Category: Tennis

• American triumphs 6-3, 6-4 despite serving struggles
• Gauff’s record against Polish rival now stands at 2-11

At 20, Coco Gauff has achieved a considerable amount. She has established herself as a perennial top-five player, won a grand slam title, and lived up to the suffocating hype that followed her since her preteens. Still, it remains to be seen if she can solve one of the most lopsided match-ups between two top players the sport has seen – her 1-11 record against Iga Swiatek.

In her second match at the WTA Finals, Gauff took a significant step forward as she held her nerve to register her second win over Swiatek, the No 2 seed and defending champion. After bursting into the contest playing bold tennis, Gauff maintained her composure in the middle of a serving slump before closing out a 6-3, 6-4 win over her erratic opponent.

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• Djokovic pulls out of Turin finale with unspecified injury
• Nadal will retire from tennis at Davis Cup next month

Novak Djokovic has announced his withdrawal from ATP Finals due to an unspecified injury, marking the end to his 2024 season.

Djokovic pulling out means that for the first time since 2001 there will be no member of the ’big three’ present at the ATP Finals. While Roger Federer has been retired since 2022, Rafael Nadal will retire from professional tennis at the Davis Cup in Málaga later this month. Djokovic, however, has said that he currently has no plans to call it a day.

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• Year of ill health and ailing form is ending on low note
• Sabalenka through to semi-finals with win over Paolini

As Elena Rybakina trailed Zheng Qinwen by a set and a break in their tight group-stage tussle at the WTA Finals in Riyadh on Monday, the odds were not in her favour. Still, she fought hard, retrieved the break and as her confidence grew, her own serve, one of the most destructive weapons in the sport, fell into place. Rybakina rolled through four successive games to force a final set.

That sequence of play from Rybakina was a reminder of the high level she has produced to establish herself as one of the leading players on the WTA tour, but this time it was fleeting. She was visibly fatigued in the final set as Zheng regained control and secured her first win at the WTA Finals, closing out the match 7-6 (4), 3-6, 6-1.

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• British No 1 beaten 6-1, 6-2 by 20-year-old Russian
• Boulter excited after reaching career-high ranking of 23

Katie Boulter’s strong run in Hong Kong came to a brutal end on Sunday as she was thoroughly outplayed in the final by top seed Diana Shnaider, who dismantled the British No 1 6-1, 6-2 to win her fourth WTA title of the season.

Boulter, the second seed, was outgunned from the beginning by a brilliant Shnaider, a strong left-hander with a vicious, heavy forehand. As Shnaider continually took the first strike and forced Boulter into uncomfortable positions around the court, she exposed the vulnerable points of Boulter’s game. Boulter overpressed, she lost confidence in her serve and she had no alternative plan against a relentless opponent.

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• British No 1 battled to 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 victory over Yuan Yue
• She will rise to at least 23rd in world rankings on Monday

Katie Boulter had many reasons to be apprehensive about her form in the final stretch of an arduous first full season at tennis’s highest levels. However, even as she travelled from city to city struggling to re-establish herself, the British No 1 continued to work hard each day, remaining optimistic and giving herself opportunities to find her best level again.

In her last individual tournament of the season, Boulter has been rewarded for her resilience and grit. She pieced together another brilliant performance on Saturday in a quality tussle against Yuan Yue of China, eventually closing out a 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 win to reach the Hong Kong Open final.

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Hosting the women’s tennis tour’s flagship event in Saudi Arabia shows how sport’s balance of power has shifted

Before Carlos Alcaraz from the podium after his post-match interview in the final of the Six Kings Slam exhibition event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia earlier this month, the most accomplished young male tennis player in the world had one more thing to say. Alcaraz took the microphone from the MC, Andrew Castle, and turned to his left.

“I just want to say thank you to his excellency for making this event possible,” he said, smiling. “I enjoyed it a lot. Last year, when I came here, this year with the best players in the world. Thank you very much for everything you have done for tennis, to bring it to the kingdom.”

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• Boulter shakes off slow start to win 6-4, 6-0
• British No 1 faces China’s Yuan Yue in last four

Katie Boulter maintained her impressive form to reach the Hong Kong Open semi-finals after beating Russia’s Anastasia Zakharova in straight sets.

Boulter edged a hard-fought opening frame against an inspired opponent, who was playing to a standard above her world ranking of No 113. The British No 1 was able to run away with the second set to win 6-4, 6-0. She faces Yuan Yue in the last four after the tournament’s sixth seed overcame Sofia Kenin 6-3, 6-3.

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• Seventh win in a row and fourth against a top-10 player
• In-form Briton faces Australian Alex de Minaur next

The two previous times Jack Draper and Taylor Fritz faced each other this year, their encounters ended in ­similar ways. Although so little ­separated them on both occasions, Fritz’s greater self-belief and ­maturity marked the difference in the most important moments. He clinched both matches in three tight sets.

This is a different Draper, though, a special talent now flowing with confidence and the belief he truly belongs among the best. His exceptional end‑of‑season form continued as he closed out another massive win, edging out Fritz 7-6 (6), 4-6, 6-4 in a tension-filled battle to reach the last-16 of the Paris Masters.

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• British player beats Xiyu Wang of China 7-6 (7), 6-4
• ‘That was quite a match. I’m proud of myself today’

Katie Boulter continued to rediscover her form in the final weeks of her season as she reached the quarter-finals of the Hong Kong Open with a tough 7-6 (7), 6-4 win over Xiyu Wang of China.

Boulter endured a challenging few months after Wimbledon, compiling a 6-8 record between July and mid-October while failing to win consecutive matches at any event. But while many of Boulter’s peers have already started their off-season, her decision to play an extended Asian swing has paid off.

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World No 29 is playing her 23rd tournament of 2024 yet her ambition and motivation has never dimmed on tough tour

As Katie Boulter closed out her 2023 season last November, she reflected with satisfaction on her best season to date. Having spent significant periods of her career struggling with injuries on the sidelines, she was finally able to steadily build her form week by week. She took her opportunities without hesitation, winning her first WTA title in Nottingham and establishing herself inside the world’s top 100.

Still, her contentment came with some caution. She now had the considerable challenge of defending those points and maintaining her position at the top level of the sport in the following season: “I know it’s an uphill battle next year,” she said.

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• Italian expects to recover in time for ATP Finals
• Sinner joins Djokovic in missing Paris tournament

Jannik Sinner has withdrawn from the Paris Masters due to a virus, the world No 1 announced on Tuesday.

The 23-year-old, who defeated Carlos Alcaraz in the final of the Six Kings Slam exhibition event to bag the $6m title in Saudi Arabia on 20 October, has been replaced in the draw by Frenchman Arthur Cazaux.

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Jack Draper clinched the biggest title of his career at the Vienna Open on Sunday with a brilliant exhibition of both his potential and resilience, dominating much of his final with Karen Khachanov before holding off a late surge to clinch victory with a supreme 6-4, 7-5 win. The win marks Draper’s second career ATP title after his maiden triumph at the Stuttgart Open on grass this year and his first ATP 500 title.

• Jack Draper wins biggest title of his career with victory at Vienna Open

Footage courtesy of ATP Tour

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• British No 1 beats Karen Khachanov 6-4, 7-5
• ‘It feels incredible. I’m incredibly happy’

Jack Draper returned to centre court at the Wiener Stadthalle on Sunday for one of the biggest matches he has played, his first ATP 500 final. So far in the 22-year-old’s young career, some of these lofty occasions have come with overwhelming tension and nerves, leading to physical issues that have stopped him from summoning his best tennis when needed.

But after a year in which the British No 1 has diligently worked his way towards the top of his game, this time he was ready. He clinched his biggest title yet with a brilliant exhibition of his potential and resilience, dominating much of his match against Karen Khachanov before holding off a late surge to win the Vienna Open with a supreme 6-4, 7-5 victory.

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• British No 1 into first ATP 500 final with 6-2, 6-4 win
• Katie Boulter beaten by Sofia Kenin in Tokyo semis

Jack Draper continued to build on his excellent breakout season by producing another stellar performance to reach the biggest final of his career at the Vienna Open. In a tough, physical contest between two talented 22 year-olds in the best form of their careers, Draper demonstrated his resilience by defeating Lorenzo Musetti of Italy 6-2, 6-4 to advance.

Having clinched his first ATP title in June on the grass courts of the Stuttgart Open, an ATP 250 event, Draper will play for his first ATP 500 title on Sunday against either Karen Khachanov or Alex de Minaur, the second seed. Regardless of the outcome, Draper will break into the top 15 for the first time in his career after this week.

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Wrist injury was catalyst to Austrian’s retirement as trying to keep up with big three destroyed his generational talent

As Dominic Thiem effortlessly dismantled Daniil Medvedev to reach the US Open final in September 2020, his performance was another indication he might just be one of the heirs to the throne in men’s tennis. Thiem had certainly paid his dues. He had already reached three major finals, losing to Rafael Nadal twice at the French Open and Novak Djokovic in Australia. Despite the new doubts that followed those defeats, he came back stronger every time. Finally, at his fourth attempt, the odds were in his favour.

“The emotions were great,” says Thiem, smiling, as he recounts the aftermath of that semi-final from a cosy room inside Vienna’s Wiener Stadthalle this week. “Great dinner, great treatment. Everything was fine. But then, already going to sleep after the semis, I felt like: ‘OK, I’m really tight. Shit. I cannot think about anything else other than the final, which is not good.’”

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