Botic van de Zandschulp is the moment
Indian Wells Week 1
Palm Springs is a strange place. By all means, people shouldn’t live in the desert. Water is shipped in. The Coachella Valley traps smog and pollution. The extreme heat is deadly. Most importantly, the strong wind affects your forehand.
However, it’s home to the beloved tennis tournament, Indian Wells. Last weekend I traveled 2,674 miles from Brooklyn to the simulation that is Palm Springs to check out the tournament that calls itself the “Tennis Paradise.”
In this newsletter I cover Indian Wells Week 1’s biggest:
Winner
Loser
Flex
Flop
Shoutout
🏆 Biggest Winner
Botic van de Zandschulp
The Dutch tennis player Botic van de Zandschulp forced Nick Kyrgios to retire, then defeated Novak Djokovic in 3 sets. It was truly iconic—not only because this Indian Wells tournament might be Kyrgios’ and Novak’s last—but because Botic is truly the luckiest loser to ever be a winner. (Until he lost in the 3rd round to Cerúndolo).
🫤 Biggest Loser
Nick Kyrgios
My first night at Indian Wells, I saw Nick Kyrgios play 2 and a half sets where he complained the whole time until he had a breakdown on court that ended in tears. While I felt bad for him for a minute, I remembered all the shitty things he’s said about Jannik Sinner, Anna Kalinskaya, Donna Vekic, and Iga Swiatek. I’m skeptical he can heal his hitting wrist at age 30, but I’m sure he can still hold the weight of a microphone for his budding broadcast career.
💪 Biggest Flex
Emma Navarro
In these turbulent political times, (eat the rich), it’s impossible to side with billionaires. The internet is typically against #NavarroNation, but you can’t argue she is just sooooo damn clutch. She came back in a 3 setter against Cîrstea after being a set down. I personally think it was a revenge match for Cîrstea beating Navarro in Dubai, but who’s to say.
🫣 Biggest Flop
Danielle Collins
Danielle Collins embraced the villain character at the Australian Open and developed this tagline of "[taking] that big fat paycheck.” She doubled down on it by launching a merchandise line ahead of Indian Wells. Her premier t-shirts say “PLAY TENNIS. CASH CHECKS. REPEAT.”
Honorable Mention: Novak Djokovic
Seen here: a robot trying to be likable.
📣 Shoutout
HUUUGGEE shoutout to Cartel Coffee for getting me through all the hungover mornings 🙏 You were truly a blessing I didn’t expect to find in Palm Springs.
Honorable Mention: Stefanos Tsitsipas
I’ll come out and say that I’ve never been a fan of Tsitsipas. The prince that was never king has found some success recently and for that I guess he deserves some mention at the bottom of this newsletter before his posse comes for me ✌️