Boulter & Raducanu in GB team for Billie Jean King Cup
Katie Boulter and Emma Raducanu are named in the British team for November’s Billie Jean King Cup Finals.
Katie Boulter and Emma Raducanu are named in the British team for November’s Billie Jean King Cup Finals.
Jannik Sinner has added fitness coach Marco Panichi and physiotherapist Ulises Badio to his team ahead of the Asian swing. The No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, who won his second major title at the US Open earlier this month, broke the news on social media on Monday.
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Panichi and Badio had their first session with Sinner on Monday in Monte-Carlo, where the Italian is practising. They will then travel with Sinner to the ATP 500 event in Beijing (which begins 26 September) and the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Shanghai next month. The 23-year-old will continue to work with osteopath Andrea Cipolla during the upcoming Asian swing.
Sinner holds a 55-5 record on the year according to Infosys Win/Loss Index, having won a Tour-leading six titles. The 23-year-old Italian, who climbed to World No. 1 in June, became the first player to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals earlier this year.
Panichi and Badio both join the Sinner camp having worked with 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic in the past.
Panichi worked with Djokovic from 2017 until May this year, when the Serbian ended his partnership with the Italian. Badio left the Djokovic camp at the end of 2022 after more than five years together.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]With British tennis now in the post-Andy Murray era, BBC Sport analyses the mood as the next generation look to take over.
With less than two months to go until the Nitto ATP Finals, all eyes will be on Asia during the next four weeks when the battle for Turin qualification will take further shape.
Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev have already booked their spots at the prestigious year-end event, to be played from 10-17 November, while Carlos Alcaraz (6,010 points) is close to joining them.
Behind that trio, five spaces are left to be filled, with many stars aiming to gain points in Asia to boost their hopes. Taylor Fritz (3,890) is fifth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin after he reached his maiden major final at the US Open and is now in strong contention to qualify for the second time after reaching the semi-finals in 2022.
Fourth-placed Medvedev (4,420), sixth-placed Casper Ruud (3,795) and seventh-placed Andrey Rublev (3,480) have all competed in Turin on more than one occasion, with Medvedev lifting the trophy in 2020. Medvedev and Rublev will take to court at the ATP 500 in Beijing, starting in nine days time, with none of the Top 14 in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin in action this week at ATP 250 events in Chengdu and Hangzhou.
PIF ATP Live Race To Turin
| Player | Points |
| 1) Jannik Sinner | 9,000 |
| 2) Alexander Zverev | 6,115 |
| 3) Carlos Alcaraz | 6,010 |
| 4) Daniil Medvedev | 4,420 |
| 5) Taylor Fritz | 3,890 |
| 6) Casper Ruud | 3,795 |
| 7) Andrey Rublev | 3,480 |
| 8) Alex de Minaur | 3,305 |
| 9) Novak Djokovic | 3,260 |
| 10) Grigor Dimitrov | 2,835 |
Alex de Minaur (3,305) reached major quarter-finals at Wimbledon and the US Open in recent months but struggled with injuries during the latter stages of both Slams. The Australian occupies the final qualification spot in eighth and is the only player in the Top 10 in the Live Race To Turin who has not competed at the Nitto ATP Finals before.
De Minaur plays at the ATP 500 in Tokyo next week alongside Ruud and Fritz. Novak Djokovic (3,260) is just 45 points behind De Minaur in ninth place but is not returning to action until October, when he will aim to win his 100th tour-level title at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Shanghai.
[ATP APP]Former champion Grigor Dimitrov (2,835), Tommy Paul (2,735), 2019 winner Stefanos Tsitsipas (2,735), Hubert Hurkacz (2,590) and Frances Tiafoe (2,460) all remain within sight of De Minaur but will need deep runs at several events during the Asian swing to put themselves in the driving seat when the Tour returns to Europe in mid-October.
Behind them, Lorenzo Musetti (2,225) and Holger Rune (2,185) are the only two players in the Top 16 in the Live Race To Turin to play this week and both will seek to clinch titles at ATP 250s in Chengdu and Hangzhou, respectively.
Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev have already qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals, scheduled to take place from 10-17 November.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Former British number one Heather Watson beats Jia-Jing Lu in the opening round of the Korea Open.
Great Britain’s Sonay Kartal claims her maiden WTA title with victory over Slovakia’s Rebecca Sramkova in the final of the Jasmin Open.
With the pressure on, Denis Shapovalov delivered for Canada on Sunday to fire the former champion to the Davis Cup Final 8 in Malaga. Needing one point from its winner-takes-all tie against Great Britain, Shapovalov moved past Daniel Evans 6-0, 7-5 to give Canada a 1-0 lead in its Group D tie.
Argentina advanced from Group D in Manchester on Saturday, with its 3-0 victory against Finland leaving Great Britain needing to defeat Canada by the same scoreline to join Guillermo Coria’s side.
However, Evans struggled to impose himself on Shapovalov, who fired 25 winners and saved both break points he faced to earn the crucial point for his nation.
Felix Auger-Aliassime then put the icing on the already-qualified cake when he overcame US Open semi-finalist Jack Draper 7-6(8), 7-5 in two hours and seven minutes. Auger-Aliassime, who avenged his Cincinnati defeat to British lefty Draper, has impressed on the hard courts in Manchester this week, not dropping a set in all three matches.
Canada joins Italy, Australia, Spain, United States, Germany and Argentina in the Final 8. The last spot will be filled by Brazil or Netherlands and will be decided on Sunday.
[ATP APP]In Group C, United States and Germany had already sealed the top two spots and qualification for the Final 8 in Malaga when Chile faced Slovakia on Sunday in Zhuhai.
Nicolas Jarry’s return helped Chile claim a 2-1 victory over Slovakia in the concluding match, partnering Tomas Barrios Vera to take a marathon doubles win over Norbert Gombos and Lukas Klein 6-4, 6-7(3), 7-6(5).
The Chileans squandered three match points in the second set before saving one in reply en-route to the third-set tie-break, in which they won.
The result, twinned with Cristian Garin’s opening victory over Gombos, means that Chile sealed third place in the group ahead of Slovakia, improving their chances of claiming a seeded spot in the 2025 Qualifiers draw.
In Group B, Australia faced Spain in Valencia, where both countries had already qualified for the Final 8. Pablo Carreno Busta overcame Jordan Thompson 2-6, 6-2, 7-6(3) in the opening match to give Spain a 1-0 lead before Montreal champion Alexei Popyrin defeated Pedro Martinez 6-4, 6-4 to level for Australia.
In the deciding doubles rubber Marcel Granollers and Pedro Martinez beat Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell 5-7, 6-4, 6-4. Purcell recently won the US Open title with countryman Thompson.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]When you are searching for your first win of the season, a visit from Frances Tiafoe could be just what you need.
NFL team Washington Commanders lost it’s opening match of the new campaign last week but were given a boost ahead of their second match against New York Giants when Tiafoe surprised the team on Saturday during their pre-match meeting.
Amazing energy in the room after bringing Frances (@FTiafoe) as a surprise to the @Commanders team meeting today! pic.twitter.com/vtjiIhr4fy
— Mark Ein (@Markein) September 14, 2024
The team were watching a motivating video of Tiafoe enjoying success at the US Open when the two-time Flushing Meadows semi-finalist made an appearance. The 26-year-old received a raucous reception from the players before he spoke to the team.
[ATP APP]Tiafoe, who is from Hyattsville, Maryland, is an avid supporter of the Commanders and regularly supports the team from afar when travelling on the ATP Tour. He will be hoping his words of encouragement will help guide the Commanders to their first win of the season on Sunday night.
On court, the No. 14 player in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin is aiming to finish the year well in an aim to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Great Britain’s Jack Draper smashes his racquet after losing the opening set against Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime during their Davis Cup match in Manchester.
A familiar face was in the stands to watch Italy’s Davis Cup Group Stage Finals tie against Netherlands on Sunday.
Recently crowned US Open champion Jannik Sinner was present in Bologna to cheer on his countrymen as they played their final group stage tie.
The defending champions became the first team to qualify from Group A for the Final 8 in Malaga after Brazil clinched its tie against Belgium on Saturday. Despite the absence of the No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Italy won both of its ties against Belgium and Brazil, thanks to two singles victories from Matteo Berrettini.
[ATP APP]Sinner’s last match was his 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 victory in the US Open final against American Taylor Fritz. The Italian picked up his second major after winning his maiden Grand Slam at the Australian Open in January.
These two 🫶🇮🇹 @MattBerrettini and @janniksin celebrate together after Berrettini’s win 🥹#DavisCup https://t.co/hU7f8WBFqv pic.twitter.com/FiIfTe6gXH
— Davis Cup (@DavisCup) September 15, 2024
Sinner steered Italy to its second Davis Cup title last year, with the 23-year-old saving three match points en route to victory against Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals. He later teamed with Lorenzo Sonego to win the decisive doubles match and send Italy through to the final against Australia.
After Matteo Arnaldi overcame Alexei Popyrin to put Italy 1-0 up in the final, Sinner defeated Australia’s Alex de Minaur 6-3, 6-0 to seal Italy’s second Davis Cup title following its maiden victory in 1976.
This year, Sinner has posted a 55-5 record, clinching a Tour-leading six titles.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]