Tennis News
Jannik Sinner began his title defence with a 7-5, 6-1 win over Félix Auger-Aliassime, who suffered a calf injury at the end of a tight first set
Sinner to serve, ready … play.
Earlier in this group: Alexander Zverev beat Ben Shelton 3 and 6.
Continue reading...Top seed beats Australian 7-6 (5), 6-2
Alcaraz has never won ATP Finals
Carlos Alcaraz opened the ATP’s season-ending championships, and the battle for the year-end No 1 ranking, in ideal fashion as he confidently navigated a turbulent opening set before easing to a 7-6 (5), 6-2 win over the seventh seed, Alex de Minaur, in Turin.
Alcaraz, the top seed, is attempting to win the ATP Finals for the first time and hold off Jannik Sinner to finish the season as the top-ranked player. Despite ceding significant ground to the Italian in recent weeks by losing to Cameron Norrie in his opening match at the Paris Masters, which Sinner won, Alcaraz still holds a clear advantage this week since the Italian is defending his title from last year. The Spaniard must win all three of his round-robin group stage matches or reach the final in order to secure the top ranking.
Continue reading...Alex de Minaur had a chance to win the first set, leading 5-3 in the tie-break, but Carlos Alcaraz would not be denied, coming back to take it 7-5 before playing a wondrous second
…and here comes the genius.
Here comes the Demon…
Continue reading...The two top players are so far ahead of the opposition that there seems to be little hope of an outsider winning in Turin
Days before the grand finale of the ATP season in Turin, the Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner show had already begun. Although the two rivals are locked in battle to determine the year-end No 1 ranking, rumours swirled early on Friday morning that they were scheduled to train together. Sure enough, that afternoon they entered the stadium court side-by-side and they were greeted by deafening roars from a significant crowd.
The practice set that followed garnered as much attention as many matches this year. Thousands of viewers tuned in to watch the live stream, then highlights were swiftly available afterwards. The scores from practice sets usually do not leave the practice court, but on this occasion the tennis world quickly learned that Sinner had finished the day with a 6-3 win. They commemorated the moment with a selfie that instantly spread like wildfire across social media.
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Continue reading...Williams to play 33rd WTA season at age 45
US star given wildcard for January’s ASB Classic
Former champ joins Osaka in Auckland field
Tennis great Venus Williams plans to play for a 33rd straight season on the WTA Tour, starting in Auckland in January.
Organizers of the ASB Classic in New Zealand said Wednesday that the 45-year-old Williams would feature at their 5-11 January event.
Continue reading...Australian tennis star to meet Belarusian in December in Dubai
‘I’m not just here to play, I’m here to entertain,’ says Kyrgios
Nick Kyrgios, Australian former Wimbledon finalist, is to play women’s world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka in an exhibition match in Dubai.
The clash evokes memories of the 1973 Battle of the Sexes match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs – which King won in straight sets in the Houston Astrodome and was later the subject of a Hollywood movie.
Continue reading...Elena Rybakina qualified for the semi-finals after she came from behind to beat Iga Swiatek and Amanda Anisimova came from behind to see off Madison Keys – who is out
Rybakina again finds herself behind on serve and, down 15-30, hits a decent forehand. But forced to come in and volley, she’s tentative, dumping into the net, and must now face two further break points. This time, though, she finds the booming deliveries she needs to make deuce, and from there she closes out for 3-1 Swiatek.
Swiatek consolidates easily, sealing the deal with an ace, and you can feel her intensity assaulting you through the screen. She leads 3-0, and Rybakina needs to keep the head while finding some first serves.
Continue reading...World No 3 seems to have taken a step forward in linking up with Gavin MacMillan but double faults at the WTA Finals shows there is still work to be done
For a brief, hopeful moment in the middle of an intense tussle with her compatriot Jessica Pegula, it seemed as if Coco Gauff had found her way. Gauff had struggled in the first set of their opening match at the WTA Finals in Riyadh on Sunday, but then she dug deep and slowly turned the match around. The American reached set point on her serve at 6-5 in the second set.
Gauff then proceeded to hit three double faults in a row, which allowed Pegula to retrieve the break without touching the ball. Not a single attempt was even close.
Continue reading...Pole eases to 6-1, 6-2 opening victory in Saudi Arabia
Keys commits 38 unforced errors on return from injury
The second edition of the WTA Finals in Saudi Arabia began with the familiar sight of Iga Swiatek brutally laying waste another of the best players in the world. The six-time grand slam champion demolished Madison Keys 6-1, 6-2 in their first match of the group stage.
Swiatek had been struggling in recent tournaments, fatigue seemingly setting in at the end of a draining 10-month season. However, the Pole had three weeks to regroup after her 6-1, 6-2 loss to Jasmine Paolini in the quarter-finals of the Wuhan Open. She looked fresh and locked in from the beginning, affirming her status as one of the favourites alongside Aryna Sabalenka, the world No 1, by serving extremely well and putting Keys under relentless pressure off both wings with her weight of shot and defence while offering few mistakes.
Continue reading...Sabalenka and Swiatek head to Saudi finals after epic year yet organisers remain dire at marketing their product
The final weeks of the women’s tennis season showcased one last twist in the furious race to determine the qualifiers for the WTA Finals. Elena Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion, finally caught fire after a year of near misses, bulldozing through her opponents to win a title in Ningbo, China that solidified her spot in Riyadh among the eight best players in the world.
Just as significant as Rybakina’s qualification, though, was its consequences for the player she usurped. Mirra Andreeva, the 18-year-old prodigy who won WTA 1000 titles in Dubai and Indian Wells this year, had seemed like a sure bet to qualify in singles for the WTA Finals. Her failure to do so underscores the fact that this year has been the toughest and most competitive women’s tennis season in years.
Continue reading...British No 2 recovers to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in second round
Alcaraz’s fine run ends with tally of 54 unforced errors
Cameron Norrie produced the greatest win of his career as he recovered from a set down to topple the world No 1 Carlos Alcaraz 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the second round of the Paris Masters.
Although he has defeated Alcaraz on two previous occasions, Norrie’s triumph marks his first ever victory over a reigning No 1.
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Continue reading...Mixed year ends with Melbourne seeding up in the air
British No 1 pulls out of Tokyo and Hong Kong events
Emma Raducanu has brought an early end to her season following physical struggles in China. The British No 1 had hoped to put together a strong finish to 2025 to guarantee herself a seeding at the Australian Open in January but that is now up in the air.
There is good news on the coaching front, though, with Francisco Roig reaching a deal to continue their work together in 2026.
Continue reading...Briton went down 6-3, 4-6, 1-6 to Zhu Lin
Raducanu called for trainer twice for treatment
Emma Raducanu again struggled physically in a first-round exit at the Ningbo Open to China’s Zhu Lin, raising questions over the rest of her season.
The British No1 was back on court a week after retiring from her opening match in Wuhan with dizziness in hot and humid conditions. She posted a picture on social media from a doctor’s office and said she felt better but she faded after winning the opening set against Zhu and slumped to a 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 defeat.
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