Oh no, the tennis tournament has been cancelled in favor of pickleball! And all the pros are here to get a piece of the action. (What a bunch of gherks.)

• Find each pro’s “talent,” hidden in their bio. (You could say that their talent is their middle name.)
• Pair up the pros side by side, by pairing up talents.
• Use these 20 pairs to find 20 words. Write the words in the series of blanks formed in the middle of each pair.
• Using these new words, figure out how to slot the pairs onto the the 10 pickleball courts below.
• Fill in the blanks.

When done correctly, you’ll discover what we’re going to name this tournament.

Plain text

Players

Althea Gibson — To her, a football game is not worth anyone’s time. (2)
Andre Agassi — His new gambit is to advertise Stockholm and Oslo businesses during matches. (3)
Andy Murray — An X marks where he once dropped the literal ball. (1)
Anna Kournikova — Her mother gave her a pearl keepsake that she never removes. (2)
Arthur Ashe — He had a lair apparently built for his trophies. (1)
Bill Tilden — His signature move, a “beatdown hatchet,” took years of practice. (1)
Billie Jean King — She is fond of movies that are really bad, like Jumanji, Wonderland, Kickboxer, etc. (2)
Bobby Riggs — He studies bad Google reviews to improve technique. (2)
Boris Becker — Even a boring throw brings this player joy. (2)
Chris Evert — A comedy movie enthusiast, she tries slipping references into her games. (1)
Daniil Medvedev — He devours lion’s manes as part of a secret pre-game ritual. (2)
Evonne Goolagong Cawley — In her eighty first game, word came that her dog had given birth to puppies, but it didn’t faze her a bit. (2)
Frances Tiafoe — Folk Country tunes make up his pre-game playlist. (3)
Gael Monfils — He quoted George Peele’s most famous poem after winning. (2)
Ilie Nastase — He types in “AFK NBD BRB” on his Slack profile on days he has tournaments. (2)
Ivan Lendl — He included Pig Latin during his winning speech. (2)
Jennifer Capriati — When she played as a juvenile, author Cormac McCarthy was a big fan. (2)
Jimmy Connors — He argued for just worker compensation in the sport. (2)
John McEnroe — He joined NPR’s most aired sports show to promote local games. (2)
John Newcombe — Artist Joel Shapiro notoriously made a sculpture of this player out of brass. (1)
Kim Clijsters — Notably tall, she’s often called “die kooky tree climber from Belgium.” (2)
Lleyton Hewitt — He likens sci-fi horror to competing in doubles. (2)
Maria Sharapova — She invented a play called the Miss Hatter Swatter. (1)
Martina Hingis — She photographed many actor headshots online upon retiring from tennis. (2)
Martina Navratilova — She keeps a mellow wood-cutting nutria as a pet. (2)
Mats Wilander — Many Roman winners will cite him as their inspiration. (2)
Monica Seles — Many cone-bearing specimens were planted in her name. (2)
Naomi Osaka — She nearly doubled over crying after a winning a championship. (2)
Nick Kyrgios — His nephew Oliver kicks his butt in Wii tennis every time. (2)
Novak Djokavic — He “coined” the Nickel, Quarter, Dime maneuver. (2)
Pete Sampras — He’s a prolific comedian, starring in an upcoming Netflix special. (2)
Rod Laver — He superstitiously believes regulated thermostat levels aid in winning. (2)
Roger Federer — His drop shot is called “raw meat for dogs” — and we all know why. (2)
Serena Williams — She built a steel metal welding workshop in her backyard. (2)
Simona Halep — Her lob is copyrighted as the “Sultan Ahmed Hitsperience”. (1)
Stanislas Wawrinka — He’s the “stunning conductor” with a mean backhand. (2)
Stefan Edberg — He’s fearlessly stood opposite every player in the ATP. (2)
Steffi Graf — Her volley was once referred to as “sad, menial, grotesque” by critics. (2)
Venus Williams — This player first learned in very shallow water, building her dexterity. (2)
Yannick Noah — He — though retired for years — molds new players in his style. (2)

Courts

Expression Court (3)
Mutual Associate Court (3)
Animal Aloud Court (3)
Alternating Court (4)
Starting Flags Court (2)
Before & After Court (3)
Friends Across the Oder Court (4)
Flip & Smash Court (6)
Shifting Court (3)
Mixed Up Court (4)

Answer Checker

Leaderboard

1. Maggie W.
2. Steven Valdez
3. Codiak
4. Rock Lobsters
5. Jen B
6. Straus Family

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