Connect with us

ATP Player News

Frances Tiafoe awards $30,000 scholarship to University of Louisville student through USTA fund

Russell Lokko received a $30000 scholarship from Frances Tiafoe’s USTA Foundation fund at Cincinnati

Published

on

At the Cincinnati Open, University of Louisville student-athlete Russell Lokko was handed an unexpected scholarship from Frances Tiafoe. What began as a behind-the-scenes meet-and-greet at the Lindner Family Tennis Center became a life-changing moment when Tiafoe presented Lokko with a $30,000 award spread over two years through the USTA Foundation’s Frances Tiafoe Fund.

Lokko, a rising junior and standout on the Louisville tennis team, had been opening a gift bag from player sponsors Lululemon, La Roche-Posay and Clif Bar when Tiafoe revealed the check. “I’m super excited, and I’m really blessed that Frances gave me this check,” Lokko said. “It’s going to take a lot off my parents, and it’s going to help me stay focused on what I want to do in college.

“I had no idea that he was going to give me this money… Growing up, Frances has always been a role model for me, so to get it directly from him is unbelievable.” The award will help cover a gap in scholarship funding so Lokko can continue his education at Louisville.

Lokko’s tennis journey began at the NJTL of Trenton, part of the USTA Foundation’s National Junior Tennis & Learning network, the same network connected to Tiafoe’s early training at the Junior Tennis Champions Center in College Park, Md. Tiafoe described why he created the fund and the importance of supporting players like Lokko: “To see how ecstatic he was, and being able to take care of his junior and senior year is a huge deal, man,” Tiafoe said. “The son of immigrants… I’ve been in that seat. I know how it is, and the struggle for him to be able to do that.

Advertisement

“If he gets a little push by me, and me being one percent of the reason why he’s gonna become the man he’s gonna be is incredible. That’s why I created this fund within the USTA Foundation, to be able to do great things like that.”

Tiafoe said he welcomed the opportunity as well. “I was super excited about (the idea from USTA), because I get to meet somebody who I know looks up to me and be able to bless him along the way,” Tiafoe said. “It was an incredible experience, and I was even nervous about it today! I wanted everything to go smoothly and in the right way.” During the visit Lokko met Tiafoe, watched his practice and shadowed him around the tournament. On Saturday night Lokko watched Tiafoe win 6-4, 6-3 against Roberto Carballes Baena courtside in the player box.

Co-founded in 1969 by Arthur Ashe, Charlie Pasarell, and Sheridan Snyder, the NJTL network now includes more than 270 organizations that combine tennis and education to support young people from under-resourced communities.

Advertisement

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.

Published

on

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.

Advertisement

“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%.

Advertisement

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.

Continue Reading

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.

Published

on

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.

Advertisement

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.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

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

Published

on

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.

Advertisement

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.

Continue Reading

Trending