Category: Articles

  • Why there is a clear favourite in WTA Finals battle between Mirra Andreeva and Elena Rybakina

    Elena Rybakina’s title run at the Ningbo Open has seen her put one foot on the plane to Riyadh for the final spot at this year’s WTA Finals.

    Former world No 3 Rybakina had been an outsider for the season-ending tournament for most of the year as she reached only one final, the Internationaux de Strasbourg in May, lingering outside the qualification places.

    But the 2022 Wimbledon winner’s quarter-final at the Wuhan Open and Ningbo title, coupled with Mirra Andreeva’s loss of form in recent weeks, has resulted in a late surge for the former, and she is now the favourite to qualify.

    After winning two WTA 1000 titles – Dubai Tennis Championships and Indian Wells Open – during the first three months of the season, Andreeva found herself among the top three in the WTA Finals Race To Riyadh.

    She stayed in the top five for several months before slipping down with poor results during the Asia swing as she lost in the round of 16 at the China Open and her opening matches at the Wuhan Open and Ningbo Open.

    With Jasmine Paolini reaching the quarter-final at this week’s WTA 500 event, she overtook Andreeva in the standings and secured her place at the WTA Finals – leaving Andreeva and Rybakina battling it out for the eighth and final spot.

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    And Rybakina has gone on to win the Ningbo title, beating Ekaterina Alexandrova 3-6, 6-0, 6-2 to win the 10th title of her career, to move within striking distance of her young Russian rival

    Why Rybakina Is The Favourite

    Rybakina will play at the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo this coming week, but she needs to reach the semi-final to overtake Andreeva.

    “Thank you so much to my team for always pushing me to be better,” Rybakina said after the match.

    “Especially at the end of the season, it’s not easy, but without you I would not be here. So, thanks again, and hopefully we can push a little more next week.”

    That final push comes in Tokyo and there is good news for the Kazakh player as her big rival for qualification won’t play this week so her destiny is in her own hands: win two matches and qualify.

    But she hasn’t received the easiest draw at the WTA 500 tournament as Rybakina – who has a first-round bye – will likely face Leylah Fernandez in the second round while she is projected to meet Victoria Mboko in the quarter-final.

    Rybakina is looking to reach the WTA Finals for a third consecutive year, but she is yet to make it out of the group stage as she won only one round robin match in both 2023 and 2024.

    The post Why there is a clear favourite in WTA Finals battle between Mirra Andreeva and Elena Rybakina appeared first on Tennis365.

  • Marta Kostyuk interview: Why Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek have a big advantage over me

    Marta Kostyuk interview: Why Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek have a big advantage over me

    Marta Kostyuk sat down with Tennis365 for an extended interview at the Wuhan Open, with her honesty shining through as she reflected on the highs and lows of her 2025 season.

    In this slice of our exclusive interview, Kostyuk talks about her battles with Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek and the advantages she feels the highest ranked players in the women’s game have over her.

    Are you satisfied with your season?

    Not entirely. You know, I will see where the year comes to an end, but this is the time when you look back at all the things you have done and what you could have done better. I think this year there are a lot of improvements outside of the court in the way I live my life, the way I approach life. So there is a lot of positives from this year but also some problems like injuries and defeats in close matches.

    You seem to have a few regrets from the 2025 season?

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    I just feel like I was hitting the wall a lot of times this year, losing a lot of matches to top 10 players. In a lot of matches I was really close and I couldn’t get over the line. So as the year comes to an end, I have some frustrations. I feel like I need to take the last few steps to overcome this. It’s important that you really believe in what you do and believe it will happen for you. This year, it has felt like there was obstacle after obstacle at times, I wasn’t very lucky with the draws. Somehow, I ended up where I am. It was a decent year, but not good enough for me.

    What separates you from the players at the top of the rankings?

    Against Iga (Swiatek), when I have played her, I wasn’t ready to play her at all. I played her over a year ago and she was very strong. With Aryna (Sabalenka), I know it is a tough battle. I have my own skills, but at the end of the day, they are all much bigger than me, much taller than me, much stronger than me. 

    Do you feel intimidated by players like Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka?

    We all have our own biological structure. Some have a higher level of testosterone, some have lower. It’s just natural and that definitely helps. I feel smaller than them. I try to see how I can beat these players with the tennis skills I have, but I have to work harder to win the points. I have to run a lot more than them to win points.

    Marta Kostyuk will use the Wilson Ultra V5

    Marta Kostyuk is using the Wilson Ultra V5

    How can you bridge that physical gap?

    I cannot make myself 10kgs bigger or five centimetres taller, so I have to use everything I had at 100 percent. For other players, they have more of an advantage in other things. This is just the way I am. I look at the photos when we shake hands at the net and I look so much smaller than some of my opponents. It’s just part of the sport and a very cool challenge for me to take on these players. There are many, many things I can do to be better, but they have an advantage on me.

    Are these champions mentally stronger?

    Their confidence is just different. I have played some close matches against Aryna and you see how she plays the break points. She just doesn’t care. She has no doubt that she will save them. She hits a big serve and hits the forehand. No doubt. She is No 1 in the world, she has played a lot of finals and she has that confidence. That helps her to have no doubts. For me, it is not so easy for me to play without doubt. It is an interesting sport and I’m enjoying the journey of trying to figure it out.

    The post Marta Kostyuk interview: Why Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek have a big advantage over me appeared first on Tennis365.

  • WATCH: Shocking Holger Rune injury confirmed after desperate scenes in Stockholm

    Holger Rune is facing a long time out of the game as the extent of the injury he suffered at the Nordic Open in Stockholm was revealed.

    Rune was leading Ugo Humbert 6-4 2-2 when he pulled up mid-point, stretching out his left foot in pain.

    It quickly became evident that there was a serious problem for the 22-year-old and the worst fears were confirmed when his mother Aneke confirmed Holger has suffered a torn Achilles tendon.

    That prognosis was not a surprise, as it appeared Rune’s Achilles was the problem, as he limped to the chair and broke down in tears as he was assessed by medical officials.

    Rune was helped off the court and he is now set to face a long time out of the game, with the prognosis for this injury suggesting a four to six month recovery will be required at the very least.

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    To play top level sport after this kind of injury will be tougher and that could see Rune absent for most of 2026.

    Prior to the match against Humbert, he spoke about the challenges of playing on the ATP Tour, with the debate about the long season and volume of matches now set to be a topic raised again after such a major injury to one of the shining stars of the men’s game.

    Journalist Nicholas Albek from  SpilXperten watched the scenes with Rune and he gave this reaction to Tennis365: “First and foremost, I’m obviously incredibly sorry on Holger’s behalf. He’s one of the biggest Danish names and a fantastic tennis player. In my eyes, he’s still one of the most talented players in the world.”

    “That’s why it hurts even more to see his serious injury today. Aneke Rune confirmed to me right after the match that Holger has torn his Achilles tendon. He’ll be getting a scan on Sunday, where he’ll find out whether surgery is needed or not, but according to his team, that doesn’t really change the recovery timeline much.”

    “So far, the prognosis is 3–6 months, but I do fear that Aneke might be a bit optimistic. Of course, I’m hoping for the best for him, because Holger is truly a great guy, and I have a lot of respect for him both on and off the court, where he always takes the time to talk to us journalists.”

    “It was a very special atmosphere after the match. The mood in the press room was almost one of disbelief. People couldn’t believe their eyes, and there was dead silence. Ugo Humbert came to the press conference shortly after, and he was clearly deeply affected by the situation.”

    “Several fans in the arena were also visibly shaken by the situation. It was clear that people felt it in their stomachs, because it was obvious from the start that this was a very serious injury. There wasn’t the slightest chance he could continue the match, and of course, it’s incredibly sad that the worst-case scenario has now been confirmed.”

    “This is a massive blow to Danish sport. Rune is probably the biggest name in Danish sports at the moment, so it hits the entire nation like a punch in the face that we now won’t be able to see him on court for a long time.”

    Albek also spoke to Humbert, who gave this reaction: “It’s really a shame, and I feel very sorry for him. This is not the way I wanted to win.”

    “I hope it’s not too serious for him. I wish him all the best and hope he comes back strong.”

    The post WATCH: Shocking Holger Rune injury confirmed after desperate scenes in Stockholm appeared first on Tennis365.

  • Why Jack Draper ‘needs to change something’ as injury expert issues Juan Martin del Potro warning

    Leading athlete welfare and injury prevention expert Stephen Smith has shared his insight into the nature of the injury that ended Jack Draper’s 2025 season.

    Smith, who is the founder and CEO of Kitman Labs — the world’s leading sports science and data company — also explained why he feels “something needs to change now” for Draper.

    Draper announced last month that he would not play again in 2025 due to a bruised humerus – the bone that runs from the shoulder to elbow – in his left arm.

    The 23-year-old Brit has revealed he had been suffering with the injury since the clay-court season and that it got “progressively worse.”

    “I felt like my arm was shutting down a little bit when I was hitting forehands and on the serve,” Draper explained.

    “After the grass, I got it checked out. It is one of those where if you keep playing with it, it could become very, very serious.”

    After a surprise second round Wimbledon loss to Marin Cilic, Draper did not play again until the US Open, where he battled to win his opener before pulling out ahead of his second round match.

    Draper, who is currently ranked ninth, compiled an excellent 30-9 (76.9%) record this year and reached a career-high ranking of world No 4 in June after an excellent first half of the campaign. He won the biggest title of his career to date at the Indian Wells Masters in March.

    In an exclusive interview with Tennis365, Smith shed light on bone bruising and broke down what is involved in the process of returning to competitive action from this type of injury.

    “With something like that, sounds like that is some level of repetitive strain. So you’re talking about bruising on joints and bones from a repetitive action, most likely from a combination of serving and forehand, et cetera,” Smith said.

    “I think that type of thing, we talk about something like bone bruising from a repetitive motion like that, requires a significant amount of rest because it’s essentially almost like having a fracture. The bone might as well be broken.

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    “If you come back out and you keep on pounding those against each other again, they inflame, they become sorer and sorer to the point that you could have something like a stress fracture that would occur there.

    “So they’re generally treated like a fracture, you’re talking about at least having six to eight weeks, somewhere in that ballpark of rest and recuperation to allow that bruising to go away.

    “But then probably more importantly, the amount of rehabilitation that’s required and potentially the level of biomechanical adjustments that need to be made. Because why was that happening in the first place? What were the stressors that were causing that? Do we need to change the way he moves?

    “So I imagine he’s going through a decent period, not just of rest, but of rehabilitation and potentially of reprogramming some of the movements and making sure that they decrease the potential for something like that to happen again.”

    Draper’s arm injury adds to a growing list of physical issues he has been afflicted by in his short career to date. He was sidelined for spells in 2023 and 2024 due to abdominal and shoulder injuries, while hip tendinitis disrupted his off-season ahead of the 2025 campaign.

    Smith was asked if it concerns him that a player as young as Draper has already suffered from a host of problems with his body.

    “Yeah, absolutely. I think it’s a sign that there’s something from a management perspective that’s probably missing there,” Smith said.

    “Whether it’s having more or less of something, additional strength and conditioning work, adjustments to how he’s being managed through competitions, how is his practice loads being managed.

    “Whether it is alterations to his biomechanics and how he plays the game. I think to have the injury history that he’s had at the age that he’s had probably needs to be cognisant of the fact that something needs to change now, or he’ll end up having a career that’s cut short.

    “Think of someone like Juan Martin del Potro, incredible talent, with probably one of the most powerful forehands we’ve ever seen in the game, but his greatest strength ultimately ended up being one of his biggest issues. Had all of those wrist issues, had lots of surgeries on it because that wasn’t nipped in the bud.”

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    The post Why Jack Draper ‘needs to change something’ as injury expert issues Juan Martin del Potro warning appeared first on Tennis365.

  • Has Jannik Sinner fixed his big problem as he looks to catch up with Carlos Alcaraz?

    Jannik Sinner identified one big problem after his US Open final defeat against Carlos Alcaraz last month and it appears he is already on his way to finding a fix.

    World No 2 Sinner admitted his serve was not where it needed to be as he was beaten by Alcaraz in New York and he made no secret of his desire to solve the problem in his post-match interviews.

    Sinner went as far as to suggest he would be prepared to lose some matches as he experimented with new techniques raising plenty of eyebrows.

    “I can say that I’m gonna become a better tennis player and I’m gonna change a couple of things on the serve, just small things, but, they can make big differences and then we see how it goes,” said Sinner.

    “I’m looking forward to play these matches again, something new is now that I’m not No 1 anymore. Now you chase, it’s different.

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    “Maybe I will lose some matches from now on, but I will try to do some changes, trying to be a bit more unpredictable as a player and because I think that’s what I have to do, trying to become a better tennis player.”

    Sinner’s win at the China Open in Beijing earlier this month gave the tennis world a glimpse of a modified service action and he took that serving performance to the next level with a polished display in his 6-4, 6-2 win against Novak Djokovic at the Six Kings Slam exhibition event in Saudi Arabia.

    Sinner revamped his serve mid-way through the 2023 season and the improved power and accuracy in the shot was viewed as one of the big reasons why the Italian took his game to the next level and won four Grand Slam titles over the last two years.

    Yet statistics this season suggest that the potent serve has not been operating as he would have wanted. 

    Sinner’s first serve percentage over the last 52 weeks on the ATP Tour is at 60.5 per-cent, with that figure leaving his down in 61st position in the rankings for that shot.

    Alexander Zverev is top of the list with a first serve percentage of 71.5, with shock Shanghai Masters champion Valentin Vacherot in seventh place in the list with a successful first serve percentage of 67.2.

    Carlos Alcaraz is down in 26th place with a first serve percentage of 64.2, but these numbers change when we look at the percentage of first serve points won.

    Taylor Fritz is top of the list in these statistics, with Sinner in fourth position, Novak Djokovic in tenth place and Alcaraz down in 28th place.

    When it comes to second serve points won, Sinner tops that list ahead of Alcaraz in second place, with Alex de Minaur in third spot, ahead of Ben Shelton in fourth and Djokovic in fifth.

    The post Has Jannik Sinner fixed his big problem as he looks to catch up with Carlos Alcaraz? appeared first on Tennis365.

  • Why Elena Rybakina beating Jasmine Paolini in Ningbo could be crucial in WTA Finals Race

    Elena Rybakina defeated Jasmine Paolini in straight sets in the semi-finals of the 2025 Ningbo Open, and the result could be significant in the Race to the WTA Finals.

    The world No 9 earned a convincing 6-3, 6-2 victory against eighth-ranked Paolini to progress to the final at the WTA 500 tournament in China.

    Rybakina did not lose serve in the match, saving seven break points, while she broke her 29-year-old Italian opponent three times. The Russian-born Kazakh had lost her last two matches against Paolini and trailed the pair’s head-to-head 2-3 prior to this match.

    “I knew the match would be very tough. Jasmine played really well this season. She’s a really tough opponent,” said the 26-year-old.

    “I knew I’d need to bring my best. I’m happy I stayed focused ’til the end and I won it in straight sets.”

    Six players have already qualified for the WTA Finals: Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Amanda Anisimova, Jessica Pegula and Madison Keys.

    This leaves the final two spots in the Race to Riyadh — the yearly rankings which determine the eight qualifiers for the WTA Finals — up for grabs.

    Rybakina started the week ninth in the Race, 218 points behind eighth-placed Paolini and 406 points behind seventh-place Mirra Andreeva.

    The 2022 Wimbledon champion knew, therefore, that she needed to make a deep run in Ningbo to keep her hopes of qualifying for the season-ending championships alive.

    Andreeva’s shock defeat to Zhu Lin in her opening match in Ningbo means she increased her tally by just a single point to 4,320.

    By reaching the last four, Paolini increased her points total to 4,325, which has narrowly lifted her above Andreeva into the No 7 position in the Race.

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    There was, therefore, a lot on the line in the semi-final between Rybakina and Paolini, and the former’s victory has moved her onto 4,130 points.

    Rybakina will face either Diana Shnaider or Ekaterina Alexandrova in the final, and if she wins, she will jump to 4,305 points.

    “I’m very excited. I’ll try to bring my best. Let’s see what’s gonna happen,” Rybakina said of the final.

    Winning the Ningbo Open would still leave Rybakina in ninth place, but she would be just 15 points behind Andreeva and 20 points below Paolini.

    The Race is, then, set for a fascinating conclusion, with both Rybakina and Paolini having entered the WTA 500 tournament in Tokyo next week.

    Andreeva’s hopes of qualifying for Riyadh now look in doubt as she has not entered a tournament next week.

    Ahead of her semi-final win, Rybakina spoke about her chances of qualifying for the WTA Finals.

    “I won’t say it’s pressure,” she said.

    “Of course it would be nice to qualify. But I know for this I still need to win a lot of matches. Not only here, but also next week (in Tokyo).

    “I just try to finish the season as best as possible. Most important is to stay healthy. The season has been very long. Not that successful for me. But I still think it’s been pretty decent. Just important to stay healthy and be ready for the next one.”

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    The post Why Elena Rybakina beating Jasmine Paolini in Ningbo could be crucial in WTA Finals Race appeared first on Tennis365.

  • Tim Henman gives Novak Djokovic pointed advice as retirement rumours swirl

    Tim Henman has hit back at critics who claim Novak Djokovic should call time on his career, as he told Tennis365 that the Serbian legend has earned the right to continue playing for as long as he wants.

    Djokovic has made it clear that his last big target in tennis is winning a 25th Grand Slam title, which would move him one clear of Margaret Court in the all-time list of major winners.

    The Serbian admitted after his US Open defeat against Carlos Alcaraz that he may no longer be able to beat the Spaniard and his great rival Jannik Sinner in best-of-five-set matches, sparking rumours that he may be close to calling time on his career.

    Yet former British No 1 Henman has insisted Djokovic should not be asked about retirement, as only he can make a call on the timing.

    “He made four Grand Slam semi-finals this year and that is a phenomenal achievement, but when you have played five matches to get there and then you are coming up against these youngsters who are at the peak of their powers, he’s not been able to come up with the solutions,” Henman told Tennis365.

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    “What I always say about these great players is they should play as long as they want. They have earned the right to play as long as they want.

    “If they are enjoying it, keep playing. It’s the best job in the world. You are a long time retired.

    “It will be interesting to see how Djokovic approaches 2026, what his schedule is like and his level of play.

    “Everybody’s journey is different. I can only reflect on why I stopped and I had the US Open in front of me and then the Davis Cup at home. I made the decision in about 24 hours and I had eight weeks ahead of me, finishing off at Wimbledon (in the Davis Cup).”

    Djokovic addressed the issue of retirement when he spoke at the Joy Forum proper to his heavy defeat against Sinner in the Six Kings Slam event taking play in Riyadh this week and he made it clear that he has no intention of quitting any time soon.

    “Longevity is one of my biggest motivations and I really want to see how far I can go,” said Djokovic.

    “You see across all the global sports, you know, LeBron James is still going strong. Cristiano Ronaldo, Tom Brady played until he was 40. I want to keep going.

    “I also want to live, I mean keep on playing professionally, to see the change that is coming for our sport and I’m super excited about it.

    “The things that are happening that I can’t openly speak about at the moment, but I feel like in the next couple of years, I feel like tennis is a sport that can be and will be transformed.

    “I want to be part of that change and not just part of that change, but I want to be playing when we rejuvenate our sport and set the platform that is going to be there for decades to come.”

    He was then asked directly about retirement and he added: “It’s not happening. I’m sorry to disappoint them. It’s just not happening.”

    The post Tim Henman gives Novak Djokovic pointed advice as retirement rumours swirl appeared first on Tennis365.

  • Did Jannik Sinner’s domination of Novak Djokovic at Six Kings Slam expose major ‘warning sign’?

    Former Italian ATP star Paolo Bertolucci has asserted that there are “no real challengers” to Carlos Alcaraz Jannik Sinner and argued this is “the most serious problem” in tennis.

    Alcaraz and Sinner have each won four of the last eight Grand Slam tournaments, and the duo have met in five consecutive finals when competing in the same event (Rome, French Open, Wimbledon, Cincinnati and US Open).

    The pair will face off in the final at the 2025 Six Kings Slam exhibition in Riyadh on Saturday. The winner will secure $6 million — the biggest paycheque in the sport.

    Alcaraz and Sinner both progressed to the final with dominant semi-final wins, with the former beating Taylor Fritz and the latter defeating Novak Djokovic.

    After Sinner’s one-sided 6-4, 6-2 win over Djokovic in Saudi Arabia, Bertolucci sent a warning to the ATP players chasing the leading duo.

    “Last night, the gap between the world’s number two and number three was starkly evident, Djokovic, while still an immense champion, is no longer able to keep up with the pace of Sinner or Alcaraz in long matches, the ones that truly matter,” said the former world No 12.

    “He admitted it himself: in five-set matches, he can no longer sustain that level of intensity. Yet, even in exhibitions, the difference was noticeable.

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    “Not due to any fault of his own, but because world tennis is currently experiencing an obvious void: behind the two dominators, there are no real challengers.

    “This is the most serious problem, even more than the natural decline of veterans. When Sinner and Alcaraz play, they almost always reach the final; when they’re absent, the outcome becomes unpredictable, and this imbalance is a warning sign for the entire sport.

    “It’s true that all sports go through cycles of exceptional talent, but in tennis, the generational gap has become enormous.

    “[Alexander] Zverev and [Daniil] Medvedev now seem out of the race, [Jack] Draper has lacked the necessary consistency, and the gap with [Casper] Ruud is clear. Even [Holger] Rune, who was supposed to be the third contender among the young players, has stalled.

    “On the horizon, there are no figures ready to join the fight. [Joao] Fonseca will need at least a couple of seasons; he must build himself physically and learn to handle the circuit’s demands.

    “Until then, the Sinner-Alcaraz duopoly will continue to dominate without question, and it will likely do so for the next four or five years. When two phenomena emerge together, the gap with the rest of the field tends to widen.”

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    The post Did Jannik Sinner’s domination of Novak Djokovic at Six Kings Slam expose major ‘warning sign’? appeared first on Tennis365.

  • Emma Raducanu: former world No 8 sparks backlash with ‘ridiculous’ take on Brit’s US Open win

    Former ATP star John Isner has come under fire after a bold claim he made about Valentin Vacherot’s 2025 Shanghai Masters triumph and Emma Raducanu’s US Open title run.

    Vacherot shocked the tennis world by winning nine consecutive matches, including two qualifying rounds, to claim his first-ever ATP title at the prestigious ATP 1000 event in Shanghai.

    The 26-year-old Monegasque was ranked 204th and only entered the qualifying draw after a host of withdrawals as he was the ninth alternate.

    Isner discussed Vacherot’s remarkable victory on the Nothing Major podcast with fellow former American pros Sam Querrey, Steve Johnson and Jack Sock.

    The former world No 8 was asked by Querrey if Vacherot’s Shanghai run was “more impressive” than Raducanu winning the 2021 US Open title.

    “That’s a good question. You absolutely can compare it,” Isner said.

    “I think it’s more impressive, yes. But Raducanu, it’s a bigger story because it’s the US Open. I think this (Vacherot’s run) is more improbable than what she did.

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    “But obviously it being the US Open [that Raducanu won] makes it a bigger story, even though this story is really big in the tennis world.

    “I am giving it to Vacherot there. It was just unheard of.”

    Raducanu won 10 straight matches (including three qualifiers) without dropping a set to win the 2021 US Open in astonishing fashion.

    The Brit, who was 18 and ranked 150th at the time, is the only player in tennis history to win a Grand Slam title as a qualifier.

    Isner’s controversial take was shared in a post on X, and the American was met with strong and widespread disagreement.

    “These people must leave Emma Raducanu alone. Celebrate the new guy alone,” one user wrote.

    Another posted: “Ridiculous claim. The best players weren’t even there (in Shanghai).”

    Several users argued that winning a Grand Slam and a Masters title should not be compared.

    “I think there is serious recency bias involved here. A qualifier winning a Masters is not unheard of. A qualifier winning a Slam is,” one wrote.

    “Emma was 18 playing only her second Grand Glam event and hadn’t even won a match on the WTA Tour. She won 10 matches and Vacherot nine.”

    READ NEXT: Emma Raducanu’s Ningbo Open came to a ‘timid’ end amid concerning health and injury blows

    The post Emma Raducanu: former world No 8 sparks backlash with ‘ridiculous’ take on Brit’s US Open win appeared first on Tennis365.

  • Jannik Sinner’s comments on Novak Djokovic speak volumes after Six Kings Slam hammering

    Jannik Sinner has described Novak Djokovic as a “real idol” as he expressed the respect he has for the tennis icon after defeating him at the 2025 Six Kings Slam.

    The world No 2 claimed a dominant 6-4, 6-2 victory over 24-time major champion Djokovic in just over an hour at the lucrative exhibition in Saudi Arabia.

    Sinner broke Djokovic three times and saved the only two break points he faced late in the second set of the semi-final contest.

    The Italian had eased past Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-2, 6-3 in his opening match at the event, while Djokovic received a first round bye.

    The four-time Grand Slam winner is the reigning Six Kings Slam champion, having triumphed at the inaugural edition of the exhibition last year.

    In his on-court interview after defeating Djokovic, Sinner paid tribute to the 38-year-old Serbian.

    “I think he said everything,” said the 24-year-old. “Such a great role model for the younger generation.

    “Seeing him competing and practising and training for these moments is amazing.

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    “What he has achieved in his career is incredible. I see him as a real idol. To play against him is a huge honour and privilege. I’m happy about today but I’m also happy to see him in tournaments and see him around.”

    Having lost four of his first five ATP Tour level matches against Djokovic, Sinner now leads the head-to-head 6-4 having won the last five, including semi-finals at the French Open and Wimbledon this year (this is excluding exhibition matches).

    Sinner will face his biggest rival Carlos Alcaraz in the Six Kings Slam final on Saturday in a rematch of the 2024 championship match. All six participants at the event earn a $1.5million participation fee, but the winner secures an additional $4.5million.

    Ahead of his showdown with Alcaraz — the world No 1 and a six-time major champion — Sinner said: “I look forward every time we face each other.

    “It’s great for us. It’s gonna be a great battle. I’ll try to be as ready as I can. It’s obviously a huge honour to play against him again.

    “I’m looking forward to it. I hope you guys do also. We all hope for a great Saturday night.”

    Alcaraz saw off world No 4 Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-2 in his semi-final match on Thursday.

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