Life has a way of surprising us. When Naomi Osaka entered the WTA 125 tournament in Saint-Malo, it was widely seen as a step down. After all, it was her first event at such a low level since 2015, when she was still a teenage up-and-comer ranked outside the Top 200. But what looked like…

The Norwegian waited a long time for this moment. By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Sunday May 4, 2025 Losing big matches, time after time, can take a toll on a player’s psyche. Credit Casper Ruud for never letting that happen to him. Prior to Sunday’s triumph in Madrid, where he won his maiden Masters…

The Japanese dropped down a level to build up her confidence, and came away with a title. By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Sunday May 4, 2025 Naomi Osaka made the decision to drop down to a lower-level tournament in Saint-Malo, France this week, and she was rewarded with her first trophy lift since 2021.…

The World No.1 is happy to be fulfilling her promise, and wants to expand her empire to Paris. By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Sunday May 4, 2025 Another title in Madrid has once again caused pundits to wonder if this is the year that Aryna Sabalenka can parlay her success in the Spanish capital…

The 21-year-old was the youngest women’s singles finalist in Madrid in 16 years. By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Sunday May 4, 2025 Coco Gauff had won eight consecutive WTA finals, and 10 of 11, prior to Saturday’s loss against Aryna Sabalenka. The reason for her success in high-stakes title matches? “I hate losing a…

Slovakian tennis star Anna Karolina Schmiedlova has revealed she is expecting her first child with her partner, fellow professional player Lukas Klein. The three-time WTA titlist and Olympic semifinalist shared the joyful news with her followers on Instagram, offering an explanation for her absence from the tour since February. “Hello, I just wanted to let…

Paula Badosa, Spain’s top tennis player, has made a confession that no fan wanted to hear: she will retire early. Not because she wants to, but because her body is forcing her to. In an emotional, soul-baring interview with Eurosport before leaving Madrid, the 27-year-old revealed the full extent of her chronic back injury —…

World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka claimed her third Madrid Open title with a 6-3 7-6(3) victory over Coco Gauff in Saturday’s final, marking her 20th career title. This victory adds to her impressive history in the Spanish capital, having won the tournament in 2021 and 2023, and coming back from being last year’s runner-up. The…

New world No. 5 Jack Draper will face two-time French Open finalist Casper Ruud for the Madridchampionship on Sunday. Photo credit: Mutua Madrid Open Facebook Madrid will crown a new clay king on Sunday. New world No. 5 Jack Draper stopped Monte-Carlo finalist Lorenzo Musetti 6-3, 7-6(4) charging into his first clay-court final at the…

Francisco Cerundolo at Wimbledon in 2022. Credit: Jmmuguerza I remain mildly obsessed with Francisco Cerundolo’s second-serve stats. It started when I was writing about Jakub Mensik last month. Mensik is one of the worst players on tour at winning points when opponents return his second serve. Cerundolo is the best. This graph compares points won…

Coco Gauff delivered a stunning performance to dismantle defending champion Iga Swiatek 6-1 6-1 in the semifinals of the 2025 Mutua Madrid Open, handing the world No. 2 one of the heaviest defeats of her career on clay. Coming into the match, Swiatek led their head-to-head 11–3 and had long been a dominant force on…

The Italian will join the Top-10 next week. By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Thursday May 1, 2025 Lorenzo Musetti has been playing eye-catching tennis ever since he hit the tour in 2020. Next week, he’ll do it as a member of the ATP’s Top-10. Musetti’s 6-4, 6-2 beatdown of Alex de Minaur sent the…

Madison Keys opened her quarterfinal clash at the 2025 Mutua Madrid Open with a bang—serving Iga Swiatek her first bagel in nearly four years. But instead of derailing the defending champion, the stunning 0-6 first set only served to ignite her comeback fire. Swiatek regrouped, reset, and roared back with a 0-6 6-3 6-2 victory,…

New Tennis Channel CEO hopes to bring his experience working on many Amazon ventures. By Erik Gudris | @atntennis | Wednesday, April 30, 2025 Photo credit: Tennis Channel Jeff Blackburn, an experienced tech executive with a passion for tennis, is set to lead Tennis Channel. Blackburn, a former top Amazon executive, was announced as the new…

The media frenzy surrounding the rumored divorce of Ana Ivanovic and Bastian Schweinsteiger just got even more intense. For weeks, neither side has come forward to deny the whispers of a split — fueling speculation that their fairytale marriage may have truly come to an end. But just when it seemed all hope was lost,…

Defending champion Iga Swiatek endured wind, pressure, and a spirited challenge from Diana Shnaider to claim her spot in yet another clay-court quarterfinal. After a major power outage halted Monday’s matches at the Madrid Open, the world No. 2 kicked off Tuesday’s rescheduled play by grinding out a hard-fought 6-0 6-7(3) 6-4 win over 13th…

Four Americans are into the round of 16 on the red clay of Madrid. By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Tuesday April 29, 2025 Who says American men can’t play on clay? This year on the fast-playing courts at altitude Madrid, the men have carved out a slice of history. With Tommy Paul and Frances…

Are Paula Badosa and Emma Navarro actually the same player? Every so often, an analyst introduces a new way to classify playing styles. The approach usually involves taking a bunch of different stats and identifying clusters of more or less similar players. One group might be aggressive, flat hitters; another might be clay-court experts; a…