Iga Swiatek finds Billie Jean King Cup joy, ATP Tour Finals settles Australian Open draw
Welcome back to the Monday Tennis Briefing, true The Athletics will explain the stories behind the stories of the past week on the track.
This week, Jannik Sinner further underlined his authority in men’s tennis by winning the ATP Tour Finals against Taylor Fritz. Elsewhere, the Billie Jean King Cup took center stage on the women’s tour and Nick Kyrgios announced his return to the sport.
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The end of a season that Iga Swiatek needed?
She split with her coach, breaking off a partnership that won four Grand Slams.
She lost her number 1 ranking to Aryna Sabalenka.
She lost a match to Coco Gauff, in a rivalry she leads 12-2.
Then Iga Swiatek went to the Billie Jean King Cup in Malaga to play team tennis for Poland and got back on track. She fought back after dropping some healthy leads against Linda Noskova, who knocked her out of the Australian Open in January, walking onto the court with Katarzyna Kawa 30 minutes afterward for a 6-2, 6-4 win over Marie Bouzkova and the world doubles. No. 1 Katerina Siniakova beats the Czech Republic 2-1 and advances to the semi-finals.
Swiatek skipped the past two editions to recover from the WTA Tour Finals. A blossoming of victories and camaraderie in Malaga seems to be just what the doctor ordered at the start of her new partnership with Wim Fissette.
GO DEEPER
Emotional intelligence, data and tough love: who is Wim Fissette the coach?
Matt Futterman
Will rankings help Great Britain in the Billie Jean King Cup?
British doubles players Heather Watson and Olivia Nicholls were spectators at the Billie Jean King Cup.
Great Britain defeated Germany and 2023 champions Canada 2-0 with all four wins coming in straight sets – thanks to excellent performances from singles Katie Boulter and Emma Raducanu.
The pair are ranked number 24 and number 58 in the world, but their rankings would be closer if Raducanu had not suffered several injuries in recent years. They play at a very similar level and both improve their play in a team environment.
Emma Raducanu has done well in the Billie Jean King Cup in 2024. (Fran Santiago / Getty Images for ITF)
The British singles team actually has two top-ranked singles players, a useful advantage when the world’s second-ranked players go head-to-head in the opening match of a tie. Raducanu opened for Great Britain against Germany and Canada and was a level above her opponent. She beat world No. 91 Jule Niemeier 6-2, 6-2 in victory over Germany on Friday and then beat Canadian No. 103 Rebecca Marino 6-0, 7-5. Boulter followed with straight-sets victories of her own.
Next up for Great Britain is a semi-final against Team USA conquerors Slovakia on Tuesday, with world number 41 Rebecca Sramkova in remarkable form. If Boulter and Raducanu continue to play as they are, Watson and Nicholls will remain as active on the Malaga matchday pitch as the rest of us are watching.
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Emma Raducanu has played all-or-nothing tennis. Can she just play now?
Charlie Eccleshare
How will the ATP Tour Finals affect the Australian Open?
Arguably the biggest knock-on from the men’s tour final to the first Grand Slam of 2025 occurred before the event started in Turin, Italy. When Novak Djokovic decided not to play – and give up his 1,300 ranking points as defending champion – he sealed his fate of falling outside the top four in Melbourne, making him a pretty nightmarish quarterfinal opponent for anyone in that top four if he went deep. in Australia he has won the major more times than any other.
The rest of men’s tennis has about two months to obsess over how far ahead of them Jannik Sinner is. Carlos Alcaraz is excused after beating Sinner three times out of three in 2024 and winning the two majors that Sinner did not win, but the Italian’s destruction of the field on Turin’s hard court made it clear what they have all been feeling: the era of tennis and chess are on hiatus.
Casper Ruud, three-time Grand Slam finalist, has declared himself a dinosaur at the age of 25.
“I am not going to play a different style of tennis now,” he said at a press conference in Turin.
“I need to smooth out the shots more. From the defense, especially on hard courts, I have to take a little more risk.”
A few more strays: Alex de Minaur knows he needs to take a break and get healthy. Taylor Fritz will be feeling very good about a potential matchup with Alexander Zverev. Alcaraz will kiss the ground knowing he is going to play an outdoor tournament.
GO DEEPER
Jannik Sinner wins ATP Tour Finals with serve masterclass against Taylor Fritz
Matt Futterman
What does Nick Kyrgios have in store for tennis?
As the world’s best players battled it out in Turin last week, Nick Kyrgios announced his return to the pitch is imminent.
Kyrgios has not played competitively since reaching the quarter-finals of the 2022 US Open due to serious knee and wrist injuries, but he has planned a return to tennis at the Brisbane International next month, one of the preparation tournaments for the Australian Open. Kyrgios, 29, also plans to compete in the Grand Slam in his home country in January.
“This is probably the best I’ve felt in two years,” Kyrgios said in an interview with the Australian broadcaster 9News when he announced his comeback.
“There was a 15 percent chance that I would play at this level again and here we are.
“It would be sick to be in front of the home fans again.”
Kyrgios, who also reached the Wimbledon final and won the men’s doubles at the Australian Open in 2022, may struggle to make an immediate impact but he could play a big role in Melbourne as a disruptor; no one will want to face him in the early rounds in front of their home fans.
Some of the wider tennis community will also have doubts about his return. In early 2023, Kyrgios pleaded guilty to assaulting ex-girlfriend Chiara Passari in 2021, but was not convicted. In March this year, he suggested in a post on in September 2024, Kyrgios was criticized for writing “second serve” under a photo of himself and Sinner’s girlfriend, top-20 WTA player Anna Kalinskaya.
Ridiculous – whether accidental or planned. You will be tested twice with a banned (steroid) substance… you should be away for 2 years. Your performance has improved. Massage cream…. Yes nice 🙄
— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) August 20, 2024
Kyrgios, who was praised for his analysis as a presenter for ESPN and the BBC during the Grand Slam tournaments during his dismissal – including interviewing WTA players on the court in post-match interviews – was fined $10,000 in 2015 after on-field microphones picked up the Australian telling Stan Wawrinka that Thanasi Kokkinakis “hit his girlfriend” during a Rogers Cup match in Montreal, Canada.
Kyrgios later apologized on Facebook for the comment, writing: “My comments were made in the heat of the moment and were unacceptable on many levels.”
Charlie Eccleshare
Shot of the week
Viktoria Hruncakova catapults Slovakia to the last four in Malaga.
Power 🆙
Incredible shot from Hruncakova🔥#BJKCup pic.twitter.com/sGrNuVFLdG
— Billie Jean King Cup (@BJKCup) November 17, 2024
Recommended reading:
🏆 The winners of the week
🎾 ATP:
🏆 Jannik Sinner (1) Certainly. Taylor Frits (5) 6-4, 6-4 to win ATP Tour final in Turin. It is the Italian’s eighth title from 2024.
🏆 Kevin Krawietz / Tim Puetz (8) Certainly. Marcelo Arevalo / Mate Pavic (1) 7-6(5), 7-6(6) to win ATP Tour final in Turin. It is the third ATP title for the German duo together.
🏆 Alexander Blokx Certainly. Jurij Rodionov 6-3, 6-1 to win Hyogo Noah challenger (Challenger 100) in Kobe, Japan. It is the Belgian’s first ATP title.
🏆 Ethan Quinn Certainly. Nishesh Basavareddy 6-3, 6-1 to win Paine Schwartz Partners Challenger (Challenger 75) in Champaign, Il. It is the American’s first ATP title.
📈📉 On the rise / along the line
📈 Frits rises one place to number 4 in the world, a career-high ranking, while Casper Ruud rises to number 6, ahead of Novak Djokovic.
📈 Caroline García benefits from the fact that compatriot Diane Parry loses 56 ranking points, rises one place and returns to the top 50.
📈 Blockx reaches a career-high of number 204, up 45 places from number 249.
📉 Daniil Medvedev drops one spot from No. 4 to No. 5; Djokovic drops from number 6 to number 7.
📉 Harriet Dart falls out of the top 100 and drops 13 places from number 88 to number 101.
📅 Coming soon
🎾 ATP
📍Malaga, Spain: Daviscup with Rafael Nadal, Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Taylor Fritz.
📍Rovereto, Italy: Citta’ Di Rovereto (Challenger 100) with Borna Coric, Martin Landaluce, Luca Nardi, Dino Prizmic.
📍Montemar, Spain: Il Montemar (Challenger 75) with Fabio Fognini, Sumit Nagal, Pablo Carreno Busta, Albert Ramos-Vinolas.
📺 UK: Sky Sports; USA: Tennis Channel 💻 Tennis TV, Challenger TV
🎾 WTA
📍Malaga, Spain: Billie Jean King cup with Iga Swiatek, Emma Raducanu, Jasmine Paolini, Rebecca Sramkova.
📍Colina, Chile: LP opened (125) with Robin Montgomery, Mayar Sherif, Suzan Lamens, Chloe Paquet.
📍Charleston, South Carolina: Fifth Third Charleston (125), with Renata Zarazua, Alycia Parks, Iva Jovic, Varvara Lepchenko.
💻 WTA unlocked
Tell us what you noticed this week in the comments below as the men’s and women’s tours continue.
(Top photo: Angel Martinez/Getty Images; Design: Eamonn Dalton)
