Some of the doubles stars on the ATP Tour were mic’d up this week at the Mubadala DC Open in Washington.
Doubles players had the option of wearing microphones while competing to help bring fans closer to the action, with top seeds Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori one of a number of teams that opted in. The fun initiative first began at the ATP 500 event in 2024 and was once again a highlight of the week at the hard-court tournament.
Italians Bolelli and Vavassori first wore microphones during a pre-tournament practice session, bringing fans a closer insight into the intensity of their training sessions.
The top seeds then wore the microphones during their first-round win against Robert Cash and Alexander Erler, giving fans tactical insight.
"If you go to the net with these kinds of players, they are not going to hit through you, they feel that pressure and end up missing the shot," Vavassori said to Bolelli during a changeover.
During qualifying, both Stefan Kozlov and Wimbledon boys' singles champion Jordan Lee and their opponents, John-Patrick Smith and Fernando Romboli were mic'd up. While there was a lot of focus on maintaining "high intensity" from both teams, Kozlov also shared his dinner recommendations with Lee during a changeover.
"We went to this Mexican place. It is at Georgetown on the water. So sick," Kozlov said.
Francisco Cabral and JJ Tracy were also mic'd up during their Match Tie-break defeat to Ariel Behar and Anirudh Chandrasekar. Cabral and Tracy discussed net formations, serve placements and much more in the clip below.
After successfully advancing through qualifying, Patrick-Smith and Romboli were once again mic'd up in their first-round match. During the second set, Patrick-Smith was frustrated at the narrow margins in the sport.
"It is so funny that. His backhand touches the f****** line like that and mine was [out] just the same," the Australian said.
Afterward, Romboli reflected on the lack of first serves made, saying: "Too many second serves. That was our problem today, first serve."
© Copyright 1994 - 2026 ATP Tour, Inc. All Rights Reserved. No part of this site may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any way or by any means (including photocopying, recording or storing it in any medium by electronic means), without the written permission of ATP Tour, Inc.. Terms & Conditions | Privacy | Community Social Media Policy | Modern Slavery Statement | Feedback | Cookies | Your Privacy Choices 
