Category: Tennis

• Former world No 13 has played one ATP Tour match in past two years
• 29-year-old to make competitive comeback at Brisbane International

Nick Kyrgios will make his long-awaited return to competitive tennis at the Brisbane International after playing only one ATP Tour match in more than two years.

The 29-year-old firebrand has been mostly sidelined with career-threatening wrist and knee injuries since the 2022 US Open quarter-finals. That run came six weeks after reaching the Wimbledon decider when he came closest to an elusive major crown before falling in four sets to Novak Djokovic.

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The world No 1 Jannik Sinner eased past Daniil Medvedev in straight sets to qualify top of his group in Turin

In the head to heads, both Sinner and Medvedev have won matches seven apiece, with Sinner dominating recently (with the exception of Wimbledon).

The commentators agree, they look at Medvedev and don’t know quite how it works, but it does.

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Carlos Alcaraz bounces back despite a cold, beating Andrey Rublev 6-3, 7-6 during an entertaining afternoon in Turin

Ws spot Rublev now in the tunnel, working through a practice shot with his physio, all messy mop of red hair.

2024: Rublev beat an injured Alcaraz in three sets in Madrid.

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• Spaniard had been suffering from respiratory issues
• Billie Jean King Cup finals delayed by weather warning

Carlos Alcaraz made light of feeling under the weather as he dispatched Andrey Rublev in impressive fashion to revive his ATP Finals hopes on Wednesday.

The Spanish four-times grand slam champion has been suffering with respiratory issues in Turin and wore pink nasal tape against Rublev but enjoyed a resounding 6-3, 7-6 (8) victory.

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Stakes in the former footballer’s professional debut are not particularly high but the YouTube vlog will be spectacular

Before the start of the Uruguay Open, the organisers of the second-string ATP Challenger tournament had an announcement. After flooding their social media pages with references to just one participant during the week, finally, a date was confirmed for the unmissable match and tickets were on sale: “Get ready for an epic night that will remain in the memory of the Uruguay Open,” they wrote.

It is incredibly rare for any first round match on the humble challenger or future tours to generate enough attention to warrant the tournament organisers planning its exact date and time in advance. In doubles, which is usually banished to the outer courts in front of nobody at all, it is almost unheard of. But this is no normal occasion. On Wednesday at 10am local time, after weeks of publicity, interviews and hype, Diego Forlán, the former footballer for Manchester United, Villarreal, Atlético Madrid and Inter, will make his professional tennis debut alongside Federico Coria of Argentina in Montevideo.

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• Australian blown away 6-2 6-4 by Russian in Turin
• Men’s No 1 now relying on other results to stay afloat

Alex de Minaur’s ATP Finals debut appears to have come to a brutal end with a match still to play after being blown off court by a rejuvenated Daniil Medvedev.

The Russian, who said he was looking forward to the season being over after succumbing to a tantrum during his opening round defeat to Taylor Fritz, brushed aside the Australian No.1 6-2 6-4 in 78 minutes of high-octane tennis on Tuesday.

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• Tennis Channel removes Jon Wertheim from WTA Finals line-up
• Wertheim sorry for being ‘neither professional nor charitable’

American journalist Jon Wertheim has been removed as an on-air analyst for the Tennis Channel for a derogatory comment he made about Barbora Krejcikova’s forehead.

Covering the WTA Finals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Wertheim said in a statement on Sunday that his comment “inadvertently” made it on air after he joined the Tennis Channel broadcast via Zoom.

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• Norwegian claims milestone success in 6-1, 7-5 win
• Alexander Zverev beats Andrey Rublev 6-4, 6-4

Carlos Alcaraz made a stuttering start to the ATP Finals in Turin as he suffered a shock first career defeat to the world No 7 Casper Ruud.

The two-time Wimbledon champion, who won the first of his four grand slam titles by beating Ruud in the 2022 US Open final, went into the contest leading the head-to-head results 4-0. But the inspired Norwegian impressively claimed a milestone ­success in the opening match of the John Newcombe Group, winning 6-1, 7-5 in an hour and 25 minutes.

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• Sinner defeats Australian opponent 6-3, 6-4 in Turin
• Fritz triumphs 6-4, 6-3 in other Ilie Nastase Group match

Home favourite Jannik Sinner made the ideal start to the ATP Finals in Turin with a straight-sets victory over Alex de Minaur. Sinner recovered from losing his serve in the third game to ease to a 6-3, 6-4 victory in 85 minutes in his first match since winning the Rolex Shanghai Masters on October 13.

“He was playing great in the beginning of the match so I just tried to stay there mentally knowing that, hopefully, at some point my tennis would arrive,” the world No 1 said in an on-court interview. “It arrived quite early and I started to return very well, my serve for sure I have to improve but I’m very pleased about the win and hopefully this can give me the confidence for the next one.”

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• Czech responds to comments made on Tennis Channel
• ‘I believe it’s time to address the need for respect’

Barbora Krejcikova has criticised “unprofessional commentary” regarding her appearance on the US TV network Tennis Channel.

The Wimbledon champion was taking part in the WTA Finals in Saudi Arabia this week, the culmination to the regular women’s season, where she lost to Zheng Qinwen in the semi-finals on Friday.

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• American claims 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (2) victory
• Gauff faced 5-3 deficit in final set

As Coco Gauff faced down a 5-3 third-set deficit towards the end of a relentless, brutal battle, the odds of victory were dissipating with every point. However, in her short career, the American’s grit has been a constant resource when all else has failed. She has found a way to victory from dire circumstances so many times. In one of the biggest finals of her career, Gauff spent almost the entirety of her three hours on-court just fighting to stay in the match against an opponent in the form of her life. Somehow, in the desperate final moments at the end of a brilliant tussle, Gauff rose up to topple Zheng Qinwen 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (2) and win the WTA Finals for the first time.

Still just 20, Gauff is the youngest champion at the WTA Finals since a 17-year-old Maria Sharapova won in 2004. She did so the hard way, ­defeating the two best players, in Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek, and then Zheng, the Olympic gold ­medallist. This victory marks Gauff’s third career title and ninth overall, her 9-1 record in finals a reflection of her immense toughness under pressure.

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Coco Gauff wins the WTA Finals after a gripping three-set thriller against Zheng Qinwen

First set: Zheng 3-2 Gauff* (*denotes next server) A humdinger of a game bursting with huge shots and ferocious rallies. An inside out backhand wins Zheng the first point in her serve. Gauff is very quick, spanning the length of the base line like a woman in seven league boots. A inch-perfect forehand from Gauff, then Zheng hits long to give Gauff two break points. Zheng saves the game with a perfectly balanced cross court winner then a backhand down the line. Zheng saves a third break point, and Gauff is disgusted with herself after a limp forehand to give Zheng the advantage. But a cross-court forehand brings her back to deuce. Eventually though, Zheng wins out. They take a sit down.

First set: Zheng 2*-2 Gauff (*denotes next server) Gauff is wearing a deeper purple, almost a royal purple, dress, and a matching headband. A double fault is followed up by two outrageous first serves. Zheng pulls back to deuce but brilliant defence from Gauff in a squeaky shoed rally gives her the advantage, and she soon pockets the game

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• American outlasts world No 1: 7-6 (4), 6-3 in Riyadh
• Zheng Qinwen beats Barbora Krejcikova in first semi

When Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff stared each other down just a month ago in Wuhan, Gauff clearly had the edge as she methodically established a set and break lead. But then, out of nowhere, her serve spectacularly crumbled. Although she fought valiantly until the end, she was torpedoed by an astounding 21 double faults.

Having already been a presence on the tour for half a decade, it is sometimes easy to forget that, at 20 years old, Gauff is still growing, still a work in progress. Throughout this week, the American has shown the results of some of that progress as she arrived in Riyadh with significant adjustments in her game and she has used them to play some of the best tennis of her career. On Friday, Gauff produced a superb performance against Sabalenka, the world No 1, to reach the final of the WTA Finals with a spectacular 7-6 (4), 6-3 win.

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• Swiatek exits on sets percentage despite routing Kasatkina
• Krejcikova and Gauff progress to the semi-finals

The defending champion, Iga Swiatek, was knocked out of the WTA Finals after Barbora Krejcikova defeated Coco Gauff to book her spot in the last four.

Swiatek had earlier needed less than an hour to dispatch Daria Kasatkina, who had replaced the injured Jessica Pegula, 6-1, 6-0 in the opening match of the day in Riyadh.

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• Zheng Qinwen defeats Italian opponent 6-1, 6-1 in Riyadh
• Chinese player is youngest to reach semi-finals since 2011

China’s Zheng Qinwen reached the semi-finals of the WTA Finals in Riyadh after claiming an impressive 6-1, 6-1 win over Italian fourth seed Jasmine Paolini. In her WTA Finals debut, the 22-year-old became the youngest player to reach the semi-finals since Petra Kvitova in 2011.

The seventh seed fired 12 aces in a dominant performance, recording her 30th win from 34 matches since Wimbledon. “It’s one of the best performances I had during this year,” she said on court. “Really good percentage of first serves. I enjoyed a lot tonight to play here.”

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