Serena Williams says no comeback, despite filing paperwork
Serena Williams files the necessary paperwork for a return to tennis – but then denies she is returning to the sport.
Serena Williams files the necessary paperwork for a return to tennis – but then denies she is returning to the sport.
The Farooqi family have a chaotic Christmas in Lapland after a surprise bonus for Dad.
The ‘Battle of the Sexes’ exhibition tennis match between Aryna Sabalenka and Nick Kyrgios will be shown live on BBC One on 28 December.
To mark the end of another thrilling season, ATPTour.com is unveiling our annual ‘Best Of’ series, which will reflect on the most intriguing rivalries, matches, comebacks, upsets and more. Today we highlight five standout ATP Tour matches (not including Grand Slams) from this season.
The sport’s purest theatrics came alive at this year’s major tournaments, with marquee names stepping into the spotlight under the pressure of five-set combat. Across the four Grand Slams, fans were treated to several standout epics. ATPTour.com has selected five major thrillers to highlight as the ‘Best Slam Matches’ from 2025.
[ATP AWARDS]5) Wimbledon R4, Norrie d. Jarry 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-7(7), 6-7(5), 6-3
Cameron Norrie’s reaction said it all. Clinching match point on a 15-ball rally, during which the home hope played mostly in defence, Norrie dove to the ground and then laid on his back, gasping for air. It was the look of a man who just had everything thrown at him and then some. And indeed, Nicolas Jarry did just that for the best part of a four-hour, 27-minute fourth-round clash at Wimbledon.
Norrie witnessed Jarry unleash a barrage of 103 winners, but the lefty remained composed and skilfully absorbed the Chilean’s pace before striking back with his own thunderous winners. Norrie let slip a match point on return in the third-set tie-break, but Jarry survived to clinch the set and soon found himself level after also prevailing in the fourth-set breaker. With the roof closed above Court No. 1, however, Norrie channelled the raucous atmosphere and deflated Jarry’s hopes of a two-sets-to-love comeback.
“Honestly I don’t know how I did that,” said Norrie. “Nico played better than me in both tie-breaks [that he won]. I had to keep fighting. I forgot to get my coach a birthday present today, so I had to get the win for him!”
With his five-set win, Norrie became just the fourth British player in the Open Era to reach the quarter-finals at Wimbledon on multiple occasions, joining two-time champion Andy Murray, Tim Henman and Roger Taylor.
<img alt=”Cameron Norrie” style=”width:100%;” src=”/-/media/images/news/2025/07/06/18/31/norrie-wimbledon-2025-sunday3.jpg” />
Photo Credit: Glyn Kirk/AFP via Getty Images
4) US Open R1, Bonzi d. Medvedev 6-3, 7-5, 6-7(5), 0-6, 6-4
The word ‘unprecedented’ is perhaps overused in sports settings, but for the US Open first-round meeting between Benjamin Bonzi and Daniil Medvedev, it might just fit.
Bonzi was on the brink of completing a comfortable upset in the third set when he stepped up to serve on match point at 5-4, 40/30, but an unexpected interruption acted as a catalyst for dramatic scenes.
A photographer ran onto the court just as Bonzi missed his first serve on match point, prompting umpire Greg Allensworth to grant the Frenchman another first serve. Medvedev approached the umpire’s chair to protest and fans seized on the drama to make as much noise as possible, sparking a five-minute delay. The sustained roar created a ‘city-that-never-sleeps’ type atmosphere. Medvedev levelled the match at 5-5 and again, Louis Armstrong Stadium erupted.
A nerve-rattled Bonzi appeared set for a heartbreaker after not winning a game in the fourth set. Medvedev twice held a break lead early in the decider and then let slip five break points at 3-3. Bonzi somehow regrouped amidst the chaos and earned a repeat upset against Medvedev, who the Frenchman also beat in the first round of Wimbledon. “I gave all my heart on the court,” Bonzi said. “I’m very proud of myself, the scenario of the match, the match point in the third. It’s kind of crazy, this match. For me it’s like my best victory ever.”
Medvedev, frustrated with his 1-4 record at the majors this season, shook hands with Bonzi and then tossed six racquets from his bag to fans courtside, signaling the end of his disappointing year at the majors.
Photo Credit: Elsa/Getty Images
3) Roland Garros R2, Fils d. Munar 7-6(3), 7-6(4), 2-6, 0-6, 6-4
In a moment of pure emotion, Arthur Fils ripped off his shirt in celebratory fashion post match and hurled it into the crowd, sparking a tug-of-war among courtside fans. It was a memorable moment of glory for Fils, who struggled to move and looked on the brink of defeat in the latter stages of his Roland Garros second-round battle with Jaume Munar.
The Frenchman relied on his home crowd to pull him through the pain barrier and survive the five-setter, but initially, Fils began the rollercoaster of a match by winning each of the first two sets in a tie-break. Then, things began to change.
“It’s a funny story,” Fils told Tennis Channel after the four-hour, 25-minute victory. “After the end of the second set, I went back to the locker room to change my clothes and I saw [Gabriel] Diallo and he’s saying, ‘It’s a physical battle’! He told me, ‘It’s all right, you can still play five hours like this’. And I listen to him and say, ‘Yeah! I can still play five hours’!
“And then my coach came to give me the drinks and I tell him, ‘It’s okay, I can keep playing for five hours’! 20 minutes later, I was cramping.”
From a break down in the decider — and then trailing 0/40 when serving at 4-4 — Fils played with ultra aggression and dug into his deepest reserves to advance, creating an unforgettable, electric environment inside Court Suzanne-Lenglen.
<img alt=”Arthur Fils” style=”width:100%;” src=”/-/media/images/news/2025/05/29/13/47/fils-rg-2025-thur-1.jpg?w=100%25″ />
Photo Credit: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
2) Australian Open QFs, Djokovic d. Alcaraz 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4
For a man who has played more than 1,300 tour-level matches and won 24 major titles, Novak Djokovic’s standard for greatness is higher than anyone’s. Yet even by those lofty standards, the Serbian’s Melbourne clash against Carlos Alcaraz stood apart.
“It’s one of the most epic matches I have played on this court, on any court really,” said the 38-year-old Djokovic during his on-court interview at Rod Laver Arena.
Adding to the intrigue, in the player’s box for Djokovic was his former rival turned coach, Andy Murray, the very man the Serbian beat in the Australian Open final on three occasions. Djokovic and Murray worked together for six months.
Djokovic countered an early physical issue by red-lining the ball for large periods. He received a medical timeout at 4-5 in the first set and returned with his upper left leg taped but did not let the issue get the better of him.
Crushing the ball off both wings to gain the upper hand in brutal baseline exchanges, Djokovic put his body on the line to outlast his younger rival after three hours and 37 minutes, sending the Serbian through to his record-extending 50th major semi-final.
1) Roland Garros Final, Alcaraz d. Sinner 4-6, 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(3), 7-6(10-2)
It was not just the best major match of the season, but one of the best of all-time. A five-hour, 29-minute epic that showcased sport at its absolute peak. In the Roland Garros championship match, Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner produced a spectacle that will echo for years, pushing each other to the limit while trading dramatic momentum shifts and otherworldly shotmaking.
Alcaraz rallied from two-sets-to-love down and became the third man in the Open Era to save at least one championship point en route to a Grand Slam trophy. The Spaniard stared down three consecutive championship points at 3-5, 0/40 in the fourth set, yet summoned his trademark grit to hold serve. He then broke Sinner in the next to send Court Philippe-Chatrier into a frenzy.
As the match extended to a fifth set, the tennis world seemed at a standstill, bracing for the next theatrical twist. Alcaraz and Sinner’s top-notch level never wavered, in fact, it only increased. In the first Roland Garros final ever decided by a fifth-set tie-break, a near-perfect Alcaraz rose to the moment. On championship point, he crushed a forehand pass winner on the run and instantly fell on his back in disbelief.
“When the situations are against you, you have to fight and keep fighting,” Alcaraz reflected in his post-tournament press conference. “It is a Grand Slam final. It’s no time to be tired. It’s no time to give up. It’s time to keep fighting, trying to find your moment, your good place again, and just go for it.
“I think the real champions are made in situations when you deal with that pressure, with those situations, in the best way possible.”
<img alt=”Carlos Alcaraz” style=”width:100%;” src=”/-/media/images/news/2025/06/08/19/14/alcaraz-roland-garros-2025-final-celebration.jpg” />
Photo Credit: AFP/Getty Images
Martin Landaluce has qualified for the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF, 12 months after serving as an alternate at the 20-and-under event.
The Spaniard made a good start to the season by qualifying for the Australian Open for the first time. After a consistent six months, Landaluce then won a main-draw match at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati and lifted an ATP Challenger Tour trophy.
Off court, Landaluce, a former US Open Boys’ singles champion, enjoys playing the guitar and studying the mental side of the game.
“I like doing a lot of things outside of tennis that help me mentally, reading, breathing exercises, meditation. Those things help me stay focused on court,” Landaluce told ATPTour.com in August.
Find out more about the Spaniard with our range of exclusive features below…
The voices driving Landaluce to the top
Landaluce paints path to Jeddah with Orleans Challenger triumph
Landaluce on Alcaraz-Sinner epic: ‘Best I’ve ever seen’
Advice from Alcaraz & more, Landaluce living Spanish teenage dream
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They may be relatively fresh to life on the tennis circuit, but the 2025 Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF competitors have wasted little time in striking up Fierce Feuds with their on-court rivals.
Nicolai Budkov Kjaer will be finely tuned to performing on the big stage when he steps on court for his Jeddah debut later this month. The 19-year-old Norwegian finished his regular season by playing ATP Tour events in Stockholm, Vienna (his ATP 500 debut) and Metz, and he opened up to ATPTour.com about some of the deep-rooted relationships that already exist between some of the brightest young stars in men’s tennis.
“Joel Schwaerzler and I travelled to a J500 in Osaka our first ITF junior year,” recalled Budkov Kjaer to ATPTour.com. “We practised a lot together that week and I won the training sets, I remember, but then he beat me 7-6, 7-5 in the final. The year after we won the doubles at Roland Garros together and I feel we both have had a rivalry and friendship in one.
“These days I have a lot of fun with Alexander Blockx, we go to many of the same Challengers. But I was quite far behind all the other Next Gen’s when I was young. Only from the age of 15 did I improve fast and from 16 I started to play the same tournaments as all these other players.”
Even if he ends up only facing opponents with whom he is less familiar than Blockx in Jeddah, Budkov Kjaer is aware of the level he will have to hit if he wants to make an impact at King Abdullah Sports City.
“I think they are all really talented, everyone with their own extraordinary skill set,” said the Norwegian, when asked about the other Jeddah contenders. “History has shown that the Next Gen finals participants can impact tennis the next decade. Some of the players I already know a bit, the others I look forward to meeting for the first time and get to know better – on and off court.”
Another player very familiar with Blockx is his fellow 20-year-old Belgian Gilles Arnaud Bailly. Bailly believes that friendly rivalries with Blockx and other rivals his age have the potential to act as crucial motivators in his career.
“I have a really good relationship with Blockx. We talk a lot and we get on so well,” said Bailly, who hit a career-high No. 201 in the PIF ATP Rankings on 10 November. “Because I am climbing now, I hope we can play more tournaments together. We have a lot of contact together and we play some games on the phone together, so there is a competitive edge there.
“I get on really well with him and I hope to see him and the others more often on Tour and the relationships will develop. I have known Blockx for many years and we keep pushing each other and it is healthy to have that relationship.”
Bailly earned his maiden tour-level win on home soil in October by defeating World No. 51 Daniel Altmaier in Brussels after using a Next Gen entry spot to enter qualifying at the indoor ATP 250. He spoke of how important he thinks competing at the top level is for the development of #NextGenATP stars.
“I think the Next Gen entry spots we get given are great,” said Bailly, referring to the Next Gen Accelerator pathway, which offers 20-and-under players ranked in the Top 250 eligibility for one ATP 250 main draw spot and two ATP 250 qualifying event opportunities each season. “The other Next Gen guys are doing so well.
“Blockx, Landaluce, Budkov Kjaer are all doing really well on the ATP Tour and Challenger Tour. It is great from the ATP to give us chances, otherwise it would be tough to play some events, so that support is helpful. I like seeing the other young players do well, it gives you further drive.”
Watch Highlights Of Bailly’s Breakthrough ATP Tour Win:
One player that can attest to Bailly’s theory is Nishesh Basavareddy. Having made his Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF in 2024 alongside a familiar face from his junior days, Learner Tien, Basavareddy then faced his friend and rival for the first time at Tour-level on one of the biggest stages of them all: in the first round at Wimbledon in July.
“The first time I met Learner was when I was six,” Basavareddy told ATPTour.com. “We played at the Little Mo Regionals in San Diego, and I remember those matches being real battles. I also played Alex [Michelsen] when I was seven and he was already a year older than me. We crossed paths at junior tournaments all the time, and over the years, we’ve not only competed but become close friends.”
Basavareddy and Tien did not play each other in Jeddah a year ago, when the latter went on to reach the championship match. With Tien having triumphed in straight sets in their Wimbledon clash and both players now having qualified once again for the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF, the 20-year-old Basavareddy will be seeking a revenge win.
“I think our games match up pretty well,” Basavareddy told ATPTour.com when asked about Tien ahead of their Wimbledon clash. “We are both not the biggest servers, but we have a lot of baseline rallies. The [two Challenger] matches [we played in 2024] were quite long, especially the first one in a final. He’s a counterpuncher, he makes a lot of balls, and he’s really smart out there, so he makes it tough on you.”
This is the sixth feature of our Next Gen ATP series Next in Line. Read our other stories here:
Wimbledon dreams, Nishikori’s run & Vinci’s courtside lessons: Next Gen stars share memories
Next Steps: How Tien, Basavareddy & Engel are making the leap
Learning from Legends: Nadal, Cilic & Ram inspiring #NextGenATP stars
Fuel for the future: Inside the mindset of the best youngsters
The voices driving Landaluce & Cina to the top
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