James Blake makes winning doubles return at $15,000 ITF event—but "you'll definitely not see me on tour"

Second Serve: James Blake discusses his return to the pro tour

Ten years after his last taste of professional tennis—as a player—James Blake has returned to the pressure-packed setting of tournament competition.

Now, no one is confusing the Rancho Santa Fe Pro Open, a $15,000 ITF event on the USTA Southern California’s SoCal Pro Series, with Grand Slams, the Olympic Games or Davis Cup, but Blake's comeback is nonetheless notable. After retiring at the 2013 US Open with 366 singles victories and 10 ATP titles under his belt, the American remained close to tennis, analyzing the sport for Tennis Channel and ESPN, and leading the Miami Open as its tournament director since 2018.

But beyond exhibitions here and there, Blake didn't play much tennis during that decade. An exception is whenever he hits with Hudson Rivera, a 19-year-old Californian who lives nearby and will be playing for Stanford University this fall.

"Honestly, it's the most fun part of tennis for me right now, is playing with him," Blake said last week on Second Serve, which has been airing on T2 and on TennisChannel.com. "Seeing the improvement of his game the last couple of years is really amazing. He's put in a ton of hard work—with a lot more people than just with me."

In 2022, Rivera played the Rancho Santa Fe Open, held in his hometown and not far from Blake's home in Solana Beach. Blake watched his pupil earn his first ATP point. Then he got an idea.

"I'm sitting there watching and I'm thinking, why didn't we just play?" Blake said. "We could have played some doubles."

Fast forward a year, and that's exactly what happened.

It was worth the wait. In front of about 300 onlookers, the team of Blake and Rivera ousted the third-seeded duo of Trey Hilderbrand and Noah Schachter (Texas A&M’s top doubles team), 6-4, 1-6, 10-7 (in a third-set tiebreaker).

“He has it all,” Rivera said of his 43-year-old doubles partner. “It’s crazy. Now I know what his level really is because he doesn’t play to that level when he practices with me.”

Blake and Rivera will face Jack Anthrop and Bryce Nakashima (the younger brother of Brandon Nakashima) in Thursday's quarterfinals. But regardless of how the rest of this week goes, don't get any thoughts of a big-time Blake comeback.

"You'll definitely not see me on tour," Blake told fellow doubles player Nick Monroe on Second Serve.