In tennis, the closing bell is when the chair umpire calls, “Game, set and match”. Hubert Hurkacz and Ons Jabeur participated in a different version of it Wednesday in Manhattan.
The ATP and WTA star visited the Nasdaq MarketSite in Times Square to ring the Closing Bell alongside USTA Chairman of the Board and President Dr. Brian Hainline and USTA CEO Lew Sherr.
“It was so cool. Didn't know what to expect coming here. That was just so much fun,” Hurkacz told ATPTour.com. “Obviously Nasdaq is so big. To take part in such an event that is really well known around the world is special. To see your face in Times Square is a little bit surreal.”
Hurkacz and Jabeur spoke to Nasdaq representatives, conducted social media interviews and did a dress rehearsal for the Closing Bell before the real thing. As they performed the task at 4 p.m. local time, people from around the world watched on television and streams.
"It was super fun being here today to ring the closing bell at Nasdaq,” Jabeur said. “It was a fun experience, I'd never done that before. There is always fun stuff to do [for] the first time. It was very nice to start the week in New York here."
Hurkacz, the No. 7 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, is excited for the season’s final major. In a city where he first played as a junior a decade ago, the Pole is still seeing new things like he did Wednesday. After ringing the Closing Bell, Hurkacz and Jabeur ventured out into Times Square to watch as their effort was displayed on a giant billboard for everyone to see.
“Seeing Times Square for the first time, it makes such a huge impression,” Hurkacz said. “It's difficult to describe in words. Then seeing a little bit of your face out there is really cool.
“Just the experience right there in the centre of Manhattan, closing the bell for the day is kind of a surreal experience. It's really incredible as a tennis player what things you can experience that you never imagined before in your life that you would do.”
Hurkacz is generally interested in investment and some of his close friends who have experience help him with it. The Pole explained that it is important to think about the future, even though he is fully focused on his professional tennis career.
“I hope I'm playing for over 10 more years. If I'm healthy, that's what I'm doing. At the end of the day, for a tennis player, I think it's difficult if one day you either decide to end your career or are about to finish the career, or maybe the body isn't as fit as before and it's difficult to end,” Hurkacz said. “To transition just like that to a completely different life, then it's difficult.
“But if you're planning your future, if you have set goals, if you have investment plans or maybe you have some business ideas, or you have friends that help you out, then you can navigate easier your post-career and also enjoy a different side of life. As a tennis player, you are really 100 per cent committed to becoming a better player every single day.”
The eight-time ATP Tour titlist will hope for a deep run at Flushing Meadows after quarter-final appearances in Montreal and Cincinnati following surgery for a torn meniscus he suffered at Wimbledon.
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