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Carlos Alcaraz says he has made his feelings clear about his unhappiness with chair umpires’ strictness when it comes to the shot clock rule as he admitted that he doesn’t have much hope that things will change.

The world No 1 slammed the “s***” rule during his recent title run at the Qatar Open after he got involved in an intense exchange with the chair umpire following a time violation during his quarter-final win over Karen Khachanov.

Alcaraz told his team: “The ATP rules are always s***, it’s s***, s***” and also addressed the issue during his post-match press conference as he stated: “Personally, I think there should be a bit more leniency, even a reconsideration of the rule, because in such tough matches, the same thing always happens, and to me, it’s ridiculous.”

It wasn’t the first time that he has had a problem with the rule, as he also got involved in a spat during the Japan Open last year.

Although he didn’t have any issues with the 25-second shot clock rule during his second-round win over Grigor Dimitrov at the Indian Wells Open, the seven-time Grand Slam winner was quizzed about the issue after his match.

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“To be honest, I haven’t spoke to them. To be honest, nobody came to me to ask me what is my opinion about it,” Alcaraz said.

“So it’s like, yeah, it’s gonna be like that, I would say. I don’t want to waste my time, to be honest, because there have been other situations that you go to complain or to give your opinion and then nothing changes at all, so I don’t want to waste my time. They already know my opinion, what’s it been like for me.

“So let’s see if they’re gonna change it or not, but I just really want to be focused on other things.”

When asked if the rule is more about discretion, he replied: “Yeah, I think so. We could see that there are different umpires. So it’s just about with one or two probably, the same guys that just have been a problem with a lot of matches.

“But there are other umpires that they are flexible about it. I would say if they understand about tennis, they know how to do it. The guys who are really strict and not having that left hand (phonetic), let’s say, is because they don’t understand tennis at all.”

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Carlos Alcaraz continued his unbeaten start to the 2026 season and even though he is still a long way away from the record, Novak Djokovic has backed the Spaniard to “continue doing some historic things”.

World No 1 Alcaraz has now won 13 matches in a row this season as he won his opening match at the Indian Wells Open with that victory coming on the back of seven wins in a row during his title run at the Australian Open and five wins to secure the Qatar Open.

Ahead of the match against Grigor Dimitrov at the California ATP 1000 event, the seven-time Grand Slam winner was asked about all-time record of 41, which Djokovic set back in 2011, and he conceded he still has a mountain to climb.

“Obviously I know that 41, Novak holds the record. I’m gonna say you don’t realise how difficult it is until you, I’m gonna say, you’re chasing that, because, you know, all right, 41, it’s not that much, but then you’re like 12 on, it’s like, s***, it’s like four or five more tournaments, the biggest tournaments in the world (smiling),” the Spaniard said.

“You realise and you feel like how impressive it is.”

If Alcaraz ends up winning the Indian Wells Open, he will be on 18 wins, which will leave him another 23 matches away from the Djokovic record, which is roughly another four tournaments.

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Djokovic, who won seven tournaments in a row in 2011, believes his 23-year-old rival is riding a wave that could see him break that record.

“He can do it. He has everything that you need to have in terms of the game, in terms of the adaptability to different surfaces, and level of fitness and recovery that he has shown and matured over the years,” the 24-time Grand Slam winner said.

“He needs to keep his body healthy. If he keeps his body healthy, I mean, he’s so good that he can win any tournament he plays on.

“So you never know. He’s been doing some historic things in our sport for such a young age. But yeah, I mean, winning 40-plus matches, and I have had a couple other runs, as well, at the beginning of different seasons where I had 25-plus, I think, twice, it’s demanding.

“But, you know, at the same time, it feels when you are winning so much and you’re riding that wave, you know, you don’t want to let go of that wave. You want to surf on that wave as long as you can, because the level of confidence is really high, and obviously when you lose first time, that is a bit shaken up.

“But as long as you’re winning, you feel like each match you feel stronger, in a sense, if I can reflect or recall my feelings that I had during that time.

“I wish him many more victories. I think he’s great for our sport, and what he’s been doing is remarkable.”

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Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff have both given their verdicts on Emma Raducanu’s claim she will be happy to go through periods without a coach.

The subject of Raducanu’s coach has been a well discussed one with the 23-year-old having already had seven permanent coaches during her professional career.

The most recent of those partnerships, with Francisco Roig, ended in January and Raducanu suggested she was being told too much on how she should play.

“Right now, it’s more about bringing my instincts back out, getting back in touch with myself,” Raducanu told the BBC.

“I have had a lot of people telling me what to do, how to play, and it hasn’t necessarily fit.

“So I want to come back to my natural way of playing. That takes time to relearn because that’s something that has been coached out of me a little bit.

“I don’t necessarily want to have one coach in the role because anyone I bring in is straight away going to be scrutinised – even if it’s a trial.

“I might feel the pressure to stick with them, even if it’s not necessarily the right decision.

“I would love to have a coach that works well, but I don’t think it’s necessarily going to be easy to find one person and they are going to check every box.

“I definitely have my mind open to it. It’s just that I would rather someone not come in and tell me ‘let’s do this’, and I disagree with it but have to listen to them.

“So far Alexis [Canter] has been really good, but I am definitely going to tap into a few people here and there.”

That prospect of going without coaches for periods was put to both Gauff and Sabalenka and each of them suggested they would always like someone in the box.

Gauff said: “I don’t think it would go well. There are tournaments where I maybe don’t listen to my coach that much at all, so maybe it is self-coach.

“No, I think, I mean, for me personally, I feel like it’s always good to have some direction. I feel like the team I have now, they don’t overcoach. They let me, you know, think it through. Like today I didn’t look at my box for advice once. That’s how I usually prefer it.

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“But, you know, I don’t know, I think it’s nice to have a coach with you, but every player is different. I know some players can play well without one, and some prefer just maybe someone like a hitting partner/coach. But I feel like with all the changes I’m making in my game, I think I would get pretty lost without one.

After joking she would “fire all of them”, World No.1 Sabalenka then said it would be tough for her to go without her coach there.

“No, I think for me personally it would be tough. I think even though I’m mentally tough and strong, for me it’s important to feel the support and to see my team in the box and just have my people around.

“So for me, I mean, right now I don’t see myself being without the coach. And even though I’m, like, smart and I know tennis, I kind of like know everything, but at the same time, I don’t like to go in the practice and do the whole practice myself. It just takes too much of energy.

“I just need the coach to schedule the practice, to make me do stuff and just so the only thing I’m worried about is my tennis, not like which exercise should I do today? What should I work on today?

“For me, it would be difficult. But I feel like she has been struggling a lot with finding the right coach, the right fit for her. I think maybe for her it’s good to take this little break, not rushing, like, bringing just anyone in her team. That just makes more problem, I feel like, and insecurity, you don’t have your person around.

“I feel like maybe for her it’s a good decision, but I feel like she’s going to obviously end up having a coach. I think she just needs to choose carefully the person that she’s gonna bring on her team.”

Read next: Alex Eala ‘excited’ for Coco Gauff rematch after prevailing in Indian Wells thriller

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Jack Draper’s ATP rank could drop by more than 100% should he fail to win his opening match at Indian Wells on Saturday.

The British No.1 won this tournament last year but would go on to suffer an arm injury and opted to skip the Australian Open this year, meaning he is already at a rankings disadvantage going into the Californian tournament.

His action so far this year came in a Davis Cup qualifier in which he beat World No.313 Viktor Durasovic but he suffered a disappointing tournament in Dubai, losing in the round of 16 of the ATP 500 event.

This means he heads to Indian Wells as the 14th best male player in the world but should he lose his opening match against World No.93 Roberto Bautista Agut, he will lose 990 ranking points and drop down to No.29, also surrendering the British No.1 spot to Cam Norrie.

It is an opponent Draper has never faced before but the Briton goes in as the overwhelming favourite having defeated Carlos Alcaraz in the final at this venue last year.

Perhaps a more intriguing battle will be Draper against his fitness with him suffering a 164-day gap between matches but he suggested he would not risk playing if he did not believe he was fit enough to last the tournament.

“This injury has definitely hardened me a fair bit,” he told Sky Sports.

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“I’ve had certain injuries in the past but when you do so well and when you get to the goal that you finally want to get to.

“Being in a good position, competing for great tournaments and then something like this happens.

“You definitely start to question yourself and it makes you quite sad in a way.

“I always think there’s only one response to any sort of hardship or adversity and that’s to improve and be better for it.

“So, I’m proud that I’m coming here in a good place. Mentally, I feel good. Physically, I’m in good shape.

“I wouldn’t be back if I wasn’t, I’m just so happy to be here and hopefully I can have a great week [at the Indian Wells].”

Read next: Aryna Sabalenka ‘had a feeling’ about proposal after announcing engagement to Georgios Frangulis

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Aryna Sabalenka has opened up about the “beautiful moment” that long-time partner Georgios Frangulis proposed to her in Indian Wells.

World No 1 Sabalenka is in action for the first time in over a month in Indian Wells, with the Belarusian looking for a maiden triumph at the WTA 1000 event, following runner-up finishes in 2023 and 2025.

The 27-year-old started her campaign in Tennis Paradise with a comfortable 6-4, 6-2 victory over Himeno Sakatsume on Friday, though her time in Indian Wells this year will be memorable regardless of what happens on the court.

Sabalenka revealed earlier in the week that she had said ‘yes’ to boyfriend Frangulis when he proposed to her on Tuesday, with the likes of Novak Djokovic, Coco Gauff, Carlos Alcaraz, and Paula Badosa congratulating the couple.

The four-time Grand Slam singles champion has been dating Frangulis, the founder of Oakberry, since 2024, and the Brazilian has become a regular fixture in Sabalenka’s entourage in recent times.

Sabalenka shared video footage of her accepting Frangulis’ proposal on social media this week and, speaking after her win against Sakatsume on Friday, opened up about how her fiancé and her team had kept her in the dark about the proposal.

“Well, as everyone probably saw, I wasn’t prepared at all,” said Sabalenka. “It was a surprise, and I think it happened — not I think, I know it happened the third [of March].

“The whole team knew. My agent told me that I have a very important meeting for 15 minutes. Just put on something nice. She wasn’t pushing enough for me to put the makeup on, and I was super tired in the evening. I was, like: ‘Okay, I’m not going to do that. I’ll just wear jeans.’

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Then, yeah, we got there and I saw Georgios and I was crying half of the time, because I thought that I looked ugly, not prepared, and this is such a beautiful moment.”

Sabalenka would then reveal she had a “feeling” that the proposal was coming, though she did admit it also still came as a surprise.

She added: “I stopped everything, and I asked the videographer and the photographer to make sure that my face is not there, just the ring, and, I don’t know, side views and from the back, just so you guys wouldn’t be shocked by the way I looked.

“It was a beautiful moment. I was surprised even though I kind of like knew, had a feeling that it’s going to happen here. But he still managed to do a surprise.”

There is no news yet as to when Sabalenka and Frangulis will officially tie the knot, though the Belarusian will likely want to delay wedding planning until after her campaign in Indian Wells has come to its conclusion.

The world No 1 will return to action on Sunday to take on Jaqueline Cristian in the third round, and could then face fellow four-time Grand Slam singles champion Naomi Osaka in round four.

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Alex Eala is gearing up for a rematch against Grand Slam champion Coco Gauff after a thrilling three-set win over Dayana Yastremska on her Indian Wells debut.

World No 32 Eala battled late into the night against former Australian Open semi-finalist Yastremska, with the Ukrainian serving for the match deep into the deciding set.

However, the Filipina was able to turn the match in her favour, taking advantage of a late string of double faults from her opponent to win the final three games of the match and claim a 7-5, 4-6, 7-5 victory.

Triumph for Eala saw her pick up her first-ever win in Indian Wells, with 2026 marking her tournament debut in Tennis Paradise.

However, the 20-year-old now faces one of the toughest tests in tennis in the form of world No 4 Gauff in the third round.

Gauff defeated Kamilla Rakhimova to get her campaign underway at the WTA 1000 event on Friday, and dropped just two games when she defeated Eala at the Dubai Tennis Championships last month.

Just weeks on from that encounter, Eala is gearing up for the chance to once again test herself against the reigning French Open champion.

“No, I’m excited, like I said the other day when you asked me,” said Eala.

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“It was a tough match for me last time. I think she played really well. So all I can do is take the learnings that I have from our last match and try to implement that in our next one, yeah.”

Eala has plenty of fan support wherever she plays and is usually the crowd favourite, including when she faced off against Gauff in Dubai last month.

However, the tables will likely turn in Indian Wells, with American star Gauff likely to have the bulk of her home crowd behind her.

Despite that, Eala does not feel that she will be intimidated by the occasion.

She added: “Well, it’s not my first huge match. I think it’s definitely going to be a tough one. Coco is an amazing player and playing at home. I’m expecting, you know, a big crowd to rally behind her just because she’s amazing.

“But it’s like every other match. You know, today I had to dig really deep, so I’m expecting that the next match I have to do even more, you know. So I’m ready, and I’m looking forward to it, yeah.”

After her thrilling win over Yastremska in round two, the world No 32 is provisionally up four places to 28th in the WTA Live Rankings.

That takes her above her previous career-high of 31st in the WTA Rankings, and means that she could make her top-30 debut when the rankings officially update post-tournament.

A top-30 debut is not yet secured for Eala, however, with several rankings rivals still also battling out in Tennis Paradise.

The Filipina will face off against Gauff at some point on Sunday, and the winner will then face either Sorana Cirstea or 14th seed Linda Noskova in the fourth round.

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Amanda Anisimova is set to do battle with Emma Raducanu in Indian Wells, and the world No 6 is fully aware of the challenge she could face from the 2021 US Open champion.

Sixth seed Anisimova and 25th seed Raducanu will face off for the first time in 2026 when they meet in Indian Wells on Sunday, after both women secured impressive opening wins at the tournament on Friday.

After receiving an opening-round bye, Raducanu was the first of the two on court on Friday and wasted little time in progressing to the third round, making light work of Anastasia Zakharova in a 6-1, 6-3 triumph.

Meanwhile, world No 6 and home favourite Anisimova faced a slightly sterner test early on against Anna Blinkova, though rallied from dropping the opening set to prevail 5-7, 6-1, 6-0.

The two are known to share a close relationship off the court, and this will be the fourth meeting between the two, with Raducanu holding a narrow 2-1 head-to-head advantage.

The Brit defeated Anisimova in straight sets in the second round of the Australian Open last January, before a comprehensive 6-1, 6-3 win over the American at the Miami Open twelve months ago.

However, Anisimova earned her revenge at the Canadian Open last August, comfortably dispatching Raducanu 6-2, 6-1 in the third round.

Anisimova surged up the WTA Rankings in 2025 and is now well established as a top-10 player, arguably making her a warm favourite for this encounter.

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However, when speaking about Raducanu in her press conference on Friday, the 24-year-old certainly did not underestimate the threat the Brit could pose.

She said: “I think the last time I faced her, I was just playing really well. I played the way I wanted to play.

“Yeah, at the end of the day, I mean, there is a certain way I like to play. I think I also had found my rhythm. I think it might have been the second or third match I played [against Raducanu] last year.

“Yeah, it was a great match. She’s not an easy opponent to face. She always brings high-quality tennis.

“Yeah, I have had some great matches with her. Hoping for another good one.”

An official order of play for Sunday is yet to be announced, but this is one of the highest-profile third-round matches taking place — and will likely receive a preferable court allocation.

Whoever triumphs will match their career-best run in Indian Wells, with Anisimova having reached the fourth round on debut in 2018, and Raducanu having progressed to that stage in 2023.

The victorious player will face either tenth seed Victoria Mboko or 23rd seed Anna Kalinskaya in the second round.

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Emma Raducanu turned in one of her best performances of 2026 as she crushed Anastasia Zakharova 6-1 6-3 to march into the third round of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells.

Playing in a Uniqlo outfit for the first time after she started her lucrative new deal with the Japanese company, Raducanu was true to her word as she reverted to familiar tactics to see off her Russian opponent.

Raducanu parted company with coach Francisco Roig after the Australian Open, after confirming he was not confident with the tactics she was working on with the experienced tactician.

The British No 1 suggested she wanted to revert to the tactics that helped her to win the 2021 US Open, based on an attacking philosophy that she feels has been ‘coached out’ of her in recent years.

Roig was keen to add variety to Raducanu’s game, but she looked more comfortable striking the ball big from the back of the court against Zakharova.

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With coach Mark Petchey back in her box after he agreed to return on a temporary basis, Raducanu’s serve appeared to be in great order as she fired in 72 per-cent of her first serves and seemed to be striking the ball with more venom.

“It was a really good match, I’m so pleased with it,” Raducanu told Sky Sports.

“I’ve not played a match out here and my opponent has already played three, but I was really pleased with the prep I’ve done in the last week and felt like my game was heading in a better direction. To see that proved on the match court was really rewarding.

“That was a great kind of show of my game today. I played really well. It was nice to see the things we have been working on on the practice court transfer.

“For me, returning is such a strength of mine and when I’m returning well, it makes me a different player. It’s not perfect yet, but it better than I have been feeling over the last couple of months.”

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Raducanu has plenty of WTA Ranking points to defend in the Miami Open later this month after her impressive run to the quarter-finals of that event last year, but she has a chance to make some leaps up the ranking list in Indian Wells.

This victory against Zakharova sees her move up to No 23 in the provisional rankings and a run to the latter stages in Indian Wells may well secure her return to the top 20 for the first time since September 2022.

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Aryna Sabalenka holds a sizeable lead over her rivals in the WTA Rankings, but an alternative rankings list suggests her advantage is far narrower.

Elena Rybakina and Jessica Pegula are both above Iga Swiatek, who has slipped down the list, while Coco Gauff is well below her WTA ranking position.

With the WTA 1000 tournament in Indian Wells underway, we look at how the UTR rating systems ranks the top players in women’s tennis.

What is the UTR ranking system?

While the WTA Rankings count points earned in the last 52 weeks, Universal Tennis Rating (UTR) is based on an algorithm that places more weight on recent results and wins against higher-ranked players.

The UTR Rating system is open to players at all levels of tennis, and all players — regardless of age, gender, geography, or skill level — are rated on the same scale between 1.00 and 16.50 based on match results.

Only matches within the last 12 months are counted towards the rating, and the algorithm uses the last 30 matches a player competes in (or fewer if they played fewer than 30 in the last 12 months).

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The women’s UTR ratings

Sabalenka has not played since her defeat to Rybakina in the Australian Open final at the end of January, while she won the Brisbane International in her only other event in 2026. The world No 1 has 10,675 points in the WTA Rankings, which gives her a 3,087-point advantage over second-ranked Swiatek.

The Belarusian also tops the UTR ratings with a score of 13.26, but her closest challenger on this list is Rybakina.

Rybakina, who secured the first Grand Slam title of the year in Australia, is just behind Sabalenka with a 13.21 UTR rating.

Pegula has climbed to third on the UTR list — two places above her WTA ranking — after her victory at the WTA 1000 event in Dubai last month took her UTR rating to 12.99. The American was also a semi-finalist at the 2026 Australian Open.

Swiatek, who exited both the Australian Open and the Dubai Championships in the quarter-finals, has a 12.97 rating, and she has fallen to the No 4 spot.

Amanda Anisimova, who is ranked sixth on the women’s tour, is fifth on the UTR list with a rating of 12.91.

World No 4 Gauff is ranked eighth by UTR with a rating of 12.83, which puts her below Elina Svitolina and Karolina Muchova.

UTR Ratings Women’s Top 20

1. Aryna Sabalenka – 13.26 (WTA Ranking – 1)
2. Elena Rybakina – 13.21 (WTA Ranking – 3)
3. Jessica Pegula – 12.99 (WTA Ranking – 5)
4. Iga Swiatek – 12.97 (WTA Ranking – 2)
5. Amanda Anisimova – 12.91 (WTA Ranking – 6)
6. Elina Svitolina – 12.90 (WTA Ranking – 9)
7. Karolina Muchova – 12.84 (WTA Ranking – 13)
8. Coco Gauff – 12.83 (WTA Ranking – 4)
9. Mirra Andreeva – 12.72 (WTA Ranking – 8)
10. Marketa Voundrousova – 12.72 (WTA Ranking – 46)

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Juan Carlos Ferrero has spoken about his split with Carlos Alcaraz and revealed if he would be open to coaching the world No 1 again in the future.

In December, the tennis world was stunned when Ferrero and Alcaraz ended a seven-year partnership that featured 24 titles, including six Grand Slams.

Alcaraz started attending Ferrero’s academy in Villena in 2018 when he was 15, and he became the youngest ATP world No 1 in history after winning his maiden major at the 2022 US Open aged 19.

Ferrero, a former world No 1 and French Open winner, admitted he wished he “could have continued” as Alcaraz’s coach in an emotional message reacting to the split.

Samuel Lopez, who coaches at Ferrero’s academy, is now Alcaraz’s head coach, having previously worked in tandem with Ferrero.

Alcaraz holds a perfect 12-0 record in 2026 after winning the Australian Open and Qatar Open in his two events since parting ways with Ferrero.

In an interview with El Cafelito, Ferrero addressed how he was coping with the split and shut down claims it was related to money or training locations.

“Emotionally I’m fine, it’s been three months already, and we have to move forward,” said the 46-year-old.

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“At the beginning, it was complicated because when I see Carlos play, there’s a mixture of wanting him to do very well and the sadness of not being there.

“The contract I had would be renewed at the end of the year if there were no changes. It wasn’t about money or him not wanting to train in Villena.

“In the end, we didn’t think the same way about how to continue working together, we couldn’t reach an agreement, and it was due to private matters that happened internally.”

After Alcaraz became the youngest man to complete the career Grand Slam with his 2026 Australian Open victory, he did not mention his former coach, which sparked criticism from some, including Toni Nadal.

Ferrero has insisted it did not “bother” him that Alcaraz did not thank him after his historic achievement in Melbourne.

“It didn’t bother me that he didn’t mention me. Obviously, if he had done it, I would have liked it, but I understand that he and his circle have decided not to talk about it anymore, and that’s it,” Ferrero said.

“I stick with the message he sent me when we parted ways, thanking me for everything we experienced and saying that I was crucial in getting him where he has reached.”

The Spanish tennis great also confirmed he will coach again on the tennis tour and said he would accept the chance to re-join Alcaraz’s team.

“I will return to the circuit; I feel I still have a lot to offer and have already received many offers, but I do not yet have the necessary drive to accept any of them. I know that if Carlos ever asked me to return, I couldn’t say no,” Ferrero explained.

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