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Benjamin Bonzi’s coach admits he would “prefer not to talk” about Daniil Medvedev’s behaviour after their hugely controversial US Open clash.

After beating former world No 1 Medvedev in the opening round of Wimbledon, Bonzi again saw off the Russian in US Open round one action on Monday.

However, the manner of the world No 51’s 6-3, 7-5, 6-7(5), 0-6, 6-4 triumph was anything but straightforward, and loaded with controversy.

Serving for the match and holding a match point in the third set, Bonzi missed a first serve, only for a photographer to then enter the court in an attempt to leave the match.

Umpire Greg Allensworth ruled that the disruption was significant enough to allow Bonzi to have his first serve back, drawing the ire of 2021 US Open champion Medvedev.

A six-minute delay saw Medvedev and Allensworth clash, with the former world No 1 riling up the crowd to the point where some were booing Bonzi when play eventually resumed.

The incident looked as if it had completely turned the tide of the match, with Medvedev saving a match point and breaking Bonzi, before winning the third-set breaker and running away with the fourth set.

However, the match took a stunning final turn late on, with Bonzi rallying from a break down in the final set to seal an extraordinary victory.

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After his third straight round-one defeat at a Grand Slam, Medvedev obliterated his racket by smashing it into the side of his chair, and took a notable amount of time to leave the court.

The controversy was the most talked-about incident of the opening day in New York, and drew a strong reaction from Bonzi’s coach, doubles great Nicolas Mahut.

Speaking to L’Equipe, the five-time Grand Slam champion and former world No 1 slammed Medvedev, and compared the Russian’s behaviour to Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.

“It’s an incredible incident,” said Mahut. “In any case, incidents like that always happen in very important moments.

“I think the referee didn’t necessarily handle the situation well and I prefer not to talk about Daniil’s behaviour in the heat of the moment, because I don’t want to say things that I might regret, but I can’t imagine Alcaraz or Sinner acting like that for a second.”

While Medvedev finds himself reckoning with his latest Grand Slam early exit, holding a 1-4 record at majors this year, Bonzi finds himself in the second round of a major for the third time in 2025.

Speaking in the aftermath of the dramatic match, the 29-year-old admitted it had been difficult to remain focused.

“I never experienced something like that I don’t know. Maybe we waited five minutes before the match point,” said the Frenchman.

“Then it was so difficult to play. So noisy. All the time during the points, between the points… it was a very wild atmosphere.

“I tried to stay calm, stay in the match. It was not easy. At the end, I gave all my heart on the court and I have the win today.”

Read Next: 2025 US Open: Points being dropped by Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, Ben Shelton, Taylor Fritz

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Emma Raducanu has been handed a huge US Open boost, after No 24 seed Veronika Kudermetova was beaten in a major first-round shock at the season-ending Grand Slam.

Raducanu was due to face Kudermetova after she beat Ena Shibahara 6-1, 6-2 in a polished opening-round performance at Flushing Meadows, but there was a big shock as Janice Tjen beat her seeded rival 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.

The British No 1 would have fancied her chances of beating Kudermetova after she got the better of the 28-year-old Russian on a clay court in Rome last May.

Janice Tjen On The Rise

Now she will be a strong favourite to get through against Tjen, who became the first Indonesian player since Angelique Widjaja at the 2004 US Open to play in a Grand Slam as she came through qualifying.

Now she has won her maiden main draw match in a major, with her joyous reaction to the victory highlighting what a significant moment this was for the 23-year-old, who is currently sitting at a career-high No 149 in the WTA Rankings, having started the year at No 411.

Tjen is a trailblazer in women’s tennis in Indonesia, with her exploits on the WTA Tour creating waves back in her homeland.

Her qualifying success at the US Open resulted in plenty of media coverage and that is now set to go to the next level when she takes on Raducanu on what is likely to be one of the show courts at Flushing Meadows.

Tjen has won an impressive 13 titles on the ITF World Tennis Tour over the last couple of years, making her one of the more prolific performers on the circuit that provides a stage for players ranked outside the top 50 of the WTA Tour.

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Making the step up to play an in-form Raducanu will be a major challenge for Tjen, with former British No 1 Tim Henman suggesting the performance of the 2021 US Open champion was flawless in her win against Shibahara.

“If you were going to write that script before you go out for the first round of a Grand Slam of how you want that match to go, that was ideal,” Henman told Sky Sports.

“There were a few tight games that Raducanu was able to come through.

“She stamped her authority so well at the beginning of the first and second set. She gave her opponent no time to settle in. Raducanu was a class apart.

“A Sunday start is not easy, so the nerves would have been there but Raducanu dealt with it extremely well.”

Raducanu will now have at least one day off and will play her second round match against Tjen on Wednesday.

The post Who is Emma Raducanu’s next opponent? Meet qualifier who secured a shock US Open win appeared first on Tennis365.

Novak Djokovic secured a straight-set first-round win over Learner Tien at the US Open to extend his Arthur Ashe record, but he was the first to admit that there were a lot of question marks over his performance.

Making his 19th main draw appearance at Flushing Meadows, Djokovic was quick out of the blocks before he started to struggle and then eventually found his rhythm again to wrap up a 6-1, 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 victory over the American.

In the process, he recorded his 80th win on the famous Arthur Ashe Stadium – the most by a man – with former rivals Roger Federer second on 77 and Rafael Nadal on 64, respectively.

But Djokovic acknowledged that it was a messy performance as he received a second time violation during the second-set tie-breaker, resulting in him losing his first serve, and he went on to lose the point after his second serve.

His first time violation came early in the match and he had an argument with the chair umpire asking, “Did you really have to do that?”

At the end of the set, he required treatment and revealed after the match that he wasn’t quite sure what was wrong.

“Well, I started great. Just over 20 minutes, first set, I felt really good. Then some long games to start the second set, and then I start to feel really – I don’t know why. I really was surprised how bad I was feeling in the second physically,” the 24-time Grand Slam winner said.

“Yeah, we had long exchanges, but also, I kind of dropped my level and made a lot of unforced errors and kind of got him back into the match. I’m glad that I kind of reset myself after second set. And the third one was – the third set was okay to finish up the match.

“There are positive aspects, but also things I hope don’t happen, like, for example, how I felt physically in the second set. I hope that doesn’t happen again, because then my life on the court will be much more difficult.”

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Despite the hiccups, he is safely into the second round with a record-extending 75th consecutive Grand Slam first-round win in his 80th Grand Slam appearance.

He will continue his campaign for a fifth US Open trophy in the second round against another American after Zachary Svajda defeated fellow qualifier Zsombor Piros earlier in the day, 6-4, 6-2, 7-5.

Aged 38, Djokovic is happy to have a longer recovery period as he needs to put in some extra work on the court following his decision to skip both the Canadian Open and Cincinnati Open ahead of the season-ending Grand Slam.

“Luckily, I have two days off, but yes, it’s a bit concerning. I don’t know,” he said. “I don’t have any injury or anything. It was just very hard for me to stay in long rallies and recover after points.

“In my case, I haven’t played an official match in six weeks. In crucial moments, I simply put one more ball in the court than he did.”

The post Novak Djokovic ‘surprised’ after physical struggles, time warning and unforced errors during US Open win appeared first on Tennis365.

A rampant Emma Raducanu finally ended her four-year wait for a match win at the US Open with a convincing opening-round win at Flushing Meadows.

World No 35 Raducanu faced little trouble against qualifier Ena Shibahara in the opening match of the tournament on Court Louis Armstrong, breezing towards a 6-1, 6-2 victory.

Raducanu had not won a match in New York since her stunning 2021 triumph at the tournament, becoming the first qualifier to ever win a Grand Slam title.

The Brit was beaten by Alize Cornet in the opening round in 2022, making her just the fourth defending US Open champion to lose in round one, and was absent due to injury in 2023.

She then fell to fellow Grand Slam champion Sofia Kenin in 2024, though was handed a golden chance to end her disappointing run against world No 130 Shibahara on Sunday.

The Japanese had come through qualifying to reach the main draw and had made the second round at this event in 2024, though she struggled to settle from the outset.

Raducanu took advantage of her opponent’s shaky start and faced little trouble in racing to a 5-0 lead, eventually closing out the opener in just 26 minutes after Shibahara held to avoid a bagel set.

She quickly moved into a 4-0 lead in the second set and overcame a late surge from her opponent to prevail in just 62 minutes, becoming the first match winner of this year’s US Open.

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“Of course, I’m very, very pleased to have won that match,” said Raducanu. “It’s my first win here since 2021, so it’s extra special.

“First rounds are always difficult, especially at a Slam, there are nerves, and I’m just so happy with the way I came through that.

“Playing Ena, she’s really tricky, she hit so many balls on the baseline that I was not expecting to just dip. She obviously came through qualifying, and it’s always you know, you [a qualifier]feel like you have a bit of an advantage, you’re playing on the surface and know what it feels like.

“I’m just very pleased with how I managed myself, managed my game through that match.”

Ranked 35th in the world heading into the tournament, Raducanu just missed out on a seeding in the main draw.

However, with limited points to defend in New York this summer, as well as the rest of the season, the 22-year-old is well-placed to crack the top 30 by the end of the season.

The Brit is provisionally up to world No 33 in the live rankings after her opening-round win, though most of her ranking rivals are still yet to take to court for their opening matches in New York.

Raducanu will return to action on Wednesday, against either 24th seed Veronika Kudermetova or qualifier Janice Tjen.

Read Next: Will we finally get an Aryna Sabalenka vs Iga Swiatek Grand Slam final? US Open women’s singles predictions

The post Dominant Emma Raducanu ends four-year wait for US Open match win appeared first on Tennis365.

Rising stars Victoria Mboko and Alex Eala feature on the list of nine youngest players in the women’s draw at the 2025 US Open, but they are not the youngest to play at this year’s hard-court Grand Slam.

The list is made up of one 16-year-old, one 17-year-old, three 18-year-olds, two 19-year-olds and two 20-year-olds, while the likes of Coco Gauff, Diana Schnaider and Linda Noskova miss out.

The 9 youngest women in 2025 US Open main draw:

9. Alex Eala – 20 years and three months

The Filipina has already had an incredible 2025 season as she reached the semi-final of the Miami Open, beating Grand Slam winners Jelena Ostapenko, Madison Keys and Iga Swiatek before losing to Jessica Pegula.

As a result, she made her top 100 breakthrough in the WTA Rankings, becoming the first woman from the Philippines to achieve the feat.

Eala then made her Grand Slam debut at the French Open, losing in the first round while she also fell at the first hurdle at Wimbledon.

The 20-year-old currently sits at No 75, but reached a career-high of No 56 in June.

8. Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva – 20 years and 15 days

Kasintseva, who turned 20 on August 9, won the 2020 Australian Open girls’ title and the following year she made her WTA-level debut as a 15-year-old wildcard at the Madrid Open.

She is the first Andoran to compete on the WTA Tour and will also become the first Andoran woman to play at a Grand Slam when she makes her debut after coming through qualifying.

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The 20-year-old has taken part in 14 qualifying tournaments at majors and failed at the first 13 attempts before finally making her breakthrough at Flushing Meadows this year.

Kasintseva, who is at No 130 in the WTA Rankings, will face fellow youngster Maya Joint in the first round.

7. Maya Joint – 19 years and four months

The Australian made her major debut at the 2024 US Open, beating Laura Siegemund before losing against Madison Keys.

But it has been 2025 season where she had made a name for herself as she won her maiden singles title at the Rabat Grand Prix in May and then doubled up as she also won the doubles trophy in Morocco alongside Oksana Kalashnikova.

The next month she won her second WTA 250 title at the Eastbourne Open, beating Eala in the final while she lost out on the doubles title.

Joint has peaked at No 37 in the rankings, but she currently sits at No 42.

6. Clervie Ngounoue – 19 years and one month

The American made her Grand Slam debut as a 16-year-old at the 2022 US Open, but that was in the doubles. The following year she won the Wimbledon girls’ junior title and a month later she made her Grand Slam singles debut at the US Open, losing in the first round.

The teenager, currently at No 178, remains active on the ITF circuit and she has won two titles this year.

Ngounoue will face 29th seed Anna Kalinskaya in her opener in New York.

5. Victoria Mboko – 18 years and 11 months

The Canadian is just a few days shy of her 19th birthday, but she is already a WTA 1000 title winner following a remarkable run at her home event at the start of August.

The teenager, who won five ITF tournaments between January and March this year, received a wildcard for the Canadian Open and she defeated big name after big name at the WTA 1000 tournament in Montreal.

Mboko beat the likes of Sofia Kenin, Coco Gauff and Elena Rybakina to reach the final before coming from a set down to defeat former world No 1 Naomi Osaka for her maiden top-level title.

Having started the tournament at No 85, she surged to No 24 in the rankings, resulting in her being seeded for the US Open.

The 18-year-old reached the third round at Roland Garros and the second round at Wimbledon, but she has not received a kind draw in New York as she will face 2023 Wimbledon winner Barbora Krejcikova in the first round.

4. Tereza Valentova – 18 years and six months

The Czech won the 2024 French Open girls’ singles and doubles titles and made her Grand Slam debut at the same event earlier this year, reaching the second round.

She is yet to feature at a WTA 1000 event, but came through qualifying at Flushing Meadows and will take on Lucia Bronzetti in the first round.

Valentova made her top 100 debut earlier this year and sits at No 96.

3. Mirra Andreeva – 18 years and three months

The highest-ranked teenager in the 2025 US Open draw as she currently sits at a career-high No 5 in the WTA Rankings.

Many have tipped Andreeva to win the title as she already has one Grand Slam semi-final to her name (2024 French Open) and reached back-to-back quarter-finals and Roland Garros and Wimbledon this year.

The Russian won her maiden singles title at the 2024 Iași Open in Romania, but this year she has doubled up at WTA 1000 level as she won the Dubai Tennis Championships and the Indian Wells Open.

Andreeva, who faces Alycia Parks in the first round, has already notched up 10 wins over top-10 players, including over world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the Indian Wells final.

2. Iva Jovic – 17 years and eight months

Jovic has been the youngest player in recent Grand Slam main draws, but she finds herself at No 2 at the US Open.

She made her debut as a wildcard at the 2024 US Open, reaching the second round, while she also featured at this year’s Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon.

The American, who faces veteran Aliaksandra Sasnovich, earned a direct entry into the final Grand Slam of the year after climbing into the top 80 of the rankings.

1. Julieta Pareja – 16 years and six months

The American became the first player born in 2009 to compete on the WTA Tour when she came through qualifying to reach the main draw of the Copa Colsanitas in March.

Pareja went on to reach the semi-final before losing to fellow qualifier Katarzyna Kawa.

Currently at No 335 in the WTA Rankings, the 16-year-old has received a wildcard entry for her Grand Slam main draw debut, but she has been handed a brutal opener against 2022 Wimbledon winner Elena Rybakina.

The post The 9 youngest women in 2025 US Open main draw: Victoria Mboko and Alex Eala feature appeared first on Tennis365.

The US Open is here at last and we have some thrilling matches to look forward to on the opening two days of action.

Emma Raducanu and Carlos Alcaraz were all smiles as they played in the Mixed Doubles event that proved to be a big hit with the fans in New York, but they are about to get down to the serious business in the singles.

Former US Open champions Raducanu and Alcaraz are among the star names taking centre stage on Sunday and Monday at Flushing Meadows and here are your Tennis365 predictions for what to expect.

Emma Raducanu vs Ena Shibahara

Where and when: 1st match on Louis Armstrong court on Sunday

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The British No 1 has been talking up her hopes of making progress at this year’s US Open, after claiming she is in a much better place in her game and mind than she was over the last couple of years.

“I think compared to four years ago, I feel relaxed, I feel happy, I feel in a way like the same off court in terms of just enjoying my tennis, enjoying practising, enjoying competing, and the process of getting better. I think I feel the same in that sense,” Raducanu told Sky Sports.

“I am just more aware now of everything that is possible. When I won in ’21, I guess about this world of potential negativity and bringing people down.

“I’d say that kind of affected me a lot in the last few years. It still definitely gets me from time to time, but overall I think I can enjoy what I’m doing day to day a lot more, I have good people around. I’m just happy that I’m in this place with my tennis.”

Raducanu’s positive first few weeks working with her latest coach, Francisco Roig, ensures she is heading into the US Open in an upbeat mood and she has been given a kind draw in the first round, as the unseeded 22-year-old avoided the big-hitters in women’s tennis to draw Japan’s Ena Shibahara.

Raducanu won her only other meeting with Shibahara in straight sets last year and she will have too much power for her opponent in New York.

Verdict: Straight sets win for Raducanu

Novak Djokovic vs Learner Tien

Where and when: 1st match in the night session on Arthur Ashe Stadium on Sunday

Question marks are hovering over Djokovic like never before in a first round match at the US Open.

The Serbian legend has not hit a ball in competitive action since he struggled to get through his Wimbledon semi-final against Jannik Sinner over a month ago and there are some questions over whether he is fully fit for his latest attempt to win a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam.

Djokovic is bound to be rusty after a long spell away from the court and Tien has the variety and skills to take advantage if he is not at his best.

Verdict: A four set win for Djokovic, but he will be rattled in the early exchanges.

Venus Williams vs Karolina Muchova

Where and when: 1st match in the night session on Arthur Ashe Stadium on Monday

Should Williams have been given a wild card at the age of 45?

Her legendary status is not in question, but her form in recent years suggests she may not be competitive at the highest level of the women’s game and that is no surprise given her age.

Williams lost 6-1, 6-1 against Greet Minnen on her last appearance at the US Open two years ago and she has played just five competitive matches since then, losing four of them.

Only Williams can explain why she is still playing the sport at the highest level, but she will be no match for Muchova.

Verdict: Muchova to win in straight sets in double quick time.

Carlos Alcaraz vs Reilly Opelka

Where and when: 2nd match in the night session on Arthur Ashe Stadium on Monday

This is a nightmare draw for Alcaraz.

The towering Opelka is a threat against any opponent, especially when nerves are jangling in the opening round of a Grand Slam.

His booming serve ensures the first couple of sets will be decided by a handful of points and Alcaraz could easily drop a set or two in this match.

The world No 2 should have enough to come through, but he would have preferred to have a much less threatening opener under lights in New York.

Verdict: Alcaraz to drop the first set and win in four.

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The post Carlos Alcaraz faces US Open 1st round peril, Emma Raducanu storms through – US Open predictions appeared first on Tennis365.

Novak Djokovic has admitted that he has reduced his tennis schedule to better focus on ‘important family moments’, before providing a scathing rebuke of rejigged Masters 1000 formatting.

The tennis legend is due to return to the singles tour at the US Open after a six-week absence, having not played since Wimbledon.

At SW19, Djokovic – whose movement looked severely compromised – fell to world No 1 Jannik Sinner 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 in the semi-finals.

The world No 7 possesses a stunning record in New York, reaching ten singles finals – victorious in four.

He recently paired up with fellow countrywoman Olga Danilovic during the rejuvenated mixed doubles category, falling to Daniil Medvedev and Mirra Andreeva, 4-2, 5-3, in their opening match.

“I decided not to play [since then] because I wanted to spend more time with my family,” began the Serb, during his pre-tournament press conference.

“And to be honest, you know, I think I earned my right and have the luxury of kind of choosing, picking and choosing where I want to go and what I want to play.

“I don’t actually have any schedule other than Slams, to be honest.

“So yeah, it’s just not any more prioritising the heavy schedule as I used to. I’m not chasing the rankings or building up my points or defending, etc. I just don’t think about it anymore. For me, it’s really about where do I find motivation and joy?

“Where will I be inspired to play the best tennis? And where do I care to be, really, and play? And Slams are obviously the four main tournaments where I always feel the most motivation.”

“Of course, family is my top priority. For example, I may miss my daughter’s birthday on September 2 if I’m still competing here, and that’s something I don’t take lightly.

“At this point in my life, being there for important family moments matters just as much as being on court. Those are types of things that I really don’t want to be missing anymore.

“So, it’s just on a personal level for me important to be there, to show up, you know, for the people that have been showing up for me for all these years playing tennis.”

The 24-time Grand Slam champion’s relatively light schedule this season is, undoubtedly, impacted by the expansion of the Masters 1000 tournaments.

In 2025, seven of the nine such tournaments take place over 12 days within a 96-player draw.

The Monte-Carlo and Paris Masters have retained their more traditional one-week format.

Djokovic has missed all of the four most recent Masters 1000 tournament – in Madrid, Rome, Toronto, and Cincinnati – having not won a match at that level since the Miami Open in March.

“To be quite frank with you, I don’t enjoy the two-week Masters events anymore,” the Serb admitted.

“It’s just way too long for me. My focus is mostly on the Slams, and I have said that before.

“But I also like other tournaments. I’d like to play more of the other tournaments, but I just, we have currently informally, unofficially, 12 Grand Slams a year, you know, when you think about it.

“I mean, Grand Slam is two weeks and the other Masters events are almost two weeks, as well. So yeah, it’s just not any more prioritising the heavy schedule as I used to.

“I’m not chasing the rankings or building up my points or defending, et cetera. I just don’t think about it anymore.”

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The four-time US Open champion has long been a loud voice within the inner workings of the ATP tour, having served as the ATP player council president – resigning in 2020.

Shortly after, he helped set up the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA), which represents top 500 singles players  and top 200 doubles players across both the ATP and WTA tours.

The pressure group states that it is committed to: “Uniting and mobilising tennis players in order to create transparency and equity throughout professional tennis.”

As such, Djokovic took time during his pre-tournament press conference to highlight the failure of the tennis elite in opposing the radical change to the tours.

“I have noticed that a lot of top players have been quite opposing the new change of the almost two-week events, the Masters level,” he added.

“I support the players.

“But (at) the end of the day, when the players needed to be active and when there was a time of negotiations and decision-making, players weren’t participating enough.”

Djokovic will begin his search for a record-breaking 25^th Grand Slam against the talented American Learner Tien, who famously upset Daniil Medvedev at the Australian Open earlier this season.

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