Louisa Thomas

What Is Lost in Luka Dončić’s Glow-Up The rebrand of the Los Angeles Laker—who appeared on the cover of Men’s Health looking lean, buff, and bronze—makes sense. That doesn’t make it less sad.

wrote about Luka www.newyorker.com/sports/sport...

Chusovitina is a great one. And maybe here's an even better one: Chusovitina's son is twenty-five years old! (Much) older than many elite gymnasts.

Is there a crazier stat in sports??

Legend

Wimbledon in the Age of Sincaraz Jannik Sinner avenged his loss at the French Open with a commanding victory over Carlos Alcaraz, in the latest chapter of a transcendent rivalry.

wrote about Sinner, Alcaraz, and Wimbledon www.newyorker.com/sports/sport...

The Trans Swimmer Who Won Too Much Lia Thomas is not the first trans swimmer in the N.C.A.A., but her victories have put her at the center of a debate about trans athletes.

This @louisathomas.bsky.social exploration of how to think about Lia Thomas’s participation in women’s swimming is careful and nuanced. Worth a read in light of the U Penn news. www.newyorker.com/sports/sport...

The Sincaraz Era Is Tennis Reborn In Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, the sport has not only its next great rivalry but a moment that highlights everything the sport can be.

The tennis rivalry between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner already feels historic—and highlights everything that the sport can be, @louisathomas.bsky.social writes.

The Sunday Long Read: Jo Piazza, Bezos Wedding, Caitlin Clark The week's best journalism. Every Sunday.

Check out this week's SLR, guest edited by Jo Piazza and featuring writers like ‪@henrywismayer.bsky.social, @sam-apple.bsky.social, @louisathomas.bsky.social‬, & more mailchi.mp/sundaylongre...

The Caitlin Clark Rules The basketball star’s domination on the court is one of the most inspiring things in all of sports. Does it represent a revolution or evolution?

wrote about Caitlin Clark www.newyorker.com/sports/sport...

Wrote about the relentless Tyrese Haliburton www.newyorker.com/sports/sport...

how is there not a telecast where you get to manipulate the Larry O'Brien trophy as a rogue screener

“This will be fun. You get tired, but you also forget that you’re tired.” —the Thunder player Jalen Williams, on the N.B.A. Finals

Ahead of Game Two of the N.B.A. Finals, @louisathomas.bsky.social speaks with members of the Oklahoma City Thunder. nyer.cm/7w5b5vn

The Oklahoma City Thunder’s Good Vibes Are Being Put to the Test The young team’s rise has been fuelled by a happy chemistry. But, after a Game One loss in the N.B.A. Finals, will it be enough?

talked to Jalen Williams + Mark Daigneault and wrote about the Oklahoma City Thunder www.newyorker.com/sports/sport...

meanwhile I got ready for game 1 by weeping at the end of Knuffle Bunny Free

cool story

Joan of Arc

A Big-League Bet on Pro Softball The Athletes Unlimited Softball League, led by the former M.L.B. executive Kim Ng, plans to capitalize on the surge of interest in women’s sports and to finally give the game its due.

I wrote about AUSL, a big league bet on softball, led by Kim Ng, the first woman to be an MLB general manager -- who was fascinating when we spoke www.newyorker.com/sports/sport...

A Big-League Bet on Pro Softball The Athletes Unlimited Softball League, led by the former M.L.B. executive Kim Ng, plans to capitalize on the surge of interest in women’s sports and to finally give the game its due.

I wrote about AUSL, a big league bet on softball, led by Kim Ng, the first woman to be an MLB general manager -- who was fascinating when we spoke www.newyorker.com/sports/sport...

Gaël Monfils Is Winning in His Own Way He made his French Open début two decades ago—and has been electrifying the tennis world ever since.

I wrote about one of my favorite tennis players, who played his first French Open 20 years ago, and who still makes magic. Allez Monfils! www.newyorker.com/sports/sport...

covfefe

Why Basketball Is Different in the Playoffs As the stakes rise, the physicality of the game increases, too—and that may give the less favored teams a better shot at upsets.

As the stakes rise, the physicality of the game increases, too—and that may give the less favored teams a better shot at upsets, @louisathomas.bsky.social writes.

If the Mets Are No Longer Underdogs, Are They Still the Mets? New York’s other baseball team has the league’s richest owner and just poached one of the game’s best hitters from the Yankees. They may never be the same.

On Godzilla, the Met www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...

Rudy Gobert Takes Out the Trash The Minnesota Timberwolves’ center has been a perennial target for smack talk, but in the N.B.A. playoffs he delivers a masterclass in clapping back.

Wrote about Rudy Gobert, and trash talking www.newyorker.com/sports/sport...

The Launch of the Torpedo Bat The New York Yankees quietly brought a physics experiment to the plate. Then came the home-run barrage.

Wrote about the bats www.newyorker.com/sports/sport...

'Dude's on another level': How Nikola Jokic quietly became a defensive analytics darling From kicked ball violations to memorizing plays, Nikola Jokic has elevated his IQ to become one of the league's best defenders.

With @bannedmacmahon.bsky.social: How Nikola Jokic quietly became the NBA’s *defensive* analytics darling www.espn.com/nba/story/_/...

i could not love this more

Mirra Andreeva Is Just Getting Started Pro tennis has shifted away from teen queens, but the seventeen-year-old has joined the ranks of her idols and toppled them.

Mirra Andreeva won the Indian Wells Open today, beating out the No. 1-ranked Aryna Sabalenka. With her preternatural poise and uncanny on-court intelligence, the 17-year-old has joined the ranks of her idols and toppled them, @louisathomas.bsky.social writes.

JuJu Watkins Is the Moment The U.S.C. basketball star’s magnetism is generated by nowness, by the way she seems to embody an ever-refreshing present.

wrote about JuJu www.newyorker.com/sports/sport...

Louisa Thomas on John Updike’s “Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu” The article, about Ted Williams’s final game, was described as the best piece about baseball The New Yorker ever printed—which, Updike later allowed, was small praise.

wrote about John Updike writing about Ted Williams, as part of the New Yorker's anniversary project www.newyorker.com/magazine/tak...

Looking forward to speaking with @alexisohanian.bsky.social and the great Midge Purce about The Future