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 incredible hard-court swing whereas taking part in 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 go away him untroubled as world No. 1?
Including up the rating factors earned by males’s gamers at this 12 months’s Australian Open, BNP Paribas Open and Miami Open, the very best tally belongs to somebody who participated in solely a kind 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 Could, 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 taking part in correct tennis in Melbourne — the distinction between him and Sinner is that he has performed in 5 occasions since. However the German has regarded like a shadow of himself from the second Sinner beat him in that Australian Open ultimate, and after dropping 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 ultimate 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, dropping to eventual champion Jack Draper. Alcaraz sometimes regarded misplaced throughout each matches — as he did when dropping within the Australian Open quarterfinals to an injured Novak Djokovic.
Djokovic regarded refreshed in Miami after his personal early exit in Indian Wells, however didn’t need to beat a top-14 participant to get to the ultimate. When he acquired there, he misplaced exactly the form of match he’s made a profession of successful. His opponent in that ultimate, Menšík, was very good in a 7-6(4), 7-6(4) win, however neutralizing massive servers and successful 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 typically been a reasonably difficult month.
Generally in sport, gamers’ most useful outcomes come when they don’t seem to be even current.
March 2025 undoubtedly strengthened Sinner’s place on the pinnacle of males’s tennis, with out him taking part in a single level.
Charlie Eccleshare
How is Andreeva utilizing doubles to maintain her grounded?
It was a sunshine double of types for Andreeva too, who adopted up her Indian Wells singles title by successful the Miami Open doubles, together with her shut good friend and compatriot Diana Shnaider.
Andreeva, the 17-year-old Russian, is uncommon among the many world’s prime 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 form of levity that’s typically 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 affected by prodigies burning out due to the game’s suffocating strain.
The pair’s sense of humour got here in useful Sunday, through the prolonged rain delay that interrupted their 6-3, 6-7(5), 10-2 ultimate 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 technique to Olympic silver medals in August. Since then, each have spoken about how a lot they get pleasure from taking part in collectively and the way in which it advantages them.
Diana Shnaider and Mirra Andreeva with the Miami Open doubles trophy. (Matthew Stockman / Getty Pictures)
“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 now we have 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 an incredible 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 photographs. And after I play a very good 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 difficult singles season after a breakthrough 2024, additionally feels the advantages and mentioned in an interview in New York earlier than final 12 months’s U.S. Open: “I want some jokes on court docket. I want some smiles. I have to have some talks with a companion 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 particular person. 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 hectic 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 worthwhile on the doubles court docket.
Charlie Eccleshare
Not the ‘Sunshine Double’ the American males have been hoping for
A few months in the past, this regarded prefer it could possibly be a reasonably 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 gaggle of rivals who are sometimes at their finest on house soil. The highest Individuals are hard-court gamers who goal to make hay through 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 ultimately 12 months’s U.S. Open, being runner-up at November’s ATP Tour Finals and successful the United Cup together 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 stomach damage, had the perfect displaying 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 exhausting 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 towards 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 special form of trophy.
Collins stumbled on a canine that had been hit by a automotive throughout her time within the metropolis. She pulled over, took the animal to a neighborhood veterinary hospital and noticed to it that it acquired the care it wanted, by way of surgical procedure and 5 days on oxygen.
With the pup pulling by way of, Collins introduced that she had adopted it and named it “Crash.”
“His respiration 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, displaying the latest addition to her household snuggling together 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 likelihood at life. It was so extremely painful to witness a canine in a lot ache after being hit by a automotive, and left in the course of the highway with so many individuals driving by his curled-up physique. I’m simply grateful I used to be capable of be there and get him the care he wanted.”
Maybe not one other trophy. However perhaps one thing higher. And a very good factor for Crash that Collins determined to not retire firstly of this season.
Now she has one other title to defend this week in Charleston, S.C., the place she’ll be seeking to keep contained in the world prime 32 and get a seeding for the subsequent Grand Slam in Paris subsequent month.
Matt Futterman
Really useful 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 successful the Miami Open.
📈 Tereza Valentová strikes up 41 locations from No. 211 to a profession excessive of No. 170 after successful the ITF W75 occasion in Murska Sobota, Slovenia.
📉 Medvedev falls three locations from No. 8 to No. 11, leaving the ATP prime 10 for the primary time since 2019.
📉 Caroline Garcia drops 27 locations from No. 74 to No. 101, leaving the WTA prime 100 for the primary time since 2013.
📉 Thiago Seyboth Wild tumbles 15 spots from No. 96 to No. 111, leaving the ATP prime 100.
📅 Developing
🎾 ATP
📍Houston: U.S. Males’s Clay Courtroom 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 observed this week within the feedback under as the boys’s and girls’s excursions proceed.
(Prime photograph: Patrick Hamilton / AFP through Getty Pictures; design: Eamonn Dalton)
