Tennis
Two million an hour! The coolest breakthrough of a Russian tennis player
Roman Safiullin / Photo: © Shaun Botterill / Staff / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru
Success in China provided Roman Safiullin with the highest position in the ranking and substantial prize money. The first title is just a step away.
The beginning of the week may give Russia another world-class star in men’s tennis. Roman Safiullin, whose career had been stalled for many years, reached the final of an ATP tournament for the first time, and did it in a brilliant manner.
There is only one step left to the title.
“I can’t afford to buy something big”
Experts and tennis journalists started talking seriously about Safiullin back in 2015. Then Roman was the first Russian tennis player to win the Australian Open among juniors. He was predicted to have a great career, but time passed, and the athlete could not break into the top hundred of the rankings. First of all, numerous injuries and operations interfered.
Only in 2021 did Roman play in the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time and win his first victory. Australia was once again the place where the breakthrough occurred.
In 2022, already an experienced tennis player, Roman found himself in the top 100 for the first time, and a year later he broke into the first fifty dollars after a sensational appearance in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. For eight years, the athlete literally played in order to pay for travel and training. He couldn’t even save up for a car.
— I spend everything I earn on the team, trips, to travel and earn even more. Well, involve specialists: psychologists, physiotherapists. The kind of people who help development. Am I breaking even? In general, yes. I can’t afford to buy something big: an apartment, a car. There is no such thing,” Safiullina is quoted as saying by “Championship”.
New career record
The first big prize money was brought to Safiullin by that same Wimbledon. Getting into the top eight players of the tournament allowed him to become richer by 304 thousand pounds (almost 36 million rubles) and rise to a record 43rd place in the ranking.
New success did not have to wait long. Last week, Roman started at the ATP-250 tournament in Chengdu (China). The serious composition of the participants did not allow Roman to be among the seeded, but this did not stop our tennis player. In the first round, the American Brandon Nakashima was confidently beaten (6:4; 6:4), and then the fourth seeded Briton Daniel Evans, the 27th racket in the world, was waiting for Safiullin. But he also turned out to be powerless under the pressure of the Russian’s attacks – 6:3; 6:3. In the quarterfinals, Roman was a little lucky: Jordan Thompson from Australia withdrew after the first set due to injury.
In the semi-finals, the Russian faced another difficult test. The second seeded Lorenzo Musetti played one less game due to his high place in the ranking. However, Roman set the pace of the game, acting much more confidently than his opponent. The Italian often made mistakes on serve, but our tennis player earned nine aces. In terms of actively won goals, Safiullin’s advantage was also observed (30:20).
As a result, Roman defeated one of the tournament favorites in two games – 6:3; 6:4 – and for the first time in his career he reached the final of an ATP tournament. Safiullin has already secured $102 thousand (9.79 million rubles) in prize money and at least 41st place in the updated ranking. By this point, he had spent 5 hours and 39 minutes on the court in Chengdu.
In the final, Safiullina faces another severe test. The main favorite of the tournament, Alexander Zverev, seeded number one, will compete with him for victory. I would like to believe that Roman will not give up in front of a more titled opponent and will be able to win his debut title.
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.
sports doctor Dmitry Babelyuk He commented on the injury of the Ukrainian tennis player Marty Kostyuk:
“The video shows how the supporting leg bends when the weight is transferred to it. Martha managed to sense the danger and balance her body so that the “galik” was not completely exposed, but this small rotation still caused discomfort.
Anyone familiar with tennis knows how important footwork and especially sudden changes in movement are in tennis. For this reason, ankles are the most common problem tennis players encounter after elbows.
We remember Elina’s season with a brace and then surgery. This is also a common problem in men’s tennis.
The fact that Marta was able to continue playing shows that her injury is not serious, so it is definitely too early to bury this season. It is important now to recover well and be fully prepared for the next Slam.
Predictably, only one ligament was torn. Not a strong enough twist to tear all three, which happens all too often, but a strong enough twist to tear a ligament, forcing you to finish the tournament.
Marta is leaving JSC and will recover to prepare for the next tournament. “The injury is not serious enough to put the season in doubt.”
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.
Leader in ATP world rankings Carlos Alcaraz He held a press conference after defeating Adam Walton in the first round of the 2026 Australian Open:
– Carlos, congratulations on the successful start of the tournament. How would you evaluate today’s match? Frankly, the second set was tense, but in the end did you get through it without any losses?
– I can say that it was a difficult match for me. In the first set, everything was decided by a break. He made a few mistakes on his first serve. He also played very well, very reliably, and I think he was constantly trying to find a position to attack as much as possible.
In the second set, he started to find more space for aggressive play. In general, I played good tennis, but in one of the games I lost my concentration a little – mostly when I was fighting with myself, and after that everything became more difficult.
But overall I am satisfied. To be honest, I was ready for a serious battle. Although the level it showed was a bit of a surprise to me. I had to pull myself together and be ready for this battle. I’m happy with the first match of the season and the level I was able to show.
– Carlos, congratulations. What are you most pleased with today and what do you think needs to be improved to go far again in the tournament group?
“I think I hit the ball well.” Of course it could have been played better. But I’m glad I did everything I had to do. I acted correctly in terms of behavior and mental attitude on the field. I always had a good attitude, always tried to think positively. I think I did a good job with that and that was one of the main goals of this match.
In terms of tactics and the level of play in general, I understand that there are many aspects that need to be improved for the next round if I want to go further.
– Carlos, for many the quarter-finals are an excellent result, but you have not yet progressed further in this tournament. Do you have an explanation for why you performed less well than others at this Grand Slam?
– Yes, this is a little difficult for me to explain. It’s strange that I haven’t made it past the quarter-finals in Australia yet because I think I’m playing good tennis here. I played very well here for the last two years, but lost to Isner and Djokovic in the quarter-finals. If you are the first or second racket in the world, let’s say these are not the most ordinary opponents at this stage.
This is not an excuse, but I really want to do better than previous years. I have a feeling that this season I might have a chance to go further.
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.
How Anastasia missed the match against the 697th racket in the world.
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova finished her performance at the Australian Open 2026 very early, which was definitely not expected from her. The 44th racket of the world (before the start of the tournament) lost in the first round to Chinese Bai Zhuoxuan, who before the start of the tournament was only 697th in the WTA rankings. Almost three hours of struggle, a comeback during the match and a nervous outcome in the tiebreak – 4:6, 6:2, 6:7 (10:12). For a tournament of the level of the Australian Open, this defeat can already be attributed to the most notorious stories of the start of the main draw.
Lost initiative, return to the game and tension until the last play
The beginning of the meeting did not foretell trouble, but Pavlyuchenkova’s game did not go well. In the fifth game, the Chinese woman forced a fight on the return and made a break – 3:2. This immediately added nervousness to the Russian woman’s actions. At the end of the game, Bai Zhuoxuan again took advantage of her opponent’s mistakes and led 5:2. Pavlyuchenkova managed to immediately win back one serve and reduce the gap – 3:5, but was no longer able to turn the tide of the game. After 47 minutes, the first set was won by the Chinese – 6:4.
In the second game, Pavlyuchenkova finally began to impose her tempo on her opponent. In the sixth game she achieved a break and took the lead – 4:2. Her boxing became noticeably calmer, and strikes from the baseline began to land more often. At the end of the set, Anastasia once again took her opponent’s serve and confidently closed the game – 6:2. At that moment, it seemed that the difference in class would still have an effect, and the match would gradually come under the control of the Russian.
The decisive set began with a cold shower for the favorite. The Chinese woman immediately made a break and took the lead – 1:0. Pavlyuchenkova quickly returned serve, equalized the score, and after 2:2 the game went into error-waiting mode. Both tennis players confidently won games on their serves. The stands actively supported the Russian, and on the court one could regularly hear: “Anastasia, we love you.”
Nevertheless, there were no more breaks, and the fate of the match was decided by a tiebreaker up to 10 points. It turned out to be nervous and protracted. Bai Zhuoxuan played more carefully in key rallies and put the pressure on her opponent – 12:10. The final score of the meeting was 4:6, 6:2, 6:7 (10:12).
The numbers behind which the problem is hidden
The match lasted 2 hours 43 minutes and turned out to be eventful; the statistics of the game explain a lot. Pavlyuchenkova completed seven aces – a solid indicator, but eight double faults regularly brought her opponent back into the game. The situation with break points is also not the most rosy: only four out of 11 opportunities were realized.
Bai Zhuoxuan’s performance is more modest: two aces, three double faults, three breaks out of 10 attempts. The Chinese played simpler, but calmer – and this was enough to withstand the pressure and wait for her chances.
For Pavlyuchenkova, the Australian Open 2026 ended, in fact, immediately after the start. The defeat from the 697th racket in the world (in the new ranking she is 702nd) is a painful blow to both ambitions and ranking prospects, even taking into account the equal fight and tiebreaker in the decisive set. But for Zhuoxuan Bai this match became the main event of her career. In the second round she will meet with the first racket of the world – Aryna Sabalenka. After such a victory, the Chinese woman will definitely take to the court without an extra burden of responsibility – she has already done everything she could.
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.
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