Tennis News

Berankis announces retirement: 'These experiences have shaped me'

Ricardas Berankis, the highest-ranked Lithuanian player in history, announced his retirement from professional tennis on Tuesday via a post on X.

“Today is one of those days that seems like it will never come, but when it does, it touches me very sensitively and deeply,” wrote the 35-year-old. “I want to announce that I have made one of the most difficult decisions of my life – to end my professional tennis career.”

Berankis reached a career-high No. 50 in the PIF ATP Rankings in 2016 and finished his career as a two-time finalist on the ATP Tour.

“Twenty-five years is not just a number. It is a life path, a childhood dream of reaching the heights of tennis that I have been following,” Berankis continued. “This stage passed in a moment, but at the same time it left an unimaginable amount of excitement, struggle, victories, painful experiences, lasting memories, and acquaintances that will accompany me for the rest of my life.”

Berankis won the US Open boys’ title and the Orange Bowl Tennis Championships in 2007 — the same year that he rose to No. 1 in the ITF Junior World Rankings. Along with reaching two ATP Tour finals in Los Angeles in 2012 and Moscow in 2017, he also captured a tour-level doubles title in Houston in 2015 with Teymuraz Gabashvili.

“There were ups. There were downs. These experiences have shaped me as an athlete and as a person,” Berankis wrote. “Every story has its beginning and its end… Today I am closing one of the most important chapters of my life, and I do so with peace and gratitude.

“I thank everyone who was there for me – my family, friends, coaches, teammates, sponsors, partners, fans, and everyone who believed in me, supported me, encouraged me, and helped me get back up when things were the hardest. My faith and your support were my driving force.”

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'Battle of the Sexes' will not damage women's sport – Sabalenka

Aryna Sabalenka and Nick Kyrgios defend their controversial Battle of the Sexes-style match, saying the “fun” event will attract new fans to tennis.

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Mensik, Fonseca, Tien the #NextGenATP stars of 2025

Jakub Mensik, Joao Fonseca and Learner Tien grabbed the headlines among the #NextGenATP stars in 2025, winning big titles, earning Top 10 wins and climbing to career-highs in the PIF ATP Rankings.

Re-wind to December 2024 and all three competed at the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF in Jeddah, where Fonseca defeated Tien for the title. A few weeks later and the trio showed the Tour they were ready to play at the top level in Australia .

Tien enjoyed a fourth-round run at the Australian Open to become the youngest player to reach that stage since Rafael Nadal in 2005. Fonseca and Mensik both clinched Top 10 wins, with the former upsetting Andrey Rublev and the latter Casper Ruud.

Into February and Fonseca’s potential boiled into a big moment in Buenos Aires. The then-18-year-old Brazilian lifted his maiden ATP Tour title at the 250, becoming the youngest South American champion in the ATP Tour era (since 1990).

“Unbelievable week, even in Argentina, there are some Brazilians cheering for me,” an emotional Fonseca said following his final victory against Francisco Cerundolo. “That’s just amazing. Every Brazilian, everyone from their country wants this support from your own country. For me, this [moment] that I’m living is just unbelievable.”

In March, the #NextGenATP train kept moving. After Fonseca earned just his second win at an ATP Masters 1000 event in Indian Wells, Mensik made history in Miami, where he stunned Novak Djokovic to win the trophy.

The then-19-year-old Czech, who also beat Jack Draper, Arthur Fils and Taylor Fritz en route to the crown, was the second-youngest titlist in tournament history behind Carlos Alcaraz and first player from his country to win a Masters 1000 trophy since Tomas Berdych triumphed in Paris in 2005.

“It feels incredible,” Mensik said in his on-court interview after becoming the ninth-youngest Masters 1000 champion in history. “It was probably the biggest day of my life and I did super, which I’m really glad [about], to show the performance and keep the nerves outside of the court before the match. I feel just super happy and I think that the feelings will come later.”

Mensik backed up his first tour-level title in Miami by reaching the quarter-finals at the Masters 1000 event in Madrid in April and the fourth round in Rome. Fonseca further demonstrated his clay-court credentials by advancing to the third round at Roland Garros. Onto the grass in the European summer and Tien soared to his second tour-level quarter-final of the season in Mallorca, with Mensik and Fonseca both reaching the third round at Wimbledon.

During the North American swing, Tien earned three straight-set wins to book his spot in the fourth round at the Masters 1000 event Toronto, where he lost to good friend Alex Michelsen. Fonseca also impressed on the hard courts, advancing to the third round in Cincinnati, where he recorded a Top 20 win against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

While Mensik and Fonseca had tasted success earlier in the season, Tien’s biggest moments arrived in the final two months of the year. The lefty reached the final at the ATP 500 event in Beijing, taking out Cerundolo, Flavio Cobolli, Lorenzo Musetti and Daniil Medvedev in an impressive run. The 20-year-old American then advanced to the fourth round at the Masters 1000 in Shanghai before he finally captured his first ATP Tour title in Metz in November. By triumphing in France, Tien became the first American teenager to win an ATP Tour title since Andy Roddick, 19, in 2002.

“I never take it for granted, just coming out here and competing. So, holding this trophy just means the world to me. And I’m just really grateful,” Tien said during the trophy ceremony. “I want to thank my team, the ones that are here, the ones that are at home, for all the support, for everything this whole year and always, it means the world to me.”

During Tien’s success, Fonseca also enjoyed another major moment. The 19-year-old clinched the crown at the ATP 500 event in Basel in October to become the first Brazilian to win a title above ATP 250 level since Gustavo Kuerten in 2001. He was also the third-youngest player to claim an ATP 500 title since the series began. In a standout year, Mensik climbed to a career-high No. 16, Fonseca No. 24 and Tien No. 28.

Other #NextGenATP stars Alexander Blockx, Dino Prizmic, Martin Landaluce, Nicolai Budkov Kjaer, Nishesh Basavareddy and Rafael Jodar will compete in Jeddah. Budkov Kjaer won four ATP Challenger Tour titles in 2025, Jodar three, Blockx and Prizmic two and Landaluce one. Basavareddy’s best result came at the ATP 250 event in Auckland, where he advanced to the semi-finals.

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Alcaraz wins 2025 Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award

Carlos Alcaraz has been selected as the winner of the 2025 Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award. Winning the honour for the second time, the Spaniard continues to be celebrated for his exemplary behaviour on and off the court.

The 22-year-old, who first won the award in 2023, finished this season as ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF. He lifted eight trophies in 2025, including two majors. Alcaraz tallied a season-high 71-9 match record, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index.

One of Alcaraz’s standout moments of sportsmanship came this year at Roland Garros, where he called a foul on himself in his fourth-round clash against Ben Shelton. Alcaraz went full stretch for a volley and appeared to hit a clean winner. The point was initially awarded to Alcaraz, but he immediately alerted the umpire that he had lost his grip on the racquet mid-stretch and had made contact with the ball while it was no longer in his hand. By rule, that meant the point belonged to Shelton. “I would have felt guilty if I didn’t say anything about it,” Alcaraz said post-match.

Felix Auger-Aliassime and previous winners Grigor Dimitrov and Casper Ruud were also nominated in this category. Sportsmanship nominees were determined by an International Tennis Writers’ Association (ITWA) vote, and for the first time, the winner was selected in a vote by members of the exclusive ATP No. 1 Club – the 29 current and former players to have reached World No. 1.

Edberg won the sportsmanship award five times between 1988 and 1995, with the honour named after the Swede from 1996. From 2004-21, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal were the only winners, with Federer honoured 13 times and Nadal on five occasions.

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Bolelli & Vavassori repeat as Fans’ Favourite doubles duo in 2025 ATP Awards

For the second consecutive year, Italians Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori have been voted as the Fans’ Favourite doubles team in the 2025 ATP Awards.

The duo claimed four tour-level titles this year, reached the Australian Open final for the second straight season and earned a return trip to the Nitto ATP Finals on home soil in Turin.

Special messages from @BolelliSimone and Andrea Vavassori 🙌#ATPAwards pic.twitter.com/bS4OLS31CL

— ATP Tour (@atptour) December 9, 2025

“I would like to thank all of you,” Bolelli said in a video message to fans. “We are really happy to win the Fans’ Favourite award for the second year. I hope you enjoy our doubles during the year. We are really pumped for the new season, we already started working on it. See you soon.”

Vavassori added: “Thank you so much for voting for us. We are really happy to win for the second time. We had a great season and your support in Turin was amazing. See you soon in Australia, and forza!”

In their second season as a pairing, Bolelli and Vavassori began the year on a hot streak. They won the ATP 250 in Adelaide and built a nine-match winning streak. Despite title-match heartbreak in Melbourne, the Italians quickly regrouped with a title run in their very next tournament, the ATP 500 in Rotterdam. Bolelli and Vavassori would later also capture the ATP 500 events in Hamburg and Washington, D.C.

They finished the year at home in Italy, where they competed in front of a raucous crowd en route to the semi-finals at the Nitto ATP Finals. Bolelli and Vavassori partnered for a 37-22 season record, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index.

Bolelli and Vavassori are the first doubles pairing to win back-to-back Fans’ Favourite doubles team honours since Mike Bryan and Bob Bryan (2005-17).

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Alcaraz, Sinner, headline Australian Open field; Who else is on the entry list?

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner will attempt to extend their dominance at the majors in January at the Australian Open, with the duo headlining the entry list for the 2026 edition of the hard-court major in Melbourne.

The No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings Alcaraz and No. 2 Sinner have between them lifted the men’s singles at the past eight Grand Slam events. That streak dates back to Sinner’s maiden major triumph at the 2024 Australian Open, and the Italian will arrive in Melbourne in January chasing his third consecutive crown having also triumphed at the season’s opening major in 2025.

A six-time major champion, Alcaraz will be bidding to complete the Career Grand Slam in Melbourne, having already won at least once at Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open. The Spaniard’s best Australian Open results across four appearances were his quarter-final finishes in 2024 and 2025.

The 2025 Melbourne finalist Alexander Zverev is third on the entry list, followed by record-10-time Australian Open titlist Novak Djokovic. The Serbian reached the semi-finals at all four majors in 2025 in pursuit of a record-extending 25th Grand Slam men’s singles crown.

Felix Auger-Aliassime, Taylor Fritz, Lorenzo Musetti and Ben Shelton are among the other Top 10 stars on the entry list, with World No. 15 Holger Rune, who is recovering from a ruptured Achilles tendon, the only player missing from the Top 100. World No. 7 Alex de Minaur will spearhead the Australian charge on home soil. De Minaur reached the quarter-finals at Melbourne Park for the first time in 2025.

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Cash/Glasspool headline Best of 2025 doubles review

To mark the end of another thrilling season, ATPTour.com is unveiling our annual ‘Best Of’ series, which will reflect on the most intriguing rivalries, matches, comebacks, upsets and more. Today we highlight five standout doubles teams from this season.

Julian Cash & Lloyd Glasspool
Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool produced a season that will be etched into British tennis history. In their first full campaign together, they finished as Year-End ATP Doubles No. 1 presented by PIF honours, becoming the first all-British duo to achieve that feat. They won a Tour-leading seven titles in 2025, including a streak of five consecutive trophies between June and August, a run during which they went 22 matches unbeaten.

“It’s been one crazy year, that’s for sure. We put an awful lot of work in in the offseason. Couldn’t have done it without everyone there in the box, also my family up there in the corner,” Cash said when collecting the Year-End No. 1 trophy at the Nitto ATP Finals. “We’ve ticked off so many things this year and I think we both truly believed at the start of the year that this was possible for us.”

One of the defining moments of Cash and Glasspool’s season came at Wimbledon, where they became the first all-British team since 1936 to win a major men’s doubles trophy, sealing a first Grand Slam title for both players.

<img alt=”Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool win their first major crown.” style=”width:100%;” src=”/-/media/images/news/2025/07/12/14/05/cash-glasspool-wimbledon-2025-title.jpg?w=100%25″ />_{^{Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool win their first major title at Wimbledon. Photo: Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP via Getty Images}}

Harri Heliovaara & Henry Patten
For Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten, 2025 told a story of starting strong and finishing even stronger. The British-Finnish pair opened the season by winning its second major title at the Australian Open, then closed the year in dominant fashion — capturing their first ATP Masters 1000 crown in Paris before topping it off with a maiden Nitto ATP Finals triumph in Turin.

“It is hard to describe,” Heliovaara said after winning the Nitto ATP Finals. “The whole week I have looked at the list of winners, with huge winners and I thought, if there was ever going to be my name on that, I am going to be so proud. To be there next to Henry is unreal.”

Having also won the ATP 500 event in Beijing, Heliovaara and Patten ended the season with a 50-20 record, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index.

Marcel Granollers & Horacio Zeballos
After three previous losses in major finals, Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos turned heartache into redemption not once, but twice in 2025. First came a gripping Roland Garros title-match triumph over Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski, followed by an even more dramatic win at the US Open, where they saved three championship points to prevail again over the British pair.

“Honestly, I don’t know what to think right now. It was an amazing battle,” said Zeballos at the US Open trophy ceremony. “When you play these kinds of matches, it is so unfair when there is a winner and a loser, because the guys did everything great.

“I can’t believe we just won the US Open. It’s so beautiful to be here with all these people watching us.”

Granollers and Zeballos, who also triumphed in Bucharest, Madrid and Basel, ended the season by making their sixth consecutive appearance at the Nitto ATP Finals.

<img alt=”Marcel Granollers/Horacio Zeballos” style=”width:100%;” src=”/-/media/images/news/2025/09/06/19/12/granollers-zeballos-us-open-2025-trophy-shot.jpg” />_{^{Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos win the 2025 US Open men’s doubles title. Photo: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images}}

Marcelo Arevalo & Mate Pavic
Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic delivered another statement year, highlighted by ATP Masters 1000 titles in Indian Wells, Miami, and Rome to secure a well-earned return to the season finale in Turin. They became only the sixth team in history to complete the ‘Sunshine Double’, winning in Indian Wells and Miami in the same season.

Though Arevalo and Pavic fell short to Granollers and Zeballos in the Madrid final, they bounced back in Rome, where they saved a championship point to defeat Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul — a fitting redemption after losing the 2024 final.

“It means a lot, I’m really emotional now,” Arevalo said. “I love this tournament. Since the first time I played here, I had a connection with the city. I’m just really happy that we were able to win this match, because it was a true battle. Mate and I stayed together.”

Christian Harrison & Evan King
A partnership that didn’t exist at the start of the year became one of the most intriguing success stories. Christian Harrison and Evan King burst onto the scene with ATP 500 titles in Dallas and Acapulco, and added another trophy in Brussels, culminating in Nitto ATP Finals berth — the first all-American duo to reach the season finale since Mike Bryan and Jack Sock won the title in 2018.

Harrison and King showcased their all-court mastery by winning two indoor hard-court titles and reaching the semi-finals on the clay of Roland Garros. They also reached finals in Auckland and Delray Beach after they made their team debut at the ATP Challenger Tour event in Quimper, France, in January.

<img alt=”Evan King and Christian Harrison” style=”width:100%;” src=”/-/media/images/news/2025/02/09/23/42/king-harrison-dallas-2025-final.jpg” />_{^{Evan King and Christian Harrison win the ATP 500 title in Dallas. Photo: Sam Hodde/Getty Images}}

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Boulter misses out on Australian Open main draw

Former British number one Katie Boulter will have to go through qualifying in January to secure a place at the Australian Open.

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The parents of Alice, Elsie and Bebe on the love and legacy left behind

The parents of Alice, Elsie and Bebe on the love and legacy left behind.

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Teens Engel, Budkov Kjaer, Fonseca among five Challenger player storylines from 2025

From teenage breakthroughs to the reigning NCAA champion surging onto the pro stage and a historic title run in Africa, ATPTour.com recaps five Challenger player storylines from the 2025 season.

German teen Engel finishes as youngest champion of 2025
Fans in Hamburg witnessed a new German star emerge as Justin Engel stormed to his maiden ATP Challenger title on home soil.

At 18 years and 25 days, Engel became the youngest Challenger champion of the season and the fifth-youngest German winner in history. The #NextGenATP teen downed fellow 18-year-old Federico Cina 7-5, 7-6(4) in the final — the youngest championship match at that level since 2003, when Mario Ancic beat Rafael Nadal, also in Hamburg. Engel became the first player born in 2007 to win an ATP Challenger event.

“Every title is a big one, especially my first Challenger,” Engel said at the time. “Cina is a big player and I knew before the match it was going to be a tough match. This win makes it even better and I’m really happy.”

Zheng goes from NCAA champ to three-time Challenger titlist
College tennis players continue to excel on the Challenger circuit, including Michael Zheng, who won the 2024 NCAA singles title representing Columbia University and successfully defended his title last month.

Thanks to his collegiate success, Zheng qualified for the ATP Next Gen Accelerator, a programme that aims to increase the development pathway for top players in the American collegiate system to earn direct entry into select Challenger events. Zheng made the best possible use of one of his Accelerator spots at the Chicago Challenger in August, going all the way to the winner’s circle as World No. 416. Zheng then added to his title haul in September with consecutive trophies in Columbus and Tiburon.

“It’s definitely a super helpful programme,” the 21-year-old said of the Accelerator programme.
“It gives a lot of incentive for players to come to college and go through that pathway. You just get that jump start from your career… You have a good result like how I had in Chicago, then all of a sudden your ranking is there to get into the main draw of Challengers by yourself. I think it’s a great initiative.”

^{Michael Zheng is crowned champion at the Tiburon Challenger. Credit: Natalie Kim}

Coulibaly’s historic title in Côte d’Ivoire
You could not script Eliakim Coulabily’s first Challenger title run any better. His home country, Côte d’Ivoire, hosted back-to-back tournaments and became the 95th country to host an ATP Challenger event — it was there in the capital city Abidjan where Coulibaly produced contrasting results, finishing with one of the most memorable moments of his career.

After an opening-round loss in the first week, Coulibaly swung freely and gave his home fans plenty to cheer about. Capping the title run with a three-set final victory, the Ivorian fell on his back in relief as the locals rose to their feet. Coulibaly became the first player from Côte d’Ivoire to win a Challenger title.

Reflecting on his full-circle journey, Coulibaly said, “Never stop believing, man. Never stop believing. I come from fire. I come from Africa. Being an African person and being able to try to make it on the ATP Tour is difficult. You don’t see many too many African players out there trying to play because it’s difficult. But for me it’s just discipline and never stop believing. It’s a tough journey for me.”

#NextGenATP Budkov Kjaer caps historic season, joins Gasquet, Rune and Coria in record books
Remember the name Nicolai Budkov Kjaer. The 19-year-old, who will be competing at this month’s Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF, was one of six players to capture a season-leading four Challenger titles. The Norwegian became the fourth-youngest player to accomplish that feat, alongside an elite trio of Richard Gasquet, Holger Rune and Guillermo Coria, all of whom spent time inside the Top 10 of the PIF ATP Rankings.

“You always want to believe you have the level to beat the guys at the top and I always had the belief that I’m a very dangerous opponent,” Budkov Kjaer said after winning his first Challenger title in Glasgow in February. He was also crowned champion in Tampere, Astana and Mouilleron le Captif.

Fonseca, Del Potro side-by-side in history
Across a meteoric rise the past 12 months since winning the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF, Joao Fonseca made history in his ATP Challenger appearances. Just 13 days removed from his Jeddah triumph, the Brazilian won the Canberra Challenger, joining Jannik Sinner as the only players to win their ensuing tournament after claiming the 20-and-under event.

Then, at the ATP Challenger 175 event in Phoenix in March, Fonseca won his third trophy at that level and became the second-youngest player from South America — behind Juan Martin del Potro — to achieve that feat. Fonseca, who also won the ATP 250 in Buenos Aires and the ATP 500 in Basel, also became the fourth-youngest player to win an ATP Tour event and an ATP Challenger tournament in the same season. He stands alongside Kei Nishikori and three ATP No. 1 Club members; Carlos Alcaraz, Andy Roddick and Lleyton Hewitt as the five-youngest players to achieve the feat.

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