Battle of the Sexes 'brought eyes on tennis'
Women’s world number one Aryna Sabalenka defends the ‘Battle of the Sexes’ match against Nick Kyrgios after opening her season with a crushing win in Brisbane.
Women’s world number one Aryna Sabalenka defends the ‘Battle of the Sexes’ match against Nick Kyrgios after opening her season with a crushing win in Brisbane.
Nick Kyrgios’ first ATP Tour match since March ends in a first-round defeat at the Brisbane International, as Britain’s Cameron Norrie books his place in the second round with a hard-fought win.
Argentina has qualified for the United Cup quarter-finals by virtue of being the best-placed runner-up country in Perth.
Argentina finished as runner-up in Group A with a 1-1 tie record and, importantly, a 4-2 match record. No other runner-up country in Perth can finish with four match wins, so Argentina is guaranteed to reach the quarter-finals.
The winner of Group A, the United States, was scheduled to face the best runner-up in Perth. However, since the United States and Argentina met in group play, the United States will take on Greece and Switzerland will play Argentina.
The United States-Greece tie will begin at 10 a.m. local time in Perth Wednesday, with the Switzerland-Argentina matchup scheduled for the night session beginning at 5 p.m.
The best-placed runner-up country in Sydney is still up for grabs.
Team Belgium earned a stunning 3-0 sweep of Team Canada Tuesday in Sydney at the United Cup to win Group B and claim a place in the quarter-finals.
After Zizou Bergs and Elise Mertens earned impressive singles victories to clinch the tie, the Belgians partnered to defeat Cleeve Harper and Victoria Mboko 6-3, 3-6, 10-5 in a critical mixed doubles match to top the group.
“We had to beat some big players today and a big tennis country,” Bergs said. “We small Belgians, we are so proud of each other today what we did as a team, especially after a rough first encounter with China. So we are happy and the group is very happy.”
The Belgians woke up this morning knew to win their group they needed to sweep Canada. That was a difficult task considering Canada swept China, which beat Belgium earlier in the event. That proved inconsequential inside Ken Rosewall Arena, where Bergs and Mertens found a way to keep their United Cup alive.
“I trust this team 100 per cent and I think we can do it and we actually did it,” Mertens said. “Nothing is impossible, so very happy about the doubles we played. We really were a team, we were growing.”
Bergs earned the biggest win of his career to start the day, upsetting World No. 5 Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-4, 6-2.
“Really happy with the performance. I think this shows also our strength we have. We can fall down, but we will get back up and try to be better [than] we were the day before,” Bergs said. “This is what we do, and I’m also very thankful to have that team around me.”
Bergs claimed his second Top-10 victory (2-10) in one hour and 28 minutes, having also defeated then-World No. 9 Andrey Rublev 10 months ago in Miami. A Belgian man had never previously earned a win at the United Cup.
“I actually forgot this was my second Top-10 win, so that’s really huge, actually, especially with a convincing way of playing,” Bergs said. “I just looked at it as a match. This is a a little different format, so we’re still down. We still have to win a lot of matches today, so that was more the focus and today I just had to get the job done.”
Auger-Aliassime enjoyed the best season of his career in 2025, reaching the US Open semi-finals and competing in the Nitto ATP Finals. He looked sharp in his first match of the season against Zhang, but was unable to dominate the same way against Bergs, who saved all five break points he faced.
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Experience beat youth in the second match of the day when Mertens defeated Mboko 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. Her two-hour, five-minute triumph put Belgium on the brink of the quarter-finals.
After coming from a set behind to defeat China’s Zhu Lin in her opening match of the week, there was no similar escape for the 19-year-old Mboko against Mertens.
The Belgian rode a stellar serving performance to a one-set lead, holding at love in each of her first four service games and breaking Mboko decisively to love in the sixth game as well. Though Mboko showed the fighting spirit that earned her 15 three-set wins in 2025 on the way to being crowned the WTA Tour Newcomer of the Year to push the match the distance, she was unable to create any break point chances in the decider either.
Mertens earned the decisive break of serve in the fourth game from a 30/0 deficit, and won a staggering 93 per cent of points played behind her first serve overall.
“I’m absolutely pumped … I’m very happy with the point for Belgium,” Mertens said. “Also well played to my opponent. She’s up and coming, she’s really young — she’s more than 10 years younger than me!
“I’m most proud of how I [started] the beginning of the third set. I really wanted to get that point, and of course, I had the team behind me. I got a little bit of experience already, but of course you always feel a little bit nervous. That’s the game, tennis, a lot of emotions, but I’m very pleased about [the win].”
[NEWSLETTER FORM]France’s Arthur Rinderknech saved two match points to stun Flavio Cobolli and eliminate Italy from United Cup quarter-final contention Tuesday in Perth.
The result ensures that Argentina will finish as the Perth group runner-up with the best record. Wednesday’s quarter-finals will see defending champion United States play Greece in the morning and Argentina play Switzerland in the evening session.
[ATP APP]After saving two match points on serve at 5-6 in the second set, Rinderknech rallied from a break down in the third set to close out a courageous 6-7(4), 7-6(5), 7-5 win in three hours and 21 minutes.
“I don’t know if it was seriously good, but it was seriously tough, that’s for sure,” the top-ranked Frenchman said. “He’s powerful and he made me play a lot of balls. I was able to find a way somehow like Stan found a way against me three days ago. Both matches [went deep] in the third, so I guess it’s good preparation for the Australian Open.”
Rinderknech survived 14 Cobolli forehand winners in the second set, when he came from within a point of going down a set and 1-5. He trailed 2-4 in the third before digging deep to win five of the last six games, finishing with 13 aces and saving seven of 11 break points faced.
“[Near the end] I relaxed a little more when my back was against the wall,” he said. “I couldn’t do anything else but try to the last shot. I’ll talk to my coach Lucas and I’m sure we can take something positive out of it.”
Rinderknech finished 2025 as the No. 1 Frenchman and within the Top 30 for the first time in his career. He is now at a career-high mark of No. 27.
Although both Italy and France have been eliminated from quarter-final contention, play continues inside RAC Arena with Jasmine Paolini taking on Leolia Jeanjean, with mixed doubles to follow.
It was an unenviable task for Jasmine Paolini, stepping on court just moments after Italy was eliminated from quarter-final contention at the United Cup following Cobolli’s loss to Rinderknech.
But she handled it with efficiency, defeating Leolia Jeanjean in businesslike fashion, 6-2, 6-3 in 1 hour and 22 minutes.
While the scoreline suggests a routine win, Paolini had to navigate more than a few challenges to secure her first victory of 2026. Beyond the dejected mood on the Team Italy bench, the World No. 8 also had to withstand a blistering start on serve by Jeanjean.
Despite entering as the underdog, Jeanjean fired six aces in her first two service games to take a 2-1 lead. Paolini responded by reeling off five straight games to claim the opening set in 40 minutes.
She did so behind the strength of her own serve, winning 80 per cent of her own first-serve points in the first set. She finished the match at an even more impressive 88 per cent. On the other side of the net, Paolini broke Jeanjean to open the second set – and despite needing six match points – never looked back.
Even with Italy eliminated before she took the court, Paolini maintained her trademark positivity postmatch.
“We couldn’t get through the group, but we did our best,” Paolini said. “We fought until the last ball and there’s still mixed doubles, so we’re going to be there to cheer for them. Sometimes it’s sport, but we have to keep going, [keep] fighting, because that’s the right way to finish this competition.”
With both teams already eliminated and only bragging rights remaining, Italy’s Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori defeated France’s Tiantsoa Rakotomanga Rajaonah and Edouard Roger-Vasselin 7-6(6), 7-6(6) to clinch the tie.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Sixteen inches separate Reilly Opelka and Dane Sweeny, but Sweeny did not seem to mind Tuesday at the Brisbane International presented by ANZ.
After Opelka defeated the Australian 6-3, 7-5 at the ATP 250 event, the 5’7” Sweeny grabbed a chair to step on to embrace the American. They shared a viral moment at the net.
“I’m just trying to not be overly serious with my tennis,” Sweeny told ATPTour.com. “And I told the boys, my friends, that at the end of the match, I would do the Dudi Sela. Dudi Sela did it to Karlovic a while ago. So I thought that was pretty iconic and he’s 16 inches taller and I thought it’d be pretty funny.”
Sweeny was referring to 2014 in Bogota, where Dudi Sela did the same thing after losing his sixth consecutive Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting against Ivo Karlovic. That embrace remains a fans’ favourite.
“I think it’s emblematic of the mindset I’m trying to take into this year,” Sweeny said. “I’m just trying to have fun with it as a whole.”
Watch the full video below.
Australian Open tournament organisers announced a record AUD $111.5 million prize money pool Tuesday, the largest in event history.
The $111.5 million is up 16 per cent from $96.5 million in 2025. Qualifying rounds are up by 16 per cent and all singles and doubles players will receive a minimum of 10 per cent increase.
“This 16 per cent increase demonstrates our commitment to supporting tennis careers at every level,” Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley said. “From boosting qualifying prize money by 55 per cent since 2023 to enhancing player benefits, we’re ensuring professional tennis is sustainable for all competitors.”
The singles champion will receive $4.15 million, up 19 per cent year over year. The runner-up will earn $2.15 million and the semi-finalists $1.25 million each.
2026 Australian Open Singles Prize Money (Men & Women)
| Round | Prize Money |
| Champion | $4.15M |
| Finalist | $2.15M |
| Semi-finalist | $1.25M |
| Quarter-finalist | $750K |
| R16 | $480K |
| R32 | $327.75K |
| R64 | $225K |
| R128 | $150K |
2026 Australian Open Qualifying Singles (Men & Women)
| Round | Prize Money |
| R32 | $83.5K |
| R64 | $57K |
| R128 | $40.5K |
From college standouts to young stars making a professional breakthrough, here are five ATP Challenger players to watch in 2026:
Michael Zheng
Zheng is a proven winner and his rise onto the ATP Tour is not a question of if, but when. The reigning two-time NCAA singles champion, who is a senior at Columbia University, tallied a 24-7 match record at ATP Challenger level in 2025, including three title runs.
Zheng made the best possible use of an ATP Next Gen Accelerator spot at the Chicago Challenger in August, going all the way to the winner’s circle as World No. 416 in the PIF ATP Rankings. Zheng then added to his title haul in September with consecutive trophies in Columbus and Tiburon. Celebrating his 22nd birthday later this month, Zheng begins the season at No. 182 in the PIF ATP Rankings.
Nicolai Budkov Kjaer
One of the fastest-rising teenagers on the ATP Challenger circuit, the Norwegian is coming off a standout season in which he was one of six players to claim a season-leading four titles at that level. That success helped Budkov Kjaer qualify for the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF, where he reached the semi-finals. At No. 135 in the PIF ATP Rankings, the 19-year-old will aim for a second consecutive qualification for the 20-and-under event.
In 2025, the teenager won his maiden Challenger title in Glasgow in February and returned to the winner’s circle in July with back-to-back triumphs in Tampere and Astana, becoming the youngest Norwegian to claim multiple Challenger titles. The 2024 Wimbledon boys’ singles champion won the Mouilleron le Captif Challenger in October for his fourth triumph of the year.
Rafael Jodar
Few Challenger players made a more eye-catching, late-season surge than Jodar, who won three titles in as many months en route to qualifying for the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF. On New Year’s Eve, the 19-year-old announced that he is turning pro, forgoing his remaining eligibility at the University of Virginia, where he spent two seasons.
The Spaniard entered the Hersonissos Challenger in September as World No. 540 and was in the main draw as an alternate, yet in just his ninth Challenger appearance, he went all the way to the title. Jodar won the Lincoln and Charlottesville Challengers across a three-week span in October, the latter taking place at his home campus in Virginia. He earned two group-stage wins in Jeddah and is set to begin 2026 at a career-high No. 165.
Trophy time for Rafa Jodar 😎#ATPChallenger | @RFETenis pic.twitter.com/cvODPSHx8H
— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) October 19, 2025
Federico Cina
Fresh off his first full season on the Challenger circuit, Cina is rapidly announcing himself on that stage and knocking on the door of his maiden title. The Italian competed in three Challenger finals in 2025, including a tight two-set defeat to fellow #NextGenATP star Justin Engel — the youngest Challenger championship match since 2003. The 18-year-old will be one to keep an eye on as he aims to qualify for the 2026 Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF.
Elmer Moller
Power and momentum are firmly on Moller’s side as he approaches his Top 100 debut. Boasting a thunderous, damage-dealing backhand, the Dane closed his 2025 season in triumphant fashion, winning the Maia Challenger in the final week. It marked the 22-year-old’s third Challenger title of the year in his fourth final appearance. He also won the clay-court Challengers in Oeiras, Portugal and Iasi, Romania. Moller begins the year at No. 119 in the PIF ATP Rankings.
Novak Djokovic withdraws from his planned Australian Open warm-up tournament as he is “not quite physically ready to compete”.
Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from the Adelaide International. The Serbian announced the news on social media on Monday.
The Serbian wrote on Instagram: “To all my fans in Adelaide, unfortunately, I am not quite physically ready to compete in the Adelaide International next week. It’s personally very disappointing to me as I have such great memories of winning the title there two years ago. I was really excited about returning as it truly feels like playing at home.
“My focus is now on my preparation for the Australian Open and I look forward to arriving in Melbourne soon and seeing all the tennis fans in Australia.”
Djokovic has fond memories in Adelaide, having lifted the trophy at the ATP 250 event in 2007 and 2023. The No. 4 player in the PIF ATP Rankings will now start his season at the Australian Open, where he has lifted the trophy a record 10 times. The 38-year-old has reached the semi-finals in Melbourne in the past two years, falling to two-time defending champion Jannik Sinner in 2024 and Alexander Zverev in 2025.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]