When the oldest and youngest ranked men’s tennis players met in the sport’s minor leagues

Welcome back to the Monday Tennis Briefing, where The Athleticwill explain the stories behind the stories from the past week on court.

This week, the Italian Open wouldn’t be outdone by the Madrid Open in terms of chaos, the top players putting pressure on the Grand Slams got an ally, and tennis and politics once again showed that they are indivisible.

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Why have the past two big tournaments been so chaotic?

Tennis’ two-week ATP Masters 1000 and WTA 1000 events have justifiably developed a reputation for taking an age to get going. The tournaments one rung below the Grand Slams give byes to seeded players, while their staggered starts mean it can be hard to keep track of what’s a qualifying match and what’s a main-draw one.

Not so at the Italian Open last week, nor at the Madrid Open a fortnight ago. In the Spanish capital, a sickness bug and a high pollen count wreaked havoc early; in Rome, the strangeness started in one of the city’s storied piazzas.

At a promotional activity on the Saturday before the event, Iga Świątek and her coach Francisco Roig were having a hit on a temporary clay court in Piazza Popolo. Knowing Roig is excellent at the net, Świątek challenged him to a volleying duel, with €100 ($118) at stake for the winner, and with Świątek holding match point, the 58-year-old Roig tore his achilles stretching for a shot. “Yeah, I broke my coach’s Achilles,” a sheepish Świątek told a few reporters five days later, after beating Caty McNally with her coach watching on with his right leg heavily bandaged.

A ball had still barely been struck when the women’s world No. 1, Aryna Sabalenka, lit a bonfire in the players’ ongoing dispute with the Grand Slams over reforms like increasing prize money as a proportion of tournament revenue. Asked if a boycott of the majors might be possible, Sabalenka said Tuesday: “At some point we will boycott. I feel like that’s going to be the only way to kind of, like, fight for our rights.”

Later, Coco Gauff and Elena Rybakina, both two-time Grand Slam champions, said in news conferences that they agreed with Sabalenka. An already eventful day ended with Emma Raducanu pulling out of the tournament with post-viral illness, half an hour after telling reporters that she had “really turned a corner” and felt “so much better.”

There were more withdrawals to come. Amanda Anisimova pulled out Thursday due to an ongoing wrist issue; Victoria Mboko and Tomáš Macháč withdrew over the next couple of days because of illness. This was not the likes of the bug that swept through Madrid, but on Friday, 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic battled a stomach complaint as he was beaten in his first match in two months by the 20-year-old world No. 79 Dino Prižmić. Świątek narrowly avoided an upset of her own against McNally, edging past the American in nearly three hours.

Come Saturday, Gauff fended one off too, recovering from a double-break deficit in the third set against Solana Sierra in a match littered with acts of self-flagellation from Gauff.

Some players were unable to escape. Defending champion and home favorite Jasmine Paolini was beaten by Elise Mertens despite holding three match points, new world No. 5 Ben Shelton fell to Georgian qualifier Nikoloz Basliashvili, and Félix Auger-Aliassime, the No. 4 seed on the men’s side, went down to world No. 44 Mariano Navone in a grueling match that lasted just shy of three hours.

Auger-Aliassime was cramping so badly toward the end that he had to hit an underarm second serve when match point down. He somehow won the point, but eventually succumbed on the next one. That was followed by a late-night barnburner on the SuperTennis Arena, as Hamad Medjedovic defeated No. 27 seed João Fonseca in a final-set tiebreak. Medjedovic held match point when serving at 5-4 in the third, but a fan cried out as he set up to hit a forehand in the middle of the court and Medjedovic missed it wide by a whisker.

Fonseca duly broke Medjedovic for 5-5, before holding serve to go up 6-5 and put all the pressure on his opponent. But Medjedovic rebounded from his disappointment to win 11 of the last 12 points of the match, savoring the victory in front of a hostile crowd with a “goodnight” celebration and saying in an interview with Tennis TV afterward that the crowd made him “locked in” for the final stages.

On Sunday, the No. 17 seed Madison Keys was beaten by the inspired lucky loser Nikola Bartůňková, a highly rated 20-year-old from the Czech Republic, before Jessica Pegula recorded the first double-bagel win of her career against the Swiss qualifier Rebeka Masarova. On a slow clay court in damp conditions, Pegula didn’t face a break point all match.

Between all that came one of the most shocking results of the year so far. Sabalenka suffered her earliest defeat at a tournament for 15 months with a three-set, third-round loss to the 36-year-old world No. 27 Sorana Cîrstea Saturday. Sabalenka, who led by a set and a break, was by the end nursing a lower-back and hip injury and unsure of the immediate prognosis, with the French Open two weeks away.

It was that kind of week in the Italian capital.

— Charlie Eccleshare

How did the oldest and youngest players in the men’s rankings fare when they met?

Anyone who saw the film “Challengers” two years ago knows that strange things happen in the lower levels of tennis. Sometimes journeymen players show up in terrible plaid shorts.

Strange of a different sort occurred in Florida last week at the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Championships Pro Circuit event, in Vero Beach, Fla. At this World Tennis Tour event, which is the third rung of professional tennis, the oldest and youngest players with ATP rankings points as of last week met for a classic duel between youth and experience.

The young was Teodor Davidov, at the time the world No. 1594. Davidov is a 15-year-old Floridian, who plays ambidextrously by hitting forehands with both hands and serving on whichever side he chooses.

The old was Ryan Haviland, at the time the world No. 1954. He’s 45, with a career-high ranking of No. 516 and $30,393 in career winnings.

Haviland said during an interview last week that he long ago gave up his dreams of the top 100. He’s a coach who still loves to compete, and there’s no better way to scout young talent than to play them. He’s used to playing guys half his age, but playing someone one-third his age is taking some getting used to.

He said he was pretty skeptical that Davidov could hold his own against him by switching hands with his racket. Haviland can still crank a serve close to 130 mph. Going in, he thought there was no way Davidov could make his tennis work on the ATP Tour.

After barely surviving in a match tiebreak and winning 6-7(2), 6-3, 10-6, Haviland had other thoughts.

“He’s really good,” Haviland said. “There’s no question he serves way better right-handed than left-handed. I think he’s going to have to choose on that shot. But everything else, I was seriously impressed.”

Haviland lost the next day in two tiebreaks to Justin Roberts, the world No. 975. Speaking during his 7-hour drive home to Greenville, S.C., he said it hurt just as bad as any loss he’d experienced.

“I was up 5-4, 40-0 in one of the sets and lost,” he said. “I don’t think that’s ever happened to me.”

Strange things happen at the lower end of pro tennis.

— Matt Futterman

How did a tournament’s surroundings inspire creativity?

Most tennis tournament sites try to draw inspiration from their surroundings, imbuing the architecture of the grounds, the food selection or the on-site decor with local flavor. Indian Wells, in the Coachella Valley, is all palm trees and sun-bleached stone. Miami is punchy colors and international food drawn from the city’s diaspora.

But perhaps no tournament outside of the Grand Slams embodies its host city as much as the Italian Open.

That’s not surprising, considering Rome’s global cultural status. The tournament’s home base, the Foro Italico, is a relic of Italian Fascist architecture, built under Mussolini as a monument to sport, art and to evoke previous ideas of Empire. The tennis spills outwards into the city, where there was a late-night light show on the façade of the Trevi Fountain during the tournament and a pop-up clay court installed nearby at the Piazza Popolo, where fans could watch players including Iga Świątek and Novak Djokovic practice in front of one of the more stunning backdrops you’ll find in sports.

The court was open to the public for mini-tennis, too. Hopefully no one other than Fransisco Roig, Świątek’s coach, tore their achilles.

The Italian Open inspires other parts of the tennis ecosystem. Last year, Coco Gauff wore one of her three tournament kits that were a collaboration between New Balance and Miu Miu in Rome. The announcement of Pope Leo XIV was beamed on the screens at the complex — fitting for a pontiff who loves the sport, and has a Vatican City tennis court on which to play it.

This year, the WTA partnered with tennis player-turned filmmaker Manu Molesinito produce a visual series featuring five different players casual fans might not see as often on their social media feeds — Zeynep Sönmez,Linda Nosková and Caty McNally were among those featured. The videos were delightful, distinctive and felt like a bite-size pieces of Italian cinema. Brava, WTA. That’s exactly the type of creative promotion its players often say they want to see more of from tour organizers.

— Ava Wallace

How will tennis respond to the Olympic recommendation on Belarusian athletes?

The executive board of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced Thursday that it no longer recommends restrictions on Belarusian athletes or teams.

No sport is as affected by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (in which Belarus has been a strategic ally) as tennis, and in Sabalenka, no sport has a bigger Belarusian star. But so far, nothing has changed for Sabalenka and her compatriots.

The women’s and men’s tours are yet to decide whether or not they will align with the IOC. The International Tennis Federation, which oversees the sport’s international team competitions — the Billie Jean King Cup and the Davis Cup — said in a statement Friday: “The International Tennis Federation confirms that the IOC’s announcement does not change its existing position regarding the Belarus and Russian Tennis Federations’ suspensions, which remain in place.

“The membership status of the Belarus Tennis Federation will be considered at the ITF Annual General Meeting in October by the ITF’s voting member nations (“The AGM Council”) in accordance with ITF constitutional process.”

The ITF also oversees tennis at the Olympic Games, along with the IOC.

Like all Russian and Belarusian players, four-time Grand Slam champion Sabalenka plays without a flag next to her name. She missed the 2024 Paris Olympic Games over scheduling concerns, but had she played, she would have had to do so as an individual neutral athlete (AIN).

In 2028, she will be able to represent her country, something she said Thursday would make her “super proud.”

“Representing such a small country and the hard work that I had to do to get to the top and it’s just like guys, it’s incredible, it is a small country and to make it all the way here means a lot to me,” Sabalenka said in a mixed zone at the Italian Open.

Asked if she thought the WTA would alter its policy on Belarusian athletes in light of the IOC’s recommendation, Sabalenka said: “I don’t know, what’s going to stop them from that? I really hope they’re gonna give us our flags back.”

Other players have taken different stances following the IOC’s statement. In mixed zone interviews at the Italian Open, Russia’s Diana Shnaider said that she was “happy” to hear the news of the IOC’s changed stance, while Ukraine’s Oleksandra Oliynykova disagreed.

“When we are speaking about Russia and Belarus, we need to understand that these are countries which are turning everything into propaganda,” said Oliynykova, who has directly criticized Russian and Belarusian players, including Sabalenka. “They’re turning sports, cinema, music, culture. In this country, everything is working for the regime, which is horrible. So that’s why I believe the Russian and Belarusian athletes should be banned from competing.”

Elina Svitolina, the world No. 7 and leading Ukrainian player, said in a mixed zone interview Sunday that “the war is still ongoing, still rockets are coming to Ukraine and those two countries are still considered as aggressors and for us it’s very sad and very painful to see that this is even considered as (something) they’re talking about.

“It’s a very heavy topic, I have a lot to say, but I think now is not the best time, but I’m definitely not supporting (it).”

— Charlie Eccleshare and Ava Wallace

And how will the biggest tournaments respond to dispute between players and Grand Slams?

The group of top players who have been pushing for better prize money and player benefits from the Grand Slams gained a supporter this week in Angelo Binaghi, the president of the Italian Tennis and Padel Federation (FITP).

The group, which includes world No. 1’s Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner as well as Coco Gauff, Iga Świątek and Alexander Zverev, has been talking about the possibility of collective action if the Grand Slams don’t agree to offer a higher percentage of their annual revenue as prize money.

Sabalenka said at a news conference Tuesday ahead of the Italian Open in Rome she could see top players staging a Grand Slam boycott in the future.

Binaghi has also endorsed the players’ cause, though his reasoning isn’t necessarily rooted in a deep concern for their welfare.

“The players have our full support. It’s scandalous that we’re required by the ATP to share a bigger cut of the revenues with the players and the four Grand Slams hand out a smaller cut,” he said in a news conference at the Italian Open, the FITP’s flagship combined tournament.

“It’s shameful and creates competitive disparities, too, because the four nations (that organize the Slams) have a huge amount of money to invest in their technical sectors that other nations don’t have. I want to blow apart this monopoly.”

Binaghi’s statement communicates a real “enemy of my enemy is my friend” point of view. The FITP organizes the Italian Open, which in accordance with ATP and WTA standards, devotes 22 percent of tournament revenue to player prize money.

The Grand Slams pay out roughly 15 percent of their revenue to players on average, depending on the tournament. But Binaghi has been angling to turn the Italian Open into a fifth major tournament for some time, on the back of the current golden age in Italian tennis.

Since Binaghi took over the FITP in 2001, its flagship tournament has grown in prestige, and now its facilities are growing to match. Construction on a retractable roof over Campo Centrale is expected to be finished in time for the 2028 tournament, and the updated stadium is expected to increase its capacity by roughly 2,000, to 12,400.

Having the Grand Slams as the subject of players’ ire may also be a welcome change of pace after years of the tours taking heat for lengthening ATP Masters 1000 and WTA 1000 tournaments from seven to 12 days, packing the yearlong tennis schedule.

Binaghi has also faced scrutiny for the large disparity between men’s and women’s prize money at the Italian Open. Binaghi in 2023 promised to close that gap by 2025 — two years ahead of the WTA’s deadline to have equal pay at men’s and women’s combined 1,000-level events — but fell short of that promise.

The total men’s prize pool in Rome is $9.6 million this year, while the pool for the women is $8.3 million, though the women’s singles champion will earn more than her male equivalent.

Whatever Binaghi’s reasons for backing the players, they are happy to have him on their side. It’s been more than a year since the top players group first sent a letter to the Grand Slams outlining their suggestions for reform.

“I think all support is great. I think especially for them, they have so many like Italian players, top men and women, obviously Jannik himself, Jasmine [Paolini], who has done amazing over the last couple years,” Jessica Pegula said during a news conference Friday in Rome. “Tennis is really growing here. I think that definitely says a lot.

“I think we would take as much support as we can get.”

— Ava Wallace

📅 Coming up

🎾 ATP

📍Rome: Italian Open (1,000) featuring Jannik Sinner, Alexander Zverev, Lorenzo Musetti, Rafael Jódar.

📺 UK: Sky Sports; U.S.: Tennis Channel 💻 Tennis TV

🎾 WTA

📍Rome: Italian Open (1,000) featuring Coco Gauff, Iga Świątek, Naomi Osaka, Jessica Pegula.

📺 UK: Sky Sports; U.S.: Tennis Channel

Tell us what you noticed this week in the comments below as the men’s and women’s tours continue.

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

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