ATP Grand Slam US Open
Mensik leans on Times Square ritual and past breakthrough after Jarry win
Mensik embraces Times Square ritual, recalls US Open breakthrough and advances after Jarry win today
Jakub Mensik has a clear arrival ritual in New York: he heads straight to Times Square to soak up the energy that, he says, helps him settle into the tournament. “Always, the first day I arrive, I go directly to Times Square,” he says. “Just the vibe of the people, it gives you like,” he adds, snapping his fingers for emphasis, “like a kick of that New York vibe. Sometimes when you’re in the city having coffee, you’re not feeling like you’re in New York, but when I come see Times Square and all the people and things happening…” He snaps his fingers again. “It’s like, Ok, you know? I’m just trying to go on that vibe and with the flow.”
The No. 16 seed advanced past dangerous floater Nicolas Jarry in straight sets on Sunday, serving out a tight final game to secure a place in the second round, where he will meet French qualifier Ugo Blanchet. “Nico is a very good guy right now on hard courts with his big serve and with this fast surface, it was a difficult match,” Mensik said after the win. “First rounds are always not easy, neither for him. It was just about trying to get some rhythm. There were a lot of key moments during the whole match which I think I did a little better than him. But still, in those best of five sets, everything can happen. I’m just happy and grateful that my level during the match was consistent and I kept my focus until the last point of the match.”
Mensik first announced himself at this event two years ago as a 17-year-old qualifier, reaching the third round. “At that time, I was still a Challenger player and I hadn’t played a single ATP match,” he recalled. “Those two weeks was just an incredible journey,” he added. “Every match I have in my mind, from the first one against Fabio [Fognini]. It’s crazy to play him in the first round of qualies for my first Grand Slam! Second round, I remember I played over two days because it was raining, so it was such a long match. Third round, I was playing [Zdenek Kolar], a guy I know very well from Czech. First match of the main draw was a special feeling, winning it. … It all ended with my first big stage against Taylor Fritz, which was the biggest stage I’d ever been on at that time. There were just a lot of moments I remember from this place that when I come back, it gives me goosebumps from the past years.”
Now 19, and coming off a Masters 1000 title at the Miami Open where he shocked Novak Djokovic to reach the Top 20, Mensik offered one piece of advice for younger players: “I would say to be yourself and actually focus mainly on yourself, and don’t do something just because you see other players doing something different. You can take something from them while keeping your own routine and staying as you are. This is just one of plenty of tournaments you will play.” Off court, the young player laughed about his slide-prone style: “I have four pairs with me on the court sometimes,” he explained. “I destroy one, sometimes two. It depends on how long the match is. I think once, I destroyed four shoes in one match. That’s my maximum, but that’s only on hard courts. On clay courts, they last, for example, for one week!”
ATP
Sinner’s serve numbers reveal a mixed picture despite his dominance
Sinner’s serve stats show elite power, but his first-serve percentage still leaves room for growth.
Jannik Sinner’s serve has long been viewed as a major part of his rise to the top of the men’s game, yet the numbers from the past year tell a more complicated story.
The world No 1 adjusted his service motion shortly before he began establishing himself as a leading force on the ATP Tour, and that weapon stood out again when he defended his Wimbledon title earlier this month.
After losing the US Open final to Carlos Alcaraz last September, Sinner made it clear that he wanted more variety and consistency on serve. His own words at the time showed how deliberate that change was:
“I can say that I’m gonna become a better tennis player and I’m gonna change a couple of things on the serve, just small things, but, they can make big differences and then we see how it goes,” said Sinner. after that defeat against Alcaraz in New York.
“I’m looking forward to play these matches again, something new is now that I’m not No 1 anymore. Now you chase, it’s different.
“Maybe I will lose some matches from now on, but I will try to do some changes, trying to be a bit more unpredictable as a player and because I think that’s what I have to do, trying to become a better tennis player.”
Even with his strong recent run, the ATP Tour figures for the last 12 months show that there is still work to be done in one area. Sinner ranks 35th in first serve percentage at 63.8%, well behind Alexander Zverev, who leads the list at 72.5%.
The Italian, however, is far more dominant once the first serve lands. He leads the tour in service points won at 80.9%, just ahead of Reilly Opelka on 80.8% and Taylor Fritz on 79.7%.
He also tops service games won at 92.9%, underlining how difficult he is to break. Opelka follows on 90.6%, with Ben Shelton third at 90.4% and Alcaraz at 89.9%.
One remaining area is ace production. Sinner is 27th in that category with an average of 8.2 per match, while Opelka leads with 18.5, followed by Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard on 15.1 and Fritz on 14.1.
ATP
Sinner climbs to No 4 on all-time prize money list after Wimbledon defence
Sinner’s Wimbledon defence lifts him to No 4 on the all-time prize money list in 2026.
Jannik Sinner’s successful Wimbledon title defence brought more than another major trophy. It also lifted the Italian to No 4 on the all-time career prize money list.
Before Wimbledon 2026, Sinner sat at No 6, with Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer occupying the top three spots and Alexander Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz positioned above him. Zverev had recently passed both Alcaraz and Sinner after his French Open run, but the order shifted again once Sinner collected $4,830,756 (£3,600,000) for his latest Wimbledon triumph.
That result leaves Sinner close to becoming only the fourth player to move beyond $70m in career prize money. He has already earned $11,620,364 in 2026 and is on track to break the $20m barrier for the first time in a season.
His rise has been rapid. Last year, he took in $19,120,641, a total that included a record $5,071,000 for winning the ATP Finals undefeated. He finished second on the 2025 earnings list behind Alcaraz, who made $21,354,778, after leading the way in 2024 with $19,735,703.
At the end of the 2024 season, Sinner stood on $37,238,688. Since the start of the 2025 campaign, he has added another $32,347,873. From just $36 in prize money in his first professional year, he now sits on $69,586,561.
Zverev is fifth with $68,392,312, while Alcaraz is on $64,997,598 after not adding to his tally since April because of injury. Andy Murray has fallen to No 7 on $64,687,542, with Daniil Medvedev eighth on $52,192,594. Djokovic, Sinner, Zverev, Alcaraz and Medvedev are the only active players to have passed $40m.
Djokovic remains far ahead in first place with $194,656,816, including $3,000,801 earned in 2026. Nadal is second on $134,946,100 and Federer third on $130,594,339.
ATP French Open Grand Slam
Auger-Aliassime Reaches Career-High No. 4 After Breakthrough at Roland Garros
Auger-Aliassime rises to No. 4 after best Roland Garros run, tying second-highest Canadian rank. Now
Felix Auger-Aliassime moved to a career-high No. 4 in the ATP rankings following his deepest run at Roland Garros, where the 25-year-old reached the quarterfinals for the first time before losing to eventual finalist Flavio Cobolli. The result completed a personal Grand Slam milestone: having previously reached the quarterfinals or better at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open, he became the first Canadian man to reach the quarterfinals or better at all four majors in his career.
The rise from No. 6 to No. 4 surpasses his prior best of No. 5 and places him tied for the second-highest-ranked Canadian in ATP or WTA rankings history. The only other Canadians to reach the top four are Milos Raonic and Bianca Andreescu. Raonic went as high as No. 3 in 2016, following his run to the Wimbledon final that year, and Andreescu peaked at No. 4 in 2019 after winning the US Open.
Canadian tennis has seen seven players reach the top 10 in either ATP or WTA history, with official rankings available since 1973 for the ATP and 1975 for the WTA.
Auger-Aliassime still has ground to cover to move higher in the standings. He is 2,865 points behind the current world No. 3, Alexander Zverev, with the rankings showing Zverev at 7,305 points and Auger-Aliassime at 4,440.
The Canadian will shift his focus to grass. He begins his grass-court season this week at the ATP 250 event in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, entering as the No. 1 seed. After a first-round bye he will open against either Hubert Hurkacz or Marton Fucsovics.
The new ranking reflects a season of important progress for Auger-Aliassime and cements his place among the highest-ranked Canadians in modern tennis history.
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