Taylor Fritz and Elena Rybakina retained the Eisenhower Cup on the eve of the BNP Paribas Open, prevailing in the short-format Tie Break Tens and taking home $200,000. The defending champions teamed up in mixed doubles and navigated the first-to-10 tie-break format to repeat as winners.

A field of 16 players paired into mixed teams for the fast-paced event, which features only tie-breaks — no games, no sets — so every point carried high stakes. Fritz and Rybakina closed out the final with a 10-7 victory over Learner Tien and Amanda Anisimova.

“I’m super happy,” Rybakina said. “Hopefully I can do the same thing in singles.”

Fritz also praised the partnership. “You know, I can’t really volley all that well, so it works out great,” Fritz said of his partnership with Rybakina. “She serves great and it makes my life really easy!”

Fan favorites were on display across Stadium 2. Casper Ruud and Iga Swiatek reunited as a team after pairing at last year’s US Open mixed doubles. They and others walked out wearing matching Meta glasses, AI-powered eyewear equipped with cameras, which gave fans a point-of-view look at key moments.

American stars appeared as well, with Tommy Paul teaming with Jessica Pegula. Pegula nearly dismissed the champions when she chased a forehand that bounced dangerously close to the players’ bench and argued that the obstruction warranted a hindrance call, but the call did not go her way.

Two late teams were formed when Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev withdrew after getting stuck in Dubai amid travel gridlock following the outbreak of war in Iran. Medvedev was replaced by Alexander Bublik, who partnered with Mirra Andreeva, while Rublev was replaced by Learner Tien, who teamed with Anisimova.

Other pairings included Ben Shelton and Emma Navarro, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Leylah Fernandez, and Matteo Berrettini and Jasmine Paolini.

Day 1 at the BNP Paribas Open serves up three first-round matches that deserve attention. Jenson Brooksby and Alexei Popyrin meet in Stadium 4 in what should be a lively opening encounter. Both played in the UAE last week and, as the preview noted, “presumably they were able to evade the flight ban and make it out over the weekend.” Brooksby is No. 41 and Popyrin No. 44. Popyrin brings the bigger, heavier-spinning serve and a lethal forehand; Brooksby offers superior point construction and a mix of chops and sidespin aimed at making the 6’5″ Australian stretch and bend. A California native, Brooksby has reached the round of 16 at Indian Wells twice and should be comfortable in the desert conditions. Winner: Brooksby

A throwback rivalry resurfaces when Stefanos Tsitsipas faces Denis Shapovalov. The pair met four times between 2018 and 2020, when Tsitsipas was already in the Top 5 and Shapovalov was trending toward the Top 10. Two of those early matches were decided by 7-6 sets: 7-6 in the third in Miami in 2019 and 7-6, 7-6 at the ATP Cup in 2020. Shapovalov won both of those close matches and still leads the head-to-head 4-2. He is 4-0 on hard courts against Tsitsipas and won their most recent meeting a year ago in Miami, 6-2, 6-4. Now each arrives with reduced momentum: Shapovalov is No. 39, Tsitsipas No. 43, and neither is seeded. Tsitsipas is 9-5 this season; Shapovalov is 4-4 and reached the semifinals in Dallas. Both employ a one-handed backhand and an attacking brand of tennis that remains entertaining. Winner: Shapovalov

Sloane Stephens returns to the main draw on a wild card. Stephens, 32 and ranked 780th, missed most of last year with a stress fracture in her right foot. Stephens says her career keeps getting “weirder and weirder.” She last won a title in 2024 but is only 13-13 in the desert with a single quarterfinal in 13 attempts. Her opponent, 24-year-old Colombian Osorio, is 10-5 this year, owns a 125-level title, stands 5’7″, and beat Naomi Osaka here last year 6-4, 6-4 in a night match. Osorio is ranked more than 700 spots higher than Stephens at the moment. Winner: Osorio

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner top the list of tennis nominees for the 2026 Laureus World Sports Awards after contrasting but equally dominant 2025 campaigns. The ATP world No. 1 Alcaraz and world No. 2 Sinner are both in contention for the Laureus Sportsman of the Year award following seasons that produced multiple major titles and season-defining achievements.

Alcaraz captured Roland Garros and the US Open and clinched the year-end No. 1 ranking. Sinner lifted trophies at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the ATP Finals in Turin. The winner will be announced April 20 at Madrid’s Cibeles Palace. The annual ceremony, which celebrates the world’s greatest athletes and recognizes “the inspirational power of sport and its ability to change lives,” takes place during the Mutua Madrid Open.

Other Sportsman of the Year nominees include Ousmane Dembele, Mondo Duplantis, Marc Marquez and Tadej Pogacar. Tennis has a storied history in the Laureus awards; the only previous tennis players to earn Sportsman of the Year honors are Roger Federer (2005–2008, 2018), Rafael Nadal (2011, 2021) and Novak Djokovic (2012–2015, 2016, 2019, 2024), a group often referred to as the sport’s “Big Three.” Men’s tennis players remain the most decorated in that category, with 12 total wins compared with Formula One and athletics, which have five apiece.

On the women’s side, WTA world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka leads the Sportswoman of the Year nominees after clinching her fourth Grand Slam title at the US Open in 2025 and finishing runner-up at the Australian Open, Roland Garros and the WTA Finals in Riyadh. She is nominated alongside Aitana Bonmati, Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, Katie Ledecky and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone. Four former WTA world No. 1s have previously won the award: Jennifer Capriati (2002), Serena Williams (2003, 2010, 2016, 2018), Justine Henin (2008) and Naomi Osaka (2021). Williams is tied with Simone Biles for the most wins at four.

Younger and returning players were also acknowledged. Brazilian teenager Joao Fonseca received a Breakthrough of the Year nomination after main-draw wins at all four Grand Slams, a first Top 10 victory over Andrey Rublev and titles in Buenos Aires (ATP 250) and Basel (ATP 500). Amanda Anisimova earned a Comeback of the Year nomination after reaching back-to-back Grand Slam finals at Wimbledon and the US Open, two years after announcing an indefinite mental health break from the sport.