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Rybakina vs. Anisimova: Which Player Is More Likely to Win a Grand Slam in 2026?

Rybakina’s WTA Finals form versus Anisimova’s recent Grand Slam runs set the 2026 debate Predictions.

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Both Elena Rybakina and Amanda Anisimova closed 2025 on strong notes, and that late-season form has sparked a debate about who is more likely to lift a Grand Slam next year. As the 2026 season approaches, with the United Cup set for January 2, analysts weighed the short-term chances of each player.

VICTORIA DUVAL: Elena Rybakina is more likely to win a Grand Slam tournament in the short term. She is going into 2026 with tremendous momentum and confidence, having captured the WTA Finals title with victories over both Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek. She hasn’t made a major final since the 2023 Australian Open, but I would argue she has less mental scar tissue compared to Amanda Anisimova, who has had more recent major success but two difficult defeats at Wimbledon and the US Open.

COCO VANDEWEGHE: I would love to say both, but If I had to choose one I would to go with a first Slam for Amanda Anisimova, which would be an amazing story. Anisimova finished at No. 359 in the WTA rankings at the end of 2023. Two years later, she finishes at No. 4 with back-to-back Grand Slam final finishes. But both women definitely have it in them to do next year.

DAVID KANE: Elena Rybakina was the purest ball striker at the top of the women’s game until Amanda Anisimova came along. The American combines unimpeachable groundstrokes with a tenacity that allowed her to shake off a heartbreaking Wimbledon final defeat to reach another major final two months later at the US Open. Though she didn’t win the WTA Finals, she got another win over Iga Swiatek and played one of the best matches of the year against Aryna Sabalenka in the semis. Anisimova keeps creating opportunities to succeed, so there’s no reason to believe she won’t walk through one of the doors she’ll likely open in 2026.

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BRETT HABER: I could see them both winning another one in 2026, as you could easily argue they were the third and fourth best players in the world through the second half of this past year. Still, I would lean towards Elena Rybakina. Now that her coaching situation spears to have been resolved, she seems at ease and confident—as evidenced by her destroying the field at the WTA Finals

Taken together, the assessments underline two clear narratives. Rybakina arrives with the boost of a WTA Finals title and recent high-profile wins. Anisimova brings powerful groundstrokes and the resilience of back-to-back major final runs after climbing from No. 359 at the end of 2023 to No. 4. Both trajectories make either player a plausible Grand Slam winner in 2026, with observers split on who has the edge in the short term.

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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Equipment Finals Grand Slam

Sabalenka debuts Wilson Blade v10 and reflects on pressure, regret and grief in Esquire profile

World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka debuts a Wilson Blade v10, discusses grief, regrets and lessons. Read on

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Fans missing Aryna Sabalenka at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix have been met with a steady stream of new material from the world No. 1. Sabalenka unveiled her new racquet and posed for a fashion-forward Esquire cover shoot while speaking with editor-in-chief Michael Sebastian.

The Wilson advertisement for the Blade v10 carries a simple declaration: “Pressure is power,” a line that echoed Sabalenka’s 2026 run. A four-time Grand Slam champion, the 27-year-old rebounded from an Australian Open final loss to Elena Rybakina by completing the Sunshine Double, taking back-to-back titles at the BNP Paribas Open and the Miami Open. In Miami she avenged the Australian Open defeat to Rybakina in straight sets.

Asked how she might have lived her life outside tennis, she said she would be a “boxer or a model,” and in the Esquire conversation she addressed mistakes and hard lessons.

“I have a lot of regrets. I think we all do,” she told editor-in-chief Michael Sebastian. “Mistakes make us better people. It’s tough to be the person without regrets and mistakes. You better stay away from those people.”

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Sabalenka also revisited a difficult moment after the Roland Garros final, when she was hesitant to immediately praise Coco Gauff following a three-set defeat. “I have to take my time after the match before I go to the press conference when I lose the match, because when you do it straightaway, you’re still that emotional person,” said Sabalenka. The two players later smoothed things over and recorded conciliatory TikToks.

Beyond on-court swings, Sabalenka spoke about personal loss. She has carried the grief of losing her father in 2019 and urged emotional honesty. “It’s important to grieve, to cry, to go through the emotions,” she said. “Never hold it inside, because it’ll destroy you from the inside.”

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