Welcome again to the Monday Tennis Briefing, the place The Athletic will clarify the tales behind the tales from the previous week on court docket.
This week, the Miami Open topped its champions, with Aryna Sabalenka and Jakub Menšík taking the singles titles. Elsewhere, males’s world No. 1 Jannik Sinner had an amazing hard-court swing whereas enjoying only one event, the solar didn’t shine on house gamers and Mirra Andreeva used doubles to maintain her ft on the bottom.
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How did Sinner’s absence depart him untroubled as world No. 1?
Including up the rating factors earned by males’s gamers at this yr’s Australian Open, BNP Paribas Open and Miami Open, the very best tally belongs to somebody who participated in solely a type of occasions. The massive ATP winner from the primary Grand Slam of 2025 after which the post-Melbourne ‘Sunshine Double’ in California and Florida is Sinner, who performed neither of the latter two tournaments due to his three-month anti-doping ban.
Whereas the back-to-back Australian Open champion was getting some coaching reps in earlier than his return to the tour in Might, his rivals all didn’t capitalize on his absence. It’s virtually assured now that Sinner will nonetheless be No. 1 when he begins his comeback in 5 weeks on house clay on the Italian Open in Rome.
The nominal world No. 2 Alexander Zverev was additionally final seen enjoying correct tennis in Melbourne — the distinction between him and Sinner is that he has performed in 5 occasions since. However the German has seemed like a shadow of himself from the second Sinner beat him in that Australian Open last, and after shedding his first match in Indian Wells, he went out to Arthur Fils within the Miami Open spherical of 16, regardless of having been a break up within the last set.
Sinner’s essential rival, Carlos Alcaraz, was overwhelmed in his first match in Miami. In Indian Wells, he had didn’t get better from a first-set horror present within the semifinals, shedding to eventual champion Jack Draper. Alcaraz sometimes seemed misplaced throughout each matches — as he did when shedding within the Australian Open quarterfinals to an injured Novak Djokovic.
Djokovic seemed refreshed in Miami after his personal early exit in Indian Wells, however didn’t must beat a top-14 participant to get to the ultimate. When he received there, he misplaced exactly the sort of match he’s made a profession of profitable. His opponent in that last, Menšík, was very good in a 7-6(4), 7-6(4) win, however neutralizing large servers and profitable tiebreaks have lengthy been two of Djokovic’s calling playing cards.
Menšík, 19, had a breakthrough event, as did Draper in Indian Wells, however amongst Sinner’s established rivals, it’s usually been a fairly difficult month.
Generally in sport, gamers’ most useful outcomes come when they aren’t even current.
March 2025 undoubtedly strengthened Sinner’s place on the pinnacle of males’s tennis, with out him enjoying a single level.
Charlie Eccleshare
How is Andreeva utilizing doubles to maintain her grounded?
It was a sunshine double of kinds for Andreeva too, who adopted up her Indian Wells singles title by profitable the Miami Open doubles, along with her shut buddy and compatriot Diana Shnaider.
Andreeva, the 17-year-old Russian, is uncommon among the many world’s high 10 in persevering with to play common doubles, and lengthy might it proceed — as a result of the advantages transcend simply her tennis.
She and 20-year-old Shnaider play along with the sort of levity that’s usually non-existent within the one-on-one fight of singles, and might solely be useful to 2 children attending to grips with the grind {of professional} tennis. The timeline of the WTA Tour is suffering from prodigies burning out due to the game’s suffocating strain.
The pair’s sense of humour got here in useful Sunday, throughout the prolonged rain delay that interrupted their 6-3, 6-7(5), 10-2 last win over Spain’s Cristina Bucsa and Miyu Kato of Japan.
It’s Andreeva and Shnaider’s second title as companions, having first joined forces after they laughed their strategy to Olympic silver medals in August. Since then, each have spoken about how a lot they get pleasure from enjoying collectively and the best way it advantages them.
Diana Shnaider and Mirra Andreeva with the Miami Open doubles trophy. (Matthew Stockman / Getty Photographs)
“Once we play doubles, we each don’t like when it’s very tense,” Andreeva mentioned in an interview at Melbourne Park in January. “So, for instance, when the rating is 5-4 and we’ve to serve for the match, we’re each on the similar time making an attempt to say some jokes or simply chill a bit.
“We at all times make enjoyable of ourselves, so if she hits a tremendous shot. I’m like, ‘Have you ever seen that? Are you Roger Federer? I imply, come on, cease it.’ After which after that, I really feel like she’s fired up and she or he makes even higher pictures. And after I play a superb shot, she’s at all times like, ‘My God, what are you doing? I imply, should you play like this, we’re going to win a slam.’”
Shnaider, who’s having a tough singles season after a breakthrough 2024, additionally feels the advantages and mentioned in an interview in New York earlier than final yr’s U.S. Open: “I would like some jokes on court docket. I would like some smiles. I must have some talks with a accomplice having fun with doubles. As a result of for me, I’m simply getting launched from the stress and a few tightness.
“And I knew that she’s a really open individual. She’s very emotional. She loves to speak, loves jokes and loves smiling. So I used to be like, ‘That is the appropriate match’.”
Earlier than their doubles win in Miami, Andreeva had endured a tense singles defeat to Amanda Anisimova within the third spherical, whereas Shnaider misplaced to Anna Blinkova within the second.
They may have each packed up and left Miami then for some relaxation or observe. As a substitute, each discovered one thing extra invaluable on the doubles court docket.
Charlie Eccleshare
Not the ‘Sunshine Double’ the American males had been hoping for
A few months in the past, this seemed prefer it could possibly be a fairly particular Indian Wells and Miami swing for American males.
With world No. 1 Sinner sidelined and the game’s best-ever Djokovic one thing of a query mark and about to show 38, it appeared like there could possibly be a gap for a bunch of rivals who are sometimes at their greatest on house soil. The highest Individuals are hard-court gamers who intention to make hay throughout the North American hard-court swings — particularly this one, which precedes a three-month journey to Europe and its natural surfaces.
Ben Shelton was coming off a run to the Australian Open semifinals. Taylor Fritz wasn’t far faraway from being a finalist eventually yr’s U.S. Open, being runner-up at November’s ATP Tour Finals and profitable the United Cup along with his nation in January. Tommy Paul was a top-10 participant. Frances Tiafoe at all times will get fired up for the house followers.
When it was over, Fritz, nonetheless battling a proper belly damage, had one of the best exhibiting throughout the 2 occasions, falling to Menšík within the Miami semifinals in a third-set tiebreak. He managed to lose without having his serve damaged all night time. A few unhealthy selections within the first and third-set tiebreaks stored him out of the ultimate.
Shelton fell within the quarters of Indian Wells to eventual champion Draper. Not unhealthy, and he appeared to have discovered his groove on the gritty, high-kicking laborious courts in California. However then, in Miami, he misplaced his opening match to a wild card, Coleman Wong of Hong Kong.
Paul disappeared throughout his spherical of 16 match in Indian Wells in opposition to Daniil Medvedev. In Miami, he misplaced his second match to Francisco Cerundolo. He’s 7-4 since getting into the highest 10. Tiafoe? He went 2-2 within the Sunshine Double, with losses to Fils and Yosuke Watanuki.
And on it went.
Learner Tien didn’t win a match. Alex Michelsen gained only one.
Not good climate for the house gamers in March.
Matt Futterman
Danielle Collins will get a win
Danielle Collins couldn’t retain her title in Miami, however ended up coming away with a unique sort of trophy.
Collins came across a canine that had been hit by a automobile throughout her time within the metropolis. She pulled over, took the animal to an area veterinary hospital and noticed to it that it received the care it wanted, by surgical procedure and 5 days on oxygen.
With the pup pulling by, Collins introduced that she had adopted it and named it “Crash.”
“His respiratory is again to regular, his wounds are therapeutic, and he’s positively having fun with all of the love he’s receiving,” Collins shared on Instagram, exhibiting the latest addition to her household snuggling along with her in mattress. Crash joins Quincy, who has accompanied Collins on the tour for a while now.
“He’s curious, affectionate, and grateful for a second probability at life. It was so extremely painful to witness a canine in a lot ache after being hit by a automobile, and left in the course of the street with so many individuals driving by his curled-up physique. I’m simply grateful I used to be in a position to be there and get him the care he wanted.”
Maybe not one other trophy. However possibly one thing higher. And a superb factor for Crash that Collins determined to not retire at first of this season.
Now she has one other title to defend this week in Charleston, S.C., the place she’ll be trying to keep contained in the world high 32 and get a seeding for the following Grand Slam in Paris subsequent month.
Matt Futterman
Advisable studying:
🏆 The winners of the week
🎾 ATP:
🏆 Menšík def. Djokovic (4) 7-6(4), 7-6(4) to win the Miami Open (1,000) in Miami. It’s his first ATP 1,000 title.
🎾 WTA:
🏆 Sabalenka (1) def. Pegula (4) 7-5, 6-2 to win the Miami Open (1,000) in Miami. It’s the Belarusian’s nineteenth WTA Tour title.
📈📉 On the rise / Down the road
📈 Eala strikes up 65 locations from No. 140 to a profession excessive of No. 75 after her run to the Miami Open semifinals.
📈 Menšík ascends 30 spots from No. 54 to No. 24 after profitable the Miami Open.
📈 Tereza Valentová strikes up 41 locations from No. 211 to a profession excessive of No. 170 after profitable the ITF W75 occasion in Murska Sobota, Slovenia.
📉 Medvedev falls three locations from No. 8 to No. 11, leaving the ATP high 10 for the primary time since 2019.
📉 Caroline Garcia drops 27 locations from No. 74 to No. 101, leaving the WTA high 100 for the primary time since 2013.
📉 Thiago Seyboth Wild tumbles 15 spots from No. 96 to No. 111, leaving the ATP high 100.
📅 Developing
🎾 ATP
📍Houston: U.S. Males’s Clay Court docket Championship (250) that includes Paul, Tiafoe, Michelsen, Tien.
📍Marrakech, Morroco: Grand Prix Hassan II (250) that includes Tallon Griekspoor, Lorenzo Sonego, Otto Virtanen, Pavel Kotov.
📍Bucharest, Romania: Tiriac Open (250) that includes Sebastian Baez, Gabriel Diallo, Botic van de Zandschulp, Nishesh Basavareddy.
📺 UK: Sky Sports activities; U.S.: Tennis Channel 💻
🎾 WTA
📍Charleston, S.C.: Charleston Open (500) that includes Pegula, Madison Keys, Zheng Qinwen, Belinda Bencic.
📍Bogotá, Colombia: Copa Colsanitas Zurich (250) that includes Marie Bouzkova, Camila Osorio, Iva Jovic, Alycia Parks.
📺 UK: Sky Sports activities; U.S.:
Inform us what you seen this week within the feedback under as the boys’s and ladies’s excursions proceed.
(High picture: Patrick Hamilton / AFP through Getty Photographs; design: Eamonn Dalton)
