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Novak Djokovic has “no thoughts of shutting things down” his career and is planning to play in 2026 and 2027, according to former doubles world No 1 and coach Mark Knowles.

The legendary Serbian celebrated his 38th birthday in May during his run to his 100th and most recent ATP singles title at the Geneva Open.

Djokovic accomplished the remarkable feat of reaching the semi-finals at all four Grand Slam tournaments this season, but he was unable to win a set in any of these matches.

He fell to Carlos Alcaraz at the US Open and Jannik Sinner at both Wimbledon and the French Open, while he was forced to retire due to a hamstring injury in his Australian Open last four clash with Alexander Zverev.

After his US Open loss to Alcaraz earlier this month, Djokovic was downbeat about his chances of beating both the Spaniard and Sinner at the majors.

“It will be very difficult for me in the future to overcome the hurdle of Sinner and Alcaraz in the best of five on the Grand Slams,” Djokovic said. “I think I have a better chance in best of three, but best of five, it’s tough.”

Speaking on the Tennis Channel Inside-In podcast, Knowles revealed what he has heard about Djokovic’s plans amid speculation over the tennis icon’s retirement.

“You know what, Novak [Djokovic] is hard to speculate on. I don’t think any mere mortal could find motivation to still play, but he does,” Knowles said.

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“Thankfully for us, we get to see him play. We want to see the all-time greats play forever. He is testing Father Time, which we all love. Nobody has defeated it ever. He is coming close. He is in a battle with it.

“From what I have heard, Novak is going to play in 2026 and 2027. From what I’m hearing, there are no thoughts of him shutting things down. So he obviously loves the challenge and still believes in himself.”

Knowles, who coached WTA star Jessica Pegula, also shared his thoughts on the schedule Djokovic may look to play.

“I think Novak has been pretty transparent with his schedule. He is severely focused on the majors and trying to get number 25,” the Bahamian added.

“Obviously, I think it’s a sponsorship element which I think is great. Novak is fortunate, and we’re fortunate. Any time we watch Novak play, we want to watch him play.

“I would not expect too much [outside the majors]. His third gear is still better than most. But I don’t think we are going to see him shift into fifth or sixth gear.”

READ NEXT: Jack Draper gets backing in Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner Grand Slam debate

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Acclaimed tennis coach Rick Macci has given his verdict on whether Jack Draper will win a Grand Slam title as he highlighted the British star’s biggest strengths.

Draper amassed an impressive 30-9 (76.9%) record in 2025 before he was forced to end his season due to a left arm injury after he withdrew from the US Open last month.

The 23-year-old reached a career-high ranking of world No 4 in June after an excellent first half of the campaign, and he was in a strong position to make his ATP Finals debut until the injury blow.

The Brit secured the third and biggest title of his career at the Indian Wells Masters in March, beating Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-finals. He was also a runner-up at the Madrid Masters and the ATP 500 in Doha, a semi-finalist at the Queen’s Club Championships and a quarter-finalist at the Italian Open.

At the majors this year, Draper reached the last 16 at both the Australian Open and the French Open before he suffered a disappointing second round exit at Wimbledon.

At the US Open, Draper won his opening match before pulling out before his second round contest with Zizou Bergs due to the arm injury.

Draper’s best Grand Slam result to date is reaching the semi-finals at the 2024 US Open, where he fell to eventual champion Jannik Sinner.

Given his rise and the weapons he possesses, some have identified Draper as the biggest potential challenger to the dominant duo of Alcaraz and Sinner.

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In an exclusive interview with Tennis365, Macci was definitive about Draper’s Grand Slam prospects and claimed that the tall left-hander is the player without a major who is closest to breaking through.

“Absolutely – and he will win a Slam. There’s no doubt about it,” said the American.

“He would be the one, if I had to say someone’s knocking on the door, ready to visit the neighbourhood (of winning a Grand Slam). And that’s because he has the size, he’s lefty, a great forehand, a wicked serve, he has improved his backhand a lot.

“And he’s made this rise. He beat Alcaraz in a tournament. So he would be the one that I would put in that category that would be knocking on the door, in that neighbourhood. Because in my book, he checks enough boxes. He’s a great competitor.

“And remember, he’s kind of just sprung into this thing the last few years. I mean, he’s… even though he’s dropped a lot of people and he got in there real quick, give him a little bit more time. And we all know, when you get experience, that changes everything.”

Macci has coached a host of future tennis stars during their formative years, including five players who went on to become world No 1: Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Maria Sharapova, Jennifer Capriati and Andy Roddick.

He also worked with Mary Pierce, Anastasia Myskina and Sofia Kenin, who won Grand Slam titles, and he was inducted into the USPTA Hall of Fame in 2017.

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The post Jack Draper gets backing in Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner Grand Slam debate appeared first on Tennis365.

Four years after her stunning breakthrough in 2021, Emma Raducanu will finally make her China Open debut in 2025.

The event was not held in 2021 or 2022 due to a combination of ongoing COVID-19 restrictions and the WTA Tour’s boycott of the country, and Raducanu then missed the event in 2023 and 2024 due to injury concerns.

However, the world No 32 is finally in action at the WTA 1000 event this year and is set to get her campaign underway this week, as she looks to bounce back from her disappointing second-round loss at the Korea Open.

The Brit now knows that she will take on Cristina Bucsa in round one, an opponent she has got to know well in 2025.

Who is Cristina Bucsa?

Bucsa has an intriguing sporting background with her father, Ion, representing their home nation of Moldova as a biathlete at the 1998 and 2002 Winter Olympics.

Born in Chisinau, Bucsa moved to Spain with her family aged three, and began representing Spain in 2015.

She may not have been too familiar to many before 2024, though the past 18 months have been hugely significant for the Spanish star’s career.

The Spaniard has never reached a tour-level singles final but has won seven WTA Tour doubles across her career, with six coming since the start of last season.

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Her biggest doubles title came on home soil at the WTA 1000 Madrid Open last spring alongside compatriot Sara Sorribes Tormo, and the pair won Olympic bronze together at Paris 2024.

Bucsa was also a doubles finalist at the Miami Open final this year alongside Miyu Kato and was a doubles quarter-finalist at the 2024 Australian Open.

The 27-year-old heads into the Asian swing fresh off the best Grand Slam run of her career, reaching the fourth round of the US Open earlier this month.

Bucsa beat Claire Liu, Alex Eala, and 19th seed Elise Mertens on her way to the fourth round, where her campaign ended against world No 1 and eventual champion Aryna Sabalenka.

The Spaniard also reached the third round of Wimbledon in 2025 — stunning 2024 semi-finalist Donna Vekic in round two — and is currently at 67th in the world rankings, just shy of her career-high of 56th from January 2024.

Having beaten Vekic at the All England Club earlier this year, she beat the Croatian again in round one of the China Open to book this clash with Raducanu.

Head-to-head

Raducanu and Bucsa have become familiar opponents, with this set to be their third meeting of 2025 — though their previous two matches could not have been much different.

Their first meeting came back at the Singapore Tennis Open back in January, with the Spaniard battling her way to a 5-7, 7-5, 7-5 triumph in a match that lasted over three hours.

That remains their only hard-court meeting until now, with their second contest coming on the grass courts of the Queen’s Club in June.

Raducanu was in cruise control that day, breezing towards a 6-1, 6-2 opening-round victory that took just 64 minutes.

When will the match take place?

As of Thursday, an official match start time and court location for Raducanu and Bucsa’s contest is yet to be confirmed.

However, we do know that it will take place on Saturday, alongside the other second-round matches on the top side of the women’s singles draw.

The winner will progress to face either Ajla Tomljanovic or fifth seed Jessica Pegula in the third round.

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Carlos Alcaraz has admitted he was “scared” and “worried” by the injury he sustained in his opening round victory at the 2025 Japan Open and declared it will “not be easy” to recover for his next match.

The world No 1 prevailed 6-4, 6-2 against 41st-ranked Sebastian Baez on his debut at the ATP 500 tournament in Tokyo despite the concerning incident early in the contest.

On the first point of the fifth game of the match — with the score tied at 2-2 — Alcaraz pulled up and fell to the court in pain as he went to chase down a Baez drop shot.

The six-time major winner was in clear discomfort as he sat on the court before he received treatment from the physio. The issue appeared to be with either his left ankle or Achilles.

Alcaraz looked slightly hesitant when moving to his left and went to the slice backhand more often than he usually would. Despite the concerns, Alcaraz did not face a break point after the injury and stormed through the second set.

Here is everything Alcaraz said in his post-match on-court interview with Tennis TV.

Q: I think you gave everyone a little bit of a scare there when you fell down in the first set. Can you tell us what happened?

Alcaraz: “Yeah, I mean I was scared too, I’m not gonna lie. When I plant the ankle, I was worried, to be honest, because I didn’t feel good at the beginning. So I’m just happy that I was able to play after that, playing such a good tennis, finish the match quite decent, quite good.

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“So let’s see, it’s not gonna be easy the next day, day and a half for me. So I will try to recover, to do whatever it takes to be ready for the next round, to try to play and have a good level enough to compete in the next round. But it was a bad… it was unlucky, I’d say. So let’s see.”

Q: Were you thinking at one point that you might pull out of the match?

Alcaraz: “Yeah. Yeah, when I did it, I didn’t feel good at all. I couldn’t do anything at all, the first five minutes when I did it. So I was worried, as I said, because, yeah, I didn’t feel good or I didn’t have the confidence to continue the match.

“But you know, the physio came, he did some tests which was really good that I didn’t feel nothing at all, which for me was great. I could walk to the bench and for me, that gave a lot of confidence to myself that I could continue, that I could play. But you know, I thought about that I couldn’t continue.”

Q: The other day, you went to the Samurai museum and I just wondered if you had a warrior mentality?

Alcaraz: “(Laughs) Well, I’m trying to have a warrior mentality in every match, in every aspect of everything, but that’s what I thought today: ‘Okay, try everything, try your best, do whatever you can do it in the match just to play a good tennis.’

“You know, for the fans as well, I could have felt a little bit guilty if I couldn’t continue or play some tennis for the fans, so I just tried to have a good mindset and just give everything that I have.”

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The post Everything Carlos Alcaraz said after serious Japan Open injury scare appeared first on Tennis365.

Carlos Alcaraz raised serious concerns as he fell to the court after appearing to suffer an injury early in his debut match at the Japan Open.

The world No 1 took a 2-0 lead against 41st-ranked Sebastian Baez in his opening round match at the ATP 500 tournament before his 24-year-old Argentine opponent levelled.

With Baez serving at 2-2, Alcaraz pulled up and fell to the court after moving to chase down a drop shot from deep behind the baseline.

Alcaraz lay on his back and covered his face with his hand as he looked in visible pain and distress.

The issue appeared to be with Alcaraz’s left ankle or Achilles, and the Spaniard received treatment from the physio mid-game.

Alcaraz in serious discomfort

Doesnt look good. Achiles?pic.twitter.com/uBAU6HVsXQ

— Tennis Masterr (@tennismasterr) September 25, 2025

Despite the scare, Alcaraz was in good enough condition to continue and, while he was not in full flight in terms of movement, went up a break at 5-4 in the first set before play was suspended due to rain.

The six-time Grand Slam champion is playing the Tokyo tournament for the first time in his career, having previously appeared at the China Open in Beijing in the same week of the calendar.

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In his pre-tournament press conference, Alcaraz spoke about making his Japan Open debut.

“I know it is a great tournament. I know the players who have played this tournament before and the players who have won this tournament before,” the Spaniard said.

“I just really wanted to come here, play great tennis, perform well and try to win the trophy. That’s why I’m here just to feel great on court, giving myself the chance to win the trophy to win the tournament.

“At the end of the week I just really want to put my name next to the past champions that I know it’s an honour to be next to, to those names as well.”

Alcaraz added: “I’m really excited about playing in different places, in different stadiums, and feel the energy from the Japanese people.”

The 22-year-old, who won his second US Open title earlier this month, competed at the Laver Cup in San Francisco last week — playing four matches across singles and doubles.

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Tennis icon Bjorn Borg has given his verdict on Novak Djokovic’s chances of winning a 25th Grand Slam title and also named the player he considers to be the greatest ever.

Djokovic holds the all-time record for the most Grand Slam men’s singles titles, having secured his 24th and most recent major at the 2023 US Open.

The 38-year-old holds almost all of the other most significant records in men’s tennis, including: weeks spent as world No 1 (428), ATP year-end No 1 finishes (eight), ATP Finals titles (seven) and Masters 1000 titles (40).

The Serbian fell at the semi-final stage at all four majors this season, and he will play his first event since the US Open at the Shanghai Masters next month.

In an interview with Sky Sports, Borg gave his backing to Djokovic in the GOAT debate and also in his quest to win another Grand Slam.

“I think the way he’s playing, Djokovic, for me, is the greatest player to have ever played the game,” said the 11-time major champion.

“And then the second place comes to (Roger) Federer and (Rafa) Nadal. They tied for the second place.

“It’s amazing how he (Djokovic) can play that kind of tennis, 38 years old. I’m very impressed.

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“I know he wants to win that 25th Grand Slam tournament. I hope he’s going to play one more year, at least next year too, because the tennis he’s playing.

“It’s going to be tough with [Jannik] Sinner and [Carlos] Alcaraz and some other players too, but still, he can do it.”

In an interview with Tennis365, Rick Macci — a childhood coach of Venus and Serena Williams — shared his thoughts on Djokovic’s future.

“I think he’ll keep playing simply because, once again, kind of like Venus [Williams] — but obviously it’s different – he just loves the competition,” said the American.

“Why would you want to put your body through that, get up every day, he has a family… you’re not doing it for a paycheck! He just loves the competition. And I think if he feels he can win, okay, he’ll continue to play.

“I think he’ll keep playing because he loves the competition. But, the minute he doesn’t play the Grand Slams; game, set, match — he’ll call it a career.

“But as long as he still loves it and he feels he has a chance, he’s gonna go for it. And never, ever, ever underestimate the heart of a champion.”

READ NEXT: Novak Djokovic ‘door is closed’ as retirement predicted soon by leading tennis voice

The post Bjorn Borg goes against the grain with Novak Djokovic Grand Slam statement as he names the GOAT appeared first on Tennis365.

There was a time when the world didn’t know enough about Aryna Sabelenka and the initial impressions may not have been all positive, but the world No 1 has transformed that initial pessimism from some tennis fans into a wave of popular support over the last few years.

In an era when too many sports guard are desperate to give their fans as little as possible when it comes to glimpsing into their private lives, Sabalenka has gone the other way and become the tennis queen of TikTok, with the fun she has off the court allowing her to build up a huge social media following.

She loves to post images of her dances with her team, practical jokes they may have played on each other and if not afraid to make fun of herself by posing for comical photos or taking party in playful dances.

The intense tennis player who screams her way through matches and often gives the impression that she is an explosive character who struggles to contain her anger, but the reality is a little different when she puts her rackets down.

Sabalenka has long been one of the jokers of the tennis world, with her beaming smile and endearing personality shining through as she made a positive impression on the Netflix show Break Point, which took tennis fans behind the scenes on the women’s and men’s tours.

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By then, she was already building up her following on social media, with her delightful TikTok dances especially appealing to young girls were were also part of that booming trend.

Her followers have lived through the trauma of her battling service yips that came close to forcing her out of the sport in 2022 to witnessing her impressive comeback and rise to world No 1, with that story hard to resist.

We have also seen her vulnerable side on numerous occasions, with US Open chiefs cheekily releasing video of her smashing a racket after she lost the 2023 US Open final against Coco Gauff.

She has had numerous meltdowns on court that make her triumphs all the more relatable and when she makes a mistake, she is always quick to own it.

That was the case after this year’s French Open, when she suggested Gauff’s win was primarily down to how bad she had played.

That narrative did not paint Sabalenka in a good light, but she didn’t take long to step back from her error and put it right.

“I did what I did. I get what I deserve, I believe,” Sabalenka said, referring to the media fallout following her comments after the French Open final.

“I didn’t want to offend her. I was just completely upset with myself and emotions got over me. I completely lost it. Of course she’s got my respect. She knows it. I’m happy that she was, like: ‘Yeah, it’s all good, don’t worry.’”

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A post shared by Aryna Sabalenka (@arynasabalenka)

Sabalenka that confirmed she was on good terms with Gauff by doing what she does best and performing a TikTok dance with her in the days before Wimbledon.

Here is an example of an athlete who appreciates she has a voice and wants to use it for the greater good and it doesn’t feel like her social media fun is a show just to bring in more sponsors or make her brand more marketable.

Instead, the Sabalenka show on TikTok and Instagram is a delight to watch and the recent images she posted from her holiday with boyfriend Georgios Frangulis already created plenty of headlines.

Her revealing bikini images and loving embraces with her partner allowed fans to glimpse into their Greek holiday and she is also happy to talk about her romance in interviews.

“We met when I was signing the contract with Oakberry. He’s the founder and owner of the brand,,” she said in an interview earlier this year.

“I went to see the team, and he was there. We talked a little bit, but then later on, we just went out for dinner, and that’s how everything started. We’ve been together for a year.

“It’s very important for me to have my partner next to me. It’s really cool that his work is also global.

“I realize not everyone is as lucky as me to have a partner who can travel with me and my crazy schedule while still working. It’s just cool to see him in the box when I play. He motivates me to keep going. It means a lot.”

Sabalenka has allowed us all a window into her world and we like what we see from an engaging sporting hero who is not afraid to show us her flaws and gives us all a chance to realise what a great champion she is on and off the court.

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The post How Aryna Sabalenka transformed her image by allowing the world to see her true character appeared first on Tennis365.

Injury has been an unwanted companion for Jack Draper throughout his career and his latest setback looks set to be the most costly of his career so far, as he is set to miss out on a succession of big-money cash windfalls.

Draper revealed after his defeat against Marin Cilic at Wimbledon that he was struggling with an arm problem that had been affecting him for the few weeks leading into the grass court season.

He then attempted to come back at the US Open and managed to get through a round in New York before pulling out of the final Grand Slam of the year and calling time on the rest of his 2025 season.

“Unfortunately, the injury to my arm is something I have to rest and means I’ll be sitting out the rest of 2025,” said Draper as he confirmed he was taking an extended break from tennis.

“It is very difficult for me to accept, as I was building some incredible momentum this year and playing some great stuff.

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“However, I’ve been through this before – and I always come back stronger as I’m so motivated to fulfil my potential as a player.”

Draper’s injury was diagnosed as bone bruising and the best cure for that issue is rest, but the time he will be missing over the next few weeks will leave a huge hole in Draper’s bank balance and also hit his ATP Ranking.

The British No 1 started this season on sparkling fashion and enjoyed the biggest moment of his career when he won the Indian Wells Masters in March.

After that win in California, Draper appeared to be the most likely candidate to challenge Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz at the top of the men’s game.

His run to the Madrid Open final on clay was further evidence of his rise, but Draper has struggled to maintain those standards as he nurses the arm problem that continues to trouble him.

By sitting out the final months of the year, Draper will see 700 ranking points drop off his total, with the bulk of those coming from his ATP 500 win in Vienna last October.

That drop will see him slide out of the top ten of the ATP Rankings by the end of the year, but it is the financial blow that may be harder to take.

Draper could have won the biggest cash prize in tennis as he was one of the select group of players invited to play in the Six Kings Slam in Saudi Arabia next month.

A win in that event could have seen him collect $6m and he is missing out on a guaranteed $1.5m appearance fee in that exhibition event.

He is also losing out on big prize money in this Asian swing of the ATP Tour and the indoor events, where he would have been expected to perform well.

Draper was also on course to qualify for the ATP Finals in Turin for the first time in his career, where Jannik Sinner took home $4,881,100 after winning that event last year.

If Draper had enjoyed a winning run in this phase of the season, he could have conceivably collected in excess of $10m in prize money, but that is all on hold as he looks to get his arm right to relaunch his career in 2026.

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Twelve months after one of the most memorable and successful weeks of her career, Coco Gauff is back in Beijing for her China Open title defence — and will look for a strong start in her opening match.

Gauff has been far from her best since winning the French Open title back in June, though she has defied calls from some to take time away from the game to work on her serve, and will be hoping to strike magic once again inside the Beijing National Tennis Center.

Having received a bye in the opening round, the world No 3 and second seed now knows she will face world No 89 Kamilla Rakhimova in her first match; here, we look at all you need to know about the American’s first opponent in her title defence.

Who is Kamilla Rakhimova?

Born in Yekaterinburg in August 2001, Rakhimova was still a teenager when she made her WTA Tour main-draw debut at the 2019 Baltic Open, and has been plying her trade across both the WTA and ITF circuits since.

The biggest title of her career to date came at the WTA 125 Guadalajara Open in 2024, beating Tatjana Maria in the final, while she was also a finalist at the WTA 125 Golden Gate Open in August 2023.

Rakhimova has never reached a singles final at WTA Tour level but is a three-time doubles champion on the main draw, with a further four finals to her name.

Having reached a career-high of world No 60 at the end of 2024, the 24-year-old has now dropped down to 89th in the WTA Rankings after a difficult season to date; she currently holds a 25-28 record for the year.

Her biggest highlight during her challenging 2025 season was arguably her run to the third round of Wimbledon, where she picked up the biggest win of her career to date.

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After rallying from a set down to beat Aoi Ito in the opening round, Rakhimova then came from a set down again to stun fourth seed and 2024 SW19 finalist Jasmine Paolini in round two, before falling to 30th seed Linda Noskova in round three.

That was the third time she had made the third round of a Grand Slam, after similar runs at the 2021 US Open and 2023 French Open.

Rakhimova was on a three-match losing streak heading into Beijing, falling in the second round of the US Open, the opening round of her WTA 125 Guadalajara Open, and then in the opening round of the WTA 500 event in Guadalajara.

However, her China Open campaign began with a confident 6-4, 6-1 victory over Lucia Bronzetti on Wednesday, the opening day of the tournament.

Head-to-head and match time

This will be the first meeting between Gauff and Rakhimova, who have never previously met at any level.

However, despite her own struggles as late, world No 3 Gauff should enter as a significant favourite, with Rakhimova’s Wimbledon win over Paolini the only time in eight attempts that she has beaten a top-10 opponent.

Gauff and Rakhimova’s match time is yet to be confirmed though, with the two on the bottom half of the draw, they will likely head onto court on Friday.

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The post Who will Coco Gauff play in her first China Open match? World No 89 Kamilla Rakhimova appeared first on Tennis365.

Carlos Alcaraz has revealed he intends to stay fully “focused” in his rivalry with Jannik Sinner after predicting the Italian will come good on his promise to improve as a tennis player.

World No 1 Alcaraz and No 2 Sinner are not in action at the same tournament this week, with the Spaniard making his debut appearance at the Japan Open and the Italian returning to the China Open — where he was beaten in the final by Alcaraz last year.

But, despite competing at different events, their ongoing dominance at the top of the men’s game remains a key talking point, with the two combining to win the last eight Grand Slam tournaments.

However, while they have won four Slams apiece across the last two seasons, Alcaraz has surged ahead when it comes to their direct rivalry.

The Spaniard has won seven of their eight meetings since the start of 2024, and now has a commanding 10-5 lead in their overall career head-to-head.

Sinner’s sole victory over Alcaraz since the start of 2024 came in this summer’s Wimbledon final, though it was the Spaniard who triumphed in the French Open and US Open finals this year.

After a four-set defeat in the US Open final continued a worrying trend against Alcaraz, Sinner vowed to improve in his post-match press conference.

“I can say that I’m gonna become a better tennis player and I’m gonna change a couple of things on the serve, just small things, but, they can make big differences and then we see how it goes,” said Sinner.

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The Italian appears to have been good to his word, with the 24-year-old spotted working on a new service motion at the China Open this week.

And, when asked about the Italian’s comments in his pre-tournament Japan Open press conference, Alcaraz admitted he full expected a new and improved Sinner in their next encounter.

“I know he’s going to change something from the last match,” said Alcaraz.

“It’s the same thing that I did when I lost to him a couple of times, I tried to be a better player the next time I was going to face him.

“I have to be focused and I have to be ready for that change.”

World No 1 Alcaraz will begin his quest for a first Japan Open title on Thursday, facing Sebastian Baez in the opening round, with Sinner set to face Marin Cilic at the China Open tomorrow.

Though they are at different tournaments this week, they will both be in action at the Shanghai Masters, with Alcaraz the top seed and Sinner the second seed.

World No 2 Sinner enters as the defending champion, having beaten Novak Djokovic in the final last Autumn, while Alcaraz will look to improve on his 2024 quarter-final showing.

The pair have gone on to meet in the final of the last five tournaments they have both entered, and will be favoured to make it six at the penultimate Masters 1000 event of 2025.

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