If you watch tennis closely enough, as I’m sure you do if you’re reading this, you already know that there’s never a dull moment in the sport. If, for some reason, you weren’t aware of that fact, here's some unassailable proof (hint: audio's a must on this one):
Wait, what did he say? Is that legal? Did that happen? Maybe, and yes.
After the match, a 6-4, 6-4 upset victory over Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro at the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, a very happy Alison Riske talked to reporters about the incident.
“Well, it was a really tough position for me,” she said of the moments leading up to the Candid Camera moment. “Basically I had the second set on my racquet, I was serving for it, and I played probably four of the most tentative points. That is extremely frustrating. And I think maybe I should make all of my on-court coaching experiences like that one and maybe I’ll win the next game like I did today.”
Riske had told reporters after the match that she has started working with recently retired Chanelle Scheepers, but that certainly wasn’t Scheepers providing Riske with “motivational” assistance on Wednesday. Later in the evening, as the buzz grew on Twitter, Riske chimed in to reveal the identity of the coach in question: it was her boyfriend (who is also a USTA National coach).
Riske will face either Elina Svitolina or Nicole Gibbs in the quarterfinals at Stanford on Friday. Come for the tennis, stay for the on-court coaching.