Tennis News

Junior No. 1 Ivanov, 16-year-old Nadal Academy standout, 'fired up for tennis'

Rafael Nadal reached the pinnacle of the PIF ATP Rankings for the first time in August 2008, shortly after beating Roger Federer in the Wimbledon final that is widely considered one of the best matches in tennis history.

Ivan Ivanov was not born until October that year. But fast-forward 16 years and the Bulgarian trains at the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar and is the No. 1 player in the ITF Junior Rankings, fresh off victories at Wimbledon and the US Open.

There was plenty of pressure on the teen to perform in New York as the junior World No. 1 and reigning Wimbledon champion, but he showed few nerves in capturing another Slam title at Flushing Meadows.

“[It was] very tough, that’s for sure. [There were] expectations about that and all the eyes on you,” Ivanov told ATPTour.com. “It’s something that you have to take very specifically. But I managed it very well as we can see, and I’m very happy with that result.”

Ivanov does not come from a family of tennis players. But his father gave him his first racquet and he has not looked back.

“I just started playing. I met my first coach and like this [there was] just a connection and the people that were close to me, they made me fired up for tennis,” Ivanov said.

“I really loved the racquet sports at the beginning. I enjoyed watching with my mom some of the old-school tennis, like Roger and Stan. I mean, they’re not so old school, but I just loved watching them and I just wanted to try it. I tried it and I really loved it, which made me very happy about the sport.”

Stan Wawrinka, now 40, is 24 years the Bulgarian’s elder and still competing. The Bulgarian also looked up to the likes of countryman Grigor Dimitrov and 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic, who claimed his first Slam title the year Ivanov was born. Four years ago, the Bulgarian moved to Spain to train at Nadal’s eponymous academy.

“Of course, it was very difficult because I was away from my parents and away from my mom,” Ivanov said. “But the thing [is] that I managed to come through that and they are able to come as much as possible, [so] this gave me a bit more confidence in my decision and gave me a little bit more a particular reason why should I do that.”

The 16-year-old explained that he has particularly enjoyed working with the staff at the academy. Nadal also follows Ivanov’s growth, congratulating him after his US Open win.

“They’re all super nice to me, and nice to everyone,” said Ivanov, whose main coach is Jeremy Paisan. “I love that about them. I enjoy being in the academy, and I’m so grateful to be there.”

Congratulations Ivan on winning <a href=”https://twitter.com/Wimbledon?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@Wimbledon & @usopen Junior 🏆!

Congrats also to all the @rnadalacademy team! 👏🏻👏🏻 https://t.co/gqzkgK3Lw2

— Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) September 6, 2025

Ivanov became the third boy this century to lift the Wimbledon and the US Open trophies in the same year, joining Dimitrov and Filip Peliwo. The Bulgarian believes he first met Dimitrov at a young age in Sofia.

“He gave me some good compliments about my game. He gave me some advice,” Ivanov said. “I was very motivated to keep going.”

That has worked for a player who also enjoys golf, reading books by the likes of Jules Verne and watching movies, “I like to be more calm,” he said.

But on the court, Ivanov is a fiery competitor who has climbed as high as No. 795 in the PIF ATP Rankings. This week, he is representing Bulgaria in Davis Cup for the first time.

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Matteo Arnaldi & Mia Savio announce engagement

Matteo Arnaldi is engaged to his girlfriend Mia Savio. The pair announced the news on social media Friday.

“Io e te per sempre 🤍,” Savio wrote in an Instagram post featuring three pictures of the couple celebrating. The post is Italian for “You and me forever.”

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A post shared by Mia (@miasavio)

Arnaldi and Savio have been together since 2022.

No. 73 in the PIF ATP Rankings Arnaldi last competed at the US Open in August, where he lost a tough five-set opening match to Francisco Cerundolo. The 24-year-old holds an 18-20 record on the season, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index.

Earlier this year, the Italian earned upset wins over Andrey Rublev and Novak Djokovic at the ATP Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells and Madrid, respectively.

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Norrie & Fery put GB in control in Davis Cup tie

Cameron Norrie and Arthur Fery won their Davis Cup matches to give Great Britain a 2-0 lead over Poland and a strong chance of reaching next year’s qualifiers.

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In sea of orange, Cerundolo & Etcheverry put last year's Davis Cup finalists on alert

Argentina is on the brink of a second consecutive appearance in the Davis Cup Final 8 after Francisco Cerundolo and Tomas Martin Etcheverry secured singles victories against last year’s finalists, The Netherlands, on Friday.

Etcheverry set the tone with a 6-4, 6-4 triumph over Dutchman Jesper de Jong, converting his fourth match point to clinch the victory. Then, Argentina’s top-ranked player, World No. 21 Cerundolo, followed with a 7-6(4), 6-1 win against Botic van de Zandschulp.

Vamos Francisco! 💪@FranCerundolo clinches it to give Argentina a 2–0 lead over last year’s finalists 👀@DavisCup | #DavisCup | @AATenis pic.twitter.com/2QVe6TN3u3

— ATP Tour (@atptour) September 12, 2025

In front of an enthusiastic crowd in Groningen, Cerundolo overcame a nervy start to capture his 33rd tour-level win of the season, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index. The first set alone featured six breaks of serve, but the Argentine jumped to a 4/0 lead in the tie-break, which ultimately helped him gain a one-set advantage on the home favourite.

Argentina, 2016 Davis Cup champions, will look to apply the finishing touches on Saturday.

“It feels incredible,” Etcheverry said after his win, according to DavisCup.com. “I played very well. Getting the first point is really important.

“I’m very proud because I know what I did the past few weeks and how I have been training for this. It feels amazing. I love it. Davis Cup is really fun and I love to play here.”

The Netherlands reached the Davis Cup final in 2024, but Italy triumphed 2-0.

Germany pulls ahead of Japan
In other Davis Cup Qualifiers 2nd Round action, Germany took a 2-0 lead on the road at Japan, led by Jan-Lennard Struff and Yannick Hanfmann. Struff, former No. 21 in the PIF ATP Rankings, battled past Yoshihito Nishioka 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-4 in a hard-fought clash, during which the German saved all 10 of the break points he faced. Hanfmann closed the day with a 6-3, 6-3 victory against Shintaro Mochizuki.

France, Austria have early lead
France leads Croatia 1-0 after Corentin Moutet defeated #NextGenATP Dino Prizmic 6-4, 5-7, 6-1 to earn his maiden Davis Cup match win. Marin Cilic and Arthur Rinderknech will meet in the second rubber. Jurij Rodionov outlasted Fabian Marozsan 6-2, 6-7(5), 7-5 to give Austria a 1-0 advantage over Hungary. Marton Fucsovics will look to level the tie for his home country when he faces Lukas Neumayer.

<img alt=”Corentin Moutet earns his first Davis Cup match win.” style=”width:100%;” src=”/-/media/images/news/2025/09/12/18/24/moutet-davis-cup-2025-september.jpg” />
^{Corentin Moutet earns his first Davis Cup match win. Credit: Srdjan Stevanovic/Getty Images for ITF}

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De Minaur replaces Tiafoe in Laver Cup

Alex de Minaur has joined Team World’s lineup for this year’s Laver Cup, replacing American Frances Tiafoe. The Laver Cup takes place 19-21 September at the Chase Center in San Francisco.

De Minaur made his debut for Team World at the 2022 Laver Cup. Team World won its first title that year in London, followed by another victory in Vancouver in 2023. This year, Team World will be led by Andre Agassi, who is replacing John McEnroe as the new captain.

“It’s an honour to join Captain Agassi and Team World in San Francisco next week,” said De Minaur, who holds a 1-0 record at the competition. “My first Laver Cup back in 2022 in London was an incredible experience and I will be ready to give it everything I’ve got to help the team lift the Laver Cup at Chase Center.”

Team World’s roster will now feature three Americans: Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton, and Tommy Paul, alongside Australian De Minaur, #NextGenATP Brazilian Joao Fonseca, and Argentine Francisco Cerundolo.

“We will miss Frances’ energy and game in San Francisco,” said Agassi. “However, we couldn’t be more thrilled to add one of the best and most in-form players in the world to our team. I’ve admired the way Alex plays and competes from afar and now look forward to having a front row seat to watching him perform.”

De Minaur, No. 8 in the PIF ATP Rankings, holds a 41-16 season record, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index. He has reached the quarter-finals at six of the last eight Grand Slams, including this year’s Australian Open and US Open. He clinched his first title of the season at the ATP 500 event in Washington in July.

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On This Day: Alcaraz makes historic No. 1 debut in 2022

Carlos Alcaraz began the second week of 2022 as the World No. 33, but in just nine astonishing months he surged past the sport’s elite to become the youngest No. 1 in the history of the PIF ATP Rankings on September 12.

By bursting onto the scene in 2021 as an 18-year-old prodigy, the Spaniard immediately captured attention with his electric talent. With his first tour-level title in Umag, Alcaraz ensured that he would begin 2022 — his first full season on the ATP Tour — ranked inside the World’s Top 50. From the outset, his varied shotmaking and ability to adapt across surfaces was unmistakable.

View The ATP No. 1 Club Hub

Alcaraz announced himself with early brilliance in 2022, dazzling en route to the ATP 500 crown in Rio before reaching the semi-finals in Indian Wells — where he pushed his idol, Rafael Nadal, to three sets. He then claimed his first ATP Masters 1000 title in Miami. Although Alcaraz suffered a disappointing first-round exit in Monte-Carlo, the teen entered the Top 10 for the first time, and did not stop there.

On home soil, the then-19-year-old soared to consecutive titles in Barcelona and in Madrid, where he became the youngest player to defeat Nadal and Novak Djokovic in the same tournament. Heading into the North American hard-court swing, Alcaraz had racked up 4,270 PIF ATP Rankings points to not only cement his status among the favourites for the US Open, but to put him in strong contention to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals.

At Flushing Meadows, the third-seeded Alcaraz was put through his paces in an exhausting second week. His epic five-hour, 15-minute victory over Jannik Sinner in the quarter-finals — the third-longest match in US Open history — was followed by another five-setter against Frances Tiafoe to set up a final with Casper Ruud. The championship match against the Norwegian doubled as a straight shootout to ascend to World No. 1.

The tension was palpable inside Arthur Ashe Stadium, but Alcaraz held his nerve over four thrilling sets to secure the top spot, becoming the youngest player to reach the pinnacle in the history of the PIF ATP Rankings at 19 years and four months.

“It’s crazy for me. I never thought that I was going to achieve something like that at 19 years old,” Alcaraz said after the final. “Everything came so fast. For me, it’s unbelievable. It’s something I’ve dreamed of since I was a kid, since I started playing tennis. Of course, lifting this trophy today is amazing for me.”

Although Alcaraz suffered an abdominal tear that kept him out of the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin, where he qualified in pole position, he was still present to receive ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF honours. The Spaniard, who went on to spend an initial 20 weeks at the summit, became the youngest player in history to receive the award.

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On This Day: Wilander rises to No. 1 after standout 1988 season

It took Mats Wilander a near-perfect season to finally reach No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings. After clinching his third major title of 1988 at the US Open, the Swede knocked great rival Ivan Lendl off his 157-week reign at the top to make his No. 1 debut on 12 September of that year.

For much of the 1980s, Wilander had been a perennial contender, but despite the growing list of achievements, he had never reached the summit. That all changed after a standout year in which he scooped three Grand Slam titles.

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The then-23-year-old was already a four-time major winner and the World No. 3 heading into the 1988 season, but Lendl remained firmly in control at the top. After a strong start to the year, however, highlighted by hard-court titles at the Australian Open and in Key Biscayne, Wilander moved within touching distance at No. 2.

Renowned for his versatility across all surfaces, Wilander then delivered a masterclass on the clay at Roland Garros, where he secured his sixth major crown. His momentum stalled with a quarter-final exit at Wimbledon, but he quickly regained form during the North American hard-court swing, which set the stage from a dramatic showdown in New York.

Both Wilander and Lendl entered the US Open that year in red-hot form, fresh from titles in Cincinnati and Toronto, respectively. Their Lexus ATP Head2Head series had been split early on, but Lendl had taken control ahead of their New York clash, winning six consecutive encounters.

Both stars their way through the draw before an eagerly anticipated final, which doubled as a straight fight for the No. 1 spot. Wilander ultimately prevailed in a dramatic four-hour, 54-minute, five-set final, which confirmed his rise to No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings for the first time.

“I felt like I was the best player in the world during the year of 1988, but once I got labelled No. 1 with an actual ranking, I actually had a shocking four months… I guess I was just horrible at dealing with that pressure,” Wilander told ATPTour.com in 2020.

Wilander held the No. 1 spot for 20 weeks, including his sole ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF finish in 1988. The Swede relinquished it back to Lendl in January 1989 after a barnstorming run to his maiden Australian Open title. Wilander never quite reached the same heights in the years that followed and only claimed one further tour-level title (Itaparica, 1990) before his retirement in 1996.

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GB hope to avoid 'FA Cup giant-killing' in Davis Cup

Great Britain’s Davis Cup tie in Poland feels like a Premier League side being drawn away to a non-league team in the third round of the FA Cup – but it’s one they must win, writes Russell Fuller.

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It all adds up for Bergs: Big goals, crowd support & more

It all adds up for Zizou Bergs, who appreciates every detail of the sport, from competing at the big stages to the small experiences and everything in between. But some things stand out.

ATPTour.com caught up with the Belgian to discuss his favourite rivalry, greatest success, goals, the most unique moment of his career and more.

What is your favourite tennis rivalry?
I mean, it was definitely Nadal-Federer. Let’s see how it is going to be now. Now the biggest rivalry, I think is Alcaraz-Sinner. But maybe these new young guys, they’re gonna bring up the heat as well with Joao [Fonseca] and maybe Learner [Tien]. Let’s see. But they already did, like various spectacular match two days ago or three days ago [here in Miami].

What makes a great rivalry for you?
A great rivalry is something that’s historically going on. So, time over time, they meet again. And it’s with winning and losses from both sides, especially the crowd getting involved. Maybe sometimes Federer-Nadal was very gentleman-like, maybe sometimes a little bit provocative. Could also be fun. But I think definitely when a crowd starts to get involved in it, it could be a very nice one.

Who would you say your greatest rival is?
I don’t have one. I have a different path, a different route. I feel like no one follows my path. Maybe the younger [players], they meet each other already in the early Tennis Europe [events] and after the juniors, and they rise together very fast. But I have a slow-fast-slow-slow-slow-fast run. So that’s why I don’t have anyone.

What’s been the most unique moment in your career?
The French Open. Obviously, it’s also result-wise related. But for me, it’s also very important with the crowds, related [to that]. How much they are with me, how much they support me, how much of a party we can make on the tennis court. And this is happening in Davis Cup and [Belgium].

But everything came a little bit together at the French Open, where I came through the qualies winning my first main draw in a Grand Slam match, and then moving forward to the third round against Dimitrov on Philippe Chatrier and also last round qualies at Suzanne Lenglen against Mathias Bourgue. I think those moments were the most unique in my career so far.

What’s the biggest accomplishment or number or ranking you’ve been pursuing?
The longest and the biggest was Top 100. But then when I reached it, when we sat down and get our new goals, it was obviously Top 50. But then at the end of the year, we got a new one, and that’s Top 20. So now [only] the Top 20 is in my head.

What’s the greatest difficulty you’ve had to overcome? Has there been a tough moment or so?
Most difficult was the physical part of me with the cramp history. But then because my body was always letting me down, at a certain point, my head was also letting me down. And then I think that was the toughest moment in 2019, when I moved out of Belgium to try something new in Spain.

And by doing that, leaving even all my family and friends [back] home, even though that’s super important to me, I really became happy again due to the hard work I put there. [I was] only having tennis, but really working very hard, and that would make me, at the end of the day, the most happy.

What’s your favourite tournament to play and why?
What’s your favourite tournament to play and why?
[It was] Antwerp or the French Open, or Davis Cup. Just where a lot of Belgians are coming and starting to live something together.

What’s been your greatest off-court experience you’ve gotten because of the life of a tennis player?
There is so many nice things when we’re traveling and you have the perks of being a tennis player and the tournament is organising activities, or some people are inviting you to do activities. From having a boat trip to visiting something local to just have a dinner together with the family at their house in a specific country, it is all of those small things. It is just really cool to be able to [do] because you travel around a lot. But often, you only see the hotel and the tennis club, but then to do something out of it, when people are inviting you or organise something, and you sometimes realise what all benefits you have being a tennis player.

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