Ben Rothenberg

Washington, D.C.

Freelance Writer at The New York Times

Podcast Host at No Challenges Remaining

Journalist. Writer at BOUNCES (Subscribe at https://t.co/bgYO8R8uHv). Host @NCR_Tennis podcast. Author of new biography NAOMI OSAKA. [email protected] //

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Articles

When In Rome: The Promise (Not Kept)

5 days ago | benrothenberg.com | Ben Rothenberg

A little over two years ago, Angelo Binaghi made a big promise. Binaghi, the president of the Federation of Italian Tennis (FIT), announced in April 2023 that his country’s biggest tournament—the Italian Open in Rome, officially called the Internazionali BNL d’Italia—would close a big gap and offer equal prize money for the first time in 2025.
Vacancies Around the Vatican

1 week ago | benrothenberg.com | Ben Rothenberg

The papal conclave to elect the next pope begins tomorrow, Wednesday, May 7. Catholic cardinals from around the world have gathered in Vatican City to decide which mortal to elevate to the church’s top spot. Once a suitable successor to Pope Francis emerges by acclamation of the group, white smoke will billow from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel.
Another Tennis Anti-Doping Saga Drips Out

2 weeks ago | benrothenberg.com | Ben Rothenberg

One week before ATP No. 1 Jannik Sinner’s highly-anticipated return to competition at the Italian Open in Rome after serving a three-month ban, another notable anti-doping saga in men’s tennis has reached a resolution. Max Purcell was, remarkably, the third player to have won a major title in 2024 before running afoul of the anti-doping regulations later that same year. Purcell obviously isn’t nearly as famous as Sinner—or Iga Swiatek, the longtime WTA No. 1 who also caught a case last year.
Error Counts

2 weeks ago | benrothenberg.com | Ben Rothenberg

I’ve been working on a stats-driven piece that I’m hoping to have out soon here at Bounces, but I’ve been distracted and stuck on an unexpected topic I wanted to briefly address first: the image that’s been atop the WTA website for the last 12 hours and counting.
Error Counts

2 weeks ago | open.substack.com | Ben Rothenberg

I’ve been working on a stats-driven piece that I’m hoping to have out soon here at Bounces, but I’ve been distracted and stuck on an unexpected topic I wanted to briefly address first: the image that’s been atop the WTA website for the last 12 hours and counting.
Inside the Courtroom: PTPA vs ATP, Round 1

3 weeks ago | benrothenberg.com | Ben Rothenberg |Daniel Kaplan

Less than a month after filing its big lawsuit against four tennis governing bodies, the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) already found itself in a Lower Manhattan courtroom with the ATP Tour last Friday. As the PTPA was seeking an immediate gag order against the ATP Tour for its actions during the Miami Open to rally support amongst its players against the lawsuit, this first skirmish came months earlier than expected.
Naomi Osaka on When Julie-and Tennis-Keep Quiet

3 weeks ago | benrothenberg.com | Ben Rothenberg

After a relative dearth in the genre, there’s been a proliferation of movies foregrounding tennis in recent years, with Battle of the Sexes (2017), King Richard (2021), and Challengers (2024) being the obvious standouts. Those buzzy, big-budget movies were joined in recent months by Julie Keeps Quiet (Julie Zwijgt), a Belgian arthouse film movie that debuted at Cannes last year and was later Belgium’s submission to this year’s Oscars.
WTA 500 Stuttgart: Best in Class

4 weeks ago | benrothenberg.com | Ben Rothenberg

As I was looking at the tennis tours’ offerings this week, I thought back—as one does—to the 1996 Cyranoesque rom-com The Truth About Cats & Dogs. After the jerky boyfriend of Uma Thurman (Noelle) breaks the violin bow of her neighbor Janeane Garofalo (Abby), Noelle explains how she went shopping for a replacement to give Abby. “Did you know violin bows were like cars?” Uma Thurman muses.
Emptying the Charleston Notebook & Quotebook

1 month ago | benrothenberg.com | Ben Rothenberg

As promised, I’m emptying the notebook here for Bounces subscribers from my coverage of WTA 500 Charleston last week, bringing y’all lots of quotes from top WTA players about a whole range of topics.
Monte Carlo is a One-Week Wonder Among ATP 1000 Events

1 month ago | benrothenberg.com | Ben Rothenberg

I’ve been enjoying watching the early rounds from Monte Carlo this week more than I ever have in previous years, and I know why: brevity is the soul of an ATP tournament, and I’m cherishing it where I still can. Befitting its geography and high-priced real estate, the Mediterranean tournament feels both breezy and compact.