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Jannik Sinner surprised many when he parted ways with two important team members on the eve of Wimbledon, and the reason for his decision has seemingly been revealed.

The Italian star split with both fitness trainer Marco Panichi and his physiotherapist Ulises Badio days before the start of Wimbledon.

Sinner brushed off concerns that the move could affect his Wimbledon chances, though, as he went on to secure his maiden title at the London major and fourth Grand Slam overall.

Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera has reported that Sinner took the decision to fire the two team members due to Panichi sharing details in interviews.

One incident after Sinner’s defeat to Carlos Alcaraz in the epic five-set 2025 French Open final particularly bothered the world No 1.

Panichi disclosed to the media that Sinner cried for 15 minutes in the locker room after the match and also that the Italian was frustrated by the crowd’s heavy support for Alcaraz.

This, apparently, did not go down well with Sinner, while Badio — who joined the team at the same time as Panichi in September 2024 — was reportedly axed as “collateral damage.”

Panichi and Badio spent long spells working as a duo in Novak Djokovic’s team before their time with Sinner.

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In his pre-Wimbledon press conference, Sinner insisted there had been no issues between him and Panichi or Badio as he addressed the split.

“No, nothing major happened,” the 23-year-old explained. “Nothing big happened. I parted ways not long ago, but it’s not affecting me. I feel ready to compete. I feel free. I feel me and my team, we are ready to do the best we can.

“So I’m here to play good tennis. I think that’s my main goal, the main reason why I’m here. We’ve reached incredible results in the past with them, so obviously huge thanks to them. We made some great job, but I decided to do something different.”

Pressed on the reason for his decision, Sinner did not give much away: “As I said, there’s not one specific thing. Nothing crazy happened. That’s for sure not.

“We made some great work. For me the final in Roland Garros was an amazing achievement. That’s it. Look, in this sport things can happen. There is nothing incredible, no, because sometimes a player feels something different, and that’s my case.

It was a move that former No 1 Andy Roddick struggled to explain before Wimbledon.

“That’s a really weird thing to do, yeah. On the eve of Wimbledon, you wouldn’t… had to be something,” the American said on his Served podcast.

“I don’t know anything, but my guess would be that it has to be something off court, whether it’s financial, whether it’s an argument. This doesn’t feel like what you would do when you’re trying to win your first Wimbledon.

“This also sounds like it could be something that we will never know the answer to, at least publicly.”

Panichi has since been hired by Holger Rune and will join the Dane at the Cincinnati Masters.

READ NEXT: Surprising Jannik Sinner report labelled ‘absolutely fake news’ by legendary coach

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Emma Raducanu’s strong start to the North American hard-court swing continued as she saw off Peyton Stearns at the Canadian Open.

The British star downed world No 37 Stearns 6-2, 6-4 in the second round in Montreal for her latest convincing triumph.

Raducanu broke the 23-year-old American twice and lost only four points on serve as she dominated the opening set.

Stearns provided greater resistance in the second set as she took a 4-2 lead, but Raducanu won the next four games to seal the win.

The 22-year-old now holds a 3-0 record against Stearns, who she is yet to drop a set against.

“I know Peyton is a really tough opponent, we’ve played two times in the past and always had really long matches,” Raducanu said post match. “I’m really happy with how I came through in that match.

“I kind of lost my focus at some moments in the second set and she took advantage, but very happy that I came through against a top opponent and happy to extend my stay in Montreal.

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“I just want to say thank you [to the fans], I saw the Union Jack in clutch moments and I was actually born in Canada, so to come back and to me it means so much to do well here and very happy to be into the next round.”

Having kicked off her summer hard-court campaign at the Citi DC Open last week, Raducanu has won five of her last six matches in straight sets.

She overcame Marta Kostyuk, Naomi Osaka and Maria Sakkari before losing to Anna Kalinskaya in the semi-finals in Washington. In her opening match in Canada, Raducanu beat Elena-Gabriela Ruse 6-2, 6-4.

Raducanu started the week as the world No 33 after her run at the WTA 500 in DC.

The former US Open winner then dropped down to 42nd in the Live WTA Rankings when the points from her quarter-final result at the 2024 Citi Open dropped. This is because last year’s event was held a week later in the calendar.

With her two victories in Montreal, Raducanu has moved back up to 37th place in the Live Rankings, and she could climb as high as 34th if she wins her next match, which is against world No 7 and Wimbledon runner-up Amanda Anisimova.

The Brit holds a 2-0 record against the 23-year-old American, with both of her victories coming in straight sets on hard courts earlier this year: at the Australian Open and the Miami Open.

Securing a top 32 seeding for the US Open is achievable for Raducanu, and this would increase her chances of having a more favourable early draw at Flushing Meadows.

Raducanu is not dropping any more points before the New York major (besides the Washington points reflected in the live rankings) as she did not play in Canada or Cincinnati in 2024.

READ NEXT: Emma Raducanu has major rankings chance at Canadian Open after ‘extremely difficult’ win

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Iga Swiatek began her campaign at the 2025 Canadian Open with a dominant win to pick up where she left off at Wimbledon.

The world No 3 cruised past 259th-ranked Hanyu Guo 6-3, 6-1 in the second round of the WTA 1000 event in Montreal.

The six-time Grand Slam champion broke the 27-year-old Chinese qualifier six times, including four times in the second set.

By racing into a 4-0 lead in the opening set, Swiatek extended her steak of consecutive games won to a staggering 24.

In her previous two matches, Swiatek crushed Amanda Anisimova without losing a game in the Wimbledon final and won the last eight games of her semi-final against Belinda Bencic.

“I prepared for this match like I would for any other,” Swiatek said in her on-court interview.

“I saw that my opponent played great in the first round, so I had some information. However, I preferred to focus on myself, on getting adjusted to the hard court again.

“Yeah, it’s been great. I had time to celebrate a little bit after Wimbledon and got back to practice already in Warsaw, but obviously in different conditions.

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“So I’m happy I had a chance to come here earlier. I feel like every day I made a bit of progress, so that’s the best thing you can have at the beginning of a swing, and then you just have to keep it up.”

Swiatek’s victory was her 115th WTA 1000 win in her 142nd match at this category of tournament.

Only 23-time Grand Slam winner Serena Williams has reached 115 WTA 1000 wins in fewer matches (130) since the format’s introduction in 2009.

The Pole has now won 63 consecutive opening round WTA Tour level matches, making her the first player to achieve this since tennis legend Monica Seles — who won 64 in a row between 1990 and 1996.

Swiatek will face world No 69 Eva Lys in her third round match in Montreal. She is seeking her maiden title at the Canadian Open, having achieved her best previous result in 2023, when she reached the semi-finals.

The 24-year-old did not play last year’s edition of the Canadian Open in Toronto, which took place just after the Paris Olympics. She holds a 7-3 career record at the event.

READ NEXT: The 10 best WTA Tour players of the 21st Century – ranked!

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Who is the best ATP Tour player of the 21st Century?

It is a debate that will likely continue to evolve over the next 70+ years, but with a quarter of the century done, it has once again gained significant traction.

Here, we tackle the subject head on – by ranking our 10 best ATP Tour players of the century, which we are taking as 2000 onwards.

We are only factoring achievements completed since the start of the 2000 season, looking at a variety of factors.

Grand Slam success is a significant factor, though we also include other factors, including overall titles, ranking, the strength and depth of a player’s era, and overall impact.

10) Daniil Medvedev

Medvedev is probably best remembered for his stunning US Open triumph in 2021, though the Russian has put together an impressive career even outside of that victory.

The 29-year-old has spent 16 weeks as the world No 1 and has won 20 career ATP titles overall, including six Masters 1000 triumphs and an ATP Finals victory in 2020.

With five further Grand Slam finals, and two Wimbledon semi-finals to his name, Medvedev is undoubtedly one of the leading players of his era.

9) Stan Wawrinka

Almost out of nowhere, ATP stalwart Wawrinka took the tour by storm with a string of stunning results in the mid-2010s, highlighted by three Grand Slam titles.

The Swiss triumphed at the 2014 Australian Open but proved he was no ‘one-hit wonder’ with victories at the 2015 French Open and 2016 US Open, with a further Roland Garros runner-up finish to his name.

Wawrinka reached a career-high of world No 3 in one of the most challenging eras of men’s tennis, and has won 16 ATP Tour titles overall.

8) Lleyton Hewitt

Hewitt’s peak saw him dominate the ATP Tour for a significant spell in the early 2000s, highlighted by the Australian’s impressive 80 overall weeks as the world No 1.

The Australian triumphed at the US Open in 2001 and at Wimbledon in 2002, with further Grand Slam runner-up finishes to his name in New York, and at his home Grand Slam Down Under.

Twenty-eight of Hewitt’s ATP titles came from the start of 2000, including two Masters 1000 titles, and back-to-back ATP Finals triumphs in 2001 and 2002.

7) Jannik Sinner

Sinner will likely surge up this countdown in the years to come, though the Italian’s on-court prowess is already impressive.

Despite his three-month ban, the 23-year-old has spent 60 weeks (and counting) atop the ATP Rankings, with four Grand Slam titles – and a further runner-up finish – to his name since the start of 2024.

Alongside his US Open, Wimbledon, and two Australian Open titles, he has four Masters 1000 titles and an ATP Finals crown to his name, with an impressive 20 ATP Tour titles already in his trophy cabinet.

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6) Andre Agassi

Though most of his success came in the 1990s, tennis icon Agassi still found huge success across the early-to-mid 2000s, before his retirement in 2006.

Agassi won Australian Open titles in 2000, 2001, and 2003, alongside a further two US Open runner-up finishes, and two Wimbledon semi-finals at the turn of the century.

The American won 16 titles from the start of the 2000 season, including seven Masters 1000 crowns, and was ranked as the world No 1 across three separate spells in the early part of the decade.

5) Carlos Alcaraz

Alcaraz is only 22 years of age, but has already forged a career for the ages in recent years, highlighted by an impressive five Grand Slam titles.

The Spaniard has two Wimbledon titles, two French Open titles, and a US Open title to his name, alongside a further runner-up finish at Wimbledon this summer.

He is already the winner of 21 ATP Tour titles, including seven at Masters 1000 level, and has so far spent an impressive 36 weeks atop the ATP Rankings.

4) Andy Murray

Murray is often sighted as a player who could have won more major titles in a different era, though that conversation often diminishes his still-remarkable achievements.

The Brit lifted the US Open title in 2012 and won Wimbledon in both 2012 and 2016, alongside eight further Grand Slam runner-up finishes, and won back-to-back Olympic gold medals in London and Rio.

Murray claimed a strong haul of 46 ATP Tour titles overall, including 14 at Masters level and the ATP Finals in 2016, while also reigning as the world No 1 for 41 weeks.

3) Roger Federer

Few have dominated the sport quite like Federer did during the mid-2000s, and the Swiss has undoubtedly sealed his place as an all-time great of the sport.

Federer won 20 Grand Slam singles titles in total, including eight at Wimbledon and six at the Australian Open, and his 310 weeks as the world No 1 is the second-most in ATP Rankings history.

The Swiss won a staggering 103 ATP Tour titles overall, including 28 Masters 1000 titles and six ATP Finals titles, and helped usher in arguably the greatest era of men’s tennis history.

2) Rafael Nadal

‘King of Clay’ Nadal is so often defined by his dominance on the dirt, with the Spaniard winning 14 French Open titles and 63 clay-court titles overall across his career.

However, the Spaniard won a staggering 22 Grand Slam titles overall – completing the Career Grand Slam – and spent an impressive 209 weeks as the ATP world No 1 across his career.

With a total of 92 ATP titles won, including Olympic gold in Beijing and 36 Masters 1000 titles, Nadal’s place as one of the greatest tennis players of all time is more than secured.

1) Novak Djokovic

With so many records to his name, Djokovic has cemented his place as not only the greatest male player of the 21st century, but probably of all time.

The Serbian is the only man to ever win 24 Grand Slam titles, including an Open Era record of 10 Australian Open titles, and is one of just three men in the Open Era to win 100 ATP titles.

Djokovic holds a record 428 weeks as the world No 1 and a record 40 Masters 1000 titles, and is the only man to win every Grand Slam event three times.

With countless other records not even mentioned in this list, Djokovic is the clear No 1 on our countdown.

Honourable mentions

Andy Roddick: Former world No 1 Roddick won an impressive 32 ATP Tour titles overall, with his 2003 US Open win followed by four further Grand Slam runner-up finishes.

Marat Safin: Safin won the 2000 US Open and 2005 Australian Open titles, with a further five Masters 1000 titles to his name across the early 2000s.

Juan Martin del Potro: The ‘Tower of Tandil’ overcame relentless injury issues to reach world No 3 and win the 2009 US Open, winning 22 ATP Tour titles overall.

Pete Sampras: Sampras only won three titles post-2000, though that includes triumphs at Wimbledon in 2000 and at the 2002 US Open, the final tournament of his career.

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Leylah Fernandez has called out the Canadian Open after claiming that she received ‘a lot of promises’ from the tournament, with regards to scheduling, which were not upheld.

The Canadian fell to Maya Joint, 6-4, 6-1, in her opening Montreal match, looking very low in energy before her home crowd.

Just a few days prior, Fernandez had lifted the WTA 500 title in Washington after defeating the likes of Jessica Pegula and Elena Rybakina along the way, producing some of her career-best tennis.

Less than 48 hours later, the world No 24 was back on court against Joint.

According to the Canadian, she received promises from the tournament that she would play the night session on Tuesday, giving her a few extra hours, which often prove crucial in recovery.

“Oh, yeah, on the short turnaround, I mean, we got promises — oh, man,” Fernandez disclosed.

“It felt great being on court, hearing the fans and feeling their support. It was awesome, and I mean awesome.

“I’m just disappointed with my level of play, and it wasn’t fair for them. I mean, it was a very, very low level.

“But I mean, regarding the short turnaround, I received a lot of promises from the — from scheduling about giving me maybe the night match, and I did not receive that.

“So that kind of hurt me because I was very looking forward to be playing at night, but you know, I guess it’s a little bit political issues at that point.

“But other than that, again, the crowd was just amazing. I heard the emcee kind of cheering me on and also encouraging the crowd even more.

“That kind of warmed my heart. I never had that kind of energy before, and it was just an honour and a lot of fun, yeah.”

Despite the direct comments from Fernandez, Valerie Tetreault – the National Bank Open tournament director – responded by stating that she did try to convince the WTA Tour, who determine the scheduling, to give the world No 24 the night session.

“But I didn’t win my fight,” Tetreault admitted.

“I received the request for her to play in the evening.

“It’s my role to have conversations with the WTA, so I pushed as much as possible for her to have what she wanted.”

The director also added that the Fernandez-Joint match was one of the final few first-round matches, despite both being in a half of the draw which started on Sunday.

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“WTA protocols mean first-round matches need to be completed before second-round matches are played, ensuring fairness to all players,” Tennis Canada added, in an official statement.

“Given Leylah won the title in Washington on Sunday, she was not able to arrive in Montreal until the early hours of Monday morning.

As a result, the WTA made the decision to play her opening match in the latest possible first-round slot.”

Fernandez will return to the tour at the upcoming WTA 1000 tournament in Cincinnati, a tournament where she reached the quarter-finals at last year’s edition (falling to Jessica Pegula in a third-set tiebreak).

The post ‘Hurt’ Leylah Fernandez makes scathing Canadian Open remarks after controversial scheduling decision appeared first on Tennis365.

Emma Raducanu has been told by a former British player that her career-best ranking was an “outlier” as a result of her shock US Open title win.

The 22-year-old peaked at world No 10 in the WTA Rankings in July 2022 nine months after she won the US Open as an 18-year-old qualifier in 2021.

Raducanu is currently ranked 33th, which is her highest ranking position since the points from her triumph at the New York Grand Slam dropped in September 2022.

The Brit reached the semi-finals at the WTA 500 tournament in Washington in both singles and doubles to continue her positive form since adding Mark Petchey to her coaching team in March.

Raducanu defeated Elena-Gabriela Ruse in her opening match at the WTA 1000 event in Montreal on Monday.

Barry Cowan backed Raducanu’s move to play doubles in Washington as he also set her the target of being seeded at the US Open.

“I think that [playing doubles] is also important, because ultimately, the age she’s at, her game, she should be looking to try and improve it week in, week out, and try and close that gap,” the Brit told Tennishead.

“She is not, right now, a top 10 player, a top 20 player. I know she was, but it was kind of the outlier because of what she did at the US Open. So I totally disregard what happened previously with her ranking.

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“And you know, right now, if she were to get a seeded position for the US Open, given where she was at the start of the year, I would say she’s absolutely ahead of probably where she was eight months ago.”

Cowan shared his thoughts on the frequent coaching changes Raducanu made in her career prior to her collaboration with Petchey.

“Well, the thing with Raducanu is, personally, and I’ve said this openly, that she’s trying to go against history,” he continued.

“I believe in history, and history will tell us that players of that age, the development age between 19 and 23, I think you need a consistent message. I think you need the same coach.

“Now, sometimes that’s not always possible. So there’s no point sticking with a coach for a year or two or three if, literally, you hate each other, there’s no chemistry, but ideally, you do want that period where it’s a consistent message.

“Now, what I’ve tried to understand — it’s her end of it, and she has always believed, you know, right from very young age, from the juniors, and obviously going through the US Open, which she won — she’s believed in having coaches for a short period of time, getting the information from that coach and then moving on. My view is, you’re going against history.”

The former world No 162 added: “I do think she’s had a really good year. I think she’s built momentum.

“I think that, you know, forget those big matches. Forget the [Iga] Swiatek in Australia, [Iga] Swiatek at the French and [Aryna] Sabalenka at Wimbledon. I thought she played very well at Wimbledon, and so many other bigger matches that she’s played.

“I think what you’re looking at from Raducanu is ideally you’re seeing that improvement in the lower-tier tournaments. I know she’s done everything upside down. She’s won the major before winning on the tour.

“But I do feel that these tournaments in Washington, like Eastbourne in the week before Wimbledon, like some of the other tournaments leading into the Masters and the majors, I think those are the tournaments where she’s got to be looking — if she is going to get to the top ten, top 20 — those are the tournaments she needs to be looking to convert those into semi-finals, finals and wins. And as of yet, she hasn’t had that.”

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The US Open has announced 14 of the 16 teams that will compete at this year’s revamped mixed doubles event, and there are some high-profile absentees.

In an unprecedented change, this year’s US Open mixed doubles event will feature eight teams based on the combined singles rankings of the two players, as well as eight wildcard teams.

The reimagined mixed doubles tournament at the New York Grand Slam will take place on August 19-20 in the week before the singles events begin at Flushing Meadows.

The move is unsurprisingly unpopular among doubles specialists, but it has led to a wealth of big name singles stars signing up to form some intriguing pairings.

The eight teams that have received direct entry based on singles rankings have been confirmed, six of which were already revealed: Emma Navarro and Jannik Sinner, Iga Swiatek and Casper Ruud, Elena Rybakina and Taylor Fritz, Jessica Pegula and Tommy Paul, Belinda Bencic and Alexander Zverev, Mirra Andreeva and Daniil Medvedev.

There have also been some notable changes, with Paula Badosa and Jack Draper now forming a team after originally signing up with different partners.

Badosa was set to partner Stefanos Tsitsipas but, after the pair’s reported breakup, the Greek is no longer on the entry list.

Draper, meanwhile, was going to play with Zheng Qinwen, but the Chinese star has pulled out of the US Open after undergoing elbow surgery.

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World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka had teamed up with Grigor Dimitrov, but both are now missing from the entry list as injury has forced the Bulgarian to withdraw. The all-Italian pairing of Jasmine Paolini and Lorenzo Musetti are also absent having been on the initial list.

Amanda Anisimova and Holger Rune have formed a new team to complete the direct entrants.

Six of the eight wildcard teams have also been announced, with the final two set to be confirmed at a later date.

Five of the teams were already formed when the initial announcement was made: Madison Keys and Frances Tiafoe, Olga Danilovic and Novak Djokovic, Emma Raducanu and Carlos Alcaraz, Taylor Townsend and Ben Shelton, Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori.

A new pairing of Venus Williams and Reilly Opelka have been given a wildcard.

The participation of Naomi Osaka and Nick Kyrgios has not been confirmed despite them being on the initial entry list as a team. They could, though, still be given one of the final two wildcard spots.

In response to the news that two wildcards are still available, Alex de Minaur expressed his wish to play with his girlfriend and fellow star Katie Boulter on Twitter.

2025 US Open mixed doubles entry list

Emma Navarro and Jannik Sinner
Paula Badosa and Jack Draper
Iga Swiatek and Casper Ruud
Elena Rybakina and Taylor Fritz
Amanda Anisimova and Holger Rune
Belinda Bencic and Alexander Zverev
Jessica Pegula and Tommy Paul
Mirra Andreeva and Daniil Medvedev
Madison Keys and Frances Tiafoe (WC)
Olga Danilovic and Novak Djokovic (WC)
Emma Raducanu and Carlos Alcaraz (WC)
Taylor Townsend and Ben Shelton (WC)
Venus Williams and Reilly Opelka (WC)
Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori (WC)
TBC (WC)
TBC (WC)

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Popular tennis entertainer and former professional player Mansour Bahrami has shared his thoughts on Novak Djokovic’s hopes of winning another major.

Djokovic has been searching for a record-extending 25th Grand Slam title since winning his last major at the 2023 US Open.

The 38-year-old’s bid to become the oldest major singles champion in history at the 2025 Wimbledon Championships ended in unfortunate fashion.

After suffering a nasty fall at the end of his quarter-final win over Flavio Cobolli, Djokovic was visibly compromised in his 3-6, 3-6, 4-6 semi-final loss to world No 1 and eventual champion Jannik Sinner.

The Serbian, who is ranked sixth, also reached the last four at the French Open and the Australian Open this season.

Djokovic pulled out of the ongoing Canadian Open due to injury, although it is unlikely he would have played even if healthy given he has frequently missed the event in the latter period of his career.

Speaking on Roland Garros’ Courtside Conversations podcast, Bahrami revealed he thought Djokovic would win Wimbledon before his injury blow.

“Honestly, I thought that Djokovic has a chance and I know he wants to win his 25th Grand Slam and so I thought he will do it. But then somehow he was injured, we know how it went,” said the Iranian-Frenchman.

“I thought that he is going to do it. I know that it’s going to get more and more difficult.

“For me, it was… Wimbledon was maybe the last one, so it would be unbelievable and he has done so many things unbelievable that we all are amazed how great he’s done.

“He’s a great champion, he’s won everything and so is he capable at almost 39 to go and win Australian Open?

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“I would say if there is one, it would be Australian Open. But it’s going to be very, very hard.”

Bahrami went on to highlight Djokovic’s recent issues with injuries and expressed his hope that the tennis icon can stay healthy at the upcoming majors.

“What he’s done has been unbelievable,” the 69-year-old said. “If he’s injury-free, he can still be very dangerous. And I wish and I hope that he would play the Grand Slams that he’s going to do next — the next US Open and the Australian Open — I hope he’s injury-free.

“He’s a very honest man and he’s very, very serious about what he’s doing and he’s a great champion. And he can amaze us again, I think. I really think he can be there for a while, I think that’s what his aim is.”

Speaking in 2023, Bahrami argued Djokovic deserved better treatment from crowds.

“He is unloved, and he suffers from that. But you have to have respect for this boy. He is the greatest player in history. We may not like it. I understand. But we must not assassinate him. If you don’t like it, don’t applaud it, but don’t whistle at it,” he told DH Sports+. 

“He wins and we whistle him. What did he do wrong? Nothing! He suffered from this for a long time. Now I think he manages to take a step back from this situation. He’s a great pro. We must not forget that he fell into the same era as [Rafael] Nadal and [Roger] Federer, two very popular players.

“He did everything to be loved. Sometimes too much for me. He’d better play his matches, win them and go home. People think it’s fake. This is not true. He loves the public and he wants the public to love him.”

Bahrami was a runner-up at the 1989 French Open doubles event.

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Iga Swiatek revealed that she ‘cried for two weeks’ after receiving an email in November 2024 which informed her that she had failed a doping test a few months prior, calling the situation ‘terrible’ and ‘confusing.’

In late November 2024, it was announced that the six-time Grand Slam champion had accepted a one-month suspension by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) after testing positive for the banned substance, trimetazidine.

Swiatek was quick to explain that a batch of her non-prescription melatonin, which she used for jet lag and sleep issues, had been contaminated.

The ITIA concluded that the violation was ‘not intentional’ after ‘interviews with the player and their entourage, investigations, and analysis from two WADA-accredited laboratories.’

As a result, with the real reason unbeknownst to the public, Swiatek was forced to miss three tournaments, including WTA 1000 tournaments in both Beijing and Wuhan.

“It was pretty terrible,” admitted the Pole, recounting the experience on the Served with Andy Roddick podcast.

“I was in a photoshoot with a sponsor in Warsaw, and I was in the middle of it. We were just changing locations.

“I went on my email and I saw that an email from this portal, and I thought it was just a reminder of my whereabouts or something.

“I didn’t even read it because I started crying, and my agents who were at the shoot thought that someone had died.

“I gave my manager the phone and she read everything. They were, obviously, very confused because no one knows what to do in a situation like that.

“I called Maciej [Ryszczuk], my physical training coach, and we met during the shoot.

“I had no idea if I should even continue the shoot, my face was all red, I was crying for about 40 minutes, but then – on the other hand – I knew that I couldn’t really tell them about it. So I just continued for the next few hours.”

The reaction was likely further exacerbated after observing criticism made of ATP world No 1 Jannik Sinner, who had failed two separate doping tests in March 2024.

Tara Moore, another player who failed a test after claiming contamination, tweeted about Swiatek’s one-month suspension at the time: “I took 19 months off as I had to make a ‘change to my team’ too guys. Let’s not forget, mine was also contamination, and 2 other people also tested positive yet ITIA are appealing my case. Why is no one seriously looking into the corruption of the organisations that govern us?”

The Brit claimed that Colombian meat, which she had consumed, had been similarly contaminated, but was given a four-year suspension after being found to have insufficiently proved her explanation.

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“We met in the evening with my whole team and the doctor, and we first called with a lawyer, I hired him over the phone basically, it was all very confusing,” continued Swiatek.

“Honestly, I was a total mess, I was basically joking, was being sarcastic, because I just had to do something to keep it together.

“When everything came out [publicly], I was basically crying for two weeks, couldn’t practice, because I felt that tennis did this to me and that I’m in this place because of tennis.

“I felt like I was losing my integrity, like no one is going to believe me that I didn’t do anything wrong and that the whole world would turn their backs on me and that every accomplishment that I had would start to disappear.

“We started testing all of my substances and medicines that I take, and did the research, but, for most of the days, I tried to block it out.

“I was meeting with my friends who didn’t have a clue what was going on. They saw that I was not injured and not playing, so they guessed that I might be in trouble.

“I noticed that there was PR fuss about players not being clear about what is going on with their fans, but, truth be told, if anyone were to say straight away with this kind of case without the data or proof that you did nothing wrong, we would all be finished and they would hate us.”

The Pole will return to the tour at the Canadian Open, opening her campaign against world No 33 Hanyu Guo.

The post Iga Swiatek opens up on failed doping test, branding it a ‘terrible’ and ‘confusing’ experience appeared first on Tennis365.

Iga Swiatek has named Carlos Alcaraz as a “huge inspiration” and revealed the way in which she wishes she was more like the Spanish star.

By measure of Grand Slam titles won, Swiatek and Alcaraz are both the leading players of their generations on the respective tours.

Swiatek improved her record in Grand Slam finals to an astonishing 6-0 with her record-breaking 6-0, 6-0 demolition of Amanda Anisimova in the 2025 Wimbledon final.

Alcaraz claimed his fifth major title at the French Open last month by overcoming Jannik Sinner in an instant classic five-set championship match.

The 22-year-old then tasted defeat in a Grand Slam final for the first time when he fell to Sinner in four sets in the Wimbledon title match.

Both Swiatek and Alcaraz only need to win the Australian Open to complete a Career Grand Slam, with each having triumphed at the other three majors.

In an interview with TVA Sports, Swiatek lauded Alcaraz’s approach to the sport and ability to play with joy.

“I wish I was more like Carlos because I have got to say he is a big inspiration in terms of that,” said the 24-year-old Pole.

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“He always says that the most important thing for him on a tennis court is to enjoy it and have fun and I sometimes forget about that.

“And sometimes with all the pressure around and things we need to do off the court, you need to remind yourself about this kid that started playing tennis, instead of winning for somebody and having this baggage on your shoulders.

“For sure, when Carlos shows that and when he speaks about that, it is always a good reminder for me, and I try to do that as well, but without me working on it, I think my mind would automatically go to just working, working, working.”

Swiatek will play 259th-ranked Chinese qualifier Guo Hanyu in her opening match at the Canadian Open in Montreal.

Alcaraz, meanwhile, is not competing at the Masters tournament in Toronto as he opted to take extra time to recover after an intense period.

“After many consecutive weeks of competition without rest, I will not be able to play in Toronto this year,” the world No 2 explained on Twitter.

“I have small muscles issues and I need to recover physically and mentally for what comes next. To the tournament and to my fans in Canada I am very sorry, I will see you next year!”

READ NEXT: How many points will Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, Amanda Anisimova drop at 2025 Canadian Open?

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