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Emma Raducanu’s challenging start to 2026 has not just included another coaching change and a series of injury issues and defeats on the court, as she has also been battling ongoing health issues.

Dating back to her final appearances of last season in China, when he was forced to pull out of events amid searingly hot temperatures, Raducanu has been struggling to sustain her energy levels through matches.

Raducanu has had numerous timeouts for treatment from on court medics, with her blood pressure taken on several occasions in recent matches.

Some of the images of Raducanu have been concerning and Sky Sports lead presenter Gigi Salmon is hoping those health problems can be banished as she believes a fit and healthy British No 1 will be a threat on the WTA Tour.

Raducanu reached her first WTA Tour final since her iconic 2021 US Open in Cluj last month and was struggling with illness as she lost heavily in the final against Sorana Cirstea, with Salmon hoping those issues are behind her.

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“They said in Cluj that she had a chest infection and I was working on the next two tournaments when she retired and then lost in the Middle East,” Salmon told Tennis365.

“I was wondering if it was the hangover from the chest infection. You are probably told not to play and to rest, but you want to play and try and put it behind you and chase the ranking points.

“Is there an element of stress in there for Emma? I’ve asked a few ex-players to try and get my head around what it is. If it continues to happen, I will fall one way than the other.

“Chest infections can linger, but if this pops up in Indian Wells, then questions will be asked because it will start to be a run of things.”

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Men’s British No 1 Jack Draper has spoken about controlling his emotion on court and how that has helped him to avoid the cramping issues that we affecting him early in his career and Raducanu will hope she can now banish her health demons and enjoy a run of success on US hard courts she has always felt comfortable on.

“If she can find some stability, and I know we have spoken about this for a long time now, then she has a chance to have a great year,” added Salmon.

“If she is saying she doesn’t want a full time coach and she is happy with Mark Petchey, that’s good for her. I sometimes wonder whether she actually enjoys what she does because sometimes it doesn’t feel it’s someone who enjoys what she does.

“I cannot imagine what is it like to be her. The pressure and the scrutiny every time she does everything is there, so if she can enjoy herself that will help her play better.

“I can’t imagine what it’s like to be in that kind of spotlight. She does have this appal that transcends tennis and it must be pretty tough to deal with.”

READ NEXT: Emma Raducanu explains Francisco Roig split and why she reunited with Mark Petchey

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Carlos Alcaraz has started the 2026 season with a maiden title run at the Australian Open and his coach Samuel Lopez feels that he has set himself up for a unique challenge this year that would see him achieve something that Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer failed to pull off.

After notching the Surface Slam in 2024 with his first title at Roland Garros, Alcaraz completed the Career Grand Slam on February 1 when he lifted the season-opening Grand Slam at Melbourne Park with a four-set win over Djokovic in the final.

Aged just 23 years old, he became the youngest man to notch up the achievement as he surpassed Djokovic, Nadal and Federer and he is now looking to beat the Big Three again – and this time it is a feat that has eluded them.

With the Australian Open in the bag, the Spaniard has a chance of claiming a Calendar Grand Slam this year with the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open tournaments still to come.

Djokovic won three Grand Slams in the same year four times in his career with the most recent coming in 2023 when he lost the Wimbledon final against Alcaraz. In 2021, he came within one match of completing the historic feat as he won the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon before losing the US Open final against Daniil Medvedev.

Federer also won three majors in a calendar year on three occasions as he was denied at the French Open all three times, while the closest Nadal came was in 2010 when he won the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open.

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The great Rod Laver, of course, remains the only man to win the Calendar Grand Slam in the Open Era as he achieved it in 1969, and he also did it in 1962 (before the sport turned professional), while Don Budge was the first to complete the quadruple in 1938.

Lopez, who took over as Alcaraz’s main coach following the Spaniard’s split from Juan Carlos Ferrero after the 2025 season, says they are up for the “ambitious” challenge this year.

“I was motivated by the possibility of coaching a world number one after 30 years in the profession,” he told Spanish media as quoted by Punto de Break.

“In the pre-season, Carlos showed total commitment, paying close attention and showing great intensity in training, and maintaining a very positive attitude at all times, willing to listen and accept help.

“The challenge would be to win all four Grand Slams this year. It’s ambitious, but possible.”

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Novak Djokovic is preparing to play his first match since he lost in the Australian Open final against Carlos Alcaraz, with former British No 1 Tim Henman admitting he ‘could not believe what he was seeing’ from the Serbian in the opening Grand Slam of the year.

Djokovic struggled to find his best form as he came into the Australian Open without any match practice since his final event of last season in November and he looked rusty as he made it through to the quarter-finals in Melbourne.

He was then on his way out of the tournament as he lost the first two sets of his last-eight clash against Lorenzo Musetti, before injury struck down the Italian and handed Djokovic a pass to a semi-final against Jannik Sinner.

Henman was in the commentary box in Melbourne for the Djokovic vs Sinner match and he has told Tennis365 that he was not expecting the 24-time Grand Slam-winning legend to challenge an opponent who had beaten him time and again over the last couple of years.

That pessimism was heightened after Sinner dominated the opening exchanges, but Djokovic found a way to bounce back and left Henman stunned as he pulled off a remarkable five-set win.

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“In the first three rounds, I definitely have my doubts about Djokovic. He wasn’t at the right level.” Henman told Tennis365. “Then he is two sets to nil down against Musetti and you think, he’s going home for sure.

“What was so amazing against Sinner was he lost the first three game and he was completely off the pace. I was sitting in the commentary box thinking, this could be embarrassing. I really felt that you could get taken to the cleaners because his level wasn’t there, but so many people have said in the past, you never write off these great champions and that match was a perfect example.

“The way that he then changed his tactics, second, third, four sets and became so aggressive, going down the line and not missing, it was absolutely incredible. 
You know, I was finding it hard to believe what I was watching. I really was. 
And I’ve watched him for 20 plus years. It was an amazing performance.”

Henman went on to suggest he was starting to believe Djokovic could go on to beat Carlos Alcaraz in the final after he took the opening set, but reality struck home for the 10-time Australian Open champion.

“When he won the first set 6-2 against Alcaraz, you’re thinking, ‘wow this could be Grand Slam No 25’, but the difference between Alcaraz and Sinner, I think, was very evident.

“Sinner, you know, didn’t change his game plan because he has been the best hard court player for the last couple of years and he tried to fight fire with fire. He was just going for it. And if anything, that played on Djokovic’s hands.

Whereas you saw Alcaraz, who’s got the far greater variation, start to play with shape, start to just extend some of the rallies, use the slice back end. And that was a big turning point.”

Djokovic is scheduled to meet Alcaraz once again in the semi-finals at the Indian Wells Masters, but the Serbian is certain to face big tests before he is reunited on a court with the Spanish maestro.

READ NEXT: Carlos Alcaraz makes confession about Novak Djokovic’s ‘impressive’ record

Sky Sports is the year-round home of tennis. Watch the biggest stars on the ATP and WTA Tours at the Indian Wells Open and Miami Open live this March, exclusively on Sky Sports and NOW.

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An “exhausted” Andrey Rublev has conducted his first interview since reaching Indian Wells via an elongated trip from Dubai, amid ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

World No 17 Rublev was in action at the Dubai Tennis Championships last week, with the Russian reaching the semi-final of the ATP 500 event before tasting defeat to Tallon Griekspoor.

However, the outbreak of conflict in the region saw flights in the United Arab Emirates grounded from last Saturday, with Rublev, Daniil Medvedev, and Karen Khachanov among a handful of ATP players and staff forced to stay put in the country.

With action in Indian Wells, the opening Masters 1000 event of the season, underway this week, the trio were forced into a long journey to safely reach California.

After delays, all three of Rublev, Medvedev, and Khachanov made journeys via car to reach Oman, before taking a private jet to Turkey, and then ultimately heading to Indian Wells.

Rublev arrived in California on Wednesday night and, in an interview with Sofya Tartakova of Bolshe, the 28-year-old revealed he was in a good mood despite an arduous journey.

He said (translated from Russian): “My mood is fine, I’m just really worn out.

“It wasn’t an easy trip, so long with lots of things happening. So I’m exhausted, plus the jetlag. But in general, everything’s fine.”

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He added: “It was just an unusual travel experience. Learned a lot of new things, like how to cross the border to Oman. I just tried to treat it like a trip.”

Medvedev had spoken to Bolshe earlier in the same evening, and revealed that he had remained calm despite the escalating situation.

Rublev revealed that he also did not try to panic too much about the situation, and instead tried to focus on his plans to reach the Masters 1000 event.

“Same for me — I visited a banya, went to some restaurants. I took it calmly,” commented the Russian.

“I was mostly thinking about how to make it to Indian Wells, what could be done to get there on time. Overall, I felt pretty normal. Why worry about things you can’t control?”

Much like Medvedev and Khachanov, Rublev has the luxury of being a seeded player in the men’s singles draw in Indian Wells — and therefore received a bye in the opening round.

The 17th seed will face a tough opening test against world No 38 Gabriel Diallo, with the Canadian beating Mattia Bellucci in the opening round.

Rublev and Diallo are set to do battle on Friday, and despite the tight turnaround between his arrival in California and the start of his campaign, the former world No 5 is not changing his pre-match approach.

“Doesn’t matter. We work with what we’ve got. You never know.

“You can come a week early, prepare super well, and lose the first match. Or, arrive a week before and win — or arrive the day before and win the tournament, or arrive a day before and lose in the first round.

“So, you just do what you have to do, and that’s it.”

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Novak Djokovic has divulged what he feels he proved to himself and his rivals with his run at the 2026 Australian Open ahead of his return to action in Indian Wells.

The legendary Serbian has not competed since losing to world No 1 Carlos Alcaraz in four sets in the Australian Open championship match over a month ago.

Djokovic delivered a stellar display to defeat world No 2 Jannik Sinner in a five-set semi-final in Melbourne as he became the oldest finalist in tournament history at the age of 38.

The 24-time Grand Slam winner had lost his five previous matches against Sinner, including semi-finals at the French Open and Wimbledon in 2025, while he also fell to Alcaraz in the last four at last year’s US Open.

In his pre-tournament press conference in Indian Wells, Djokovic was asked if he is still playing in order to prove himself.

“There are objectives and goals that are always there. You want to win, so you want to get another title and get another Slam, hopefully,” said Djokovic.

“I was close in Australia. Obviously that was an amazing start of the year for me, considering that I haven’t been able to reach the finals since the Wimbledon 2024, and lost to either Sinner or Alcaraz [at] all of the Slams last year.

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“So it was just incredible feeling to be able to beat Sinner in five sets in one of the epic matches that I played in recent times in Australia, and then have another great match with Carlos, who was just too good in the end.

“But, you know, for me, that has been a phenomenal result. So, I have proven to myself primarily and to others that I can still compete at the highest level and beat these guys.

“So my logic is why not keep going as long as I have that fire and flair and quality and also motivation to do that.”

The world No 3 went on to address his approach to scheduling and asserted that he will “keep on going as long as I feel like it.”

“Schedule is unclear, as it was in the last kind of couple years,” he continued.

“You know, it kind of revolves mostly around Slams, but I kind of pick and choose where I want to play, where I feel like it’s not just from a tennis standpoint but also emotionally, you know, brand-wise, or whatever it is, you know, that inspires me to come.

“And I have my reasons, you know, Indian Wells, as I mentioned, has been always a location that I was really happy to come back to in a tournament that I really love playing.

“I haven’t had great results and performances in the last 10 years, but in the first 10 years of my career, this was one of the best tournaments.

“Yeah, that’s all. I mean, I really enjoy the thrill of competition. I enjoy still getting out there in front of the fans and really being competitive.

“Still No 3 of the world, so I don’t think it’s too bad, you know, in terms of the ranking and results and performances. So still competitive. I still have that edge, and I’ll keep on going as long as I feel like it.”

Djokovic could make history with Indian Wells triumph

Djokovic shares the record of five Indian Wells men’s titles with his former rival Roger Federer, and he is seeking his first crown in the Californian desert since 2016.

The No 3 seed will begin his bid to become the outright Indian Wells title leader against either Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard or Kamil Majchrzak.

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The post Novak Djokovic reveals what he proved at Australian Open in message to Indian Wells rivals appeared first on Tennis365.

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are two of the biggest names in men’s tennis, and all eyes will be on whether we get a first meeting of 2026 between the two at Indian Wells this fortnight.

Alcaraz and Sinner are the top two seeds at the opening Masters 1000 event of the season, and this will be the third tournament of the year for both.

With Alcaraz looking to maintain his unbeaten start to the year and Sinner searching for his first title of 2026, we look at the projected pathways both men potentially face on their way to a potential final against each other in Tennis Paradise.

Alcaraz’s projected pathway

Round 1: Bye

Round 2: Alcaraz will face an interesting opener against either Terence Atmane or Grigor Dimitrov, who meet in round one. World No 52 Atmane beat Dimitrov in Acapulco last week, so he may enter his round-one match as the favourite.

Round 3: The first seeded player Alcaraz could face is Arthur Rinderknech, who is seeded 26th in Indian Wells. Alcaraz defeated Rinderknech at the Qatar Open just last month and holds a 5-0 record against the Frenchman.

Round 4: Alcaraz’s projected fourth-round opponent is 13th seed Casper Ruud, an opponent he has beaten in five of their six meetings. 24th seed and Shanghai Masters champion Valentin Vacherot is also a potential opponent at this stage.

Quarter-final: Sixth seed Alex de Minaur is the Spaniard’s projected quarter-final opponent, with the Australian having never beaten Alcaraz in six previous attempts. Tenth seed Alexander Bublik is also a potential rival for the world No 1 at this stage.

Semi-final: Should Alcaraz return to the semi-final, he could well end up facing third seed and five-time champion Novak Djokovic. The head-to-head between the two is level at 5-5, though the Spaniard beat Djokovic in both the 2025 US Open semi-final and 2026 Australian Open final.

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Final: If Alcaraz were to reach the final, his projected opponent is second seed Sinner.

Sinner’s projected pathway

Round 1: Bye

Round 2: Sinner now knows that he will start his campaign against qualifier Dalibor Svrcina, who beat James Duckworth in round one. It will be the first meeting between the world No 2 and the Czech, who is currently ranked 109th in the world.

Round 3: The first seeded player in Sinner’s projected pathway is 29th seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry, who recently won his first ATP Tour title at the Rio Open. However, the Argentine faces a tough round-two encounter against Denis Shapovalov.

Round 4: Projected to be waiting for the Italian in round four is 16th seed Karen Khachanov, who is now safely in Indian Wells after being stranded in Dubai. This is an intriguing mini-section of the draw, with Joao Fonseca and 23rd seed Tommy Paul all potential opponents for Sinner at this stage.

Quarter-final: Sinner has been handed, on paper, arguably the perfect quarter-final draw against eighth seed Ben Shelton, a player he has a 9-1 head-to-head advantage over. However, the Italian could also find himself facing 12th seed Jakub Mensik — the man who beat him in Doha.

Semi-final: Should Sinner progress to the semi-final, he is projected to be facing fourth seed Alexander Zverev. He has won his last five meetings against the German, with fifth seed Lorenzo Musetti and ninth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime also potential semi-final opponents for Sinner.

Final: Sinner is projected to face Alcaraz in the final, in what would be a battle of the top two seeds.

Indian Wells records

World No 1 Alcaraz has an impeccable record in Indian Wells, winning 20 of his 23 career matches at the Masters 1000 tournament.

The Spaniard lost in the opening round on debut in 2021 but has reached at least the semi-final every year since then, lifting the title in 2023 and 2024.

Jack Draper ended Alcaraz’s 16-match win streak at the tournament in the last four in 2025, and he will be looking to regain his title.

Meanwhile, Indian Wells is the only hard-court Masters event where Sinner is yet to win the title, or even reach the final.

The Italian is a two-time semi-finalist at the tournament, but was beaten by Alcaraz at that stage in both 2023 and 2024.

Sinner was not in action at the event twelve months ago, with the world No 2 serving a three-month suspension at the time.

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Juan Carlos Ferrero has revealed why he unfollowed Carlos Alcaraz on social media following the pair’s split and expressed his wish to have a conversation with the world No 1.

Alcaraz and Ferrero parted ways during the off-season in December, bringing an end to a high-profile and hugely successful player-coach relationship that began in 2018, when Alcaraz was 16.

The Spanish star won 24 ATP Tour singles titles, including six Grand Slams, while working with Ferrero — who is a former world No 1 and French Open champion.

Since splitting with Ferrero, Alcaraz has amassed a 12-0 record by winning the Australian Open and Qatar Open in a sensational start to 2026.

Samuel Lopez, who coaches at Ferrero’s academy, is now Alcaraz’s head coach, having previously worked in tandem with Ferrero.

Days after Alcaraz completed the career Grand Slam by claiming his maiden Australian Open title, fans noticed that Ferrero had unfollowed his former protégé on Instagram. Interestingly, Alcaraz is still following Ferrero.

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Ferrero breaks his silence on cutting ties with Alcaraz on social media

In an interview with El Cafelito, Ferrero explained he wanted to “separate” himself from Alcaraz on social media and declared he did not make the decision “out of spite.”

“I don’t follow him because I need a little time, to separate myself from him,” said Ferrero.

“Besides, if I look at Instagram, he pops up everywhere. In the end, I haven’t achieved anything. You follow tennis accounts and tournament accounts, and it’s the same.

“I didn’t do it out of spite. I want to see him and give him a hug. To normalise everything that’s happened, I think we still need to have a conversation. I’d like that.”

Alcaraz speaks about playing Indian Wells without Ferrero as his coach

Speaking to Eurosport, Alcaraz addressed being without Ferrero at the 2026 Indian Wells Masters.

“I would say it is what it is,” said the world No 1.

“Obviously, I wouldn’t say it’s a new team. It’s mostly the same members; we just restructured a little bit. The members are the same as before; we’re just missing one.

“Every time I come back to a tournament I played last year, it feels a little bit different. You can feel it a bit, but we try to feel as comfortable as possible on and off the court.”

Alcaraz will face Grigor Dimitrov or Terence Atmane in his opening match in Indian Wells, where he is seeking a third title after triumphs in 2023 and 2024.

READ NEXT: Jannik Sinner beats Carlos Alcaraz – former British No 1 makes bold Indian Wells prediction

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Emma Raducanu’s constantly changing position with her coaches may be offering her some unexpected benefits, according to Sky Sports lead commentator Johnathan Overend.

The 2021 US Open champion disposed of her latest coach after the Australian Open, as she hinted the tactics being promoted by Francisco Roig did not align with her ambitions.

Now she is preparing to head into a crucial month that will include two marquee WTA 1000 tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami with former coach Mark Petchey back in her camp on a temporary agreement.

The changing complexion of Raducanu’s set-up has sparked suggestions that she lacks clarity in the direction her career is headed, but Overend has offered up an alternative view.

“The two sides of my brain keep arguing with each other over what the best thing is for Emma and her coaching situation,” Overend told Tennis365 in an exclusive interview.

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“I think it’s a very obvious stance in a way, to say, what is she doing? What is this? 
That looks chaotic. It looks chaotic. This is madness. 
And it feels chaotic. I’m sure there is an element of the operation of Emma Raducanu PLC which is chaotic, but who are we from the outside to say it’s ultimately a bad thing?

“If she goes and wins a big tournament again, in a few months time, everyone will be saying, fair play.

“What I kind of quite like about it is the analogy of having a different teacher at every stage of your education.

“You don’t have the same teacher all the way through. You have a teacher one year, and you might say, ‘I really like Miss Green, because she taught me that’. 
And then, Mr. Edwards brought me so much encouragement there, and then I had Mrs. Singh, and she taught me this great lesson in life.

“So I quite like that, in a way. If she is holding on to those best practises and those best tips from all these advisors that she’s bringing in, that would be positive.

“To me, it’s getting the relationship. 
It’s getting the strategy that she feels can get the results, and then sticking to it.

“She needs to find an advisor who can help her with the technical improvement she still needs to make in a game, of which there are a fair few. And I’d like to think that she admits that. But who can encourage her to play the way she feels most comfortable playing? She needs to be playing with freedom.”

Raducanu has suggested she is keen to hit with power from the back of the court, as she believes that give her the best chance to challenge the game’s elite players.

That method worked for her when she won the US Open over four-and-a-half years ago, but Overend is not sure it can be effective now.

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“The quote in Australia, when she’s talking about, I just want to hit it hard and flat into the corners,” he added. “It might not work in reality, but you do want her to be talking in that way about the rest of her game.

“You want to see that she’s had the discussion with the coach and they’ve agreed this is the way forward. 
And I want her to feel that that’s a strategy that she will enjoy executing.

“It fell under Roig that she didn’t really enjoy taking the strategy and bringing it onto the match court, and that is a recipe for disaster.

“So it’s about finding that coach who can help her with those changes, but also bring the strategy that is aligned with her desire to have fun on the court.

“I think if you can somehow find the middle ground, which is what I believe she’s searching for, if she can find that middle ground, then big things can still happen in Raducanu’s career.

“I’m still very positive in the Raducanu story because this is a player who’s gone from outside 300, inside the top 30, without having a result that makes you go, wow.

“Any player who’s gone from 300 to 30, you’d say good effort. 
Really well done. So why aren’t we saying that more about Emma Raducanu? I agree. 
It’s because of what happened in 2021. And that will forever be her greatest achievement, but also be the thing that people will… will judge you by. And you want to almost wish it never happened, and erase it from the memory.”

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The ATP Tour has released a statement to give an update on players who were in the United Arab Emirates amid conflict in the Middle East.

On Saturday, the United States and Israel launched military action on Iran, and the latter retaliated by attacking various American bases in the region, including in the United Arab Emirates.

The situation in the Middle East led the UAE to close its airspace at 1pm local time on Saturday, which prevented over 40 ATP players, staff and officials from leaving Dubai on flights after the ATP 500 tournament.

Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev and Karen Khachanov were among the players unable to depart from Dubai, with the Russian trio instead opting to travel to Oman by car to catch a “special flight” to Turkey.

On Tuesday, the ATP Tour cancelled this week’s Challenger Tour tournament in Fujairah in the UAE, as well as another event at the same venue scheduled for next week.

The decision was made after there was an explosion following the interception of a drone around eight miles from the site of the tournament.

According to The Athletic, the ATP told players who had signed up for the Fujairah events that it would “potentially” be organising a charter flight from Muscat in Oman costing $5,800 per passenger. The ATP then clarified that it was not organising the flight “directly.”

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The men’s tour faced a backlash, with Belarusian player Ilya Ivashka — who was competing in Fujairah — criticising the governing body for its response.

On Wednesday, though, the ATP announced it would cover the costs for all players in Fujairah to leave the region.

In a statement, the ATP said: “Following the cancellation of the ATP Challenger Tour events in Fujairah, the ATP has been working closely with tournament organisers to support players on site.

“Accommodation and essential needs continue to be covered by the tournament, and a charter flight has been arranged and fully funded by the ATP to assist with departures from the region at no cost to players.”

After the ATP’s update, Ivashka took to Instagram to describe the men’s tour as a “class act.

“Just got a confirmation that all the people from the tournament in Fujairah will be evacuated with no cost,” Ivashka wrote.

“Everything completely covered. Class act @atptour.”

On the players who were stuck in Dubai following last week’s tournament, the ATP added: “Separately, the vast majority of players who were in Dubai have successfully departed today on selected flights.

“The safety and wellbeing of our players, support teams and staff members remains our highest priority, and we continue to remain in close contact with those affected.”

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Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev and Karen Khachanov have completed the first few legs of their mad rush to get to the United States in time for the Indian Wells Open.

The trio competed in the Dubai Tennis Championships last week with the tournament coming to a conclusion on Saturday with Medvedev lifting the title, but celebrations were lowkey as his opponent Tallon Griekspoor withdrew from the final due to injury.

But things took a turn for the worse after that as Israel and the United States’ air strikes on Iran had a ripple effect with the Middle East country retaliating with attacks on American bases across the Gulf, including Dubai.

It led to airspace closures and flight cancellations, resulting in major travel disruptions with those in the United Arab Emirates unable to leave and make their way to California for the next event, the Indian Wells Open.

The ATP confirmed that more than 40 players, staff, officials and journalists were stuck in Dubai with the Russian trio among them.

After initially being urged to remain in their hotels until flights resume, they were then given the all-clear to travel by car and they set off on a gruelling drive to the Oman border before heading to Turkey via a “special flight”.

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According to the Russian site Sports.ru, Rublev’s mother, Marina Marinenko, gave RIA Novosti the following update: “I am waiting for Andrey to call me when he arrives in Istanbul. A special flight was organised for Medvedev, Khachanov and Rublev’s team.

“They flew out of Oman at 4pm, and I am waiting for a call when they arrive in Istanbul, from where the guys will fly to Los Angeles. They said the flight would take six hours and 30 minutes.

“If I’m not mistaken, the ATP helped with the arrangements. They didn’t allow the flight to take off for a long time,” RIA Novosti quoted Marienko as saying.

She later added: “They have arrived in Istanbul.”

Medvedev, Rublev and Khachanov are all set to play in the main draw of the season-opening ATP Masters 1000 event in California with first-round matches starting on Wednesday.

However, there is good news for the trio as they are seeded so have byes into the second round with their matches scheduled for Friday and Saturday.

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