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18-year-old Mirra Andreeva became the youngest-ever woman to reach a WTA 1000 final after beating former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina.

The No 12 seed was victorious 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 against the Kazakh, and will face Clara Tauson or Karolina Muchova in the Dubai final.

Andreeva’s win made history, with the superstar now the youngest woman to reach a WTA 1000 final since its inception back in 2009.

Additionally, the Russian is the first woman to beat three Grand Slam champions at the same event since Maria Sharapova did so in 2004 at the WTA Finals. She had already claimed the record for the youngest woman to beat multiple such champions during a WTA 1000 event after her prior match.

Dubai finalist Andreeva defeated former Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova in the second round, before dominating five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek in the quarter-finals, prior to her win over the 2022 Wimbledon champion in the last four.

Maria Sharapova toppled Svetlana Kuznetsova, Anastasia Myskina, and Serena Williams en route to the 2004 year-end championships in Los Angeles.

“Honestly it’s crazy because, at first, I was not very positive before coming to Dubai,” said Andreeva, after the win over Rybakina,

“I was like, okay, well, I’m just going to play.

“Last time we played it was a really tough match… She went for her shots and killed me in the end. This time I knew she’d hit hard. I tried to fight for every point and kept believing.

“I just tried to accept when things didn’t go my way. I fought for every point and kept believing and, in the end, it went my way.”

The WTA 1000 tournament in Dubai will be Andreeva’s second tour-level final, with the first occurring at the lasi Open last year – where she defeated Elina Avanesyan in the championship match.

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Prior to the match, Rybakina had made it clear that Andreeva would be a tough test: “She has nothing to lose. I think she was playing very well in the tournament. She’s very dangerous.

“She’s physically very good, very quick. I saw today, a couple of games. She was serving really well. If she plays like that, for sure it’s not easy.”

Whilst the Russian is the youngest-ever woman to make a WTA 1000 final, two other teenagers have reached the same stage.

In 2021, Iga Swiatek defeated Karolina Pliskova in the final of the Rome Masters – at the age of 19.

Two years later, Coco Gauff lifted the trophy at the Cincinnati Open when she was victorious against Karolina Muchova – also at the age of 19.

Her win over Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals had already handed the Russian multiple impressive records.

At 17 years and 297 days, Andreeva became the youngest woman to reach the last four of the event and the youngest-ever player to defeat the Pole.

The No 12 seed, after her victory over Swiatek, was also the youngest WTA player to earn five wins against top 10-ranked opponents since Nicole Vaidisova in 2007 at the age of 17 years and 273 days.

The post Sensational Mirra Andreeva becomes youngest-ever woman to reach a WTA 1000 final appeared first on Tennis365.

The date from which Jannik Sinner can resume practising, under normal conditions, has been revealed.

Sinner, under the conditions of the ban, can resume ‘official training activity’ under his usual conditions from April 13^th 2025.

However, that does not mean that the world No 1 will not be able to pick up a racket and hit a few shots before that date.

According to the ITIA’s rules: “A player can train with his support staff, as long as he does not do so in a place connected to a national association, the ATP, the ITF, the WTA, the Grand Slams or an event covered by our regulations.”

The ITIA rules were clarified in light of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) stating that, although the 3-month ban mainly concerns the Italian’s ability to compete professionally on the ATP tour, restrictions also must apply to his training.

“Under the terms of the agreement, Mr. Sinner will serve his period of ineligibility from 9 February 2025 to 11:59 pm on 4 May 2025 (which includes a credit for four days previously served by the athlete while he was under a provisional suspension),” stated WADA, in their original statement.

“As per the Code Article 10.14.2, Mr. Sinner may return to official training activity from 13 April 2025.”

The rules mean that Anna Kalinskaya, Sinner’s girlfriend, would be unable to practice together or play a friendly match as she is a professional tennis player – currently ranked world No 19.

The 2025 Australian Open champion could therefore practice on private practice courts, alongside his team.

Currently, Sinner’s coaching team consists of fellow Italian Simone Vagnozzi and renowned coach Darren Cahill – who has worked with the likes of Lleyton Hewitt, Simona Halep, and Andre Agassi.

2025 will be Cahill’s last year as Sinner’s coach.

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“The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) confirms that it has entered into a case resolution agreement in the case of Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner, with the player accepting a three-month period of ineligibility for an anti-doping rule violation that led to him testing positive for clostebol, a prohibited substance, in March 2024,” said the rest of official WADA statement recognising the resolution.

“WADA accepts that Mr. Sinner did not intend to cheat, and that his exposure to clostebol did not provide any performance-enhancing benefit and took place without his knowledge as the result of negligence of members of his entourage.

“However, under the Code and by virtue of CAS precedent, an athlete bears responsibility for the entourage’s negligence. Based on the unique set of facts of this case, a three-month suspension is deemed to be an appropriate outcome.

“In light of the case resolution agreement, WADA has formally withdrawn its appeal to CAS.”

That appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) was scheduled to be heard in mid-April, with, if ruled in favour of, a one or two-year ban from professional competition likely.

World No 1 Sinner stated, shortly after WADA released their initial statement concerning the settlement: “This case had been hanging over me for nearly a year and the process still had a long time to run with a decision maybe only at the end of the year.

“I have always accepted that I am responsible for my team and realise Wada’s strict rules are an important protection for the sport I love.

“On that basis I have accepted WADA’s offer to resolve these proceedings on the basis of a three-month sanction.”

Jannik Sinner is next scheduled to play the Rome Masters, which takes May 7 – May 18.

The post When will Jannik Sinner return to training after his ban? appeared first on Tennis365.

Novak Djokovic has sparked worry among tennis fans after being spotted limping at the airport in Doha – just days after his loss to Matteo Berrettini at the Qatar Open.

The Serb, in a video captured by Diario AS, appeared significantly impacted by a limp as he entered an airport in Doha.

It comes on the back of a hamstring muscle tear that caused him to retire mid-match from his semi-final encounter at the 2025 Australian Open against Alexander Zverev.

Djokovic lost back-to-back matches for the first time since early 2022, after being knocked out by Matteo Berrettini in his opening match at the 2025 Qatar Open – with the Italian winning 7-6(4), 6-2.

“I didn’t have any pain or discomfort in that sense. I was outplayed by just a better player today,” said the 24-time Grand Slam champion during his post-match press conference.

“Yes, I wasn’t at my desired level, and it could be that I’m still not moving the way I want to move, but, I mean, I played without pain, so there is no excuse in that.

“He was just the better player. I think he played a masterclass match, to be honest, tactically, and served very well, so just a very deserved win from his side.”

Djokovic also partnered up with Fernando Verdasco in the men’s doubles category at the Qatar Open, which marked the Spaniard’s last event of his professional career.

The pair were victorious during their first test – dominating Karen Khachanov and Alexander Bublik – before falling to Henry Patten and Harri Heliovaara 7-5, 6-4 in their next match. The tennis superstar seemed unaffected by discomfort or pain during his doubles contests.

Novak Djokovic is next scheduled to participate at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, March 5 – March 16.

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¡Djokovic abandona Doha cojeando!
AS @diarioas cazó al tenista serbio con una ligera cojera a su llegada al Aeropuerto de Doha pese a que dijo que no sintió dolor en su partido de individual y en el dobles con Verdasco
@JaimeDavila_ en Doha pic.twitter.com/WWihGjq89w

— As Más Deporte (@As_MasDeporte) February 21, 2025

The concerning video also arrived amid a sequence of honest comments from Djokovic on the increasing frequency of injuries, as he continues to age.

“I don’t know. There is a chance. Who knows? I’ll just have to see how the season goes,” the world No 7 stated after his Australian Open retirement, on whether he will end his career in 2025.

“I want to keep going, but whether I’m going to have a revised schedule or not for the next year, I’m not sure. I normally like to come to Australia and play and I’ve had the biggest success in my career here.

“So if I’m fit, healthy, motivated, I don’t see a reason why I wouldn’t come. But there’s always a chance [it is the last time], yeah.”

Djokovic added: “Injury is the biggest enemy of a professional athlete. In the past I managed certain injuries, like the one you mentioned a few years ago that to some extent even helped me even play better and win the tournament (the 2023 Australian Open).”

At Roland Garros in 2024, the Serb tore the medial meniscus in his right knee during his match against Francisco Cerundolo – before undergoing surgery. Unable to play his quarter-final clash against Casper Ruud, the three-time former champion withdrew from the tournament.

The post Fresh fears over Novak Djokovic’s injury after worrying video emerges appeared first on Tennis365.

Emma Raducanu has been praised for the way she handled the shocking incident involving a fan who “exhibited fixated behaviour” during the Dubai Tennis Championships.

The full details of the events were only made public on Wednesday, a day after Raducanu’s second-round exit to Karolina Muchova at the WTA 1000 event in the United Arab Emirates.

The match was marred by an unusual incident in the third game when a visibly upset Raducanu went over to the chair umpire and after a brief discussion, the world No 61 hid behind the officials’ chair.

Muchova went over to console a crying Raducanu and security was informed after which a man was ejected from the stadium.

The following morning the WTA released a statement saying that Raducanu was first “approached in a public area by a man who exhibited fixated behaviour” and “this same individual was identified in the first few rows during Emma’s match on Tuesday”.

The man – revealed to be a tourist in Dubai – has since been handed a restraining order, in return for having charges against him being dropped.

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A Dubai Police statement added: “While Raducanu later chose to drop the charges, the individual signed a formal undertaking to maintain distance from her and has been banned from future tournaments. Dubai remains committed to ensuring the safety and security of all residents and visitors to the emirate.”

It is not the first time that Raducanu has had to deal with a stalker as back in 2022 a man was handed a five-year restraining order after visiting her Bromley several times, leaving gifts and cards while also stealing property.

Former British No 1 Sam Smith gave her views on Raducanu’s reaction to the incident and her ability to regain her composure.

“I was horrified. Credit to Emma. You would never know what she had been through with the way she was playing and competing. I don’t know how she did that,” she told Sky Sports News.

“Emma had the presence of mind to stop, talk to the umpire. It looked as if the tournament reacted very quickly, so did the WTA and the person was removed very quickly.

“They did everything they could possibly do to make sure Emma was as protected as possible, certainly in a physical sense, but psychologically it was difficult for her to continue and play the match.

“I’ve never experienced it myself but even for a minor incident in the crowd, for example if someone is unwell or there’s a disturbance, it can be hard.

“Tennis players are trained to switch on and off but I don’t think anyone is built psychologically to cope with what Emma had to cope with in Dubai, and having to get over that in future matches.

“The WTA and ATP Tours will double down on looking at their protocols, which worked pretty well, but they absolutely prioritise player safety and wellbeing. They will look at whether they can take it to another level and I think they might have to.”

Raducanu – who is next due to be in action at the Indian Wells Open at the beginning of March – issued a brief response on Wednesday, saying: “Difficult experience yesterday but I’ll be okay and proud of how I came back and competed despite what happened at the start of the match.

“Thank you to Karolina [Muchova] for being a great sport and best of luck to her for the rest of the tournament.”

The post Emma Raducanu applauded for ‘playing and competing’ after shocking fan incident appeared first on Tennis365.

Aryna Sabalenka won only one match during the Middle East swing yet she has managed to increase her points advantage over Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff by a substantial amount.

World No 1 Sabalenka started the month of February on 8,956 points with Swiatek only 186 points adrift in second place with Gauff another 2,232 points behind in third place.

The top four in the WTA Rankings all opted to skip the first Middle East event, the Abu Dhabi Open, with only defending champion Elena Rybakina in action.

The world No 5 was beaten by eventual champion Belinda Bencic in the semi-final and it meant she dropped a couple of spots.

Next up was the WTA 1000 double-header and Swiatek was always going to be up against it as she was defending 1,000 points at the Qatar Open after winning the event last year while she also reached the semi-final at the Dubai Tennis Championships in 2024 and dropped 390 points.

Sabalenka only had 10 points to defend across the two events, Gauff was dropping 215 points over the two tournaments, Paolini 1,010, Jessica Pegula zero, Madison Keys zero and Rybakina 865.

Top 10 Before WTA 1000 Double-Header

1. Aryna Sabalenka – 8,956 points
2. Iga Swiatek Poland – 8,770
3. Coco Gauff United States – 6,538
4. Jasmine Paolini Italy – 5,288
5. Jessica Pegula United States – 4,861
6. Madison Keys United States – 4,680
7. Elena Rybakina Kazakhstan – 4,588
8. Zheng Qinwen China – 4,095
9. Emma Navarro United States – 3,709
10. Paula Badosa Spain – 3,588

Sabalenka had a shocker of a Middle East swing as she won only one match in the two events combined – she had byes in the openers in Qatar and Dubai before losing in the second round in Doha and the third round in the UAE – picking up 130 points in total.

In terms of results, Swiatek had a decent run as she made it to the semi-finals in Qatar and the quarter-final in Dubai, but it means she “lost” 785 points during the two events while picking up only 605.

Gauff meanwhile earned only 118 points after back-to-back second-round defeats, Paolini earned 240 points, Pegula 335, Keys zero as she missed both tournaments, Rybakina a minimum of 605 as she has reached the semi-final in Dubai, Zheng Qinwen 20, Emma Navarro 180 and Paula Badosa 185.

Projected WTA Top 10 After Middle East Swing

1. Aryna Sabalenka – 9,076 points
2. Iga Swiatek Poland – 7,985
3. Coco Gauff United States – 6,333
4. Jessica Pegula United States – 5,196
5. Madison Keys United States – 4,680
6. Jasmine Paolini Italy – 4,518
7. Elena Rybakina Kazakhstan – 4,328/4,588/4,938
8. Zheng Qinwen China – 3,780
9. Emma Navarro United States – 3,704
10. Paula Badosa Spain – 3,698

It all means Sabalenka has increased her lead to over Swiatek to more than 1,000 points despite her poor form at the two tournaments while Gauff missed a chance to get closer to the five-time Grand Slam winner in third place.

Jessica Pegula made up some ground on Gauff while Madison Keys has broken into the top five for the first time although she could still be denied by Rybakina. If the Kazakh star wins the Dubai Tennis Championships then sh ewill return to No 5.

The rest of the top 10 is unchanged for now.

The Other Winners

Mirra Andreeva started the February swing in 15th place and she is currently at No 12 in the Live Rankings after her stunning quarter-final win over Swiatek. If she wins the title, she will surge into the top 10 for the first time and peak at No 9.

Amanda Anisimova was lingering at No 40 before the back-to-back WTA 1000 events, but she won the Qatar Open and earned 1,000 points before losing in the opening round in Dubai. She sits at a career-high No 17.

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Jelena Ostapenko finished runner-up in Qatar and she is set for a nine-place jump after the swing.

Clara Tauson was at No 34, but is now assured of breaking into the top 30 after reaching her maiden WTA 1000 semi-final. The Dane currently sits at No 27 and could rise as high as No 17 if she wins the Dubai event.

Sofia Kenin was at No 75, but she is up to No 47 after reaching the quarters in Dubai.

Belinda Bencic has been one of the fairytale stories the past month as she was at No 157 at the start of February as she was still making her way back after maternity leave. She won the Abu Dhabi title, missed the Qatar Open and then reached the second round in Dubai to surge up to No 58.

Alicia Parks started the month at No 90, but is set to rise to No 61.

The Losers

Anna Kalinskayan was at No 18 at the start of February, but she will drop to No 34 after suffering first-round exits in Qatar and Dubai.

Reigning Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova is set to slip to No 46 from No 37 while Naomi Osaka was at No 42 before the three events, but currently sits at No 57 after missing all three tournaments.

Former world No 1 Karolina Pliskova and Romanian Sorana Cirstea reached the semi-final in Qatar and Dubai respectively last year, but they failed to replicate that success in 2025.

Pliskova was at No 57 on 3 February, but is projected to slump to No 165 while Cirstea will drop from No 64 to No 120.

The post WTA Rankings Winners & Losers Middle East: Sabalenka +1,000-point lead with 1 win, Keys +2 with 0 matches appeared first on Tennis365.

Karolina Muchova has called the incident, in which a man displayed ‘fixated behaviour’ towards Emma Raducanu during the Czech’s match against the Brit, a ‘strange experience.’

Muchova defeated McCartney Kessler 6-3, 1-6, 7-6(5) in the round of 16 at the WTA 1000 event in Dubai, but it was the incident during her opening match against Raducanu that has caught headlines.

At 2-0 during their match, the 2021 US Open champion appeared in distress, displaying tears as she talked to the umpire. It was later revealed that a man in the crowd had exhibited ‘fixated behaviour’ towards Raducanu, having already approached the Brit the day before.

“Yeah, it was strange situation,” said Muchova.

“I honestly went for my serving. I didn’t even know something was happening. Then I saw she’s not on the other side. So I went to check with the referee what is happening. She told me what is happening.

“Yeah, obviously you don’t want to see these things to be happening to anyone, to any woman, any girl. So I was just trying to be there, maybe calm her down a little bit.

“I’m happy they solved it pretty fast. I think she was fine after a while. Then we just kept going with the match.”

The Dubai quarterfinalist commented that she had not personally experienced anything similar to the incident: “I’m lucky around me it’s nice fans usually. Yeah, I wasn’t in the situation. Again, I felt sorry for her and for anyone who has to go through this.

“Obviously there are people texting us after matches all the time. Sometimes not the nicest messages. But never it happened to me that someone would like actually approach me live. Yeah, I guess I’m lucky it didn’t happen to me.”

Despite the horrific incident, the Brit battled on – eventually losing 7-6(6), 6-4 to her opponent.

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A few days later, Raducanu took to her Instagram to release her first statement: “Thank you for the messages of support. Difficult experience yesterday (Tuesday) but I’ll be okay and proud of how I came back and competed despite what happened at the start of the match,” the Brit wrote.

“Thank you to Karolina for being a great sport and best of luck to her for the rest of the tournament.”

“On Monday, February 17, Emma Raducanu was approached in a public area by a man who exhibited fixated behaviour,” the official WTA statement said.

“This same individual was identified in the first few rows during Emma’s match on Tuesday at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships and subsequently ejected. He will be banned from all WTA events pending a threat assessment.”

Karolina Muchova will next face Sorana Cirstea in the quarterfinals of the WTA 1000 in Dubai.

The Czech leads their head-to-head 4-1, winning the last two meetings, and being victorious during their 2023 match at the same event.

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Mirra Andreeva achieved a range of impressive feats with her stunning straight-set upset of Iga Swiatek in the quarter-finals of the Dubai Championships.

The 17-year-old star prevailed 6-3, 6-3 over the five-time Grand Slam champion and world No 2 to advance to her maiden WTA 1000 semi-final.

In the first set, Andreeva broke Swiatek twice and fought off the four break points she faced in her opening two service games.

The world No 14 fell 1-3 down in the second set, but she reeled off five straight games to turn it around and seal her first win against Swiatek in the pair’s second encounter.

In her on-court interview, Andreeva said: “Honestly, I was really nervous before the match.

“We played in Cincinnati last year and it was pretty intense, so I just told myself that I played great [in our last match] and I just need to continue playing aggressive and active and go for my shots.

“It was also not easy with all the fans but I think we were even. I had a lot of people supporting, so thank you guys for supporting me today. It means a lot.”

Asked if she changed her game plan after chatting to her coach Conchita Martinez when trailing 1-3 in the second set, Andreeva said: “Honestly, I think she didn’t tell me anything new (laughs).

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“She told me everything I knew already, she just told me to keep going because I played good. And she just told me to go for my shots, that I don’t have to change anything, I just have to keep playing the same.

“But for me, honestly, it’s harder to keep playing the same than changing something, so I had a clear goal for this match and I think I was sticking with it until the end.”

At 17 years and 297 days, Andreeva has become the youngest player to reach the semi-finals of the Dubai Championships since the tournament was first held in 2001.

The Russian, who will turn 18 on April 29, is the youngest woman to defeat multiple Grand Slam champions during a WTA 1000 event after she also downed 2023 Wimbledon winner Marketa Vondrousova in the second round.

Andreeva is the youngest-ever player to defeat Swiatek and the only woman to achieve it before the age of 18.

The 17-year-old has also become the youngest WTA player to earn five wins over opponents ranked in the top 10 since Nicole Vaidisova reached the milestone at the age of 17 years and 273 days in 2007.

This was Andreeva’s second win against a world No 2 after she defeated Aryna Sabalenka — the current world No 1 — when the Belarusian was ranked second at the 2024 French Open.

Andreeva, who is yet to drop a set in Dubai, will face either Elena Rybakina or Sofia Kenin in the semi-finals.

READ NEXT: Elena Rybakina’s banned coach Stefano Vukov threatened to sue former world No 1

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Former British No 1 Laura Robson does not believe Novak Djokovic will be “overly bothered” about his opening round exit at the Qatar Open.

Robson, who now works as a tennis analyst and tournament director, believes Djokovic’s swift recovery from injury to play in Doha is “a huge positive sign.”

Djokovic fell to a convincing 7-6(4), 6-2 defeat to Matteo Berrettini in the first round of the ATP 500 tournament in Qatar.

The Serbian great was playing his first event since sustaining a tear in his left hamstring at the Australian Open last month.

The 37-year-old suffered the injury during his pulsating four-set win against Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals at Melbourne Park.

Djokovic was then forced to retire due to the issue after losing the opening set of his semi-final contest with Alexander Zverev.

Some felt the Grand Slam record holder may be set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines, but he defied such expectations to make a rapid return to action in Doha.

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In an interview with Eurosport, Robson explained why she is not concerned by Djokovic’s early exit in Doha.

“I think that’s the main positive for Novak, the fact that he’s feeling healthy on the court, again,” the former world No 27 said.

“The way that he finished in Australia. I’m sure it would have been tough for him to reset because he was playing some of his best tennis against Alcaraz, and then a couple of days later, it doesn’t go his way.

“So just at his age, to be able to rebound as quickly as he has, I think is a huge positive sign. I don’t know that he is overly bothered about losing early in Doha when you consider all the tournaments that he’s won and all his accolades in his career.

“I don’t know that he’ll take much time to get over this one. So I imagine he’s spoken about it in the past, that he really wants to focus on the fact that he wants to get to 25, and that’s the big goal for this year rather than a small ATP event in the Middle East.”

Djokovic also competed in doubles at the Qatar Open as he partnered former world No 7 Fernando Verdasco at the Spaniard’s last-ever tournament.

The duo hammered Alexander Bublik and Karen Khachanov 6-1, 6-1 in the first round before losing 7-5, 6-4 to second seeds Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten in the last eight.

READ NEXT: Novak Djokovic reveals his toughest opponent and the two best moments of his career

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Former doubles world No 1 Rennae Stubbs has revealed Elena Rybakina’s banned coach Stefano Vukov wanted to sue her for voicing concerns about his “very negative” coaching.

Rybakina and Vukov worked together for over five years until they parted ways in August 2024.

However, despite hiring Goran Ivanisevic as her coach at the end of last season, Rybakina divulged on January 1 that Vukov would be returning to her team this year.

The day after Rybakina’s surprise move, it emerged that Vukov had been provisionally suspended by the WTA Tour pending an investigation into a breach of their code of conduct.

The WTA announced last week that Vukov will remain banned from coaching the 2022 Wimbledon champion in an official capacity, with The Athletic reporting it is a one-year ban.

In a statement, the WTA said: “The WTA confirms that the independent investigation into a potential breach of the WTA Code of Conduct by Stefano Vukov has concluded.

“Following this process, the suspension remains in place. To protect the confidentiality and integrity of the investigation and its findings, the WTA will not provide further details.

“We remain committed to ensuring that all matters are handled in a fair and objective manner in accordance with the WTA Code of Conduct.”

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The Athletic has also reported shocking details of the “mental abuse” Rybakina was subjected to from Vukov and disclosed that the pair’s relationship was described as “toxic” in a letter by the WTA’s chief executive Portia Archer.

Rybakina has publicly maintained that Vukov “has never mistreated” her and she has expressed her disappointment at the ban.

Speaking on the Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast, Stubbs explained that Vukov “came after” her for saying things about him years ago that have since been proven to be true.

“He came after me and wanted to sue me, okay, for saying things about him that were true, that have been now investigated for years are now true,” the six-time Grand Slam doubles champion said.

“He has been banned for a year now because what I told them years ago has been now backed up by several other people who are in her actual team.

“I have seen him yelling at her, I could have been one of those witnesses. And I probably was one of those witnesses because they interviewed me years ago about him because I made comments on this podcast years ago about him.

“And I never said anything about him abusing her. I just said he was very negative. And I felt like with a positive coach, wow, how much better could she be? Imagine how good she could be with a really positive coach.

“And so, those are the comments I made about him. And then he actually contacted the WTA and wanted to come after me for making those comments.”

READ NEXT: Coco Gauff on Elena Rybakina, Stefano Vukov saga: ‘I know she doesn’t like the decision’

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Novak Djokovic has admitted it is becoming “more challenging” for him to take care of his body at this stage of his career after he lost on his return from injury at the Qatar Open.

The tennis icon was upset 7-6(4), 6-2 by world No 35 Matteo Berrettini in the opening round of the ATP 500 tournament in Doha.

The Serbian was unable to break Berrettini’s serve as the Italian delivered one of the finest performances of his career.

Berrettini, a former world No 6, had not beaten Djokovic in four previous encounters — including a showdown in the 2021 Wimbledon final.

Djokovic was playing his first singles match since a hamstring tear forced him to retire from his Australian Open semi-final match with Alexander Zverev last month.

The 37-year-old sustained the injury early in his four-set quarter-final victory over Carlos Alcaraz at Melbourne Park.

The 24-time Grand Slam winner’s ability to avoid and recover from injuries has been remarkable for much of his career, but he has dealt with more physical issues in recent seasons.

Last year, Djokovic tore the medial meniscus in his right knee at the French Open but managed to recuperate from surgery in time to play at Wimbledon — where he reached the final. He then secured the Olympic gold medal in his next tournament.

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In his press conference after losing to Berrettini, Djokovic discussed how he is still trying to improve as a player and also addressed his recent increase in injuries.

“I am trying to improve my game, as everybody else. But my game is not going to change now drastically,” he explained.

“I’m not going to play serve and volley, maybe every once in a while, but my game is what it is, the core is going to be the same. I’m going to try to adjust depending on the surface that I play on and so forth.

“There are more injuries. Things are not the same as 10 years ago, 15 years ago. I still try to take care of my body on a daily basis, and it’s more challenging now, no doubt. I still try to do my very best, given the circumstances.”

Berrettini gave his reaction to Djokovic describing his performance as a masterclass.

“I think he told me at the net at the end,” the 28-year-old said. “But everyone was screaming and I was trying to tell him that I had finally beaten him (laughs). We spoke in Italian and I was very happy.

“I think I heard him say that, but at the time I didn’t quite understand. It’s obviously a huge honour when someone like him says that about your game. I really think it was one of the best matches of my career. I felt good from the first point.

“But against Novak, you know you’re going to have to maintain that level for potentially two or three hours. I had prepared for it and I’m very proud of my performance. The more the match went on, the more I felt good about it. In general, it’s a good sign.”

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