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Four-time Grand Slam champion Kim Clijsters has stressed the importance of Alex Eala being “protected” as she described the WTA star as being “like Michael Jordan in the Philippines.”

Eala has risen to superstar status in the Philippines after her rapid rise and trailblazing tennis achievements for her home nation in the past year.

During her breakout 2025 season, Eala became the first player in her country’s history to: be ranked in the top 100, beat a top five player, reach a WTA Tour final, win a WTA Challenger title and win a Grand Slam main draw match.

The 20-year-old is at a career-high ranking of world No 31 after reaching quarter-finals in Dubai and Abu Dhabi during the WTA’s Middle East swing this month.

The Filipina has received staggering support from her compatriots in 2026, with her matches at the Australian Open, her home event in Manila, and the Dubai Championships drawing particularly huge crowds.

On the latest episode of her Love All podcast, Clijsters spoke about the challenges that come with Eala’s immense popularity after she “got a lot of hate” following her opening round Australian Open exit.

“Having that support, we saw it this year after the Australian Open where Rafa [Nadal] spoke out about being a little bit of a protector for her as well, because when she lost to Alycia Parks at the Australian Open in a close three-setter, she also got a lot of hate from her fans and from the Philippine world, and the fans that support her from her home country,” said the Belgian great.

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“So there’s a lot of new things that she’s dealing with at such a young age. She’s been in Spain for many years since I think she was 13 — she moved to Spain and trained at Rafa’s academy.

“She’s been around people with a mindset that demands a lot but is also very focused on: you have to put in the work, you are respectful.

“And she’s been around that environment, and I think there’s no coincidence that she has the results that she has.

“But I think it’s very important for her to be a little bit protected from the craziness that comes with that all as well. And just the ability to keep focusing on what she has to do.”

The former world No 1 added: “[She has to] deal with this life of being like Michael Jordan in the Philippines.

“People just think it’s online and it’s in the news and everything, but it’s not easy, I think, to deal with changes like that, so quickly.”

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Former world No 1 Yevgeny Kafelnikov has questioned Coco Gauff’s training methods as he described the American star’s serving issues as a “mystery.”

Gauff reached the semi-finals at last week’s Dubai Championships, which is her best result of 2026 so far, but her serve was an area of concern throughout.

The two-time Grand Slam winner hit 44 double faults across her four matches — with 12 coming in three different matches, including her semi-final loss to Elina Svitolina.

After hitting a double fault in the second set of her defeat to Svitolina, Gauff voiced her frustration towards her biomechanics coach Gavin McMillan.

“I’ve been doing everything you wanted for six months… I’m not better at all,” the 21-year-old was heard saying.

Gauff hired McMillan in August with the intention of making technical improvements to her serve. Her only title since joining forces with McMillan came at the WTA 1000 in Wuhan in October.

The world No 4 hit the most double faults among all WTA Tour players in 2025 (431) and 2024 (430).

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Speaking on the First & Red YouTube channel, Kafelnikov gave his verdict on Gauff’s serve and insisted that repetition on the practice court should solve her problems.

“It’s a mystery to me how someone with such experience can make such mistakes,” said the two-time major champion.

“I have a question right away: How is the training structured?

“I’m committed to the fact that I’m absolutely certain that quantity turns into quality.

“If you serve, roughly speaking, 1,000 serves, you’ll fine-tune it.”

Elena Dememtieva, a former world No 3, also weighed in and pointed out that Gauff is also struggling with her forehand.

“The problem here is not only her serve, but also her forehand, which is failing,” said the former world No 5.

“Now, she’s playing only with her backhand, incredible physical fitness, and character.

“She relies on those three pillars, but it’s very difficult at her level. She’s one of those vying for the number one spot.”

Gauff is next set to compete at the WTA 1000 tournament in Indian Wells, which will begin on 4 March.

READ NEXT: What is Emma Raducanu’s record with Mark Petchey as she reunites with coach?

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Emma Raducanu has reunited with Mark Petchey ahead of the 2026 Indian Wells Open, but what was the US Open winner’s record during her previous collaboration with the British coach?

The world No 25 will work with Petchey on an “informal basis” during the WTA 1000 in Indian Wells, which will run from 4 to 15 March.

Raducanu has been coached by Alexis Canter, an LTA coach and hitting partner, at tournaments this month after she parted ways with Spanish coach Francisco Roig following the Australian Open.

Petchey, a former British 1 who coached Andy Murray in 2005-2006, was part of Raducanu’s team between March and August last year, while he also helped her in 2020.

Here, we look at how Raducanu performed at tournaments during her partnership with Petchey in 2025.

Raducanu’s record with Petchey as coach in 2025

Raducanu started working with Petchey in March 2025, and she played 10 tournaments before they ended their collaboration when the Brit hired Roig at the start of August.

The former world No 10’s standout result during her partnership with Petchey — and arguably her best run since winning the 2021 US Open — came at the Miami Open, which was their first tournament together.

Having lost six of her first nine matches in 2025 prior to hiring Petchey, Raducanu won four straight matches to reach the quarter-finals in Miami — her only WTA 1000 quarter-final result.

She upset eighth-ranked Emma Navarro in the second round and Amanda Anisimova, who was ranked 17th at the time, in the last 16.

Raducanu’s best clay-court result last year was reaching the fourth round at the Italian Open.

On grass, she made the quarter-finals at the Queen’s Club Championships and the third round at Wimbledon — where she pushed world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka in a pulsating encounter.

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She then made the semi-finals of the Citi Open WTA 500 event in Washington and the third round at the WTA 1000 in Montreal in her last two events before Roig joined her team.

Raducanu’s win-loss record with Petchey was an impressive 20-10, giving her a win rate of 66.6% — well above her career WTA Tour win rate of 56.2%.

Raducanu’s 2025 results with Petchey as coach:

• Miami Open – QF (lost to Jessica Pegula)
• Madrid Open – 2R (lost to Marta Kostyuk)
• Italian Open – 4R (lost to Coco Gauff)
• Strasbourg – 2R (lost to Danielle Collins)
• French Open – 2R (lost to Iga Swiatek)
• Queen’s Club – QF (lost to Zheng Qinwen)
• Eastbourne – 2R (lost to Maya Joint)
• Wimbledon – 3R (lost to Aryna Sabalenka)
• Washington – SF (lost to Anna Kalinskaya)
• Canadian Open – 3R (lost to Amanda Anisimova)

Six of Raducanu’s 10 losses under Petchey were against opponents ranked in the top 10: Pegula, Gauff, Swiatek, Zheng, Sabalenka and Anisimova.

How Raducanu’s ranking improved while working with Petchey

Raducanu was ranked 60th when she started working with Petchey in Miami, and she had climbed 27 places to 33rd by the time they parted ways.

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Tennis great Kim Clijsters has broken down Alex Eala’s game and revealed how the Filipina star makes her opponents “very uncomfortable.”

Eala soared to her career-high ranking of world No 31 after her run to the quarter-finals of the WTA 1000 event in Dubai last week.

The 20-year-old upset world No 8 Jasmine Paolini — her third win over a top 10 player — in the second round in Dubai, while she also defeated Hailey Baptiste and Sorana Cirstea before losing to Coco Gauff.

The Filipina, who had a breakout season in 2025, holds a 10-6 record in 2026 (including matches at WTA Challenger/125 level).

Speaking on the latest episode of her Love All podcast, Clijsters explained what Eala does so well.

“Well, there’s a lot of things that she does really well. And I think there’s a lot of things that make her opponents very uncomfortable,” said the former world No 1.

“She has, you know, one of the things that she can’t control is that she’s a left-hander. There’s always something about playing a left-hander, you get pulled out of the court a little bit differently with her forehand cross court.

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“Her forehand is really good, but I think her backhand is better, her backhand is a little bit more of an aggressive shot.

“The combination of her aggressive baseline shots, with her backhand, and then the ability to hit a heavier spin and make your opponents step back a little bit behind the baseline, being able to make the angle with her forehand and open up the court, a lot of times to her opponent’s backhand — is something that a lot of players have a really hard time dealing with.

“And her footwork is really good, she has great stamina. We’ve seen her, [against] Iga [Swiatek] last year, where she played a really good match. She’s still very young, but we see the mental growth as well.”

The four-time Grand Slam champion went on to describe Eala as a “pit bull” and compared her to former world No 4 Dominika Cibulkova.

“She reminds me a little bit of a… she has that kind of pitbull, [Dominika] Cibulkova was a little bit like that, to me, as well,” the Belgian continued.

“They have such quick feet, but the ability from a defensive situation to still move into the court and become an aggressive player is a very tough combination to handle on the other side of the net.

“So very interesting, has done great things so far at a young age. Still has some improvements to get to, and consistency is something that’s going to be very important. A lot of players know her now, know her strengths, know her weaknesses.

“So that’s something that she’s going to have to deal with as well — is to make sure she can make her strengths become even stronger, but work on some of the weaknesses.”

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Emma Raducanu has turned to a familiar face after her latest coaching split, with the British star reuniting with former coach Mark Petchey ahead of the 2026 Indian Wells Open.

The 2021 US Open champion parted ways with Francisco Roig after her second round exit at the Australian Open last month, having worked with the Spanish coach since August.

Prior to hiring Roig, Raducanu enjoyed a successful collaboration with Petchey between March and August last year, while she was also coached by the former British No 1 in 2020.

According to The Times, Raducanu has brought Petchey back into her team “on an informal basis” before the WTA 1000 event in Indian Wells, which will begin on 4 March.

Petchey, who works as an analyst and commentator for Tennis Channel, will reportedly help Raducanu during practice sessions in Indian Wells.

The move comes after Raducanu said she was not “actively looking for a new coach” earlier this week.

It is unclear whether Petchey, who previously worked with Andy Murray, will continue coaching the world No 25 after the tournament in the Californian desert.

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Alexis Canter has served as Raducanu’s coach and hitting partner since her split with Roig, and he is expected to remain “a key part” of her coaching setup.

Following her loss to Anastasia Potapova at the Australian Open, Raducanu alluded to a disconnect between herself and Roig as she spoke of a “misalignment” with how she was playing.

“I think I want to be playing a different way. And I think the misalignment with how I’m playing right now and how I want to be playing is something that I just want to work on,” Raducanu said.

The 23-year-old added: “At the end of the day, I just want to hit the ball to the corners and hard. I feel like I’m doing all this variety, and it’s not doing what I want it to do.

“I need to just work on playing, in a way, more similar to how I was playing when I was younger. I always just changed direction, took the ball early, and went for it.”

During an appearance on Tennis Channel’s The Big T podcast this month, Petchey was clear on how he thinks Raducanu should be trying to play.

“I think from my perspective watching her play, she really only has one choice — she needs to stay up on the baseline, she needs to be able to redirect, and she needs to serve well,” Petchey said.

“And if she can put those components on the court, she’s going to give herself a chance to win big matches.”

Speaking on an episode of the same podcast in January, Petchey said he would “take a bullet” for Raducanu.

“Emma and I never fell out. It just got to the point where I felt I couldn’t be the No 1 coach [due to his media commitments],” the former world No 80 explained.

“We still chat, we’re still in good communication, she’ll still run some stuff past me. I’ll help her for ever. I’ll take a bullet for her.”

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Andrey Rublev has revealed he does not view Carlos Alcaraz as being “invincible” and asserted that it is “better not to go out on the court” if “you don’t believe.”

Alcaraz holds a perfect 12-0 record in 2026, having started his campaign by winning the Australian Open before adding the ATP 500 crown in Doha last week.

The 22-year-old Spaniard’s victory at the Qatar Open extended his lead as the world No 1, taking his points total to 13,550 — the fourth-highest ranking points figure in ATP history.

The seven-time major winner defeated Rublev, who was the reigning champion, 7-6(3), 6-4 in a high-level semi-final in Doha.

In an interview with Spanish news outlet Marca, Rublev was asked if he is a player who considers Alcaraz to be unbeatable.

“I think it’s more of a question for him because he’s the one winning the matches,” said the world No 18, who has been ranked as high as fifth.

“My feeling is that I want to beat him. And that I want to be competitive enough to win titles. You can’t get it into your head that he’s invincible.

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“You have to respect Carlos and any other opponent, but at the same time believe in yourself and think you can win. If you don’t believe it, it’s better not to go out on the court.”

Asked what conclusions he drew from his latest match with Alcaraz, Rublev said: “I learned a lot. The first is that I’m on the right track. It’s the first match where I felt competitive playing against him from the baseline.

“In previous matches, including the one I won against him in Madrid or when I won a set, it was more because Carlos played poorly or because I, at times, played very well. The Doha match was completely different.

“It’s true that he played well, without doing anything incredible, but I was able to compete on equal terms from the baseline. I felt like I could keep up with his pace, his power, his intensity… And it’s the first time I’ve noticed that with Alcaraz on the other side of the net.

“The other times we’d played, if I didn’t finish the point on the third or fourth shot, I had no chance. I couldn’t keep up with his pace or his intensity, something that did happen in Qatar.

“Before, the only tactic that worked for me was hitting a winner because, if we got into a rally, he would take complete control.

“In the recent semi-finals, I felt there was no need to play so quickly and I could defend the long rallies. To beat him, it’s also a matter of details that he does better than I do.”

Rublev holds a 1-5 head-to-head record against Alcaraz.

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Former US tennis player Steve Johnson has questioned whether Coco Gauff should have made a critical comment towards her coach during her Dubai Tennis Championships defeat.

World No 4 Gauff progressed to the semi-final of the WTA 1000 event last week, with the American ultimately beaten by Elina Svitolina in a three-set thriller.

The two-time Grand Slam singles champion showcased her characteristic grit and determination to save a string of match points in an extraordinary second-set tiebreak, though ultimately was beaten 6-4, 6-7(13), 6-4 by the Ukrainian.

Gauff fought hard during her semi-final defeat, but much like in other matches across her campaign in Dubai, her serve proved problematic at times.

The 21-year-old hit 12 double faults during her loss to Svitolina, and at one point vented her frustration towards Gavin MacMillan, one of her coaches.

Biomechanical expert MacMillan joined Gauff’s team ahead of the US Open last August, after she split with Matt Daly — who was also a biomechanics technician.

Gauff’s serve has remained troublesome throughout large spells of her partnership with MacMillan, who works alongside the American’s long-time coach, J.C Faurel.

And, after double faulting at 3-3 in set two, the American commented directly to MacMillan: “I’ve been doing everything you wanted for six months… I’m not better at all.”

The comment instantly drew attention and took many by surprise.

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Speaking on Nothing Major, former world No 21 Johnson admitted that he was among those surprised to see the reigning French Open champion make such a comment during the middle of a match.

He said: “It looked like she was saying: ‘I’ve done everything you’ve asked and I’m still serving like this.’

“That’s not what you want to be saying mid-match. I said that to my coaches a lot: ‘Why am I playing so bad?’ But that was more of a me issue.

“She’s much better than me. So you would expect her not to have those kinds of in-match meltdowns.”

Gauff is not in action this week and will return to court for the WTA 1000 event in Indian Wells next fortnight.

Action in California marks her first tournament on American soil this year, and will be swiftly followed by the Miami Open — another WTA 1000 event, and the second half of the ‘Sunshine Double’.

Home expectations will be high for the world No 4 in both events, with Gauff part of a strong US group in the top 10 of the WTA Rankings, alongside world No 5 Jessica Pegula, and world No 6 Amanda Anisimova.

However, the tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami have not traditionally been her happiest hunting grounds.

Gauff was a semi-finalist in Indian Wells in 2024 and a quarter-finalist back in 2023, though was beaten in the fourth round by Belinda Bencic twelve months ago.

Meanwhile, she has never made it to the quarter-finals of the Miami Open in six previous attempts, with the American falling in the fourth round in 2022, 2024, and 2025.

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Craig Tiley has been announced as the new chief executive of The United States Tennis Association and is set to leave his role with Tennis Australia.

Tiley had been the CEO of Tennis Australia since 2013, having served as the tournament director of the Australian Open since 2006. He joined Tennis Australia in 2005 as the director of player development.

The South African, who coached the Illinois US college tennis team from 1993 to 2005, will begin his role at the USTA later in 2026.

Tiley said: “I am truly honoured to step into the role of CEO of the USTA later this year. I’ve long admired the organisation’s leadership in growing the game across the United States and the extraordinary success of the US Open.

“I’m excited to return to American tennis and to work alongside our leadership locally and nationally to continue building the sport’s reach, impact, and future.

“Tennis is one of the few truly global sports that you can play for a lifetime, at any level, and that’s part of its magic. It has an incredible ability to bring people together — players, fans, communities — across countries and cultures.

“I firmly believe the opportunity ahead for our sport is enormous. We’re moving from engaging millions who attend events live to connecting with billions of fans around the world digitally, year-round.

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“If we continue to innovate and tell the story of our sport in a compelling way, tennis will only grow stronger, more connected, and more impactful in the years ahead.”

In a statement, USTA chair and co-CEO Brian Vahaly said: “From the very beginning of this process, our top priority was identifying the right leader to accelerate participation growth and help us achieve our goal of reaching 35 million players by 2035.

“Craig brings a rare combination of global credibility at the highest level of the sport and a proven commitment to growing the game at the grassroots. That balance is exactly what this moment requires.

“As we look to fully leverage the power of the US Open as a platform for inspiration and growth, Craig’s leadership and understanding of the entire tennis ecosystem will be invaluable.

“We are excited to build on our current momentum of six consecutive years of participation growth, and we are confident he is the right leader to guide American tennis into its next chapter.”

It was reported during the 2026 Australian Open last month, and also earlier this month, that Tiley would be leaving his role at Tennis Australia to join the USTA.

During an interview with We Are Tennis, Tiley was asked about the reports and stated: “I will say it’s not new, this conversation. It’s happened before. It happened in the previous role.

“There has been a lot of speculation about it, and I just made a conscious decision to not fuel it, not make comment on it or fuel it.

“We have just finished, as you mentioned at the beginning, arguably the most successful lead-in to the event. I still look at that as just touching the surface, and the two weeks of the AO was driven by the performance of the players and the fun of the fans, and I want to completely focus on that.”

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Emma Raducanu is one of the most famous tennis players in the world, and her commercial viability shows no signs of slowing down.

The Brit’s long-expected move to UNIQLO was made official on Tuesday after weeks of speculation, and she has become the latest in a not-insignificant group of players to have left Nike in recent years.

Here, in a non-exclusive list, we look at 11 high-profile stars across both the WTA and ATP Tours who have parted ways with Nike as their clothing sponsor.

Which tennis players have left Nike?

Emma Raducanu
One of the highest-profile players of her generation, Raducanu burst into prominence during 2021, when she reached round four of Wimbledon before her historic run to the US Open title.

The Brit has been sponsored by Nike since she was a teenager and first turned professional in 2018, and has been one of the brand’s most famous stars until now.

However, she is now the latest in a long line of players to leave the brand, and will debut her new UNIQLO sponsorship in Indian Wells next week.

Roger Federer
One of the most famous tennis players of all time and a true great of the sport, Federer was Nike’s poster boy within and outside of the sport for several years.

However, the decades-long partnership between Federer and Nike ended in 2018, with the Swiss joining UNIQLO in a deal reportedly worth around $300m.

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Federer retired from the sport in 2022, though remains a UNIQLO brand ambassador.

Iga Swiatek
Now arguably the most successful female player of her era, Swiatek was also a hugely promising junior — and was sponsored by Nike during her run to the junior Wimbledon title in 2018.

However, Nike and Swiatek parted ways in 2020, not long before the Pole won the first of her six Grand Slam titles at the 2020 French Open.

The former world No 1 initially joined Asics after her split from Nike, but is now sponsored by On.

Jack Draper
One of the more recent stars to move away from Nike, world No 15 and reigning Indian Wells champion Draper was representing the brand as recently as Wimbledon last summer.

However, with his Nike contract set to expire, the Brit made the switch to Vuori, a move that was made official in August 2025.

Coco Gauff
Gauff was long-recognised as a prodigy of the sport, and was handed a Nike sponsorship when she was just 10 years old.

The American was still a Nike-sponsored athlete when she won the junior French Open title in 2018, though she made the move to New Balance later that year.

Gauff has remained with New Balance ever since then, choosing to extend her contract with the company back in 2022.

Frances Tiafoe
After beginning his career with Adidas, US star Tiafoe switched to Nike in 2017 when he was still a teenager.

The world No 28 continued representing the brand as he became one of the most recognisable stars of his generation, though he made the switch to Lululemon at the start of 2025.

Tiafoe is now a global ambassador for Lululemon and arguably the highest-profile player wearing their kits in tennis.

Elena Rybakina
Now a two-time Grand Slam singles champion, Rybakina was a Nike player when she first started competing regularly on the WTA Tour in 2019.

However, by the start of her breakout 2020 season, the Kazakh had left the brand and had started representing Adidas.

The reigning Australian Open champion is now sponsored by Yonex, and is arguably the brand’s highest-profile star in the sport.

Taylor Fritz
The leading US male player of his era, Fritz was another star who wore Nike during an impressive junior career, and also repped the brand during his breakout onto the main tour in the early 2020s.

However, the former US Open finalist made the switch to Hugo Boss in 2024, and has not looked back — becoming the brand’s most significant face in tennis.

Maria Sakkari
The greatest Greek female tennis player of all time, former world No 3 Sakkari was sponsored by Nike when she first started to make a name for herself in the late 2010s.

However, Sakkari switched to Adidas in 2020 and has represented the brand during the most successful spell of her career.

Felix Auger-Aliassime
A promising junior who quickly rose up the rankings as a young ATP star, Auger-Aliassime was a Nike athlete when he first started making waves in the sport.

However, the world No 8 left Nike to join Adidas in 2021, signing a multi-year deal with the company.

Elina Svitolina
A former world No 3 and the 2018 WTA Finals champion, Svitolina is Ukraine’s greatest-ever WTA player and has been a leading player in the women’s game for almost a decade.

Svitolina spent the bulk of her career sponsored by Nike, and was still represented by the brand up until she went on maternity leave in 2022.

When she returned to court in 2023, she had become an Adidas athlete and has now returned to the top 10 of the WTA Rankings.

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