Latest news with #TennisBriefing
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
French Open takeaways: Two thrilling finals, the best shots and the funniest moments
Welcome back to the Monday Tennis Briefing, where will explain the stories behind the stories from the past week on court. This week, the French Open concluded with two incredible finals. Coco Gauff beat Aryna Sabalenka in a wind-buffeted thriller, before Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner delivered five hours and 30 minutes of tennis psychodrama in one of the greatest Roland Garros matches of all time, Alcaraz closing the tournament with a running forehand winner. Advertisement 's tennis team, Matthew Futterman, Charlie Eccleshare and James Hansen, present their takeaways from the second Grand Slam of 2025, from the best shots and funniest moments to the biggest disappointments and the most incredible matches. The best match? Charlie Eccleshare: Maybe this category should be 'best match other than the men's final.' which realistically has this category sewn up. One I enjoyed a lot was Jack Draper's four-set win over Gaël Monfils in the second round. It had so many ingredients: late night, a home player, amazing rallies and drastic swings in momentum. Draper got the victory but the crowd, including the journalists, spent most of the match marveling at the athleticism and skill of the 38-year-old Monfils. Matthew Futterman: Of course the two finals were the best matches. Both went the distance, with so much on the line. All the wind-induced errors in the women's final didn't bother me at all. It added to the suspense, turning tennis into a psychological survival contest that the cool-headed Gauff won by a mile, even if the scoreline was closer than that. Advertisement Besides those, I will go with Novak Djokovic's surgical dismantling of Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinals. Djokovic dropped the first set, which turned out to be an information-gathering exercise. By the fourth, he was floating around the court, tossing up drop shots from behind the baseline before suddenly unleashing point-ending power. He played with so much surprise and creativity. There are many versions of Djokovic; the artist is my favorite. James Hansen: Sabalenka vs. Iga Świątek — yes, including the last set, because of what it displayed about elite tennis. The two most dominant players of the 2020s got only their second Grand Slam meeting. Świątek's title defense was on the line, as was Sabalenka's validation as a clay-court player to compete with the best. The fears realized in the first five games, as Sabalenka streaked away and the forlorn Świątek of so many recent first sets appeared. The forcing quality of the play, as Świątek flattened her forehand and increased its speed to meet Sabalenka's barrage. The comeback to 4-4, the rise into the tiebreak. Sabalenka's toughness to put aside a lost lead and take the first set. Świątek showing the world why she is a four-time French Open champion, taking the second by hitting the shots and using the footwork that only she has. And then the clouds clearing for Sabalenka in the third, and Świątek having to accept that even if only for one set, the mountain was just too high to climb. The funniest moment? Eccleshare: With Świątek facing the winner of a match between Jelena Ostapenko and Elena Rybakina in the fourth round, many tennis fans were desperate for Ostapenko to set up one of the most intriguing matchups in tennis. Despite her general inconsistency, the Latvian has beaten Świątek, the five-time Grand Slam champion, in all six of their meetings. Advertisement When I asked Świątek if she had a preferred opponent in her third-round news conference, I expected the usual straight bat players give to this question. That's initially how Świątek responded, answering 'no.' We maintained eye contact, as I wasn't sure she was being entirely genuine. At that point Świątek burst into laughter and said: 'Am I a good liar?' She added after more laughs, 'Oh, my God. I couldn't play poker.' It was a particularly enjoyable moment because Świątek has had a difficult time of late, and has not always been at her most relaxed. She also got her wish: Rybakina beat Ostapenko, before Świątek beat Rybakina in a thriller to reach the quarterfinals. Futterman: Ben Shelton loves the show. In his opening match, he flipped a desperate passing shot over the net while sprinting toward the back of the court. It felt great off his racket, and with his back to the net, he didn't see the ball land. Advertisement When he heard it called out, he asked the chair umpire how close it was to the line. These questions usually happen when a ball is an inch or less out, with the chair umpires pinching their thumb and forefinger in the universal tennis sign language for 'pretty close.' I've never seen an umpire hold his hands more than a foot apart the way this one did. Hansen: Gauff admitting that she aired a message from Alcaraz on social media when she made her breakthrough at Wimbledon in 2019. The worst prediction? Eccleshare: I thought Sabalenka would beat Gauff in straight sets in the women's final. I said they'd be tight, but I just thought Sabalenka would be too strong. In the end, it was Gauff who brought her best level, outlasting and ultimately outplaying the world No. 1. Advertisement Futterman: With Alcaraz down a break late in the fourth set of the men's final, I wrote on our live blog: 'Carlos finally looks like this is a lost cause.' That was at 7:11 p.m. local time. We all know what happened over the next hour and a half. Hansen: I thought Tereza Valentová had a serious chance of beating Gauff in their second-round match. She has the kind of game that can hurt Gauff and the American hadn't grooved into form. Gauff ran Valentová off the court. The best storyline? Eccleshare: The way elite athletes' sacrifices are lionized is a bit odd, and inconsistent with pretty much every other profession: utter dedication at the expense of all else is expected to be the norm, and anything different to this approach is seen as strange. Advertisement So it was thought-provoking to hear Alexander Bublik, a mercurial talent who represents Kazakhstan, talking about how he works hard but needs to have balance in his life, like seeing friends and having proper time with his wife and son. Speaking to his long-time agent added more color to this complex and intriguing character. Bublik's approach is at odds with most of the tour, but he feels what he does is totally normal. 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. Advertisement 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 has 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. The biggest letdown? 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. The best newcomer? 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. Advertisement 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.' 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. Favorite quote? 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. Advertisement '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?' Best shot? 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. Advertisement 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. 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. Advertisement Thanks to the aforementioned media policy, we can't show any of them here. Recommended reading: Tennis needed the Alcaraz-Sinner rivalry to be epochal. Their first major final delivered beyond its dreams Coco Gauff's journey into a tennis unknown How Loïs Boisson became the star of the French Open When a tennis court comes alive: The living clay of Roland Garros 🏆 The winners of the week 🎾 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. 📈📉 On the rise / Down the line 📈 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 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. 📅 Coming up 🎾 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 Advertisement 🎾 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. This article originally appeared in The Athletic. Sports Business, Tennis, Women's Tennis 2025 The Athletic Media Company
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
How to watch tennis on television when the ball disappears into a sunlit portal of doom?
Welcome back to the Monday Tennis Briefing, where will explain the stories behind the stories from the past week on court. This week, the Madrid Open's beautiful weather created a classic tennis media problem, world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka kept eking out wins and Casper Ruud showed that he contains multitudes. The curious case of the disappearing tennis player? After a Madrid Open at which the power went out and players raged about ball marks on the clay not aligning with electronic line calling (ELC), another issue occupied the minds of many fans who watched the tournament on television. Advertisement During several daytime matches at the Caja Mágica, sections of the broadcast feed — sometimes one quadrant of the court, sometimes half the picture — were flooded with dazzlingly bright light. So bright that the players and the ball would disappear whenever they entered it, making the sun seem like a portal to another dimension and making the match borderline unwatchable. This is part of a wider problem in tennis, whereby the architecture of certain venues — especially ones that aren't purpose-built for the sport — turns what should be a spectacle into an eyesore. The orientation of the court, the position of television cameras and retractable roofs can all become problematic, leaving watching fans baffled as to how the elite level of a sport can fail so basically. Perhaps even more baffling is the extent to which the very obvious problem of players disappearing from view goes unmentioned by commentators. Drawing attention to a negative experience is not desirable for broadcasters, but pretending it's not happening is also doing a disservice to the people watching. Away from Madrid, tournaments in Halle and Berlin, both in Germany, and the Italian Open, in Rome also suffer from the shadowy court patterns, some from stadia and some from overhanging flora but all of which draw ire from fans. Short of redesigning courts, introducing awnings for broadcast or only playing tennis at venues used exclusively for the sport, not a lot can be done. But with tennis competing with so many other sports for eyeballs, these issues are really not welcome. How sustainable is Sabalenka's form? The sign of a good player or team being that they win when playing badly is the haughtiest of sporting clichés; it also comes into conflict with the idea that results will catch up with mediocre performances. Advertisement How then to parse world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka's 2025? Sabalenka has been comfortably the best player on the WTA results-wise, winning or reaching the final in six of her eight events, including taking the Madrid Open title against Coco Gauff. Her performances, though, have often been patchy. In the Spanish capital, she made hard work of winning the first set against qualifier Anna Blinkova, played poorly to drop the opener against Elise Mertens, was constantly in trouble on serve against Peyton Stearns and then dug out straight-sets wins in far from straightforward matches against Marta Kostyuk and then Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals and semifinals. Still, she won the title. It's impossible to play at top form all the time and Sabalenka is winning titles without doing so, which suggests her rivals have plenty to fear if she starts to click into top gear. The WTA Tour also has such a depth of talent that even apparently routine matchups may not play out as expected. But Sabalenka's numbers suggest she is defying the law of averages, especially when it comes to escaping adversity behind her serve. Sabalenka is 10th in the WTA top 50 for 2025 when it comes to break points faced per match, according to data from Tennis Abstract, but third for service games lost per match. In 29 matches played, world No. 2 Iga Świątek has faced 145 break points; Sabalenka has faced 186 in 30 matches. But where Świątek has saved just over 55 percent of those 145, Sabalenka has saved over 63 percent of her 186. The average for the top 50 is 56.5 percent. Advertisement This is partly because Sabalenka has one of the best serves in the women's game — but at the moment, it is saving her from adversity as much as it is preventing her from getting into it. The two sides of Ruud (that aren't so different)? During Świątek's one-sided defeat to Coco Gauff in Madrid, she shielded her face with a towel as she tried to cope with the emotion of the defeat — after which it was confirmed by Świątek's team that her grandfather had passed away just prior to the event. Waiting with some encouragement was Ruud, who went on to win the Madrid Open title by beating Jack Draper in three sets. Later that week, Ruud found himself in a rather more tense situation. During his semifinal against Argentina's Francisco Cerundolo, fans were repeatedly whistling between the Norwegian's first and second serves. After ignoring a few, Ruud approached the chair umpire to ask where the line was for having his service motion interrupted: Advertisement 'How many times can they scream before I can demand something? Why can't you answer the question? You just say, 'I'll deal with it.' But I'm asking a specific question,' Ruud said. 'How many seconds before I can demand let's say another serve or a replay? If he does it again and again and again… nothing.' There is no rule for such a scenario because neither player is doing anything wrong, but Ruud put forward the case that Cerundolo was benefiting from the interruption even if he was not seeking to gain any advantage himself. Ruud then asked at what point he might receive a first serve, in order to deter the whistling. The Norwegian was visibly infuriated, but in the calm, stoic kind of way that he brings to all of his tennis. In the end, Ruud won the match and the event, letting out an unexpectedly loud extended grunt on a forehand winner that took him to championship point against Draper. Then, he lifted the trophy, as chill as ever. How did Naomi Osaka follow a winning formula? When Naomi Osaka won the Australian Open in 2021, the idea that she would have to wait more than four years before her next title would have been far beyond far-fetched. Osaka was the world's dominant player at the time, especially on hard courts. It seemed like she was going to be winning a lot. Advertisement Saying that her next title would not just come more than four years later, but also at a WTA 125 event outside of the main tour would have seemed beyond the realms of possibility. But there Osaka was May 4, holding the trophy for winning the Saint Malo Open 35 in France — a tournament one rung below the elite. This is what top players do when they can't get enough rhythm and confidence to win enough matches to get that rhythm and confidence. Belinda Bencic played ITF events — a further rung down — to start her comeback from giving birth to her first child, and has since won a WTA 500 title and risen from No. 913 to No. 42 in the rankings. Osaka has been up to some important business during her wait for another trophy. She twice took an extended break from tennis to work on her mental health; she gave birth to her first child, Shai, in 2023. She has also shown she is capable of elite tennis in fits and starts for the past four years, but for most of that time, she has not been able to sustain that level against the best players, either during matches or across tournaments. Could this win turn things around? That's a little bit hard to predict, especially as clay has never been a comfortable surface for her despite this triumph. Advertisement The tour stays on clay for two more tournaments. Then it shifts to grass. Osaka is a work in progress on the organic surfaces. After this week, though, one thing is clear — she's doing the work. Shot of the week The tennis shots, or the camera shot? Why not both! Recommended reading: Aryna Sabalenka beats Coco Gauff to regain Madrid Open title Rising U.S. talent Tyra Grant will switch allegiance to Italy Why tennis is asking its stars not to believe their eyes Ten teens who are taking over the world (of sport) 🏆 The winners of the week 🎾 ATP: 🏆 Casper Ruud (14) def. Jack Draper (5) 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 to win the Madrid Open (1,000) in Madrid. It is the Norwegian's first 1,000-level title. 🏆 Alex Michelsen (2) def. Andrea Pellegrino 6-4, 6-4 to win the Estoril Open (Challenger 175) in Estoril, Portugal. It is the American's biggest career title. Advertisement 🎾 WTA: 🏆 Aryna Sabalenka (1) def. Coco Gauff (4) 6-3, 7-6(3) to win the Madrid Open (1,000) in Madrid. It is the world No. 1's third title of 2025. 🏆 Naomi Osaka (2) def. Kaja Juvan 6-1, 7-5 to win the Saint Malo Open 35 (WTA 125) in Saint Malo, France. It is Osaka's first title since February 2021. 📈📉 On the rise / Down the line 📈 Coco Gauff moves up one place from No. 4 to No. 3, regaining third spot from compatriot Jessica Pegula. 📈 Casper Ruud ascends eight spots from No. 15 to No. 7 after his title in Madrid. 📈 Naomi Osaka reenters the top 50 after rising seven spots from No. 55 to No. 48. Advertisement 📉 Andrey Rublev falls nine places from No. 8 to No. 17. 📉 Sara Sorribes Tormo leaves the top 100, dropping 23 places from No. 86 to No. 109. 📉 Felix Auger-Aliassime tumbles eight spots from No. 19 to No. 27. 📅 Coming up 🎾 ATP 📍Rome: Italian Open (1,000) featuring Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev, Jack Draper. 📺 UK: Sky Sports; U.S.: Tennis Channel 💻 Tennis TV 🎾 WTA 📍Rome: Italian Open (1,000) featuring Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Świątek, Coco Gauff, Jasmine Paolini. 📺 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. Advertisement This article originally appeared in The Athletic. Tennis, Women's Tennis 2025 The Athletic Media Company
New York Times
05-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
How to watch tennis on television when the ball disappears into a sunlit portal of doom?
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 Madrid Open's beautiful weather created a classic tennis media problem, world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka kept eking out wins and Casper Ruud showed that he contains multitudes. If you'd like to follow our fantastic tennis coverage, click here. After a Madrid Open at which the power went out and players raged about ball marks on the clay not aligning with electronic line calling (ELC), another issue occupied the minds of many fans who watched the tournament on television. During several daytime matches at the Caja Mágica, sections of the broadcast feed — sometimes one quadrant of the court, sometimes half the picture — were flooded with dazzlingly bright light. So bright that the players and the ball would disappear whenever they entered it, making the sun seem like a portal to another dimension and making the match borderline unwatchable. This is part of a wider problem in tennis, whereby the architecture of certain venues — especially ones that aren't purpose-built for the sport — turns what should be a spectacle into an eyesore. The orientation of the court, the position of television cameras and retractable roofs can all become problematic, leaving watching fans baffled as to how the elite level of a sport can fail so basically. Perhaps even more baffling is the extent to which the very obvious problem of players disappearing from view goes unmentioned by commentators. Drawing attention to a negative experience is not desirable for broadcasters, but pretending it's not happening is also doing a disservice to the people watching. Advertisement Away from Madrid, tournaments in Halle and Berlin, both in Germany, and the Italian Open, in Rome also suffer from the shadowy court patterns, some from stadia and some from overhanging flora but all of which draw ire from fans. Short of redesigning courts, introducing awnings for broadcast or only playing tennis at venues used exclusively for the sport, not a lot can be done. But with tennis competing with so many other sports for eyeballs, these issues are really not welcome. Charlie Eccleshare The sign of a good player or team being that they win when playing badly is the haughtiest of sporting clichés; it also comes into conflict with the idea that results will catch up with mediocre performances. How then to parse world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka's 2025? Sabalenka has been comfortably the best player on the WTA results-wise, winning or reaching the final in six of her eight events, including taking the Madrid Open title against Coco Gauff. Her performances, though, have often been patchy. In the Spanish capital, she made hard work of winning the first set against qualifier Anna Blinkova, played poorly to drop the opener against Elise Mertens, was constantly in trouble on serve against Peyton Stearns and then dug out straight-sets wins in far from straightforward matches against Marta Kostyuk and then Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals and semifinals. Still, she won the title. It's impossible to play at top form all the time and Sabalenka is winning titles without doing so, which suggests her rivals have plenty to fear if she starts to click into top gear. The WTA Tour also has such a depth of talent that even apparently routine matchups may not play out as expected. But Sabalenka's numbers suggest she is defying the law of averages, especially when it comes to escaping adversity behind her serve. Advertisement Sabalenka is 10th in the WTA top 50 for 2025 when it comes to break points faced per match, according to data from Tennis Abstract, but third for service games lost per match. In 29 matches played, world No. 2 Iga Świątek has faced 145 break points; Sabalenka has faced 186 in 30 matches. But where Świątek has saved just over 55 percent of those 145, Sabalenka has saved over 63 percent of her 186. The average for the top 50 is 56.5 percent. This is partly because Sabalenka has one of the best serves in the women's game — but at the moment, it is saving her from adversity as much as it is preventing her from getting into it. Charlie Eccleshare During Świątek's one-sided defeat to Coco Gauff in Madrid, she shielded her face with a towel as she tried to cope with the emotion of the defeat — after which it was confirmed by Świątek's team that her grandfather had passed away just prior to the event. Waiting with some encouragement was Ruud, who went on to win the Madrid Open title by beating Jack Draper in three sets. Hey @iga_swiatek keep your head up🙏🙏 Like millions of other people I love watching you play. Not your day today, but you inspire so many and you'll be back stronger than ever!!😊🤩👏🎾 — Casper Ruud (@CasperRuud98) May 1, 2025 Later that week, Ruud found himself in a rather more tense situation. During his semifinal against Argentina's Francisco Cerundolo, fans were repeatedly whistling between the Norwegian's first and second serves. After ignoring a few, Ruud approached the chair umpire to ask where the line was for having his service motion interrupted: 'How many times can they scream before I can demand something? Why can't you answer the question? You just say, 'I'll deal with it.' But I'm asking a specific question,' Ruud said. Advertisement 'How many seconds before I can demand let's say another serve or a replay? If he does it again and again and again… nothing.' There is no rule for such a scenario because neither player is doing anything wrong, but Ruud put forward the case that Cerundolo was benefiting from the interruption even if he was not seeking to gain any advantage himself. Ruud then asked at what point he might receive a first serve, in order to deter the whistling. The Norwegian was visibly infuriated, but in the calm, stoic kind of way that he brings to all of his tennis. In the end, Ruud won the match and the event, letting out an unexpectedly loud extended grunt on a forehand winner that took him to championship point against Draper. Then, he lifted the trophy, as chill as ever. James Hansen When Naomi Osaka won the Australian Open in 2021, the idea that she would have to wait more than four years before her next title would have been far beyond far-fetched. Osaka was the world's dominant player at the time, especially on hard courts. It seemed like she was going to be winning a lot. Saying that her next title would not just come more than four years later, but also at a WTA 125 event outside of the main tour would have seemed beyond the realms of possibility. But there Osaka was May 4, holding the trophy for winning the Saint Malo Open 35 in France — a tournament one rung below the elite. This is what top players do when they can't get enough rhythm and confidence to win enough matches to get that rhythm and confidence. Belinda Bencic played ITF events — a further rung down — to start her comeback from giving birth to her first child, and has since won a WTA 500 title and risen from No. 913 to No. 42 in the rankings. Kinda ironic to win my first trophy back on the surface that I thought was my worst. That's one of my favorite things about life though, there's always room to grow and evolve. Thanks to everyone accompanying me on this journey, I know it's turbulent but it's also really fun and… — NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@naomiosaka) May 4, 2025 Osaka has been up to some important business during her wait for another trophy. She twice took an extended break from tennis to work on her mental health; she gave birth to her first child, Shai, in 2023. She has also shown she is capable of elite tennis in fits and starts for the past four years, but for most of that time, she has not been able to sustain that level against the best players, either during matches or across tournaments. Could this win turn things around? That's a little bit hard to predict, especially as clay has never been a comfortable surface for her despite this triumph. Advertisement The tour stays on clay for two more tournaments. Then it shifts to grass. Osaka is a work in progress on the organic surfaces. After this week, though, one thing is clear — she's doing the work. Matt Futterman The tennis shots, or the camera shot? Why not both! Draper vs Musetti highlights – through the lens of our new court-level camera 😮💨#MMOPEN — Tennis TV (@TennisTV) May 3, 2025 🎾 ATP: 🏆 Casper Ruud (14) def. Jack Draper (5) 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 to win the Madrid Open (1,000) in Madrid. It is the Norwegian's first 1,000-level title. 🏆 Alex Michelsen (2) def. Andrea Pellegrino 6-4, 6-4 to win the Estoril Open (Challenger 175) in Estoril, Portugal. It is the American's biggest career title. 🎾 WTA: 🏆 Aryna Sabalenka (1) def. Coco Gauff (4) 6-3, 7-6(3) to win the Madrid Open (1,000) in Madrid. It is the world No. 1's third title of 2025. 🏆 Naomi Osaka (2) def. Kaja Juvan 6-1, 7-5 to win the Saint Malo Open 35 (WTA 125) in Saint Malo, France. It is Osaka's first title since February 2021. 📈 Coco Gauff moves up one place from No. 4 to No. 3, regaining third spot from compatriot Jessica Pegula. 📈 Casper Ruud ascends eight spots from No. 15 to No. 7 after his title in Madrid. 📈 Naomi Osaka reenters the top 50 after rising seven spots from No. 55 to No. 48. 📉 Andrey Rublev falls nine places from No. 8 to No. 17. 📉 Sara Sorribes Tormo leaves the top 100, dropping 23 places from No. 86 to No. 109. 📉 Felix Auger-Aliassime tumbles eight spots from No. 19 to No. 27. 🎾 ATP 📍Rome: Italian Open (1,000) featuring Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev, Jack Draper. 📺 UK: Sky Sports; U.S.: Tennis Channel 💻 Tennis TV 🎾 WTA 📍Rome: Italian Open (1,000) featuring Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Świątek, Coco Gauff, Jasmine Paolini. 📺 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.
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Men's tennis feels more open than ever, but at the Grand Slams, it's a false dawn
Welcome back to the Monday Tennis Briefing, where will explain the stories behind the stories from the past week on court. This week, the Madrid Open brought a coaching comeback story, a reminder of the growth required to be a tennis prodigy and a reminder of a false dawn at the top of men's tennis. A false dawn at the top of men's tennis? Discussing the state of the men's game Saturday night, America's world No. 17, Frances Tiafoe, offered an interesting perspective. 'Anybody can clip anybody on a given day,' he told reporters after beating Luciano Darderi to reach the Madrid Open third round. Advertisement 'I think this is exciting times. Tennis reminds me right now of 2000 to 2004 or 2005, there's a window. Anybody can win slams, anybody can win tournaments like this. Every Masters, we'll probably have eight, nine (possible) winners.' That period at the start of the 21st century will always be remembered as an interregnum, when Pete Sampras was on the wane and Roger Federer hadn't yet fully arrived. Between Wimbledon in 2001 and the French Open in 2004, six players, including Thomas Johansson, Albert Costa and Gaston Gaudio, won their one and only Grand Slam title. Does what's happening now resemble that kind of openness? Yes and no. At ATP Masters 1,000 level, the rung below the Grand Slams, things have definitely been unpredictable over the past year. Going back to Monte Carlo in 2024, the last 10 events have been won by eight different players, with five different winners in the last five. Advertisement At the Grand Slams, however, the shop remains as closed as it ever did. Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz have won the last five between them; Alcaraz, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic won the eight prior. While there is an important difference from the Big Three era, with players such as Tiafoe and, last year, Taylor Fritz expressing hope that they can win a major because they can beat even the best in the world, an as-yet unbreakable ceiling remains at the very top. 'I lived the real era, so for me, it feels great,' Tiafoe said of the tennis environment when Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic were at their best. He recalled playing Nadal in the Australian Open quarterfinals in 2019 and feeling that 'in my mind, I'm not beating Rafa. But now you can play anyone and I really feel like at a Slam, anyone can win, not even just me, anyone.' Still, it hasn't happened yet. The feeling of openness might be illusory at the very biggest events in tennis, but at least the chasing pack are no longer going into majors resigned to their fate. Can Maria Sakkari sustain this return to form? Maria Sakkari spent more than a year trying to find people who could help her solve her tennis problems. Advertisement Before those difficult 12 months, she had spent six years with Tom Hill, who was one of the youngest coaches on either tour when she took him on. Together they climbed the rankings to world No. 3, and Sakkari reached two Grand Slam semifinals in 2021. She said she hoped that he would be her coach for the rest of her career. But after suffering a series of disappointing defeats, Sakkari sacked Hill early in 2024. She tried David Witt and then Raemon Sluiter, both coaches who have had significant success with other players, especially Witt, who previously coached Venus Williams and Jessica Pegula. He's now with Tiafoe. Sakkari also tried working with Ben Crowe, the high-performance coach who helped Ash Barty win three Grand Slam titles before she retired at 25. None of it really worked for her and she slid down to No. 82 in the rankings. Then, before the Madrid Open, Hill returned to the fold after ending his 12-month partnership with Peyton Stearns of the U.S., and a week on, Sakkari is already in the middle of one of her best tournaments in a good while. She ended a streak of eight consecutive losses against top-10 players when she beat the No. 6 seed, Jasmine Paolini, 6-2, 6-1 to reach the fourth round. Advertisement Sluiter said during an interview in March that Sakkari, who is one of the fittest athletes on the WTA Tour, was talented enough that her main issue was trusting herself and her shots. 'She can forget sometimes,' he said. Sakkari, who is 29, has considered walking away from the sport on multiple occasions. It tortures her so. But she has always come back and said during an interview in March that she still believes she can get back to the top level of the game. Hill helped her get there before. Maybe he can do it again. How can Joao Fonseca learn his next tennis lesson? Joao Fonseca, the 18-year-old Brazilian sensation, is going to win a lot of titles, and probably some pretty big ones. Blessed with a sledgehammer forehand, a backhand that he can redirect with ease and a high-kicking serve, his tennis ceiling is somewhere in the sport's stratosphere. Advertisement But for the time being, he is still a teenager, and winning on the ATP Tour demands that players lift up their floors — and flaws — in tight moments. Fonseca is going to lose matches because of that, just as every young player trying to make it to the top of the sport has done and will do. Eighteen is also not the easiest time to be shouldering the tennis hopes and dreams of an entire country, and maybe even a continent, with Fonseca the most exciting men's player Brazil has seen since three-time Grand Slam champion Gustavo Kuerten. Fonseca, who had his breakthrough moment in February when he won the Argentina Open, has been trying to find his sea legs ever since. After a second-round loss to Tommy Paul in Madrid, he's 4-4 in tour-level matches since that title in Buenos Aires, though he did win a Challenger Tour event in Phoenix after an early exit to world No. 5 Jack Draper at the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells. If there is a common thread to his losses, it's that they all include losing a tight set, or even two of them, to an opponent who has been around the block and played a lot more tight sets than he has. As he did against Alex de Minaur in Miami, Fonseca clobbered Paul all over the court in Madrid, but when it came to the key points, he over-pressed when the move was to slowly wear down his opponent. In the end, Paul beat Fonseca 7-6(7), 7-6(3) in a match that exemplified the next hump the Brazilian has to get over. He held two set points in the first-set tiebreak, but lost them with errors as he went for big shots rather than stealing a page from the Djokovic playbook, which is to keep the ball in play and either get the error or succumb to a winner. Do not, under any circumstances, give points away for free. Advertisement In an interview in March, Fonseca said he knows the difference between winning at the Challenger level and consistently beating a top player. 'If you have the opportunities, when you just don't take them, he's just going to take the match from you,' he said. He will learn. How do new players find the fabled 'locker room'? The 'locker rooms' on the tennis tours have not always been hospitable places. The WTA Tour has been characterized as home to various factions, with everyone in it for themselves. Certainly that was the perception around the turn of the century when Jon Wertheim's 2001 book, 'Venus Envy,' gave a behind-the-scenes glimpse of life on the professional tennis circuit. Advertisement Things aren't so fractious now, but generally players still like to keep their distance from one another, typically spending their time at tournaments with their entourages. Bianca Andreescu, who enjoyed a sudden breakthrough in 2019 when she won the U.S. Open at 19, this week spoke about creating a welcoming atmosphere. Over the past couple of years, she has reached out to fellow breakout stars Mirra Andreeva and most recently Alex Eala to let them know that she's available if they ever need anything. Now 24 and rebuilding her career after a dreadful run of injuries, Andreescu says she doesn't want the next generation of players to have the experience she did. 'I'm going to be honest, I didn't have anybody reach out to me and nobody was friendly with me on the tour, no one would say hi to me,' Andreescu, ranked No. 132, told a few reporters at the Madrid Open last week, where she lost in the second round to Elena Rybakina. 'And I told myself, no, I don't want the next generation to feel that way. I know it's a competitive environment, but at the same time, us women, we are the only ones that really understand each other as much as possible.' Advertisement Eala, who lost to defending champion Iga Świątek in Madrid, has spoken about how much Andreescu getting in touch meant to her. Shot of the week Matteo Arnaldi scrambles his way to a break against Novak Djokovic. Recommended reading: 'Trying to win a match or two': Novak Djokovic describes new tennis reality Iga Świątek resets to open Madrid Open title defense Why pickleball star Anna Leigh Waters is partnering with a tennis legend — in her sport What Carlos Alcaraz's 'My Way' series says about his tennis present and future 📅 Coming up 🎾 ATP 📍Madrid: Madrid Open (1000) featuring Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Jack Draper. Advertisement 📺 UK: Sky Sports; U.S.: Tennis Channel 💻 Tennis TV 🎾 WTA 📍Madrid: Madrid Open (1000) featuring Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Świątek, Coco Gauff, Maria Sakkari. 📺 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. This article originally appeared in The Athletic. Tennis, Women's Tennis 2025 The Athletic Media Company
New York Times
28-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Men's tennis feels more open than ever – but at the Grand Slams, it's a false dawn
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 Madrid Open brought a coaching comeback story, a reminder of the growth required to be a tennis prodigy and a reminder of a false dawn at the top of men's tennis. If you'd like to follow our fantastic tennis coverage, click here. Discussing the state of the men's game Saturday night, America's world No. 17 Frances Tiafoe offered an interesting perspective. 'Anybody can clip anybody on a given day,' he told reporters after beating Luciano Darderi to reach the Madrid Open third round. 'I think this is exciting times. Tennis reminds me right now of 2000 to 2004 or 2005, there's a window. Anybody can win Slams, anybody can win tournaments like this. Every Masters, we'll probably have eight, nine (possible) winners.' Advertisement That period at the start of the 21st century will always be remembered as an interregnum, when Pete Sampras was on the wane and Roger Federer hadn't yet fully arrived. Between Wimbledon in 2001 and the French Open in 2004, six players, including Thomas Johansson, Albert Costa and Gaston Gaudio, won their one and only Grand Slam title. Does what's happening now resemble that kind of openness? Yes and no. At ATP Masters 1,000 level, the rung below the Grand Slams, things have definitely been unpredictable over the last year. Going back to Monte Carlo in 2024, the last 10 events have been won by eight different players, with five different winners in the last five. At the Grand Slams, however, the shop remains as closed as it ever did. Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz have won the last five between them; Alcaraz, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic won the eight prior. While there is an important difference from the Big Three era, with players like Tiafoe and last year, Taylor Fritz expressing hope that they can win a major because they can beat even the best in the world, an as-yet unbreakable ceiling remains at the very top. 'I lived the real era, so for me, it feels great,' Tiafoe said of the tennis environment when Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic were at their best. He recalled playing Nadal in the Australian Open quarterfinals in 2019 and feeling that 'in my mind, I'm not beating Rafa. But now you can play anyone and I really feel like at a Slam, anyone can win, not even just me, anyone'. Still, it hasn't happened yet. The feeling of openness might be illusory at the very biggest events in tennis, but at least the chasing pack are no longer going into majors resigned to their fate. Charlie Eccleshare Maria Sakkari spent more than a year trying to find people who could help her solve her tennis problems. Before those difficult 12 months, she had spent six years with Tom Hill, who was one of the youngest coaches on either tour when she took him on. Together they climbed the rankings to world No. 3, and Sakkari reached two Grand Slam semifinals in 2021. She said she hoped that he would be her coach for the rest of her career. Advertisement But after suffering a series of disappointing defeats, Sakkari sacked Hill early in 2024. She tried David Witt and then Raemon Sluiter, both of them coaches who have had significant success with other players, especially Witt, who previously coached Venus Williams and Jessica Pegula. He's now with Tiafoe. Sakkari also tried working with Ben Crowe, the high-performance coach who helped Ash Barty win three Grand Slam titles before she retired at 25. None of it really worked for her and she slid down to No. 82 in the rankings. Then, before the Madrid Open, Hill returned to the fold after ending his 12-month partnership with Peyton Stearns of the U.S., and a week on, Sakkari is already in the middle of one of her best tournaments in a good while. She ended streak of eight consecutive losses against top-10 players when she beat the No. 6 seed, Jasmine Paolini, 6-2, 6-1 to reach the fourth round. Sluiter said during an interview in March that Sakkari, who is one of the fittest athletes on the WTA Tour, was talented enough that her main issue was trusting herself and her shots. 'She can forget sometimes,' he said. Sakkari, who is 29, has considered walking away from the sport on multiple occasions. It tortures her so. But she has always come back and said during an interview in March that she still believes she can get back to the top level of the game. Hill helped her get there before. Maybe he can do it again. Matt Futterman Joao Fonseca, the 18-year-old Brazilian sensation, is going to win a lot of titles, and probably some pretty big ones. Blessed with a sledgehammer forehand, a backhand that he can redirect with ease and a high-kicking serve, his tennis ceiling is somewhere in the sport's stratosphere. But for the time being, he is still a teenager, and winning on the ATP Tour demands that players lift up their floors — and flaws — in tight moments. Fonseca is going to lose matches because of that, just as every young player trying to make it to the top of the sport has done and will do. Eighteen is also not the easiest time to be shouldering the tennis hopes and dreams of an entire country, and maybe even a continent, with Fonseca the most exciting men's player Brazil has seen since three-time Grand Slam champion Gustavo Kuerten. Advertisement Fonseca, who had his breakthrough moment in February when he won the Argentina Open, has been trying to find his sea legs ever since. After a second-round loss to Tommy Paul in Madrid, he's 4-4 in tour-level matches since that title in Buenos Aires, though he did win a Challenger Tour event in Phoenix after an early exit to world No. 5 Jack Draper at the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells. If there is a common thread to his losses, it's that they all include losing a tight set, or even two of them, to an opponent who has been around the block and played a lot more tight sets than he has. As he did against Alex de Minaur in Miami, Fonseca clobbered Paul all over the court in Madrid, but when it came to the key points, he over-pressed when the move was to slowly wear down his opponent. In the end, Paul beat Fonseca 7-6(7), 7-6(3) in a match that exemplified the next hump that the Brazilian has to get over. He held two set points in the first-set tiebreak, but lost them with errors as he went for big shots rather than stealing a page from the Djokovic playbook, which is to keep the ball in play and either get the error or succumb to a winner. Do not, under any circumstances, give points away for free. In an interview in March, Fonseca said he knows the difference between winning at the Challenger level and consistently beating a top player. 'If you have the opportunities, when you just don't take them, he's just going to take the match from you,' he said. He will learn. Matt Futterman The 'locker rooms' on the tennis tours have not always been hospitable places. The WTA Tour's has been characterized as home to various factions, with everyone in it for themselves. Certainly that was the perception around the turn of the century when Jon Wertheim's 2001 book, 'Venus Envy,' gave a behind-the-scenes glimpse of life on the professional tennis circuit. Advertisement Things aren't so fractious now, but generally players still like to keep their distance from one another, typically spending their time at tournaments with their entourages. Bianca Andreescu, who enjoyed a sudden breakthrough in 2019 when she won the U.S. Open at 19, this week spoke about creating a welcoming atmosphere. Over the last couple of years she has reached out to fellow breakout stars Mirra Andreeva and most recently Alex Eala to let them know that she's available if they ever need anything. Now 24 and rebuilding her career after a dreadful run of injuries, Andreescu says she doesn't want the next generation of players to have the experience she did. 'I'm going to be honest, I didn't have anybody reach out to me and nobody was friendly with me on the tour, no one would say hi to me,' Andreescu, ranked No. 132, told a few reporters at the Madrid Open last week, where she lost in the second round to Elena Rybakina. 'And I told myself, no, I don't want the next generation to feel that way. I know it's a competitive environment, but at the same time, us women, we are the only ones that really understand each other as much as possible.' Eala, who lost to defending champion Iga Świątek in Madrid, has spoken about how much Andreescu getting in touch meant to her. Charlie Eccleshare Matteo Arnaldi scrambles his way to a break against Novak Djokovic. 🎾 ATP 📍Madrid: Madrid Open (1000) featuring Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Jack Draper. 📺 UK: Sky Sports; U.S.: Tennis Channel 💻 Tennis TV 🎾 WTA 📍Madrid: Madrid Open (1000) featuring Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Świątek, Coco Gauff, Maria Sakkari. 📺 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.
