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Jannik Sinner has been hailed as the ultimate master of controlling his emotions, with his consistency hailed as his most impressive quality in a season when he had to deal with so much on and off the court.

Sinner lived through a wide range of emotions in 2025, with the highs including victories at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, as well as a thrilling win against his great rival Carlos Alcaraz in the ATP Finals in front of his adoring Italian fans last month.

He was close to finishing the year as world No 1 even though he missed three months of the season due to a doping suspension and now one of the players who has been unable to lay a glove on Sinner has given a verdict on why he is unstoppable.

De Minaur has a 13-0 record in his matches against Sinner, with the most recent defeat coming at the ATP Finals last month.

Now the Aussie has given his thoughts on why Sinner is so hard to trouble, as he spoke to Tennis365 while competing at the UTS Grand Final in London.

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“One of the biggest attributes of Jannik is his level, day in day out, never fluctuates,” said De Minaur.

“That is one of the most impressive things from a tennis level standpoint and also mentally. This year, a lot has gone on and it hasn’t affected him mentally.

“In the French Open, he was two sets to one up, match points and lost. It was an amazing match and then he managed to back it up at Wimbledon.

“It’s amazing to be able to come back from a disappointment like that and play the way he did to win Wimbledon.

“It’s almost like tough moments don’t hit it. They bounce off him, hit the outside the next week and that’s admirable.”

When asked how he can change the narrative when he plays Sinner and world No 1 Carlos Alcaraz, he offered up some honest assessments.

“You have to play a lot of good tennis from the first point to the last,” he added. “That’s my goal. They are at the top of our game, they have been dominating for the last couple of years and the goal is to keep improving and make their life difficult.

“It’s by no means easy, but ultimately we don’t always want to same two guys winning all the big tournaments.

“As competitors, we don’t like to lose and we have to try and raise our game to compete with these guys.”

De Minaur has been showing his class at this year’s UTS Grand Final, with the event being played in front of packed crowds in London.

The post Jannik Sinner given the ultimate compliment by one of his top ten rivals appeared first on Tennis365.

Former ATP Tour star Marcos Baghdatis believes Stefanos Tsitsipas can get back to his best level if he starts making the “right decisions” as he offered his advice to the Greek star.

Baghdatis, who played from 2003 to 2019, is Cyprus’ greatest-ever tennis player and a sporting icon in his nation. He was a runner-up at the 2006 Australian Open and reached a career-high ranking of world No 8.

Growing up, Tsitsipas idolised Baghdatis, and he emulated the Greek Cypriot with his run to the Australian Open final in 2023.

“It was great seeing him battle against the great players of his time,” Tsitsipas said of Baghdatis after reaching the 2023 Australian Open final.

“Marcos might not have won a Grand Slam during his career, but he was a great player and I consider him one of my role models.”

Tsitsipas has already cemented himself as the best Greek player of all time, having finished as a runner-up at two majors, peaked at third in the rankings and won the ATP Finals, as well three Masters 1000 titles.

The 27-year-old is currently ranked 34th in the world after winning 22 of his 40 matches in a disappointing 2025 season by the high standards he has set.

This year, Tsitsipas was troubled by a chronic back issue that forced him to retire at Wimbledon and restricted him to playing just two competitive matches after a second round US Open exit in August.

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In an exclusive interview, Tennis365 asked Baghdatis what Tsitsipas needs to do to overcome his 2025 struggles.

“Listen, it’s very hard from the outside when you don’t know what’s going [on] inside, to say what he needs to do. That’s for sure,” said Baghdatis, a four-time ATP titlist.

“I think it’s decision-making, mostly. And if he can go back to the level he was; top 10 in the world? Of course he can. I still believe he can.

“But of course, it’s all the decisions and the things that you need to do to get there that are important.

“So, it depends on a lot of decisions that he will take in the next few weeks, months. But I think if he takes the right decisions… which, it’s very difficult to say which one.

“[What] I would suggest from my experience as an ex-professional tennis player, maybe, is to get back to the basics. Start from scratch. Start from zero again and accept where you are right now and build up on that.

“And not to think that… when you are top 10 and then you fall down, you always want to feel the same that you felt when you were there or when you played that match, but it’s not possible to feel the same.

“So you need to accept that and start from scratch and go from zero. Go from the basics and start all over again. And acceptance — I think it’s the key to accept where you are right now and to take it one step at a time.”

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Leading coach Patrick Mouratoglou has lauded Jack Draper’s game and mentality as he asserted that the British star “has everything” to compete with Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.

Draper finished the 2025 season as the world No 10, his best year-end ranking position of his career so far, after amassing an impressive 30-9 record.

The 23-year-old won his biggest title to date at the Masters 1000 event in Indian Wells in March and was a runner-up at the Madrid Masters in May.

Draper reached a career-high ranking of world No 4 in June and looked well on course to qualify for the ATP Finals for the first time.

However, Draper was derailed by an arm injury that forced him to end his campaign after the US Open — where he withdrew before his second round match.

The Brit was due to make his return to action at the Ultimate Tennis Showdown (UTS) exhibition event in London this week, but he pulled out.

“I’ve been working hard to get ready for the UTS but frustratingly I’m just not quite ready,” Draper said.

“It’s a tough call as I want nothing more than to compete but I’ve been advised to take more time. Sorry to let down fans and miss out on the event.”

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In an interview with ITV, Mouratoglou — who founded UTS — shared his thoughts on Draper and identified staying injury-free as the biggest concern for the Brit.

“I’ve said it several years ago, I think if Jack is able to stay injury-free, he’s a top five [player], for sure,” said the Frenchman, who has coached Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka.

“His potential is someone who can compete with Alcaraz and Sinner. He definitely has everything. I think he has the mind, which is the most important.

“He’s an incredible competitor. I think he’s very ambitious, he’s smart. I really like him a lot, and I think he has a big game. He has also a lot of power.

“I mean, his main problem in the last years was too many injuries. And even though he’s played only six months of the year, he was in the top 10.

“So, I mean, it says a lot about how good he can be if he stays injury-free.”

What is Jack Draper’s record against Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner?

Jack Draper has a 2-4 record against Alcaraz, having defeated the Spaniard in the semi-finals in Indian Wells this year and the second round at the 2024 Queen’s Club Championships.

His defeats to Alcaraz came in Basel (2022), Indian Wells (2023), and at the Australian Open and the Italian Open in 2025.

The world No 10 holds a 1-1 record against Sinner, who he downed in the first round at Queen’s Club in 2021 and lost to in the 2024 US Open semi-finals.

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The post Can Jack Draper challenge Carlos Alcaraz & Jannik Sinner in 2026? Patrick Mouratoglou weighs in appeared first on Tennis365.

Patrick Mouratoglou says that Emma Raducanu’s ‘challenge’ has been finding a long-term coach whom she can ‘trust’, but believes she has ‘big potential.’

The Brit has had an inconsistent coaching team since she won her maiden Grand Slam at the 2021 US Open.

Most recently, she split with Nick Cavaday in January and – soon after – added Andy Murray’s former coach, and long-time tennis commentator, Mark Petchey to her team.

Additionally, after a successful trial period, Raducanu also appointed Francisco Roig as her head coach in July, with the pair mutually agreeing to continue into next season.

Roig had been part of Rafael Nadal’s team for nearly 20 years, a period in which he claimed 22 Grand Slam titles and broke countless other records.

Mouratoglou, who is a former coach of Serena Williams, Holger Rune, and Naomi Osaka, has backed the Brit’s 2026 prospects, but notes that her inconsistent team has been a ‘challenge.’

“I think her potential is very big,” the renowned coach stated during an interview with ITV.

“I mean, she’s won a Grand Slam, but after that, it was very difficult for her.

“I think [she had had] way too many coaches working with her. I think if you look at all the very successful tennis players, you need to follow a path for a few years to build yourself through a project.

“Whenever you change coaches, you change your project. If you change your project every six months, it’s too difficult.

“So, for her, the big challenge is to trust someone for a period that is long enough, so she can really build something solid in her game for the future.

“If she’s able to do this, she’s a great player. No doubt.”

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Indeed, despite the changes, 2025 marked her highest year-end ranking since 2021 and her best overall ranking since August 2022.

Raducanu finished the year as the world No 29, a ranking that means she is likely to be seeded at the Australian Open – something which still depends on the prior tournaments.

Though her win percentage was lower than 2024, she was able to play far more tournaments – largely due to her improved health.

The Brit’s season highlights include reaching the last eight of the Miami Open in March and the fourth round of the Italian Open in May.

Additionally, she reached the third round of the Australian Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open.

Mouratoglou’s analysis has been backed up by many other tennis experts, including former player Greg Rusedski.

“The mistake she made was the coaching situation,” argued the Brit, during an exclusive interview with Tennis365.

“So many changes didn’t help her.

“I know this has been said before, but you need consistency in your coach and where you are going. She didn’t have that.

“The reason she is back in the top 30 now is that she has had some consistency with her coaches in recent months, starting with Mark Petchey coming into her team back in March and then with Francisco Roig coming on board, who has worked with Rafael Nadal.

“She needs that consistency with her coaching now.”

The post Patrick Mouratoglou reveals what Emma Raducanu’s ‘challenge’ has been, despite ‘big potential’ appeared first on Tennis365.

Toni Nadal believes that Carlos Alcaraz’s rivals are ‘a bit weaker’ than those whom Rafael Nadal had to face during his prime years.

The 64-year-old Spaniard coached the 22-time Grand Slam champion from 1989 until 2017, travelling to nearly all tournaments in which his nephew competed.

Alcaraz, unsurprisingly, has often been compared to Nadal, both due to their talent from a young age, as well as their explosive game and competitive fighting spirit.

The Spaniard has already collected six Grand Slams, most recently lifting the title at the 2025 US Open.

In November, he secured his spot as the year-end No 1 – marginally ahead of Jannik Sinner.

However, despite the comparisons between the two Spaniards, the elder Nadal says that the world No 1 benefits from the comparatively lower level of the rest of the field.

“Everyone sees what he is achieving; his athletic attributes are incredible, he truly has everything he needs to succeed,” Nadal explained, as reported by Punto de Break.

“Besides, he has an advantage that players from years ago didn’t have: his rivals are a bit weaker, less committed than those from a few years back.

“He does have a great rival in Jannik Sinner, true, one who is always present, but the others have fallen by the wayside.

“I remember perfectly that during Rafael’s era, besides Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, there were other great players like Andy Murray, Juan Martín del Potro, David Ferrer, or Stan Wawrinka, to name a few.

“These players were always there […] In the current circuit, it seems that the direct rivals have abandoned us.”

His argument is somewhat strengthened by the current ATP rankings, with Alexander Zverev – the current world No 3 – possessing less than half the points of world No 2 Sinner.

Additionally, despite the rankings gap, Alcaraz and Sinner have played the fewest tournaments of any of the players ranked inside the world’s top nine.

The Italian, most recently, defeated Alcaraz in the showpiece match of the Nitto ATP Finals in their first meeting since the New York final, closing their head-to-head to a 6-10 deficit.

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The pair have won all of the eight most recent Grand Slams, often dominating their opponents en route to the showpiece matches.

This season, they faced off against each other in the final of the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open – something which the ‘Big Three’ never achieved.

“As a person, Rafael remains the same, continues to do the same things and behave in the same way, although it is true that he is now a father and has other concerns,” Nadal’s long-time coach later commented, with his nephew retiring at the end of the 2024 season.

“Personally, I can assure you that nothing has changed after his retirement. My relationship with him is more like a friendship than an uncle-nephew relationship.

“We are a close-knit family, we do many things together, like playing golf or having dinner together, I also often visit his children. We have a normal family relationship.”

The post Toni Nadal reveals the difference between Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal – ‘A bit weaker’ appeared first on Tennis365.

Joao Fonseca has reflected on the “really valuable” experience of practising with Carlos Alcaraz earlier this year ahead of his exhibition match against the world No 1.

Rising star Fonseca and six-time Grand Slam singles champion Alcaraz are set to meet at the Miami Invitational on Monday night (December 8), alongside a women’s singles match between Amanda Anisimova and Jessica Pegula.

Despite being just 19, Fonseca is already one of the most talked-about names in tennis, with the Brazilian considered one of the hottest prospects in the men’s game.

Months before their clash in Miami, the Brazilian had the chance to practice with Alcaraz at Wimbledon, where the Spaniard was the two-time defending champion.

While the two are yet to meet in an official match on the court, world No 1 Alcaraz has been impressed by Fonseca’s rise throughout 2025.

Speaking to O Globo in October about their Miami exhibition, the Spaniard paid tribute to Fonseca with a strong assessment of the Brazilian’s game.

“He’s [Fonseca] a special and incredible player,” said Alcaraz.

“The power he has is impressive, his serve is very good, something that, for me, when I entered the tour, was what I struggled with the most.

“Joao also has a brutal forehand. If I had to point out something to improve, it would be his mobility.

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“Little by little, he will evolve in that aspect and, for me, he continues to be a special player. In the end, it’s his first tour on the circuit, and I think he’s doing it very well.”

Fonseca was asked about Alcaraz’s complimentary assessment of his game in a new interview with Sport TV, conducted ahead of the Miami Invitational.

The 19-year-old reflected on his time practising with the world No 1 earlier this year, and what it meant to receive the Spaniard’s support and backing.

He said: “He’s so important to our sport, and just being there, experiencing that moment with him meant a lot to me.

“Watching his routine, seeing how he prepares for matches, that was really valuable for my own growth.

“And receiving a compliment from him recently, like you [the interviewer] mentioned, that’s something really important that helps me keep going and keep believing.”

After starting 2025 ranked outside the top 140, Fonseca ended the season ranked 24th, winning ATP Tour titles in Buenos Aires and Basel.

The Brazilian also made his main-draw debut at all four Grand Slam tournaments, winning at least one match at each event.

Fonseca’s current ranking means he will be seeded at a major for the first time at the 2026 Australian Open, in what will be just his fifth Grand Slam appearance.

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Russian tennis chief Shamil Tarpischev has bluntly dismissed suggestions that Mirra Andreeva could join the growing number of Russian tennis players changing their sporting nationality.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, tennis players from the nation have been competing as neutral athletes on both the ATP and WTA Tours, and have been banned from both the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup.

While Russian tennis players remain prominent figures in both the men’s and women’s games, a growing number of athletes have changed their sporting nationality since the conflict began.

Since February 2022, a total of nine Russian players have switched their sporting nationality away from the country, with Anastasia Potapova the latest to do so.

In the past, before the conflict, players such as Elena Rybakina, Alexander Bublik, and Yulia Putintseva all switched to representing Kazakhstan for financial reasons.

But, while Russian players changing their nationality is not unprecedented, the volume of players changing nationality since 2022 is noticeable.

Potapova was the fourth player to change nationality this year, following Kamila Rakhimova and Maria Timofeeva — who now represent Uzbekistan — and Daria Kasatkina, who now represents Australia.

In the women’s game, the current Russian No 1 is 18-year-old Andreeva, with the teen star ranked ninth in the WTA Rankings after winning two WTA 1000 titles in 2025.

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Andreeva is considered one of the hottest prospects in the women’s game and won a doubles Olympic silver alongside fellow Russian rising star Diana Shnaider at the Paris 2024 Olympics, competing as neutral athletes.

Asked by Russian sports website Championat whether there was any concern that Andreeva could change nationality, Tarpischev issued a sharp response.

He replied: “No. Neither she [Andreeva] nor Shnaider.

“Imagine, I have 1,070 tennis players playing abroad. They’re like army men! And we keep 350 on our national teams. The rest are on their own.”

Tarpischev was also asked to comment on Potapova’s change of sporting nationality.

Potapova’s announcement came just days after world No 112 Rakhimova’s move to representing Uzbekistan was confirmed by the Uzbek Tennis Federation.

The world No 51 revealed earlier this week that she would be representing Austria from the start of 2026, in a post that drew strong similarities to Kasatkina’s message about representing Australia from March.

While the world No 51 was only the seventh-highest-ranked Russian player on the WTA, she is now the Austrian No 1, and her new nation’s highest-ranked player since July 2014.

And, Tarpischev revealed his belief that the chance for Potapova to potentially play in the Billie Jean King Cup and Olympic Games was a likely motivating factor for her.

“I can’t say anything about Potapova. For us, if this isn’t a complete surprise, then it’s a surprise that she did it,” said Tarpischev.

“She lived in Austria for two years. I can only assume she wants to participate in the Olympics. She doesn’t make our team based on the rankings. She kept complaining about visa problems. It disrupts our rhythm. Purely mundane things.

“Athletes don’t change their home countries, but their sporting citizenship. Because everyone wants to play. Why do they leave at this time? Because other countries are recruiting for the Olympics and, as a rule, they take our reserves. They pay a lot of money.

“It’s a combination of a person’s thinking about how to play better and how to best achieve results. With this attitude, they change their sporting citizenship, but not their home country.”

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Novak Djokovic has cast doubt over how much longer he will continue to play at the top of the sport and now former British No 1 Greg Rusedski has given his verdict on what the 24-time Grand Slam champion should do next.

Djokovic opted against playing the end-of-season ATP Finals last month, citing an injury as he pulled out a day before the tournament got underway in Turin.

There was a widespread expectation that Djokovic would not play in Turin after he pulled out of the tournament in 2024 and has spoken about his lack of motivation for playing regular tour events.

His focus in the final phase of his career is in Grand Slam tournaments, with Djokovic eager to remain a part of the game for a long as he can.

“Longevity is one of my biggest motivations and I really want to see how far I can go,” said Djokovic.

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“You see across all the global sports, you know, LeBron James is still going strong. Cristiano Ronaldo, Tom Brady played until he was 40. I want to keep going.

“I also want to live, I mean keep on playing professionally, to see the change that is coming for our sport and I’m super excited about it.

“The things that are happening that I can’t openly speak about at the moment, but I feel like in the next couple of years, I feel like tennis is a sport that can be and will be transformed.

“I want to be part of that change and not just part of that change, but I want to be playing when we rejuvenate our sport and set the platform that is going to be there for decades to come.”

He was then asked directly about retirement and he added: “It’s not happening. I’m sorry to disappoint them. It’s just not happening.”

Now Rusedski has given Djokovic some advice on when he should quit, as he suggested there could still be a chance for him to win the 25th Grand Slam title he craves if he gets some good fortune at Wimbledon in 2026.

“You know it’s time to retire when you are not enjoying it any more,” Rusedski told Tennis365, ahead of the launch of his new podcast, Off Court with Greg.

“He is still the third best player in the world, even though the rankings don’t say so.

“Can he beat Alcaraz and Sinner in three out of five sets back to back? Possibly not. Maybe at Wimbledon, but if he is still enjoying the challenge, why not try and stay out there.

“The biggest disappointment for Novak last year was when he beat Alcaraz at the Australian Open and then he had to pull out of the semi-final against (Alexander) Zverev with an injury. If he gets into the final in a one off match against Sinner, anything can happen.

“Now, he is probably going to need a bit of luck to win a major because beating those two guys back-to-back, I don’t know.

“What I will never do is write off a great champion. I’ve done that in the past and it didn’t work out well for me.”

Djokovic has yet to confirm his schedule for 2026, but he has yet to give any hint that he won’t be making the trip to Melbourne next month, where he will look to win a remarkable 11th Australian Open title.

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ATP Tour star Mattia Bellucci has revealed why the “pressure was enormous” when he took to court for a practice session with Novak Djokovic at the US Open.

Widely considered the greatest player in the history of men’s tennis, Djokovic has won a staggering 24 Grand Slam titles and 101 overall ATP Tour titles during his legendary career, also spending a record 428 weeks atop the ATP Rankings.

Though he has not added to his Grand Slam trophy cabinet over the past two seasons, the Serbian is still defying the odds, with the 38-year-old finishing 2025 ranked fourth in the world — despite playing just 13 tournaments.

One of the highlights of Djokovic’s year was the Serbian reaching the semi-final of all four Grand Slam tournaments, including at the US Open in September.

It was in New York that world No 74 Bellucci was handed the chance to practice with the Serbian for the first time.

The 24-year-old Italian — who reached a career-high of 63rd in the world this July — was competing in the main draw of the US Open for the second time, while Djokovic was making his 19th tournament appearance.

Speaking on the Spazio Tennis podcast, Bellucci revealed he felt huge pressure practising with Djokovic, and what he noticed about the Serbian during their time on court.

He said: “Unlike other big names, training with Nole involves a much higher level of expectation.

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“He demands extreme precision from himself and his team, and if things don’t go as planned, he gets angry. I tried to make this training session useful for him — the pressure was enormous.

“In terms of emotion and intensity, this session allowed me to progress, to become stronger. Reaching such a level of expectation with the greatest player of all time… I never imagined I would find myself in such a situation.”

Both Bellucci and Djokovic were beaten by the same player in New York: eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz.

Bellucci was beaten 6-1, 6-0, 6-3 by the Spaniard in the second round, before Djokovic fell 6-4, 7-6(4), 6-2 to Alcaraz in the semi-final of the men’s singles event.

2025 proved to be a career-best year for the Italian, who cracked the top 90, top 80, and top 70 of the ATP Rankings for the first time, before ultimately finishing the year 74th.

That was a significant improvement on his 2024 year-end ranking of 103rd, with Bellucci’s season highlighted by a run to the third round of Wimbledon and a semi-final showing at the Rotterdam Open.

It was also a positive year for Djokovic, who ended the year ranked fourth after starting the year as the world No 7.

Outside of reaching the semi-final of all four Grand Slam events, the Serbian was also champion at the Geneva Open — where he lifted his 100th career title — and at the Hellenic Championship.

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Bjorn Borg has opened up about why his early retirement from tennis was a “stupid decision” as he revealed what he regretted about stepping away from the game.

Tennis icon Borg is widely considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time and was the leading male player of his era, winning a staggering 11 Grand Slam singles titles during his career.

The Swede famously won five straight Wimbledon titles from 1976-80, and was also the winner of six French Open titles — a tally that only Rafael Nadal can beat among men in the Open Era.

Borg was also a four-time US Open runner-up and spent 109 weeks atop the ATP Rankings, winning 66 ATP Tour titles in total.

However, after losing in the final of the US Open for the fourth time in 1981, Borg played just twice in 1982, and ultimately announced his retirement from the sport in January 1983.

The Swede was just 26 at the time, and had not properly competed on the tour since he was 25.

Speaking in a new interview with Marca, the 68-year-old revealed that despite losing his motivation, there was still some “regret” about the way he left the game.

He said: “I wasn’t even 26, but I’d lost my motivation.

“It’s not that I regret it because I needed to be mentally perfect to continue, and I wasn’t. What I regret is quitting tennis.

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“It was a stupid decision because I had so many friends. I often asked myself why I did it. I chose another life instead of keeping the one I had, and that’s what I regret.”

Borg’s interview came following the release of his new autobiography Heartbeats: A Memoir, which was released earlier this year.

The tennis icon revealed in the book that he had privately been battling prostate cancer, though had now recovered.

However, Borg also laid bare the extent of his battle with alcohol and drug addiction following his retirement, struggling throughout most of the 1980s.

After overcoming his addictions in the late eighties, the Swede made a brief return to action in the 1990s, when in his mid-thirties.

While this was largely unsuccessful in terms of results, Borg revealed to Marca that he “wouldn’t have survived” had he not made his brief return to tennis.

“The problem is that I put tennis aside,” added Borg.

“I had to rediscover myself after getting involved with drugs. And I can say that I had enough mental strength, the same strength I had as a player. Nobody helped me except my parents.

“I briefly returned to the courts in Monte Carlo, not because I wanted to come back, but because I wanted to live and have a life. If I hadn’t gone back to playing, I wouldn’t be talking to you right now because I wouldn’t have survived.

“I needed to have a plan again, a schedule to follow. I spent many years struggling alone, and it was very hard.”

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