Category: Tennis

• Australia No 1 defeated 6-3 6-1 by 19-year-old in second round

• World No 8 has lost six of past 10 matches in alarming stretch of form

Alex de Minaur has suffered a startling defeat, crushed by the latest teenage Spanish wonder boy in the second round of the Madrid Open.

On a day when Carlos Alcaraz caused consternation by announcing his withdrawal from the upcoming French Open with a wrist injury, 19-year-old Madrid local Rafael Jodar filled his place seamlessly by blowing away the Australian 6-3 6-1 in 75 one-sided minutes.

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• Australian loses 6-3 3-6 7-6 (15) to Ukrainian qualifier Daria Snigur

• 28-year-old drops from No 12 last April to world No 83 in next rankings

Daria Kasatkina’s career in Australian colours has plummeted to a new low at the Madrid Open after she suffered an agonising first-round defeat which will send her tumbling to her lowest world ranking for 11 years.

On a day when all four Australian women crashed out in the clay-court event, Kasatkina suffered the most frustrating reverse, succumbing 6-3 3-6 7-6 (15-13) to qualifier and lucky loser Daria Snigur after being unable to convert four match points.

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Jannik Sinner beat Carlos Alcaraz in straight sets to win the Monte Carlo Masters for the first time on Sunday and reclaim the world No 1 ranking from his Spanish rival.

Sinner saw off Alcaraz 7-6 (5), 6-3 to capture his third ATP 1000 title of the year after completing the 'Sunshine Double' last month with victories in Indian Wells and Miami.

The 24-year-old Sinner joins Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal as only the third player to win four successive ATP 1000 titles, having also triumphed in Paris at the end of last season.

• Jannik Sinner beats Carlos Alcaraz at Monte Carlo Masters to reclaim world No 1 spot

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• Italian wins 7-6 (5), 6-3 against Spanish rival

• Sinner adds to his victories after Indian Wells and Miami

Jannik Sinner beat Carlos Alcaraz in straight sets to win the Monte Carlo Masters for the first time on Sunday and reclaim the world No 1 ranking from his Spanish rival.

Sinner downed Alcaraz 7-6 (5), 6-3 to capture his third ATP 1000 title of the year after completing the “Sunshine Double” last month with victories in Indian Wells and Miami.

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• Burrage and Dart overcome Hunter and Perez 6-3, 6-4

• Australia to miss BJK Cup finals for second straight year

Australian team captain Sam Stosur’s fears of a “funky” upset have been realised as an understrength Great Britain sent Australia crashing out of Billie Jean King Cup contention.

After the visitors claimed both opening-day singles matches at Melbourne’s John Cain Arena, new British doubles pairing Jodie Burrage and Harriet Dart completed a 3-0 rout in the best-of-five qualifying tie on Saturday. Their 6-3, 6-4 win over Storm Hunter and Ellen Perez gave Great Britain an unassailable lead, sending last year’s semi-finalists into to September’s finals in China. It is the second straight year Australia have missed the eight-nation finals.

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• 17-year-old defeats in-form Australian 7-6(4), 7-5 in qualifier

• Harriet Dart beats Kimberly Birrell 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 in Melbourne

Australia’s quest to win a place in the Billie Jean King Cup Finals is off to the worst possible start, losing both opening-day singles matches, with spearhead Talia Gibson falling to British teen Mika Stojsavljevic.

Gibson was expected to get the tie at Melbourne’s John Cain Arena off to a flying start on Friday, but she was a shock loser 7-6 (7-4) 7-5 against the lowly ranked 17-year-old.

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• World No 10 suffers heavy loss to Matteo Berrettini

• Russian committed 27 unforced errors

Daniil Medvedev smashed his racket several times and placed the remnants in a courtside dustbin during his humbling 6-0, 6-0 loss to the Italian wildcard Matteo Berrettini at the Monte Carlo Masters on Wednesday.

It was the world No 10’s first tour-level defeat without winning a game and he capitulated in 49 minutes, failing to earn a game point on his own serve and committing 27 unforced errors. Berrettini will face João Fonseca in the last 16 after the Brazilian teenager beat Arthur Rinderknech 7-5, 4-6, 6-3.

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• The 23-year-old British No 1 also sat out Miami Open

• Post-viral symptoms from illness stall comeback

Emma Raducanu has withdrawn from next week’s Linz Open as she continues to recover full fitness. The British No 1 also pulled out of the Miami Open as she recovers from post-viral symptoms on the back of an illness she picked up in Romania in early February.

Having also opted to sit out Great Britain’s Billie Jean King Cup qualifier against Australia, Raducanu is now likely to focus on a possible return to the WTA Tour in Madrid that starts on 21 April.

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While Jannik Sinner’s duopoly with Carlos Alcaraz looks unbreakable, Aryna Sabalenka is dominating despite a more competitive women’s top 10

“No, I think it’s all an individual sport,” Jannik Sinner says, chuckling quietly, as he reflects on another triumphant fortnight at the Miami Open after his efficient win over Jiri Lehecka. Sinner had been asked whether he was aware that his win meant the maintenance of one of the defining records of this new era of men’s tennis: since the Madrid Open in April 2024, every tournament with Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz present has been won by either player. The duopoly continues.

Unsurprisingly, Sinner was far more focused on what the victory meant to him. By following his Indian Wells triumph with a title in Miami, he secured one of the greatest achievements of his career in the Sunshine Double. He has now won three consecutive Masters 1000 titles and 34 consecutive sets at this level. This was an immense feat, further underlining his enduring dominance over all challengers aside from his great rival, Carlos Alcaraz.

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Jannik Sinner beat 6-4 6-4 Czech 21st seed Jiri Lehecka in a rain-interrupted Miami final to become the first man since Roger Federer in to complete the Sunshine Double.

Sinner is just the eighth male player to win Indian Wells and Miami and has now won 34 consecutive sets at Masters level, dating back to his triumph in Paris in November. He is just the third man behind Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal to win three consecutive Masters events and the first to do so without dropping a set in each of those three triumphs.

• Sinner sees off Lehecka to complete Sunshine Double without dropping a set

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• Rybakina completes 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 comeback win

• American slumps to fifth straight defeat to Kazakhstani

Jessica Pegula had her chances. Midway through the second set of yet another showdown with Elena Rybakina, the American had engineered a flawless start. After bulldozing through the opening set, Pegula’s level at the beginning of set two put her in with a fair shot of snatching a win against her Kazakhstani opponent, who has dominated their recent meetings.

Instead, Pegula departed Miami with another tough lesson to parse through after being shown once again that the best players in the world pounce on even the smallest drops in intensity. Despite her mediocre start, Rybakina produced a brilliant comeback to reach the Miami Open semi-finals with a 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 win.

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• UK participation levels more than doubled in 2025

• 860,000 Britons played padel at least once last year

It was once seen as a quirky upstart or continental fad. But padel now has nearly a million players across the UK after participation levels more than doubled in 2025.

According to LTA figures seen by the Guardian, 860,000 Britons played padel at least once last year – up from 400,000 in 2024 and 129,000 in 2023 – as the racket sport’s dizzying rise continued.

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• Australian loses 6-2, 6-2 in last 16 against world No 2 Kazakh

• Gibson had beaten five top-20 tennis players in three weeks

Talia Gibson’s impressive run at the Miami Open has come crashing down at the hands of world No 2 and two-time grand slam champion Elena Rybakina.

The in-form 21-year-old Australian, who came through two rounds of qualifying in Florida before upsetting Czech Sara Bejlek, Japan’s four-time slam winner Naomi Osaka and American teenage sensation Iva Jovic in the main draw, suffered a 6-2, 6-2 loss in her last-16 clash with Kazakh Rybakina.

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• Reviews allowed for double bounces and double hits

• Players not able to challenge electronic line calls

Wimbledon will introduce video review technology this year that will allow players to challenge judgment calls made by the chair umpire, the tournament’s organisers have announced.

Players will not be able to challenge the decisions of the electronic line calling (ELC) system that was introduced at Wimbledon last year, but video reviews will be available to check other scenarios, like whether a ball has bounced twice or touched a player’s racket or body.

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