ATP BNP Paribas Open Roland Garros
Empty bags, big laughs: Tiafoe and Gauff’s 2025 on-court equipment mishaps
Two high-profile empty-bag moments in 2025: Tiafoe at Indian Wells and Gauff at Roland Garros. Now!
Two of the season’s most viral moments were not rallies or comebacks but two professionals arriving at matches without racquets. The incidents, separated by months and surfaces, underline that even top players can have off days.
At the BNP Paribas Open, Frances Tiafoe prepared for his second-round match against Damir Dzumhur only to find a crucial pocket in his racquet bag empty. He arrived in a Lululemon kit wearing white Beats headphones and carrying court shoes, then unzipped the bag and realized his Yonex sticks were missing. He informed umpire Aurélie Tourte and his opponent, and left it to coach David Witt to recover the equipment. The racquets were retrieved and Tiafoe closed out a 7-6 (4), 7-6 (7) victory, while the sight of a top player without racquets prompted lighthearted teasing online and from peers.
Months later at Roland Garros, Coco Gauff experienced a similar moment on Court Philippe Chatrier before her first-round match against Olivia Gadecki. She arrived in a leather jacket and new New Balance kit but discovered her bag was empty. Tiafoe recounted the scene with amusement: “She was full out shaking her whole bag like it was an empty cookie jar on Chatrier,” Tiafoe recounted. “I was like, ‘What are you doing?’”
He added, “… I’m going to keep ripping her for a long time. I’ve never seen someone (ranked No. 2) in the world have zero things in her bag. That was incredible.” Gauff explained the mishap in her on-court interview: “Honestly, as long as I’ve been on Tour, my coach has always put the racquets in the bag before the match because he’s very superstitious. He likes to grip each racquet new each day. I don’t care, I can play with a dirty grip.
“And so I go on the court and I realize I have no racquets, and I literally just made fun of Frances for it in Madrid. But now I’ll be quiet.” Gauff won the match 6-2, 6-2 and went on to claim her second Grand Slam title at Roland Garros. Tiafoe later poked fun at her on social media: “@cocogauff you gotta get more professional I’d never do something like this,” Tiafoe wrote on Instagram.
ATP ATP 500 Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell
Rafael Jodar Cracks ATP Top 50 After Barcelona Semifinal Run
Rafael Jodar rises to No. 42 in ATP rankings after Barcelona semifinal; a year ago he was No. 686 ’26
Rafael Jodar has completed a rapid climb up the ATP rankings, leaping from No. 55 to No. 42 to register his first appearance inside the Top 50. The 19-year-old Madrid native reached his first ATP 500 semifinal in Barcelona, a run that delivered the ranking boost.
A year ago Jodar was ranked No. 686. His rise accelerated in recent weeks: three weeks ago he broke into the Top 100 for the first time, moving from No. 109 to No. 89 after reaching the third round in Miami as a qualifier. Two weeks later he captured the first ATP title of his career in Marrakech, which propelled him from No. 89 to No. 57.
The Barcelona run extended his winning streak to eight consecutive matches, and at one point he won 13 sets in a row. Those results are enough to make him the youngest player in the ATP Top 50 and the Top 100, roughly one month younger than fellow 19-year-old Joao Fonseca, who is ranked No. 31.
There are several other notable moves this week. Corentin Moutet moved from No. 31 to No. 30 for his Top 30 debut after reaching the second round in Barcelona. Twenty-year-old Spaniard Martin Landaluce made his Top 100 debut, rising from No. 101 to No. 99. Landaluce had surged from No. 151 to No. 106 after Miami, and despite a first-round loss in Barcelona he crossed into the Top 100 as other players fell.
Winners and runners-up at last week’s ATP 500 events also advanced. Ben Shelton, who won Munich, remains at No. 6 but narrowed the gap to Felix Auger-Aliassime from a 200-point deficit (4,100 to 3,900) to just 30 points (4,100 to 4,070). Munich runner-up Flavio Cobolli rose from No. 16 to a career-high No. 13. Arthur Fils, the Barcelona champion, climbed from No. 30 to No. 25, his highest ranking since last September. Andrey Rublev, the finalist, moved from No. 15 to No. 12, his best position since last August.
On the WTA side, Elena Rybakina remains at No. 2 after winning the WTA 500 in Stuttgart, and Marta Kostyuk moved from No. 28 to No. 23 after taking the WTA 250 title in Rouen.
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.
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.
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.
500 ATP BMW Open
Ben Shelton Wins BMW Open and Signals Big Clay Ambitions
Shelton won the 2026 BMW Open, earning €478,935, a BMW iX3, Lederhosen and 500 ATP points. Since 2002
Ben Shelton captured the 2026 BMW Open by Bitpanda, defeating fourth-seeded Flavio Cobolli 6-2, 7-5 in Sunday’s singles final. Playing before packed stands on Center Court at the MTTC Iphitos, Shelton jumped to a 4-0 lead in the opening set and never surrendered his composure.
Cobolli raised his level as the match progressed, but the world No. 6 stood firm, saving all six break points he faced and converting three of nine chances. The match lasted one hour and 30 minutes.
“I came out at a really high level,” said Shelton, who earned his fifth career title and third at ATP 500 level following Tokyo in 2023 and Dallas earlier this year.
“I have done that before against him, but the toughest thing is maintaining it, as he raises his level. I was able to do that in the second set, hanging in there when he played some great tennis, and I came through to win it in straight sets.
“I am happy with my performance this week. I got better and better as the week went on, and I am pleased with the work my team put in here.”
Shelton received a prize cheque of €478,935, a brand-new BMW iX3 and traditional Bavarian Lederhosen. He also collected 500 ATP Ranking points.
“The car is great. It might be difficult to get it back to Florida, where I live,” Shelton said with a smile.
The Atlanta native now holds the biggest clay-court title by an American man since Andre Agassi captured the ATP Masters 1000 in Rome in 2002, the year Shelton was born. He made clear he sees this victory as part of a broader push on the surface.
“It’s huge. I have big ambitions on clay – a surface I want to keep improving on each year. It has become one of my favourite surfaces to play on.
“It’s a short season and some of the Americans choose not to play every event. But we had two guys in the quarterfinals of the French Open last year. Success on clay is coming back. I am looking forward to being part of this progression of U.S. men’s tennis on clay. On the women’s side, they have a lockdown as they won the French last year. We as the men have some more to do but we are heading into the right direction. This is just one step in a long swing and let’s see what happens.”
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