Tennis News

Auger-Aliassime retires against Munar in Basel, dents Turin hopes, Fonseca reaches SFs

Felix Auger-Aliassime’s Nitto ATP Finals hopes suffered a setback on Friday at the Swiss Indoors Basel, where he was forced to retire against Jaume Munar after losing the first set.

The Canadian was trailing 3-6 when he walked to the net and ended proceedings after 45 minutes of his quarter-final match at the ATP 500.

Auger-Aliassime lifted the trophy in Brussels last week to move to ninth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin. The 25-year-old, who married Nina Ghaibi last month, is 340 points behind eighth-placed Lorenzo Musetti, who occupies the final qualification spot. Musetti is in quarter-final action against Cornetin Moutet in Vienna later on Friday.

Auger-Aliassime is hoping to make his second appearance at the prestigious year-end event, having competed in 2022. He holds a 43-21 record on the year, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index and is scheduled to compete at the Rolex Paris Masters next week.

Joao Fonseca followed Auger-Aliassime and Munar onto court and overcame Denis Shapovalov, who also retired. Fonseca led the Canadian 3-6, 6-3, 4-1 when Shapovalov approached the Brazilian to shake hands.

Fonseca is into his second tour-level semi-final of the year and first at ATP 500 level. The 19-year-old won his maiden tour-level crown in Buenos Aires earlier this year and is now 23-15 on the season. Fonseca is the second-youngest semi-finalist this century and will play Munar on Saturday.

Ugo Humbert continued his impressive week with a 7-6(0), 6-4 win against American Reilly Opelka.

The 27-year-old Frenchman has won a Tour-leading 22 matches indoors since the start of 2024, a tally that includes two title runs in Marseille. He also reached championship matches in Paris last November and Stockholm last week.

Humbert will next play eighth seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. After the Spaniard took the opening set off Casper Ruud 7-6(1), the fourth-seeded Norwegian retired due to an ankle injury, sending Davidovich Fokina to his sixth semi-final of the season. Ruud was on a six-match winning streak, including a title run at last week’s ATP 250 in Stockholm.

Watch Extended Highlights from Friday in Basel:

Source link

ATP Challenger Tour prize money rises to record $32.4 milllion for 2026

The ATP has announced a record $32.4 million in ATP Challenger Tour prize money for the 2026 season, featuring an additional $5 million in singles compensation compared to 2025. Driven by the introduction of OneVision – ATP’s long-term strategic plan – Challenger Tour prize money has surged an unprecedented 167% since 2022.

Under OneVision, key drivers of growth have included the commercialisation of rights under Tennis Data Innovations (TDI), the introduction of premium Challenger 175 events, and the establishment of a dedicated Challenger Tour team to oversee new revenue streams.

In 2025, global expansion of media rights distribution – including a landmark partnership with Tennis Channel – has marked another significant investment into growing the game at this level. Events are now broadcast across 20 countries, driving record 33.8 million total viewership and reinforcing the Challenger Tour as an international platform to showcase the sport’s future stars.

Enhancements planned for 2026 include expanding the calendar from 216 to 265 events. With the addition of 50 new Challenger 50 tournaments, players will have greater opportunities to compete and progress, further strengthening the professional pathway to the ATP Tour.

ATP Chairman Andrea Gaudenzi said: “Challenger Tour prize money has nearly tripled since 2022. This is what OneVision was designed to do – create the foundation for investment in our sport to deliver greater financial security to more players. There’s more room to grow, and we’re working to unlock the opportunities to build on this progress.”

Source link

Djokovic: Still standing amongst the elite

Djokovic: Still standing amongst the elite

Source link

Rybakina clinches last spot in WTA Finals

Elena Rybakina clinches the last spot for next month’s WTA Finals by reaching the semi-finals of the Pan Pacific Open.

Source link

Sinner sets tantalising showdown with Bublik in Vienna

Jannik Sinner maintained his perfect record against countrymen on Thursday at the Erste Bank Open, where he eliminated Flavio Cobolli 6-2, 7-6(4) to reach the quarter-finals in Vienna.

The top seed earned his quickest win of the season in his first-round match at the ATP 500 on Wednesday, when he raced past Daniel Altmaier in just 58 minutes. Sinner had to remain patient against Cobolli after a dominant first set but found a way to advance and improve to 17-0 against Italians.

“He has been playing an incredible season and has been improving week after week, so I was looking forward to this one,” Sinner said. “He was one of the Italians I had not played yet. He is a great talent and a great competitor and we both played some great tennis at times. I had some chances in the second but could not use them and that is tennis. I tried to stay in the moment and play with a great mentality and I am very happy with today’s match.”

Sinner did not face a break point in the first set and hit with relentless depth to suffocate the 23-year-old. He was not at his free-flowing best in the second set and failed to convert any of the four break point opportunities he conjured against a red-hot Cobolli.

However, he was the more proactive and consistent in the tie-break, with Cobolli hitting a costly double fault at 3/4. Sinner did not give the 23-year-old a way back in, closing out clinically on serve to eventually break the 23-year-old’s resistance after one hour and 48 minutes.

Sinner lifted the trophy in his previous appearance in Vienna in 2023 and is now 14-4 at the event, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index. The 24-year-old has also won his past 18 indoor matches and will meet Alexander Bublik in the quarter-finals.

Bublik upset Sinner en route to the title at the ATP 500 in Halle in June, but the Italian gained revenge at the US Open, where he earned a 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 win. Sinner leads Bublik 5-2 overall in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

Source link

Jodar racing towards Jeddah… with laptop in tow

Rafael Jodar is on a roll — and the Spaniard is doing it all while juggling college coursework. The 19-year-old has captured two ATP Challenger titles in as many months, a surge that has rocketed the University of Virginia sophomore into ninth place in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah.

Jodar’s latest triumph came last week in Lincoln, where he stormed to the title for the loss of just one set. After his matches, Jodar returned to his hotel room to complete homework assignments for his five classes.

“I tried to complete all the assignments and all the tasks on Friday and Saturday, so I could enjoy the day off Sunday,” Jodar told ATPTour.com. “I have my laptop with me. You always have to do some work. It’s good to keep your mind not thinking about tennis all day. When I have some free time, I do some work to catch up on the material that they do during the weeks I’m missing.”

A son of two teachers, Jodar takes pride in managing academics even amid his rise in pro tennis.

“They’ve always given priority to studies,” Jodar said of his parents. “And I’m on the same page. I think studies are very important for your development as a person.”

The qualification cutoff date (10 Novemebr) for the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF is fast approaching and Jodar will need to continue his late-season surge to earn a spot in Jeddah. Following his triumph in Lincoln, Jodar jumped from 18th to ninth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah — a mark that even he was surprised to learn.

“I didn’t know that my ranking was there. I had no idea that I was ninth in the rankings,” said Jodar, who was a sparring partner at last year’s edition of the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF. “If I qualify, it would be a great opportunity to play against good players and it could be a good tournament for me.”

Trophy time for Rafa Jodar 😎#ATPChallenger | @RFETenis pic.twitter.com/cvODPSHx8H

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) October 19, 2025

Jodar is not the only Spaniard chasing a ticket to Jeddah. His countryman Martin Landaluce, a fellow Madrid native, is well placed at fifth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah. Both Jodar and Landaluce grew up playing at Club de Tenis Chamartín.

“We’re good friends,” Jodar said. “I’ve known him since we were really young. I don’t remember the exact age. Maybe 10, 11 years old. We used to play a lot when we were young. We played team [events] in juniors together. We know each other very well. We talk a lot and I’m super happy how his season is going as well.”

After Jodar’s title run in Lincoln, Nebraska, University of Virginia head coach Andres Pedroso drove Jodar three and a half hours north to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where the teen this week is joined by UVA assistant coach Brian Rasmussen for the MarketBeat Open. The Jeddah hopeful will aim to strengthen his chances of qualifying for the 20-and-under event, which will be held 17-21 December.

Source link

Auger-Aliassime builds on Basel success, fellow Turin hopeful Shelton falls

Felix Auger-Aliassime has returned to winning ways at one of his favourite haunts, the Swiss Indoors Basel, just when he needed it most.

The two-time champion on Thursday edged Marin Cilic 7-6(2), 7-6(2) to book a quarter-final spot at the ATP 500 and simultaneously boost his Nitto ATP Finals qualification hopes. A year ago, Auger-Aliassime lost in the second round to eventual champion Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard for his only defeat across his first three Basel appearances. Twelve months on and the 2022 and 2023 champion made no mistake at the same stage against Cilic.

Auger-Aliassime outhit the Croatian former World No. 3 by 38 winners to 21 to level the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series at 3-3. Although both sets went to tie-breaks, it was the fifth-seeded Canadian who finished stronger each time to complete a one-hour, 47-minute triumph.

As the race for the remaining Nitto ATP Finals nears its climax, Auger-Aliassime could hardly have picked a more crucial moment to string together a six-match winning streak on the indoor hard courts of Europe. Having lifted his third ATP 250 title of the season in Brussels on Sunday, the Canadian has now defeated two tough, big-serving opponents in Gabriel Diallo and Cilic to reach the last eight in Basel.

The 25-year-old Auger-Aliassime remains ninth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, but he is hot on the heels of those above him. He is just 400 points behind seventh-placed Alex de Minaur (who is this week into the Vienna quarter-finals) and 290 points behind Lorenzo Musetti (who is also still alive in the Vienna draw).

Another Turin hopeful, sixth-placed Ben Shelton, could not set a quarter-final showdown with Auger-Aliassime in Basel. Jaume Munar upset the 2024 finalist 6-3, 6-4 for the fourth Top 10 win of his career. Munar has now won all three of his Lexus ATP Head2Head matches with Shelton in 2025 (Dallas, Rome, Basel).

Denis Shapovalov was another second-round winner early on Thursday. The Canadian downed Valentin Royer 7-6(3), 6-2 to book a quarter-final meeting against #NextGenATP star Joao Fonseca.

Source link

Moutet dents Medvedev's Turin aims with revenge win in Vienna, Zverev earns 50th win of year

Corentin Moutet dented Daniil Medvedev’s late Nitto ATP Finals qualification hopes on Thursday at the Erste Bank Open, where he gained revenge against the 29-year-old to reach the quarter-finals in Vienna.

The Frenchman lost to Medvedev in the Almaty final on Sunday but ensured he would not suffer further pain against the 29-year-old just four days later at the ATP 500 in Austria. Playing with his trademark variety, Moutet edged a tight first set and then recovered from failing to serve out the match at 5-3, eventually advancing 7-6(3), 6-4.

“He is such a great player and I knew it would be intense,” Moutet said. “It was hard to come from Almaty to here. It was a long travel, jet lag and we did a big match in the final, so it was hard to recover. I am more than happy with my performance. I played very aggressively today. It is different conditions, but it is always a big, big challenge to play against Daniil.”

Medvedev won his first title in more than two years in Almaty. He climbed to 12th in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin following his run but his latest defeat means he faces an uphill battle to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals. The 2020 year-end champion is 925 points behind eighth-placed Lorenzo Musetti, who is in action in Vienna this week. Medvedev will next head to the ATP Masters 1000 event in Paris.

Moutet, level at 2-2 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Medvedev, will next play Musetti in his fifth tour-level quarter-final of the season. Musetti, aiming to make his debut in Turin, beat Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-3, 6-4.

Alexander Zverev followed Moutet and Medvedev onto court and quickly recorded his 50th tour-level win of the season. The German overcame Italian qualifier Matteo Arnaldi 6-4, 6-4 in 87 minutes to reach the quarter-finals in Vienna for the fifth time. He has never fallen before the last-eight stage at the indoor event.

Zverev, who won the title at the ATP 500 in 2021, has now advanced to 12 quarter-finals in 2025, with only Carlos Alcaraz (13) reaching more. The 28-year-old is fourth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin and on the verge of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals for the eighth time. Zverev, a two-time champion at the year-end event, next plays Tallon Griekspoor in Vienna.

Players to earn 50 wins in 2025

In the first match of the day, Matteo Berrettini clawed past Cameron Norrie 7-6(6), 6-7(9), 6-4 to advance to the last eight in Vienna for the fourth time. The Italian plays third seed Alex de Minaur in the quarter-finals. Alexander Bublik also booked his spot in the last eight, beating Francisco Cerundolo 6-4, 6-2. Bublik, who saved all six break points he faced against Cerundolo, according to Infosys ATP Stats, has won four ATP Tour titles in 2025.

Source link

Saudi Arabia to host new ATP tournament from 2028

A new ATP Masters 1000 tournament will be added to the tennis calendar from 2028 – and staged in Saudi Arabia.

Source link

Bublik wins September's Stella Artois ATP Perfect Serve with fearless finish in Hangzhou

Alexander Bublik brought his trademark unpredictability to Hangzhou last month, and it helped him claim the fan-voted Stella Artois ATP Perfect Serve award for September.

Facing Valentin Royer In the final of the Lynk & Co Hangzhou Open, Bublik sealed the first set in style. At 6/4 in the tie-break, the Kazakhstani missed his first serve, then unleashed a 218 km/h second-serve ace down the T, catching Royer completely off guard and igniting the crowd.

Watch Stella Artois ATP Perfect Serve September contenders:

The Stella Artois ATP Perfect Serve award gives fans the chance to vote for their favourite magical moments from the line. Stella Artois, one of the world’s leading premium beer brands, is a Gold Partner and Official Beer of the ATP Tour through 2028.

After his second-serve ace against Royer, Bublik went on to win the match and capture his fourth ATP Tour title of the season. During his dominant run at the Chinese ATP 250 event, he fired 70 aces and won all 44 of his service games, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

The No. 16 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, Bublik claimed the September award over fellow Hangzhou contenders Royer and Zhang Zhizhen. Stay tuned to see whos serve shines next on the ATP Tour.

Source link