NEW YORK — On a tennis tour that spans 30 countries and lasts 11 months, no one travels more than Australians. It’s a simple matter of geography.
And it can also be tough, with players missing their home comforts. For Australian players at the US Open, thousands of miles from home, that means good coffee. Coffee is something of an institution in Australia, particularly in Melbourne, where a flat white is an art form and where the ambience and culture is almost as important as the quality of the beans.
In Manhattan, the Aussies have found Little Collins, a café where many of them flock to every morning before matches or practice at the US Open.
Former US Open champion Sam Stosur and doubles champion Rennae Stubbs are not 100% sure who found it first, when it was in its old home, a tiny spot on Lexington Avenue. Now in a bigger building on 3rd Avenue between 44th and 45th Street, it’s perfectly situated near the player and media hotels. For two weeks every summer, it’s full of Australian tennis players, coaches and officials.
“Soon it was like every Australian in New York, at least from Tennis Australia, was there every morning,” Stosur said. “It was a real home from home. We love it.”
Former world No. 1 Ash Barty was a regular visitor in the past, while Stosur, Alexei Popyrin, Jordan Thompson, Chris O’Connell and Max Purcell are all repeat customers this year. India’s Rohan Bopanna, until recently the doubles world No. 1, has been spotted there this week.
Purcell, a self-confessed “coffee snob” has been going to Little Collins since 2018, disgusted with what he says is a “cult of iced coffee in America.” For him, the quality of the coffee itself and the attention to detail is crucial. And perhaps it’s even helping to fuel his success in New York: Purcell and Thompson will play in the doubles quarterfinals on Tuesday.
“Nothing for me is the same as Australia, but a good coffee place kind of feels like an embassy overseas, to some degree,” he said. “When I went to Little Collins this time and had that first sip, I was like, oh, yeah, this is what it’s meant to taste like. In Little Collins, the way it’s set up almost looks like a bar. I was watching them this morning and it’s so nice watching them take care of frothing the milk, doing the coffee.”
Stubbs, a former player turned coach and commentator with ESPN, agreed that the Aussie players are discerning about their coffee. “The Aussies just find good coffee, because American coffee sucks. There are a lot of good coffee shops in New York now but this one is a favorite.”
“Not to sound silly, but we are away a lot, and we do love our coffee in Australia, so to find somewhere that’s good and welcoming, you kind of feel like you’re stepping into Australia sometimes,” Stosur said.
Founded by two Australian friends who missed the kind of coffee they were used to at home, they established a place of their own and named it Little Collins, in homage to the Melbourne street synonymous with coffee culture.
The staff at Little Collins also love their tennis.
“Back when we were even in our old cafe, Sam Stosur would come all the time,” co-owner Nick Curnow said. “Ash Barty and Nick (Kyrgios) would come in a lot as well. But we also notice a lot of coaches, young players, doubles players, and there are lots of Brits too. Maybe because a lot of players travel to Melbourne, maybe they’ve started picking up a bit of a taste of coffee, and they’re a little bit more discerning where they drink their coffee now. Maybe that has sort of spread throughout the tour, the players and trainers and coaches.”
In Melbourne, one Greek restaurant has named a special dish after Stefanos Tsitsipas. Curnow said he might do something similar.
“That would be such a cool idea,” he said. “We like having little goofy names, so that would be cool. We should rename ‘the smash’ to something for the US Open, that’s for sure.”