Tag: WTA

Why fans eat strawberries and cream at Wimbledon, explained

Here’s why strawberries and cream are a thing at Wimbledon.

There’s nothing truly special about strawberries and cream separately. When you put them together, they’re just fine.

But when you add the context of tennis and Wimbledon? Strawberries and cream, as a combination, quite literally become historic.

Yes, I know. It’s an extremely weird combination to be described as “historic,” but it’s true. People have been eating strawberries and cream at what the iconic tennis tournament for literal centuries at this point. It’s not just a thing — it’s the thing. If you’re lucky enough to go to Wimbledon, you have to try it.

The tradition dates back to the first actual Wimbledon tournament back in 1877, according to The New York Times. We know it’s a thing. But the question is: Why? There are a couple of reasons we can point back to.

The first is simple — strawberries were just in season during June and July. It was a convenient snack that the locals had plenty of.

Second, King George V also reportedly ate strawberries during the matches he’d watched. It caught on with the locals and just became a thing. Here’s more from The New York Times:

“Popular legend has it that King George V introduced strawberries and cream to courtside crowds. But the tradition actually dates from around the time of the first Wimbledon tournament in 1877, according to Audrey Snell, a librarian at the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum. Strawberries and tennis, she said, both signaled the arrival of summer.”

Now, here we are more than a century later, still eating the same snack. Talk about a trendsetter.

This wonderful moment between Caroline Wozniacki and husband David Lee helped push her back to tennis

Shoutout to David Lee, man.

Caroline Wozniacki is back, folks. The former world No. 1 ranked WTA player confirmed that she’s returning to tennis after a 3-year hiatus in a piece she did with Vogue. 

Wozniacki revealed that she’d retired from the game in 2020 after discovering she had rheumatoid arthritis. She’d worked herself to a point where she could control it by changing her diet and constantly keeping her joints active, but it’d become exhausting.

So Wozniacki decided to step away from tennis just two years after she’d won the 2018 Australian Open at 29 years old. She’d spent time with her husband, former NBA player David Lee, and their families. They had a family of their own, too, after having two kids.

But, of course, to the observer, it felt like there was unfinished business there following Wozniacki’s departure from the game. Wozniacki apparently felt the same, too.

She’d gotten the urge to play again. And, it seems, a quick little conversation between Wozniacki and Lee helped her decide to give tennis a shot again.

“A few weeks later, between Christmas and New Year’s, David and the children and my dad and my mom were on a beach. Olivia was running around, having a blast, and as I sat there looking out across the water, I just kind of blurted out to David: “I’ve been hitting it well.”

“Yeah,” he said. “I’ve been watching.”

“Should I come back?” I asked, more rhetorically than anything.

“Honestly, why not?” David said, after a moment. “We only live once,”.” 

And, just like that, Caroline Wozniacki is coming back for the US Open later in 2023. Shoutout to David Lee for being a good, supportive husband. We all get to benefit from it now.

Drew Brees gifts signed jersey to rising pro tennis star Madison Keys

New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees gifted a signed jersey to Women’s Tennis Association professional Madison Keys, a rising star in the sport.

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New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees is a month-and-some-change away from his 41st birthday, and the Hall of Fame-bound passer appears to have take an increased interest in what younger athletes are accomplishing, or about to — like the arrival of New Orleans Pelicans rookie Zion Williamson, who received an autographed jersey as a housewarming gift from Brees. He’s offered his advice to Williamson as a mentor, and done the same for phenomenal Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson.

But Brees isn’t limiting his attention to basketball and football. Before committing himself to football, he famously competed against Andy Roddick when they were both in school together. The future men’s tennis world champion says that he initially won twice, but defeated Brees so soundly he hung up his racket and focused on football.

So it’s clear that Brees is still keeping up with the goings-on in a sport he once considered, and reached out to professional women’s tennis player Madison Keys. Keys recently won the 2019 Cincinnati Open in her first career Premier 5 title, putting her on the map as a potential heir to superstars Venus and Serena Williams in a few years.

Keys received a No. 1 jersey from the Saints that was signed by Brees, and she took the time to thank him in a video from the official Women’s Tennis Association Twitter account, expressing gratitude and excitement at displaying it in her home. Check it out in the video embedded below, or by following this link:

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