ielprof.bsky.social
@ielprof.bsky.social
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I'll be doing some work for The Athletic during the Australian Open! I asked Jannik Sinner to reflect on the moment he considered quitting tennis today, and spun that into my first piece for them:

www.nytimes.com/athletic/697...
'It’s tough to say because I know the ending': Jannik Sinner's return to a tournament of triumph and turmoil
www.nytimes.com
January 16, 2026 at 5:25 AM
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Members of Congress: stop posting online and APPEAR, PHYSICALLY on the steps of the Capitol to decry this unconstitutional violation of domestic & international law. SHOW THE PEOPLE the level of danger we are facing as a country.
@housedemocrats.bsky.social
@senatedemocrats.bsky.social
January 3, 2026 at 5:17 PM
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2025 was my first full year freelancing, and to my happy surprise I got enough published to do a summary thread!

I mostly wrote from bed, but I was at the very fun and hot Australian Open, and covered it for Defector. (Sans credential, but check back in a month.) defector.com/the-australi...
The Australian Open Is Happy And Hot | Defector
MELBOURNE — Envy sabotaged my plans for watching the first day of the 2025 Australian Open. I was going to take in Day One on a projector at Federation Square, a public area surrounded by angular buil...
defector.com
December 29, 2025 at 2:01 AM
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The Sincaraz Empire (2024–????) has been built on raw aggression. There is no room for passivity, for trying to make the opponent miss, for hesitation, writes @owensports.bsky.social

www.thesecondserve.com/arms-race-ca...
The Arms Race Continues - The Second Serve
Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are adding to their arsenals.
www.thesecondserve.com
November 21, 2025 at 1:44 PM
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Blogged it, with thoughts on this year's very good edition so far: www.thesecondserve.com/whats-broken...
November 14, 2025 at 3:23 PM
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As the ATP tour finals approach, we're taking a closer look at some of the participants. @owensports.bsky.social starts it off with Alex de Minaur, who is doing his very best.

www.thesecondserve.com/alex-de-mina...
Alex de Minaur is Doing His Best - The Second Serve
Alex de Minaur's tennis career has outpaced the notions we measure him against.
www.thesecondserve.com
November 5, 2025 at 3:37 PM
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"The simple fact is that the all-time greats are just much better at tennis." — @owensports.bsky.social

www.thesecondserve.com/daniil-medve...
The Lost Generation - The Second Serve
The despair is palpable for the charter members of the “SadGen”, Daniil Medvedev, Taylor Fritz, Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas.
www.thesecondserve.com
November 4, 2025 at 1:32 PM
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For Defector, I wrote about Felix Auger-Aliassime's journey from prodigy to underachiever to maybe being the most exciting ATP guy outside the New Two (gift link): defector.com/felix-auger-...
Felix Auger-Aliassime Is Once Again Threatening To Turn The Corner | Defector
Before Wimbledon in 2019, I remember skimming over the list of men’s favorites at a number of sites. Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal … Felix Auger-Aliassime? He was 18 years old at the tim...
defector.com
October 28, 2025 at 4:22 PM
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I wrote about the once hyped '90s-born players on the ATP, who have seen everything once promised to them taken away: www.thesecondserve.com/daniil-medve...
The Lost Generation - The Second Serve
The despair is palpable for the charter members of the “SadGen”, Daniil Medvedev, Taylor Fritz, Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas.
www.thesecondserve.com
October 23, 2025 at 10:25 PM
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For Awful Announcing, I wrote about how the relentlessness of Saudi Arabia's sports ventures is wearing down critics, with thoughts from a few of them: awfulannouncing.com/orig/saudi-a...
Saudi Arabia's sportswashing campaign has already won
With more sports leagues partnering with Saudi Arabia, its sportswashing campaign to gain mainstream access appears to be a rousing success.
awfulannouncing.com
October 24, 2025 at 6:07 PM
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I wrote about Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, who has been going through it in an endearingly mortal way for the last little while: www.thesecondserve.com/alejandro-da...
The Everyman - The Second Serve
Since Alex de Minaur saved three championship points to beat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the final of the Citi Open, leaving Foki’s heart cracked and dripping over the court, the 26-year-old Spania...
www.thesecondserve.com
October 7, 2025 at 12:55 AM
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None of this is normal.
None of this must be allowed to continue.
It's time to hold those who would steal everything from us in the name of patriotism to be stopped by We The People.
#Resist #ReplaceThemAll
September 22, 2025 at 10:45 AM
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This is a 9-0 Supreme Court decision from just last year.
September 18, 2025 at 5:19 PM
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For @the2ndserve.bsky.social, I wrote about Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka's high-quality, high-stakes, and all-too-infrequent rivalry: www.thesecondserve.com/sabalenka-an...
Sabalenka and Swiatek: The Great Rivalry That Isn’t - The Second Serve
Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek, the two best players on the WTA Tour, should be a matchup for the ages. So far it hasn’t been.
www.thesecondserve.com
September 18, 2025 at 3:16 PM
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Firing a Black woman for quoting Kirk’s horrific statements about Black women is insane. It seems the Washington Post would rather perform politeness (and demand that the people Kirk harmed do it too) that tell the truth: karenattiah.substack.com/p/the-washin...
The Washington Post Fired Me — But My Voice Will Not Be Silenced.
I spoke out against hatred and violence in America — and it cost me my job.
karenattiah.substack.com
September 15, 2025 at 12:22 PM
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Some personal news:

I've been fired from the Washington Post in the aftermath of the Charlie Kirk shooting.

Thread incoming.

substack.com/@karenattiah...
The Washington Post Fired Me — But My Voice Will Not Be Silenced.
I spoke out against hatred and violence in America — and it cost me my job.
substack.com
September 15, 2025 at 11:07 AM
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Huh maybe Trump attending the US Open is not, in fact, "great for tennis"

www.independent.co.uk/sport/tennis...
Start of US Open final delayed as Trump arrival impacts Alcaraz and Sinner clash
The start of the final has been delayed by 30 minutes
www.independent.co.uk
September 7, 2025 at 5:49 PM
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Novak Djokovic has not won a Grand Slam title in exactly 2 years.

At 38 years old, what do we think of Djokovic now -- both on and off the court -- heading into his semifinal match against Carlos Alcaraz?
www.thesecondserve.com/goat-in-wint...
The Goat in Winter - The Second Serve
an athlete as accomplished as Novak Djokovic winning a final big trophy by virtue of Jannik Sinner losing to somebody else would reveal less about Novak than if he retired right now.
www.thesecondserve.com
September 5, 2025 at 5:54 PM
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An interview with author Lucas Schaefer about his debut novel, boxing gyms, writing sex, and how hard it is to know what kind of person you should be: defector.com/lucas-schaef...
Lucas Schaefer Understands The Brutality, Absurdity, And Transcendence Of Boxing | Defector
The opening line of Lucas Schaefer’s novel The Slip concerns the smell of shit: a bold first impression for a debut author. Luckily, reading the book provides a far more pleasant sensory experience. T...
defector.com
September 5, 2025 at 4:04 PM
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Had fun chatting with @owensports.bsky.social for @defector.com. We talked about the “are men reading?” discourse, the perils of being on Twitter and writing fiction, and my (brief and ignominious) history of “sparring.” Hope you’ll check it out!
Lucas Schaefer Understands The Brutality, Absurdity, And Transcendence Of Boxing | Defector
The opening line of Lucas Schaefer’s novel The Slip concerns the smell of shit: a bold first impression for a debut author. Luckily, reading the book provides a far more pleasant sensory experience. T...
defector.com
September 5, 2025 at 6:09 PM