There is a certain rhythm audible in every issue of Tennis magazine. It is the faint pulse of stadium speakers, the boom of cinematic surround sound, the hush before a festival encore—elements that belong as much to the show business universe as to a Centre Court baseline rally. When the editorial team brainstorms the next cover story, they move between reels and records, box-office numbers and Billboard charts, tracking the cultural cross-court volleys that shape how sport and spectacle meld in the public imagination.
Where Sport Meets Spotlight
Step inside the Manhattan office on a production day and you might find the photo editor selecting stills of Serena Williams alongside frames from the latest arthouse hit, or debating whether Roger Federer’s graceful backhand or Harry Styles’ sold-out arena twirl best captures the year’s mood. This isn’t magazine gimmickry; it’s an editorial strategy that acknowledges how athletes, like actors and musicians, now dominate the same red carpets, talk shows, and streaming playlists.
Concerts: The Soundtrack to a Season
During Grand Slam weeks, Tennis magazine reporters tail players after sunset to underground jazz clubs in Paris and rooftop DJ sets in Melbourne. Their notebooks bristle with quotes about pre-match playlists and backstage all-access passes. A recent feature followed Coco Gauff to a Lizzo concert, revealing how a single live performance can recharge an athlete’s competitive mindset—information that resonates with readers who curate their own rally playlists on the walk to work.
Festivals: From Field to Court
Few remember that the first Coachella coincided with Andre Agassi’s career renaissance, but the magazine archives do. Editors unearthed vintage polaroids of Agassi lounging beside a festival stage, hair tied back with the same neon bandana he would wear at Wimbledon. Each year, a special “Festival Forehand” spread pairs the biggest events—Glastonbury, Lollapalooza, Primavera Sound—with the tournaments running parallel on the calendar. Infographics map out how fans can catch Florence + The Machine on Saturday night and still make Rafael Nadal’s Sunday match in time for the opening serve.
Cinema: Lights, Camera, Lob
The cinema desk inside Tennis magazine, yes it has one, sifts through scripts looking for that perfect down-the-line metaphor. When King Richard hit theatres, editors hosted a private screening for touring pros, capturing their reactions to the film’s portrayal of pressure, parenthood, and practice courts lit by streetlamps. Behind the scenes, journalists swap festival passes at Cannes for credentials in Rome, chasing directors who weave tennis symbolism into coming-of-age stories or sci-fi sagas. Readers, in turn, discover that the language of film criticism can explain why a drop shot elicits the same gasp as a plot twist.
Inside the Music Industry: Beats Per Minute & Beats Per Rally
Collaborations between players and pop stars are no longer headline novelties—they are annual fixtures tracked with the precision of ranking points. One investigative piece uncovered how DJ Kygo’s remix of the Wimbledon theme nearly charted higher than his summer single, while a sidebar chronicled Naomi Osaka’s executive producer credit on a rising R&B artist’s EP. By translating tempo into tennis terms—beats per minute against beats per rally—the writers give sonic context to the sport’s momentum swings.
The Showroom Floor
Drop by the magazine’s prop closet and you’ll see vintage rackets leaning against guitar amps, director’s slates beside resin trophies. Every photoshoot is a miniature set: Petra Kvitová poised under a revolving disco ball; Carlos Alcaraz framed by 35-millimeter projectors. Stylists borrow couture gowns fresh off the Met Gala and tailor them around mobility, ensuring a model can sling an overhead smash without tearing silk. Wardrobe notes read like both a costume designer’s ledger and a stringer’s tension chart.
Why It Resonates
For readers in the Show category, the overlap is intuitive—live sport itself is theatre. When players walk onto centre court, they enter a stage no different from Broadway or Madison Square Garden. Tennis magazine simply turns up the house lights, revealing the production crews, playlist curators, sound engineers and cinematographers who intensify the applause. The result is a publication that feels like a festival wristband: once fastened, you rarely take it off.
So the next time you thumb through its glossy pages, listen closely. Beneath the rustle of paper you’ll hear a set change, a guitar riff, the whisper of a camera dolly—all the backstage cues that remind us the show isn’t limited to the scoreboard. It stretches from box seats to box offices, from encore to tiebreak, asking every fan to choose their seat before the lights dim and the racquet strings hum.
