Welcome back to Monday’s Tennis Briefing. athletic We’ll explain the story behind what happened in court last week.
This week, the first tournament of 2025 came to a sharp conclusion across Australia and New Zealand. Aryna Sabalenka continued her incredible run, with too many matches ending in retirement.
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How to beat Aryna Sabalenka in Australia?
On the surface, there is little to offer hope for the rest of the field. World No. 1 Sabalenka is a two-time defending Australian Open champion with 27 wins in 28 hard-court Grand Slam matches, including her first US Open title in September, along with two Melbourne majors.
She has also won 27 of her last 28 matches in Australia after winning the Brisbane International title on Sunday, maintaining her strong form in a competition where 10 of the 16 seeded players exited at the first opportunity.
As her record in Australia shows, it wasn’t simple. Sabalenka overtook Mirra Andreeva in the semifinals, overcoming a shaky first set to win the preliminary round after a tougher match than the 6-3, 6-2 scoreline suggested. Polina Kudermetova 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the final. Sabalenka recorded 36 unforced errors in a fairly sloppy performance, but she got the job done.
At this stage, she knows that her performance against almost any opponent will depend on her racket. If Sabalenka plays close to her best, she appears nearly unbeatable on this surface, leaving the rest of the field expecting either a lights-out performance of its own or one of Sabalenka’s increasingly rare days off.
deeper
‘I can be the best player in the world’: Arina Sabalenka has the best season of her life
Charlie Eccleshere
Why are so many people retiring due to injury just one week into the season?
The first week of the 2025 tennis season (part of which will take place in 2024) felt like 2021 as Reilly Opelka and Naomi Osaka reached the finals in Australia and New Zealand respectively. At the time, Osaka was the world’s dominant female power, and Opelka was a top 20 player.
But crucially, the start of 2025 ended up feeling like 2024. Opelka, who has struggled with hip and wrist injuries and various related complications over the past two years, suffered a back injury in the first set of the final against Jiri Reheka in Brisbane and retired 4-1 down.
Osaka, who suffered several twists and turns until 2024 and ended her season early due to a back injury, retired due to an abdominal injury after winning the first set of the final against Clara Towson.
It’s not the way either player would want to end their best week for a long time, but with the first Grand Slam of the season just six days away, missing the finish line seemed like the only safe course of action. The only thing they said after the game was “I’m sorry.”
Although both players have seemingly been together forever, they are still relatively young. Osaka, 27, said last year that she was focused on playing for at least five to seven more years. In Auckland, she suggested her longevity may have more to do with her ranking than her body.
“I want to spend time with my daughter, if not where I think I should be and where I think I can be,” she said at a press conference.
Opelka could not afford to think so long-term. A nearly 7-foot tall frame has its own drawbacks when it comes to injury prevention.
Reilly Opelka defeated Novak Djokovic in the final in Brisbane. (William West / AFP via Getty Images)
“I’m going to train over the next few weeks and get a lot stronger physically,” Opelka said after her first-round loss at the US Open in August, when she was early in her comeback.
“The goal is to have a really big offseason in December.”
There was another notable retirement, when Tomas Machac suddenly withdrew from his United Cup semi-final against Taylor Fritz. Leading the set 5-2, Machac got two match points off Fritz’s serve to serve for the match, but the American held him back to take the set 4-5.
In transition, Machac burst out throwing his racket and screaming at his coach. Down 6-5 in the next game, Fritz served to take the match to the third set, and he did it again. At one point in the game, Machac walked to the net and told Fritz that he was suffering from cramps while gesturing to his upper leg during part of the second set.
Machac withdrew from the Adelaide International with a knee injury and had hoped to play at the Australian Open as well. Looking into 2024 as a world-beating player and at times undercooked both mentally and physically, he remains an enigma.
Matt Futterman
Nishikori Kei’s final prosperity?
Speaking of injuries, considering the bad luck he’s had, no one would begrudge Kei Nishikori one last flourish of his career. Now 35, the former world No. 4 knows his prime is behind him, but he continues to give it his all in search of another big moment.
Just staying fit for a while will likely be enough, but Nishikori suggested he could win his first title in six years. He reached the final of the 250-level Hong Kong Open last week, coming off an exhausting victory in the final against Alexandre Müller, who won all five games from a set down. Nishikori lost 2-6, 6-1, 6-3.
His resurgence comes as his 2014 US Open final opponent Marin Cilic bounced back from severe injury problems to win the Hangzhou Open in September, and Nishikori said a month ago: athletic In a Zoom interview, 2025 was the year we wanted to strive for better results.
In 2024 he said:Still, I want to go slowly. “And I hope we can play many games in good health.” He added, “I hope I can play well starting next year.”
Most of the tennis world hopes so too.
deeper
How Marin Cilic and Kei Nishikori surprised tennis at the 2014 US Open
Charlie Eccleshere
Will you defend your title or not?
Something strange happened this summer tennis season in Australia. The 2024 WTA defending champions have decided they have little intention of defending their title.
Coco Gauff won in Auckland last year. She played in the United Cup this year. Elena Rybakina won in Brisbane. She too decided to play in the United Cup.
Emma Navarro won in Hobart when the player entered the tournament a week before the Grand Slam because everything was new and she needed ranking points wherever she could find them. She didn’t think she was that person anymore because she was ranked 8th in the world. She registered in Brisbane but then became one of a number of seeds to exit early, falling to Australia’s Kimberly Birrell.
The loss made Navarro a fixture a week before the Slam, with the American heading to Adelaide for more action than points. Things were better for Gauff. She has played in five United Cup matches, winning all five, the last of which came against long-time rival Iga Swiatek of Poland. This is the definition of match preparation.
deeper
How does Coco Gauff solve problems like Iga Swiatek?
Matt Futterman
Shot of the Week
Coco Gauff has tennis fans digging their protractors.
Recommended books:
🏆 this week’s winner
🎾 United Cup:
🏆 USA Def. Poland 2-0 win united cup In Sydney. This is the country’s second United Cup victory.
🎾 ATP:
🏆 Lives in Reheka Def. Reilly Opelka Won 4-1 (retired) Brisbane International (250) Brisbane, Australia. This is his second ATP Tour title in Australia.
🏆 Alexandre Müller Def. Kei Nishikori (WC) Won 2-6, 6-1, 6-3 Hong Kong Open (250) Hong Kong, China. It is his first ATP Tour title.
🏆 Joao Fonseca Def. Ethan Quinn Won 6-4, 6-4 canberra international (Challenger 125), Canberra, Australia. It is his second ATP Challenger title.
🎾 WTA:
🏆 Arina Sabalenka (1) Def. Polina Kudermetova (Q) Won 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 Brisbane International (500) Brisbane, Australia. This is her 18th WTA Tour title.
🏆 Clara Towson (5) Def. Naomi Osaka (7) Won 4-6 (Retired) ASB Classic (250) Auckland, New Zealand. This is Dane’s third WTA Tour title.
🏆 Aoi Ito (7) Def. Wei Shija Won 6-4, 6-3 canberra international (WTA 125), Canberra, Australia. It is her first WTA 125 title.
📈📉 Uptrend/Downtrend
📈 Mira Andreeva After reaching the semi-finals of the Brisbane International, he moved up one place to finish 15th, a career best.
📈 Joao Fonseca After winning the Canberra International, he rose 32 places from 145th to a career high of 113th.
📈 Polina Kudermetova After reaching the final of the Brisbane International, he rose 50 places to a career-high 57th.
📉 Andrei Rublev He fell one place from 8th to 9th, losing his spot as the main seed for the Australian Open.
📉 Clara Burell It fell four places from 99th to 103rd, falling out of the top 100.
📉 Adrian Mannarino It fell 7 places from 66th to 73rd, dropping out of the top 70.
📅 soon
🎾 ATP
📍Adelaide, Australia: Adelaide International (250) Starring Tommy Paul, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Sebastian Korda, and Denis Shapovalov.
📍Auckland, New Zealand: ASB Classic (250) Starring Ben Shelton, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, Gael Monfils, and Jakub Mensik.
📍Melbourne, Australia: Australian Open Qualifiers Starring Joao Fonseca, Alexander Blockx, Learner Tien, and Cruz Hewitt.
📺 UK: Sky Sports; USA: Tennis Channel 💻
🎾 WTA
📍Adelaide, Australia: Adelaide International (500) Starring Jessica Pegula, Donna Vekic, Ons Jabeur, and Emma Navarro.
📍Hobart, Australia: hobart international (250) Starring Dayana Yastremska, Rebecca Sramkova, Maya Joint and Sofia Kenin.
📍Melbourne, Australia: Australian Open Qualifiers Alicia Park, Aoi Ito, Polina Kudermetova, and Eva Rhys star.
📺 UK: Sky Sports; About us:
As the men’s and women’s tours continue, let us know what you discovered this week in the comments below.
(Top photo: Getty Images, design: Eamonn Dalton)
