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Composure and power: what Navratilova and Robson saw in Sabalenka’s US Open defence

Sabalenka used composure and power to retain the US Open; Navratilova and Robson praised her widely.

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Aryna Sabalenka retained the US Open title with a straight-sets victory over Amanda Anisimova, a win that carried both a record prize and the weight of earlier near-misses. Sabalenka collected a record-breaking $5m as champion, while Anisimova earned $2.5m after suffering a second successive Grand Slam final defeat following her Wimbledon loss in July.

The final finished 6-3, 7-6 and featured frequent swings of momentum. Sabalenka had fallen short at the Australian Open and French Open finals earlier in the season and had been beaten by Anisimova in the Wimbledon semi-finals, but she converted those near misses into a successful title defence in New York.

Eighteen-time Grand Slam singles champion Martina Navratilova highlighted two defining qualities on display. “For a match that was 6-3, 7-6, there were a lot of momentum changes within the match,” said Navratilova. “Aryna Sabalenka showed just what a champion she is, because she had a lot of pressure on her – she lost finals at the Australian Open and French Open. “Amanda Anisimova has got to keep her head up high. She held her own here today and is now in the conversation at all of the majors. “Sabalenka just had a little bit more firepower and composure. Feeling the pressure, she did not falter. She held her nerve brilliantly in the tiebreaker.”

Former British No 1 Laura Robson, observing courtside, underlined Sabalenka’s ability to regroup after being broken when serving for the match at 5-4 in the second set. “Sitting courtside, it was so fun for me to see Sabalenka regroup when things could have taken a turn in the second set,” said Robson. “She played a blinder of a tiebreak, gave nothing away. “Everything that has happened this year – especially the Roland Garros final, where she mentally let herself down in that match [against Coco Gauff] – it has been something that everyone has reminded her of since then. “Under pressure today, everything on the line, and with the crowd against you, she barely put a foot wrong in that breaker. “That’s the mentality we’ve come to know from Sabalenka, and we saw it in the semi-final as well.”

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Robson also voiced sympathy for Anisimova after the loss. “It’s so tough when you see someone breaking down at the same time as someone celebrating,” added Robson. “I’m just in front of Anisimova’s box right now, and they just look so disappointed for her. “They’re trying to get her attention and give her some support but there’s a lot of dejected looks on their faces. “You thought the tide was maybe turning in that second set, Anisimova had more chances as the match went on – which considering how things were going half an hour in, we didn’t expect. “Anisimova has to give herself so much credit for getting stuck in and trying everything.”

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Anisimova Enters WTA Top 3 and Becomes the New American No. 1

Amanda Anisimova rises to No. 3 in the WTA rankings and becomes the top American player. ©Prange2025

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Amanda Anisimova rises to a career-high No. 3 in the latest WTA rankings, marking her first appearance inside the Top 3 and establishing her as the top-ranked American player. She moves up from No. 4 while Coco Gauff drops from No. 3 to No. 4, a swap driven by this week’s points adjustments.

There were no tournaments last week, but points from Week 1 of 2025 have dropped off the rankings. Anisimova remains on 6,287 ranking points. Gauff’s total falls from 6,763 to 6,273 after last year’s United Cup results are removed. The net effect places Anisimova ahead of Gauff and makes her the highest-ranked American on either the ATP or WTA lists; Gauff is now the second-highest-ranked American.

Anisimova’s climb carries additional historical notes. She becomes just the third player born in the 2000s to reach the Top 3 in WTA history, and the fifth player born in that decade to achieve a Top 3 ranking across either the WTA or ATP. She is also the 15th American woman to reach the Top 3 since WTA rankings began in 1975. For context, 11 American men have reached the Top 3 since ATP rankings were introduced in 1973.

Other notable ranking changes this week include Linda Noskova moving from No. 13 to a personal best of No. 12. Clara Tauson slips from No. 12 to No. 14; Noskova lost her second match in Brisbane a year ago while Tauson won the Auckland title at the same time last season. Cristina Bucsa makes her Top 50 debut, rising from No. 51 to No. 50. Anastasia Potapova drops from No. 50 to No. 55; Bucsa lost in the first round in Brisbane last year while Potapova reached the third round.

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© 2025 Robert Prange

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Hsieh Su-wei at 40: Four decades distilled into 40 defining numbers

Hsieh Su-wei turns 40: 40 milestones from No. 1 doubles weeks to Grand Slam and tour titles. Today!

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Hsieh Su-wei celebrates her 40th birthday with a resume few peers can match. A concise selection of career milestones captures the arc of a player who has excelled in doubles, enjoyed late-career singles highlights and returned to the tour with sustained success.

She first reached No. 1 in doubles on May 12, 2014, becoming the first Taiwanese player to reach the top spot in tennis in either women’s or men’s, singles or doubles. She claimed two Grand Slam mixed doubles titles at the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2024 alongside Jan Zielinski; those were their first and third tournaments together. Her three WTA singles titles came in 2012 (Kuala Lumpur and Guangzhou) and 2018 (Hiroshima).

Hsieh has won Grand Slam women’s doubles titles with four different partners: two with Peng Shuai, and one each with Barbora Strycova, Elise Mertens and Wang Xinyu. She has five Wimbledon titles, including four in women’s doubles (2013 with Peng, 2019 with Strycova, 2021 with Mertens and 2023 with Strycova) and one mixed in 2024 with Zielinski.

Her WTA Finals record features six appearances and a title in 2013 with Peng; she reached the semifinals in 2025 with Jelena Ostapenko. Across Grand Slams she owns seven women’s doubles majors, plus two mixed doubles majors. Indian Wells stands out among her 13 WTA 1000 doubles titles, winning it four times in 2014 (with Peng), 2018 (with Strycova), 2021 and 2014 (with Mertens).

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Other highlights: she has 36 doubles wins in 2025 (36-18), 37 career tour-level doubles titles (35 women’s, two mixed), and 40 career tour-level titles overall (three singles, 35 women’s doubles and two mixed). She spent 59 weeks at No. 1 in doubles and is one of only 18 women to log 50 or more weeks at the top. Her Top 10 and Top 15 singles victories mostly arrived in her 30s, including her first Top 10 singles win at Roland Garros in 2017 and a landmark win over reigning No. 1 Simona Halep at Wimbledon in 2018.

Early markers include a perfect 30-0 start below tour level at 15 in 2001 and her first Grand Slam doubles title at Wimbledon in 2013. She retired from singles in 2024 after Miami. Hsieh is the top seed in doubles in Brisbane this week alongside Jelena Ostapenko.

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Alcaraz Tops 2025 ATP Earnings List and Clears $60 Million in Career Prize Money

Alcaraz tops 2025 ATP prize money with over $21 million and passes $60 million career total. Update

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The ATP’s final prize money standings for 2025 confirm a season dominated by Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. Alcaraz led the tour with more than $21 million in prize money for the year, while Sinner followed with north of $19 million. World No. 3 Alexander Zverev ranked third on the list with $7.5 million.

Alcaraz’s 2025 total is the second-highest single-season haul in ATP history, behind only Novak Djokovic’s 2015 figure. Sinner’s earnings for 2025 also produced a milestone: he became the first player to exceed $19 million in a season and the first to top $16 million in two different seasons.

Beyond the single-season figures, Alcaraz’s 2025 earnings pushed his career prize money past $60 million. That achievement marks him as the first player, male or female, born since 2000 to reach that level. The draft also notes that he is the first player born since 1988 to pass the $60 million mark.

The final prize money leaderboard underlines the financial gap at the very top of men’s tennis in 2025, with the two leading players combining for the bulk of top-year payouts. The published top-10 list for 2025 places Alcaraz and Sinner well clear of the next tier, with Zverev as the highest earner after them.

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These numbers frame a season in which prize money concentrated at the top for a small group of players. Alcaraz’s performance in 2025 not only reinforced his place as the year’s top earner but also cemented a rapid climb in career earnings, while Sinner’s consistency produced an unprecedented dual-season benchmark in annual pay.

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