January Mailbag: Tom Tebbutt on Rising Stars and Experiences with Legends

Welcome to Tennis Canada’s first monthly mailbag of 2025. This month, esteemed tennis journalist and Canadian Tennis Hall of Famer Tom Tebbutt answers questions submitted by you, the fans. 

Play the commissioner of tennis for one day. What is one rule change you would implement? 

We all have pet peeves about tennis. This isn’t exactly a rule, but for many years my main pet peeve was that two weeks was not enough time between Roland-Garros and Wimbledon. For several of those years, that particularly applied to Rafael Nadal, who was in so many French Open finals. I felt he, and generally all the players, needed one week to recover and get accustomed to grass, one week to play a grass-court prep tournament, and one week to sort of fine-tune in the relaxed atmosphere many players prefer the week before a Grand Slam tournament.  

Believe it or not, when I first went to Wimbledon in 1975, there was only one week between Wimbledon and Roland-Garros. That was changed a few years later and then a third week was added in 2015, which finally made sense. 

I guess now what I would change is bouncing the ball before players serve. I see no reason why they should not be limited to five bounces. I remember a situation many years ago when I was playing and late in the match, my opponent suddenly started bouncing a lot more before serving. I thought, and still do, that it’s unfair to returners because they can be distracted, wondering exactly when their opponent is finally going to serve. If a player wants to have ‘a think’ about serving tactics – do it before starting to bounce the ball. In other words, not while the receiver is poised and wondering when the server will eventually stop bouncing and start the ball toss. 

Which chair umpires do you respect the most and why? 

I always thought Mohamed Lahyani was pretty good. But when he got down from the chair and tried to encourage Nick Kyrgios to make more of an effort in his match against Pierre-Hugues Herbert at the 2018 US Open, he lost me. He only received a two-tournament suspension which was ridiculously lenient for an umpire who actually took sides in a match. He remains an obvious showman but not that bad an umpire.  

It’s hard to pick someone but I’ll go with two women, both competent and businesslike: Aurélie Tourte of France and Marjia Cicak of Croatia. 

What are your thoughts on Denis Shapovalov’s current ups and downs?  

What do I really know? But people ask me about him and I jokingly say he needs to take a tranquilizer. By that, I mean he should take his emoting down a notch or two and just let his incredible talent flow. It’s hard to think of anyone more gifted and I have always said that Denis is bull strong – I don’t think I’ve ever seen him get tired.  

Super-skilled players like him are a bit of a high-wire act and struggle managing the exceptional talent they’ve been given. Examples include a guy like Nick Kyrgios, who never figured it out, and John McEnroe, who wasn’t ever able to totally reconcile his talent with his combustible temperament.  

On the positive side, Roger Federer overcame early-career demons. He took the talent he was given, learned to control his emotions and maximized his natural ability. 

Read also: Shapovalov Ends Title Drought in Belgrade, Defeats Medjedovic for Second ATP Win

I wish Denis wouldn’t continually look over at his team between points. It would be better if he could just keep his head down and get on with it whether things are good or bad – giving the impression that he’s in control. At his very best, I can’t think of many players that can beat him. He’s that good. 

If Canada were to gain more tournaments on the ATP and WTA main tours, what cities would you like to see host tournaments?   

I’ve been around for a while and have listened to complaints for years about the too-long and too-crowded yearly schedule. I always use the word ‘intractable’ to describe it. 

Read also: 2025 wheelchair tennis teams announced as part of National High Performance and National Development Programs

Tournament sanctions are fixed and it’s very hard to change them. It was sad to see the Quebec City WTA tournament go. But, considering size and markets, Vancouver would be the obvious choice. Calgary and Edmonton might be possibilities, as well as Halifax. But it’s unlikely there would be a spot available on the already over-crowded calendar.   

Which of the new faces that we’ve seen make noise lately impresses you the most? 

Jannik Sinner is a really good player but Carlos Alcaraz is the guy that I enjoy watching. After Roger Federer retired many of us wondered if another player with his kind of variety would ever come along. Then – boom – Alcaraz fell from the sky. It was just like Federer did in the early 2000s when more one-dimensional players like Marat Safin and Lleyton Hewitt looked like they were taking over as all-court champion Pete Sampras was winding down. 

I also like Holger Rune. He’s exasperating and can be difficult, but he has an athleticism that’s fun to watch.  

Among the women today there are a few. Coco Gauff and Jasmine Paolini are a treat to watch as is Karolina Muchova, although she’s been around a bit longer. The same with Jelena Ostapenko. She’s a ridiculous drama queen but the explosiveness of her shots is great entertainment. Unfortunately, they don’t always land in. 

Who is an upcoming under-the-radar Canadian player that people should know about? 

I’m not really very good at this because I have mostly concentrated on the pro tours. I always thought Gabriel Diallo was impressive and would break through sooner than he now has. At the moment, Liam Draxl seems like a pretty determined young guy on the rise.  

But Filip Peliwo won the Wimbledon and US Open juniors in 2012 – the year Genie Bouchard won junior Wimbledon – and finished No. 1 in the ITF year-end rankings. But you never know how things will play out. Genie made a Wimbledon final and reached to No. 5 in the world. Filip is about to turn 31 and currently ranks No. 586 with a career-high of No. 161 in 2018. Now representing Poland, he is a good guy, smart and a hard worker. But the reality is that not everyone makes it to the top ranks – and in his case it isn’t for lack of trying. 

Read also: Diallo, Stakusic Highlight Canadian Tennis Milestones in 2024

Among the women – Marina Stakusic has a big game and can make a lot of players uncomfortable. She’s just 20 and has a high ceiling but her hard-hitting tennis involves more risk and she will probably take a little more time to mature.   

What are your thoughts about being mentioned in Pete Sampras’ autobiography? 

I’ve never thought about it. I guess it came about because I had the scoop that Pete had Thalassemia Minor, which came about after he vomited on court and looked completely out-of-it during a 1996 US Open quarter-final against Alex Corretja. He won the match and went on to win the US Open for a fourth time.  

Here’s how I described it in a 1996 Globe and Mail article – “it has been learned that Sampras has an inherited condition that is almost certainly thalassemia minor, a congenital form of anemia common among people from the Mediterranean. Sampras’ mother, Georgia, was born in Greece, and his father, Sam, is of Greek ancestry.” 

Pete was No. 1 at the time and it was big news. The scoop sort of fell in my lap and then I connected the dots – with help from a couple of doctors. Thalassemia Minor (Thalassemia Major – the bad genes from both parents – is much more serious) did somewhat limit his ability to train. But the condition doesn’t affect his life expectancy. He was 25 at the time and I thought for sure it would be an issue at some point during the rest of his career. But it really wasn’t. There may have been a few other incidents (the 1997 French Open semifinal on a hot day against Yevgeny Kafelnikov) – but nothing again ever came close to being as terrible as that 1996 US Open match.   

Have you ever been star-struck by a player you got to speak to? If so, who? 

At my first Canadian Open in Toronto in 1974, I found myself sitting on a patio around a table with a few other people and Jimmy Connors, who had just won Wimbledon.  I couldn’t quite figure out how I got there. 

I also once did an interview with Arthur Ashe during a car ride when he did a promotional appearance in Toronto. And in 2003 in Montreal, Journal de Montreal journalist Mario Brisebois and I interviewed just-crowned Wimbledon champion Roger Federer informally down on the court after one of his pre-tournament practice sessions. 

Read also: Dabrowski Opens Up About her Breast Cancer Journey 

I guess I was a bit star-struck many years earlier when I interviewed tennis greats like Fred Perry, Alice Marble, Pancho Gonzales, Rod Laver, and more recently Yannick Noah and Mats Wilander – both great guys. The nicest player ever was, easily, Kim Clijsters. 

What is the coolest interaction you’ve had with someone in the tennis world? 

One year during Wimbledon, probably 1980, I had an interview scheduled with Arthur Ashe and somehow found myself riding in a London taxi with him, and American legend Jack Kramer, on the way to his hotel – The Westbury. 

Also, I worked at a WCT (World Championship Tennis) event in Montreal in 1979 and took then four-time Wimbledon champion Bjorn Borg of Sweden to a Canadiens hockey game at the Forum. After he finished a match, we travelled by Metro from the Maurice Richard Arena in the east end of the city. There weren’t many people around us on the subway and no one recognized Bjorn until we got inside the Forum. 

Heading into week two, who WERE your picks (men’s and women’s singles) to win the Australian Open?    

People think because you cover a sport, you’re some sort of an expert with inside knowledge about what’s going to happen. I’m usually no better at predicting than the average tennis fan.  

Read also: Canadians crash out of Australian Open singles draw

I remember right before the 2019 US Open women’s final, I was interviewed by Radio-Canada. They asked me who I thought would win between Serena Williams and Bianca Andreescu. I had no clue. But in the seconds I had to think about it, I decided picking Bianca would be a better choice because she’s a fellow Canadian, and I’m on Canadian television. I suppose I ended up looking like a smart guy but it was just a calculated personal decision – not one based on any deep analytical assessment of who actually was going to win. 

If I had to pick at the beginning of the week – I would have picked Swiatek and Alcaraz. 

Tickets for the Davis Cup Qualifiers 1^st Round tie between Canada and Hungary are now on sale. Join us February 1 and 2 at IGA Stadium in Montreal, as the Canadian team begins their quest for the 2025 Davis Cup Final 8. To access tickets at early-bird pricing, click here.