00:00It's incredible. It's, of course, trying to expand and grow into a different market as well and bringing it to
00:06America, which is a very important market for Wimbledon, get the American fans involved and also for people who've never
00:13had a chance to be at Wimbledon to actually bring it here, bring it to Central Park.
00:16I mean, it looks beautiful. Everything is set up by the same way as it is in London. So you
00:22have the groundskeepers from London have come here to set up the court and make it proper and make it
00:27perfect. And just the way it looks, it's beautiful. And we're so excited to be here. It's the first time
00:33we get to play on grass in Central Park. And I think it's going to be a really fun event.
00:38Well, what exactly sort of is the aim here? I mean, are they just trying to attract a broader audience,
00:43a broader international audience? I mean, we do actually have a big tournament that goes on here in the U
00:48.S. every year, the U.S. Open.
00:49I think it's trying to just get Wimbledon outside of, you know, the U.K. and expand and look into
00:57getting more people involved, get the kids involved.
01:00And also just kind of Wimbledon is obviously such an iconic event, a little bit like the Masters.
01:05But at the same time, you want to make people feel a part of the event and just get a
01:10little taste of what it's like being there.
01:12And maybe, hopefully, it will attract people to make the trip over there as well and go see it and
01:18go be part of it.
01:20Well, there's plenty of interest in the court that we've set up here.
01:23And you can see people milling around and taking photos.
01:26I do want to talk about the state of competitive tennis right now.
01:30Obviously, you have a very unique perch.
01:32You've been involved with the sport for decades at this point.
01:35Who are the names, especially on the women's side, that you're going to be watching on the tour this year?
01:39Well, I think we have to talk about Serena.
01:41You know, she's coming back.
01:42She hasn't played a competitive singles match in, I think, it's four years.
01:46And so for her to come back, it's going to be so fascinating to see, not only as her friend.
01:51I love watching her play, but also as a tennis fan.
01:54You know, having the greatest women's player of all time come back on court, coming back and playing in front
02:00of, you know, the whole world.
02:02It's going to be great to see.
02:04I'm really rooting for her.
02:05I hope that she can get and fight her way into the tournament.
02:07And it's not always easy once you've had a layoff for a while.
02:12But she's come back.
02:13She's played some doubles matches.
02:14She's feeling great.
02:15She's moving well.
02:16And so that's going to be really fun to see.
02:18And otherwise, you know, Sinner, can he come back after the way that he ended his French Open?
02:23He had a heat stroke and he didn't feel well.
02:26So it's going to be good to see him come back.
02:28And I think he's a heavy favorite on the men's side.
02:30Well, when it comes to Serena, obviously, you guys are close friends and you have a unique perspective on coming
02:36back.
02:36You did step away from the sport for a number of years, starting in 2020.
02:41I mean, what advice would you have for Serena, you know, re-entering the competitive landscape?
02:47Well, I think she doesn't really need my advice.
02:50I think she knows exactly what she's doing.
02:52But I've talked to her.
02:53And, you know, I think for her, most importantly, she needs to take care of her body, make sure she
02:59can recover well.
03:01She has her whole team there.
03:02So I know she takes all the right steps.
03:04But it's going to feel a lot different after your first proper competitive match.
03:08I mean, you're going to feel sore.
03:10And especially after playing on grass, too, you're lower on your legs.
03:14You're going to feel your back.
03:15You're going to feel your glutes.
03:17It's different, the recovery.
03:18You can practice as much as you want.
03:20But when you bring in the nerves and the competitiveness, you just go that extra step.
03:25And that can feel hard to do that over and over again.
03:28But most importantly, I think for Serena, it is to come into this tournament, get some match play under her
03:34belt, come out of it healthy.
03:35And then I think she's going to be a much bigger threat at the U.S. Open coming up.
03:40I want to talk about the economics of tennis.
03:42And obviously, Serena, the Williams sisters were a big part of those economics improving.
03:46Over the last couple of decades, we should point out the All England Club this year did actually raise the
03:52prize pool by roughly about 20 percent.
03:54But there's a bit of a silent protest that's going to be going on by several of the key players,
03:57including Center, who are asking for an even larger share of revenue.
04:01Right now, it's roughly about 15 percent.
04:04Is there sort of some sort of open negotiation where you think that we would start to see a greater
04:10share of revenue for the players?
04:11Yeah, I think the whole conversation started at the French Open.
04:14They wanted 15 percent of shared revenue, and it's been a lot less over the years.
04:21But every year, the Grand Slams keep raising their prize money, but the players think that they should have a
04:26bigger cut of the whole pie, which I understand.
04:30But at the same time, I mean, this year, Wimbledon is raising their prize money so significantly.
04:33It's hard, so close to the tournament, to immediately ask for everything.
04:38And so I think Wimbledon has really made a big step forward.
04:42I think they're showing that they're willing to work with the players.
04:44They're willing to move forward in the right direction that benefits both players and the tournament.
04:49I also understand the tournament side of we keep improving facilities and everything else for the players, for the teams
04:56to make sure that they can have the best possible preparations and whatever they would ever need.
05:03And so I do think that Wimbledon has really made a big step forward.
05:08I think they have shown the players that they're here to talk and to really come to a great understanding.
05:14And I do think it's hard now to ask Wimbledon to raise their prize money even more at this point.
05:20But, you know, I feel like there's a nice way that you can approach this and moving forward as well.
05:26I know U.S. Open will definitely raise their prize money as well.
05:30There's a little bit of a competition there between the Grand Slams, too.
05:32They want to be the best.
05:33They want to be the biggest.
05:34They want to, you know, have the biggest impact.
05:36So I think everyone is hopefully going to come into a nice understanding.
05:44But I do think the players at this point should be, I'm not going to say happy, but I think
05:52I would be happy that we're moving in the right direction and taking the right steps.
05:56Well, with regards to the overall product, not just Wimbledon, but the tour overall, and I am curious as to
06:01sort of in your view what you think the state of it is in terms of its health, certainly compared
06:06to when you were playing and winning matches.
06:08Has it changed?
06:09Has it improved a lot?
06:10It's changed a lot.
06:11I mean, prior to 2009, I turned pro in 2005.
06:15In 2009, we had something called a roadmap, the WTA roadmap that came on.
06:20We got equal prize money at the Grand Slams as well.
06:22We got bigger events.
06:24The Masters won thousands where the prize money went up significantly.
06:28It did take much more of a commitment on the players.
06:33There's tournaments that you have to show up to now or you get fined.
06:36But at the same time, the tournaments were like, okay, we want the best players to get more prize money.
06:41You know, we have to work together.
06:43I think the state of the game is going in the right direction.
06:46We're going into, I mean, we've expanded to China, into the Middle East.
06:51We've expanded into all parts of the world as well.
06:55So finding that balance of constantly upping the prize money and, you know, tennis is a sport, an individual sport.
07:02If you don't play, you don't get paid.
07:04And it's, you know, there's no guaranteed money.
07:06So you have to look at it from the player's perspective of you have such a short career.
07:10You don't know how long it's going to last.
07:12So obviously you want to make the most prize money as possible so you can live after your tennis career.
07:19But at the same time, protecting the players and protecting the tournament.
07:24So there's a fine balance.
07:25I think we're moving in the right direction.
07:27I think Serena and Venus on the women's side have made a huge impact, not only the way they've played,
07:32but being on the player council.
07:34I was on the player council for years with them.
07:36And I think that really pushed the tour in the right direction.
07:41There's always improvements that can be made.
07:44And it's hard because tennis is, you know, played all over the globe.
07:48So there's going to be a lot of traveling involved.
07:51But having a global sport, having the biggest women's sport in the world, it's, it's, I think it's the best
07:56sport in the world, too.
07:57It's amazing where we are at the moment.
07:58Well, before we let you go, I am curious to hear a little bit more about your life.
08:02As you mentioned, you know, it's a relatively short window in the span of a lifetime where you're playing professional
08:07tennis.
08:08You went pro in 2005 when you were a teenager.
08:11What does life look like for, what does life look like for you now?
08:15And what is your place in the sport going forward?
08:18Again, I love tennis.
08:20So right now, what I, I haven't played a competitive match in almost two years.
08:25And I have three little kids.
08:28I spend a lot of time with them.
08:29They're only little for so long.
08:30So I really want to take, make the most out of it and spend as much time as I possibly
08:35can with them.
08:36They grow up so fast.
08:37But I still like to be involved in tennis.
08:39So I still do broadcasting, commentating at the Four Slams.
08:43I do events like this, sponsor activities.
08:45So I work maybe about 10 weeks a year.
08:48And that really works out well for me and where I'm at, at the stage of my life.
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