It's the ultimate side hustle for an ex-collegiate-player-turned-investment-banker. Michael Genender, age 22, has been pinch-hitting as a hitting partner for the US Open, happy to help warm up players who need a session with a lefty.
On Day 8, a couple of hours before Bianca Andreescu was to play her Round of 16 match against lefty Taylor Townsend, Genender met the 19-year-old Canadian for a warm-up in Arthur Ashe Stadium—a unique situation, caused by the rainy conditions on the outdoor practice courts where warm-ups usually take place. And while he takes no credit for her win, Genender was happy to comply with Andreescu's request to approach the net as much as possible, mimicking the American's game. In the match, Townsend won just 16 points at the net (40 percent), while Andreescu won 17 points at net (65 percent).
"Hitting with Bianca was super fun!" enthused Genender, who played on the Stanford University men's tennis team for four years. "Playing on Ashe is such a special experience and I was just trying to soak it all in."
The US Open hitting partner program is a service offered to players who don't travel with their own hitting partner—which is the majority of the pros on tour these days. Serena Williams, for one, brought a hitter to the 2019 US Open. But Roger Federer did not. So a hitting partner was put in a car to travel to Greenwich, CT, where the Swiss star was staying with his family. And while the hitting partner program can't respond to every request, it does its best to supply whatever kind of hitter is needed: male or female, lefty or righty, topspin player or slicer. Once on-court, the pro's coach typically directs the practice.
"Warming up Daniil Medvedev for his match against Feliciano Lopez, Medvedev’s coach asked me to slice the majority of my backhands and to serve and volley, because Lopez does both of those tactics a lot," recalls Genender. He also hit with Belinda Bencic, who upset No. 1 seed Naomi Osaka.
For readers keeping score, it appears the players Genender has hit with during the 2019 US Open have gone on to win their matches. Is the lefty banker a lucky charm? Time will tell, but pro tennis players tend to adhere to rituals they associate with winning. Bencic, for instance, has been wearing a plastic coil around her bicep on her road to the, she hopes, women's singles final this year. (Oh and we're also looking at you, Rafael Nadal.)
"I joked with Daniil yesterday that I am looking forward to warming him up for the—hypothetical, of course!—final against Rafa," said Genender.
Should that practice session happen, we like Medvedev's chances.
