Welcome again to the Monday Tennis Briefing, the place The Athletic will clarify the tales behind the tales from the previous week on courtroom.
This week, sickness decimated the Mexican Open in Acapulco. Elsewhere, Stefanos Tsitsipas’ new racket gave him a lift and a courtroom floor change provoked a ruckus.
Should you’d wish to observe our improbable tennis protection, click on right here.
What a brand new courtroom means for tennis within the desert
Tennis courtroom situations are sophisticated: they’ll really feel sooner or slower for various gamers and playstyles, and atmospheric situations and balls could make the identical courtroom play very in a different way. One factor not in dispute is that the velocity of the courts at Indian Wells, Calif., is at all times a speaking level, and that velocity is at all times gradual.
This yr, issues would possibly look totally different after BNP Paribas Open introduced a brand new floor supplier on the eve of the occasion. A press launch from the occasion over the weekend outlined that Laykold, which additionally makes the courts for the U.S. Open, had been given the contract.
Indian Wells has historically been one of many slowest of the massive hard-court occasions, and has remained so throughout a basic quickening in hard-court surfaces throughout the ATP and WTA excursions in the previous few years. The transfer might quicken issues up in California, as occurred on the Miami Open when it switched to Laykold in 2023.
For some gamers, this will likely be a aid. World No. 6 and former U.S. Open champion Daniil Medvedev has been vocal in his criticism of the floor, in addition to the slower, heavier tennis balls about which many gamers (totally on the ATP Tour) have complained in current instances.
“It’s a shame to sport, this courtroom,” Medvedev mentioned in an on-court rant throughout his last-16 win towards Alexander Zverev two years in the past. “We ought to be banned from enjoying right here, a freaking shame to sport, this freaking courtroom. They usually name it laborious courts. What a disgrace to name this terrible courtroom a tough courtroom.
“I’ll go to bathroom, however I don’t care, give me time violation. I’m going to be as gradual because the courtroom once more. I don’t care; give me 5 time violations, I’ll go in a single minute. If they permit us to play on such a courtroom, I can permit myself to do no matter I would like.”
Final yr’s champions, Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek, thrive on the slower, higher-bouncing floor, the place the grittiness makes the situations play distinctly in a different way from most different laborious courts, even earlier than accounting for floor velocity. The event’s change in floor comes within the wider context of a debate about whether or not a perceived basic slowing down of situations is damaging the game, and whether or not or not making laborious courts play extra equally will not be the acquire it would seem. Medvedev’s dislike (regardless of him making the ultimate in Indian Wells the previous two years) and different gamers’ love for the floor is, in a method, a show of the advantages of getting distinct surfaces throughout occasions. With tennis itself getting increasingly related, homogenizing courts will solely lower the variability the game can supply.
The intrigue within the desert this yr will likely be over who would be the huge beneficiaries and losers from the modified situations.
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Floor mastery: How Alcaraz gained Grand Slams on laborious, grass and clay courts
Charlie Eccleshare
Have been studies of Stefanos Tsitsipas’ demise little greater than a racket?
It didn’t actually appear believable that Tsitispas was going to float out of the elite neighborhood of the game to which he has dedicated his life. Or did it?
The proof prompt that Tsitsipas couldn’t dangle with the subsequent era. Not simply Jannik Sinner and Alcaraz, both. Arthur Fils beat him in Basel. Alex Michelsen beat him within the first spherical in Australia. Hamad Medjedovic beat him in Doha final month on an injured leg.
He appeared unable to determine summon the identical struggle he had not often lacked throughout his seven years of enjoying top-level tennis. Worse, he didn’t know the place he would possibly discover it. Maybe the reply was in his strings all alongside — just a few totally different ones.
Tsitsipas, who has been testing out a blacked-out racket harking back to a Babolat Pure Aero 98, lastly made some headway final week, enjoying his finest tennis in almost a yr to win in Dubai. His single-handed backhand as soon as extra despatched the ball exploding off his strings. His contact was delicate when he wanted it to be. Within the ultimate, he beat Felix Auger-Aliassime, who has been placing collectively a strong bounce-back season of his personal. When it was over, Tsitispas was the proprietor of his first hard-court title since Los Cabos in the summertime of 2023 and again within the prime 10.
Stefanos Tsitsipas’ racket is stencilled with the Wilson brand to conform together with his sponsorship contract. (Christopher Pike / Getty Photos)
What this implies for the longer term is unclear. The tour now heads to the U.S., the place Tsitsipas has not often loved a lot success. He didn’t need to beat any of the extremely touted younger weapons in Dubai and Indian Wells has not been a cheerful place for him, regardless of its (former) situations suiting his choice to maneuver round his backhand. Nevertheless it’s protected to say that — just like the knight from Monty Python — he’s not lifeless but.
Matt Futterman
Will extra returning WTA gamers observe Belinda Bencic’s lead?
There was a welcome return in Austin final week for Petra Kvitova, the two-time Wimbledon champion, who’s again from a 17-month hiatus on maternity depart. She misplaced to Jodie Burrage of Nice Britain in her first match again however was aggressive all through. Kvitova has been given a wildcard to play in Indian Wells this week.
Past that, will probably be fascinating to see how Kvitova, 34, manages her schedule within the coming months, and whether or not she, and different returning gamers, will attempt to copy what Belinda Bencic has carried out.
Belinda Bencic made waves on the Australian Open, knocking out world No. 3 Coco Gauff. (William West / AFP by way of Getty Photos)
Bencic, a former world No. 4 and Olympic champion, returned to tennis on the finish of October after a 13-month hiatus of her personal, throughout which she gave delivery to her first baby. She has since had distinctive outcomes at first of 2025, reaching the fourth spherical of the Australian Open and successful the Abu Dhabi Open, a 500-level occasion. Considerably, although, Bencic didn’t go straight into enjoying these huge occasions. Her comeback started final yr with low-level ITF and Challenger occasions, away from the primary WTA Tour.
“For me, it’s type of logical,” she advised The Athletic in December, having simply performed that run of lower-level tournaments. “I can’t be as smug to anticipate to not play for a yr and a half after which come again to the identical degree that I performed earlier than and anticipate to have the ability to have a aggressive match. So it’s essential that I can go to the decrease degree to additionally construct every little thing up once more and see the place I’m at.
“I don’t see the purpose of going to a event like, I don’t know, Indian Wells. You could have a troublesome draw. Shedding first or second spherical will not be actually what you want in that second. You simply must construct up matches and confidence and get again within the rhythm of enjoying a full week of the event.”
Bencic will now head to Indian Wells trying to go a lot deeper.
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Belinda Bencic believes in herself, due to the ladies who got here earlier than her
Charlie Eccleshare
Now, about these different Indian Wells ladies’s wild playing cards
No must apologize for giggles on the phrases “Indian Wells” and “wild card.” Match organisers final week introduced that it had given one to 44-year-old Venus Williams — seemingly with out clearing that with the eight-time Grand Slam champion. Williams, busy with commitments in Europe, is not going to be enjoying.
And so, the event moved on. Final week, Indian Wells added Sloane Stephens, the 2017 U.S. Open champion, and Bencic to the primary draw. Not dangerous, assuming one believes within the idea of untamed playing cards within the first place.
Bencic shouldn’t want one, having risen to world No. 58 since her return from giving delivery. Stephens is outdoors the highest 100 within the rankings. She has not gained a tour-level match because the first spherical of Wimbledon, shedding 10 in a row since. Kvitova, who can be on her method again from giving delivery and is a two-time champion, obtained hers when the Williams wild card was introduced
People Robin Montgomery, Alycia Parks and Bernarda Pera additionally obtained wild playing cards final week. So did Iva Jovic, who’s price maintaining a tally of. She’s 17 and has gained matches on the Australian Open and U.S. Open. She’s additionally from Los Angeles and will have wholesome crowd assist and loads of family and friends within the stands.
GO DEEPER
Venus Williams will not play at Indian Wells regardless of receiving wild-card entry
Matt Futterman
Beneficial studying:
🏆 The winners of the week
🎾 ATP:
🏆 Tomas Machac (No 8 seed) def. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 7-6(6), 6-2 to win the Mexican Open (500) in Acapulco, Mexico. It’s the Czech’s first ATP title.
🏆 Tsitsipas (4) def. Auger-Aliassime 6-3, 6-3 to win the Dubai Tennis Championships (500) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It’s his first 500-level title in 12 finals.
🏆 Laslo Djere def. Sebastian Baez (3) 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 to win the Chile Open (250) in Santiago, Chile. It’s his first ATP title since 2020.
🎾 WTA:
🏆 Emma Navarro (1) def. Emiliana Arango (Q) 6-0, 6-0 to win the Merida Open (500) in Merida, Mexico. It’s Navarro’s first 500-level title.
🏆 Jessica Pegula (1) def. McCartney Kessler (5) 7-5, 6-2 to win the ATX Open (250) in Austin, Texas. It’s the American’s seventh WTA Tour title.
📈📉 On the rise / Down the road
📈 Emiliana Arango strikes up 53 locations from No. 133 to No. 80 after her run to the ultimate in Mexico.
📈 Tsitsipas returns to the highest 10, transferring from No. 11 to No. 9.
📈 Maya Joint strikes inside the highest 100 after rising 18 spots from No. 103 to No. 85.
📈 Learner Tien strikes inside the highest 70 after rising 15 spots from No. 83 to No. 68.
📉 Katie Boulter falls 12 locations from No. 26 to No. 38.
📉 Alexander Bublik drops 31 locations from No. 51 to No. 82.
📅 Arising
🎾 ATP
📍Indian Wells, California: BNP Paribas Open (1,000) that includes Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev, Novak Djokovic, Learner Tien.
📺 UK: Sky Sports activities; U.S.: Tennis Channel 💻
🎾 WTA
📍Indian Wells, California: BNP Paribas Open (1,000) that includes Aryna Sabalenka, Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Zheng Qinwen.
📺 UK: Sky Sports activities; U.S.:
Inform us what you seen this week within the feedback beneath as the lads’s and ladies’s excursions proceed.
(Prime picture: Mark J. Terrill / Related Press; Design: Eamonn Dalton / The Athletic)