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Carlos Alcaraz fell just one match short of an epic Rafael Nadal milestone as he made Indian Wells history thanks to Thursday’s quarter-final triumph.

World No 3 Alcaraz battled past the elements and a tricky Francisco Cerundolo to keep his campaign alive in Tennis Paradise, seeing off the 25th seed 6-3, 7-6(4).

It was undoubtedly the toughest test of Alcaraz’s campaign so far, with the second seed having steamrolled through his first three matches.

Speaking afterwards, the 21-year-old admitted it had been challenging to find his best tennis amid blustery conditions that affected all players in the desert on Thursday.

“Well, I think today was a little bit tougher than yesterday,” said Alcaraz. “I think it was more wind, colder. So the conditions were really tough.

“But, you know, I think I didn’t play as good as yesterday, but I think, I mean, tennis is about not having a great day every day. So you have to play with your best that day.

“I think today I just survived. I just save, you know, a lot of breakpoints, a lot of chances to his favor. Just really happy about it.

“I think I just played a decent match or a good match with those conditions.”

Victory for Alcaraz was a 16th straight win in Indian Wells for the Spaniard, who is the two-time defending champion at the Masters 1000 event.

It was also his 20th win at the tournament in the space of just 22 career matches in Indian Wells, his only defeats coming to Andy Murray in 2021 and Rafael Nadal in 2022.

No man in history has ever won 20 matches so quickly in Indian Wells as Alcaraz has now done, and only Rafael Nadal has hit that milestone faster across all Masters 1000 events.

It took the 22-time Grand Slam champion only 21 matches to hit 20 match wins in both Monte Carlo and Rome, both tournaments on his beloved clay courts.

While Alcaraz may have just missed out on matching a Nadal milestone, the chance to emulate one of Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer’s greatest feats looks more than possible.

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To date, Djokovic and Federer are the only two men to win three consecutive Indian Wells titles, with Djokovic doing so from 2014-16 and Federer from 2005-06.

Alcaraz is potentially just two wins from matching the two all-time greats and joining them in that exclusive club.

And, with the way the draw has panned out, the four-time Grand Slam champion is arguably a warm favourite to do just that.

Second seed Alcaraz is the only top-four seed to have made the semi-final, with Alexander Zverev, Taylor Fritz, and Casper Ruud having all fallen by the wayside.

To join Djokovic and Federer in the Indian Wells history books, Alcaraz will first need to beat 13th seed Jack Draper in Saturday’s semi-final.

Should he do that, he would then face 12th seed Holger Rune or fifth seed Daniil Medvedev – who he has beaten in the final the past two years – in the final.

Read Next: Who are Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer’s major sponsors?

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Iga Swiatek’s rampant Indian Wells form continued on Thursday as she comfortably sealed her semi-final spot with a victory over eighth seed Zheng Qinwen.

Having not dropped a set across her opening three matches, dropping just six games in total, the world No 2 defeated the Chinese 6-3, 6-3 to keep her title defence alive.

It was Swiatek’s first match against Qinwen since a heartbreaking defeat to the world No 9 at the Olympic Games last summer, with the Chinese beating the Pole in straight sets on her way to the gold medal.

Though she had beaten the Chinese in all six of their previous meetings ahead of Paris 2024, and now leads the head-to-head 7-1, Swiatek admitted “revenge” was on her mind this time around.

“I want to show myself and everybody that I can do it, and I already knew before the Olympics match, I know now,” said Swiatek.

“It’s not nice to lose to anybody, so for sure you want to have a little, I don’t know, like revenge, but it’s nothing personal. I think every player has that against everybody who they lose to before.

“This was the only match that I lost against Qinwen and I wanted to learn from it, it didn’t really cross my mind that much, because I knew that this is on hard court and I knew what I did wrong in the Olympics.

“Honestly, I would say that clay didn’t help me on the Olympics, because these high spinny balls that came into place, it’s much easier to go forward and to play them when you know exactly how the ball is going to bounce. On clay, you can’t really do that.

“For sure, it was tricky then. Here I thought it’s going to be more clear, and that’s what happened.”

Swiatek’s victory places her into a fourth consecutive semi-final in Indian Wells.

The five-time Grand Slam champion defeated Simona Halep in her 2022 semi-final and Marta Kostyuk in 2024, while losing to eventual champion Elena Rybakina in 2023.

The world No 2 has now made history by becoming the first woman to reach four consecutive semi-finals at the event since the tournament introduced a women’s event in 1989.

And, yet more history could await for Swiatek over the next three days.

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Should Swiatek go on to successfully defend her title, she would become the first woman to win the title on three separate occasions.

Currently, Swiatek is one of 10 women to have won the tournament twice, joining the likes of Serena Williams, Steffi Graf, and Martina Navratilova, among others.

However, she faces a tough test next against the in-form Mirra Andreeva.

Ninth seed Andreeva defeated the Pole on her way to the Dubai title last month, and is currently riding a 10-match win streak.

Read Next: Serena Williams vs Steffi Graf: When two icons met in the Indian Wells final

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Coco Gauff has confessed that she ‘doesn’t care’ about being American No 1, and shared how she wishes to end her career.

The American gave an exclusive interview to Roland Garros, with just under three months until the tournament.

“I think just accepting the highs and lows,” stated Gauff, when asked what she has learnt the most over the last year.

“I think sometimes in sports you want to just stay on the high and kind of ride that wave, but especially with this sport, a season as long as tennis, it’s impossible to always be on that high wave, and there’s going to be some low moments, I think.

“Just trying to stick through those tough moments and get better through them. Not feeling like the rest of the season is going to go that way. I feel like I’m able to turn it around. It’s happened before. I think it just takes one match or two matches to kind of get that confidence back.”

The American, who has been the top-ranked player in her country for a substantial period, is already a Grand Slam Champion, having also won multiple other big titles. However, Gauff has never reached the world No 1 status.

“Honestly, it never meant anything to me,” Gauff said when asked about being the American number one.

“I just feel like all the people say it online. And for me, it really means absolutely nothing. I don’t like to look at it. I don’t care.

“The reason it means nothing is because of the goal, obviously, is to be number one, period.

“But obviously, I am lucky to be surrounded by such great competition for my country. And all of us are friendly with each other and we root for each other. And I was just happy to see, Madison win and then seeing Amanda win – two people who I think rightfully and strongly deserve those titles.”

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Despite only being 21-years-old, Gauff also shared how she wishes to end her career, stating: “I guess the most important thing is just to not be physically burnt out, just because at the end of the day, when it’s time to retire, I want to make sure it’s on my terms and not because of an injury or anything like that.

“So I think it’s just more so protecting my love for the sport and hopefully that it treats me with that love, too.”

It is that love for the sport that Gauff attempted to reiterate during Indian Wells, as she stated during a press conference: “As I get older, honestly, I feel like I love the sport more than when I was 17, 18, just because I felt more pressure then because of how I just came and started.”

Coco Gauff will next play at the Miami Open, taking place from March 18 – March 30.

The post Coco Gauff reveals how she wishes to retire, and opens up on statistic which means ‘nothing’ to her appeared first on Tennis365.

The CEO of the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) has come out in defence of the organisation and doping procedures amid the ongoing fallout from Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek’s cases.

Both Sinner and Swiatek, Grand Slam champions who were ranked world No 1 at points during 2024, found themselves at the centre of drug testing controversy last season.

Sinner twice tested positive for banned steroid clostebol in March 2024, with the ITIA handing him no suspension in August 2024, finding the Italian to have been of “no fault”.

The severity of Sinner’s sanction was appealed by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in September 2024, and the case was set to be heard by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) this April.

However, it was announced last month that Sinner and WADA had settled outside of court, with the 23-year-old now serving a three-month suspension.

Swiatek tested positive for TMZ in August 2024 and was ultimately handed a one-month suspension by the ITIA, having been found to be of “no significant fault” in her case.

Both Sinner and Swiatek argued that contamination was the cause of their doping violations and successfully appealed against their provisional suspensions, allowing them to compete while investigations were ongoing.

This was the bone of contention for many when criticising the ITIA’s handling of the cases, something which CEO Karen Moorhouse was keen to dismiss.

In quotes reported by Ubitennis, Moorhouse insisted that the “rules were respected” in both cases and that both players had the right to appeal their provisional suspensions within a 10-day period.

“It was mistakenly believed that we were announcing positive tests, when in fact we were announcing provisional suspensions,” she said. “In both the case of Sinner – and in that of Swiatek – the rules were respected.

“The players filed an appeal against the provisional suspension within the 10-day period provided for by our regulations and, since the appeal was successful, the provisional suspensions were not made public.

“Some sports, such as athletics, decide to immediately announce provisional suspensions. Others, especially team sports, never announce them.

“Tennis, for now, has given itself the ten-day rule; we’ll see, in the future this rule could also change.”

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Sinner’s case in particular has attracted huge attention, with the reigning Australian Open and US Open currently banned until May 2025.

The Italian successfully argued in his initial case with the ITIA by claiming that he had accidently been contaminated by former physiotherapist Giacomo Naldi.

Naldi reportedly used trofodermin, a spray containing clostebol, on a cut on his finger before massaging Sinner without using gloves; the world No 1 would test positive on March 10th and March 18th.

Both Naldi and fitness coach Umberto Ferrara, who reportedly purchased the spray, left Sinner’s team last August once the initial ruling had been announced.

Moorhouse further revealed that there had been no justification to prosecute either Naldi or Ferrara due to a lack of “intentionality” with the contamination.

She added: “There was no justification for prosecuting any member of his [Sinner’s] entourage, because the assumption, namely the intentionality of taking doping substances, was missing.”

Sinner is set to return to action at the Italian Open in Rome, which begins on May 7th – just three days after his suspension ends.

Meanwhile, Swiatek, who completed her suspension in December 2024, is currently in action in Indian Wells.

The world No 2 is in quarter-final action against Zheng Qinwen on Thursday.

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The post ITIA CEO insists ‘rules were respected’ in handling of Jannik Sinner, Iga Swiatek doping cases appeared first on Tennis365.

Morgan Riddle has snapped back at critics who suggest that she has been ‘capitalising’ on the tennis career of her partner, Taylor Fritz.

Riddle has been dating the 2024 US Open men’s singles finalist since 2020, and has featured in Netflix’s ‘Break Point’, with their close relationship evident to observe in the tennis series.

The 27-year-old is best known as an influencer on Instagram and TikTok, amassing over one million followers across the two platforms through the sharing of her fashion, beauty, and travel content.

“I think historically, a lot of the older wives and partners on the [tennis] tour have been very private, heads down, in the box,” said Riddle on ‘The Squeeze’ podcast with Tay Lautner.

“They’re there to cheer on their partner and they didn’t have super public personas.

“I don’t know if this is true, but I’ve been told by people on the tennis tour that when I was first posting TikTok [videos] a couple of years ago, there was a clique of older wives on the tour and they would send my videos in their group chat and just make fun of me.

“So, I definitely got a lot of backlash, both from within in the tennis community and the fans — I think because it was different. And I’m calling attention to myself.

“I guess people expected me to sit in the box, be relatively private and not capitalize on my partner’s career. And I kind of came in guns blazing. I was like, ‘well, f–k that,’ and posted whatever I wanted to.

“I think people think I’m annoying sometimes. I definitely have a certain person on TikTok specifically where I kind of feed into it and say things that are controversial enough where it will piss people off but it won’t get me cancelled.”

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Despite the fame of her partner, Fritz has been highly-supportive and coached Riddle on how to handle the attention that comes with such a high-profile relationship.

She went on to state that: “Taylor has always been really good [about public criticism]. He went pro when he was 17 so he has dealt with that for so much, much longer than I had. So he was very helpful in coaching me through that.”

“People write crazy things about us and our relationship, and about me and about him” she continued. “Both of us are united in the fact of like, ok we really love each other, we have a very healthy relationship, nothing that anyone says online is going have any sort of effect on that.

“He’s also been really good about being super defensive of me and what I’m doing. That’s what interesting too is that so many people have such a problem with me capitalizing on tennis and his career and he has always encouraged me and supported me to do it. And he wants to be a dual-income household. He’s like ‘hell yeah.’”

Taylor Fritz’s most recent match was a 7-5, 6-4 defeat to the in-form Jack Draper at the Masters 1000 event in Indian Wells.

The post Taylor Fritz’s partner, Morgan Riddle, responds to accusations of ‘capitalising’ on the American’s fame appeared first on Tennis365.

Emma Raducanu appears to have deleted her Instagram page just weeks after being forced to deal with a fixated spectator at the Dubai Tennis Championships.

Fans noticed on Thursday morning that the 22-year-old’s profile could no longer be found on the social media site.

Raducanu had over three million followers on the site and was one of the most-followed tennis players, with it unclear if this is a temporary social media break or a long-term decision to leave.

The former US Open champion’s profile on Twitter/X and page on Facebook are both still live, and it is not yet known if the Brit will also choose to remove her presence from those platforms as well.

Raducanu has not posted on Twitter/X since February 1st, though her last Facebook post came on March 4th, ahead of her Indian Wells campaign.

Indian Wells was Raducanu’s first tournament since the former world No 10 endured a nightmare stalking ordeal in Dubai, with the Brit noticeably disturbed during her match against Karolina Muchova.

The world No 55 had been approached by an unnamed spectator earlier in the week off-court and was left in tears when she noticed the same spectator was present courtside for her match.

The spectator was moved from the stadium, and a restraining order was put in place for the 22-year-old, who decided not to press charges.

Concerns about Raducanu’s personal safety were high in the aftermath of the incident and, speaking ahead of Indian Wells, she opened up about the precautions in place.

“It’s amazing to feel protected, to feel safe,” she said.

“And Mike [the head of her security detail] does an amazing job of just staying in the shadows. He’s always there, but you can’t necessarily see him.

“When I’m away from the courts, I don’t have private security right now, but I’m always with someone who could raise the alarm or could help in a scenario.

“Whereas before I maybe would have gone on walks alone, I’m pretty much chaperoned everywhere.

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“Security is very important. Even the player hotel [name] is public information: that’s not necessarily the most helpful and anyone can walk in. So that’s obviously a weak spot there – but I do my best.

“I’m always, now even more so, very aware and very alert and sensitive and don’t really go anywhere on my own.”

Raducanu’s departure from Instagram could spark further fears that she is struggling following her ordeal in Dubai, and with a tricky run of form at the start of 2025.

The Brit has won just three of her nine WTA Tour matches this season and was beaten 6-3, 6-2 by Moyuka Uchijima in her opening Indian Wells match.

Raducanu will next be in action at the Miami Open, which begins next week.

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Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer are the dream names when it comes to endorsement for companies, not just on court, but off court as well.

Federer and Nadal may have retired, but both are still raking in money as they still have long-term sponsorship deals with many of the companies that backed them while they were still professional tennis players.

Djokovic, meanwhile, continues to earn big figures both on court with career prize money earnings and off court with endorsement and investment deals.

Let’s get that career prize money out of the way.

Djokovic tops the list and the big question is whether or not he will get to the magical $200,000,000 before he retires as he currently sits on $186,249,969.

Nadal retired in 2024 with $134,946,100 earned in prize money while Federer accumulated $130,594,339 before he called it a day in 2022.

But how does the Big Three’s major backers compare over the years, not in terms of money earned, but by the brands who have opted to investment in them?

Tennis Rackets

Novak Djokovic – HEAD – Wilson – HEAD

Head was Djokovic’s racket sponsor during his junior years and he also began his professional career with their rackets, but the Serbian won his maiden Grand Slam, the 2008 Australian Open, with a Wilson blade.

However, it was a brief relationship as he switched back to HEAD not long after and has now won 23 majors with the American-Austrian manufacturing company.

Rafael Nadal – Babolat

The 22-time Grand Slam winner has used Babolat since the age of nine and, despite retiring in 2022, he is still uses the French company’s rackets, even when he plays padel.

So Nadal won 92 career titles – including his 22 majors and 14 Roland Garros trophies – with Babolat rackets.

Roger Federer – Wilson

Federer had a Wilson racket in his kit bag throughout his professional career as he also started with them as a junior.

Like Nadal, even in retirement the company has stuck with the Swiss Maestro as he often appears at their sponsorship events.

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Tennis Shoes/Apparel

Novak Djokovic – Adidas – Sergio Tacchini – Uniqlo – Lacoste/Asics

A young Djokovic donned Adidas shoes and clothing early in his career, but the German giant decided to push for Andy Murray as their brand ambassador and that resulted in the Serbian signing with Sergio Tacchini.

It was a masterstroke from the Italy-based company as Djokovic went on to dominate tennis, but with it also came big payments as his deals were mostly based on performance. His success meant they had to fork out a lot.

It ultimately led to the sponsorship deal ending as Sergio Tacchini could not keep up with the payments and Djokovic briefly switched back to Adidas.

In 2012 he joined up with Uniqlo in a deal worth a reported €8 million per year while the following year he signed with Adidas to provide him with footwear.

But five years later he joined forces with Lacastoe and the French company remains his mains his apparel manufacturer while in 2018 he switched to Asics for footwear.

Rafael Nadal – Nike

Who can forget a teenage Nadal winning the 2005 French Open Open in his pirate, capri Nike pants and sleeveless shirt? Nearly two full decades later he is still with the American athletic footwear and apparel manufacturer.

These days Nadal has his own range with Nike and they also don the Nike Nadal signature bull logo.

Roger Federer – Nike – Uniqlo

He first signed with Nike in 1998 and five years later he won his maiden Grand Slam at Wimbledon.

Eventually he launched his own line and the monogrammed RF line was massive as the Swiss and Nike (as well as Wilson) cashed in on his worldwide appeal.

But in 2018 Federer stunned the sporting and business world when he switched to Uniqlo in $300m deal for 10 years although he continued to wear Nike shoes for a few more years. There was some dispute over the RF logo with Nike, but that was eventually resolved, while he switched to On shoes in 2021.

Federer remains a Uniqlo ambassador and Swiss manufactures On has gone from strength to strength since the tennis great became a shareholder.

Watch sponsors

Novak Djokovic – Audemars Piguet – Seiko – Hublot

After rising to the top in 2011, Djokovic signed up with Swiss watch manufacturer Audemars Piguet but in 2014 he switched to Seiko while in 2021 he joined forces with Hublot. In case you were wondering, there is a Big Bang Unico Novak Djokovic 42mm watch on sale for about $52,700.

Rafael Nadal – Richard Mille

The Spaniard started his partnership with Richard Mille in 2008 and since 2010 they have developed 11 models including the 2024 RM 27-05 Flying Tourbillon that is worth $1,150,000.

Roger Federer – Rolex

Federer kicked off his collaboration with Rolex in 2001 and following a successful first few years, they tied him down on a long-term 10-year deal worth about $15m (in total) in 2006.

With success flowing, Federer signed an $8m per year contract with no end date in 2016.

Car sponsors

Novak Djokovic – Mercedes-Benz – Peugot

Djokovic signed his first big deal with a car manufacturer in 2011 when he teamed up with Mercedes-Benz, but three years later he became a brand ambassador for French company Peugeot. However, in 2022 the company announced that they had parted ways.

There has been no official word an official car sponsor since the Peugeot deal ended.

Rafael Nadal – Kia

Korea manufacturer Kia Motors is another company that started working with Nadal early in his career as they teamed up in 2004.

Roger Federer – Mercedes-Benz

The Swiss great has been part of the Mercedes-Benz stable since 2008 and in 2010 they extended their relationship to a “multi platform global marketing partnership”.

Others

Novak Djokovic

Qatar Airways, Waterdrop, SILA and hospitality giant Aman are also part of his portfolio as per his official website.

He also teamed up with the Vienna-based bank Raiffeisen Bank International AG and printing company Lemero in 2021 and has deals with Telekom Srbija and FitLine.

Rafael Nadal

According to his website, his sponsors outside of the ones mentioned above are Cantabria Labs, Heineken N.V., Infosys, LVMH, Santander, Subway and Telefónica

Roger Federer

As per RogerFederer.com, he also works with UBS, Jura, Barilla, and Moët & Chandon, Lindt and NetJets.

The post Who are Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer’s major sponsors? appeared first on Tennis365.

Already a multi-millionaire thanks to his tennis career, Roger Federer’s greatest financial gain actually came away from the court.

The Swiss is third in the all-time career prize money top earners in tennis history, behind only Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, but his recent business ventures have seen make a lot more money than he ever did in his career.

Federer was already a fan of Swiss running shoe company On Running so reached out for a partnership with the brand and when your country’s biggest sporting star offers something like that, you say yes.

On Running sold 3% equity in the company to Federer, making him the face of the brand and also designing his own shoe, which had a huge boost to their fortunes.

With Federer’s support and fame, the shoe company’s value soared to $12 billion and when the company went public in September 2021, shares were sold at $24 meaning Federer’s cut was now worth a staggering $360 million almost three times as much as the $130 million he earned in tennis.

On told Tennis365 in April how Federer was involved in creating his own shoe line.

“Roger’s contribution towards the success and immense popularity of The ROGER Pro is unquestionable and he continues to be one of On’s most admired innovation leaders,” they said.

“Roger’s wealth of knowledge and expertise has been instrumental in every aspect of the performance design and technology adapted to meet the demands of the game.

Federer’s skill and marketability have made him one of the richest athletes in the world and in 2020, Forbes named him as the world’s highest-paid athlete.

The 20-time Grand Slam winner also earned a considerable amount from sponsors such as Rolex, Mercedes-Benz, and Wilson.

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In 2018, Japanese apparel maker Uniqlo tempted Federer away from Nike with a 10-year $300 million deal, making it one of the biggest sponsorship deals of any athlete.

Elsewhere, Chilean plant-based food company NotCo received $330 million in investment from a number of the athletes, including Federer as well as F1 driver Lewis Hamilton and golfer Tiger Woods.

Federer is not the only tennis player to dip his toe in investments with Rafael Nadal recently receiving €100 million after selling 44.9% of his tennis academy in Mallorca. The Spaniard also earns money from being a tennis ambassador for Saudi Arabia.

Andy Murray has a number of investments such as Castore, Game4Padel, PerkBox and WeSwap.

The Scot also owns a £2 million hotel near his Dunblane home where he got married.

Last year, Djokovic unveiled a new wellness product, SILA, with Austrian company Waterdrop.

“The idea to create SILA started more than 10 years ago,” Djokovic said.

“I started being more disciplined, passionate and relentless about finding the best ways to improve myself both on and off the court.

“I was so inspired by the overall wellness state I was in and how it was affecting my performance, that I decided to look into creating my own brand that could enrich people’s lives the same way it did mine.”

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Novak Djokovic arrived in Indian Wells earlier this month hoping to boost his ATP Ranking ahead of the second Grand Slam of 2025 at the French Open in May, but that ambition was terminated in double quick time.

Djokovic lost against Dutch lucky loser Botic van de Zandschulp 2-6, 6-3, 1-6 in an error-strewn display, with his post-match comments suggesting he is starting to lose faith that he can revive his glory days as he approaches his 38th birthday.

“Yeah, hard to appreciate anything now, really,” said Djokovic. “I’m disappointed that I lost, but I guess, you know, if you put things in that larger perspective, of course I’ve had an incredible career. Being consistent for so many years, obviously you have high expectations of yourself.

“Things are different obviously for me the last couple of years. I’ve been struggling to play on the desired level. Every now and then, I have a couple of good tournaments, but, you know, mostly it’s really a challenge. It’s a struggle for me.

“So it is what it is. You know, I guess nothing can prepare you for that moment, in a sense. You have to experience it and try to deal with it in the best possible way.”

While a chase for ranking points is no longer a priority for Djokovic, the Serbian needs to ensure he does not slide too far down the ATP list as it will impact one of his last big ambitions in tennis.

Djokovic has made it clear that he wants to win a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title before he hangs up his rackets for the last time, but that mission will be made tougher if he drops out of the top eight of the ATP Rankings.

With Djokovic playing a limited tournament schedule in what may be the final year of his career, he is missing out on chances to claim ranking points and that affected his push for an 11th Australian Open title in January.

Djokovic was the No 7 seed in Melbourne and as a result, he was forced to take on French Open and Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals.

While he came through an epic match against Alcaraz that would have befitted the final in Melbourne, but the physical toll it took on him was evident as he was forced to pull out of his semi-final against Alexander Zverev due to injury.

If he was in the top four of the ATP Rankings for the French Open, there is a good chance he would avoid a clash against Jannik Sinner or Alcaraz until the semi-final and that would boost his hopes.

That ambition has been boosted in recent days, even though Djokovic has long since left Indian Wells.

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Defeats for Casper Ruud, Andrey Rublev and Stefanos Tsitsipas in the early rounds of the first ATP Masters 1000 event of the season have ensured Djokovic’s nearest rivals in the rankings will not overtake him this week.

So he looks set to move up from his current position of No 7 in the rankings to No 5 at the end of the Indian Wells event.

Daniil Medvedev, Alex de Minaur and Tommy Paul could all move ahead of Djokovic if they win in Indian Wells, but victory for any of the trio would be something of a surprise in a tournament where champion Alcaraz is favourite to retain his title.

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Rafael Nadal has heaped praise on Jannik Sinner for being able to stay focused during his “very tough process the last year”, while he also offered his views on fellow youngsters Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek.

Sinner currently sits at No 1 in the ATP Rankings on the back of his stunning form the past 18 months that saw him win three Grand Slam titles and the ATP Finals while four-time major champion Alcaraz is at No 3 and five-time Slam winner Swiatek is at No 2 in the women’s rankings.

The trio are expected to dominate tennis in the next few years – taking over from legends Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Serena Williams – and 22-time major winner Nadal was asked about the rising stars of the game during an extensive interview on the Served with Andy Roddick podcast.

“Carlos is a great kid. Great guy with a very good family behind him, with positive values. Humble. They’re good people. That’s true,” the former world No 1 stated.

“That’s why I think Carlos is how he is. Because in the end, the values you receive at home, the way you’re educated is the way that you show up. I see the same with Iga.”

There is no doubt that Sinner is currently the best men’s player, but he has had some problems away from the court.

The Italian failed two drug tests in March 2024 and, although he was initially cleared of any wrongdoing after he tested positive for the banned substance clostebol with the International Tennis Integrity Agency stating he bore “no fault or negligence”, the World Anti-Doping Agency [WADA] appealed against the decision to clear the 23-year-old.

After initially stating they would ask for a ban between 12 months and 24 months, WADA later reached an agreement with Sinner’s legal representatives that resulted in him accepting a three-month ban, which runs from 9 February until 4 May.

The ruling has caused a lot of controversy as some believe he should have been banned for longer while others feel he has done nothing wrong.

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Despite the doping cloud hanging over his head, Sinner won the US Open and ATP Finals last year and also successfully defended his Australian Open trophy at the start of 2025.

Nadal added: “Jannik is another good guy. Not much of a show off. He’s focused on what he’s doing. Of course, he went through a very tough process the last year. It’s amazing the way he was able to keep being focused on what he’s doing.

“It’s a new generation of great tennis players. I think they’re going to keep helping this beautiful sport to grow and to engage fans.”

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