Tennis News

Roger Federer elected into the International Tennis Hall Of Fame

Roger Federer, who held the No. 1 spot in the PIF ATP Rankings for 310 weeks during his illustrious career, has been elected into the International Hall of Fame in the Class of 2026.

The Swiss legend won 103 tour-level titles, second only to Jimmy Connors (109). Federer lifted 20 major trophies and earned 28 ATP Masters 1000 crowns.

“It’s a tremendous honor to be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame and to stand alongside so many of the game’s great champions,” Federer said. “Throughout my career, I’ve always valued the history of tennis and the example set by those who came before me. It was very special to receive the news at Swiss Tennis, surrounded by the next generation of players — the place where my own journey first began.

“To be recognized in this way by the sport and by my peers is deeply humbling. I look forward to visiting Newport next August to celebrate this special moment with the tennis community.”

Federer was notified of his election by fellow Hall of Fame members in a call that included Stefan Edberg and Boris Becker, two players who helped inspire the Swiss superstar.

Federer owns the record for most consecutive weeks at World No. 1 at 237 from Feberuary 2004-August 2008. He earned ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF honours five times, received the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award 13 times, and was named ATP Fans’ Favourite for a record 19 consecutive years from 2003-21.

The Class of 2026, which also includes sportscaster and journalist Mary Carillo (Contributor Category), will be officially inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame during the Induction Celebration in Newport, Rhode Island from 27-29 August 2026.

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On This Day: Hewitt makes No. 1 history in 2001

Lleyton Hewitt made history on 19 November 2001 when aged 20 he became the youngest World No. 1, a record which has since been passed by Carlos Alcaraz.

The turn of the millennium was a time when Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi were not at the peak of their powers, while 19-year-old Roger Federer had not yet established himself at the top of the game. There to capitalise was Hewitt.

The Australian made waves in 2000 when he reached his first major semi-final at the US Open but it was his consistency coupled with standout runs in 2001 that led him to become the second Australian after Patrick Rafter to rise to No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings.

Hewitt began the season by winning the title on home soil in Sydney before he enjoyed a successful Sunshine Double, advancing to the semi-finals in Indian Wells and Miami. Grass-court titles at Queen’s at ‘s-Hertogenbosch followed but it was not until the American hard-court swing that the Aussie made his charge to No. 1.

Hewitt arrived at the US Open as the World No. 4, trailing World No. 1 Gustavo Kuerten by 1,360 points. However, the Australian delivered in New York, beating Andy Roddick, Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Sampras en route to his first major title.

After closing the gap on the Brazilian Kuerten, Hewitt stormed to his fifth title of the season in Tokyo. Having qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals, the 20-year-old headed into the prestigious year-end event knowing that if he won the trophy, he was assured of ascending to No.1. It was the same, however, for two of his rivals: Kuerten and Agassi.

Hewitt stood unbeaten following a three-set win against Sebastien Grosjean before a convincing victory against Agassi. By virtue of this straight-sets result, the pieces of the puzzle were falling into place sooner than expected as a twist in the race to No. 1 emerged. By beating Rafter in his final round-robin match, Hewitt qualified for the semi-finals and importantly secured No. 1 rights. He beat Juan Carlos Ferrero for the loss of seven games in the semis and then defeated Grosjean again to win the event for the first time.

Hewitt would go on to spend 75 consecutive weeks at No. 1, the third-best of all time after first rising to No. 1 behind Roger Federer (237 weeks), Jimmy Connors (160 weeks). Hewitt was just one of five players (also Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner) to spend more than a year at No. 1 as a first-time World No. 1.

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Bergs, Collignon fire Belgium to victory against France at Davis Cup Finals

Belgium booked its spot in the semi-finals at the Davis Cup Finals on Tuesday in Bologna, where it defeated France 2-0 thanks to victories from Raphael Collignon and Zizou Bergs.

In the opening match of the tie, the No. 86 player in the PIF ATP Rankings Collignon downed Corentin Moutet 2-6, 7-5, 7-5 to put his country ahead. Bergs then beat Shanghai finalist Arthur Rinderknech 6-3, 7-6(4), to give Belgium an unassailable 2-0 advantage.

Bergs recovered from failing to serve out the match at 5-3 to eventually triumph in the second-set tie-break after one hour and 34 minutes. Belgium earned its place at the Final 8 with a remarkable 3-2 victory away in Australia during September’s second-round qualifiers.

Belgium will face two-time defending champion Italy or Austria in the semi-finals on Friday. Belgium is a two-time finalist at the Davis Cup, reaching the title match in 2015 and 2017. The championship match at this year’s event takes place on Sunday.

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Zizou sinks France as Davis Cup talks planned with top stars

Belgium beat France in the opening match at the Davis Cup Finals, as organisers confirm discussions will be held over the tournament’s future format.

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Watch free Challenger TV: Hewitt & son play doubles in Sydney

Lleyton Hewitt and his 16-year-old son Cruz Hewitt are set to compete during Wednesday’s doubles action at the ATP Challenger Tour event in Sydney.

The father-son duo is scheduled to play their opening-round match against Hayden Jones and Pavle Marinkov not before 5 p.m. local time / 1 a.m. ET / 7 a.m. CST. In a full-circle moment, the former World No. 1 will be competing on the 24-year anniversary of when he first rose to the top spot in the PIF ATP Rankings.

Fans can stream all ATP Challenger Tour matches for free on Challenger TV. The live stream can also be viewed below:

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United Cup 2026 draw revealed

The world’s best tennis players are set for some blockbuster match-ups at the fourth edition of the United Cup, the innovative mixed team event in Perth and Sydney from Friday 2 to Sunday 11 January 2026.

Eighteen countries were drawn into six groups of three teams at the official draw today.

Icons of the game, Wally Masur and Jelena Dokic were on hand for the proceedings, while Casey Dellacqua and Matt Ebden attended the United Cup draw event at RAC Arena in Perth.

Perth

Defending champions Team USA and top seeds headline Group A and will return to Perth in 2026. Led by World No. 3 Coco Gauff and the No. 6 player in the PIF ATP Rankings Taylor Fritz, USA will go head-to-head with Spain and Argentina in the group stage.

Third seeds Team Italy, guided by World No.8 and 2024 Roland Garros and Wimbledon finalist Jasmine Paolini and rising star Flavio Cobolli will meet Team France and Team Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka and World No.11 Belinda Bencic in Group C.

Team Great Britain, featuring a fresh line-up including World No.10 Jack Draper and 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu, will headline Group E alongside Team Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas and Maria Sakkari and debutant’s Team Japan led by four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka and 2019 Junior Wimbledon champion Shintaro Mochizuki.

Sydney

World No.5 Felix Auger-Aliassime and teenage talent Victoria Mboko top Group B in Sydney as the No. 2 seeds in the competition in 2026. They will face Team Belgium and Team China.

Group D will feature Team Australia led by World No. 7 Alex de Minaur and the nation’s new top-ranked woman, World No. 32 Maya Joint. Team Czechia and Casper Ruud’s Team Norway complete the group.

United Cup 2024 champions Team Germany, led by World No.3 Alexander Zverev and debutant Eva Lys will star in Group F, alongside Poland’s World No. 2 Iga Swiatek and Hubert Hurkacz and Team Netherlands.

United Cup Tournament Director Stephen Farrow said the draw for 2026 will see some of the biggest names in tennis play the United Cup this summer.

“We’re extremely proud of this competition for what it represents and celebrates, the fact that our great sport of tennis is played by so many amazing athletes on both the female and male side of the sport,” Farrow said.

“To bring those athletes together to play for not just big ranking points and prize money but for their country and national pride is what makes this competition so special.

“It’s an intense and exciting atmosphere with loads of fans coming to watch. Some of the top players in the world, truly engaged and wanting to win out there on court in Perth and Sydney. We have a huge amount to look forward to in January.”

Western Australian Tourism Minister the Hon. Reece Whitby MLA said: “We are absolutely delighted to welcome such a talented lineup of tennis teams to Western Australia. I’m extremely excited we’ll be hosting USA and Italy for massive tennis matches that will serve up another incredible year of major events for the State.

“Events like the United Cup build on WA’s status as a premier destination for major sporting events, spotlighting our vibrant capital city in the beautiful summertime.

“Returning for a fourth year, the United Cup is a fantastic event that forms part of our economic diversification strategy to draw visitors to our State and inject millions of valuable tourism dollars providing a boost to local business and jobs.”

NSW Minister for Sport and Minister for Jobs and Tourism Steve Kamper added, “As the host city of the tournament’s biggest matches, the United Cup is one of the most anticipated events in Sydney’s packed summer of sport, offering fans a rare opportunity to watch the world’s best tennis players compete for their country.

“The electric atmosphere of Ken Rosewall Arena created by passionate fans from across the globe is a truly unique experience that will again showcase Sydney as one of the world’s great stages for international sport.”

The tournament schedule will be released tomorrow, Tuesday 18 November. Group stage tickets will go on sale from 12.00pm local time Wednesday 19 November in Perth and Sydney. Adult tickets start from $40 and from $20 for children 3-12 years of age.

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United Cup 2026 schedule released

The schedule for United Cup 2026 has been released ahead of tickets to the tournament’s group stage going on sale Wednesday 19 November from 12.00pm local time in Perth and Sydney.

The world’s best tennis players are set for some blockbuster match ups at the fourth edition of the innovative mixed team event this summer.

In 2026, the event will feature five of the world’s Top 10 men and four of the world’s Top 10 women including Alex de Minaur, Coco Gauff, Taylor Fritz, Iga Swiatek, Alexander Zverev, Jasmine Paolini, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Jack Draper.

Other standout names competing include Emma Raducanu, Naomi Osaka, Belinda Bencic, Stan Wawrinka, Jakub Mensik, Flavio Cobolli, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Maria Sakkari.

At RAC Arena, Team USA, Italy, Great Britain, Japan, Switzerland, Greece, France and more will contest the group stage in Perth when the event begins on Friday 2 January.
Top seeds USA will face Argentina in their opening Group A tie on Saturday 3 January.

At Ken Rosewall Arena in Sydney, Australia – represented by De Minaur, Maya Joint, Jason Kubler, Maddison Inglis, Storm Hunter and John-Patrick Smith – will kick off its campaign against Casper Ruud’s Team Norway on Saturday 3 January. The host country will then face Czechia on Tuesday 6 January.

Other countries in Sydney include Canada, Poland, Germany, China, Belgium and Netherlands.

Five hottest match-ups in Perth Group Stage
• Friday 2 January (Night): Group E – Team Greece v Team Japan
• Sunday 4 January (Day): Group E – Team Great Britain vs Team Japan
• Sunday 4 January (Night): Group C – Team Italy vs Team Switzerland
• Monday 5 January (Day): Group A – Team USA vs Team Spain
• Monday 5 January (Night): Group E – Team Great Britain vs Team Greece

Five hottest match-ups in Sydney Group Stage
• Saturday 3 January (Night): Group D – Team Australia v Team Norway
• Sunday 4 January (Night): Group B – Team Canada vs Team China
• Monday 5 January (Night): Group F – Team Germany vs Team Poland
• Tuesday 6 January (Day): Group B – Team Canada vs Team Belgium
• Tuesday 6 January (Night): Group D – Team Australia vs Team Czechia

Each tie at the United Cup will comprise one men’s singles and one women’s singles match followed by one mixed doubles match.

Singles matches are best-of-three tiebreak sets. Mixed doubles matches are two tiebreak sets with a deciding match tiebreak (10 points) at one set-all.

In Perth, the day session will start at 10.00am and 5.00pm local time for the night session.

In Sydney, the day session will begin at 10.30am and 5.30pm for the second session.

Group winners in each city advance to the quarterfinals with one quarterfinal spot in each city awarded to the best runner up in that city.

Winners will progress to the semifinals and final to be played in Sydney.

Tickets
• Tickets to the United Cup group stage go on sale from 12.00pm local time on Wednesday 19 November. Sydney group stage tickets from $40, Perth group stage tickets from $43
• Kids go free in Perth and Sydney on Saturday 3 January
• Tickets for the United Cup quarterfinals, semifinals and final are already on sale
• For more information please visit UnitedCup.com/tickets.

Format
• The fourth edition of United Cup will be held from Friday 2 January to Sunday 11 January 2026
• The group stage in Perth (RAC Arena) runs from Friday 2 January to Tuesday 6 January. The quarterfinals in Perth will be held on Wednesday 7 January
• The group stage in Sydney (Ken Rosewall Arena) runs from Saturday 3 January to Wednesday 7 January. The quarterfinals in Sydney will be held across Thursday 8 and Friday 9 January
• Group winners in each city advance to the quarterfinals with one quarterfinal spot in each city awarded to the best runner up in that city
• Winners will progress to the semifinals and final to be played in Sydney.
• Sydney will host two semifinals on Saturday 10 January followed by the final of the United Cup from 5.30pm on Sunday 11 January
• Teams travelling from Perth to Sydney will have a travel day and rest day before their semifinal matches.

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British Grand Slam winner Salisbury to take a break over anxiety

Joe Salisbury has experienced the highs of winning Grand Slams and reaching number one in the world. This season he has struggled with anxiety, he tells BBC tennis correspondent Russell Fuller.

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'Heartbroken' Alcaraz pulls out of Davis Cup Finals

World number one Carlos Alcaraz says he is “heartbroken” after withdrawing from Spain’s Davis Cup Finals team because of a hamstring injury.

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Alcaraz withdraws from Spain's Davis Cup quarter-final

Carlos Alcaraz has withdrawn from Spain’s upcoming Davis Cup Final 8 quarter-final against Czechia, which will take place on Thursday, 20 November in Bologna, due to a right hamstring injury.

The No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, who fell to Jannik Sinner Sunday’s Nitto ATP Finals title match, required a medical timeout during the final to have his leg strapped. Alcaraz arrived in Italy on Monday but, after undergoing tests, decided to withdraw and return home.

“I am very sorry to announce that I will not be able to play with Spain in the Davis Cup in Bologna,” Alcaraz wrote on X on Tuesday morning. “I have edema in my right hamstring and the medical recommendation is not to compete. I have always said that playing for Spain is the greatest thing there is and I was really looking forward to helping fight for the Salad Bowl [trophy]. I am going home hurt…”

Siento muchísimo anunciar que no voy a poder jugar con España la Copa Davis en Bolonia… 🥲 Tengo un edema en el isquiotibial de la pierna derecha y la recomendación médica es no competir. Siempre he dicho que jugar por España es lo más grande que hay y me hacía mucha ilusión… pic.twitter.com/ftWvwGUYcu

— Carlos Alcaraz (@carlosalcaraz) November 18, 2025

Spain’s team, captained by David Ferrer, features Jaume Munar, Pedro Martinez and Pablo Carreno Busta. They will face Czechia — led by Jiri Lehecka and Jakub Mensik — on Thursday at 10 a.m. CET, with the winner advancing to play either Argentina or Germany in the semi-finals.

Alcaraz ends his 2025 season with a Tour-leading 71 wins and eight titles, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index. He split the four majors with Sinner and leads the Italian 10-6 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series, having won four of their six final showdowns this year.

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