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Sinner, Zverev End 2025 Sharing a Flight to the Maldives

Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev flew to the Maldives after late-season meetings, Davis Cup exits.

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Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev closed out 2025 with one more unexpected encounter — this time in the skies. After Germany were eliminated at the semifinal stage of the Davis Cup Finals, Zverev posted an Instagram story showing the two players together and a smiling selfie with the caption “It’s Maldives season for everyone, huh?”

The social post followed a busy finish to the year on court. The year-end world No. 2 and No. 3 met four times in 2025, three of those meetings coming in the final four weeks of the season, and Sinner won each of those matches. Their penultimate meeting came in Vienna, where Sinner prevailed 3-6, 7-5, 6-3. After that match, the German told the Italian that “currently, for me, you’re the best player in the world,” even though Sinner ultimately surrendered the year-end No. 1 ranking to Carlos Alcaraz.

Zverev offered public praise as the season wound down. “I’d like to congratulate Jannik, whose level has been off the charts these last two years,” Zverev added, praising Sinner for “an amazing year” even before he became just the ninth man to defend a year-end championship since the ATP Finals began in 1970.

The Maldives post also reflects a broader trend among players unplugging ahead of 2026. Zverev referenced the destination’s growing offseason appeal just as other players have taken time away, with world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova, 2017 Roland Garros champion Jelena Ostapenko and doubles year-end No. 1 Katerina Siniakova all noted among those who have spent time there this offseason.

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The image accompanying Zverev’s story was credited © 2025 Stefano Guidi. The shared flight is a light-footed coda to a year that repeatedly brought the two into close competition, both on the scoreboard and, apparently, on the same itinerary.

ATP ATP 500 BMW Open

Shelton vs João Fonseca: BMW Open Quarterfinals Take Shape in Chilly Munich Play

Ben Shelton to face João Fonseca in BMW Open quarterfinal; Fonseca, Cobolli and Marozsan move on now

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Cool weather continued to be a factor at the BMW Open by Bitpanda, but results on court moved the tournament steadily forward with a high-profile quarterfinal pairing now set. Ben Shelton advanced to the last eight with a straight-sets win, and João Fonseca produced a commanding performance to join him.

Shelton beat Belgian wild card Alexander Blockx 6-4, 7-6(8) in the second round, firing four aces and winning 71 per cent of his second-service points in a match that lasted one hour and 46 minutes. It is his fifth quarterfinal of the season. “Finding ways to win points without just serving or hitting through him was key today,” Shelton said after reaching his fifth quarterfinal of the season.

Shelton and Fonseca will meet in a first tour-level encounter on Friday. “He is a very complete player for his age. We have never played on the tour, but I hit with him in Mallorca. He has a great forehand, moves well and plays well on the backhand, too. I am definitely looking to mix things up and use everything I have.” Shelton also joked about local football, saying, “I hope Bayern wins,” Shelton answered with a smile.

Fonseca opened Center Court with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over No. 7 seed Arthur Rinderknech, saving all nine break points he faced and converting three of seven opportunities in a one hour and 21 minute match. The 19-year-old became the second teenager this decade to reach the Munich quarterfinals after Holger Rune in 2022 and 2023 and will be the first Brazilian in the Munich last eight since Thomaz Bellucci in 2014. “Saving the break points was key today,” Fonseca said after reaching his sixth ATP Tour quarterfinal of the season, his third at ATP 500 level. “I was super focused on today’s match, as I knew it was becoming difficult. Arthur is a player full of weapons, using serve and volley as well as drop shots.

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“I like to play aggressively, to attack and dominate the points. I was trying to do that when I was serving and returning. He was returning most of the time from the baseline, putting a lot of pressure on me. Overall, it was a tight match, and I am happy to be performing well during the important points.”

Elsewhere, No. 4 seed Flavio Cobolli beat Zizou Bergs 6-2, 6-3 and will face Vit Kopriva next; Cobolli said, “When you win the first round but didn’t play well, you have the opportunity to do it better in the next one. That’s what I did today. I am happy about it because it wasn’t easy.” Fabian Marozsan also advanced with a three-set victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas, reflecting on the change of conditions and his focus: “It was tough to refocus on a second day,” Marozsan said. “Yesterday, I managed to come back after losing the opening set. Conditions were different today, and Stefanos is a great player. The courts were a little soft with the bounces, but I just tried to focus on myself, and I am really happy to beat him in my second attempt.”

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ATP Davis Cup Grand Slam

Jamie Murray retires after 36 years, closing the ‘Murray era’ in doubles

Jamie Murray retires after 36 years, ending a career that included a doubles world No. 1 peak today.

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Jamie Murray confirmed his retirement on social media Wednesday, announcing that his long run in professional tennis is over. The former doubles world No. 1 and seven-time Grand Slam doubles champion posted images spanning his career and wrote that “[his] tennis journey [is coming] to an end after 36 years.”

In the message, Murray acknowledged the role his family played in his career. He thanked his mother Judy and his brother Andy for their support, saying their backing helped him “achieve everything I could in the game.” He added: “I feel very fortunate and privileged for all the amazing experiences this great sport has given me,” the 40-year-old wrote in the Instagram post.

Murray finishes his career with 34 tour-level titles, two of those won alongside his younger brother. The Murray pairing was central to Great Britain’s 2015 Davis Cup triumph, the country’s first Davis Cup victory in 79 years, with the brothers taking crucial doubles matches in the quarterfinal, semifinal and final rounds.

In 2016 Jamie reached a milestone for British doubles players by becoming the first British man to attain the world No. 1 ranking in doubles; he held that position for nine weeks. He also joined Andy as his doubles partner for Andy’s final Wimbledon tournament in 2024.

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The social post offered a reflective ending to a career that spanned more than two decades and encompassed Grand Slam titles, a stint at the top of the doubles rankings and a key role in a historic national team victory. Murray’s announcement marks the close of a defining presence in doubles competition and a notable chapter in recent British tennis history.

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ATP Grand Slam

Becker’s 1989 US Open trophy sells for more than $357,000 at auction

Becker’s 1989 US Open trophy brought more than $357,000, becoming the priciest trophy sale on sale.

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Nearly 40 years after he lifted it, Boris Becker’s 1989 US Open Men’s Singles trophy sold at auction for more than $357,000. The lot is now the most expensive tennis trophy ever sold and the second-most expensive piece of tennis memorabilia ever to reach the market, behind only Novak Djokovic’s racquet, which sold for $450,000 in February.

Prestige Memorabilia noted the rarity of the sale: “Such trophies virtually never leave the possession of the player who won them. To the best of our knowledge, this example represents the only known US Open Men’s Singles champion trophy from the Open Era ever to reach the public market.”

Becker received the sterling silver trophy after defeating Ivan Lendl in the 1989 final, a victory that represented his fourth Grand Slam title and his only US Open championship. Crafted by Tiffany & Co., the trophy had been on loan to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island before appearing at auction.

The trophy’s appearance on the market traces back to Becker’s bankruptcy proceedings. He was declared bankrupt in 2017 and, beginning in 2019, sold trophies and personal memorabilia to raise funds for creditors. Items reported as sold included the 1989 US Open trophy, a 1985 Wimbledon replica trophy, a 1988 Davis Cup trophy, and a Hall of Fame ring. The bankruptcy case led to criminal proceedings; Becker was convicted on four charges under the Insolvency Act, served a fast-tracked sentence in 2022, and was released in December 2022. During the London court proceedings he reportedly owed creditors $62.5 million and said a majority of his career trophies had been sold, gifted, or “lost,” leaving him unable to produce them for creditors.

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According to the auction lot description, the trophy stands 14 inches tall, is made of sterling silver, and bears the inscription: “United States Tennis Association / United States Open Tennis Championship / Men’s Singles / Boris Becker / 1989.”

© 2026 David Benito

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