Welcome back to Monday tennis briefing where Athletic He explains the stories for the stories of last week in court.
This week Miami Open was crowned with his champions with Aryna Sabalenko and Jakub Menšík Take the titles of singles. Elsewhere, World World No. 1 Jannik Sinner had a big hard set while playing only one tournament, the sun did not shine on home players and Mirr Andreev used doubles to keep her legs on the ground.
If you would like to watch our fantastic tennis coverage, click here.
How did Sinner’s absence leave him without world No. 1?
BNP Paribas Open and Miami Open, who adds the evaluation that men players at this year’s Australian Open, the highest sum belongs to someone who participated in only one of these events. The great winner of ATP from the first Grand Slam from 2025 and then post-Melbourne “Sunshine Double” in California and Florida is a sinner who has not played any of the last tournaments because of his three-month ban on anti-doping.
While the Australian Master Australian Open came before returning to the tour in May, all his rivals failed to earn his absence. It is now almost guaranteed that Sinner will still be number 1 when his return in five weeks at home clay at the Italian open in Rome.
The world 2 nominal 2 Alexander Zverev was also seen for the last time playing the right tennis in Melbourne – the difference between him and the sinner is that he has played five events since then. But the German looked like a shadow since Sinner defeated him in this Australian Open final, and after he lost his first match in Indian wells, he went to Arthur Fils in Miami Open round 16, even though he was in the final set.
The main rival of Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, was defeated in the first match in Miami. In Indian Wells, in the semifinal he failed to recover from the first assembly horror show and lost with a possible champion Jack Draper. Alcaraz sometimes looked lost during both matches – just like losing in the Australian Open Quarterfinál injured novaku Djokovic.
Djokovic looked fresh in Miami after his own early departure in Indian wells, but he didn’t have to beat the TOP-14 players to get to the finals. When he got there, he lost exactly the kind of match he won. His opponent in this final, Menšík, was excellent in the victory of 7-6 (4), 7-6 (4), but the neutralization of large servers and winning thousands was long two of Djokovic calling cards.
Menšík, 19, had a breakthrough tournament, as well as Draper in Indian Wells, but among the established rivals of Sinner it was generally quite a difficult month.
Sometimes the most useful results of players come in sports when they are not even present.
March 2025 undoubtedly strengthened the position of Sinner at the top of the men’s tennis without playing a single point.
Charlie Eccleshare
How does Andreeva use doubling to keep it grounding?
For Andreeva it was also the solar twice the species that watched their title Indian Wells Singles by winning the double Miami Open, with her close friend and compatriot Diana shnaider.
Andreeva, 17-year-old Russian, is unusual among the top 10 in the world in the continuation of regular doubles and can continue for a long time-only the benefits exceed her tennis.
She and twenty -year -old shnaider play together with the kind of Levit, which generally does not exist in one -on -one fight, and can only be beneficial for two young people who deal with the grind of professional tennis. The WTA tour timeline is dotted with miracles that burn due to the suffocating pressure of sport.
The purpose for the humor of the couple came on a useful Sunday, during the lengthy delay of the rain, which interrupted their 6-3, 6-7 (5), 10-2 final victories over Spanish Cristina Bucs and Miyu Kato of Japan.
It is the second title of Andreeva and SHNAIDER as partners who first joined when they laughed in August to the Olympic silver medals. Since then, they both talked about how much they enjoy playing together and the way they benefit them.
Diana shnaider and Mirr Andreev with the Miami trophies open doubles. (Matthew Stockman / Getty Images)
“When we play double, we both don’t like it when it’s very tense,” Andreeva said in an interview in Melbourne Park. “For example, when the score is 5-4 and we have to serve for the match, we both try to say some jokes or just cool a little.”
“We always make fun of ourselves, so if he hits an amazing shot. I’m glad,” Did you see it? Are you Roger Federer? I think come, stop it. “And then I feel he’s fired and she makes even better shots.
Shnaider, who has a tricky season of singles after a breakthrough year, also feels benefits and said in an interview in New York before last year’s US Open: “I need some jokes in court. I need some smiles. I have to have some interviews with a partner who enjoys doubles. Because for me I’m just released from stress and some tightness.
“And I knew he was a very open person. He’s very emotional. He loves talking, loves jokes and loves smiling. So I was glad,” that’s the right fit “.”
Before they doubled their victory in Miami, Andreeva tolerated the stressful defeat of the singles in the third round of Amanda Anisim, while Shnaider lost to Anna Blink in the second.
They could both wrap and leave Miami, then for some rest or training. Instead, they both found that something more valuable in a double court.
Charlie Eccleshare
Not “Sunshine Double” on which American men hoped
A few months ago it looked as if it could be quite strange Indian wells and Miami swing for American men.
With sinner No. 1 Sinner rushed and sports best Djokovich something like a question mark and turning 38, it seemed that there could be an opening for a group of opponents who are often the best at home. The best Americans are claiming judges who aim to make hay during the North American swings of hard judges-especially this one, which precedes the three-month journey to Europe and its organic surface.
Ben Shelton came to run at the Australian Open semifinals. Taylor Fritz was not far from being a finalist at last year’s US Open, in the November ATP Tour finals in the first place and won the United Cup in January with his country. Tommy Paul was a Top 10 player. Frances Tiafoe will always shoot for home fans.
When Fritz was over, still fighting with the true abdominal injury, he had the best performance across both events and fell on Menšík in the Miami semifinals in the third line -up of Tiebreak. He managed to lose without not working his serving all night. A few bad decisions in the first and third set Tiebreaks held him outside the finals.
Shelton fell in the districts of Indian wells to the eventual champion Draper. It is not bad, and it seemed to have found his groove on the bold, high -top hard courts in California. But then in Miami lost the opening match with the wild Coleman Wong card from Hong Kong.
Paul disappeared during his round 16 matches in Indian wells against Daniil Medvedev. In Miami lost the second match with Francisco Cerundol. It is 7-4 from entering TOP 10. Tiafoe? He went 2-2 in the sun, with losses for movies and Yosuke Watanuki.
And it went.
Student Tien did not win the match. Alex Michelsen won only one.
It’s not good weather for home players in March.
Matt Futterman
Danielle Collins wins
Danielle Collins couldn’t keep her title in Miami, but eventually ended up with another kind of trophy.
Collins came to a dog that was hit by a car during her time in the city. She attracted herself, took the animal to the local veterinary hospital, and saw that she had taken care she needed, through surgery and oxygen for five days.
When the puppy stretched, Collins announced that she accepted her and named him “crash”.
“His breathing is back to normal, his wounds are healing, and he certainly enjoys all the love he gets,” Collins shared on Instagram, showing the latest addition to her family, who attracted her in bed. Crash joins Quincy, who has been accompanying Collins for some time.
“He is curious, loving and grateful for the second chance of life. It was so incredibly painful to testify to the dog in so much pain after being hit by car and left in the middle of the road with so many people riding his curled ones.
Maybe not another trophy. But maybe something better. And a good thing for Crash, which Collins decided not to leave at the beginning of this season.
Now he has another title to defend this week in Charleston, SC, where he will try to stay inside the TOP 32 and next month with sowing for the next Grand Slam in Paris.
Matt Futterman
Recommended reading:
🏆 Week winners
🎾 ATP:
🏆 Smaller def. Djokovic (4) 7-6 (4), 7-6 (4) to win Miami Open (1,000) in Miami. It’s his first ATP 1,000 title.
🎾 WTA:
🏆 Sabalenek (1) def. Pegula (4) 7-5, 6-2 to win Miami Open (1,000) in Miami. It is Belarus 19.
📈📉 On the rise / down line
📈 Eala After running to the Miami Open semifinals, it moves by 65 seats from No. 140 for a career.
📈 Smaller 30 seats will perform from No. 54 to No. 24 after won the Miami Open.
📈 Tereza Valentová After winning the ITF W75 event in Mursko Saturday in Slovenia, it is 41 seats from No. 211 for a career.
📉 Bear Falls will leave three places from No. 8 to No. 11 and will leave ATP TOP 10 for the first time since 2019.
📉 Caroline Garcia Drops 27 seats from No. 74 to No. 101, for the first time for the first time WTA TOP 100 since 2013.
📉 Thiago Seyboth Wild Falling 15 stains from No. 96 to No. 111, so ATP TOP 100.
📅 Comes
🎾 ATP
📍houston: The Male Men’s Castle Championship for male men (250) introduce Paul, Tiafoe, Michelsen, Tien.
📍Marrakech, Morroco: Grand Prix Hassan II (250) introduce Tallon Griekspoor, Lorenzo Sonego, Otto Virtanen, Pavel Kotov.
📍Bucharest, Romania: Open Tiria (250) representing Sebastian Baez, Gabriel Dialo, Botic Van de Zandschulp, Nishesh Basavareddy.
📺 UK: Sky Sports; US: tennis channel 💻 tennis television
🎾 WTA
📍charleston, SC: Charleston Open (500) represent Pegula, Madison Keys, Zheng Qinwen, Belinda Bencic.
📍Bogota, Colombia: Curich Colsanitas Cup (250) representing Marie Bouzek, Camila Osorio, Iva Jovic, Alycia Parks.
📺 UK: Sky Sports; US: tennis channel
Tell us what you noticed this week in the comments below, as male and female tours continue.
(Top Photo: Patrick Hamilton / AFP via Getty Images; Design: Eamonn Dalton)
