ATP Australian Open Grand Slam
Day 4 at the Australian Open: five matches to monitor as seeds settle in
Alcaraz steadies without his coach; Gauff, Sabalenka, Andreeva and Zheng offer intriguing tests. Now
The first round at the Australian Open is complete and most of the top players advanced: 52 of 64 moved on, 27 of 32 on the women’s side and 25 of 32 on the men’s. With the immediate pressure eased, the round of 64 can still bite; the last time Carlos Alcaraz lost in the first week at a major it came in the second round at the 2024 US Open, and Novak Djokovic’s last early exit at the Australian Open was the second round in 2017.
Carlos Alcaraz vs Yannick Hanfmann
Alcaraz played his first match without Juan Carlos Ferrer in the coaching role and the pattern looked familiar: a strong start, a second-set dip and a forceful finish. “Just lost the focus a little bit in that game with my serve,” Alcaraz said. “It was then more complicated for me.” He insisted on self-reliance: “I’m just happy because I think the things that I had to do, I did it pretty well in terms of myself, behave well, just good mindset all the time.” Hanfmann is a 34-year-old German with a big serve and a clean two-handed backhand. Winner: Alcaraz
Coco Gauff vs Olga Danilovic
Gauff used a single-word mantra after her opener: “Accelerate.” “I don’t think I was accelerating enough, which is why a lot
of the [double faults] went in the net,” she said. “As the match went on, I just told myself to accelerate on my serve more. Obviously when that happens, I get more speed and velocity.” She expects to start quicker next time. Winner: Gauff
Mirra Andreeva vs Maria Sakkari
“I’m finally getting smarter,” Andreeva said after a three-set win. “It’s just easier for me to realize that panic won’t help,” she added, and: “I’m getting smarter also because I just do what my team says now.” She deferred scouting to her coach: “I do have an idea of how she plays, but I wouldn’t say that I know her pretty well,” Andreeva says. “From now on it’s Conchita’s job to tell me whatever I have to do.” Winner: Andreeva
Aryna Sabalenka vs Bai Zhuoxuan
Sabalenka has started 6-0 this season after retaining the Brisbane crown and came to net frequently in her opener, entering 22 times. “I prefer to be unpredictable,” a smiling Sabalenka said. “I think it’s very important to always working on your game, always developing as a player, always searching for something that’s new, that is going to help your game.” “I think that’s the key to be consistent, always bring something new on the table.” Winner: Sabalenka
Michael Zheng vs Corentin Moutet
Zheng, a Columbia University senior, said there are “rumors” he can keep his AO prize money and still be eligible to compete for his team this spring, “but I want to make sure to double-check.” “I don’t want to get into trouble or anything.” Moutet’s variety could test Zheng, who had never played a full five-set match before his first-round win. The author called this one a toss-up.
ATP
Sinner’s serve numbers reveal a mixed picture despite his dominance
Sinner’s serve stats show elite power, but his first-serve percentage still leaves room for growth.
Jannik Sinner’s serve has long been viewed as a major part of his rise to the top of the men’s game, yet the numbers from the past year tell a more complicated story.
The world No 1 adjusted his service motion shortly before he began establishing himself as a leading force on the ATP Tour, and that weapon stood out again when he defended his Wimbledon title earlier this month.
After losing the US Open final to Carlos Alcaraz last September, Sinner made it clear that he wanted more variety and consistency on serve. His own words at the time showed how deliberate that change was:
“I can say that I’m gonna become a better tennis player and I’m gonna change a couple of things on the serve, just small things, but, they can make big differences and then we see how it goes,” said Sinner. after that defeat against Alcaraz in New York.
“I’m looking forward to play these matches again, something new is now that I’m not No 1 anymore. Now you chase, it’s different.
“Maybe I will lose some matches from now on, but I will try 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.”
Even with his strong recent run, the ATP Tour figures for the last 12 months show that there is still work to be done in one area. Sinner ranks 35th in first serve percentage at 63.8%, well behind Alexander Zverev, who leads the list at 72.5%.
The Italian, however, is far more dominant once the first serve lands. He leads the tour in service points won at 80.9%, just ahead of Reilly Opelka on 80.8% and Taylor Fritz on 79.7%.
He also tops service games won at 92.9%, underlining how difficult he is to break. Opelka follows on 90.6%, with Ben Shelton third at 90.4% and Alcaraz at 89.9%.
One remaining area is ace production. Sinner is 27th in that category with an average of 8.2 per match, while Opelka leads with 18.5, followed by Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard on 15.1 and Fritz on 14.1.
ATP
Sinner climbs to No 4 on all-time prize money list after Wimbledon defence
Sinner’s Wimbledon defence lifts him to No 4 on the all-time prize money list in 2026.
Jannik Sinner’s successful Wimbledon title defence brought more than another major trophy. It also lifted the Italian to No 4 on the all-time career prize money list.
Before Wimbledon 2026, Sinner sat at No 6, with Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer occupying the top three spots and Alexander Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz positioned above him. Zverev had recently passed both Alcaraz and Sinner after his French Open run, but the order shifted again once Sinner collected $4,830,756 (£3,600,000) for his latest Wimbledon triumph.
That result leaves Sinner close to becoming only the fourth player to move beyond $70m in career prize money. He has already earned $11,620,364 in 2026 and is on track to break the $20m barrier for the first time in a season.
His rise has been rapid. Last year, he took in $19,120,641, a total that included a record $5,071,000 for winning the ATP Finals undefeated. He finished second on the 2025 earnings list behind Alcaraz, who made $21,354,778, after leading the way in 2024 with $19,735,703.
At the end of the 2024 season, Sinner stood on $37,238,688. Since the start of the 2025 campaign, he has added another $32,347,873. From just $36 in prize money in his first professional year, he now sits on $69,586,561.
Zverev is fifth with $68,392,312, while Alcaraz is on $64,997,598 after not adding to his tally since April because of injury. Andy Murray has fallen to No 7 on $64,687,542, with Daniil Medvedev eighth on $52,192,594. Djokovic, Sinner, Zverev, Alcaraz and Medvedev are the only active players to have passed $40m.
Djokovic remains far ahead in first place with $194,656,816, including $3,000,801 earned in 2026. Nadal is second on $134,946,100 and Federer third on $130,594,339.
ATP French Open Grand Slam
Auger-Aliassime Reaches Career-High No. 4 After Breakthrough at Roland Garros
Auger-Aliassime rises to No. 4 after best Roland Garros run, tying second-highest Canadian rank. Now
Felix Auger-Aliassime moved to a career-high No. 4 in the ATP rankings following his deepest run at Roland Garros, where the 25-year-old reached the quarterfinals for the first time before losing to eventual finalist Flavio Cobolli. The result completed a personal Grand Slam milestone: having previously reached the quarterfinals or better at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open, he became the first Canadian man to reach the quarterfinals or better at all four majors in his career.
The rise from No. 6 to No. 4 surpasses his prior best of No. 5 and places him tied for the second-highest-ranked Canadian in ATP or WTA rankings history. The only other Canadians to reach the top four are Milos Raonic and Bianca Andreescu. Raonic went as high as No. 3 in 2016, following his run to the Wimbledon final that year, and Andreescu peaked at No. 4 in 2019 after winning the US Open.
Canadian tennis has seen seven players reach the top 10 in either ATP or WTA history, with official rankings available since 1973 for the ATP and 1975 for the WTA.
Auger-Aliassime still has ground to cover to move higher in the standings. He is 2,865 points behind the current world No. 3, Alexander Zverev, with the rankings showing Zverev at 7,305 points and Auger-Aliassime at 4,440.
The Canadian will shift his focus to grass. He begins his grass-court season this week at the ATP 250 event in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, entering as the No. 1 seed. After a first-round bye he will open against either Hubert Hurkacz or Marton Fucsovics.
The new ranking reflects a season of important progress for Auger-Aliassime and cements his place among the highest-ranked Canadians in modern tennis history.
