Yosuke Watanuki steals the show at Indian Wells with tennis and sportsmanship
Welcome back to the Monday Tennis Briefing, where The Athletic will explain the stories behind the stories from the past week on court.
This week, the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, Calif. took center stage. Joao Fonseca's amazing pull ended in disappointment for his fans, the Orange County kids did their region proud and the men's seeds tumbled while the women's held strong.
If you'd like to follow our fantastic tennis coverage, click here.
It has been a tournament of upsets so far on the men's side at Indian Wells, with Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev and Casper Ruud all losing their first matches. On the women's side, it's been much calmer.
Thirteen of the top 16 WTA seeds remain as the tournament heads for the fourth round, and where the ATP No. 1 seed, Zverev, made an early exit against Tallon Griekspoor, his women's counterpart Aryna Sabalenka was a straight-sets winner against American McCartney Kessler on Saturday. The No. 2 seed and defending champion, Iga Swiatek, has dropped just four games in her two matches so far.
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The women play best-of-three sets at every event, but for the men perhaps some of the variance in a tournament that has seen 15 of the 32 seeds exit in either their first or second matches comes with the shorter format compared to the Grand Slams. Zverev had come close to defeat against Griekspoor in several of their previous meetings, most recently outlasting him across five sets at least year's French Open. Djokovic, who said the high bounce on the main court at Indian Wells caught him off guard, would have felt more confident surviving a marathon as opposed to a shootout against Botic van de Zandschulp.
Is a format more conducive to upsets better or worse? It depends on perspective, but it makes sense that the Grand Slams would rather keep the longer format and increase their chances of keeping the big names in.
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A recurring debate during tennis' various officiating controversies in the last year has been the extent to which the sport should expect players to fess up to things that umpires miss.
At January's Australian Open for instance, some felt that Swiatek should have admitted to not reaching an Emma Navarro drop shot before the ball bounced twice. Others felt she couldn't have known for sure, and it's not her responsibility to officiate the match.
On Sunday night, albeit in a different incident where there was less uncertainty, Japanese qualifier Yosuke Watanuki offered the kind of sportsmanship against Frances Tiafoe that many fans have said they would like to see.
Tiafoe was serving at deuce, down 2-3, when he was given a time violation for taking too long before serving. Watanuki walked towards umpire Mohamed Lahyani and told him that he hadn't been ready to receive. Lahyani accepted this and canceled the time violation, two of which lead to the server being docked their first serve. That's what happened to Tiafoe at a crucial moment of a match against Roman Safiullin in Shanghai last year, when he swore repeatedly at umpire Jeremy Pinoargote and was fined $120,000 (£92,800) as a result.
Respect 🤝@FTiafoe received a time violation, but it was cancelled after Watanuki told the referee he wasn't ready to return Tiafoe's serve.#TennisParadise pic.twitter.com/CT3kAdFktF
— BNP Paribas Open (@BNPPARIBASOPEN) March 10, 2025
Watanuki went on to win an action-packed match 6-4, 7-6(6) despite Tiafoe twice serving for the second set. One of those breaks for Watanuki came immediately after he had asked for a Pepsi when struggling for energy down 5-4. The win means that Watanuki, ranked No. 349 after missing most of last year with injury, is the lowest-ranked player in the Indian Wells last 16 since 2004. He is coached by Tiafoe's former coach, one-time world No. 6 Wayne Ferreira.
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For Tiafoe, the defeat extends his difficult start to 2025, a year in which he is yet to win more than one match at a single event. His most memorable contribution to this year's Indian Wells came at the start of the Watanuki match when, after forgetting his rackets for his previous match against Damir Dzumhur, Tiafoe pretended he had done so again, and successfully fooled an initially stunned Lahyani, who then collapsed into laughter.
Almost fooled us 😆@FTiafoe #TennisParadise pic.twitter.com/H36kWvKinY
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) March 10, 2025
Tournament organizers are going to have to adjust to the Joao Fonseca phenomenon, maybe by paying a little less attention to his ranking.
Fonseca, the 18-year-old rising star from Brazil, is the world No. 80, but he's also one of the biggest attractions in the sport. That could get a little awkward, since the world's 80th-best player generally doesn't get the most prestigious court assignments, and won't directly qualify for about half the tournaments on the tour. But if he's the player that thousands of fans buy tickets to see, one argument goes, then there needs to be room for them to see him.
Witness Fonseca's second round match against Jack Draper Saturday. Organizers put the match on Stadium 4, which seats 3,500. Lines to get in stretched into the main plaza of the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. They didn't move, but practically no one left. Fans watched from the high bleachers of surrounding courts. They clawed the fences in the corners of the court trying to get a glimpse.
'I have to get used to this,' Fonseca said of the fanfare.
He had played his first match against Jacob Fearnley on the main stadium court, but no seeds were playing that day. That was an easy call. Fonseca's next tournament, the Miami Open, might present some even more difficult ones, because Florida has a big Brazilian population. Itau, a Brazilian finance company is the main sponsor of the tournament.
Should Fonseca get big stadium assignments? At the moment, he is more famous than his ranking or accomplishments might suggest. If he's the player people want to see, then he probably should. Making fans wait on lines that don't move and leave disappointed does no one any good.
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There were high hopes for California boys coming into the tournament, especially the newcomers. Ethan Quinn, Jenson Brooksby, Learner Tien, Tristan Boyer and Alex Michelsen all grew up within driving distance from Indian Wells and came here as children.
Taylor Fritz is still alive, of course. That's expected: he's the world No. 4. The others are out. But Marcos Giron, another California player from Thousand Oaks who went to UCLA is still in, achieving his best run at Indian Wells at 31 years old.
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Giron notched his first top-five win over Casper Ruud on Friday and beat No. 26 seed, Alexei Popyrin, on Sunday to get into the round of 16.
'This place holds a lot of memories and a lot of emotion,' he said.
It was the first tournament he attended and had his first ATP breakthrough here in 2019, winning two matches.
'The last couple years I came here maybe with expectations, maybe yes, maybe no, some pressure, and I didn't play well,' he said. 'Of course there's a lot of family, there's a lot of friends, trying to organize tickets and all that, give everybody the time they deserve.
'This is not something I can do forever. So I know each moment, I've got to make the most of it.'
Michelsen had perhaps the worst luck of his California gang. Things looked troubling early for his opponent, two-time beaten finalist Daniil Medvedev. The Russian called for a medical timeout after just one game in his second match of the tournament. Michelsen, a hometown favorite from nearby Orange County, was going to have the crowd on his side. Medvedev has had trouble putting away players who meet him with energy and without fear.
After his time out, Medvedev headed back to the court. They played another game. He had a 2-0 lead. Then they were shaking hands at the net. A retirement. Surely Medvedev was done, he'd had the medic on.
But it was Michelsen grabbing his bag and walking off the court. He'd taken the court unwell with a stomach issue, having considered not playing at all. A duel against a human backboard like Medvedev in the desert sun was much too much for him to manage.
Weird things can happen in tennis matches. That was about as weird as it gets.
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Alycia Parks saves a match point against Diana Shnaider with a wonderful piece of skill.
🚨 TWEENER WINNER 🚨
ICYMI, shot of the tournament last night from Alycia Parks 👏#TennisParadise pic.twitter.com/Aw0OptQLFk
— BNP Paribas Open (@BNPPARIBASOPEN) March 9, 2025
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And it took him all the way to the quarterfinals, taking out Jack Draper in the fourth round with one of the finest displays by anyone all fortnight. Futterman: Tournament directors kept putting men in the featured night match, many of which were one-sided affairs over in two hours. The women's matches that would have been obvious choices for that slot produced long, scintillating contests. Nothing like letting the rackets do the talking. Hansen: Alfie Hewett's pain and joy. The British wheelchair tennis legend went through another heartbreaking loss on the Paris clay, but he rebounded from it on the same day to complete one of the most remarkable records in the sport. Hewett's rivalry with Tokito Oda, 18 and from Japan, is fast becoming an epochal one. Oda beat Hewett at Roland Garros to win Olympic gold last summer in a three-set thriller. They met again at Roland Garros this year for the men's singles final, and Oda prevailed in straight sets, giving him a 5-2 head-to-head against Hewett in major finals. A few hours later, Hewett took to the court to face Oda again, this time in the men's doubles. Hewett played with Gordon Reid, in a partnership that was won 22 Grand Slam titles; Oda played with Stéphane Houdet of France. Hewett and Reid won the match in three sets, to complete what I am dubbing the Grand Slam double bagel. They are six-time champions in the Australian Open, and six-time champions at Roland Garros. A 6-0, 6-0 record at the first two majors of the year. Eccleshare: The scheduling was once again a big disappointment. Women were never given the Court Phillippe-Chatrier night session, and were handed the graveyard slot at the start of play every day that it was available. It meant matches like world No. 1 Sabalenka's quarterfinal against Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen were played in front of near-empty stands. Sabalenka and other leading players called out the unequal scheduling. Advertisement Tournament director Amelie Mauresmo continues to say that the night session decision is simply because men's matches are longer and so offer spectators better value for money. There's a bigger picture around equality, to which the tournament generally seems oblivious. Futterman: I wanted to see Frances Tiafoe play Alcaraz in the semis. Their matches at the U.S. Open and and Wimbledon have been electric. Alcaraz brings out the best in Tiafoe, and likely would have won, but together they would have put on show. Lorenzo Musetti got in the way — and then he injured his leg in the semifinal and was cooked after just over two sets. He retired early in the fourth. Hugo Gaston, the French drop-shot and underarm-serve artist, pulling out of his second-round match against Shelton's high-octane arsenal, comes a close second. Hansen: The French Open's bafflingly restrictive media rights policy, which limits highlights from being posted outside of official channels and copyright-strikes fan footage, player footage and the montages, GIFs and fan cams that bring tennis stars to a wider audience scattered across the internet. Alcaraz and Sinner's men's final is the kind of cultural moment that can propel tennis back to the relevance that it had in the era of the Big Three and the Williams sisters. Let as many people see it as possible, in whatever form meets them where they are. Eccleshare: Wild card Loïs Boisson's stunning run to the semifinals was one for the ages: the lowest-ranked woman (No. 361) to reach a major semi in the 40 years since records (collected by Opta) began. Boisson did it playing an exciting brand of tennis that scrambled the minds of top-10 players Jessica Pegula and Mirra Andreeva. Only recently back from an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear, Boisson is now up to No, 65 in the rankings and tennis fans will hopefully be seeing a lot more of her. Futterman: Victoria Mboko, the Canadian daughter of war refugees from the Congo has become the main player I am keeping my eye on right now. I found about her at the Miami Open in March, met her at the Italian Open in Rome in May, and watched her blossom in Paris, surviving qualifying and winning two matches at 18. Hansen: The ITF World Tennis Tour, which became a place of intrigue for more casual tennis fans at this French Open — hardcore followers (guilty) will have watched Boisson, Mboko and Valentová make waves at a Grand Slam and thought, 'Yeah, of course.' Advertisement Players that break through are so often figured as unicorns. A trio of players making their first runs on the biggest stage in tennis, all three of whom did it on the back of remarkable win-rates and streaks on the third rung of the professional tennis ladder, is a reminder that looking for signs of sustainability to the success is just as important as celebrating the unexpected. Eccleshare: Sabalenka delivered a withering news conference after losing to Gauff, criticizing her own play, saying that Gauff had hit balls 'off the frame,' and going as far to say that Świątek would have won the final had she beaten Sabalenka in the semifinals. The American slapped down this notion in her own news conference with an extremely dignified dismissal. 'I mean, I don't agree with that. I'm here sitting here,' she said. Futterman: I asked Jasmine Paolini during a one-one-one interview what she thinks her superpower is. 'My smile,' she said. And then she showed me from about 18 inches away. Hansen: Świątek's, 'Am I a good liar?' Eccleshare: This one has to come from the men's final. So many to choose from, but the one that stands out to me is the crosscourt backhand passing shot Alcaraz hit at 5-6 in the fifth set, from so deep that he was almost with us in the press box. It took the match into a fifth set tiebreak, and from there he took over to win the title. Futterman: Alcaraz's running forehand to win the final. He was ahead 9-2 in the tiebreak, but after all the ups and downs of this match, all the missed chances, there was an urgency to that moment. It was his first match point of seven available, but after five and a half hours, he needed to be done with this in one swing of his racket. On a full sprint across the baseline, he produced a swing-like-you-mean-it grunting stroke that Sinner watched fly past him like the whole match had done. Advertisement Non-finals choice: Holger Rune's play around the net post against Quentin Halys in the third round. Nothing like defying the rules of the game like that, hitting a winner that never rises more than about eight inches off the ground. Hansen: Carlos Alcaraz 4-6, 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(3), *5-6, 30-30 Jannik Sinner. Alcaraz has already gotten from 15-30 to 30-30, when Sinner fizzes an arcing forehand return into the corner of the court. Alcaraz, stretching in desperation, flicks out his racket to play a defensive slice. For any other player, the best they could offer would have been a short reply or a miss in the net. Alcaraz curves it all the way back to Sinner's own forehand corner, flipping the point — and the course of the last game of the last set of a Grand Slam final — back in his favor. Sinner puts up a shortish ball and Alcaraz dismisses it with a backhand winner. Then he gets to the tiebreak with Charlie's shot, and wins the title with Matt's. Thanks to the aforementioned media policy, we can't show any of them here. 🎾 ATP: 🏆 Carlos Alcaraz (2) def. Jannik Sinner (1) 4-6, 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(3), 7-6(10-2) to win the French Open in Paris. It is the Spaniard's fifth Grand Slam title. 🎾 WTA: 🏆 Coco Gauff (2) def. Aryna Sabalenka (1) 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-4 to win the French Open in Paris. It is the American's second Grand Slam title. 📈 Loïs Boisson moves up 296 places from No. 361 to No. 65 after her incredible run to the French Open semifinals. Boisson, who started the tournament as the French No. 24, is the now the No. 1 women's player in the country. 📈 Alexander Bublik ascends 19 spots from No. 62 to No. 43 after reaching the French Open quarterfinals. 📈 Victoria Mboko enters the top 100 for the first time, after rising 21 spots from No. 120 to No. 91. Advertisement 📉 Casper Ruud drops eight places from No. 8 to No. 16 after failing to defend his semifinal points from last year's French Open. 📉 Iga Świątek falls two places from No. 5 to No. 7 after Aryna Sabalenka ended her French Open title defense. 📉 Stefanos Tsitsipas moves down six spots from No. 20 to No. 26. 🎾 ATP 📍Stuttgart, Germany: Stuttgart Open (250) featuring Alexander Zverev, Ben Shelton, Taylor Fritz, Gaël Monfils. 📍's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands: Rosmalen Grass Court Championships (250) featuring Daniil Medvedev, Gabriel Diallo, Ugo Humbert, Alexei Popyrin. 📺 UK: Sky Sports; U.S.: Tennis Channel 💻 Tennis TV 🎾 WTA 📍London: Queen's (500) featuring Zheng Qinwen, Emma Raducanu, Elena Rybakina, Madison Keys. 📍's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands: Rosmalen Grass Court Championships (250) featuring Liudmila Samsonova, Bianca Andreescu, Maria Sakkari, Danielle Collins. 📺 UK: Sky Sports; U.S.: Tennis Channel Tell us what you noticed this week in the comments below as the men's and women's tours continue. (Top photos: Getty Images; design: Eamonn Dalton / The Athletic)
