own pocket after he retired during his first-round match at the French Open. The fine comes on the back of the new “under-performing” rule that states “Any player who competes in the first round main draw singles and retires or performs below professional standards may now be subject to a fine up to (the equivalent) first round prize money”.

P is for press: It was a tough start to the French Open for the press as first Johanna Konta laid into the press, calling them b*****ds for writing c**p after she exited Roland Garros and then Bernard Tomic delivered a 64-word petulant press conference after he was beaten in the first round by Marco Trungelliti (more on that below).

Q is for Quizzes: We have a host of 10-question teasers for you on the site.

R is for record: Something that Rafael Nadal specialised in as he set a new record of 50 consecutive sets won on clay during his run at the Italian Open.

S is for sports car: Alexander Zverev was given a BMW when he won the title in Munich.

T is for ten-hour trek: Lucky loser Marco Trungelliti, his brother, mother and 88-year-old grandmother took a 1,000km trip from Barcelona to Paris so that he could compete in the first round at Roland Garros. He ended up beating Bernard Tomic, but lost in round two.

U is for unseeded: French Open organisers’ decision not to seed Serena Williams caused quite a bit of controversy with many calling for rule changes. Wimbledon, though, has decided to seed her.

V is for video: We now have a cool video archive. How about a video of cat coming within a whisker of being hit during Italian Open rally?

W is for Wimbledon: Yes, we know we have the French Open first – but it’s all about SW19 once the sun starts shining in England…it’s only a few weeks away.

X is for eXhausted: Petra Kvitova pulled out of the Italian Open, citing exhaustion. To be fair to her, she won back-to-back titles in Prague and Madrid Open. “My body is very exhausted,” she said.

Y is for Young Sports Stars Rich List: Andy Murray was second on the 2018 Sunday Times Young Sports Stars Rich List with £83m, £27m shy of top-placed Rory McIlroy. This will be last year that Murray appears on this particular list as it’s for people 30 and under. Murray turned 31 on May 15.

Z is for Zverev: Alexander Zverev was the form player in May as he won back-to-back titles at the BMW Open and Madrid Open while he also finished runner-up to Rafael Nadal at the Rome Masters.

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