Racquet #24

Racquet #24

From the Editor:

Like everything in media, Racquet is subject to change. When I initially conceived of it in 2015- a full year before our first issue-print was considered fully dead and the only way was internet. Nearly a decade later, niche magazines are in revival, and suddenly a moonshot idea to center a modern media company around a print love-letter to tennis seems fortuitous. But not all things have stayed the same, and we're thrilled to be coming out of brief hibernation with this riotous edition of the print magazine, featuring voices new and old.

We gained brilliant minds on the business side and turned accomplished friends into contributors, including creative director Gianmaria Schönlieb and photographer Emiliano Granado, who conceived and captured our cover story of the club player as protagonist at the historic West Side Tennis Club. Ahead of its 20th anniversary (and as the pro tour visits the All England Lawn Tennis Club), frequent correspondent Caira Conner has an oral history of the film Wimbledon remembered by its director and stars- some of whom, like Mary Carillo, play themselves. We also have travel diaries galore, by musicians Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy and Zac Farro of Paramore, who give new meaning to the concept of tennis tour, and a slice of Nick Pachell's very good year, in which he visited the most glorious courts around the globe.

Former Top 5 WTA player Caroline Garcia has penned an autobiographical essay about storytelling as life-or at least career-saving art, and longtime features writer (and our features editor) Wendy Laird tells a story of obsession and the dark arts as only she can. We're also using the occasion of this edition to launch a partnership with Seoul-based cultural curators Ssoldot, on the precipice of a tennis explosion in Korea.

Theresa Lin, who so compellingly profiled Issue No. 22 cover star Qinwen Zheng, this year's Australian Open Finalist, returns here with a piece of short fiction. And who better to help us realize this issue's art and design than the women behind another sports magazine, Flagrant, the best print title on basketball? I couldn't think of any, so l asked them to help us bring this, our 24th issue, to life.

About Racquet:

An ode to the most beautiful courts in the world, a revival of the tennis club, tennis travel diaries and more!