It was last week for the best tennis players on the planet on the courts of Guadalajara, Mexico, as the men’s best took part in the sixth edition of the Laver Cup. Following the outbreak of the pandemic and the sensational Peng Shuai case that could not be solved, ATP 250 and WTA 250 tournaments started in China, where tennis players did not travel.
WTA 1000 Guadalajara
Elina Svitolina, who did not play in the US Open, did not go to Mexico. He is currently recovering from his ankle injury. Ukraine’s singles honor was defended by Angelina Kalinina, Marta Kostyuk and Dayana Yastremskaya.
It so happened that the composition of participants in competitions of this caliber was quite weak. The organizer failed to get the 64 strong athletes on base, so the first round looked like an easy walk or another qualifying hurdle for most.
At the start, Kalinina easily beat American Grace Min (6:2, 6:0), who is ranked in the fourth hundred in the world rankings, as expected. However, Yastremskaya and Kostyuk experienced difficulties even at this stage. Dayana tormented for two hours in two sets against 29-year-old Mexican Ana Sofia Sanchez (7:6, 6:4) from the fifth side, and Kostyuk even gave the match to Canadian Stacey Fung (6:3, 2:6, 6: 0). However, it is also worth noting that Martha’s opponent is a little stronger and has concentration problems.
The second round was also the last for all Ukrainians. Angelina faced Sofia Kenin for the fourth time this season and lost for the third time (2:6, 6:7), although the chances of a comeback in the second match were quite high. The American is currently on a good roll, playing in the WTA-500 final against Barbora Krejcikova in San Diego a week ago and reaching the top four in Guadalajara. He has been knocking on the door of the top thirty since Monday and will try to surprise everyone at the Australian Open 2024, just like he did 4 years ago. As for Kalinina, she is still in the top 30 and will lose less than 200 points by the end of the year, if we take into account hidden reserves from tournaments in the uncountable category (at this stage they are not included in the list). number of tournaments). The task is in principle within my abilities.
Yastremskaya ended up with former world number one Victoria Azarenka. Dayana had already beaten this tennis player, but the Ukrainian player was different and was higher in the rankings than her opponent. Although Azarenka is no longer in the top ranks, she is still among the top thirty. The match was competitive, with Yastremskaya missing two set points in the second game (4:6, 6:7). As a result, Victoria gained only 5 more points, crushing the noticeably outmatched Kudermetova in the next round and losing to Caroline Garcia of France. Meanwhile, Diana has returned to the top 100 since Monday and has almost nothing to defend by the end of the year.
In the second round, Kostyuk played against Alena Ostapenko for the first time in her career, Marta again could not oppose anything to the powerful hitting tennis player. Kostyuk fell to 3rd place in the rankings WTAHe has almost nothing to defend until the end of the season. These 90 points that will be lost will be covered by 85 points from other tournaments.
The tournament in Guadalajara continued without the Ukrainians and there were some surprises. Last year’s finalist Maria Sakkari won the championship by beating Emiliana Arango from Colombia in the quarter-finals and Caroline Dolehide from the USA in the final. The Greek athlete also defeated Storm Hunter, Camila Giorgi and Caroline Garcia in competitions in Mexico. It’s not often you see a tournament path like this to victory at a thousand points. Meanwhile, Dolehide reached the final of a WTA tournament for the first time and broke into the top fifty.
Getty Images/Global Images Ukraine. Maria Sakkari
The Ukrainians were not successful in doubles either; Lyudmila Kichenok, who was paired with Arancha Rus, was defeated as the third seed in the second round. We keep in mind that we will play against Russia and the Dutch national team in the Billie Jean King Cup on November 11-12 in Vilnius.
WTA 250 Guangzhou
Katerina Beindl went to a tournament in China and lost in the first round to fifth-seeded Spaniard Rebeka Masarova. The Ukrainian lost her fourth match in a row, has almost 300 points to defend until the end of the year, and this is bad news for Katerina; It will be incredibly difficult to get into the top hundred.
In singles, the first championship and first final at the WTA 250 level was won by 22-year-old Wang Xiyu. In the later stages, the Chinese woman beat Gret Minnen and Magda Linett, the opponents at this level are very good.
In Guangzhou, Nadezhda Kichenok continued to impress, playing well in the doubles with Anna-Lena Fridsam. After the championship in Osaka, the girls won two more matches and lost in the 1/2 finals only to their rivals from China in the championship tiebreaker. Guo Hanyu and Jiang Xinyu eventually took the title.
The tournament in Guangzhou was also remembered for the abnormal temperature of 40 degrees. Danish Clara Tauson had to leave the field on a stretcher after suffering heat stroke during her match against Yulia Putintseva.
Clara Tauson collapsed at the beginning of the 3rd set, probably due to extreme heat, had to withdraw from the game and was carried off the court… she’s been struggling physically lately, she definitely needs some time off to figure things out pic.twitter.com/Krz8Urb4ne
The sixth edition of the Laver Cup, the brainchild of Roger Federer and his manager Tony Godsick, was held in Vancouver from Friday to Sunday local time. This year the competition was moved from London to Vancouver and without the Big Four the lineup looked less spectacular. However, two players in the top 10 were from Europe, and four were in the top 15 from the World team. This was the second favorite.
If you remember, last year the world’s young and hungry team won the championship in a sensational way by beating 5 people in the top 10, Federer, Murray and Berrettini. This was the first defeat of the European team in these competitions, before that all the championships remained with them.
The start of the competition this year was surprising; The rest of the world team won the first matchday outright (4-0), losing only one match in the second (10-2). Before the final day, Team Europe faced the difficult task of winning all matches worth three points on Sunday (one on Friday, two on Saturday). There was no need to suffer for long; Americans Ben Shelton and Francis Tiafoe achieved the desired result for their team in the first doubles match.
Getty Images/Global Images Ukraine. Team Mira celebrates victory
There were also scandals in the competition. Gael Monfils and Felix Auger-Aliassime got into an argument during the match on the first day of the match. The Canadian did not like that the Frenchman was spending time between draws and trying to flirt with the public. In fact, when Felix asked the referee if this was an exhibition tournament, he was answered that the matches were played according to ATP rules. Apparently the organizers invited Monfils to entertain the audience a little, but they forgot to warn Auger-Aliassime about it. Later, Gael even had to write an article stating that the smile on his face during matches did not prevent him from playing seriously.
ATP 250 Chengdu / ATP 250 Zhuhai
Also this week, the ATP men’s tournament took place in China for the first time since the Shanghai Masters in 2019. Unfortunately it’s not over yet, the semi-finals will be held on Monday and the squad is good too. For example, Grigor Dimitrov won the 400th match of his career in this tournament.
ATP Challenger, WTA 125 and ITF tournaments
After his successful performance in the national team, Alexey Krutykh went to Saint-Tropez (France), where he reached the second round, losing to second place Sebastian Ofner. Vladislav Orlov lost in the heats of a similar category competition in Romania. Vitaly Sachko lost to Dennis Novak in the second round of clay competition in Bad Waltersdorf (Austria).
Katarina Zavacka performed well at the WTA 125 tournament in Parma. In the second round, she faced world number 71 Ana Bogdan from Romania on clay, but lost 4:6 in the final set.
26-year-old Christina Wozniak became the doubles champion of the ITF W15 tournament held in Monastir, and this was her first title at this level.
It is also worth noting that last week ITF President David Haggerty was re-elected for a new four-year term. The current president of the International Tennis Federation received 318 votes (72.94%) in the elections. He has chaired the ITF since September 2015.
off the field
The season is slowly coming to an end and the top four participants of this year’s WTA Final Tournament, which will take place in Cancun, Mexico (29 October – 5 November), have already been announced. These are Arina Sabalenko, Iga Swiatek, Coco Goff and Elena Rybakina. Jessica Pegula should be fifth, followed by Vondrousova, Muchova, Jabeur and Sakkari as strong candidates for the remaining three spots. But there are also two WTA 500 tournaments where someone in good shape can shoot, like Beijing and Krejcikova.
Veronica Miroshnichenko, who lost to Lyudmila Kichenok in a doubles match at a tournament in Guadalajara, said she considers herself Ukrainian even though she plays with a Russian passport, which she dreams of throwing away. She plans to change her citizenship in the near future.
A not-so-pleasant incident occurred with Brazilian tennis player Bestris Haddad-Maia at a tournament in Guadalajara. As the world number 20 was getting out of the shower, the doors exploded, causing his hands to be cut.
On Instagram tsitsidosa, created by the highest-rated couple in the modern tennis world, all posts are hidden, no matter what they mean. Let us note that Stefanos Tsitsipas and Paula Badosa announced that they were together in June 2023.
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.
Ukrainian tennis player Elina Svitolina He spoke to reporters before the start of the Australian Open 2026:
About planning off-season workouts: “It’s really about finding the balance. I think over the years my coach, my team and I have found a few little tricks to help us get better. I’m very happy to be able to win in Auckland. It’s a good start, a strong start and hopefully I can use that as a foundation for the future.”
About the start of the Australian Open: “The first round of the Grand Slam tournament is of course very difficult, everyone is as ready as possible and extremely motivated to play well. In the first major everyone wants to show what they have been working on in the off-season and that makes the tournament interesting. That’s why we will see a lot of great matches. For me personally it is important to focus on one match at a time, not to look too far ahead, to recover well, to prepare physically and mentally, then I will have the chance to play at a high level.”
On his confident performance in the finals: “I have built this image and this mentality step by step over the years. It is important. Of course there are many matches to win before the final, but the final is very important and this is where you have to show your best performance in tennis. In moments like these you train and work for. So even if I cannot play my best tennis because of a lot of pressure and responsibility, I try to find my way in the most important moments and the little details that will help, at least fight and find a way to win.”
About joint training with her husband Gael Monfils: “I definitely get very intense training because he hits the ball very hard and hard and I have to react extremely quickly. I think it helps my game because now everyone is playing hard, everyone is putting in their shots. And training with him gives me the confidence that I’m ready for other speeds. For my part, I’m teaching him the backhand down the line, I can say that’s my best shot. And now he tells me that’s why his backhand down the line has improved (laughs).
On Gael’s final season on Tour: “The energy the fans give is incredible. He really gets his energy from the spectators who come to watch the games and the training sessions. It gives a lot of joy. Of course there are some concerns because he wants to have a strong season. And I know he can do it, he has trained well. I was surprised how hard he worked on the field and in the gym this off-season. I see that he really wants to end his career on a positive note. And I am happy to be with him. Support him on this great journey and support him no matter what.”
In the first round of the Australian Open, Elina will play against Kristina Buksha. The meeting will begin on January 18 and will begin at approximately 04:30 Kyiv time.
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.
(Melbourne) Novak Djokovic can still joke when he talks about the rivalry between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner which, for two years, has prevented him from becoming the most successful tennis player of all time.
“I lost three of the four Grand Slam tournaments against Sinner or Alcaraz in 2025,” he recalled on Saturday, on the eve of the first matches of the Australian Open.
“We don’t need to congratulate them too much,” he added with a smile. “They have already been praised enough! We know how good they are, and they absolutely deserve to be where they are. They are currently the dominant forces in men’s tennis. »
Djokovic begins third season in pursuit of 25e Grand Slam singles title and refined his approach for the Australian Open.
He withdrew from the only preparatory tournament in which he had planned to participate, knowing that he lacks “a little juice in his legs” to compete with the two young stars at the end of the major tournaments and that he must remain as pain-free as possible.
PHOTO MARTIN KEEP, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Novak Djokovic
Djokovic found a way to beat longtime rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, to the point where the Serbian, now 38, has become an integral part of the “Big Three.” Then he surpassed them.
Winner of 24 major singles tournaments, a record in the professional era, and tied with Australian Margaret Court for the most singles victories in tennis history, Djokovic does everything to stay “in the fight”.
Djokovic won his last major title at the 2023 US Open. Since then, Sinner and Alcaraz have shared eight major singles titles.
Sinner has won the last two Australian titles. Alcaraz is in Australia, determined to add the Melbourne Park title to his tally to complete his career Grand Slam.
Despite injuries that hampered him, Djokovic reached the semi-finals of all four Grand Slam tournaments last year. A torn hamstring forced him to retire in the semifinals of the Australian Open, after he eliminated Alcaraz in the quarterfinals.
PHOTO DAVID GRAY, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Novak Djokovic
Reminding himself that “24 is not a bad number,” Djokovic explained that he decided to abandon his “now or never mentality” when attending Grand Slam tournaments because it did not allow him to perform at his best.
Right now, [Jannik] Sinner and [Carlos] Alcaraz play at a different level than everyone else. That’s a fact, but that doesn’t mean no one else has a chance.
Novak Djokovic
“So I always like my chances, in any tournament, especially here,” he added.
Ten-time Australian Open singles champion, Djokovic will play his first match Monday evening at Rod-Laver Arena against Spaniard Pedro Martinez, ranked 71e.
Seeded number 4, he is in the same half of the table as Sinner. This means they can only meet in the semi-finals here.
Physical condition
Djokovic has not played an official tournament since November.
“It’s obviously taken me longer to rebuild my body, because I understand that in the last two years, that’s what’s changed the most for me: it takes me more time to rebuild, and it also takes me more time to reset or recover,” he explained. “I had a little setback that prevented me from competing in the Adelaide tournament… but so far everything is going really well here. »
He added that he felt pain “here and there” every day.
“But overall I feel good and I’m looking forward to playing.” »
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.
Elina Svitolina (WTA 12) – Kristina Buksha (WTA 51) will meet in the first round of the Australian Open on January 18.
The match will start at 04.30 Kyiv time.
Sport.ua together with a betting partner bet announcing the upcoming fight!
Elina Svitolina
The Ukrainian tennis player decided to start the season with a tournament in Auckland, where there was no strong squad, and Svitolina was also seeded. As a result, the athlete confirmed his status by winning the championship. Although the tennis player gave up only one set during the entire tournament, it cannot be said that it was easy in the match against Sonay Kartal in the quarter-finals, when everything went into a tiebreaker. In the final match, Svitolina defeated China’s Wang Xinyu.
Now the Ukrainian begins his journey in another major in which he has never won, despite having a good career. If Svitolina manages to overcome the Spanish flu, she will face the winner of the Klimovicheva-Jones double.
Kristina Buksha
The Spaniard is less famous than his upcoming rival; He recently turned 28, but he is not remembered for anything significant. Buksha is a strong middle peasant who is already quite a bit in world tennis.
The athlete started the season with a strong tournament in Brisbane, defeating Hungarian Anna Bondar with great difficulty in the first round – 4:6, 7:6, 6:2. And in the second round she could do nothing against Aryna Sabalenka – 0:6, 1:6. In the Australian major, the athlete reached the third round at most, but it will be difficult to win even the first match this year.
Buksha is playing better in doubles and even managed to win a bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
To guess
Statistics show that the athletes have not played each other before and the Ukrainian player is the expected favorite in the upcoming match. Elina has a higher status, has a better start to the season and has an advantage in terms of ratings.
Although Buksha is not the last middle peasant, I do not think that the Ukrainians will have problems. Here I will bet Svitolina to win 1.66 with a -4.5 handicap.
Prediction Sport.ua
Elina Svitolina
01/18/2026 –
04:30
Kristina Buksha
Svitolina handicap (-4.5)1.66 place a bet KRAIL License No. 559 dated 12/05/2024
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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.
