Tennis News

'Warrior' Alcaraz survives injury scare in Tokyo debut; Ruud wins

Carlos Alcaraz overcame both an injury scare and a rain delay on a dramatic debut at the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships in Tokyo, where he defeated Sebastian Baez 6-4, 6-2 on Thursday evening.

Midway through the opener, the World No. 1 collapsed to the floor holding his left ankle and heel, which required strapping, only to later be interrupted by a 30-minute rain delay prior to serving for the first set. Despite the setbacks, Alcaraz steadied himself to win in straight sets and move safely into the second round at the ATP 500 event.

“I was scared too, I’m not gonna lie,” Alcaraz said. “When I planted the ankle, I was worried, because it didn’t feel good at the beginning. I’m just happy that I was able to play good tennis after that and finish the match quite good. I will try to recover to do whatever it takes to be ready for the next round.”

After dropping serve for 2-2 in the first set, Alcaraz stretched for a forehand and stumbled backward in clear discomfort before collapsing to the court, clutching his left leg and glancing anxiously to his team. While lying there, the World No. 1 received on-court attention from the physio before moving to his chair, where his left ankle and heel were taped during a medical timeout.

Alcaraz tentatively returned, but eventually retrieved some of his first-class shotmaking to seal the first set, which was halted for 30 minutes at 5-4. The 22-year-old Spaniard then had the strapping reinforced, and with his movement more secure, he powered through the remainder of the match.

“I couldn’t do anything at all during the first five minutes [after] I did it,” said Alcaraz, who improved to 3-0 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Baez. “I was worried that I wouldn’t have the confidence to finish the match, but the physio came and did some tests. It was good I could walk to the bench and that gave me confidence [to continue]. I’m trying to have a warrior mentality in every match, in every aspect of everything.”

Next in his campaign is Zizou Bergs, who ousted in-form Chengdu champion Alejandro Tabilo 1-6, 7-6(2), 7-6(4). The top-seeded Alcaraz is this week aiming to join 12 fellow ATP No. 1 Club members who have triumphed in Tokyo. He owns a Tour-leading 63 wins and seven titles in 2025, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index.

Alcaraz’s seeded semi-final opponent Casper Ruud shook off a sluggish in his opener to overcome Japanese wild card Shintaro Mochizuki 4-6, 6-1, 6-1 and keep pace in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin. The former Nitto ATP Finals runner-up is currently 13th, but he insists that qualification for the season finale is yet to cross his mind.

“Not yet. Typically when we come back to Europe, there’s only three or four more tournaments, so that’s when you think about it,” said Ruud, who next plays Matteo Berrettini. “My goal is to have a good end of the season, and I haven’t really had that in the past except for Turin, [where] I’ve had some good results. Indoors is not my forte.

“Let’s see… It was a little tough to play today, coming a long way from San Francisco, but I’m very happy I was able to overcome it.”

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Fritz outhit by Diallo, but leads American charge into Tokyo R2

Taylor Fritz narrowly escaped an opening-round upset on Thursday at the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships in Tokyo, where he rallied past Gabriel Diallo 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(3).

Just days removed from his standout Laver Cup wins over Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev, Fritz found himself pushed onto the defensive against fellow big server Diallo, who struck 16 more winners (40-24). Yet the second-seeded American dug deep to seal a two-hour, nine-minute victory and extend his perfect 3-0 record in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

Taking care of business 🫡@Taylor_Fritz97 survives the Diallo test to advance to round two.@japanopentennis | #kinoshitajotennis pic.twitter.com/S2YAcknt7P

— ATP Tour (@atptour) September 25, 2025

With his win, Fritz also strengthened his bid to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals for the second consecutive year. He is sixth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, having reached the title match at last year’s season finale before falling to Jannik Sinner.

“The biggest thing for me today was the energy, it’s really tough to match the energy from last week with Andre [Agassi] and the team going crazy on the bench,” said Fritz of Laver Cup’s Team World, captained by Andre Agassi. “I really just had to find it and get it going. It was a really tough match to play.”

Fritz now boasts a 46-17 record in 2025, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, only behind World No. 1 Alcaraz (62) for the most wins this season. The American, who captured the Tokyo title in 2022, faces a second-round clash with Portugal’s Nuno Borges.

It was also a strong day for other Americans. Sebastian Korda rallied past countryman Marcos Giron for a 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(4) victory, while Jenson Brooksby upset sixth seed and last year’s finalist Ugo Humbert 7-6(4), 6-3.

Korda set a meeting with Japanese qualifier Sho Shimabukuro, who stunned fifth seed Tomas Machac 6-3, 7-6(4) in his first tour-level match of the season, and Brooksby next plays Luciano Darderi, who denied home hope Yoshihito Nishioka 7-6(9), 6-3 to advance.

Korda, who missed the grass swing due to a right shin stress fracture, is up seven spots to No. 67 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings. Brooksby now has 17 tour-level wins this year and remains on track to better his career-best count of 25 from 2022, the year he reached a career-high World No. 33.

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What is the Beijing tennis schedule?

The 2025 China Open begins on Thursday in Beijing, where former champion and top seed Jannik Sinner begins his campaign. Fifth seed Karen Khachanov is also in action at the ATP 500 event.

View Thursday’s featured matches below and the full schedule here. 

ORDER OF PLAY – THURSDAY, 25 SEPTEMBER 2025
Capital Group Diamond – start 11:00
ATP – Alexandre Muller (FRA) vs [5] Karen Khachanov
WTA – Moyuka Uchijima (JPN) vs Lin Zhu (CHN)
WTA – Donna Vekic (CRO) vs Cristina Bucsa (ESP)

Not Before 19:00
ATP – [1] Jannik Sinner (ITA) vs Marin Cilic (CRO)
WTA – Yue Yuan (CHN) vs Yulia Putintseva (KAZ)

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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.

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Tiafoe, Shapovalov stumble as opening-day upsets shock Tokyo

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.

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Boulter relief at Beijing win after 'tough months'

Katie Boulter says she is happy to put a “tough couple of months” behind her by beating Hailey Baptiste in the China Open.

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Alcaraz one step ahead of Sinner: 'I know he's going to change'

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.

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Tien, Prizmic, Shang earn ATP Tour wins, boost Jeddah chances

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.

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Musetti firmly in Turin contention following Chengdu run

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.

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Sinner making 'lots of small changes' following Alcaraz defeat

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.

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