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Sinner accepts short-term risk of losses to reshape game after US Open final defeat

Sinner vows to embrace change, accepting possible losses as he seeks to become less predictable. now

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Jannik Sinner closed a remarkable Grand Slam campaign in 2025 but left Flushing Meadows with clear plans to alter his approach. He won two major titles this season and finished runner-up in the other two finals. Sinner entered the US Open having held the ATP No 1 ranking since June 2024, but Carlos Alcaraz beat him in the final, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4. With that victory Alcaraz moved to six Grand Slams and reclaimed the top ranking.

In the post-match press conference Sinner acknowledged Alcaraz was cleaner on the day and praised his rival’s handling of pressure. “Oh, no, he has improved. I felt like was a bit cleaner today, you know, the things that I did well in London, he did better today and you know, that’s the result. So, you know, I felt like he was doing everything slightly better today, especially serving both sides, both swings, very clean and yeah, I think that’s it.

“You know I’ll give lots of credit to him, because he handled the situation better than I did and he raised his level when he had to. And so, yeah, I mean, I’m still proud of myself about, you know, the season I’m playing and making, but he played better than me today.”

Sinner said he plans tactical and stylistic changes, even if those adjustments cost match wins during the transition. “I didn’t make one volley, you know, I didn’t use a lot of drop shots. And then you arrive to a point where you play against Carlos when, where you have to go out of the comfort zone so I’m gonna aim to, you know, maybe even losing some matches from now on, but trying 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.”

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He also pointed to specific areas for improvement and the need for patience. “Serve today was not on point, I felt that was I was struggling a lot today, but it was already struggling during the tournament. But it takes time. You know, one secret is also patience.”

Asked about the start-time delay, Sinner said simply: “It was fine. They told us in a huge amount before that it might start at 2:30, so we were not warming up twice, it was all fine.” He closed by noting the season’s positives and his intent to finish the year strongly and return to the rivalry determined to evolve. “You know, I’m looking forward to play these matches again, something new is now that I’m not number one anymore so you know, this also changes a little bit that you. You chase, it’s different.”

Analytics & Stats ATP

Djokovic Sets New Standard with 860 Weeks in ATP Top 5

Novak Djokovic begins his record 860th week in the ATP Top 5, overtaking Roger Federer’s mark. Now.

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Novak Djokovic has extended his dominance in the ATP rankings by beginning his 860th career week inside the Top 5, a mark that moves him past Roger Federer’s previous record of 859 weeks.

The player currently listed at No. 4 on the rankings reached the milestone this week, adding another long-term statistical achievement to a resume already dense with records. Official ATP rankings began in August of 1973, and Djokovic’s run now stands as the most career weeks in the Top 5 in ATP history.

The scale of his consistency is underlined by where those weeks were spent. Of the 860 Top 5 weeks, Djokovic has occupied the No. 1 position for 428 weeks, the clear lead in ATP rankings history. Federer is next with 310 weeks at No. 1.

Breaking that total down further highlights Djokovic’s sustained excellence: 49.8 percent of his Top 5 weeks (428) were at No. 1. He has spent 599 weeks in the Top 2, representing 69.7 percent of his Top 5 span. His time in the Top 3 totals 764 weeks, or 88.8 percent, and he has held a Top 4 position for 823 weeks, equal to 95.7 percent of his Top 5 weeks.

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Those numbers reflect a career defined by long stretches at the very top of the sport rather than brief spikes. Reaching 860 weeks in the Top 5 is a cumulative testament to performance across seasons and surfaces, and it establishes a new benchmark for longevity among the modern era’s leading players.

Roger Federer’s long-standing record of 859 weeks has now been overtaken, and the milestone underscores the extraordinary durability of Djokovic’s presence among the elite. And there’s another record on the horizon, too.

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Analytics & Stats Finals

No. 1 Seeds Extend Streak to Seven Straight WTA Titles

No. 1 seeds have won seven straight WTA events, compiling a 35-0 run across seven weeks. Remarkable.

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Elena Rybakina defeated Karolina Muchova to claim the Stuttgart crown, 7-5, 6-1, and Marta Kostyuk beat Veronika Podrez for the Rouen title, 6-3, 6-4. Those finals completed another chapter in an unusual run on the women’s tour: top seeds have won the last seven WTA events in a row.

The run began in early March with Aryna Sabalenka at Indian Wells and has continued through seven tournaments and seven weeks. Top seeds are 35-0 over the last seven weeks at WTA events: Sabalenka 6-0 at Indian Wells and 6-0 in Miami; Pegula 5-0 in Charleston; Bouzkova 5-0 in Bogota; Andreeva 4-0 in Linz; Rybakina 4-0 in Stuttgart; and Kostyuk 5-0 in Rouen.

Those 35 consecutive wins did not all come without drama. In the first tournament of the streak, Indian Wells, Sabalenka faced a match point against Rybakina down 6-5 in the third-set tie-break in the final before sneaking out the win, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (6). In Stuttgart, Rybakina saved two match points in the third set, one down 5-4 and another down 6-5 in the breaker, to survive Leylah Fernandez in the quarterfinals, 6-7 (5), 6-4, 7-6 (6).

There were also a string of three-set victories elsewhere, including several from Pegula in Charleston before she closed out that event in straight sets. At each tournament the top seed has reached the finish line, producing an unbroken run of title-clinching performances by No. 1 seeds across the most recent slate of WTA events.

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CHAMPIONS AT THE LAST SEVEN WTA EVENTS:

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Analytics & Stats

Cirstea reaches 20 tour-level wins faster than ever in final season

Cirstea reached 20 tour-level wins in 2026 faster than ever, after announcing 2026 as her last year

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Sorana Cirstea reached a career milestone on Friday night, logging her 20th tour-level victory of 2026 and doing so earlier in the season than at any point in her two-decade career. The achievement came amid a campaign that has grown stronger since she announced in the off-season that 2026 would be her final year on tour.

Cirstea recorded the landmark win by defeating Anna Bondar 7-6 (2), 6-2 in the quarterfinals of the clay-court event in Rouen, France. That victory pushed her to 20 tour-level victories for the season faster than she ever previously managed. Her prior earliest 20th win came in 2013, when she reached the mark during the grass-court season in Birmingham.

The Romanian’s form this year has been notable. Now 20-6 in 2026, Cirstea has advanced to her second WTA semifinal of the season. Earlier in the year she captured the fourth WTA title of her career at the indoor hard-court event in Cluj-Napoca, Romania in February, which was also her first career WTA title on home soil. Observers traced the momentum back to a strong second half of 2025, after which she made the decision to make 2026 her swan song on the circuit.

The Rouen quarterfinal win underlined a consistency that has defined Cirstea’s campaign: effective conversion of tight moments, shown in a first-set tiebreak, followed by a more decisive second set. The result keeps her on course for another deep run at the clay-court event and extends a season that has already produced a title, multiple semifinals and a personal-best pace to 20 tour-level victories.

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As the season unfolds, Cirstea’s earlier-than-ever arrival at this milestone will remain one of the defining storylines of her final year on tour.

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