The U.S. Open looked like fun and games for Racquet magazine.
The company threw a bustling rooftop party at Rockefeller Center with at least seven corporate sponsors, where guests juggled Shake Shack burgers with Ciroc goblets. They celebrated a new issue, guest-edited by David Granger, formerly of Esquire, with Andre Agassi on the cover — an A.I.-generated image of the champion wrapped absurdly in pastel pink feathers.
At the tournament, the magazine’s management mixed with current and potential business partners: Fila, Rolex, BNP Paribas, the Saudi Tennis Federation. A few weeks earlier, they played in and won a doubles tournament at a rarefied grass-court country club in Queens.
But behind those wins was a year of tumult and transformation, with the two co-founders locked in a dispute that led to dueling lawsuits.
In one corner was David Shaftel, the editor of the print magazine, who wanted Racquet to grow steadily and sustainably within its niche media lane. In the other was Caitlin Thompson, the publisher who wanted Racquet to “aggressively and ambitiously" expand into the increasingly big business of tennis, she said.
She saw merch collaborations and exuberant parties as a financial life raft for an unprofitable print product; she dreamed of opening branded tennis clubs all over the world with SoHo House-style membership plans.
In the battle for Racquet’s soul, the business side won. Ms. Thompson removed Mr. Shaftel from the company in November.
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