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Emma Raducanu is preparing to kick-start her clay court campaign for 205 and she could have a new coach alongside her when she steps onto the red clay.

The 2021 US Open champion is scheduled to play at the Madrid Open later this month, with Mark Petchey rumoured to be weighing up an offer to take over as her coach.

Petchey worked briefly with Raducanu before her famous Grand Slam win in New York and he also stepped into her camp for the Miami Open, after she parted company with Vlado Platenik shortly before her opening match in the WTA 1000 tournament.

Petchey’s influence certainly appeared to have a positive impact, with Raducanu playing her best tennis since her US Open win as she made it through to the quarter-finals in a run that included wins against top ten player Emma Navarro and recent WTA 1000 tournament winner Amanda Anisimova.

Now opportunity is about to knock for Raducanu, as she is entering a period of the season that gives her a huge chance to make a big rankings leap.

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By the time she returns to action, Raducanu will have just 10 ranking point to defend over the rest of the clay court season.

If she plays at the Madrid Open and the Italian Open, that will offer her a chance to compete for 2,000 ranking points.

That same haul of points will be on offer at the French Open and any wins at Roland Garros will be extra points added to her current total as she failed to play at the second major of the year in 2024.

Raducanu would need to be in the top 32 of the WTA Rankings to be seeded for the French Open and she will not need to many wins on clay to make that happen.

A couple of victories in Madrid would propel her up towards the top 40 of the rankings and two more wins in Rome would take her close to that rankings goal.

If she could string together three wins in both events, she would be knocking on the door of a seeding for Roland Garros.

Raducanu’s uncertainty on clay courts may make the ambition of being seeded for the French Open a little ambitious, but she could have a better chance of being among the seeds when she gets onto grass courts at Wimbledon.

Two or three wins at the French Open would give Raducanu a boost in her ranking and if she is among the top 32 seeds at the All England Club in July, she will be a threat to have a long run once again.

Raducanu has made it through to the last-16 at Wimbledon on two occasions and had a big chance to go further last year as she blew her chance to make it through to the quarter-finals with a disappointing defeat against Lulu Sun.

Raducanu struggled to kick on after that Wimbledon run last July, but the mood around her is very different after those sparkling wins in Miami.

If Petchey is added to Raducanu’s team and she can steer clear of injuries over the next few weeks, there is every reason to believe a player who had been written off by too many of her critics could be a big contender on the WTA Tour in the second half of this year.

READ NEXT: Emma Raducanu closing in on huge coaching appointment as ‘talks’ progress

The post Why Emma Raducanu has ‘a big chance’ to be seeded for Wimbledon appeared first on Tennis365.

The 2025 Barcelona Open draw is out and we could get a Carlos Alcaraz-Arthur Fils rematch as both are in the top half of the draw.

The two young guns delivered a pulsating quarter-final at the Monte Carlo Masters and for most of the encounter it looked like the 20-year-old Frenchman would claim a statement win over the former world No 1.

Fils had a chance to break in game 11 of the second set as he was 0-40 on the Alcaraz serve, but the Spaniard battled back and then broke in the next game to take it to a third set.

The world No 15 then held a 3-1 lead in the decider, but fell away as the second seed won 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 in a high-quality match at the ATP Masters 1000 event.

They are in line to meet again at the next event, but they can only face each other in the semi-final.

Alcaraz, who won the title in 2022 and 2023 before missing last year’s edition due to injury, is the top seed and he takes on a qualifier in the opening round.

If he comes through that he will meet either Tomas Machac or Frances Tiafoe in the second round while a quarter-final clash against Alex de Minaur is on the cards.

Alcaraz and De Minaur could meet in the final of the Monte Carlo Masters if they beat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Lorenzo Musetti in the semi-finals respectively.

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Seventh seed Fils – a quarter-finalist at the ATP 500 event in 2024 – headlines the bottom section of the top half as he opens his account against Pablo Carreno Busta while he could face third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarter-final.

Tsitsipas, who finished runner-up to Casper Ruud last year and to Alcaraz in 2023, kicks off against Reilly Opelka.

Defending champion Ruud also faces a qualifier in his opener while he is projected to meet the big-serving Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the second round and sixth seed Holger Rune in the quarter-final.

Fourth seed Andrey Rublev will face Stan Wawrinka or Davidovich Fokina in the second round, provided he gets past a qualifier on the round of 32.

If the seedings hold, then Rublev will face Musetti, who is hunting a maiden ATP Masters 1000 title at the Monte Carlo Masters, in the last eight. The Italian kicks off against Jaume Munar.

Projected Barcelona Open Quarter-final
Carlos Alcaraz v Alex de Minaur
Stefanos Tsitsipas v Arthur Fils
Lorenzo Musetti v Andrey Rublev
Holger Rune v Casper Ruud

The post Barcelona Open draw: Carlos Alcaraz and Arthur Fils rematch before final? appeared first on Tennis365.

The boosted prize money at this year’s Monte Carlo Masters has been revealed, with the winner on Sunday set to pick up a bumper cash windfall.

With prize money rising at a rapid rate on the ATP Tour, the billionaire’s playground that is Monte Carlo was always certain to boost their cash prizes and it won’t be long before the champion at the first Masters 1000 clay court season will break through the €1m barrier for the winner.

Andrey Rublev was handed prize money of €892,590 when he won the Monte Carlo Masters in 2023 and Stefanos Tsitsipas claimed €919,075 when he picked up the big prize last year.

This year’s Monte Carlo will get a bumper €946,610, with the runner-up on Sunday handed €516,925 to compensate for the disappointment of defeat.

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The lavish sums available to the sport’s biggest names put some perspective on the challenges players lower down the ranks experience as they desperately try to fund their tennis careers.

Novak Djokovic has led the calls for players to collect more prize money, with the 24-time Grand Slam champion a vocal presence in that ongoing debate.

The top 20 players from the men’s and women’s tour sent a letter to the organisers of the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open in a bid to be given a bigger slice of the financial pie in tennis last week.

Last year’s singles champions at Wimbledon took home £2.7m each while the overall pot was £50million, double the amount the All England Club awarded in 2014.

Yet overall revenues have also increased and players frequently cite comparisons to other sports, particularly basketball’s NBA, to show they are missing out.

“I think generally the sentiment is that the players feel that we should get it, when it comes to prize money at the Grand Slams, as close to the percentage of the prize money that we are getting on the [ATP] Tour on average,” said Djokovic.

“That’s something that I think would be fair because logically and rationally thinking about it, that’s probably the best case scenario. But that’s not going to happen overnight, if it happens, so it’s a long term play.

“Hopefully the Grand Slams will respond positively and want to have the players in the room and sit down and talk about the revenue shares, about not just that, but also I think players feel that they need to have counsel with Grand Slam committees and management when they are making some big changes or decisions.

“It’s important because it affects us. [On] rule changes or whatever it is, I think we need to be advised. We need to be part of the conversation.”

The prize money on offer in Monte Carlo confirms the cash at the top of the men’s game is lavish, but that does not disguise a less glamorous reality players at the lower end of the game.

The prize money debate will continue to rumble on, with the drive for players to take more from the sport now gathering real momentum.

Prize money for 2025 Monte Carlo Masters

Champion: €946,610
Finalist: €516,925
Semi-finalist: €282,650
Quarter-finalist: €154,170
Round of 16: €82,465
Round of 32: €44,220
Round of 64: €24,500

READ NEXT: Roger Federer’s ex-coach ‘not betting against’ Novak Djokovic after Monte Carlo exit

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Renowned coach Paul Annacone believes it is “a little crazy” to suggest Carlos Alcaraz should replace Juan Carlos Ferrero as he discussed the Spanish star’s “volatility.”

Alcaraz has worked with Ferrero since joining the former world No 1’s academy in Alicante as a 16-year-old in 2018.

The 21-year-old has won all 17 of his career titles to date, including four Grand Slams, with Ferrero in his team.

However, there have been calls this year for Alcaraz to end his partnership with his fellow Spaniard and bring in a new coaching voice.

Speaking on Tennis Channel, Annacone gave his verdict on the Alcaraz-Ferrero debate.

“Yeah, I think it’s a little crazy. But it wouldn’t be the first time we’ve seen crazy in the tennis world,” said the American.

“Look, we all like to jump to big conclusions when great players have stumbling blocks and we forget how young he (Alcaraz) is. And we also forget the full dynamic of the make-up of who he is as a person and as a player.

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“I think historically, he’s gonna have a little bit more volatility because he has so much variety and how he plays. Because of his personality, he’ll come forward, he’ll stay back, he’ll hit drop shots and bring people in, he’ll hit winners, he’ll play steady.”

The former world No 12, who won three singles titles, continued: “So, he’s gonna be up and down more than someone like [Jannik] Sinner, who’s in lockdown mode. His ceiling is a little bit higher, but I also think the basement’s a little bit lower.

“So, we might just see a few more losses from Alcaraz, but I don’t mind — it’s gonna be all electricity. And look, the guy won two majors last year, so all isn’t bad.”

Annacone has coached Roger Federer, Pete Sampras, Tim Henman, Stan Wawrinka and Sloane Stephens. He is currently working with world No 4 Taylor Fritz.

Alcaraz is currently in action at the Monte Carlo Masters, where he defeated Arthur Fils in a pulsating quarter-final.

The world No 3 is seeking a maiden title in Monte Carlo in what is just his second appearance at the Masters 1000 event after 2022. The Spaniard will face Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the last four.

READ NEXT: ‘Anyone saying Carlos Alcaraz should fire Juan Carlos Ferrero doesn’t know anything about coaching’

The post Roger Federer’s ex-coach addresses Carlos Alcaraz coaching debate and Jannik Sinner rivalry appeared first on Tennis365.

Alex de Minaur delivered a ruthless display to dispatch a badly out of sorts Grigor Dimitrov 6-0, 6-0 in a staggering Monte Carlo Masters quarter-final.

The 26-year-old Aussie needed only 44 minutes to book his spot in a maiden clay-court Masters 1000 semi-final.

In his on-court interview with Tennis TV, de Minaur was asked if he knew that this was his first-ever ‘double bagel’ win.

“I did know that, and in fact I know that the only time that I ever lost love and love (0-6, 0-6) myself was to Tommy Paul in the semi-finals of US Open Juniors. So yeah, it’s pretty crazy,” said the world No 10.

On being the first Australian man to reach the Monte Carlo semi-finals since John Alexander in 1979, de Minaur added: “It’s an amazing feeling. With the troubles I’ve had at the start of my career on this surface, I didn’t quite understand it, and how to play well on this surface.

“As the years have gone by I have grown to understand the things I can do well on this surface to be a tough opponent and I’m very happy that I’m playing better and better every year.”

As clinical and impressive as de Minaur was, it was a brutal outing for Dimitrov — with the world No 18 yet to reveal whether he was hampered by any physical ailments.

Here are the stats behind the incredibly lopsided contest — and they make for difficult reading from a Dimitrov perspective.

A piece of Masters 1000 history

The last eight clash marks the first time a Masters 1000 match at the quarter-final, semi-final or final stage has ended with a 6-0, 6-0 scoreline.

Dimitrov’s shocking winner to unforced error ratio

Dimitrov landed just one winner in the match, while a staggering 23 of the 63 points played ended with unforced errors from the 33-year-old Bulgarian’s racket.

De Minaur, meanwhile, made seven winners and eight unforced errors.

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No deuces

None of the 12 games went to deuce (40-40), with Dimitrov reaching 30 in just six games.

48 points to 15

De Minaur won an overwhelming 48 of the 63 points played (76%) as Dimitrov won 10 points in the first set and just five points in an astonishingly one-sided second set.

De Minaur’s dominant streak

The Australian’s quarter-final demolition came after he crushed Daniil Medvedev 6-2, 6-2 in the last 16 and won the second and third sets against Tomas Machac 6-0, 6-3 in the second round.

READ NEXT: Carlos Alcaraz edges closer to Alexander Zverev in rankings with Monte Carlo feat

The post The incredible stats behind Alex de Minaur’s record win over Grigor Dimitrov in Monte Carlo appeared first on Tennis365.

Novak Djokovic cut a disconsolate figure as he admitted he produced a ‘horrible’ performance in his defeat against Alejandro Tabilo at the Monte Carlo Masters, but he may reflect that he made a mistake by playing in the opening ATP 1000 Masters tournament of the clay court season.

After an impressive run to the Miami Open final that saw Djokovic play his best tennis since his memorable win at last year’s Olympic Games in Paris, it would have been understandable for the 24-time Grand Slam king to delay his return to European clay courts.

An appearance at the Madrid Open later this month or even the Rome Masters in early May might have been a natural moment for Djokovic to step onto the red dirt, but his new philosophy for 2025 saw him take up his entry in Monte Carlo.

Ranking points were up for grabs and getting into the top four of the ATP list could be important in his mission to win a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title at the French Open or Wimbledon over the next few weeks.

Yet it was clear that Djokovic was not ready to play in Monte Carlo and he confirmed as much in a brutally honest post-match press conference.

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“It was actually more like the worst day,” said Djokovic. “Look, I was hoping this was not going to happen, but it was quite a high probability I’m going to play this way. I don’t know, just horrible. Horrible feeling to play this way and I’m just sorry for all the people who had to witness this.

“I expected myself at least to have put in a decent performance. Not like this, I mean this is horrible. I did not have high expectations, really. I knew I was gonna have a tough opponent and I knew I was gonna probably play pretty bad. But this bad… I didn’t expect.”

Djokovic confirmed his only focus during the European clay court season is the French Open at Roland Garros and that said all we needed to know about his motivation to play in Monte Carlo.

It may be that Djokovic is expecting this to be his final year on the ATP Tour and he is keen to play as many tournaments as possible for one last time, but he must now be reflecting that he made the wrong call by playing in Monte Carlo.

There were big questions over Djokovic’s future in tennis last year as he openly admitted he was not motivated to play in regular tour events, but that mindset appears to have shifted this year as he has played in more events than expected, including an appearance in a tournament in Qatar.

Finding a balance between playing enough matches to stay in shape and not overplaying is a tough task when you are approaching your 38th birthday, with former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash telling Tennis365 that Djokovic may have got it wrong last year.

“Older players fall into this trap every time that they are trying to save their body and they don’t always get a good balance on playing enough matches,” Cash told Tennis365.

“You tend to see older players start to lose five-set matches or have more bad days and that’s natural.

“That’s match toughness. I know Novak has played a lot of matches over the course of his career, but he still needs to be match-tough going into a best-of-five-set Grand Slam tournament.

“We often say you can’t afford to get into tough five-set matches in the first week of a Slam as you need to stay fresh and that’s especially true when you get older.

“If you don’t have enough matches under your belt and you play a long one early on, I tell you what, you are going to be so sore.

“That’s the big secret for Novak. If he can get his schedule right and make sure he has the right number of matches under his belt, he can win again.”

Djokovic was not ready to play in Monte Carlo and didn’t need to put himself through the trauma of losing for a second successive match against Tabilo, so don’t be surprised if the most successful male tennis player of all-time opts to take some time away from competitive action now as he plots his French Open masterplan.

READ NEXT: ‘There was certainly something wrong with Novak Djokovic at the Monte Carlo Masters’

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Carlos Alcaraz reached an impressive win milestone with his thrilling three-set victory over an inspired Arthur Fils in the quarter-finals of the 2025 Monte Carlo Masters.

The four-time major champion had to dig deep to prevail 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 after two hours and 23 minutes in a highly-entertaining first encounter with Fils.

Alcaraz was under huge pressure from a brilliant Fils for much of the match, but he displayed grit to reach his maiden semi-final in Monte Carlo.

The 21-year-old Spaniard lost serve three times in the opening set and had to save seven break points en route to stealing the second — including three in a crucial hold at 5-5, 0-40.

The world No 3 then trailed the 20-year-old Frenchman 1-3 in the decider before winning five straight games to seal a valuable triumph on Court Rainier III.

After beating the world No 15, Alcaraz told Tennis TV: “I was just wanted to stay strong… Waited for my chances. I felt in the first set, he played well. Probably a few mistakes from my side.

“His level is pretty high right now. He puts a lot of pressure on his opponents. I could feel it. I think in some moments he made a few mistakes and I tried to make the most of it. Just tried to wait for my chances and tried to take it.

“In the second set, I saved break points at 5-5. In the third set, I tried to stay there, playing good tennis. When I was a break down I tried to keep going, playing aggressively. Be strong mentally, physically, and waiting for my chances.”

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Alcaraz’s victory was his 70th at Masters 1000 level, which is the third most any player has registered at this category of event before turning 22. The Spaniard will celebrate his 22nd birthday on 5 May.

Rafael Nadal (110) and Novak Djokovic (75) are the only men to achieve more Masters 1000 match wins than Alcaraz before turning 22.

Most Masters 1000 wins before turning 22

1) Rafael Nadal – 110

2) Novak Djokovic – 75

3) Carlos Alcaraz – 70

4) Andy Roddick – 67

=5) Andy Murray – 64

=5) Lleyton Hewitt – 64

This was Alcaraz’s 19th Masters 1000 win on clay, with 15 of these victories coming at the Madrid Open, three in Monte Carlo and one in Rome.

Alcaraz will face Spanish compatriot and world No 42 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the semi-finals in Monte Carlo.

Davidovich Fokina, a runner-up in Monte Carlo in 2022, downed Alexei Popyrin 6-3, 6-2 in the last eight.

READ NEXT: WATCH: Full trailer for ‘Carlos Alcaraz: My Way’ revealed – with star cameos

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Carlos Alcaraz has reached his maiden Monte Carlo Masters semi-final and he had to do it the hard way as he found himself behind in each of the three sets against Arthur Fils in the quarter-final.

Four-time Grand Slam winner Alcaraz was 0-3 down in the first set, 5-5 [0-40] in the second set and 1-3 behind in the deciding set but he somehow managed to come away with a 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 victory and a place in the last four.

The Spaniard’s previous best performance at the ATP Masters 1000 event was a second-round appearance in 2022 as he missed the two most recent editions due to injury.

But he now finds himself just two wins away from a maiden Monte Carlo Masters title with compatriot Alejandro Davidovich Fokina up next after he beat Alexei Popyrin.

Asked about getting out of trouble in all three sets, Alcaraz said: “I was just wanted to stay strong… Waited for my chances. I felt in the first set he played well. Probably a few mistakes from my side.

“His level is pretty high right now. He puts a lot of pressure on his opponents. I could feel it. I think in some moments he made a few mistakes and I tried to make the most of it. Just tried to wait for my chances and tried to take it.

“In the second set I saved break points at 5-5. In the third set I tried to stay there, playing good tennis. When I was a break down I tried to keep going, playing aggressively. Be strong mentally, physically, and waiting for my chances.”

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The 21-year-old, who turns 22 on May 5, is into his 10th ATP Masters 1000 semi-final and he has joined an exclusive club of players to reach double figures before turning 22.

The great Rafael Nadal is well clear at No 1 as he reached the last four of 18 Masters events before turning 22 with Novak Djokovic next best on 13 and Lleyton Hewitt on 12.

He won’t move up on that list as the next ATP Masters 1000 event semi-final, the Italian Open, will take place after his birthday.

ATP Rankings Boost

But one place where he could move up in the next few days is the ATP Rankings as he has closed the gap to Alexander Zverev in second place.

Jannik Sinner is untouchable at No 1 as he is on 9,930 points at the top of the Live Rankings while Zverev is on 7,595 points after his second-round exit.

Alcaraz has moved to 7,120 points and he will add another 250 points if he wins his semi-final while a title will run will push him to 7,720 points and help him to reclaim No 2 spot.

The post Carlos Alcaraz edges closer to Alexander Zverev in rankings with Monte Carlo feat appeared first on Tennis365.

Carlos Alcaraz says that he is ‘feeling better and better’ on the clay courts of Monte Carlo, after he dispatched Daniel Altmaier 6-3, 6-1 to reach his first quarter-final at the prestigious event.

The Spaniard looked like he was in trouble against Francisco Cerundolo during his opening match, losing the first set 6-3, before going on to dominate the Argentinian 6-0, 6-1 in the next two sets.

Against the German, Alcaraz continued that form and only improved as the match went along.

“Honestly it was difficult, Danny [Altmaier] is playing great,” stated Alcaraz.

“He’s a solid clay-court player with a difficult game: a lot of topspin shots and [he’s] really good physically. The score doesn’t show how difficult it was, I had to battle in the first set.

“It was good to get a break before the new balls, which helped with the serve. In the second set, I could be myself more, play more aggressively than in the first, and I took my chances.”

The former world No 1’s result means that he has now reached the quarterfinals of every Grand Slam and Masters 1000 tournament, apart from the Rome Masters – which he has only played once.

“I just felt more comfortable [compared to his first match],” continued the four-time Grand Slam champion.

“I think when you are coming to a new surface, you have to just play more time just to get better and better, to feel more comfortable.

“From the first match, I realised how I have to play here on clay, that I have to be myself all the time. That’s the way that I enjoy playing tennis. Just playing aggressive just doesn’t qualify me, and I realised that after the first set in the first round.

“After that, I think I’m just feeling better and better. As much time as I spending on court, I think I’m going to feel better.

“Hopefully in quarter-final, let’s see how it’s going to be, but I guess I’m going to feel better moving, playing, so I think it’s going to be better.”

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Alcaraz will next face Arthur Fils, who dominated former Monte Carlo champion Andrey Rublev 6-2, 6-3 in just 61 minutes.

The Frenchman is the only singles player to reach the last eight of the Indian Wells, Miami, and Monte Carlo tournaments.

“He’s playing great,” commented the reigning Roland Garros champion.

“I think he’s the only player who made at least the quarter-final in every Masters 1000 (this year).

“His level is really high right now. I saw a little bit from his match today, and he’s playing great. I’m not going to be scared; that’s for sure.

“I’ll just try to play my tennis, try to show good tennis, put pressure on him. Let’s see how it’s going to be, but I’m excited about facing him for the first time.

“It’s going to be a really tough battle. But at the same time, it’s going to be beautiful to play and I guess beautiful to watch.”

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