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Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have already met in five finals in 2025, and could make it six at the Paris Masters this week.

Having already met at the Italian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, Cincinnati Open, and US Open this season, Alcaraz and Sinner are predicted by many to face off once again at the indoor event in Paris, a tournament neither has won previously.

The pair are the top two seeds in the tournament and are projected to reach the final, and here we look at the potential pathways both will have to navigate if they want to book their latest showdown.

Alcaraz’s predicted pathway

All the top eight seeds have received an opening-round bye in the draw, meaning Alcaraz will not start his campaign until the second round.

Round 2: Alcaraz will start his campaign against Cameron Norrie, who breezed past Sebastian Baez in the opening round. The Spaniard comfortably saw off Norrie at Wimbledon back in July.

Round 3: The Spaniard is projected to face 14th seed Jiri Lehecka in round three, having already played the Czech three times in 2025 — winning twice. Lehecka begins his campaign against surprise Shanghai champion Valentin Vacherot.

Quarter-final: Alcaraz’s projected quarter-final opponent is eighth seed Casper Ruud, an opponent he holds a commanding 5-1 head-to-head lead over. Another possible opponent is ninth seed Felix Auger Aliassime, who could face Ruud in round three.

Semi-final: Fourth seed Taylor Fritz is the man projected to take on Alcaraz in the last four, the two trading wins across the Laver Cup and Japan Open earlier this Autumn. Sixth seed Alex de Minaur is another name to watch out for here.

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Sinner’s predicted pathway

Much like Alcaraz, Sinner — fresh off his triumph in Vienna — has an opening-round bye in Paris.

Round 2: The Italian has what appears to be a comfortable start on paper, with the world No 2 likely to be a heavy favourite against either Alex Michelsen or Zizou Bergs in his first match.

Round 3: With 16th seed Jakub Mensik having withdrawn pre-tournament, Sinner is now projected to face 17th seed Francisco Cerundolo in the third round. The Italian triumphed when they met in Rome earlier this year.

Quarter-final: Sinner’s projected quarter-final opponent is fifth seed Ben Shelton, an opponent he has beaten six times in a row. The American himself faces a tough start versus Flavio Cobolli, with 12th seed Andrey Rublev also a danger here.

Semi-final: Just days after their thrilling Vienna final, Sinner could face third seed and defending Paris champion Alexander Zverev in the last four this week. Their head-to-head is level at 4-4, though the Italian has won their last three contests. Seventh seed Lorenzo Musetti is also a potential opponent.

Read Next: Paris Masters predictions: Will anyone prevent a Carlos Alcaraz vs Jannik Sinner final?

The post Predicting Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner’s pathways to Paris Masters final showdown appeared first on Tennis365.

If Novak Djokovic were to put down his racket tomorrow, he would go down as the most successful male tennis player of all time, but even as he gets closer to 40, the Serbian has insisted he is not retiring anytime soon.

The last remaining member of the Big 3 continues to defy expectations, and his consistent appearances at Grand Slam semi-finals show he is not washed up either.

But, given the time and physical demands that being a top-level player requires, why is he continuing to go on? Here’s our best guesses at what is motivating Djokovic into his later years.

Money

Given he has earned $190,526,213 so far in his career, it is safe to say money is not a huge motivator for Djokovic.

He is already the player with the most prize money in tennis history, and as the likes of Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal have proved, his income will not drop to zero the second he puts down the racket, but his appearance at the 6 Kings Slam does show he is not averse to a payday.

Djokovic’s great-great-great-grandkids will be financially sorted thanks to his incredible playing career but he is $9.5 million off an even $200 million, so that could play some kind of factor.

Although we think there are far bigger motivators for the Serbian.

Grand Slam No. 25

Speaking of milestones, it should not go unnoticed that Djokovic is one away from a quarter of a century of Grand Slams.

With his first all the way back in 2008, Djokovic has gone on to beat the record number of Slams held by a single player and is keen to continue.

A deep run at this year’s US Open had Djokovic admitting he was “dreaming” of a 25th title, but there have been two consistent problems for the 38-year-old – Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.

Four semi-finals in the Slams this year prove that Djokovic is still one of the best on the tour, but aside from the Australian Open, he was knocked out by either Sinner or Alcaraz in every Slam this year.

Those two, who are more than a decade younger than Djokovic, have a stranglehold on the Slams right now, and the reality is that Djokovic needs at least one of them to suffer an early elimination should he have any hope of another Slam.

But this is Djokovic we are talking about, and his stubbornness and belief will have him believing he can still do it.

His next chance is the Australian Open, a venue he has won 10 times, and it may be his best chance at No. 25.

The Calendar Slam

Speaking of Slams, one feat that is absent from Djokovic’s extensive résumé is the Calendar Slam.

Winning all four Slams in a single year is an achievement that eluded both Nadal and Federer, and not since Rod Laver in 1969 has the same man had his name etched on all four trophies.

Djokovic has certainly come close. In 2011 he was a French Open away from doing it, and the same trophy eluded him in 2015. Having won all three in 2021, he was let down by a US Open loss to Daniil Medvedev.

Doing so in the Alcaraz–Sinner era may be his hardest challenge yet, but this chance at history could well be what is spurring Djokovic on.

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To prove people wrong

There is nothing like spite to power you on.

At 38, there have been plenty of critics who said Djokovic should have retired by now, so is his insistence to carry on a big F U to those doubters?

Of the Big 3, Djokovic has always seemed like the one who most feeds off others’ negativity, so him wanting to prove any doubters wrong seems like a good motivation to pick up the racket every morning.

Because he can

Djokovic may have been playing professional tennis for decades now, but you are a long time retired.

In comparison to the likes of Nadal, Federer, and Andy Murray, Djokovic has not had too many major injuries, and so his reason for continuing may well be as simple as because he can.

He is known to take meticulous care of his body, making it easy to see why he has been able to continue for this long, and barring any major injury or a dramatic loss of form, Djokovic could easily be the third-best player on the planet for another few years.

Djokovic may well sense that when he hangs up his racket, a whole new life begins, so he is making the most of it while he can.

Legacy

But, aside from all the other reasons, if there was one motivation that we had to put money on being the driving force behind Djokovic, it’s legacy.

To become a top-level professional, you have to think in a way that seems alien to us mere mortals. Djokovic is one of those mentality monsters that has willed himself to become one of the best to ever do it, so it is a fair guess to say that is what is powering him on in his later years.

The 38-year-old has the titles and the money, so maybe now all that can be improved is his legacy. He may want to match Roger Federer’s retirement age of 41 or reach the 1,557 matches played by Jimmy Connors. There may be a load more milestones that Djokovic has in his mind that could be pushing him on.

Djokovic himself has said this, taking inspiration from other athletes around the world:

“Longevity is one of my biggest motivations. I really want to see how far I can go,” Djokovic said at the Joy Forum in Riyadh.

“If you see across all the global sports, LeBron James, he’s still going strong, he’s 40, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Tom Brady played till he was 40-something years old.
I mean, it’s unbelievable. They’re inspiring me as well. So I want to keep going, and that’s one of the motivations I have.”

Records and titles have already come for Djokovic but he may well want to ensure he remains the statistically best player for decades to come.

Read next: The best ‘under pressure’ players according to the ATP rankings with suprise name in No.1

The post Why has Novak Djokovic not retired? Assessing the reasons he continues to play appeared first on Tennis365.

The top two players in women’s tennis have once again been punished for not playing enough mandatory WTA 500 events during the 2025 season, but their positions in the latest WTA Rankings remain unchanged.

Players are required to participate in at least six WTA 500 tournaments every season unless they are injured or have a valid personal reason, but if they fail to adhere to the rule they are hit with so-called zero-pointers.

Those who break the rule drop the ranking points that they earned from a bigger event during the campaign and are then handed zero points for missing a 500-level tournament.

With the 2025 WTA Tour campaign coming to a close, there are no more WTA 500 events left on the calendar and the updated WTA Rankings reveal the players’ latest points deductions.

Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek have once again been penalised, but their punishment is harsher this week.

Last week Sabalenka dropped 10 points, Swiatek 65, Coco Gauff 10, Amanda Anisimova 10 and Madison Keys 54.

In the October 27 update, Sabalenka lost 120 points from Dubai and Swiatek 108 for Stuttgart, but they stay at No 1 and No 2 in the rankings respectively.

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Gauff didn’t receive any penalty this week, while Anisimova is down 27 points and Keys lost 60 points.

On top of this week’s zero pointers, players also dropped the points they earned from the 2024 WTA Finals so although Gauff didn’t receive a penalty, she is down 1,300 points in the latest rankings as she is the defending champion at the season-ending event.

Sabalenka and Swiatek both dropped an additional 400 points from the Finals and the former now sits on 9,870 points with the Pole on 8,195 and Gauff a distant third on 6,563.

WTA Top 5 After Latest Update
1. Aryna Sabalenka – 9,870 points
2. Iga Swiatek Poland – 8,195
3. Coco Gauff United States – 6,563
4. Amanda Anisimova United States – 5,887
5. Jessica Pegula United States – 5,183

That 1,675-point gap means Sabalenka has now officially wrapped up the year-end No 1 ranking as the WTA Finals is the only tournament left on the calendar and players can earn a maximum of 1,500 points.

Gauff, meanwhile, stays ahead of Anisimova in the race to finish the year as the American No 1 with the latter needing to reach at least the semi-final to stand any chance of overtaking the reigning French Open champion.

Jessica Pegula also has a slim chance, but she will need to win the tournament undefeated and hope Gauff exits after the group phase without winning any round-robin matches as players earn 200 points for reach victory.

The post WTA Rankings: Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek hit with bigger points penalties appeared first on Tennis365.

Jannik Sinner is the Vienna Open champion once again, with the Italian battling past Alexander Zverev in a three-set thriller to regain the title he first won in 2023.

The world No 2 found himself a set down against world No 3 Zverev in what was a battle between the tournament’s two top seeds, though Sinner rallied to claim a dramatic 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 triumph and seal his fourth ATP Tour title of 2025.

Victory for Sinner earns him 500 points, but what does that mean for the top of the ATP Rankings, and his potential chances of challenging current world No 1 Carlos Alcaraz for the year-end No 1 position?

What does it mean for the official ATP Rankings?

With Alcaraz not in action this week, Sinner had a key opportunity to potentially close the gap between himself and the Spaniard.

And, the four-time Grand Slam champion has certainly taken advantage of his opportunity, dropping just one set — in the final versus Zverev — on his way to victory at the ATP 500 event this week.

Sinner started the week with exactly 10,000 points but will move to 10,500 points when the rankings update on Monday, with an increased lead over world No 3 Zverev on 6,160 points.

However, he is now within 1,000 ranking points of Alcaraz, with the world No 1 holding 11,340 points heading into the Paris Masters next week — the final Masters 1000 event of 2025.

What does it mean for race to year-end No 1?

Sinner is still a significant underdog in the battle between himself and Alcaraz to seal the year-end No 1 ranking, though victory in Vienna puts him in with slightly more of a chance before.

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The Italian now holds exactly 9,000 points in the ATP Race to Turin, which monitors only points won since the start of the 2025 ATP season.

An extra 500 points from Vienna decreases the gap between Sinner and Alcaraz, though the Spaniard’s lead is still significant, with the world No 1 on a staggering 11,040 points for the season.

World No 2 Sinner can still move above that points tally, with 1,000 points at stake at the Paris Masters and 1,500 points at stake at the ATP Finals, where he is the defending champion.

Should Sinner triumph at both events — with an unbeaten ATP Finals campaign — he would move to 11,500 points for the year.

That would mean Alcaraz would have to earn 461 points to deny his Italian rival a second straight year-end No 1 finish, though that looks likely considering the sheer volume of points on offer across the two events.

A run to the semi-final of the Paris Masters is worth 400 points in 2025, and a run to the final is worth 650 points — which would guarantee Alcaraz the year-end No 1 ranking, regardless of Sinner’s result.

The Italian would likely have to win both events and hold a perfect 5-0 record at the ATP Finals, with 200 points on offer per round-robin win in Turin.

Ultimately, Alcaraz looks firmly in pole position to seal the year-end No 1 ranking for the first time since 2022, though Sinner’s Vienna win keeps the race open for now.

Read Next: Paris Masters predictions: Will anyone prevent a Carlos Alcaraz vs Jannik Sinner final?

The post How Jannik Sinner’s Vienna Open triumph affects Carlos Alcaraz year-end No 1 race appeared first on Tennis365.

Joao Fonseca is the 2025 Swiss Indoors champion, the Brazilian dispatching Alejandro Davidovich Fokina on Sunday to claim the biggest title of his career to date.

Action in Basel was disrupted by several injuries and retirements this year though the Brazilian teen star will prove to be a memorable champion, defeating his Spanish rival 6-3, 6-4 to win his second ATP title of 2025.

Outside of Fonseca and Davidovich Fokina, several more notable names were in action at the prestigious ATP 500 event in Basel this week, and here we look at the prize money and ranking points won by several of the tournament’s key protagonists.

What ranking points were on offer?

For lifting the title in Basel, Fonseca takes home an impressive 500 ranking points.

That will see the 19-year-old not only crack the top 40 for the first time, but also the top 30 — with the Brazilian set to soar to a stunning new career-high ranking of 28th on Monday.

For their runner-up finish, Davidovich Fokina earns 330 points, moving him to a brand new career-high of world No 15 once the rankings update.

Ugo Humbert and Jaume Munar both defied their unseeded status to reach the last four of the event, and both men will be well-rewarded with 200 ranking points following their semi-final runs.

The four men who exited at the quarter-final stage — Reilly Opelka, fourth seed Casper Ruud, ninth seed Denis Shapovalov, and fifth seed Felix Auger Aliassime — all take home 100 ranking points.

For Auger Aliassime and Ruud, ranked ninth and 11th in the ATP Race in Turin, respectively, that means both men will need strong Paris Masters runs to have any chance of sealing automatic qualification for the ATP Finals.

Among those falling in the second round were top seed Taylor Fritz and second seed Ben Shelton, with both taking home just 50 ranking points as a result.

However, players beaten in the first round do not receive any main-draw ranking points.

Champion: 500 points
Runner-up: 330 points
Semi-finalists: 200 points
Quarter-finalists: 100 points
Round 2: 50 points
Round 1: 0 points

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What prize money was on offer?

For lifting the title in Basel, Fonseca will take home an impressive €471,825 in winnings, up from the €446,045 awarded to 2024 champion Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard twelve months ago.

While Davidovich Fokina will take home €253,875 for their runner-up finish, up from the €239,990 awarded to 2024 finalist Shelton.

Beaten semi-finalists Humbert and Munar will both take home €135,300 for their efforts, while quarter-finalists Opelka, Ruud, Shapovalov, and Auger-Aliassime will earn €69,125.

Players beaten in round two, including Shelton and Fritz, will leave Basel with €36,900, while players who fell in the opening round take home €19,680.

Champion: €471,825
Runner-up: €253,875
Semi-finalists: €135,300
Quarter-finalists: €69,125
Round 2: €36,900
Round 1: €19,680

Read Next: Paris Masters predictions: Will anyone prevent a Carlos Alcaraz vs Jannik Sinner final?

The post Joao Fonseca & Alejandro Davidovich Fokina’s Swiss Indoors prize money & ranking points revealed appeared first on Tennis365.

Jannik Sinner is the Vienna Open champion for the second time, battling past Alexander Zverev in a thrilling final to regain the title he previously won back in 2023.

In a battle between the tournament’s top two seeds, the world No 2 rallied from a set down to beat his German rival 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, capturing his fourth title of 2025 after his Australian Open, Wimbledon, and China Open triumphs.

Several notable names were in action at the prestigious ATP 500 event this year, and here we look at the prize money and ranking points that Sinner, Zverev, and their tour contemporaries will take home from the Austrian capital.

What ranking points were on offer?

For winning the title, Sinner takes home an impressive 500 points for lifting the title.

That moves the Italian closer to Carlos Alcaraz in both the official ATP Rankings and the ATP Race to Turin, though he still has his work cut out to seal the year-end No 1 ranking.

For his runner-up finish, Zverev takes home 330 ranking points.

Zverev sealed ATP Finals qualification during his run in Vienna, and his points haul has seen him move above Novak Djokovic into third place in the ATP Race to Turin.

Beaten semi-finalists Alex de Minaur and Lorenzo Musetti also take home a large chunk of ranking points, with 200 points handed to both men.

Both were unable to secure their spots in the upcoming ATP Finals, but both are well-placed to seal their qualification at the Paris Masters next week.

The four quarter-finalists — eighth seed Alexander Bublik, Matteo Berrettini, Corentin Moutet, and Tallon Griekspoor — all earn 100 points for their efforts.

Players beaten in the second round, including sixth seed Daniil Medvedev, earn just 50 ranking points, while players who fell in round one — including seventh seed Andrey Rublev and fifth seed Karen Khachanov — are awarded no points.

Champion: 500 points
Runner-up: 330 points
Semi-finalists: 200 points
Quarter-finalists: 100 points
Round 2: 50 points
Round 1: 0 points

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What prize money was on offer?

For lifting the title, Sinner takes home an impressive €511,835 for their impressive campaign, up from the €461,920 awarded to 2024 champion Jack Draper received twelve months ago.

Finishing as the runner-up, Zverev will receive a pay cheque of €275,390, an increase on the €248,540 awarded to 2024 runner-up Khachanov.

Semi-finalists Musetti and de Minaur both earn €146,765 for their efforts, while quarter-finalists Bublik, Berrettini, Moutet, and Griekspoor all leave Vienna with €74,980 in winnings.

Players beaten in round two will be awarded with €40,025 in prize money, with those beaten in round one taking home just €21,345.

Champion: €511,835
Runner-up: €275,390
Semi-finalists: €146,765
Quarter-finalists: €74,980
Round 2: €40,025
Round 1: €21,345

Read Next: Paris Masters predictions: Will anyone prevent a Carlos Alcaraz vs Jannik Sinner final?

The post Sinner, Zverev, de Minaur, Musetti’s Vienna Open prize money & ranking points revealed appeared first on Tennis365.

Break points are perhaps the most key part of a tennis match and both saving and winning them is a crucial part of a player’s skillset.

For a sport that spends a lot of time thinking about stats, it is no surprise that the ATP has identified who is best when it comes to break points.

According to their official stats, each player has been given an ‘Under Pressure Rating’ which is calculated by combing the percentage of break points converted and saved with the percentage of tie breaks won and deciding sets won.

Using all that, they have calculated who keeps cool in the most high-pressure moments and these are the top 10 from the last year.

10. Reilly Opelka

Kicking us off is the American Reilly Opelka who just beats Novak Djokovic onto this list.

Opelka’s best skill comes at saving break points with his 72%, only beaten by Sinner in the past year.

However, he is let down by converting just 30.8% of his own break point chances and his deciding set percentage is also a little low at 60%.

Break points converted: 30.8%
Break points saved: 72.0%
Tie breaks won:  64.3%
Deciding sets won:  60.0%
Under Pressure Rating: 227.1

9. Jenson Brooksby

Another American comes in the form of Jenson Brooksby who, unlike Opelka, does not have one outstanding skill but instead is good in all the departments.

His break points converted record at 40.1% is the 23rd best on the tour, while he has saved 61.2% of the break points he faced losing.

Break points converted: 40.1%
Break points saved: 61.2%
Tie breaks won: 69.2%
Deciding sets won: 58.3%
Under Pressure Rating: 228.8

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8. Flavio Cobolli

The first European on this list is Coblli with the world No.22 performing well across all four metrics.

The best of them is his 65.5% of tie breaks won, which is the 13th best on the tour.

Break points converted: 37.1%
Break points saved: 60.0%
Tie breaks won: 65.5%
Deciding sets won: 66.7%
Under Pressure Rating: 229.3

7. Felix Auger-Aliassime

Canadian Auger-Aliassime features at seventh on the list, being consistently good across break points saved, tie breaks won, and deciding sets won.

His break points converted could, though, do with a little work at 33.3%.

Break points converted: 33.3%
Break points saved: 67.2%
Tie breaks won: 65.8%
Deciding sets won: 69.6%
Under Pressure Rating: 235.9

6. Grigor Dimitrov

Veteran Dimitrov clocks in at sixth with strong numbers across all four data measurements.

His best is the 70% of deciding sets he has won, which is the seventh best on tour.

Break points converted: 38.4%
Break points saved: 63.3%
Tie breaks won: 69.2%
Deciding sets won: 70.0%
Under Pressure Rating: 240.9

5. Ben Shelton

The third, but crucially highest, American on this list is Ben Shelton whose best stats come in break points saved and deciding sets won.

At 68.8%, his break points saved is the sixth best on tour, while the 75% he scored for deciding sets won is good enough for fourth.

His weakest area is tie breaks won, which at 55.3% is only the 36th best on the tour.

Break points converted: 42.3%
Break points saved: 68.8%
Tie breaks won: 55.3%
Deciding sets won: 75.0%
Under Pressure Rating: 241.4

4. Jack Draper

Draper appears at No.4 with a very strong tie breaks won percentage. At 71.4%, he is the fourth best on the tour, while 68.8% of deciding sets won is the 11th best.

One area to improve would be his break points won percentage, which at 39.6%, is the 26th best on the tour.

Break points converted: 39.6%
Break points saved: 64.0%
Tie breaks won: 71.4%
Deciding sets won: 68.8%
Under Pressure Rating: 243.8

3. Jannik Sinner

Sinner appears at three on this list with his stats impressive across the board.

His best is the 72.5% of break points he has saved, which is the highest tally on the tour, while he has also been triumphant in 80% of the tie breaks he has faced.

In terms of break points converted, he is second only behind Denis Shapovalov, but it is in deciding set % that he drops down.

His tally of 50% is only the 50th best on the tour, which is why he is No.3 on this list rather than topping it.

Break points converted: 45.6%
Break points saved: 72.5%
Tie breaks won: 80.0%
Deciding sets won: 50.0%
Under Pressure Rating: 248.1

2. Carlos Alcaraz

Pipping his long-time rival, Alcaraz comes in at No.2.

In the last 52 weeks, Alcaraz has actually been worse than Sinner at break points converted and saved as well as tie breaks, but it is in the percentage of deciding sets won that he comes up trumps.

His tally of 78.9% won is behind only Djokovic and Valentin Vacherot for the year, and it has propelled him up the leaderboard.

Break points converted: 44.4%
Break points saved: 65.8%
Tie breaks won: 64.0%
Deciding sets won: 78.9%
Under Pressure Rating: 253.1

1. Valentin Vacherot

Now, Vacherot’s topping of this list should be taken with a pinch of salt considering he has only played 14 matches this year, but in that time, he has won 100% of the tie breaks he has featured in.

His remarkable run to success in Shanghai saw him featured in four tie breaks, and he was triumphant in all of them, including against Holger Rune and T. Griekspoor.

It is that stat that has sent him to the top, but his deciding set percentage at 80% is also very good.

At the other end of the scale, 33.3% of break points converted is on the lower side of things, but 54.8% of break points saved is a respectable tally.

Break points converted: 33.3%
Break points saved: 54.8%
Tie breaks won: 100.0%
Deciding sets won: 80.0%
Under Pressure Rating: 268.1

Read next: Has Carlos Alcaraz been given a huge Paris Masters advantage?

The post The best ‘under pressure’ players according to the ATP rankings with suprise name in No.1 appeared first on Tennis365.

Carlos Alcaraz is the first to admit that he is yet to truly crack the code when it comes to playing on indoor courts, but a change in venue for this year’s Paris Masters could give him a boost.

The Spanish magician has won 24 ATP Tour singles titles with only one of those coming at an indoor tournament as he ended his drought at the Rotterdam Open in February this year, but his record at the big events are pretty patchy.

His best run at the ATP Finals was a semi-final in 2023 and last year he exited after the group phase while at the Paris Masters, he reached the quarter-final in 2022, lost in the second round the following year and the third round in 2024.

But Alcaraz is hopeful that he can change his record at this year’s Paris Masters following the decision to move from the Bercy Arena to the multipurpose Paris La Défense Arena.

As one of the first big-name players to arrive for this year’s season-ending Masters event in Paris, the world No 1 had an early opportunity to test the speed of the new courts and he liked what he saw.

“This year is totally different than last year. I think it is a huge difference, which I like it (smiling),” he stated.

“You know, the speed of the court, yeah, it’s much slower than last year, but I think it is a really good speed that we can see tennis, not only serve or it’s not only serve plus one.

“So you can see rallies, you can see points, you can see tennis. So I think it’s great. Obviously I’ve said many times that I like, you know, slower courts, not that fast.

“But yeah, we will see. Obviously this tournament is not my best one in terms of results, but I love playing here. The time of the year, you know, it’s been long with the indoor. I’m not really used to playing indoors, but year after year, I think I’m getting more used to it.

“So we will see this year. Hopefully go farther than previous years.”

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Alcaraz has a 31–13 (70%) win-loss record on indoor courts, well down from his overall career record of 81%.

For comparison, his main rival Jannik Sinner is 76–21 (78%) on indoor courts, having won seven titles, including the 2024 ATP Finals.

Despite the stats, the six-time Grand Slam winner doesn’t think he is a bad player on indoor courts as others are simply better than him, but of course, there is room for improvement.

“I wouldn’t say I’m bad playing indoors. I think other players are better than me on indoor side. It’s a huge difference saying that,” the 22-year-old said.

“I see myself practicing, playing matches that I can play really good tennis, but obviously there are some matches that I played against someone that they are playing much, much better in indoor than I do. So I have to be ready for that, but I think I will get good tennis on indoor.”

The post Has Carlos Alcaraz been given a huge Paris Masters advantage? appeared first on Tennis365.

Belinda Bencic is on the verge of a return to the top 10 of the WTA Rankings following her title run at the Pan Pacific Open while runner-up Linda Noskova has earned a new career-high ranking.

Former world No 4 Bencic won her second title of the 2025 WTA Tour and 10th overall with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Noskova at the WTA 500 event at the Ariake Coliseum – the same venue where she won gold in the women’s singles in 2021 at the Tokyo Olympics.

With the win Bencic will continue her surge up the rankings while Noskova – who also finished runner-up to Amanda Anisimova at the WTA 1000 China Open earlier in October – also remains on the charge in the rankings.

WTA Points Earned In Tokyo

Players earn 500 ranking points for winning a WTA 500 event, but they also have to defend points from the same period the previous year as the WTA uses a 52-week rolling, cumulative system.

Bencic – who also won the Abu Dhabi WTA 500 event in February – will earn 484 points for her title and will climb two places in the rankings to No 11.

It is quite a rise for a player who started the year at No 421 after more than a year out of the game. The Swiss broke back into the top 100 at the beginning of February and returned to the top 50 just over a month later.

Following her run to the semi-final at Wimbledon, she made her top 20 comeback and now finds herself on the cusp of a return to the top 10.

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Noskova only made her top 20 bow following her run to the final of the China Open at the start of October, but she started the Pan Pacific Open on the back of a first-round exit at the Japan Open last week.

She had some good fortune during her run in Tokyo as only played one completed match before the final and that was in the second round when she beat McCartney Kessler in three sets. Anna Kalinskaya retired from their quarter-final match after the first set while Elena Rybakina withdrew from their semi-final encounter.

Noskova earned 265 ranking points and will climb two places to a new high of No 13.

Prize Money Earned By Finalists

Bencic had started the tournament with $2,438,954 in prize money so far in 2025, while her career tally was $14,685,524.

The fifth seed has picked up a cheque of $164,000 for her four wins at the WTA 500 event to edge closer to the $15m mark in career prize money.

Noskova, meanwhile, had earned $4,459,619 over the course of her career with $2,122,383 of that tally coming 2025 and she has added another $101,000 to her bank account.

The post Belinda Bencic and Linda Noskova prize money and points after Pan Pacific Open final appeared first on Tennis365.

Former world No 1 Andy Roddick has reacted to the news that a new ATP Masters 1000 tournament will be held in Saudi Arabia as early as 2028.

The 2003 US Open champion has revealed how the Saudi Arabian event being non-mandatory could be financially beneficial to players as he also predicted where it will fit into the calendar.

It was confirmed on Thursday that the ATP Tour had agreed the formation of the new Masters 1000 tournament with SURJ Sports Investment, a company owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF).

Andy Roddick’s reaction to the Saudi Arabian Masters event

• Andy Roddick has explained that the non-mandatory status of the new Saudi Arabian Masters event will allow players to be paid appearance fees
• The American expects these appearance fees to be “massive” in order to attract the biggest stars, including Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner
• Roddick thinks there are “only two options” for when the event could be held, but he thinks a position in February is by far the most likely

The Saudi Arabian Masters will join the nine existing ATP 1000 tournaments, marking the first expansion of this category of event since it was introduced in 1990.

It has been revealed that the tournament will be non-mandatory, and the singles main draw will feature 56 players and be played over a single week. The Monte Carlo Masters is the only current ATP 1000 event which is not mandatory.

The exact calendar position that the new Saudi event will occupy is yet to be confirmed, as is the venue.

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What Roddick said about appearance fees at the Saudi Arabian Masters

Speaking on his Served podcast, Roddick broke down the financial implications of the non-mandatory status of the Saudi Arabian Masters and declared that there will be “chaos.”

“The protection for the Masters 1000s not to have to pay the players directly is that they’re mandatory and you basically opt in to the tour schedule as an independent contractor,” said Roddick.

“The mandatory events basically hold your participation as a negotiating tool and you have to fall in line with the mandatory things. If it’s non-mandatory, that means that you do not have to play it, contractually, to be a part of the ATP Tour.

“That means appearance fees. These appearance fees are going to be massive and the players have a lot of leverage right now, because there’s no chance that Saudi is going to want to have this Masters 1000 and then not have Sinner and Alcaraz show up, and then not have whoever else show up, right?

“I’ve been texting with an agent friend of ours who has been on the show before. He says, ‘absolutely open season on appearance fees for this tournament.’

“Non-mandatory, to me, they’re celebrating that as like, ‘Oh, listen, we’re coachable, this is cool, we’re going to just create a new set of rules.’

“This is going to be chaos. This is going to be the Wild West as far as appearance fees, which is good for the players I guess.”

Roddick on the possible schedule positions for the Saudi Arabian Masters

During the same podcast, Roddick weighed in on how the new tournament will impact the ATP Tour calendar.

“There are only two options. One, this is obvious. I have a lot of questions about it. As far as where the calendar goes, pre-empting Australia is what some people are saying. I think that’s difficult,” said the 32-time ATP Tour titlist.

“I’m not sure you can take the thunder… Australia is probably the only thing in tennis that benefits from people actually having time to look forward to it. Otherwise, it’s just a run-on sentence. Also, if you do that, then are you shifting the entire Middle Eastern swing to before that?

“Or are you screwing over the other Middle Eastern tournaments in February, before Indian Wells? I think it has to slot into that February, because then who are you competing with?

“You’re competing with Rotterdam, you’re competing with those tournaments, which seems like an easier competition than the lead-up to Australia. There’s no way, if [Australian Open tournament director] Craig Tiley has a say in this, that it cruises in before Australia, in my opinion.”

READ NEXT: Saudi Arabia ATP Masters 1000 key information: Format, start date, and where it fits into the calendar

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