30-Love: A Passport to Progress

From individuals to organizations, weekend warriors to professional players, minute observations to big-picture ideas, tennis has been top of mind across the board over the past two years.

“I feel like this is the tennis boom part two,” says Trey Waltke, general manager of the Malibu Racquet Club in southern California. “Everyone is talking tennis. Everyone is playing. People are rediscovering how great tennis is.”

Tennis shouldn’t rest on its laurels; the first boom didn’t last forever. But this is as good of an opportunity to reflect on what the sport has gotten right, during a time when so much has gone wrong.

Over the next few weeks, we'll do just that, with a series of stories—30-Love—that highlights 30 things worth celebrating about the New American Tennis Boom. Look for past articles on the left side of each page.—Ed McGrogan

Tennis Channel Live: 2021 US Open Preview

The sight of so many fans flooding through the admission gates at the US Open holding aloft their mobile phones with proof of vaccination against the spread of COVID-19 was a gratifying one to almost all who attended the typically crowded tournament.

That scene was made possible by the New York State Excelsior app, which is, in effect, the COVID-19” passport" that so many people have lobbied for as the world continues its fight against the pandemic. As a vaccinated New Yorker, I downloaded the app. It was remarkably easy to get my certification; the app asks just four or five simple questions—most importantly, the date you received your second shot—and, almost immediately, your relevant data appears in an image that resembles the front of a credit card.

I have used my Excelsior proof-of-vaccination in a number of states, and it has been accepted everywhere without question. For me, it brought new meaning to that phrase originally coined for American Express, "Don't Leave Home Without It."

Tens of thousands of New Yorkers didn't, and it helped make the 2021 US Open a better—and safer—experience.