Becker regrets winning Wimbledon at 17
Six-time Grand Slam champion Boris Becker says he regrets winning Wimbledon at the age of 17 because of the pressure it put on him.
Six-time Grand Slam champion Boris Becker says he regrets winning Wimbledon at the age of 17 because of the pressure it put on him.
Frances Tiafoe and Denis Shapovalov both watched bright beginnings slip away on a turbulent opening Wednesday at the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships in Tokyo.
Taifoe suffered his first opening-round hard-court loss of the season (10-1) at the hands of qualifier Marton Fucsovics, who fought for a 3-6, 6-1, 7-5 victory. The 2022 Tokyo finalist pressed hard in a topsy-turvy decider marked by three service breaks, but Fucsovics won a series of bruising baseline exchanges to seal the upset.
Tokyo Debut Delight! 👏
Marton Fucsovics takes out 8th seed Tiafoe (3-6 6-1 7-5) to move into Round 2 @japanopentennis | #kinoshitajotennis pic.twitter.com/YCM4fIq1Dw
— ATP Tour (@atptour) September 24, 2025
By improving to 3-2 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Tiafoe, Fucsovics climbed seven spots to No. 51 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings. The Hungarian won his third ATP Tour title in Winston-Salem last month and will continue his campaign in the Japanese capital against Brandon Nakashima or Jordan Thompson.
Shapovalov’s exit came earlier against Daniel Altmaier, who scored for his fifth Top 30 win of the season with a 7-5, 6-3 triumph. Shapovalov — in his first outing since marrying partner Mirjam Bjorklund — will rue his missed opportunities in the opening set.
The Canadian dropped four straight games from 5-3, and missed four set points on return at 5-4 before Altmaier clawed back the momentum and raced to a 90-minute victory. The 27-year-old Altmaier is now on the verge of a new milestone: He is up to No. 49 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, just one shy of his career high.
In other early action on Day 1 in Tokyo, Matteo Berrettini earned his first victory since May by moving past Jaume Munar 6-4, 6-2. The Italian returned to action last week in Hangzhou after a two-and-a-half month injury hiatus, but fell to lucky loser Dalibor Svrcina in his opener.
Watch Extended Highlights of Day 1 action in Tokyo:
Although the former World No. 6 Berrettini hit 28 unforced errors against Munar and did not look typically sharp, he was able to count on his aggressive game and overpowered the Spaniard with 32 winners. He also saved all eight break points he faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats, and will next face fourth seed Casper Ruud or home wild card Shintaro Mochizuki.
Nuno Borges also advanced, rallying past wild card Yosuke Watanuki 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 for his personal-best 25th win of the season. Next in his debut campaign in Tokyo, the Portuguese set up a big-serving clash with second seed Taylor Fritz or Gabriel Diallo, who face off on Thursday.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Katie Boulter says she is happy to put a “tough couple of months” behind her by beating Hailey Baptiste in the China Open.
Carlos Alcaraz may be making his Tokyo debut this week while Jannik Sinner battles in Beijing, but the Spaniard can’t help studying their growing rivalry.
After toppling Sinner in the US Open final, Alcaraz extended his Lexus ATP Head2Head lead to 10-5, winning seven of their past eight clashes. That loss cost Sinner the No. 1 spot in the PIF ATP Rankings and also prompted the Italian to hint at changes. Alcaraz, however, believes he’s still one step ahead.
“I know he’s going to change,” Alcaraz said of Sinner during a pre-tournament press conference in Tokyo. “He is going to change something from the last match. It’s the same thing that I did when I lost to him a couple of times. I tried to be a better player. Next time I’m going to face him so I expect him to do the same thing to change a few things just to be ready and I have to be focused and I have to be ready for the changes.
“I will try to overcome those changes [and] be ready for that rivalry. I think it’s getting better for me and for tennis. We will see in the future how many times I’m going to play against him and in which circumstances we would play. But I think right now it’s going great.”
It’s been a dominant year for Alcaraz. With a Tour-leading 62 wins and seven trophies this season, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, he is already just four victories away from eclipsing his personal tally of 65 wins from 2023.
He is also the runaway leader in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin and is in good stead to claim his second ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF finish. Despite his success, Alcaraz downplayed any talk of chasing the ‘greatest of all time’ label.
“It’s something that’s not in my mind right now,” Alcaraz said when asked of his aim to become the best player ever. “I always say that my goal in tennis is to try to be at the same table as the legends or the best players in history, but it’s not something that I’m thinking about right now. I’ve achieved great things already in just 22 years.
“I already know that but I don’t know in the future how many things or how many tournaments I’m going to achieve. So I think it’s something that I have to take care of every day about the details about everything practising well and we will see in the future. I think nobody knows the future. So what I’m thinking right now is to do the good things that I’ve been doing, following the good path. I’m trying to be the best player and the best person I can be every day. That’s all I’m thinking right now.”
That journey continues this week at the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships, where Alcaraz aims to join 12 fellow ATP No. 1 Club members who have triumphed in Tokyo.
This time last year, Alcaraz defeated Sinner in a thrilling final to lift the Beijing trophy, but in 2025 he has opted to compete at the ATP 500 in Tokyo for the first time. He faces Sebastian Baez in his opener on Thursday and could meet Chengdu champion Alejandro Tabilo in the second round.
“I know it is a great tournament. I know the players who have played this tournament before and the players who have won this tournament before,” Alcaraz said. “I just really wanted to come here, play great tennis, perform well and try to win the trophy. That’s why I’m here just to feel great on court, giving myself the chance to win the trophy to win the tournament.
“At the end of the week I just really want to put my name next to the past champions that I know it’s an honor to be next to, to those names as well.”
Tokyo’s honour roll includes all members of the Big Three — Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic — as well as Andy Murray, Pete Sampras, Stefan Edberg and Ivan Lendl, and many other greats of the sport.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Learner Tien, Dino Prizmic and Shang Juncheng all earned victories on the ATP Tour last week in Hangzhou and Chengdu, respectively, increasing their chances of playing at the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF, held from 17-21 December in Jeddah.
Tien cemented his third-placed position in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah with a quarter-final run at the ATP 250 hard-court event in Hangzhou. The 19-year-old American defeated Mariano Navone and Giulio Zeppieri before he lost to eventual finalist Valentin Royer. Tien is hoping to make his second appearance at the 20-and-under event after reaching the title match last year.
It’s officially Race to Jeddah season 👀#NextGenATPFinals pic.twitter.com/PpvCk1ZwxC
— Next Gen ATP Finals (@nextgenfinals) September 23, 2025
Fourth-placed Prizmic captured his third ATP Tour match win of the season at the event in Chengdu. The Croatian, who has lifted two ATP Challenger Tour trophies in 2025, defeated Cincinnati semi-finalist Terence Atmane and then pushed Top 10 star Lorenzo Musetti to three sets in the second round. Prizmic is aiming to make his debut in Jeddah.
China’s Shang continued his comeback from injury with a first-round win against Zizou Bergs in Chengdu. The 20-year-old lefty returned to Tour at the end of July in Toronto after missing the first six months of the season due to a foot injury.
Shang is 18th in the Live Race To Jeddah and will need a couple of deep runs in the next eight weeks to move into qualification contention. This week, he is playing at the ATP 500 event in Beijing and opens against Arthur Cazaux.
Fifth-placed Alexander Blockx, sixth-placed Nicolai Budkov Kjaer and eighth-placed Martin Landaluce are in Challenger Tour action this week in Orleans, while seventh-placed Nishesh Basavareddy lost in the opening round of qualifying in Beijing.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]With less than two months to go until the Nitto ATP Finals, the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin is heating up. Following ATP 250 events in Chengdu and Hangzhou, ATPTour.com looks at the movers of the week in the Live Race To Turin as of Wednesday 24 September.
Lorenzo Musetti – seventh (3,235 points), +1
The Italian boosted his chances of competing at the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time following a run to the final in Chengdu. Musetti dropped one set en route to the final, gaining 165 points in his quest to make his debut on home soil at the prestigious year-end event. However, he fell agonisingly short of his third ATP Tour title and first since 2022, squandering two championship points in his defeat to Alejandro Tabilo.
Alexander Bublik – 12th (2,370), +3
Bublik continued his career-best season at the ATP 250 in Hangzhou, where he clinched his fourth title of the year. The 28-year-old did not drop serve all week, joining Taylor Fritz as the only players this season to win a tour-level title without losing a game on their own delivery.
Highlighted by title runs in Halle, Gstaad, Kitzbuehel and Hangzhou, Bublik now boasts a 31-17 record in 2025, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, and is joined by only Carlos Alcaraz as winning four or more trophies this year. The Kazakhstani is up three spots to 12th in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin and is in contention of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time.
Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have already qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals, taking place from 9-16 November at Inalpi Arena in Turin.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Two and a half weeks on from his US Open final defeat to Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner has had time to process his four-set loss in New York and is implementing change.
The Italian overcame the Spaniard in the Wimbledon final in July but struggled to match the 22-year-old at Flushing Meadows, with Alcaraz improving to 10-5 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series. Small tweaks are now the name of the game for Sinner, who could face Alcaraz again in October at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Shanghai.
“We’ve been reflecting a lot on that final,” Sinner said ahead of his opening match at the China Open in Beijing. “We are working on new things. We are changing a lot of small things. The amount of mistakes at the moment is for sure a little bit higher, but I hope that this recovers.
“It’s just a question of time. I don’t know how much I’m able to [implement changes] on the actual match court because one thing is practise and one thing is match. Let’s see. I’m very motivated. It’s great to work on something new, then we see how this ends up. We always try to move forward. One step in front is always better than two steps back. Let’s see what we can do.”
Sinner won majors at the Australian Open and Wimbledon this season and is hoping to capture another title in the next week in Beijing, where he leads the field as the top seed. The Italian triumphed in the Chinese capital in 2023 and then lost in the title match last year to Alcaraz, who is competing at the ATP 500 event in Tokyo this week.
Sinner arrives in Beijing with a new member in his team after adding physiotherapist Alejandro Resnicoff.
“He’s a very experienced physio, obviously being on the ATP Tour for 15 years,” Sinner said. “Also before he had other tennis players, so he has a lot of experience. He also respects how we are as a team. It’s not that he comes in and he changes everything. If he sees that we have or could potentially improve something for my body, he’s here to help. This is how it works.
“But it also takes time. I’ve worked with him a little bit in the years when I didn’t have my physio. Not as much. Obviously now having him for me, it’s a huge privilege. He’s super, super experienced.”
The No. 2 player in the PIF ATP Rankings Sinner will face former Beijing finalist Marin Cilic in his opening match at the ATP 500 hard-court event and will hope for another deep run to close the gap on World No. 1 Alcaraz, who returned to top spot following the US Open final.
Sinner is 37-5 on the season, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index and has already qualified for this year’s Nitto ATP Finals in Turin, having won the prestigious year-end event last season.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Grigor Dimitrov has parted ways with British coach Jamie Delgado.
The 34-year-old Bulgarian, who has been sidelined since Wimbledon with a pectoral muscle injury, announced the split Tuesday on social media.
“After a few years and great achievements together, Jamie Delgado and I have decided to part ways amicably. I wish him the best in his future endeavours. I’m excited to start fresh after this time I’ve dedicated fully to my recovery. I’m looking forward to coming back to play soon,” Dimitrov wrote.”
[ATP APP]Dimitrov has not played since abruptly retiring ahead two sets against eventual champion Jannik Sinner in the fourth round of Wimbledon.
The nine-time ATP Tour titlist has a 17-11 season record according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss index and sits 28th in the PIF ATP Rankings.
Dimitrov, the 2017 Nitto ATP Finals champion, is next scheduled to compete at the Rolex Shanghai Masters, beginning 1 October.
His run of 58 consecutive Grand Slam appearances came to an end at the US Open.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Nikola Pilic, who has passed away Monday in Rijeka aged 86, left an indelible mark on the tennis world as a player, coach, captain and tournament director.
Such is Pilic’s legacy that there will be those today who remember the high point of his playing career as a 1973 Roland Garros finalist, at a time when Pilic found himself into the middle of a sporting and political storm resulting in the Wimbledon boycott, one month later.
Or the cherished memories as a Davis Cup winning captain for Germany, Croatia and Serbia; his role as a long-time Tournament Director and reformer, which has helped future generations, or as a mentor and coach to the likes of Boris Becker, Michael Stich, Goran Ivanisevic, and his influence in the development of a young Novak Djokovic, now a 24-time Grand Slam champion.
ATP Chairman Andrea Gaudenzi said: “We are deeply saddened by the passing of Niki Pilic, a true pioneer of our sport. His contributions across many roles left a lasting impact on players, fans and the game itself, and hold particular significance in the history of the ATP. He will be greatly missed. On behalf of the ATP, we extend our heartfelt condolences to his family and loved ones.”
<img alt=”Nikola Pilic at Wimbledon in 1970.” style=”width:100%;” src=”/-/media/images/news/2025/09/23/16/19/pilic-wimbledon-1970.jpg” />
Nikola Pilic at Wimbledon in 1970. Credit: Ed Lacey/Popperfoto via Getty Images
Pilic achieved so much across eight decades. It wasn’t until Pilic was 13 years old, in the summer of 1952, that he started to play tennis: first at the Firule club, then between his studies in shipbuilding and later government administration. Within four years, he represented Yugoslavia’s junior team and claimed five national singles and seven doubles titles with a big serve and forehand that became feared weapons.
In a playing career, bridging the amateur and Open eras, Pilic was world-class, reaching the 1962 Wimbledon doubles final with Boro Jovanovic, beating Roy Emerson en route to the 1967 semi-finals at the All-England Club. As the sport went open to amateur and professional players, Pilic joined the ‘Handsome Eight’ of Lamar Hunt’s group, World Championship Tennis (WCT), in 1968, alongside Dennis Ralston, John Newcombe, Tony Roche, Cliff Drysdale, Earl Buchholz, Roger Taylor and Pierre Barthes. The tall left-hander also teamed up with Barthes for the 1970 US Open doubles title (d. Emerson/Laver).
Yet in May 1973, Pilic and the right of all players to choose where and when they competed came to a head, when the Yugoslav Tennis Federation suspended Pilic for nine months for failing to play in a Davis Cup match against New Zealand in Zagreb.
Just as Pilic stepped off court at Roland Garros, having finished runner-up to Ilie Nastase in the final, it was announced that the International Tennis Federation had upheld the suspension. An emergency meeting reduced the suspension to one month, taking in the Italian and German Opens, and the first week of Wimbledon.
In the build up to The Championships, it was clear that the Association of Tennis Professionals’ attempt, as British journalist David Gray wrote, to “assert Pilic’s liberty of action by seeking an injunction to restrain the All-England Club and the ITF from barring him,” may fail. It did.
<img alt=”From left to right: Nikola Pilic, Cliff Drysdale, Arthur Ashe and Jack Kramer outside the High Court in London in June 1973.” style=”width:100%;” src=”/-/media/images/news/2025/09/23/16/20/pilic-london-1973.jpg” />
From left to right: Nikola Pilic, Cliff Drysdale, Arthur Ashe and Jack Kramer outside the High Court in London in June 1973. Credit: Leonard Burt/Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Compromises were suggested, but ultimately 81 male players voted to withdraw from Wimbledon, as the membership of ATP, formed only in September 1972, wanted a more professional approach to the organisation of the tournament circuit. It was the making of the player-led Association of Tennis Professionals, which would later join forces with tournament directors in 1990 to form the ATP Tour.
Stan Smith, the 1972 Wimbledon champion and early ATP President, told ATPTour.com, “Obviously he was the trigger point for the boycott at Wimbledon. We felt as a fledgling ATP that players should be able to play where they want, when they want. We backed him not because of who he was, but because he was a member of our association, who was not being allowed to play for what we felt was not a good reason.”
Having retired from competition, Pilic became a coach, helping guide Germany to three Davis Cup trophies in 1988, 1989 and 1993. He was also on hand as captain for Croatia and Serbia in their respective 2005 and 2010 title-winning runs.
“Niki was a very talented player, with his serve and forehand being great weapons,” Smith said. “He was also a good thinker and he came close to winning some big tournaments.
“Off the court, he had an opinion on about almost any subject and seemed to have experience and knowledge in many areas. I was on an airplane with him one time and he said that the engine didn’t sound normal and that this could be dangerous. I asked him what he knew about airplanes and he said, ‘I know these engines’.”
Cliff Drysdale, a founding member and President of the ATP, remembers Pilic fondly. “Niki was a friend and I found him to be one of the most interesting players on tour to talk to. He was smart, well-read and a man of principle. In one of the discussions we had that I scoffed at he said that Yugoslavia would fall apart. He proved to be right.
“He was part of the Handsome Eight and was very much a part of the early creation of the ATP. The Wimbledon walkout was a catalyst that turned us from a bunch of guys running around like chickens with our heads cut off to a solidified ATP.
“The boycott was never about the money. It was about Niki’s ability to play Wimbledon because he was qualified to play.”
Pilic operated a tennis academy in Oberschleißheim near Munich, establishing a strong reputation for discipline and his tactical insight, which helped him as a talented player. In 1999, Djokovic’s first coach, Jelena Gencic, sent her 12-year-old pupil to train there for three months.
Pilic married Serbian actress Mija Adamovic. Five years ago, he was awarded the Golden Medal of Merits of Republic of Serbia.
Nikola Pilic, tennis player, coach, official, born 27 August 1939, died 22 September 2025.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Main-draw action at the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships in Tokyo begins Wednesday, with seeded players Denis Shapovalov and Frances Tiafoe among those on the schedule.
View Wednesday’s order of play below:
ORDER OF PLAY – WEDNESDAY, 24 SEPTEMBER 2025
Colosseum – start 11:00 AM
Jaume Munar (ESP) vs Matteo Berrettini (ITA)
[WC] Yosuke Watanuki (JPN) vs Nuno Borges (POR)
Not Before 4:00 PM
Daniel Altmaier (GER) vs [7] Denis Shapovalov (CAN)
[Q] Marton Fucsovics (HUN) vs [8] Frances Tiafoe (USA)
Kinoshita Group Show Court – start 11:00 AM
Robert Cash (USA) / JJ Tracy (USA) vs [2] Hugo Nys (MON) / Edouard Roger-Vasselin (FRA)
Not Before 12:30 PM
[3] Maximo Gonzalez (ARG) / Andres Molteni (ARG) vs Tomas Machac (CZE) / John Peers (AUS)
Casper Ruud (NOR) / Jordan Thompson (AUS) vs [WC] Rohan Bopanna (IND) / Takeru Yuzuki (JPN)
Followed By
Qualifying Final/After suitable rest – [1] Fernando Romboli (BRA) / Jan Zielinski (POL) vs [2] Nuno Borges (POR) / Rafael Matos (BRA)