Venus Williams, the former world No. 1, competed at the Cincinnati Open following a lengthy hiatus, securing a wild card entry to her first WTA 1000 event this season. Despite a first-round loss to Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, 6-4, 6-4, Williams took valuable lessons from the match and remains optimistic about her form and future prospects.

After not having played in nearly 16 months, Williams commented on her areas for improvement: “It’s little things,” she said. “Like footwork errors, one more step here, or, ‘Ok, you didn’t have to go for that shot that hard!’ I had break point and I just hit the hell out of the ball. I was like, ‘Why did I just do that? Calm down!’ But I just get so excited… It’s like the Happy Gilmore moment of just, ‘Tap it in’ a little bit!”

Williams accepted the Cincinnati wild card following a strong return at the Mubadala Citi DC Open, where she won her opening match but faced physical challenges with pulls in her groin and hamstring. She acknowledged the difficulties but remained focused on recovery and readiness, stating, “You don’t know how you’re going to feel until after the first match. It’s not like I was completely hurt, but I had a pull in my groin and a pull in the hamstring and another little pull. So, I had to work very quickly to get that.”

Competing against the 22-year-old Bouzas Maneiro, ranked 51st globally, Williams felt encouraged by her performance and the chance to work towards renewed power and speed ahead of the US Open. She reflected, “Coming off of this match, I felt amazing. That means that in this next period, I won’t have to fix injuries. I can work on power and speed rather than just trying to make sure I’m not hurt going into the tournament. I’m very excited I can have a different focus for the US Open.”

Williams, who has a wild card entry into the US Open mixed doubles with Reilly Opelka, remains open to more singles opportunities. She maintained a positive outlook, saying, “Right now, it’s hard for me to be upset… I know I lost this match because I need more matches. So, after this match, I’m just thinking like, ‘Ok, what am I going to work on?’ instead of, ‘Gosh, I screwed that up!’”

Ending the press conference on a note of broader perspective, Williams emphasized her role beyond the court: “I think for those players now and for the future, it’s to try and leave the game better than you found it. If you have an opportunity to be part of something greater than yourself, definitely do it.”

Alexander Zverev described his semi-final defeat to Karen Khachanov at the 2025 Canadian Masters as “terrible” and deeply “upsetting.” The world No. 2 lost a tight three-set match 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(4), unable to convert a crucial match point late in the deciding set.

Zverev held a 6-5 lead in the third set and a promising position during the tiebreak, leading 3-1 before dropping six of the final points.

“I thought I was very brave in the tiebreak, I just missed,”

he admitted. He acknowledged the challenges faced during the match, saying, “Generally I wasn’t feeling the ball well, so it’s normal that you miss a little bit more than usual in these kind of situations.”

This result marks Zverev’s third consecutive loss in a deciding set at a Masters 1000 event, indicating a recurring challenge despite his close head-to-head advantage over Khachanov. Before this match, Zverev had a 5-2 lead overall, having won their last three encounters and all nine sets.

Reflecting on his performance, Zverev said,

“The first set was terrible, so I kind of gave him a head start, and he’s too good to not use that.”

Despite the disappointment, he is already looking ahead to the Cincinnati Masters, his next event, where he will face either Gael Monfils or Nishesh Basavareddy. Zverev is a former champion in Cincinnati, having won the title in 2021, and has made the last four in his two most recent appearances.

Khachanov, who advanced to his second Masters 1000 final, noted the fine margins of the match and Zverev’s nerves at critical moments. “I would say both players deserve to win,” Khachanov said. “Maybe I put a little bit more pressure, he got a little bit more nervous, more tight. So this is how you play in those moments. You try to bring your A-game, and you can win, you can lose, but it is what it is.”

Pepe Imaz, the former Spanish professional footballer who served as Novak Djokovic’s mental coach starting in 2016, has spoken openly about his close relationship with the tennis star and sought to clarify misconceptions surrounding Djokovic’s persona.

In an interview with Europa Sur, Imaz emphasized that “From my experience, Djokovic is a wonderful human being, and everyone would discover this if they could get to know him beyond the player, beyond what is portrayed in the media, beyond what is portrayed in competitions.” He added that Djokovic “has a big heart,” describing him as sensitive, empathetic, generous, open, and eager to learn.

Despite these positive words, Imaz’s tenure with Djokovic’s team was not without controversy. In 2018, Marian Vajda, a former coach of Djokovic, insisted that Djokovic remove Imaz from his staff before he would return to coaching. During Imaz’s early involvement, Djokovic did not win a Grand Slam in 2017, marking his first such season since 2010, and also fell outside the world’s top 10 rankings. Furthermore, reports noted that Imaz’s presence contributed to Boris Becker’s exit from the team in December 2017. Vajda admitted in 2018: “Yes, I was pushing his end, though it was not my No. 1 condition. It was that I have to see Novak personally. The second was to set specific rules and plans in the coming months.”

Despite these challenges, Imaz remains grateful for his time with Djokovic, describing their relationship as “very close, much more personal and human than a simple professional relationship.” He highlighted Djokovic’s thirst for knowledge, his love of reading, and his openness to learning from others without prejudice. “Novak is a wonderful human being. He has shortcomings, like you and me; but he strives to grow as a person and does what he can in that regard,” said Imaz, acknowledging the difficult periods Djokovic has endured that the public may not fully appreciate.

Though the current status of their partnership is unclear, Imaz has been seen with Djokovic during training sessions in Spain and has contributed commentary during Grand Slam events.