'A lot of pressure' – Sabalenka beats wildcard in front of Federer & Laver
Aryna Sabalenka overcomes the “pressure” of being watched by tennis legends Roger Federer and Rod Laver to start her Australian Open campaign with a straight-set victory.
Aryna Sabalenka overcomes the “pressure” of being watched by tennis legends Roger Federer and Rod Laver to start her Australian Open campaign with a straight-set victory.
The life of a professional tennis player is full of stress: Match-day pressure, last-minute travel arrangements and, for many outside the Top 100, financial uncertainty.
Dutchman Jesper de Jong knows that better than most. The 25-year-old earned his first ATP point in 2019 and still had not cracked the Top 100 of the PIF ATP Rankings at the end of the 2024 season, when he finished No. 112 with just two career tour-level match wins to his name.
Limited resources meant that he could not make key investments to fast-track his development.
But a $200,000 advance payment at the beginning of the 2025 season courtesy of the ATP’s pioneering Baseline Programme enabled De Jong to execute plans that contributed to a breakout season that returned 17 wins and a year-end ranking of No. 73.
He earned more than $780,000, setting him on a path of financial independence.
“Going into a season there is no guarantee that you’re going to earn a certain amount of money, which makes it difficult to make the investments that give you the best chance of succeeding,” De Jong said of the Baseline Programme, for which he qualified under the Newcomer Investment pillar. “With Newcomer you get the $200,00 and then you can plan how you’re going to spread it out through the season.
“That brings a sense of calm. Without the assistance, you might plan to spend that on coaches but then you get injured and you can’t keep that commitment.”
[ATP APP]Newcomer Investment is available to players who break into the Year-End Top 125 for the first time the season prior. In 2025, De Jong was one of five players to benefit from the initiative.
De Jong used the Newcomer Investment to travel a full season for the first time with fitness coach Bas van Bentum (who previously worked with Tallon Griekspoor). It also allowed him to add coach Thiemo De Bakker to his team. The former World No. 40 travelled 15 weeks with De Jong.
Eligible and participating players like De Jong return up to the full $200,000 amount, which from 2026 is given as a three-year loan. Players hand back 50 per cent of prize money from ATP tournaments [not Grand Slams] and by performing off-court services.
For De Jong, the programme was a game changer, allowing him to keep his commitment with Van Bentum and De Bakker, even after a slow start to the season.
“Last year in January I didn’t win a match and I had the big expense of going to Australia. So to have the Newcomer was a big sigh of relief. Your full year [of expected costs] is covered by the ATP,” De Jong said.
“I’ve spoken to other players and everyone is loving it. I had a good season last year and made some good money, but other guys didn’t have their best year and didn’t earn a lot. So Newcomer was a very big deal for them.”
Newcomer Investment is one of three pillars of ATP’s Baseline initiative, which aims to create further financial support outside of on-court earnings so players can make a sustainable living from the sport. This is the second year of a three-year trial.
In 2025, the programme benefitted 30 eligible players to the tune of $2 million, up from the $1.3 million split among 26 players in 2024.
The Minimum Guarantee pillar guarantees minimum income levels for Top 250 players. ATP covers any shortfall to ensure players 1-100 earn a minimum of $300,000, players 101-175 earn $200,000 or more and players 176-250 earn no less than $100,000. In 2025, 24 players benefitted.
The Income Protection guarantee pillar supports players returning to the Tour after injury setbacks.
At last year’s Australian Open, De Jong crashed out in the first round of qualifying. With his ranking now at No. 73 – just two spots off his career high – he finds himself in the main draw, where he will face former World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev.
He’s looking forward to the challenge of playing one of the game’s elite players following his matches with Top 10 stars Jannik Sinner [Rome] and Alexander Zverev [Roland Garros] last year.
“For your chances of winning you don’t want to draw a top player like Medvedev, but at the same time it’s an opportunity to go up against one of the biggest names in the sport,” De Jong said.
“With Sinner last year he was coming back in Rome, so it was like me going into the lion’s den. It was very tough but playing against him in that stadium was something I enjoyed a lot. I played a very good match, I felt.
“Against Zverev, I’d come back from two sets down in the first round and I came out and played a great first set, which I won. But he killed me physically in the end and won in four.”
[NEWSLETTER FORM]The first meeting of the 2026 ATP Player Advisory Council was held Friday evening in Melbourne. Pedro Martinez, who has been a representative on the Council since 2023, wrote a blog for ATPTour.com about his experience in the position before playing Novak Djokovic in the first round of the Australian Open.
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It’s always exciting to be in Australia. For me, the Australian Open is a great tournament in terms of facilities, stadiums and how they treat the players. This year, I’m playing Novak Djokovic in the first round, so it’s going to be a big match and I’m excited for it.
Before the tournament, I attended the first ATP Player Advisory Council meeting of the season. I began on the Council in 2023 and this will be my fourth season representing the players to try to make improvements for my colleagues and our sport.
I always liked business, and it’s always good to be involved on the other face of the coin. I was talking with my good friend Pablo Andujar, who used to be on the Council as a player before joining the ATP Board as a Player Representative. He told me good things about being there, and I spoke with head of player relations Fernando Sanchez as well.
Before I joined the Player Advisory Council, I sometimes complained about different things, but I didn’t know how they worked. Until you are on the Council, you don’t always realise what is behind different decisions and all that goes into what makes our sport how it is.
The ATP really tries to improve everything on Tour for us. There are different things, like a prize-money profit-sharing formula for the ATP Masters 1000 events, which helps make the partnership between players and tournaments stronger through transparency and aligning our interests. There will also be a formula starting this year for the ATP 500 events, too.
With the 12-day Masters 1000 tournaments, they are giving players more opportunities to play and so there are more jobs. Once you are on the Player Advisory Council, it is like you are on a small team and you all learn about these things together.
It is very important to get this knowledge about how everything is working and what goes on behind the scenes to make this all happen. So often tennis players are thinking about their own situations and not about the rest of what happens on the Tour. Players sometimes see the bad side of things when they want improvement.
<img alt=”Pedro Martinez is a member of the ATP Player Advisory Council.” style=”width:100%;” src=”/-/media/images/news/2026/01/18/05/10/martinez-melbourne-2026-player-council.jpg” />
It is especially good for me to be able to represent the other players. I always tell them if they have something that they want to change, just to let me know and I will try to share it with my teammates on the Player Advisory Council.
I had to play a couple of Challengers in 2023 and I was able to share what I took from the experience with the group. It can even be small things like the number of balls and laundry service we are provided to things like meals for players on site.
I have more years left on the Council, so hopefully I can keep learning and also giving my vision, sharing what I live in the tournaments. If I can help a little bit from my side for the rest of the players, I feel great.
For now, I will focus on the tournament in Melbourne. I’m excited to play it on the centre court. We play this sport to compete in the biggest stadiums and hopefully I can have some chances against Novak!
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Novak Djokovic, a record 10-time champion at the Australian Open, will kickstart his 21st appearance at the season’s first major on Monday. The Serbian faces Spaniard Pedro Martinez in the final match of the evening session.
Aiming for his 100th main-draw match win in Melbourne, Djokovic headlines an action-packed schedule. It will mark the first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting between the 38-year-old Djokovic and Martinez, No. 71 in the PIF ATP Rankings. Iga Swiatek and Yuan Yue begin the night session at 7 p.m. AEDT / 3 a.m. EST, with Djokovic and Martinez to follow.
Also on Day 2, home favourite Alex de Minaur is set to ignite Rod Laver Arena when he begins his tournament against American Mackenzie McDonald. Three-time finalist Daniil Medvedev, fresh off a title run in Brisbane, and Casper Ruud are among those slated to play at Margaret Court Arena.
Two-time defending champion Jannik Sinner will need to wait until Tuesday to begin his campaign for a three-peat. The second-seeded Italian, who boasts a 22-4 tournament record, meets French lefty Hugo Gaston in the opening round.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]British qualifier Arthur Fery claims another notable Grand Slam scalp by beating Italian 20th seed Flavio Cobolli for the first shock at the Australian Open.
Michael Zheng will take five courses this spring semester at Columbia University in New York, where he is a senior. The 21-year-old is soon to graduate from the Ivy League institution, one of the most prestigious schools in the world.
But even though school begins on 20 January, that will not be his focus this week. Instead, the student-athlete is on the other side of the world competing in a major main draw for the first time at the Australian Open.
“Right now, I’m really excited,” Zheng, a qualifier, told ATPTour.com. “And relieved to get through that and get the chance to play my first main draw.”
A year ago, that was more than improbable. Zheng was the reigning NCAA men’s singles champion, but still outside the Top 700 in the PIF ATP Rankings. Yet he has balanced a rigorous education — earning Academic All-American honours as well as the Rafael Osuna National Sportsmanship Award in 2025 — and college tennis with proving he can compete with the best players in the world.
Zheng has long shown ability, dating back to when his father, Joe, decided to introduce Michael and his older sister by two years, Amy, to the sport at their local high school. Joe, who moved to the United States from China, fell in love with the sport upon his arrival and passed it along to his children.
Growing up in New Jersey, Zheng spent three days a week during middle school training at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, home of the US Open. And by the end of his junior career, the American reached the 2022 Wimbledon boys’ singles final, beating Coleman Wong and Martin Landaluce along the way.
“I had some talent, so he wanted to see how far he could take it,” Zheng said of his father. “And now we’re here playing my first main draw [of a major]. It’s been quite a tournament.”
But it has been an atypical one. Zheng is an active college student who in the coming days has to prepare for psychology courses in the New York winter. Instead, he is heating up in the Australian summer. The humble student does not make a big deal of it, but Ivy League coursework is difficult enough on its own.
“The academic rigour has helped Michael in many ways, especially mentally,” said Howard Endelman, the head coach of men’s tennis at Columbia. “The schoolwork is complementary; It allows Michael to focus and develop aspects of his life outside of tennis. Although it might be counter-intuitive, this combination has helped Michael develop as a complete person which has actually helped his tennis.”
According to Zheng, Endelman emphasises this message consistently.
“You learn how to manage your time and in the pressure moments, I think you can manage a little bit better, because you put all that work in and at the same time, you’re balancing school,” Zheng said. “I think it just gives you that little bit of a mental edge, that you’re doing maybe a little bit more than these other guys, and at the same time, your level is there.”
[NO 1 CLUB]What makes his moment in the spotlight Sunday against Sebastian Korda at Melbourne Park more impressive is how he got there. Not only did he work his way through a tough qualifying draw, but made a big run to earn his place in qualifying in the first place.
In early June, Zheng was still outside the world’s Top 700. But a run to the ATP Challenger final in Little Rock began a huge surge, with titles in Chicago, Columbus and Tiburon showing it was no fluke.
“Right after winning the Tiburon Challenger final in October, Michael took a Sunday night red-eye flight so he could take an in-person exam Monday morning in New York City,” Endelman said. “He just takes it all in stride.”
The latter two tournament victories came while Zheng was taking five classes, before successfully defending his NCAA singles crown.
“Definitely not easy. At the same time, I think people tend to overestimate the studies. I think you can make it as hard or as easy as you want it to be,” Zheng, a Psychology major, said. “I’m travelling, missing quite a bit of class, so I’m not going to do anything too crazy, like neuroscience, biology or something like that. But at the same time, you can sign up for whatever classes you want to take.”
Entering college, Zheng had not planned to study psychology, but economics. The 21-year-old has found it interesting, even if he does not believe that there is a firm link between his studies and psychology on the tennis court.
Zheng’s memorable run nearly came to an end in the final round of qualifying against Lukas Klein, against whom he faced a match point in the final-set tie-break. But the Columbia Lion dealt with that pressure the same way he does school: successfully.
“Nothing seems to bother Michael — on or off the court — especially when things go wrong,” Endelman said. “Michael lost the lead after being up 7/1 and 9/7 in the final-set tiebreaker, then all of a sudden was serving down 9/10. With no emotion, he calmly goes up to the line and saves match point with an ace wide.”
Although Zheng’s tennis career is only beginning, the future is bright both on and off the court for the college standout. But the World No. 174 is not too concerned about what will come with his Psychology degree at the moment.
“I’m not thinking too longterm right now,” Zheng said. “I’m just focussing on seeing how far I can take the tennis and giving 100 per cent focus on that at least.”
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Andre Agassi may have finished his running for the night, but he was still in full analyst mode after sharing the court with fellow ATP No. 1 Club Members Roger Federer and Lleyton Hewitt at the Australian Open on Saturday evening.
Following an entertaining exhibition doubles clash alongside Federer, Hewitt and Patrick Rafter, Agassi spoke with Jim Courier about what made Hewitt and Federer so difficult to face during their time at the top of the game.
“Every No. 1 player in the world brings something so unique to the game,” Agassi said, nodding toward Hewitt. “I watched Lleyton do it. He turned a transition game phenomenally. He turned defence into offense. We saw fast players that stayed on defence.”
Agassi and Hewitt split their Lexus ATP Head2Head rivalry at 4–4, with all eight meetings coming on hard courts. The American, however, trailed Federer 3–8, and his tone shifted noticeably when reflecting on the Swiss great.
[NO 1 CLUB]“Then all of a sudden you play this guy Roger Federer and it was like time stood still,” Agassi said. “You hit the ball and it leaves your racquet exactly how you want it, yet he has all the time in the world. You couldn’t commit because he could change pace or direction. He could move you north and south, east and west. I knew I was facing the efforts of the next generation.”
Federer went on to spend a record 310 weeks as the No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, including 237 consecutively. Hewitt held top spot for 80 weeks, last occupying the position in June 2003, while Agassi spent 101 weeks as the World’s No. 1, briefly reclaiming the spot from Hewitt during that era.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Tennis players might be considered super-human but they suffer with jetlag like the rest of us – particularly when they travel to the Australian Open.
Matteo Berrettini has withdrawn from the Australian Open. The Italian announced the news on Saturday.
“I’m really sorry to have to withdraw from the tournament,” Berrettini said. “I have always enjoyed being and playing here and feeling your incredible support. Thank you to the tournament for their fantastic organisation and I hope to see all of you again very soon.”
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The former No. 6 player in the PIF ATP Rankings was scheduled to face sixth-seeded Australian Alex de Minaur in the first round but will now be replaced in the draw by Mackenzie McDonald. Berrettini reached the semi-finals at the Australian Open in 2022.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Roger Federer, Andre Agassi, Lleyton Hewitt, Patrick Rafter and Ashleigh Barty put on a show Saturday night at the Australian Open, where they shared laughs during a fun exhibition doubles during the opening ceremony.
Under the lights on Rod Laver Arena, the crowd settled in when the four ATP No. 1 Club Members walked out together and then rose again when Rod Laver arrived to conduct the coin toss.
Six-time AO champion Federer quickly set the mood for the evening when he took the microphone and greeted the crowd as if he had never left: “I have missed you and it is great to be back. It’s just where we left off, so many memories and nice to dive back into it.”
Hewitt was already bouncing on his toes, Rafter looked relaxed and Agassi scanned the arena calmly before play began.
<img alt=”Roger Federer/Andre Agassi” src=”/-/media/images/news/2026/01/17/10/17/fed-agassi-2026-ao.jpg” />
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Hewitt opened on serve and it didn’t take long for the crowd to cheer. Federer framed a forehand lob that somehow dropped in for a winner over Rafter, drawing laughs from all four players and a shake of the head from Hewitt.
As the match went on, the contrast in styles was clear. Agassi joked about staying behind the baseline, while Rafter did everything he could to avoid hitting a forehand. Played in a first-to-four format, the first two sets moved quickly, with the match level at 4-2, 2-4, with the Australians winning the first set.
<img alt=”Roger Federer/Lleyton Hewitt/Patrick Rafter” src=”/-/media/images/news/2026/01/17/10/18/fed-hew-ao-2026.jpg” />
Photo Credit: Getty Images
With a third set left to decide the clash, Barty arrived on court to replace Agassi. The former World No. 1 won the Australian Open trophy in 2022 before retiring and received huge cheers on her return. Barty quickly found her rhythm from the baseline, with her and Federer earning a 4-2 victory in the third set in front of record-time 10 champion Novak Djokovic, who was watching courtside.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
“It was beautiful,” Federer said after. “It was fantastic. I couldn’t be any happier. Just being back in Melbourne with my friends, legends, rivals, is always a thrill. I am a big historian of the game and looked back at who has paved the way for us and this is a beautiful moment for tennis and obviously I am looking forward to the Australian Open.”
Agassi won the AO on four occasions, while Hewitt reached the title match in 2005. Rafter’s best result came in 2001 when he advanced to the semi-finals. The Australian Open starts on Sunday, with Carlos Alcaraz in action. Jannik Sinner is the two-time defending champion.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]