Tennis
Sventek and Alcaras titles, Oleinikova’s award, sensational Serb in Bosnia
The penultimate week of April tennis came to an end, where Ukrainian tennis players failed to please our fans in the ATP and WTA tournaments. But the Ukrainians had a great week at ITF level and even won a few titles. The most prestigious tournaments were held in Stuttgart (WTA 500 women), Barcelona (ATP 500 men), Banja Luka and Munich (ATP 250 men).
WTA 500 Stuttgart
Ukrainian tennis player Dayana Yastremska qualified for the indoor clay tournament in Germany. However, he obviously failed in performances. Dayana finished participating in these competitions in the first round of the selection, losing to Katie Volynets, who was far from being a clay lover in three matches. It is also worth noting that Yastremska won the first set, and in the second set the score was 3: 1, and in the 10th game there was match points and a tie-break.
None of the Ukrainians attended the base, the leaders of our women’s tennis, Angelina Kalinina and Marta Kostyuk, took leave a week before the tournament in Madrid.
The championship in the competition was won by the world’s first racket, Iga Sventek, for whom this tournament was the first dirt tournament of the season. Iga successfully defended the trophy it won last year, and also took home a new Porsche (the organizers of the competition work closely with the owners of the company). Interestingly, in the final, polka defeated Arina Sobolenko, with whom she also played in the championship game last year. This is Iga’s second title in 2023.
Getty Images/Global Images Ukraine. Iga Sventek
ATP 500 Barcelona / ATP 250 Munich / ATP 250 Banja Luka
The birthplace of clay masters opened its doors to the clay season with competitions in Barcelona. The second racket of the world, Carlos Alcaras, came to Spain to defend the trophy, which he successfully coped with. In the final, Carlitos confidently defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas, giving his 4th defeat in 4 personal matches. Carlos also walked confidently on the grid, winning all 10 sets. For the 19-year-old Spaniard, this is his 8th and 3rd career title this season.
It is worth noting that Ukrainian male tennis player Oleksiy Krutykh also participated in the tournament held in Barcelona. The Ukrainian player qualified for the eliminations by defeating Zekic and Grenier, but faced the country representative 404 Pavel Kotov, whom he lost in three matches in the 1/32 final, and won the first one in a tie-break.
Getty Images/Global Images Ukraine. carlos alcaraz
The championship was successfully defended in Munich, Stuttgart and Barcelona. 19-year-old Dane Holger Rune regained the trophy in an epic final against Botik van de Zandshulp. Rune confidently made it to the final, but was burned there by two timeouts of 2:5 (15:40) in the third set. However, Holger made an incredible comeback and scored 2 more game points in Game 12, taking the tie-breaking victory.
Video review of the Holger Rune v Botik van de Zansshulp match:
The tournament, held in Banja Luka, Bosnia, ended unexpectedly. Who would have thought that world number 70 Dusan Lajovic, who won the only trophy of his career at Umag in 2019, could win a championship on these courts? During the tournament, the 32-year-old Serbian player, in addition to defeating Andrey Rublev in the final, also defeated the leader of the ATP rating, Novak Djokovic, in two sets! Dusan won the 2nd championship in his career and the 1st championship of the season.
Cup Oleinikova
22-year-old Ukrainian tennis player Oleksandra Oleinikova can justify her last week on a 15,000-meter unpaved track in Telde (Spain). Alexandra was considered the favorite in the 4 fights before the final and in the cup match against a minor underdog, Claudia Bubelite. However, Oleinikova won the tournament, taking the 1st trophy of the season.
Interestingly, the Ukrainian held 3 similar tournaments in a row on Telda. In the first, he lost to the same Bubelita in the 1/8 final, in the second he reached the final, and in the third he took the championship, as mentioned above.
Instagram. Alexandra Oleinikova with her brother
Ukrainian tennis players in ITF tournaments: Zavatskaya, Vanshelboim and Belinsky finals
Ukrainian tennis players had a great time at the ITF tournaments last week. Three of them (not counting Oleinikova) simultaneously participated in the finals, but did not win the trophy.
Katarina Zavatskaya, a member of the Ukrainian women’s tennis team, played 25,000th in Santa Margherita di Pula (Italy). The Ukrainian player reached the final quite calmly, only having problems against Makarova and Herdzelash. But he wasn’t strong enough for the final. Katarina lost her chance to win the first trophy in 2023, losing to Sara Tsakarevich.
Ukrainian tennis player Vladislav Belinsky improved his tennis with a busy schedule, but this played a cruel joke on him. Vyacheslav played a lot in both doubles and singles at 15.000 each in Antalya and won 1 doubles cup. There was a chance to win the singles championship, but in the final of the competition, Belinsky withdrew after the first 5 matches against Dragos Madaras.
Instagram. Vyacheslav Belinsky
Eric Vanschelboim had an unexpected week of shock. The first reached the final at 25k and the second beat both first-seeded Mikael Vrbensky and promising Swiss Jerome Kim during the tournament, and the 22-year-old but already struggling in the final. Experienced Croatian Dear Aidunkovich. Therefore, we can safely say that although Eric did not win the trophy, he certainly surprised me with his performance in the 25,000th in Split.
Two Ukrainian tennis players, Alexander Brainin and Georgy Kravchenko, won the doubles title in the 15,000th event held in Telda. In the final, the Ukrainian tandem took a victory (up to 10 points) from the Spanish couple Campos / Contri in the royal tie-break. Brinin and Kravchenko won the championship together for the first time. Prior to that, they had won an ITF tournament in pairs, but with other partners.
ITF. Alexander Brainin and Georgy Kravchenko
Failure Svitolina
Elina Svitolina, the former world third and former leader of Ukrainian women’s tennis, is desperately trying to regain the skills she lost after the decree. Elina performed at 100,000th at Oeiras last week. Already in the first round, Svitolina finished her performances in the Portuguese clay tournament by losing in three sets to Denmark’s first racket Clara Tauson. The Ukrainian player won the first set, scored a match in the second set, but physically sank at the tie-break and did not play well in the third set.
Elina will play in the thousand this week in Madrid. He will meet with Alexandra Sasnovich on April 26. Not the strongest tennis player, but still in the top 50. Considering that Svitolina has rarely made it to the second round on Madrid courts throughout her career, this challenge will be difficult for her. However, it is clear that the Ukrainian player is trying to play, progress and win and is really interested in that. It is definitely not worth criticizing Svitolina for having only 1 win in 4 matches.
Instagram. Elina Svitolina
Progress Sachko
Vitaly Sachko is beginning to show more and more successful and quality tennis. He performed at the Mexican Challenger in Morelos last week. There, he reached the quarterfinals where he nearly beat James Duckworth. Vitaly won the first set and reached a tie-break in the second set, after which the fight was interrupted due to rain. Apparently, this was what slowed Sachko down, as he lost the tie-break dry – 0:7.
In the third game, Vitali took a break after Duckworth’s service in the 10th game, but served 40:0 in the next game. Progress is visible, but the Ukrainian player is unlikely to benefit from the tough part of the season. Then this season for the first time, he will perform on dirt in the Czech Republic. Let’s see what comes of this…
Source: Sport UA
I am a sports journalist who has worked in print and online. I have authored articles for a sports website and have covered sports news for over 6 years.
The Russian tennis player almost flew out of the tournament, but was able to change everything.
Daniil Medvedev’s path through the Australian Open 2026 grid cannot be called comfortable. In the third round, the Russian had to spend almost four hours on the court, survive two lost sets and go through a protracted psychological crisis right during the match. The opponent was Fabian Marozan, a Hungarian who has proven more than once that he is capable of breaking the rhythm of the favorites and imposing heavy, sticky tennis.
Initially it was clear that it would not be easy. But few people expected such a thriller.
Whom Medvedev has already passed at the Australian Open
Australian Open 2026 for Daniil Medvedev began without extravaganza, but with the necessary result. In the first round, the Russian met with the Dutchman Jesper de Jong. The match turned out to be difficult: almost three hours on the court, a tight fight and a tiebreaker in the third set. Medvedev served seven aces, worked actively on the receiving end and managed to put the pressure on his opponent at key moments – 7:5, 6:2, 7:6 (7:2).
In the second round, Daniil faced Frenchman Quentin Halis. The scenario turned out to be similar: the starting game remained with the opponent, but then Medvedev gradually took the initiative. He became more accurate in his rallies, reduced the number of mistakes and confidently advanced to the third round, winning three sets in a row – 6:7 (9:11), 6:3, 6:4, 6:2. Even then it was noticeable that the Russian was still far from ideal form, but compensated for this through patience and experience.
Medvedev is on the verge of relegation
The match with Fabian Marozan began for Medvedev with a positive signal – a fast break. However, the Hungarian immediately returned serve and made it clear that he was determined to play on an equal footing. Already in the first set, the Russian was close to a second break several times, but did not capitalize on his chances. Gradually, Marozhan began to feel more confident, began to impose long rallies more often and brought the game to a tiebreaker, where he acted more calmly – 7:6 (7:5).
In the second set the picture became even more alarming. Medvedev often lost rallies on his serve, did not find the depth of his shots and looked confused. Marozhan led with a break 3:1, then increased the advantage, and each game won by the Russian was given with great difficulty. Even a reverse break did not help turn the tide of the game – the Hungarian again took Medvedev’s serve and closed the set – 6:4. After two games, the Russian found himself in an extremely difficult position, losing in sets and not controlling the game.
Turning point: patience, a series of games and the “steering wheel”
The third set began with a new blow – Marozhan immediately made a break. At this moment the situation looked almost critical. But this is where Medvedev managed to change the nature of the match. He began to play with more restraint, reduced risks, began to delay rallies more often and wait for his opponent’s mistakes. A reverse break restored equality, and then the game went on without a clear advantage for any of the opponents.
With the score 5:5, Medvedev increased his aggression and won two key games in a row, taking the set. This episode became a turning point. The Russian felt confident, but Marozhan, on the contrary, began to lose freshness and accuracy.
The fourth set was already under the complete control of Medvedev. He won the game to zero in just 19 minutes. The Hungarian was noticeably tired, began to be late to the balls and make more and more mistakes, while the Russian calmly did his job.
In the fifth set, Marozhan still tried to cling to the match, even managed to make a reverse break, but physically he could no longer maintain the pace. Medvedev again took the lead with a break, confidently came out to serve for the match and brought the match to victory – 6:3.
In total, the opponents spent 3 hours 46 minutes on the court. This victory was Medvedev’s tenth in five-set matches in his career and the fifth after going 0:2 in sets. It is noteworthy that he made four such comebacks precisely at the Australian Open, a tournament that regularly tests his endurance and character. In the fourth round of the Australian Open, Daniil Medvedev will play with American Lerner Thien, the 29th racket in the world and the 25th seed. He lost to him in Melbourne last year, so it’s time to take revenge.
Source: Sportbox
I am a sports journalist who has written for a number of Sportish. I have a background in journalism and have been writing since I was young. My main focus is sports news, but I also write about general news. I am currently working as an author at Sportish.
Tennis
The young American knocked down the eighth racket and reached the 1/8 final of the Aus Open 2026.
18 year old American tennis player Iva Jovic (WTA 27) has entered the second week of the 2026 Australian Open.
In the third round, the young American defeated world number eight Jasmine Paolini (Italy) in 1 hour 48 minutes.
Jovic played her third head-to-head match against Paolini and earned her first victory over the Italian (her first against a tennis player ranked in the top 10 of the WTA rankings).
It was the first time Iva reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam.
Iva’s next opponent will be a representative from Kazakhstan Yulia Putintseva (WTA 94) defeated Zeynep Sönmez (Türkiye, WTA 112). This will be the first meeting between Jovic and Putintseva.
Australian Open 2026. 1/32 final
Iva Jovic (AMERICA) [29] – Yasemin Paolini (Italy) [7] – 6:2, 7:6 (7:3)
Zeynep Sönmez (Türkiye) [Q] – Yulia Putintseva (Kazakhstan) – 3:6, 7:6 (7:3), 3:6
Source: Sport UA
I am a sports journalist who has worked in print and online. I have authored articles for a sports website and have covered sports news for over 6 years.
world number three Coco Gauff Reached the 1/8 finals at the 2026 Australian Open from the USA.
The American player, who came back from compatriot Hayley Baptiste (WTA 70) in three sets in the third round, closed the wheel in the second game.
Since her first Grand Slam in 2019, only Iga Swiatek (32) has won more 6-0 sets at majors than Coco Gauff (11, the same as Aryna Sabalenka).
Among active tennis players, only Venus Williams (85) and Iga Swiatek (83) have more women’s singles slam wins after their first 100 matches than Coco Gauff (77).
Gauff became the youngest American female tennis player to reach the fourth round at the Australian Open four consecutive times since Lindsay Davenport (five consecutive times from 1994-1998).
Coco’s next opponent will be the 19th seed Carolina Muchova (Czech Republic, WTA 19) knocked out Magda Linett (Poland, WTA 50) in the third round.
Coco has played against Carolina four times before and won four times.
Australian Open 2026. 1/16 final
Coco Gauff (AMERICA) [3] – Haley Baptist (USA) – 3:6, 6:0, 6:3
Carolina Muchova (Czech Republic) [19] – Magda Linette (Poland) – 6:1, 6:1
Source: Sport UA
I am a sports journalist who has worked in print and online. I have authored articles for a sports website and have covered sports news for over 6 years.
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