A player smashes a racquet. The chair umpire announces a code violation and gives a warning. Twenty minutes later, the same player shouts an obscenity and suddenly loses a point. Another violation could cost an entire game. Eventually, it could cost the match. Professional tennis has a formal system forContinue Reading
Five Challenger events last week, and five straight sets finals, which is somewhat unfortunate. However, Titouan Droguet won’t mind, as he takes out his second title of the month, this time at the Saint-Tropez 125 event. He now finds himself at #84 in the rankings, which is a career high.Continue Reading
Men’s and women’s professional tennis spend most of the year on separate tours. The United Cup brings them together. Staged in Australia at the beginning of the season, the tournament features national teams containing both ATP and WTA players. Men and women compete in singles for the same team beforeContinue Reading
Before the packed stadiums, Grand Slam main draws and million-dollar prize cheques, professional tennis often looks very different. A few spectators might stand beside an outside court. There may be no television cameras. Players can be responsible for their own travel, accommodation and coaching expenses while competing for relatively modestContinue Reading
Behind almost every player competing at Wimbledon, the US Open or an ATP Masters 1000 lies another side of professional tennis. Smaller venues. Smaller crowds. Less prize money. But enormous consequences for the players involved. Welcome to the ATP Challenger Tour. The Challenger Tour sits immediately below the main ATPContinue Reading
The ATP Tour stretches far beyond the Grand Slams and Masters 1000 tournaments. At its foundation is the ATP 250 category. These tournaments are staged throughout the season and around the world, giving players opportunities to win titles, collect ranking points and compete at the highest level of the regularContinue Reading
Not every major week in men’s professional tennis takes place at a Grand Slam or Masters 1000. One level further down the ATP hierarchy sits the ATP 500 category — a collection of important tournaments played throughout the season on hard courts, clay and grass. They regularly attract some ofContinue Reading
Immediately below the Grand Slams sits the most prestigious regular tournament category on the ATP Tour: the ATP Masters 1000. There are nine Masters 1000 tournaments on the 2026 calendar, staged across North America, Europe and Asia. They bring together most of the leading men’s players and offer some ofContinue Reading
There are thousands of professional tennis tournaments played around the world, but four stand above everything else. The Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon and US Open are tennis’s Grand Slam tournaments — commonly called the majors. Winning any one of them can define a career. Winning all four puts aContinue Reading
As always on the Challenger Tour, it seems there are first time winners, and players reaching career highs. Nikolas Sanchez Izquierdo won his second Challenger title of his career, and second this year, in an epic fight at the Szczecin event. He moves up to #154, which is the highestContinue Reading
