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Jannik Sinner has revealed the “hardest moment” of his three-month doping ban in his first press conference since his suspension officially ended.

World No 1 Sinner’s ban ended on Sunday (May 4th), with the Italian now cleared to compete on the ATP Tour.

The 23-year-old had been suspended from February 2025 after settling his longstanding doping case with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

Sinner twice tested positive for the banned steroid clostebol in March 2024, successfully arguing to the International Tennis Integrity Agency that this was the result of contamination.

He was initially found to be of “no fault or negligence” and cleared to compete in August 2024, before WADA launched its appeal into the leniency of the ruling.

The Italian triumphed at the Australian Open in January but has not been in action since then, with his suspension officially starting on February 9th.

Sinner’s return to action comes on home soil at the Italian Open in Rome, with the world No 1 set to begin his campaign later this week.

The Italian has been able to train on officially recognised tennis sites since April 13th, though he was barred from official sporting venues at the start of his suspension.

Speaking in his first press conference in Rome, the 23-year-old admitted that this had been the “hardest” part of his ban.

“The hardest moment of the suspension was at the beginning,” said Sinner.

“I couldn’t attend any sporting event in real life. I don’t know how many people know this but I couldn’t go to the stadium to watch a football match or follow a cycling race of my friends. Or in motorsport.

“That for me was the toughest part. But all things considered, I tried to make the best of it. I was very glad also to spend time with my family.”

Despite only playing one tournament across the opening four months of 2025, Sinner still holds a comfortable lead as the world No 1, and is fourth in the ATP Race to Turin.

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Many have predicted that the three-time Grand Slam champion will quickly return to top form and contend for the Italian Open and Roland Garros titles across the next month.

Sinner is set to play his home Masters 1000 event for the first time since 2023, having skipped the event twelve months ago due to injury.

He reached the last eight in Rome back in 2022, though he has failed to reach the quarter-final in his four other appearances at the tournament.

Sinner is set to play in Rome and then at the ATP 500 Hamburg Open before Roland Garros, the second Grand Slam tournament of 2025.

And, despite what could be an emotional homecoming, the Italian concedes that his priority is to try and win a fourth major title in Paris – with “low expectations” for the coming fortnight.

He added: “I have to say I have low expectations for this tournament. I’ve been sitting out for so long and I don’t have any feedback on how I’m going to play.

“The goal will be Paris. I’m not here to beat anyone but to try to get through the first round and then we’ll see what can happen. It’s difficult for me to start a new tournament and get back to the rhythm.

“But we’re very calm, we’re physically and mentally well, we’re rested, which will pay off at the end of the season too.”

As one of the seeded players in the Rome draw, Sinner will not start his campaign until the second round.

His first match post-ban will come in round two against either Italian rising star Federico Cina, or Argentina’s Mariano Navone.

Read Next: Hamburg Open 2025 ATP Entry List: Sinner, Musetti, Rune & Tsitsipas headline, but no Zverev or Fils

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The waiting is over for Jannik Sinner as he prepares to return to action after a three-month drug ban, with his Italian fans preparing to give their hero a triumphant reception as he returns to tennis.

Images of the world No 1 being lauded in such lavish fashion after a doping ban may not sit well with some observers, but that will not dilute the reception Sinner will receive from his adoring public.

Carlos Alcaraz is also making his return in Rome after missing the Madrid Masters due to injury, with Novak Djokovic a notable absentee as the 24-time Grand Slam champion has opted to sit out a tournament that has always been one of his favourites.

Here are our big Tennis365 predictions for the final ATP Masters 1000 clay court tournament ahead of the French Open:

SAINT OR SINNER?

Jannik Sinner’s every move in Rome will be celebrated by Italian fans who believe he was hard done by after he was handed a three-month suspension following a positive doping test in March 2024.

Some in tennis have an alternative view, as they believe Sinner was responsible for the anabolic steroid entering his system and he was fortunate to escape with such a light punishment.

That story now needs to be banished to the history books and Sinner is returning to a tennis landscape that is there for him to dominate once again.

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Alexander Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic have all had some challenges during Sinner’s time away from the game and his dominance at the top of the ATP Rankings highlights why expectations around the No 1 player in the world are so huge as he returns to action.

Verdict: Sinner may have been away from the game for three months, but he returns as favourite to win the Rome Masters and if he is at his best, he will get the job done.

ZVEREV’S WOES CONTINUE

Alexander Zverev must have been hoping his ATP 500 title in Munich last month would kick-start his troubled season, but the uncertainty that has undermined his ambitions since Sinner hammered him in the Australian Open final was in evidence once again as he lost against Francisco Cerundolo at the Madrid Masters.

Zverev’s serve has not been firing as he would have wanted in recent months and his tendency to his his forehand long is a recurring theme when his opponents get on top of him.

The German is defending champion in Rome and that will add to the pressure on Zverev as the 1,000 points he is defending will drop off his rankings total and he needs to retain his title to have any chance of stopping Alcaraz overtaking him as the world No 2 heading into the French Open.

Verdict: Stefanos Tsitsipas and Jiri Lehecka are lurking in Zverev’s section of the draw and his uncertainty will be tested. He should reach the quarter-finals, but is not in the form to win.

ALCARAZ’S BIG GAMBLE

Carlos Alcaraz appeared to cast doubt over his hopes of playing in Rome when he pulled out of the Madrid Masters, but he has arrived at the Foro Italico to play in what will be his final warm-up event ahead of the defence of his French Open crown.

Alcaraz’s opening match in Rome will be a big test of his fitness and if he has any recurring fitness issues, don’t be surprised to see him withdraw from the tournaments as his Roland Garros defence has to be the priority.

Alcaraz is up to No 2 in the live ATP Rankings and a couple of wins in Rome will cement that position ahead of the second Grand Slam of the season, but it might be asking too much to expect the Spaniard to win in Rome when he is edging his way back to full fitness.

Verdict: A run to the quarter-finals would be welcome for Alcaraz as he looks to test his body, but he does not need to many gruelling matches in Rome.

LOOK OUT FOR

Casper Ruud’s win at the Madrid Masters may have been a significant moment in this year’s clay court season.

The Norwegian has long been one of the most threatening players on this surface, but he has come up short in the biggest events when he has reached the later stages.

Now that he has a Masters 1000 title on his record, the confidence will flow and he could be a threat in Rome, even though he has a tough draw with  Alexander Bublik and Matteo Berrettini in his section of the draw.

This could be another tournament for Brazilian teenager Joao Fonseca to shine.

He has a potential match against a woefully out-of-form Andrey Rublev on his horizon in the second round and could also face a blockbuster showdown with Miami Open champion Jakub Mensic.

Verdict: Fonseca is good enough to come through his tough early matches if he is at his best and he could break into top 50 of the ATP Rankings if he has a good run in Rome.

READ NEXT: ATP Italian Open draw: Sinner handed tough pathway in comeback tournament, Alcaraz in Zverev’s half

The post Jannik Sinner’s perfect Rome comeback, rankings collapse for Alexander Zverev – Rome Masters predictions appeared first on Tennis365.

The Italian Open men’s singles draw has been revealed – with home favourite Jannik Sinner back in action for the first time since his Australian Open triumph.

World No 1 Sinner’s three-month suspension for a doping violation ended on Sunday, allowing the Italian to return to competitive tennis on home soil at the Foro Italico this week.

After receiving a round-one bye, the 23-year-old will face either world No 99 Mariano Navone or Italian 17-year-old Federico Cina in his first match back.

However, he could then be in line for tougher tests, with Sinner projected to face 25th seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in round three, and 15th seed Frances Tiafoe in round four.

Sinner is then expected to face a quarter-final against sixth seed and newly-crowned Madrid Open champion Casper Ruud, before a semi-final versus fourth seed Taylor Fritz.

Three-time Rome semi-finalist Ruud could face a blockbuster third-round clash against 29th seed Matteo Berrettini, who will hope to be at full fitness on home turf after retiring injured in Madrid.

The Norwegian is also projected to face 12th seed Ben Shelton in the round of 16 before a hypothetical quarter-final against Sinner.

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Fourth seed Fritz was a Rome quarter-finalist back in 2024 and could face a tricky opening-match test against Madrid surprise package Gabriel Diallo, who opens against Marcos Giron.

The American is then projected to face 30th seed Hubert Hurkacz in the third round, before a potential fourth-round encounter versus 16th seed Andrey Rublev or 20th seed Jakub Mensik.

Fritz is in the same quarter of the draw as seventh seed Alex de Minaur, who faces a tricky opener against one of two Italians: Luca Nardi or Flavio Cobolli.

The bottom half of the draw is headlined by second seed Alexander Zverev and third seed Carlos Alcaraz, who are projected to meet in the semi-final.

Defending champion Zverev is searching for his third Italian Open title and, after a round-one bye, will start his campaign against a qualifier or Camilo Ugo Carabelli.

The German is projected to face 27th seed Denis Shapovalov in round three, and could face one of 13th seed Arthur Fils or 18th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the fourth round.

Zverev was drawn in the same quarter as eighth seed and home favourite Lorenzo Musetti, who is projected to face 10th seed and 2023 champion Daniil Medvedev in the fourth round.

Alcaraz will be making just his second main-draw appearance in Rome, having withdrawn from the event due to injury in 2024.

The Spaniard will face Jan-Lennard Struff or Yoshihito Nishioka in the second round, and is projected to face 31st seed Alex Michelsen in round three.

World No 3 Alcaraz is then projected to take on 14th seed Grigor Dimitrov in the fourth round, before a projected quarter-final versus fifth seed Jack Draper and semi-final versus third seed Zverev.

New world No 5 and Madrid runner-up Draper could face 32nd seed Sebastian Baez in the third round and ninth seed Holger Rune in the round of 16.

Read Next: WTA Italian Open draw: Sabalenka-Gauff rematch on cards, Raducanu faces qualifier, Eala gets tough opener

The post ATP Italian Open draw: Sinner handed tough pathway in comeback tournament, Alcaraz in Zverev’s half appeared first on Tennis365.

Madrid Open finalists Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff could get a rematch as early as the semi-final at their next event after they both ended in the same half of the Italian Open draw.

Sabalenka and Gauff faced each other in a 10th career meeting at the WTA 1000 Madrid event last week and it was the world No 1 who came out on top as she won the final in straight sets to draw level in the head-to-head rivalry with the American.

The three-time Grand Slam winner is once again the top seed for the Rome event and she will take on either Dayana Yastremska or Anastasia Potapova in the second round while she could meet 31st seed Sofia Kenin in the third round and 14th seed Daria Kasatkina in the fourth round.

Rising star Alex Eala is also in the first section and the Filipina youngster takes on Marta Kostyuk, who reached the quarter-final in Madrid, in the first round and if she gets past the Ukrainian she could face Kasatkina.

Sabalenka is projected to meet eighth seed Zheng Qinwen in the quarter-final, but the Chinese star – who takes on either Katerina Siniakova or Olga Danilovic first up – will likely have to get past 11th seed Elena Rybakina in the fourth round.

If the seedings hold, then we will get a Sabalenka-Gauff semi-final.

Fourth seed Gauff opens up against either Arianna Zucchini or a qualifier while she could meet 15th seed Amanda Anisimova in the fourth round.

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Emma Raducanu also features in the third section and the 2021 US Open winner will face a qualifier first up.

There are several big names in the qualifying draw with the likes of Maria Sakkari, Katie Volynets and Ajla Tomljanović hoping to be among the 12 players to make the main draw.

If Raducanu passes the first test then she could meet 21st seed Ekaterina Alexandrova for a third time this year following their meetings in Doha and the Australian Open with Anisimova likely awaiting the winner of that contest.

Gauff is projected to meet Mirra Andreeva in the quarter-final, but the teenager will most likely have to beat the likes of Linda Nosková and 10th seed Emma Navarro en route to the last eight.

Defending champion Iga Swiatek headlines the bottom half and she starts against one of Elizabetta Cocciaretto and Elina Avanesyan before a possible third-round clash with Danielle Collins and a fourth-round match against 16th seed Elina Svitolina.

A run to the quarter-final will likely result in a clash against fifth seed Madison Keys or ninth seed Paola Badosa.

Badosa, meanwhile, could face Naomi Osaka in the second round, but the former world No 1 will have to get past wildcard Sara Errani.

Jessica Pegula is the highest-ranked player in Section 6 and the third seed is expected to face 13th seed Diana Shnaider for a place in the quarter-final while the winner of that encounter could meet Italian Jasmine Paolini.

Sixth seed Paolini has 27th seed Ons Jabeur, 17th seed Jelena Ostapenko and 12th seed Karolina Muchova in her section.

Projected WTA Italian Open Quarter-Finals By Seed

[1] Sabalenka vs Zheng [8]
[4] Gauff vs Andreeva [7]
[6] Paolini vs Pegula [3]
[5] Keys vs Swiatek [2]

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Aryna Sabalenka has been named as the “pretty firm favourite” to claim a first French Open title following her victorious Madrid Open campaign.

World No 1 Sabalenka dropped just one set across six matches to win a record-equalling third title in Madrid, dispatching fourth seed Coco Gauff 6-3, 7-6(3) in the final.

It was a sixth final of 2025 for the Belarusian and a second in two clay events, having finished as the runner-up at the Women’s Stuttgart Open two weeks ago.

Sabalenka has never won a clay-court title outside of her three Madrid Open triumphs, and that is in part due to Iga Swiatek’s dominance on the dirt.

The Pole has won a total of 10 titles on clay, including four French Open titles in the space of five years.

Swiatek became just the third woman in the Open Era to win three straight Roland Garros titles in 2024 and, should she triumph in 2025, would become the first to win the event four years in a row.

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However, the 23-year-old has not reached a final since beating Jasmine Paolini on Court Philippe Chatrier a year ago, and has struggled with consistency at the latter stages of events in 2025.

That was highlighted by a stunning Madrid semi-final loss to Gauff, with the Pole winning just two games in an emphatic 64-minute defeat.

And, with Sabalenka sealing her third title of 2025, Swiatek’s chances of Roland Garros success have been questioned.

Speaking on Sky Sports Tennis, pundit and former doubles star Colin Fleming has named Sabalenka as the leading contender to win the second major of the season.

He said: “I think she [Sabalenka] is now pretty firm favourite for Roland Garros, with all that has gone on as we stand here in Madrid

“Before this tournament started, I would still have picked Swiatek as the favourite, despite the fact she was out of form.

“I would have said I think she will find something in Madrid and Rome, and by the time Roland Garros comes around [she’ll be back in form].

“But although Iga made the semis and you would say it’s not a terrible result, the manner of the semi-final, I just think there is a question mark of how she will be in Rome and Roland Garros.”

Sabalenka has lifted three Grand Slam titles, triumphing at the Australian Open in 2023 and 2024, and the US Open last season.

The Belarusian has reached a further two Grand Slam finals, losing the 2023 US Open and 2025 Australian Open finals, though she has never reached a major final on a natural surface.

Her best French Open result came back in 2023 when she held a match point in her semi-final against the unseeded Karolina Muchova, only to fall in three sets.

Twelve months ago, Sabalenka’s campaign was disrupted by food poisoning as she suffered a shock quarter-final exit to Mirra Andreeva.

Both Sabalenka and Swiatek will be next be in action at the Italian Open, twelve months on from the two contesting the final in Rome.

Swiatek eased to a 6-2, 6-3 victory in that final and is a three-time champion in Rome, though she is under significant rankings pressure, with 1,000 points to defend.

The pair will be the top two seeds and will learn their fate when the women’s singles draw is revealed on Monday.

Read Next: 2025 Italian Open: Will Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic, Emma Raducanu, Alex Eala play? Draw dates, top seeds…

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Jannik Sinner’s three-month doping suspension officially ends on Sunday – and the world No 1 will be back on the practice court at an ATP event for the first time on Monday.

Three-time Grand Slam champion Sinner, 23, has not played since his Australian Open triumph in January and has been suspended since February 9, 2025.

The Italian’s position as the world No 1 has been largely unchallenged during his ban, and he will return to action at the Italian Open in Rome this week.

It will be Sinner’s first appearance at the event since 2023, having withdrawn due to injury in 2024, and he will likely receive a strong reception from his home fans in the Italian capital.

Men’s singles main draw action in Rome begins on Wednesday (May 7), though Sinner will not be in action straight away; as one of the seeded players, he receives a round-one bye.

However, his fans have been given an early chance to watch the world No 1 return to court.

Sinner’s first official practice on site will take place on Monday (May 5) at 7 pm local time, with fans given access to the two-hour session.

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It has now been confirmed that the world No 1 will be practising with Czech star and fellow 23-year-old Jiri Lehecka.

Lehecka is the winner of two ATP Tour titles, most recently claiming the title at the Brisbane International back in January.

The Czech reached a career-high ranking of world No 22 this February and is currently ranked as the world No 27.

However, he is projected to fall down to world No 38 on Monday having fallen in his opening match at the Madrid Open, failing to defend his semi-final points from 2024.

The Czech and Sinner will hope the practice session proves hugely beneficial ahead of the event, with both looking for a sharp return to form.

It will not be the first time that the Italian has practised with top-level players since his suspension, with Jack Draper and Matteo Berrettini among the stars to hit with him in his base of Monte Carlo.

Sinner was allowed to return to official practice on April 13, 2025, as per the terms of suspension.

However, his first official tournament practice taking place on his first day post-suspension sends a significant message to the ATP field that he is ready to take back control of the men’s game.

Sinner has won three of the last five Grand Slam titles and won eight ATP Tour titles in 2024, including the ATP Finals and three Masters 1000 victories alongside his Australian and US Open successes.

However, his controversial doping case has undoubtedly caused a huge stir among active players, particularly among his colleagues and rivals on the ATP.

All eyes will be on how players react to his return in Rome, with the build-up to his first match and campaign across the tournament likely to dominate media attention at the Masters 1000 event.

In a recent interview with Italian broadcaster TG1, the 23-year-old admitted he did not feel “at ease” around the locker room due to his Australian Open campaign.

He said: “In Australia, I didn’t feel at ease in the locker room or at the restaurant, the players looked at me differently and I didn’t like it at all.

“There I thought that living tennis in that way was really hard: I’ve always been someone who took tennis jokingly, I thought about taking some time off after Australia.”

Read Next: 2025 Italian Open: Will Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic, Emma Raducanu, Alex Eala play? Draw dates, top seeds…

The post Jannik Sinner’s first Italian Open practice partner confirmed as suspension ends appeared first on Tennis365.

The fifth WTA 1000 event on the 2025 calendar has been completed and Aryna Sabalenka was the big winner as she won her third Madrid Open title.

With it came a big winner’s cheque and a healthy points haul that will give her an even bigger lead in the WTA Rankings while runner-up Coco Gauff edged closer to second-place Iga Swiatek in the standings.

World No 1 Sabalenka’s ninth WTA 1000 trophy helped her to take her overall title tally to 20, which puts her sixth on the list of active players with the most titles with Venus Williams leading the way on 49.

She is well adrift in terms of the all-time list as Martina Navratilova sits on 167, Chris Evert 157 and Steffi Graf 107.

The Belarusian, though, produced another dominant run in the Spanish capital as she dropped only one set en route to the title and that was in the third round against Elise Mertens.

The three-time Grand Slam winner also beat Anna Blinkova, Peyton Stearns, Marta Kostyuk and Elina Svitolina before claiming a 6-3, 7-6 (7-3) win over Gauff in the final.

WTA Points Earned In Madrid

WTA 1000 title winners earn 1,000 points, but Sabalenka effectively only added 350 points to her total as she was defending 650 from her runners-up finish in 2024.

That, though, was still good enough to help her to become only the third player after Serena Williams and Iga Swiatek to pass the 11,000-point barrier since 2009 as she moved to 11,118 points.

Finalists are awarded 650 points and Gauff went home with 530 points as she dropped 120 from last year.

Swiatek and Svitolina were the two semi-finalists with 390 points on offer, but the former was -610 as she was the defending champion while the Ukrainian added 380 as she lost in the second round 12 months ago.

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Kostyuk, Moyuka Uchijima, Mirra Andreeva and Madison Keys (-175) exited the tournament in the quarter-final stage with 215 points on the spell. Kostyuk earned 205, Uchijima 107, Andreeva 0 (she also reached the last eight in 2024) and Keys was -175 as the American was a semi-finalist last year.

World No 3 Jessica Pegula (+65), No 6 Jasmine Paolini(-55) and No 10 Elena Rybakina (-325) lost in the third round and they all dropped points.

Meanwhile, youngsters Emma Raducanu and Alex Eala both lost in the second round and the former added 25 points to her tally while Eala was 0 as she lost at the same stage last year.

WTA Money Earned In Madrid

Sabalenka walked away with €985,030 (roughly $1,11m) for her efforts over the fortnight as she took her 2025 earnings to just over $4m while her career earnings are now more than $34m.

Runner-up Gauff earned €523,870 (about $592,000) and her earnings for the year grew to $2m.

Swiatek and Svitolina each earned €291,040 while quarter-finalist Kostyuk, Uchijima, Andreeva and Keys received €165,680. It is a big total for Uchijima as the Japanese star had earned only $297,424 so far this year while her career earnings was $1,371,973 before the event.

Raducanu and Eala eached received €30,895 following their second-round exits. Just over a month ago Eala earned $332,160 for her run to the semi-final of the Miami Open while Raducanu’s biggest cheque to date was the $2,500,000 she earned for winning the 2021 US Open.

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If Emma Raducanu needs any inspiration as she prepares for a crucial few weeks in her career, the stunning rise of Jack Draper should remind her how glorious this game can be.

Back in November 2019, the Amazon Prime Video Future Talent Award saw Raducanu and Draper handed £60,000 after they were identified as the brightest young junior players bursting through the ranks in British tennis.

Raducanu and Draper were photographed standing alongside Andy Murray as the donation was announced and back then, it was young Jack who may have been the most likely prospect to make a big breakthrough in the game.

He had enjoyed a run to the Junior Wimbledon final the year before and he was seen as one of the brightest prospects in the game.

Raducanu was still very much a player for the future, but the world knew all about her less than two years later as she was crowned as US Open champion in what was one of the greatest sports stories of all-time.

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“What Emma did was incredibly inspiring,” said Draper of Raducanu’s US Open win. ”I’ve known her from a young age and to see what she did was incredible. I was very proud of her, very excited, watching it thinking, obviously we’ve watched the likes of Andy Murray winning a Grand Slam from Great Britain, but her winning, it was just really a fairytale run.

“I definitely think as a competitor, it fuelled my fire. I really wanted to achieve what she’d done, winning a grand slam.”

Draper has yet to have his own Grand Slam moment, but his story was remarkably similar to that of Raducanu for the 18 months after her US Open win.

Injuries were a constant theme for the British duo as they struggled to adapt to the physical demands of life on the senior tour, with fleeting moments of hope interspersed with lay-offs that left questions over whether either could make it in the unforgiving tennis world.

Those questions started to evaporate for Draper as he proved he was a big-time player at the same venue where Raducanu won the US Open, as he reached the semi-final at Flushing Meadows last year.

He has kicked on from there to win his first Masters 1000 title at Indian Wells in March, bursting into the top 10 of the ATP Rankings in the process.

Now he will be a top five player when the rankings are updated on Monday after his thrilling run of success at the Madrid Open and he will head into the French Open and Wimbledon this summer as a live contender to lift both titles.

Raducanu is not in that position, despite some kind of wins and an impressive run to the quarter-finals of the WTA 1000 tournament in Miami in March.

Her performances in that event in Florida fuelled the belief that she could be a contender for the biggest titles in tennis once again, but she lost some of the momentum she appeared to be building up when she opted to take time away from tennis after building up that momentum attracted some predictable criticism.

Right now, the harsh truth must be that Draper has built himself into a player who can sustain success on the ATP Tour, but Raducanu is viewed a player who can threaten the best when she is fit and motivated… and those occasions are not frequent enough for her to be considered a contender for the biggest prizes in the women’s game.

This fine young player has the talent to silence all of her doubters as the tennis year enters its most significant phase, with the French Open and Wimbledon offering one of the most captivating players in the women’s game a stage to prove she can match Draper and thrive at the top of the sport.

Raducanu will always be a Grand Slam champion and while her critics like to suggest that win was something of a sporting fluke, the story she created in New York back in 2021 will always ensure she has a special place in tennis folklore.

If that is Raducanu’s only lasting legacy in tennis, it will be a fine one, as it inspired young girls around the world to pick up a racket and believe the impossible could be turned into reality.

If she can now add more glorious moments to her tennis story and join Draper as a consistent winner, Raducanu’s status in the sport will move to the next level.

READ NEXT: ATP Rankings Winners & Losers Madrid Open: Boosts for Draper, Musetti, Ruud as Zverev and Djokovic stumble

The post Emma Raducanu can draw inspiration from Jack Draper as she faces similar obstacles appeared first on Tennis365.

Jack Draper continues his stunning rise up the ATP Rankings following his run to the Madrid Open final, but Alexander Zverev and Novak Djokovic stumbled yet again.

With Jannik Sinner assured of remaining at No 1 until after the French Open and Carlos Alcaraz missing his home ATP Masters tournament due to injury, Zverev had an opportunity to edge slightly closer to Sinner while also opening a bigger gap between himself and Alcaraz.

Andrey Rublev won the title in 2024 when he defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime in the final so both men had a lot on the spell going into the 2025 tournament while Djokovic had an opportunity to move up to No 4.

ATP Top 10 Before Madrid Open

1. Jannik Sinner 9,930
2. Alexander Zverev 8,085
3. Carlos Alcaraz 8,050
4. Taylor Fritz 5,115
5. Novak Djokovic 4,120
6. Jack Draper 3,820
7. Alex de Minaur 3,585
8. Andrey Rublev 3,530
9. Holger Rune 3,480
10. Daniil Medvedev 3,290

Zverev, though, failed miserably in his quest as he was dumped out in the round of 16 by Francisco Cerundolo. As a result, he missed the opportunity to make a dent into Sinner’s points lead while Alcaraz is also still within touching distance despite not featuring in Madrid.

Sinner and Alcaraz dropped 200 points each so there is not much of a swing between the top three as the status quo will remain.

In fact, the top four will remain unchanged as Taylor Fritz will remain at No 4 even if Jack Draper wins the tournament.

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Draper, though, is already assured of reaching a new career-high of No 5 thanks to his run to the final as he has 4,440 points and will move to 4,790 if he beats Casper Ruud in the final with Djokovic down one spot to No 6.

Ruud has had a +5 boost as he will return to the top 10 while he will jump as high as No 7 if he defeats Draper.

Lorenzo Musetti is the new name in the top 10 as the Italian has made his breakthrough after reaching the semi-final of the ATP Masters 1000 event before losing against Draper.

The 23-year-old’s previous career-best of 11 was achieved on the back of finishing runner-up to Alcaraz at the Monte-Carlo Masters in April.

ATP Top 10 Live Rankings

1. Jannik Sinner 9,730
2. Alexander Zverev 8,085
3. Carlos Alcaraz 7,850
4. Taylor Fritz 4,815
5. Jack Draper 4,440/4,790 (+1)
6. Novak Djokovic 4,130 (-1)
7. Alex de Minaur 3,635
8. Lorenzo Musetti 3,550 (+3)
9. Holger Rune 3,440
10. Casper Ruud – 3,365/3,715 (+5)

Rublev is the big loser in the top 10 as he will slide nine places to No 17 following his third-round defeat to Alexander Bublik.

Big Winners Outside Top 10

Francisco Cerundolo will be rewarded with a new career-high as he will climb three places to No 18 following his run to the last four of the Madrid Open.

Matteo Arnaldi stunned Djokovic in the second and the Italian will move up seven places to No 37 – seven spots below his previous best – after losing in the quarter-final.

Great Britain’s Jacob Fearnley came through qualifying and beat Bu Yunchaokete in the first round and 18th seed Tomas Machac in the second round. He will be up to a new high of No 58 on Monday after jumping 10 places.

But the biggest success story in the top 100 comes from Gabriel Diallo as the unseeded Canadian lost in qualifying, but then got a lucky loser’s spot and ended up reaching the quarter-final.

The 23-year-old will surge 24 places to a career-high No 58.

Big Losers Outside Top 10

Stefanos Tsitsipas didn’t lose too many places after losing in round of 32 as he is down one spot, but he is now close to exiting the top 20 as he sits at No 19.

Last year’s runner-up Auger-Aliassime did drop out of the top 20 as he is down eight places after losing in the second round while 2024 semi-finalist Jiri Lehecka slumps 11 places to No 38 after he also lost in the round of 64.

The post ATP Rankings Winners & Losers Madrid Open: Boosts for Draper, Musetti, Ruud as Zverev and Djokovic stumble appeared first on Tennis365.

Novak Djokovic’s decision to pull out of next week’s Rome Masters appeared to suggest he was happy to go into the French Open with just two clay court defeats on his record for this season, but he has a chance to put that right.

Djokovic’s defeat against Alejandro Tabilo in Monte Carlo and his loss against Matteo Arnaldi in his first match at the Madrid Open set alarm bells ringing louder than ever as a player who will toast his 38th birthday this month admitted he may be running out of time to win a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title.

“Kind of new reality for me, I have to say,” said Djokovic after the defeat against Arnaldi.

“You know, trying to win a match or two, not really thinking about getting far in the tournament. It’s a completely different feeling from what I had in 20-plus years of professional tennis, so it’s kind of a challenge for me mentally to really face this kind of sensation on the court, going out early now regularly in the tournaments.

“I guess, the circle of life and the career (smiling), eventually it was going to happen. Now I’m trying to, you know, use this as a driving force for the future. Obviously, Grand Slams, I was saying many times, are the most important tournaments for me.

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“Which doesn’t mean that I don’t want to win here, of course I wanted to, but Grand Slams are where I really want to play the best tennis. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to do that in Roland Garros, but I’ll do my best.”

Djokovic may have been wise to step away from the game for a few weeks, with his motivation to play in regular ATP Tour events waning for some time now.

Yet he faced a similar scenario last year and came up with an unexpected solution.

While his performances in Monte Carlo and Madrid were not quite as poor as they were this year, Djokovic felt the need to get more matches on clay under his belt before heading to Roland Garros and opted to enter the ATP 250 tournament in Geneva.

The three matches he played in that event in Switzerland gave him some momentum heading into the second Grand Slam of the year and he got through to the quarter-finals in Paris before being forced to pull out with an injury.

Djokovic could follow a similar path this year and he could also enter the ATP 500 event in Hamburg in the same week when the Geneva tournament is being played.

World No 1 Jannik Sinner has entered Hamburg as he looks to build up match practice following his three-month drug ban, with the prospect of Djokovic not playing any more matches ahead of Roland Garros a gamble he should avoid taking.

“Pressure is part of the sport and part of what we do on this highest level, so it’s never going to go away, it’s just a different kind of pressure now,” he added in his final comments before he left Madrid.

“Every time I step on the court I feel the nerves, I feel stress, I feel everything that I guess all the other players feel, and excitement as well. So, still like to compete, it became a bit more challenging for me, to be honest.

“Of course, I’ll do my best for the future. Grand Slam, I’m not going into Roland Garros as one of the main favourites. Maybe that can help, I don’t know, we’ll see.”

Taylor Fritz has also confirmed he will play in Hamburg so Djokovic could face strong opposition if he decides to play one more clay court event before his assault on another Roland Garros title.

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