Category: Articles

  • How to beat Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon: Nick Kyrgios reveals key as he sends Novak Djokovic message

    Nick Kyrgios has revealed the one key thing he believes all players must do in order to have a chance of beating Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon.

    Alcaraz is the two-time reigning Wimbledon champion and is widely considered a clear favourite to triumph again at the grass-court major this year.

    The Spaniard overcame seven-time Wimbledon winner Novak Djokovic in both the 2023 and 2024 championship matches at the All England Club.

    The 22-year-old secured his fifth Grand Slam title at the French Open last month having prevailed in a five-set classic against world No 1 Jannik Sinner.

    The world No 2 has a favourable as he cannot face Djokovic, Sinner or world No 4 Jack Draper until the Wimbledon final.

    Speaking on talkSPORT, Kyrgios heaped praise on Alcaraz as he compared him to the Big Three of Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.

    “Alcaraz is the favourite to win Wimbledon,” said Kyrgios, the 2022 Wimbledon runner-up.

    “I saw a stat today, he’s won four tournaments on grass and he’s only lost three matches on the surface ever. So I think he’d be the favourite.

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    “What I love about Alcaraz, he’s got a bit of [Rafa] Nadal, [Roger] Federer and Novak [Djokovic], he’s all blended into one.

    “He entertains the crowd, he’s got the physicality, he’s got the smile, he enjoys it. So I think Alcaraz would be the favourite.”

    The Aussie identified serving well against Alcaraz on grass as “essential” and assessed that Djokovic failing to do this was the reason he was outclassed in the 2024 final.

    “He (Alcaraz) is just so confident on the surface,” Kyrgios continued. “If I was to play him on grass, I would have to have an amazing serving day. I think anyone that beats him has to have a big serve.

    “That’s why I think Novak really struggled against him last year in the final because he couldn’t get any free points.

    “Serving is essential against Alcaraz, but sometimes he has too many options. I like to say he’s almost too talented and he’s almost too good.

    “Early on, in the first set or second set, he can drop early sets against other players. So locking in early against him would be essential too.

    “But this guy’s a generational talent and I think when it’s all said and done he’s probably gonna have double-digit grand slams at least.

    “There’s only really so much you can do. You probably hope for him you have an off day and then you have an incredible day.”

    READ NEXT: What Jannik Sinner said about Novak Djokovic relationship and the Serb’s Wimbledon prospects

    The post How to beat Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon: Nick Kyrgios reveals key as he sends Novak Djokovic message appeared first on Tennis365.

  • Carlos Alcaraz surpasses Bjorn Borg with immense accomplishment at Wimbledon

    Carlos Alcaraz broke an amazing Bjorn Borg record with his second round victory over Oliver Tarvet at the 2025 Wimbledon Championships.

    The world No 2 saw off 733rd-ranked qualifier Tarvet in a high-level second round contest on Centre Court.

    Alcaraz broke the 21-year-old Brit six times — twice in each set — as he delivered a much-improved performance from his five-set struggle against Fabio Fognini in round one.

    It was a display that reinforced his status as the title favourite. The 22-year-old now holds an impressive 9-0 record against players younger than him.

    The Spaniard has won an astounding 30 consecutive matches across Wimbledon and the French Open combined, with his last defeat at either of the European majors coming at Roland Garros in 2023. He won the last two editions of Wimbledon (2023 and 2024) and the French Open (2024 and 2025).

    In doing this, Alcaraz has become the youngest man in the Open Era — at 22 years and 56 days — to amass a 30-match win streak at Roland Garros and Wimbledon combined.

    The five-time major champion has broken Bjorn Borg’s record, with the legendary Swede having clinched a 30th straight win across the French Open and Wimbledon at the age of 22 years and 356 days.

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    In his on-court interview, Alcaraz lauded Tarvet’s performance: “First of all, I have to give big credit to Oliver. It’s his second match on the tour. I just love his game to be honest.

    “The level he played in the first match on Centre Court, I know it’s really difficult. He showed great tennis.

    “I knew at the start that I had to be really focused and try to play my best tennis. I think today I played great tennis. Really happy about my performance. Big credit to him as well.”

    Alcaraz’s second round victory was his 20th win in a row, making him the youngest ATP player to earn this many successive wins since a 19-year-old Juan Martin del Potro in 2008.

    The two-time defending champion was asked what it was like to be on such an amazing run of form.

    “I found the right way I guess,” he added. “I’m trying to enjoy. After every match, when I step on court, I try to enjoy.

    “Doesn’t matter if I’m winning or losing. I think that was the key the last two or three months. Having a winning streak, I’m just trying to keep it going. Playing in this tournament and this court, just trying to keep going forward. I think it’s a gift.

    “I’m trying to make the most of my time here at Wimbledon, playing in this beautiful atmosphere. Let’s see how far I go.”

    READ NEXT: ‘I don’t see anyone who can seriously challenge Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon’

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  • Aryna Sabalenka reveals key to her Grand Slam mentality after impressive Wimbledon win

    Aryna Sabalenka winning early Grand Slam matches almost seems like a formality these days.

    The world No 1 did not have an easy time of things at Wimbledon on Wednesday, with Czech opponent Marie Bouzkova serving for the first set after a late break of serve.

    However, once Sabalenka broke back and won the ensuing tiebreak, there was a strong sense she was back in control, and an early break of serve in set two was enough to seal a 7-6(4), 6-4 triumph.

    Victory for the 27-year-old followed a round one triumph over qualifier Carson Branstine, in which she navigated a challenging second set before prevailing 6-1, 7-5 against the Canadian.

    With two wins to her name so far, Sabalenka has maintained one of her most impressive streaks.

    The Belarusian was beaten by compatriot Victoria Azarenka in the second round of the US Open back in 2020, but has not lost before the third round of any of the 17 majors she has played since then.

    That consistency is a key reason as to why the 27-year-old has now spent 44 weeks and counting as the world No 1, though it wasn’t always the case.

    Sabalenka reached the third round in just three of her first 12 Grand Slam main draw appearances, often falling early even after she started racking up titles on the WTA Tour.

    Now, few can come close to her rampant consistency, and, asked by Tennis365 about her approach, the Belarusian revealed how she had developed such an impressive record.

    “Well, I think mainly I’m just trying to focus on myself,” said Sabalenka.

    “I know that if I’ll be focusing on myself and if I’ll be there fighting for every point, I know that I have big chances to get through.

    “Before I would get too nervous, I would think about everything outside of tennis, outside of that court. Nowadays, I’m just trying to play point by point.

    “I’m trying to just take it one step at a time basically.”

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    Sabalenka’s progress through the first two rounds contrasts with many of her contemporaries, with 23 seeds out in the opening round alone across the women’s and men’s draws.

    Second seed Coco Gauff, who has beaten the Belarusian in two major finals, and third seed Jessica Pegula both crashed out of the bottom half of the draw on Tuesday.

    In the top half headlined by Sabalenka, the likes of fifth seed Zheng Qinwen and ninth seed Paula Badosa have also already been beaten.

    Some players may quietly enjoy their biggest rivals falling on, but for Sabalenka, who is so motivated by the biggest stages, it is something of a disappointment.

    “Honestly, it is sad to see so many upsets in the tournament, in both actually draws, girls’ and men’s. It’s sad to see,” added Sabalenka. “Honestly, I’m just trying to focus on myself. Of course, I know about all of these upsets.

    “I think it’s really important to focus on yourself and to take it one step at a time, do not really look at the draw. This is something what can create a lot of nerves and a lot of doubts and stuff.

    “I’m just trying to take it one step at a time. As I said earlier, I know if I’m focused, if I’m there, if I’m fighting, I know I’m going to have my chance in each match.

    “I’m just trying to take it one step at a time.”

    Sabalenka is guaranteed to face a Grand Slam champion next, with either Emma Raducanu or Marketa Vondrousova waiting in round three.

    Neither match would be an easy one, with the world No 1 having lost to Vondrousova in Berlin just two weeks ago.

    However, there is no denying she is a bigger and better player than most at the majors, and her supreme “focus” looks set to power her further through the draw.

    Read Next‘The most nervy matches:’ Why have so many top seeds struggled at Wimbledon?

    The post Aryna Sabalenka reveals key to her Grand Slam mentality after impressive Wimbledon win appeared first on Tennis365.

  • ‘If Goran Ivanisevic can’t help me, probably no one can’ – Stefanos Tsitsipas on key area of his game

    Stefanos Tsitsipas has revealed he believes his serve can improve by “10 to 15 percent better” as he expressed excitement about learning from coach Goran Ivanisevic.

    Ivanisevic, who won Wimbledon in 2001 and was also a three-time runner-up at the All England Club, is considered one of the greatest servers in tennis history.

    The Croatian helped big-serving compatriot Marin Cilic reach his peak and guided him to his only Grand Slam title at the 2014 US Open.

    The former world No 2 has also been credited with helping Novak Djokovic turn his serve into a significant weapon during his hugely successful five-year collaboration with the great Serb.

    Tsitsipas, a former world No 3 currently ranked 26th, hired Ivanisevic as his new coach at the start of the grass-court season

    After losing the first two sets of his opening round match at Wimbledon to Valentin Royer, Tsitsipas was forced to retire due to a back injury.

    At the Giorgio Armani Classic at Hurlingham, Tennis365 asked Tsitsipas if Ivanisevic was looking to tweak his service motion and ball toss as he did with players like Cilic and Djokovic.

    “Yeah, we’ve been discussing,” Tsitsipas said. “We’ve had hours and hours of discussion about this. Yeah, absolutely. This is something that’s important. I think my serve can improve and get even better of what it is now.

    “We are talking all kinds of scenarios. We are trying to get into the fundamentals of a serve, the technical aspects of a serve, what creates a good serve and what doesn’t create a good serve, and the things that I need to avoid.

    “Obviously, it’s quite obvious that one of the things that I’ve been dealing with in the last couple of years is my consistency in my toss, and I’m aware of that and I’m always trying to fix that, even before Goran step in. But this is definitely something that I’m gonna try and focus on even more.

    “I feel like my serve deserves 10 to 15 percent better of what it is at its current state. So, I’m currently working with one of the best servers that tennis has ever seen. And if he can’t help me, probably no one can help me.

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    “So I’m just excited for the opportunity to learn as much as I can from him and learn what makes a great server.”

    Tsitsipas also addressed whether there is a pressure that comes with being coached by someone who has worked with Djokovic.

    “I think the best thing that Goran has kind of stated and made clear is that he’s not coaching Novak Djokovic right now, and we are kind of starting from scratch,” said the 26-year-old Greek.

    “He’s coaching me in a way as if I just started playing tennis, which is a great thing because it’s very down-to-earth, and a very humbling experience as a player to get to experience that.

    “We have obviously big goals and aspirations and we want to achieve great things together, but we are kind of building from zero. That’s how it feels like.

    “He appreciates me and respects me as a player, and I can see that in his eyes and the way he talks to me. But also, what’s humbling about it is that we have both this mutual respect about each other and we know that we are here on this journey to build and start from scratch.

    “There are no expectations, obviously he doesn’t expect me to — I imagine — from tomorrow, to start winning Grand Slams, one after the other, like Novak did for, I don’t know, six years of his career on the tour with him.

    “Let’s just put it this way, every small success that I manage to achieve with him, it doesn’t have to be a huge success, every small success is a huge success, which, if replicated multiple times, starts becoming the standard, if that makes sense.”

    READ NEXT: Stefanos Tsitsipas and Paula Badosa fuel rumours they have split after painful Wimbledon exits

    The post ‘If Goran Ivanisevic can’t help me, probably no one can’ – Stefanos Tsitsipas on key area of his game appeared first on Tennis365.

  • Emma Raducanu facing domestic rankings relegation at Wimbledon

    Emma Raducanu headed into Wimbledon as the British No 1, but she could be in danger of sliding down to the No 3 spot by the end of the tournament.

    With Raducanu defending points from her run to the fourth round at Wimbledon last year, she has dropped down to No 45 in the live WTA Rankings.

    That leaves her seven places behind Katie Boulter, who she replaced as British No 1 following her run to the quarter-finals at the WTA 500 event at the Queen’s Club last month.

    Now Raducanu is in danger of falling even further behind in the British rankings after her former junior rival Sonay Kartal continued her impressive run of form with a 6-2, 6-2 win against Bulgarian Viktoriya Tomova as she reached the third round for the second year in a row at the All England Club.

    Raducanu and Kartal grew up together playing junior tennis against each other and now their rivalry has been renewed on court at the top of the game.

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    Kartal’s rise to the upper end of the WTA Rankings took a little longer than Raducanu’s, who broke through in stunning fashion as she won the 2021 US Open.

    Now 23, Kartal overcame a serious health problem at the start of last year to launch her career and the win against Tomova has moved her closer to Raducanu in the rankings.

    Kartal is on course to secure a career high ranking after this run at Wimbledon and if she continues her Wimbledon run, she may overtake Raducanu in the WTA Rankings for the first time.

    “I knew that match was going to be tough,” said Kartal after the win against Tomova.

    “I knew I’d have to go out and win it. I felt good on court today. I was hitting it really clean. It was one of those good days at the office.

    “I wanted to back that up this year. This tournament I wanted to show I’m at this level and can consistently play here.

    “Last 12 months, I have thrown myself onto the scene. This year I’ve taken a conscious effort of only wanting to play the bigger matches against the best players on tour, day in, day out. I’m playing with more freedom and more confidence.”

    Raducanu has insisted she is not concerned about the battle for the British No 1 ranking, as she set low targets for Wimbledon after a back problem in recent weeks.

    “Truthfully, I don’t expect much from myself this year,” said Raducanu after her first round win against Welsh teenager Mimi Xu. “I know I’ve just been dealing with certain things.

    “I just want to go out there and embrace the moment. I want to embrace the occasion. I know there’s not many opportunities to be playing at Wimbledon. You get it once a year and for a finite amount of time. I’m just looking forward to going out there and feeling the surroundings and the atmosphere.

    “I just feel like the way that I’m going to do that is putting more time on the court.

    “Maybe in the short term I feel a little bit more tired, but I know I’m going to improve in the long run by doing it. Even if I don’t see the results straightaway, they will come.

    “For me, I love working, and I think that’s the stage I’m at right now is just to work, put the hours in, and get better.”

    READ NEXT: Emma Raducanu facing rankings collapse after daunting Wimbledon draw

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  • ‘I don’t see anyone who can seriously challenge Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon’

    Toni Nadal has labelled Carlos Alcaraz “the star of the year and the man to beat” at Wimbledon as he named Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic as the only players who could “possibly catch him.”

    Alcaraz is seeking a third consecutive Wimbledon title at the 2025 Championships, where he started his campaign by surviving a scare to beat Fabio Fognini in five sets.

    The five-time major winner holds 90.9% (30-3) win rate on grass, which is the highest of any man in the Open Era among players to win at least 20 matches on the surface.

    The world No 2 is on a 19-match winning streak, having triumphed at the Queen’s Club Championships, the French Open and the Italian Open in his previous three events.

    The 22-year-old Spaniard has won 28 of his last 29 matches in a sensational run that started at the beginning of the clay season in Monte Carlo.

    Alcaraz’s only defeat since March came against Holger Rune in the Barcelona Open final, where he was hampered by injuries that also forced him out of the Madrid Masters.

    In his El Pais column, Nadal asserted that he does not “see anyone who can seriously challenge” Alcaraz at the grass-court Grand Slam.

    “The main question on the minds of fans and experts is, without a doubt, whether anyone will be able to defeat our great player,” wrote the uncle and former coach of Rafael Nadal.

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    “I sincerely believe that, under normal conditions, very few opponents have the ability to trouble Carlos.

    “It’s true that on grass courts, the element of surprise comes into play more, but looking at the draw he’s facing and considering the fact that the surface is less damaged in the first few days and the game is very fast, I don’t see anyone who can seriously challenge him.

    “Alcaraz also possesses, as he has demonstrated over the last two years, the almost perfect conditions to perform with ease on the London grass.

    “As if that weren’t enough, the Murcia-born player arrived at the tournament brimming with morale and confidence following his epic comeback in the Roland Garros final and his recent triumph at Queen’s.

    “Without a doubt, Carlos is the star of the year and the man to beat. The only two players who could possibly catch him along the way are the current number one, Jannik Sinner, and seven-time Wimbledon champion, Novak Djokovic.”

    Alcaraz will take on 733rd-ranked British qualifier Oliver Tarvet in the second round at Wimbledon.

    READ NEXT: John McEnroe makes ‘surprising’ Carlos Alcaraz admission after Fabio Fognini scare

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  • WATCH: Iga Swiatek makes funny Wimbledon apology as she also improves stellar stats

    Iga Swiatek reached a Grand Slam milestone that highlights her consistency after an impressive opening round win at the 2025 Wimbledon Championships.

    The world No 4 defeated 64th-ranked Polina Kudermetova 7-5, 6-1 in her opening round outing at the All England Club.

    Swiatek was dominant on serve, saving the single break point she faced, while she broke the 22-year-old Russian three times.

    The display was a continuation of Swiatek’s encouraging form on grass courts after her runner-up result at the WTA 500 event in Bad Homburg last week.

    The five-time Grand Slam champion was beaten by world No 3 Jessica Pegula in a tight Bad Homburg final after wins over Victoria Azarenka, Ekaterina Alexandrova and Jasmine Paolini.

    With her first round win at Wimbledon, Swiatek progressed to the second round of a Grand Slam event for the 25th time in her career.

    Since Swiatek made her major debut at the 2019 Australian Open, no woman has featured in the second round of as many majors.

    The 24-year-old Pole is now 25-1 in the opening round of Grand Slams, and only five female players have a better record from their first 26 first round contests at majors.

    Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Evonne Goolagong, Monica Seles and Serena Williams all amassed a 26-0 record in Grand Slam openers.

    In her on-court interview, Swiatek said: “Playing in this heat, I’m glad some clouds came. This day was pretty… I don’t know. I didn’t know how I’m gonna survive it.

    “In tennis, we need to be ready for the rain, heat, everything. Especially in UK as you see (smiling).”

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    The interviewer jokingly called Swiatek out over the amount of Wimbledon towels she put in her bag after the match: “How many towels have you put in your bag? I don’t know how big your closet is at home, but there’s about 6 in there.”

    Swiatek replied: “Come on (laughs), it’s like a topic no one ever talks about. We love our towels.

    “Every time I come back from a Slam, I think I have like 10 friends and 10 family members wanting towels. So sorry guys. Sorry Wimbledon. I don’t know if I’m supposed to do that, though, so…

    “I mean, I have a lot at home. Trust me, I don’t need much more. If I’m gonna play like 15 more years on tour I can’t even imagine. I think I’m gonna have to build another room in my house just for Grand Slam towels.”

    Swiatek, who is chasing a maiden Wimbledon title, will face world No 208 Caty McNally in the second round at SW19.

    READ NEXT: Stefanos Tsitsipas and Paula Badosa fuel rumours they have split after painful Wimbledon exits

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  • Alex Eala takes heart from encouraging ‘dream debut’ at Wimbledon

    Alex Eala’s Wimbledon debut may have ended in defeat, but the trailblazing star’s Centre Court suggested she will be back contending for many years to come.

    The Filipina was handed a daunting draw in the form of reigning champion Barbora Krejcikova, but more than held her own against one of the leading players of this era.

    Watching Eala in any match, it’s clear that she reads the game incredibly well for someone so young, and so comparatively still inexperienced.

    That only becomes more obvious in person, where you can appreciate how quick her footwork is and how sharp she is when it comes to choosing where to direct her shot.

    Of course, this is also a strength of Krejcikova’s, whose two Grand Slam singles titles have not come through a solid base of power, like many of her contemporaries.

    It is her guile, her ability to disrupt and dislodge her opponents, and her ability to pick up her opponent’s motions of play that have been key to her success.

    For a while on Tuesday, it looked as if the former world No 2 had met her match against Eala, who rallied from an early break down to claim the opener.

    But it was the reigning champion who ultimately pulled through, prevailing 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 to start her title defence with victory.

    “This match is my dream match, my dream debut,” said Eala in press, despite her loss.

    “First Wimbledon main draw in Centre Court against the defending champion. It was such a pleasure for me to share the court with her.

    “I think even though the second two sets, the scores were quite far, I think I had my chances. I think I did have chances, especially later on in the end, so start of the sets and ends of the sets.

    “It’s just that I think she showed her composure, she showed her skill. She stepped up when she needed to in the important moments, and in the end that’s why she got away.

    “I think in the first set I was able to kind of like dominate her a little bit in certain moments. In the end I think it was just one break.

    “In the next two sets, I think she really did kind of step up. She was hitting quite close to the line, which she was doing consistently, partly I guess because I wasn’t making her uncomfortable maybe or also because obviously she’s very skilful.

    “Credit is due. Give credit where credit is due. And obviously I just need to look at my side and what I need to improve going on.”

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    Win or lose, this was always going to be a historic day for the 20-year-old.

    The Filipina is now the first woman from her nation to play a main draw match at Wimbledon, just weeks after becoming the first player from her nation to contest a Grand Slam match at Roland Garros.

    Ranked at a career-high of 56th in the WTA Rankings after reaching her first WTA final in Eastbourne last week, she is also the only Filipina to ever be ranked inside the top 100 of the WTA Rankings.

    Eala is already a trailblazer for her nation, and it is fitting that this was celebrated in her historic Grand Slam bow.

    The 20-year-old revealed on social media before the match that she had received a replica of a sampaguita flower from Nike, and, when asked by Tennis365, Eala revealed how touching that gesture had been.

    “This is so special for me,” commented Eala.

    “First of all, to just have something that reminds me of where I come from, of my country, and my culture out there on court, because I feel like that’s what makes me special – where I come from.

    “So the flower is the national flower of the Philippines. It’s called the sampaguita. The whole idea behind it is it’s kind of you reap what you sow, or what’s sown will be reaped.

    “That was kind of the whole message was to have something, a piece of home with me on such an iconic court.”

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  • Stefanos Tsitsipas admits ‘there is no point competing’ if injury nightmare persists after Wimbledon blow

    A devastated Stefanos Tsitsipas has spoken about the chronic injury that ended his Wimbledon 2025 campaign and admitted his tennis future is in doubt if he cannot find a solution to the issue.

    Tsitsipas was forced to retire in the opening round of the Championships due to a lower back injury when trailing 113th-ranked French qualifier Valentin Royer 3-6, 2-6.

    The 26-year-old has endured a significant decline in recent years and arrived at Wimbledon as the world No 26 — his lowest ranking position since 2018.

    The Greek, who is a former world No 3 and two-time Grand Slam runner-up, has not won back-to-back matches since the Barcelona Open in April.

    Here is everything Tsitsipas said in a candid post-match press conference at Wimbledon.

    Q. Stefanos, can you just tell us what happened to you on court?

    TSITSIPAS: It’s tough to describe. I mean, I’m battling many wars these days. It’s really painful to see myself in a situation like this. One thing that I absolutely hate doing is retiring or stopping a match, but I’ve never pictured myself being in a situation like this multiple times since the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin a couple of years back. Since that time, I’ve been very fragile with my body, and I’ve been battling a war of feeling healthy and feeling comfortable going to the extremes, which has been a difficult battle. So I really don’t know. I mean, I feel completely — I feel like I’m left without answers. I don’t know. I’ve tried everything. I’ve done an incredible job with my fitness. I’ve done an incredible job with my physiotherapy, so I’ve maximised on everything that I possibly can do. Right now, I’m just absolutely left with no answers. I don’t know what to do.

    Q. How did it go during your training with Goran [Ivanisevic]?

    TSITSIPAS: Oh, he’s great. We’re having a great time. I am very disappointed that I wasn’t able to show my potential the way I deserve to play on the court. It’s not easy. It’s not easy. I feel like even if he gives me the most amount of confidence in the world, if I don’t feel comfortable, if I don’t feel good with myself and my body, then I can’t really show anything.

    Q. Stefanos, how were you feeling in the beginning of the tournament? Did you ever think that things could go this way?

    TSITSIPAS: I was playing good tennis. I was happy with the way I was playing. I felt like I had a good chance at Wimbledon. I really don’t know what can I say else. It’s tough to wrap my head around what happened.

    Q. But physically?

    TSITSIPAS: Physically, there was one day that I wasn’t well. It creates a lot of frustration, a lot of uncertainty, a lot of whys and how and when. It’s probably the most difficult situation that I’ve ever been faced with, because it’s an ongoing issue that doesn’t seem to be disappearing or fading off as much. Myself, as a person, I have a limit at some point, so I’ll definitely have to have my final answer on whether I want to do stuff or not in the next couple of months. This is going to be hard, but if I see it going in that trajectory, there is no point at competing. If I’m not healthy, and I’ve talked about health so many times, if health is not there, then your whole tennis life becomes miserable.

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    Q. Stefanos, what was the actual specific problem today, if you can explain that?

    TSITSIPAS: Well, I’m pretty sure if you look at the Nitto Finals two, three years ago when I had to retire against Holger [Rune], you’ll understand that it’s one of those injuries that you can’t be taking lightly, because your whole — tennis is a rotational sport, and if you can’t rotate, then there’s no reason playing it. It’s something that I’ve been dealing with for many years now, my lower left side back. It’s exactly what Arthur Fils went through the last couple of weeks playing at the French Open. I feel like it can be a very tricky injury.

    Q. Is it something that a break would help with, or is it surgery? Is that a possibility?

    TSITSIPAS: No, surgery would definitely be not an option, and the damage has been done already. It’s very unfortunate, because I remember saying to myself that something bad might happen, and I had a small burnout in that particular part of the season when I played Davis Cup and had to go to China a few weeks later. I remember saying that something bad might happen if I played for so many weeks in a row. I played a lot of weeks in a row. I didn’t do well at the US Open, but I still played a lot, practised a lot. So that was the time in the period that that happened. So just to show you that the tour can be very taxing on your body.

    READ NEXT: Stefanos Tsitsipas answers Novak Djokovic question as he opens up on Goran Ivanisevic partnership

    The post Stefanos Tsitsipas admits ‘there is no point competing’ if injury nightmare persists after Wimbledon blow appeared first on Tennis365.

  • WTA Rankings: Aryna Sabalenka to overtake Iga Swiatek milestone and she has Serena Williams’ record in her sights

    Aryna Sabalenka’s first-round win at Wimbledon will see her surpass Iga Swiatek on the list of most WTA Ranking points since 2009 and she could still beat Serena Williams’ outright record by the time the grass-court Grand Slam is over.

    Three-time major champion Sabalenka has been top of the WTA Tour’s rankings since October last year as she moved ahead of Swiatek, who had spent the previous 56 weeks at No 1 to move to a total of 125 weeks in the all-time list.

    During that period from November 2023 until October 2024, the Pole accumulated her biggest points tally in the rankings as reached 11,695 points in May last year, which put her second for most points since the inception of the current points structure just over a decade ago.

    At the time, Swiatek was only the second player to reach 11,000 points as she overtook Maria Sharapova (10,690) and Victoria Azarenka (10,955) to move up to second place behind the great Williams.

    But Sabalenka made it a three-player club in May 2025 when she hit the 11,000-point milestone and now she has overtaken Swiatek’s tally in the Live Rankings after her opening win at Wimbledon.

    The reigning world No 1 started Wimbledon on 11,640 points and, with her victory over Carson Branstine, she has moved to 11,710 with Swiatek dropping to third place on the list.

    Sabalenka’s Points Tally

    The 27-year-old’s 11,710 total includes her 2,000 points from her US Open title run, her Grand Slam runners-up finishes at this year’s Australian Open and French Open (a combined 2,600) and a total of 4,000 points from her four WTA 1000 titles since August last year.

    The Belarusian has also won one WTA 500 tournament and finished runner-up at another WTA 500 event.

    Her next big points drop will come at the Cincinnati Open as she is the defending champion, although she also picked up handy points at the Citi Open and Canadian Open last year.

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    Williams remains the only player to break the 12,000-point tally and the 13,000-point mark as she recorded a record of 13,615 points in June 2013.

    Sabalenka could break the 12,000-point mark with a couple more wins at Wimbledon 2025 while she will edge Williams’ total of 13,615 if she wins the grass-court Grand Slam as she will move to 13,640 points.

    The top seed doesn’t have any points to defend at Wimbledon as she missed the 2024 tournament due to injury and she is already assured of remaining at No 1 after the tournament with Coco Gauff too far adrift in second place.

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