ATP Madrid Open Masters
Composure Won Madrid: Sinner’s Sweep and Kostyuk’s Mental Turnaround
Calm proved decisive in Madrid: Sinner’s dominance and Kostyuk’s breakthrough under pressure. Today.
Calm under pressure defined both champions at the Mutua Madrid Open. Jannik Sinner produced a clinical final, and Marta Kostyuk delivered what may be a career-altering shift in temperament on her way to the women’s trophy.
Kostyuk’s rise at 23 has the feel of long preparation finally paying off. A prodigy from Kyiv, she was on tour by 13 and in the third round at the Australian Open by 15. This clay swing brought tangible results: titles in Rouen and Madrid, a run of 11 straight wins and two straight-set victories over Top 10 opponents. She described a personal evolution that helped fuel the surge. “I’ve done therapy for many years now, and I’ve always wanted to change my overall perspective on tennis,” she said. “Because for me it was always very, very emotional, and I would spend just a lot of energy, and everything would matter so much to me.”
“Whether it was wins or losses, it was very just difficult to live in this constant emotional bombing from the inside,” she added. “It’s not an easy road, it’s a very ugly road, I would say. But I always knew how I wanted to be on the court, how I didn’t want to be.”
Kostyuk acknowledged the ongoing work and a new steadiness. “You just go out there, you do your job, you don’t have [an] emotional attachment to it,” she said. “Whether you win or lose, you just keep working and keep becoming a better person and a player, and that’s it.” In the Madrid final she faced tension when closing out, saw a service toss wobble and made backhand errors, then charged the net on a forehand finish and watched her opponent’s pass land long. “Very happy to finish this match in two sets,” she said. The win moved her from 23 to 15 in the rankings.
Sinner’s title was unmistakably dominant. He beat Alexander Zverev 6-1, 6-2 in under an hour, firing 19 winners to five unforced errors and winning 93 percent of his first-serve points while holding Zverev to 23 points. “I started very well the match, breaking straightaway, but he was not playing his best tennis today,” Sinner said. “So I just tried to get with the front foot ahead. Very happy about the level I’m playing, winning one more title like this means obviously a lot to me.”
His streak now reads 23 straight match wins, four straight tournament titles and five straight Masters 1000 trophies dating to last November. Asked about that run, he said, “I think it’s a lot of dedication and sacrifice I put in every day,” Sinner said. “At some point there’s gonna be a down, which is normal. I continue to believe in myself every day, showing up every day, every practice session.”
ATP Madrid Open Masters
Sinner Clears 14,000 Points After Madrid; Jodar and Blockx Enter Top 40, Kostyuk Reaches Top 15
Sinner tops 14,000 points after Madrid; Jodar and Blockx enter Top 40, Kostyuk moves into Top 15….
Jannik Sinner moved past another landmark in the ATP rankings after his Madrid title, becoming the first man in nearly a decade to top 14,000 points. A few weeks after Monte Carlo took him from 12,400 to 13,350, his record-breaking fifth straight Masters 1000 win in Madrid raised his total from 13,350 to 14,350.
The last player to hold more than 14,000 points was Novak Djokovic, who had 14,040 the week of October 3, 2016. Sinner’s 14,350 is the highest total recorded since Djokovic had 14,840 shortly before that during the 2016 US Open (the weeks of August 29 and September 5, 2016).
Sinner can still add up to 1,050 points over the remainder of the clay season: a possible 350 points in Rome, where he earned 650 for reaching the final last year and the champion now receives 1,000, and up to 700 points at Roland Garros, where he was a 1,300-point finalist last year and the champion earns 2,000.
Madrid also produced significant moves lower down the ATP list. Rafael Jodar jumps from No. 42 to No. 34 to make his Top 40 debut after reaching his first Masters 1000 quarterfinal. The Spanish teenager only entered the Top 50 two weeks ago and the Top 100 five weeks ago.
Alexander Blockx climbs from No. 69 to No. 36, a Top 40 debut after his run to a first Masters 1000 semifinal. His previous career-high was No. 69, and the 21-year-old Belgian first cracked the Top 100 in January.
Two players return to the Top 20 this week. Arthur Fils, a former No. 14, rises from No. 25 to No. 17 after reaching the Madrid semifinals, his first Top 20 showing since last summer. Cam Norrie, a former No. 8, moves from No. 23 to No. 19 after a fourth-round effort in Madrid, his first Top 20 placement in more than two years.
On the WTA side, Marta Kostyuk records the most notable rise after winning the biggest title of her career at the WTA 1000 event in Madrid, moving from No. 23 to No. 15 and surpassing her previous career-high of No. 16. Hailey Baptiste climbs from No. 32 to No. 25 for a Top 30 debut after reaching her first WTA 1000 semifinal, having fought off six match points to defeat reigning world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the quarterfinals.
1000 ATP Madrid Open
Sinner Tops 14,000 Points After Madrid; Jodar and Blockx Break Into Top 40, Kostyuk Reaches Top 15
Sinner surpasses 14,000 ranking points after Madrid as several young players climb the rankings. Now
Jannik Sinner has pushed past a new milestone in the ATP rankings following his Madrid triumph, becoming the first man in almost a decade to exceed 14,000 points. A few weeks after his Monte Carlo victory took him from 12,400 to 13,350, his Madrid title raises his total from 13,350 to 14,350.
The last player to hold more than 14,000 points was Novak Djokovic, who had 14,040 during the week of October 3, 2016. Sinner’s 14,350 is the highest total recorded since Djokovic had 14,840 during the 2016 US Open weeks of August 29 and September 5, 2016.
Sinner can still add up to 1,050 points during the remainder of the clay swing. That includes a potential 350-point gain in Rome, where he earned 650 for reaching the final last year and the champion now receives 1,000, and up to 700 points at Roland Garros, where he collected 1,300 as a finalist last year while the champion is awarded 2,000.
The Madrid results produced notable ranking breakthroughs further down the list. Rafael Jodar climbs from No. 42 to No. 34 for his first appearance inside the Top 40 after a run to his first Masters 1000 quarterfinal. The Spanish teenager only entered the Top 50 two weeks ago and the Top 100 five weeks ago.
Alexander Blockx jumps from No. 69 to No. 36, moving into the Top 40 for the first time after reaching his first Masters 1000 semifinal. The 21-year-old Belgian had first broken into the Top 100 in January.
Two players return to the Top 20 this week. Arthur Fils, a former No. 14, rises from No. 25 to No. 17 after reaching the Madrid semifinals, his first Top 20 appearance since last summer. Cam Norrie, a former No. 8, moves from No. 23 to No. 19 after a fourth-round showing, his first time inside the Top 20 in more than two years.
On the WTA side, Marta Kostyuk records the largest leap after capturing the biggest title of her career at the WTA 1000 event in Madrid, moving from No. 23 to No. 15 and surpassing her previous career-high of No. 16. Hailey Baptiste rises from No. 32 to No. 25 for a Top 30 debut after reaching her first WTA 1000 semifinal and fighting off six match points to defeat reigning world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the quarterfinals.
ATP Grand Slam U.S. Open
Oura becomes official US Open partner; rings issued to all main-draw players
US Open names Oura official partner; every main-draw player will receive an Oura Ring, with recovery
Wearable trackers moved to the center of debate earlier this year after the Australian Open told players they could not wear smartwatches and similar devices that capture biometric data during matches. That episode, when Aryna Sabalenka, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner were asked to remove WHOOP bands before matches, has given way to a different approach at the next hard-court major.
The US Open has announced a formal partnership with Oura. As part of the agreement, every main-draw player at the tournament will receive an Oura Ring and recovery education will be integrated into player areas. Oura will also gain on-court signage in Arthur Ashe Stadium and Louis Armstrong Stadium, plus broadcast messaging and on-site activations.
The brand’s role will extend into the tournament’s Player Performance Center, including naming rights to a wellness and recovery space when that facility opens next year as part of an $800 million overhaul of Arthur Ashe Stadium and the tournament grounds. The deal also reaches beyond the event itself, extending to the USTA’s coaching certification platform and league play.
Tom Hale, chief executive officer at Oura, said in a statement that the partnership, which also extends to the USTA’s coaching certification platform and league play, is a “natural fit for the brand,” because “it brings our belief that health should be a daily practice to one of the biggest stages in sport, while helping millions of fans around the world see the connection between how they recover and how they perform.”
The announcement follows reports that Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open would allow players to wear trackers on a trial basis. The US Open’s embrace of Oura contrasts with the earlier Melbourne incident, in which players wearing WHOOP bands were asked to remove them before matches despite the International Tennis Federation having approved the device in December. The Oura partnership places the tournament alongside other major U.S. sports leagues that permit forms of wearable technology for athletes.
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