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Carlos Alcaraz and Casper Ruud changed the complexion of the Laver Cup with a much-needed doubles win for Team Europe to open Sunday’s action in San Francisco. After Team World swept Saturday’s play without dropping a set to lead 9-3, Alcaraz and Ruud cut the deficit to 9-6 in the first-to-13 event, with each Sunday match worth three points.
The Europeans earned a 7-6(4), 6-1 win against Alex Michelsen and Reilly Opelka, battling back from 1/4 in the first-set tie-break to take control. Alcaraz and Ruud did not face a break point in the match, according to Infosys ATP Stats, but they needed 11 break points before finally breaking their opponents early in set two.
“We stayed really strong, really solid. We did what we had to do and I think that it worked pretty well,” Alcaraz said of their patience.
Two points defined the match. At 1/4 in the tie-break, Team World thought they came out on top in a thrilling exchange only to find that Michelsen’s reflex volley sailed just beyond the baseline. That started a run of six straight points to seal the set, followed by a run of five consecutive games in set two.
Midway through the second set, Alcaraz hit the shot of the match: a preposterous drop volley that left Michelsen stranded despite the American standing well inside the service line.
“Sometimes a lot of ideas come to my mind,” Alcaraz said of his shotmaking abilities. “I just enjoy making the choices. I think in that position it was the only shot or the best shot I could choose in that moment.”
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Wu Yibing delivered his home crowd a night to remember on Sunday at the Lynk & Co Hangzhou Open, where he fought back from the brink to stun Daniil Medvedev 5-7, 7-6(5), 6-4.
The Hangzhou native trailed by a set and a break before he clawed back into the match and produced some effortless ball striking in the final set to reach his first semi-final since his 2023 run in Dallas, where he became the first Chinese man to win an ATP Tour title. He awaits third seed Alexander Bublik.
Despite hitting 17 aces throughout their three-hour, 11-minute clash, Medvedev served two crucial double faults when attempting to serve out the match at 5-4 in the second set, offering Wu a way back into the match. The former Nitto ATP Finals champion, who was competing in his first tournament since parting ways with his coach of eight years, Gilles Cervara, is 22nd in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin.
“I got a little bit lucky in the second set, but I was giving it my best,” said Wu, who earned his first Lexus ATP Head2Head win over Medvedev (1-2). “Obviously the crowd supported me like home. Daniil is one of the toughest guys to play on Tour, especially with my style. He’s really tough to beat and I had to bring my best tennis to stay in the match. I’m glad I brought it today.”
Wu did not compete from March 2019 until January 2022 due to several injuries, including issues with his elbow, which required surgery, his lower back, shoulder and wrist. Although he won an ATP Challenger Tour event in Tyler in June, the 25-year-old is competing in just his fourth tour-level event of the season.
“It means everything, especially at home. It’s been a long couple of years behind me. I overcame a lot of injuries,” said Wu. “It’s not easy to be here, especially winning three matches in a row. Hopefully I can come back tomorrow feeling not so tired.”
Third seed Bublik, who has already won three ATP Tour titles this season, cruised past lucky loser Dalibor Svrcina 6-1, 6-1 in just 53 minutes.
The Kazakhstani won all 22 of his first-serve points according to Infosys ATP Stats and saved the only break point he faced.
In other quarter-final action in Hangzhou, Valentin Royer backed up his statement win over top seed Andrey Rublev by outlasting Learner Tien 7-6(0), 4-6, 6-2 to reach his maiden ATP Tour semi-final. Trailing by a break in both the final set, the 24-year-old Frenchman found a late spark and converted all three of his break points to seal his two-hour, 38-minute victory.
“I’m so happy… The crowd was with me. You guys like me, I like you, we have a connection,” Royer said in his on-court interview before thanking the crowd in Chinese for their support. “In the second set, he didn’t miss a single ball, and in the third set, I was a break down again… I just don’t know how I managed to win, I’m so happy.”
Prior to his debut campaign in Hangzhou, Royer had never earned consecutive tour-level wins. Yet with his impressive showing over three main-draw matches, he is up five spots to a career-high No. 83 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings.
Royer set an all-French semi-final with fourth seed Corentin Moutet, who advanced on Sunday lunchtime after Tomas Martin Etcheverry was forced to retire. Moutet dropped the opening set 3-6, but led 3-0 in the second when the Argentine — visibly struggling — retired.
Like Royer, Moutet is another player competing at a career-high in the PIF ATP Rankings this week. The 26-year-old, who saved two match points in his second-round win over Arthur Cazaux, is into his personal-best third semi-final of the season and has risen two spots to No. 37 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings.
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Lorenzo Musetti is hoping that 2025 is the year he finally gets his hands on the Chengdu Open trophy.
The top seed delivered an assured display on Sunday evening to move past Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-3, 6-3 and reach his third consecutive semi-final at the Chinese ATP 250 event. Musetti, who now owns a record seven wins in Chengdu, will continue his title quest against Alexander Shevchenko, who ousted qualifier Taro Daniel 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-2.
2023 – SF
2024 – 🥈
2025 – SFTop seed @Lorenzo1Musetti continues to shine in China 6-3 6-3 over Basilashvili @ChengduOpen | #ChengduOpen pic.twitter.com/0vjTw8jRgy
— ATP Tour (@atptour) September 21, 2025
“I knew it was a tricky opponent, I lost against him this year at Wimbledon,” said Musetti, who levelled his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Basilashvili at 2-2. “He’s really aggressive, so you have to stay focused on every point. I felt he was playing good tennis, but I managed to stay there, especially on my serve, and I’m very happy to be in the semis. I [will be] ready for the battle.”
Basilashvili asserted himself with his aggressive game, but he was ultimately unable to cope with Musetti’s consistency and poise, hitting 36 unforced errors to the Italian’s 14. Musetti, who is 32-13 in 2025 according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, is this week chasing his first title of the season.
With his 76-minute quarter-final victory, Musetti jumped ahead of Alex de Minaur to seventh in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin. The 23-year-old, who is aiming to make his debut at the Nitto ATP Finals, could move to within 145 points of sixth-placed Taylor Fritz if he wins the title in Chengdu.
In the bottom half of the draw, Brandon Nakashima defeated Marcos Giron 6-3, 2-6, 7-6(3) in an all-American quarter-final clash. The 24-year-old came within two points of defeat when serving at 4-5, 40/40, but came up clutch and raced through a third-set tie-break to advance to his third ATP Tour semi-final of the season.
After runs to the last four in Acapulco and Houston, Nakashima faces a Chengdu meeting with Alejandro Tabilo, who continued his run from qualifying to overcome Christopher O’Connell 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 and reach his first semi-final since Mallorca last June.
Watch Tabilo overcome O’Connell in three sets:
After struggling for form and dealing with wrist and abdominal injuries across the first eight months of 2025, Tabilo has turned his season around on Chinese soil. He reached the final at the ATP Challenger Tour event in Guangzhou last week and has risen 20 spots to No. 92 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings with his three main-draw wins in Chengdu.
“I’m just so happy right now, especially coming from the qualies, it’s an unreal feeling,” said Tabilo. “I’ve been doing pretty good here in China. I’ve been loving it here.”
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The 2025 China Open will host an elite roster of men’s players for a week in Beijing, China. Jannik Sinner, Alexander Zverev, Alex de Minaur, Lorenzo Musetti and Daniil Medvedev will be in action this year.
Here’s what you need to know ahead of the Chinese tournament:
The ATP 500 event will be held from 25 September to 1 October. The hard-court tournament, established in 1993, will take place at the National Tennis Centre. The tournament directors are Lars Graff and Alfred Zhang Junhui.
Sinner, Zverev, De Minaur, Musetti, Karen Khachanov, Andrey Rublev, Jakub Mensik and Medvedev are among the field in China.
The China Open draw will be made on Tuesday, 23 September at 2:30 p.m.
Qualifying: Tuesday, 23 – Wednesday, 24 September at 11 a.m.
Main Draw: Thursday, 25 September – Wednesday, 1 October
Start time: Thursday, 25 September – Sunday, 28 September at 11 a.m. & Monday, 29 September and Tuesday, 30 September from 12 p.m.
Night sessions from 7 p.m.
Doubles Final: Wednesday, 1 October at 11:30 a.m.
Singles Final: Wednesday, 1 October NB 2 p.m.
View On Official Website
The prize money for the China Open is $3,720,165.
SINGLES
Winner: $751,075 / 500 points
Finalist: $404,105 / 330 points
Semi-finalist: $215,360 / 200 points
Quarter-finalist: $110,030 / 100 points
Round of 16: $58,735 / 50 points
Round of 32: $31,320 / 0 points
DOUBLES ($ per team)
Winner: $246,690 / 500 points
Finalist: $131,560 / 300 points
Semi-finalist: $66,560 / 180 points
Quarter-finalist: $33,290/ 90 points
Watch Live On Tennis TV
TV Schedule
How can I follow the China Open?
Hashtag: #ChinaOpen
Facebook: China Open
Twitter: @ChinaOpen
Instagram: @chinaopen
Carlos Alcaraz defeated Jannik Sinner 6-7(6), 6-4, 7-6(3) in the final to claim the 2024 title. Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori won the doubles title, overcoming Henry Patten and Harri Heliovaara 4-6, 6-3, 10-5 in the championship match.
Most Titles, Singles: Novak Djokovic (6)
Most Titles, Doubles: Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan (3)
Oldest Champion: Rafael Nadal, 31, in 2017
Youngest Champion: Rafael Nadal, 19, in 2005
Highest-Ranked Champion: No. 1s Novak Djokovic in 2013-15 and Rafael Nadal in 2017
Lowest-Ranked Champion: No. 34 Nikoloz Basilashvili in 2018
Last Home Champion: None
Most Match Wins: Novak Djokovic (29)
View Who Is Playing, Past Champions, Seeds, Points & Prize Money Breakdown
[NEWSLETTER FORM]The Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships will host tennis’ elite for a week in the 2025 season. Among those in action are Carlos Alcaraz, Taylor Fritz, Holger Rune and Casper Ruud.
Here’s what you need to know ahead of the Japanese tournament:
The ATP 500 event will be held from 24 September to 30 September. The hard-court tournament, established in 1972, is played at the Ariake Tennis Forest Park. The tournament director is Shigefusa Kanroji.
World No. 1 Alcaraz, 2022 champion Fritz, Rune, Ruud, Tomas Machac and Frances Tiafoe are among those set to compete in Tokyo.
The Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships draw will be made on Monday, 22 September at 2:00 p.m.
[ATP APP]Singles Qualifying: Monday, 22 September – Tuesday, 23 September at 11:00 a.m.
Doubles Qualifying: Tuesday, 23 September at 11:00 a.m.
Main Draw Singles and Doubles: Wednesday, 24 September – Sunday, 28 September at 11 a.m. & 4:00 p.m. Monday, 29 September from 2 p.m.
Doubles Final: Tuesday, 30 September at 2 p.m.
Singles Final: Tuesday, 30 September NB 6 p.m.
The prize money for the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships is US $2,226,470.
SINGLES
Winner: $416,365/ 500 points
Finalist: $224,035 / 330 points
Semi-finalist: $119,395/ 200 points
Quarter-finalist: $61,000 / 100 points
Round of 16: $32,560 / 50 points
Round of 32: $17,365 / 0 points
DOUBLES ($ per team)
Winner: $136,760 / 500 points
Finalist: $72,940 / 300 points
Semi-finalist: $36,900 / 180 points
Quarter-finalist: $18,460 / 90 points
Round of 16: $9,550 / 0 points
Watch Live On TennisTV
TV Schedule
Hashtag: #kinoshitajotennis
Facebook: Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships
Twitter: @japanopentennis
Instagram: kinoshitagroupjapanopen
Arthur Fils defeated Ugo Humbert 5-7, 7-6(6), 6-3 in the men’s singles final last year. The Frenchman saved a championship point in the second-set tie-break. In the doubles final, Britons Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool also saved a championship point and overcame Ariel Behar and Robert Galloway 6-4, 4-6, 12-10.
Most Titles, Singles: Stefan Edberg (4)
Most Titles, Doubles: Ken Flach (3), Rick Leach (3)
Oldest Champion: Ken Rosewall, 38, in 1973
Youngest Champion: Jimmy Arias, 18, in 1982
Highest-Ranked Champion: No. 1 Stefan Edberg in 1991, No. 1 Pete Sampras in 1994, 1996, No. 1 Roger Federer in 2006, No. 1 Rafael Nadal in 2010, No. 1 Novak Djokovic in 2019
Lowest-Ranked Champion: No. 121 Kenneth Carlsen in 2002
Last Home Champion: Kei Nishikori in 2014
Most Match Wins: Stefan Edberg (27)
View Who Is Playing, Past Champions, Seeds, Points & Prize Money Breakdown
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Carlos Alcaraz’s return to No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings for the first time since 2023 didn’t go as planned, but he insists that he came up against the better player.
The 22-year-old Spaniard’s 13-match winning streak, which included his milestone US Open triumph, came to an end at the hands of a fired-up Taylor Fritz at the Laver Cup on Saturday night. Alcaraz committed 19 unforced errors to Fritz’s 10, and later reflected on the match.
“It wasn’t the match that I was expecting, but I think I have to look a little bit to him that I think he played great tennis,” said Alcaraz. “I just wasn’t as solid as I wanted in the match, and I think these conditions, it’s pretty slow. The balls are really big, so I had to be solid. I didn’t play that match today.
“Taylor played a great match, really solid, playing aggressive when he could. I think everything went to his side, so I had to congratulate him and that he played a much better game than I did.”
Team Europe trailed 3-5 heading into their leading player Alcaraz’s night-session clash, but the Spaniard was unable to come up with solutions across his 6-3, 6-2 defeat. Asked whether the weight of being World No. 1 played on his mind, Alcaraz dismissed the idea.
“Not really. Today I feel like I had to win the point, because the way that the day is going, with the two losses, I feel like I had to win my match,” Alcaraz said. “It was a little bit of extra pressure, because of the way that the day was going on, but it wasn’t because I’m the No. 1 in the world.
“I think the ranking is just a number. It shouldn’t give you the pressure that you have to win everything and every match. I’m there, but you have to still do the things that you were doing before. But with the two losses, I felt a little bit of extra pressure.”
It marked Fritz’s first Lexus ATP Head2Head win over Alcaraz in his fourth attempt, giving Team World a 7-3 lead before Alex de Minaur and Alex Michelsen improved that to 9-3 with their doubles win over Casper Ruud and Holger Rune.
Alcaraz, who owns a 61-7 record this season, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, will try to make amends when he faces Francisco Cerundolo on Sunday evening in Team Europe’s bid to win its second consecutive title at the teams event.
Cerundolo, who dispatched Rune in straight sets on Saturday, is another player known for his aggressive game, and Alcaraz will have to find the solutions he was unable to against the big-hitting Fritz.
“I feel like he was more on the court than me,” Alcaraz said of Fritz. ”I think that the first or second shot of the rally was really important, and I think he did it much better than I did. I think that was the key, because as I said, in these conditions, I think the first shots are really important.
“When you are defending, when you are running on the court, it is really difficult to turn around the situations. It is really difficult when you are defending, turning to attack is really difficult because of the balls and the conditions that are really slow. As I said, Taylor was right. He was more aggressive than me. He did much better on the first shots than me, and I was running more than him. I think that was the key today.”
[NEWSLETTER FORM]American Taylor Fritz stuns world number one Carlos Alcaraz as Team World turn things around to take a 9-3 lead on day two of the Laver Cup.