The last tennis week of September has come to an end. The best female tennis players on the planet competed for the trophy at the WTA 500 in Tokyo and the WTA 250 in Ningbo, while the men competed in Beijing and Astana. True, the ATP competition has not ended yet, only the quarter-finalists and semi-finalists of the competition, respectively, are known. Ukrainians once again played a weak game, but our young tennis players managed to please a little. Everything is in order…
WTA 500 Tokyo
The central tournament of the week ended frankly horribly. The winner was the representative of the terrorist country Veronika Kudermetova, the Ukrainians were eliminated in the first stages, and the second racket in the world, Iga Swiatek, showed a weak level in tennis.
Two Ukrainian tennis players participated in the competition held in the capital of Japan in singles: Angelina Kalinina and Marta Kostyuk.
Angelina easily beat up-and-coming American Ashlyn Kruger in the 1st round, who recently won the first trophy of her career in Osaka. Kalinina then faced #5 seed Caroline Garcia and lost to her without much of a chance. Yes, not a defeat (4:6, 3:6), but the course of the meeting was completely controlled by the Frenchwoman.
Marta failed to put the finishing touches on Daria Kasatkina in the 1/16 final. The Ukrainian took the first set, took the lead with three breaks in the second set, but lost 3 games in a row after 3:3, allowing Kasatkina to equalize the score in games. In the third set, Kostyuk again had the starting advantage, winning first 2:1, then 3:2 with a break, but once again gave up 3 games with a score of 3:3.
After the match ended, Kostyuk did not shake Kasatkina’s hand. This became a separate topic of discussion, they say: “Kasatkina is a friend of Ukraine. Marta wishes Rybakina good luck, but she can’t shake Daria’s hand.” We got no comment from Marta regarding Rybakina’s situation at the US Open, but it seems the principle applied: “If you lose, then the strongest and especially “But for Kasatkina… If Daria comes… We went out on the field with the Ukrainian flag – no problem, I think every Ukrainian woman will help. It is worth thanking Kasatkina for her support and adequate position.
Getty Images/Global Images Ukraine. Marta Kostyuk
Meanwhile, Marta and Angelina, who were unsuccessful at the tournament in Tokyo, made a good start in Beijing with a thousandth place. Time will tell how things will go further, but we need to support our girls and believe that at least one of them will break into the top 10 of the WTA rankings.
The cup was won by Veronika Kudermetova, who beat Jessica Pegula in the final.
Getty Images/Global Images Ukraine. Jessica Pegula and Veronika Kudermetova
On his way, or rather in the quarterfinals, he defeated the “neutral” tennis player Iga Swiatek. It is probably worth dwelling on the results of Iga.
Iga was unable to defend her US Open title and lost her WTA title to Aryna Sabalenka. Tennis needs to be saved, I trust Iga, but as sad as it sounds, the Polish team is weak so far. Maybe it’s just a minor recession, maybe the peak has passed… The second option is scary but still unlikely. It is necessary to look at the facts: Iga played poorly against world number 148 Mai Hontama and then lost to Kudermetova for the first time in 5 one-on-one matches.
Swiatek defeated the Japanese player in two sets. In the first match, Iga was behind 1:4 with two breaks, but took the set 7:5. In the 2nd round, he lost the starting game on serve, but immediately returned to the game and closed the Japanese 6:4, but lost 4 games on serve with a score of 5:1. Iga changed sets with Kudermetova (2:6, 6:2), could not return Veronica’s serve even once in the third game, and eventually lost 4:6, causing her opponent to break in the 3rd game.
Getty Images/Global Images Ukraine. Iga Swiatek
The tournament in Tokyo was a chance for Iga to close the gap on Sabalenka in the race for first place and to completely eliminate this gap with her successful performance in Beijing in the thousandth place, but for now it is just that…
Separately, it is worth noting the performances of Nadezhda Kichenok in doubles. The Ukrainian athlete, together with Miyu Kato, reached the semi-finals, where they lost to the duo Eri Hozumi / Makoto Ninomiya. In her last 11 matches since the US Open, Nadezhda has won 9 times in doubles. Kichenok advanced to the 2nd round of the thousandth round in Beijing and, along with Monica Niculescu, overtook seventh-placed Shuko Aoyama and Ena Shibahara.
WTA 250 Ningbo
Two Ukrainians competed in the tournament in Ningbo: Katerina Volodko and Katerina Beindl.
Volodko passed the opening round of qualification but lost to Anna-Lena Friedz in the final selection.
Beindl beat Yue Yuan in the 1/16 final but lost to Lucia Bronzetti in the 2nd round with scores of 3:6 and 3:6 in two games. She now competes in the thousandth race in Katerina Beijing, where she successfully qualified by beating Rebeka Masarova and Yanina Wickmayer. At the start of the main event, the Ukrainian player will meet the world’s 10th racket, Caroline Garcia.
The winner of the competition was Ons Jabeur. It was his 7th racket award in the world, the fifth award in his career and the 2nd award of the season. Interestingly, the Tunisian representative won the championship on hard ground for the first time.
These competitions are not over yet. Semi-finalists have been announced so far in Kazakhstan, and quarter-finalists have been determined in China. Apart from Carlitos’ confident move at 500,000 metres, nothing interesting has happened there yet. Here, the Spaniard managed to defeat Yannick Hanfmann and Lorenzo Musetti and defeated the Italians with sets of 6:2, 6:2. Ruud is next and a super match with Sinner is possible in the semi-finals.
In a good way, Carlos needs a trophy because Novak Djokovic’s lead in the ATP rankings is not very attractive.
Getty Images/Global Images Ukraine. Carlos Alcaraz
Holger Rune’s weakness after Wimbledon is also surprising. The Danish player, who has won only 1 of 8 matches since the end of July, beat Felix Auger-Aliassime, who was not in good shape at the beginning, in Astana and lost in two games to mini-Federer Grigor Dimitrov in the quarter-finals. Sets. But even more surprising is that Holger is still ranked No. 4 in the world. What happened to men’s tennis, there is no one to support except Alcaraz and Sinner…
Asian Games
The 2022 Asian Games tennis tournament, held in Hangzhou, China, between September 24-30, was planned for last year but was postponed due to the Covid-19 outbreak.
Singles. Women
Zhen Qingwen defeated Zhu Lin in the final with scores of 6:2 and 6:4 and became the sixth Chinese tennis player to win the singles title at the Asian Games, her fifth in a row.
1. Zhen Qingwen (China)
2. Zhu Lin (China)
3. Haruka Kaji (Japan)
3. Alexandra Eala (Philippines)
Getty Images/Global Images Ukraine
Singles. men
The winner of the competition was Zhang Zhizhen. Zhang became the third Chinese player to win the men’s singles title. Before that, only Pan Bin had achieved this in 1990 and 1994.
1. Zhang Zhizhen (China)
2. Yosuke Watanuki (Japan)
3. Hong Song Chan (South Korea)
3. Humayun Sultanov (Uzbekistan)
Couples. Women
The Zhang brothers won the gold medal. Representing Chinese Taipei, Haoqing and Latisha performed together at the third consecutive Asian Games: the tennis players took bronze in 2014 and silver in 2018.
1. Zhan Haoqing / Zhan Latisha (Chinese Taipei)
2. Li Yaxuan / Liang Enshuo (Chinese Taipei)
3. Baek Ta-yeon / Jeon Po-yeon (South Korea)
3. Aldila Sutjiadi / Janice Tjen (Indonesia)
Couples. men
For the first time in the history of the Asian Games, Chinese Taipei duo Xu Yuxou / Jason Rong won the gold medal in the men’s doubles. Previously, representatives of this team could not even make it to the final.
1. Xu Yuxou / Jason Rong (Chinese Taipei)
2. Saketh Myneni / Ramkumar Ramanathan (India)
3. Hong Sung Chan / Kwon Sun Woo (South Korea)
3. Pruchya Isaro / Maximus Jones (Thailand)
Mixed doubles
The winner was the Indian tandem Rutuja Bhosale / Rohan Bopanna. In the last six mixed doubles medal events at the Asian Games, Indian tennis players have reached the final five times and this year’s victory was the third for the Indian representatives.
1. Rutuja Bhosale / Rohan Bopanna (India)
2. Liang Enshuo / Huang Zonghao (Chinese Taipei)
3. Zhang Haoqing / Xu Yuxou (Chinese Taipei)
3. Alexandra Eala / Francis Alcantara (Philippines)
Alexey Krutykh
After his superb performance for the Ukrainian national team, Alexey Krutykh has yet to fully adapt to the rhythm of his opponents. The Ukrainian player failed to get into the main draw of the tournament in Braga and lost to Javier Barranco in the qualifying final.
This week Alexey performs at the Challenger in Lisbon. He defeated a local tennis player in the 1st round of qualifications and will play in the final against Carlos Taberner, who was once the 85th racket.
Finale for the Kolb brothers
The Kolb brothers have been quietly creating nightmares in the ITF series tournaments (I hope I’m not trying to soften the phrase too much). Since September, Nadezhda and Marina have played in the final of the competition three times, winning 1 cup, and the Ukrainians also reached 1 semi-final in 60,000 m.
This week the sisters lost to the American duo of Dalaina Hewitt / Madison Sing in the cup match at the ITF W25 in Santarem. The Ukrainians had a chance to succeed but lost in the super tiebreaker with a score of 10:12.
Even more pleasant is that the sisters, natives of Crimea, have a completely pro-Ukrainian position. We will support Marina and Nadezhda in future competitions.
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Posted by: Nadiia Kolb (@nadiiakolb)
Yakubenko’s expectations
Vladimir Yakubenko, Ukraine’s number 1 among juniors, won a match in an ITF series tournament for the first time this week. In the 15,000 meters race in Forbach, the Ukrainian athlete received a quota set by the ITF for juniors.
In the 1/16 final of the competition, 18-year-old Yakubenko sensationally defeated the first seeded tennis player Max-Hans Rehberg and then reached the quarter-finals, defeating Daniel De Jonge.
In these two fights Vladimir was clearly an outsider. However, they failed to qualify for the semi-finals. Already the favorite in the match against Tom Gencz, the Ukrainian lost to the German in three tiebreaks.
Kotlyar’s performance is not bad
Elizaveta Kotlyar is considered one of the most promising young tennis players in Ukraine, along with Alisa Baranovskaya. However, Alisa already has 1 trophy at the ITF level, but Kotlyar is 2 years younger than her.
This week Elizaveta reached the quarter finals of the 15,000 meters race in Monastir and lost to Gina Feistel. The Polish woman eventually advanced to the final.
Kotlyar was fighting for the 2nd semi-final in his professional career. The Ukrainian player played in the 1/4 final stage for the first time in 2023.
Vanshelboim double final
Ukrainian tennis player Erik Vanshelboim reached the doubles final at the ITF M25 tournament held in Pazarcık (Bulgaria). In the cup match, the Ukrainian player, along with his Dutch partner Max Haukes, could not get a single match from Austrians Sandro Kopp and Neil Oberleitner.
Eric Vanshelboim played in the doubles final of an ITF tournament for the fifth time this year and for the first time he failed to win the championship. In total, this was the 19th doubles final for the Ukrainian tennis player, competing for the ninth trophy in ITF tournaments.
Misaki Doi retired
This tennis week was not rich in off-court events, and the end of Misaki Doi’s career was directly related to the tennis court.
The 32-year-old Japanese woman announced that she will quit professional tennis in 2023 due to worsening back problems.
On September 28, Misaki Doi lost to fourth seed Maria Sakkari from Greece (3:6, 1:6) in the second round match at the WTA 500 tournament in Tokyo. This was his last fight.
Doi announced his retirement from tennis a month ago. Misaki won 3 WTA titles during her career, one in singles and two in doubles. Total career awards: $3,946,733.
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.
