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Nadal on Alcaraz and Sinner: contrasting styles ahead of the US Open final

Nadal contrasts Sinner’s forehand rhythm with Alcaraz’s unpredictability ahead of US Open. in 2025US

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Rafael Nadal offered a detailed read of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner’s games as they prepare to meet in the 2025 US Open final. Their rivalry has produced a run of finals between the pair and this will be their fifth consecutive meeting in a final at tournaments they entered.

The recent sequence of results underlines the closeness of the matchup. Alcaraz beat Sinner in straight sets in the Rome Masters final, then recovered from two sets down to win the French Open in five sets, saving three championship points in the process. Sinner answered with a four-set victory over Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final. Alcaraz later claimed the Cincinnati Masters title after Sinner retired with illness in the opening set of that final.

In an interview with The Athletic, Nadal broke down the differences between the two players and what makes their matches compelling:

“He (Sinner) puts a rhythm on the forehand that is very difficult to follow,” assessed Nadal , who won 22 Grand Slam titles. “He’s very quick on picking the ball early and he’s quick on the transition from defending to attacking.

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“Carlos is more magic, he’s more unpredictable, he can play at a level that probably sometimes Jannik cannot. But at the same time, he’s making more mistakes, too – he can play better, but he can play worse, and it’s about finding the balance.

“Carlos has all the shots, sometimes he’s making mistakes, but he’s going for the shots and it’s more amazing to see because, at the end, it’s more unexpected and unpredictable.

“I like it, it’s very funny to see Carlos play because he’s able to produce amazing things and at the same time, he’s able to have mistakes, and that’s human.

“From my point of view, Carlos can improve a little bit [on] the tactical way to approach some matches. Sometimes it feels like he always plays for every big shot, and sometimes, he doesn’t need that much.

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“That’s why I’m interested in how they evolve, because I think both of them have room to improve, and they are so good.”

Nadal also reflected on the French Open final between the two:

“The match was unbelievable because it was super emotional at the end,” Nadal said.

“For me, the first three sets were not that high-quality tennis. It was a normal final. Then, fourth and fifth sets were a high-quality fight.

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“That’s from my point of view, talking about if I had to play against them. The fourth and fifth sets were super, super high-level tennis, emotional, had a little bit of everything. Before, for me, I think Carlos didn’t play at his level. From my perspective, I think he was a little bit wrong tactically.

“Jannik, of course, he was unlucky up 0-40, but when he had the chance to go for it, I think he was not playing with the right determination.

“I think he stopped doing what he was doing good — going for the shots and playing with this extra speed on the ball at the moment that he had to take advantage. He didn’t play as aggressive as he was doing before.

“But overall, if we put the full picture, the final was unforgettable. It was amazing. The end of the match was one of the most emotional that I saw and I was lucky to see that as a fan from home.”

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Anisimova Enters WTA Top 3 and Becomes the New American No. 1

Amanda Anisimova rises to No. 3 in the WTA rankings and becomes the top American player. ©Prange2025

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Amanda Anisimova rises to a career-high No. 3 in the latest WTA rankings, marking her first appearance inside the Top 3 and establishing her as the top-ranked American player. She moves up from No. 4 while Coco Gauff drops from No. 3 to No. 4, a swap driven by this week’s points adjustments.

There were no tournaments last week, but points from Week 1 of 2025 have dropped off the rankings. Anisimova remains on 6,287 ranking points. Gauff’s total falls from 6,763 to 6,273 after last year’s United Cup results are removed. The net effect places Anisimova ahead of Gauff and makes her the highest-ranked American on either the ATP or WTA lists; Gauff is now the second-highest-ranked American.

Anisimova’s climb carries additional historical notes. She becomes just the third player born in the 2000s to reach the Top 3 in WTA history, and the fifth player born in that decade to achieve a Top 3 ranking across either the WTA or ATP. She is also the 15th American woman to reach the Top 3 since WTA rankings began in 1975. For context, 11 American men have reached the Top 3 since ATP rankings were introduced in 1973.

Other notable ranking changes this week include Linda Noskova moving from No. 13 to a personal best of No. 12. Clara Tauson slips from No. 12 to No. 14; Noskova lost her second match in Brisbane a year ago while Tauson won the Auckland title at the same time last season. Cristina Bucsa makes her Top 50 debut, rising from No. 51 to No. 50. Anastasia Potapova drops from No. 50 to No. 55; Bucsa lost in the first round in Brisbane last year while Potapova reached the third round.

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© 2025 Robert Prange

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Hsieh Su-wei at 40: Four decades distilled into 40 defining numbers

Hsieh Su-wei turns 40: 40 milestones from No. 1 doubles weeks to Grand Slam and tour titles. Today!

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Hsieh Su-wei celebrates her 40th birthday with a resume few peers can match. A concise selection of career milestones captures the arc of a player who has excelled in doubles, enjoyed late-career singles highlights and returned to the tour with sustained success.

She first reached No. 1 in doubles on May 12, 2014, becoming the first Taiwanese player to reach the top spot in tennis in either women’s or men’s, singles or doubles. She claimed two Grand Slam mixed doubles titles at the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2024 alongside Jan Zielinski; those were their first and third tournaments together. Her three WTA singles titles came in 2012 (Kuala Lumpur and Guangzhou) and 2018 (Hiroshima).

Hsieh has won Grand Slam women’s doubles titles with four different partners: two with Peng Shuai, and one each with Barbora Strycova, Elise Mertens and Wang Xinyu. She has five Wimbledon titles, including four in women’s doubles (2013 with Peng, 2019 with Strycova, 2021 with Mertens and 2023 with Strycova) and one mixed in 2024 with Zielinski.

Her WTA Finals record features six appearances and a title in 2013 with Peng; she reached the semifinals in 2025 with Jelena Ostapenko. Across Grand Slams she owns seven women’s doubles majors, plus two mixed doubles majors. Indian Wells stands out among her 13 WTA 1000 doubles titles, winning it four times in 2014 (with Peng), 2018 (with Strycova), 2021 and 2014 (with Mertens).

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Other highlights: she has 36 doubles wins in 2025 (36-18), 37 career tour-level doubles titles (35 women’s, two mixed), and 40 career tour-level titles overall (three singles, 35 women’s doubles and two mixed). She spent 59 weeks at No. 1 in doubles and is one of only 18 women to log 50 or more weeks at the top. Her Top 10 and Top 15 singles victories mostly arrived in her 30s, including her first Top 10 singles win at Roland Garros in 2017 and a landmark win over reigning No. 1 Simona Halep at Wimbledon in 2018.

Early markers include a perfect 30-0 start below tour level at 15 in 2001 and her first Grand Slam doubles title at Wimbledon in 2013. She retired from singles in 2024 after Miami. Hsieh is the top seed in doubles in Brisbane this week alongside Jelena Ostapenko.

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Alcaraz Tops 2025 ATP Earnings List and Clears $60 Million in Career Prize Money

Alcaraz tops 2025 ATP prize money with over $21 million and passes $60 million career total. Update

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The ATP’s final prize money standings for 2025 confirm a season dominated by Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. Alcaraz led the tour with more than $21 million in prize money for the year, while Sinner followed with north of $19 million. World No. 3 Alexander Zverev ranked third on the list with $7.5 million.

Alcaraz’s 2025 total is the second-highest single-season haul in ATP history, behind only Novak Djokovic’s 2015 figure. Sinner’s earnings for 2025 also produced a milestone: he became the first player to exceed $19 million in a season and the first to top $16 million in two different seasons.

Beyond the single-season figures, Alcaraz’s 2025 earnings pushed his career prize money past $60 million. That achievement marks him as the first player, male or female, born since 2000 to reach that level. The draft also notes that he is the first player born since 1988 to pass the $60 million mark.

The final prize money leaderboard underlines the financial gap at the very top of men’s tennis in 2025, with the two leading players combining for the bulk of top-year payouts. The published top-10 list for 2025 places Alcaraz and Sinner well clear of the next tier, with Zverev as the highest earner after them.

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These numbers frame a season in which prize money concentrated at the top for a small group of players. Alcaraz’s performance in 2025 not only reinforced his place as the year’s top earner but also cemented a rapid climb in career earnings, while Sinner’s consistency produced an unprecedented dual-season benchmark in annual pay.

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