Welcome back to the Monday Tennis Briefing, where The Athletic will explain the stories behind the stories from the past week on court.
This week, the first Riyadh edition of the WTA Tour Finals concluded in Saudi Arabia, with Coco Gauff defeating Zheng Qinwen in the final.
Throughout the week, the players and WTA chief executive Portia Archer have emphasized that they felt welcome and looked after in a country that criminalizes same-sex relationships and has been criticized for its human rights record, particularly regarding women. “We have never had any issues with freedom of expression,” Archer said in a news conference ahead of the tournament.
Charlie Eccleshare’s special report from Riyadh looks at the idea of tennis — and sport at large — having the power to effect change, and how conversant that idea is with the reality in the country:
Elsewhere, Barbora Krejcikova criticized what she called “unprofessional” commentary of the event, Danielle Collins and Daria Kasatkina experienced life as an alternate, a doubles partnership fell at the last and Daniil Medvedev spiralled in Turin.
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What led Krejcikova to call out a commentator?
After a rough run of form through fall, world No. 10 Barbora Krejcikova got a dose of the social media abuse that is dispiritingly familiar to any tennis player who is losing matches. When someone wondered out loud on X as to how she had won Wimbledon, the Czech gave a straightforward answer: “I won seven matches in a row.”
Krejcikova, who, with that title qualified for the WTA Tour Finals — a special provision for a Grand Slam champion who finishes outside the top eight in the rankings ‘race’ but inside the top 20 — applied that logic to the event in Riyadh. After going 5-5 between Wimbledon and the start of the tournament, she took Iga Swiatek to three sets, eased past Jessica Pegula, and then beat Coco Gauff to win her group.
Krejcikova ran out of steam in the semifinals against Zheng, then found herself having to respond to some more unfavorable commentary of a completely different kind.
“You might have heard about the recent comments made on Tennis Channel during the WTA Finals coverage that focused on my appearance rather than my performance. As an athlete who has dedicated herself to this sport, it was disappointing to see this type of unprofessional commentary,” the 28-year-old wrote in a statement on X.
“This isn’t the first time something like this is happening in sports world. I’ve often chosen not to speak up, but I believe it’s time to address the need for respect and professionalism in sports media. These moments distract from the true essence of sport and the dedication all athletes bring to the field.
I love tennis deeply, and I want to see it represented in a way that honors the commitment we make to compete at this level.”
Krejcikova was responding to journalist and commentator Jon Wertheim, who commented on Krejcikova’s forehead during a broadcast on Tennis Channel Friday. Wertheim is a longstanding tennis journalist and is a regular contributor to Andy Roddick’s podcast, Served, which also airs on Tennis Channel’s T2 broadcast.
— Missing 🎾 Media (@MissingTennis) November 8, 2024
Wertheim apologized Sunday in a statement on X, which he labelled “a tennis twitter apology.”
“During a Tennis Channel studio show on Friday, I made some deeply regrettable comments off-air. I acknowledge them. I apologise for them. I reached out immediately and apologised to the player,” he said.
“What happened? I joined the show by Zoom. In rehearsal we were shown a graphic of a player who had just competed. It showed her at an angle that exaggerated her forehead.
“A few moments later, I was told to frame up my Zoom. I looked at the low camera angle and joked that it made my forehead resemble the photo of the player in question. Someone in the control room chimed in and I bantered back. Though this was a private rehearsal, this exchange inadvertently, and without context, made it to live air.
“I realise: I am not the victim here. It was neither professional nor charitable nor reflective of the person I strive to be. I am accountable. I own this. I am sorry.”
He later issued a further joint apology with Roddick, shared on Served’s X account.
— Served with Andy Roddick (@Served_Podcast) November 10, 2024
Wertheim told The Athletic via email that: “Between the statement I posted and some remarks I made with Andy Roddick I don’t have much to add about this deeply regrettable situation for which I am profoundly apologetic.”
In a statement issued Sunday, Tennis Channel said that Wertheim has been removed from the air “indefinitely.”
James Hansen
What caused Daniil Medvedev to lose control at the ATP Finals?
Daniil Medvedev is one of two men’s players born in the 1990s to win a Grand Slam title. He is world No. 4, a constant factor in the latter stages of the biggest events, and one of the most compelling speakers on the ATP Tour.
He’s also in a bad spot. His right shoulder has been bothering him all year, afflicting his serve, which ordinarily lets him explode through his service games to put pressure on his opponents. He’s having to play Jannik Sinner so often that their appearing in the same side of a tournament draw has become a meme, and he isn’t winning at the moment. He thinks the balls used on the tour are neutralizing his strengths and helping those of Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, the players who can accelerate through slower balls enough to finish points with most aplomb.
At the ATP Tour Finals in Turin, he had had enough, both on-court and off. “I have this every day, day in, day out, since two, three years. Every practice is a struggle. Every match is a struggle. I was holding for long time. Now I feel zero pleasure of being on the court,” he said in a news conference after losing in straight sets to Taylor Fritz on November 10.
That lack of pleasure devolved into the absurd, with Medvedev throwing his racket into the air, feigning that he could not hang on to it, and preparing to return serve with his racket handle after Fritz shanked a lucky lob onto the baseline to break in the second set. Medvedev, who is known for his ability to up the frequency of long rallies in return games and steal the marginal advantage it offers the returner against the server, said his fight had left him.
“I’m tired to fight against something that doesn’t depend on myself,” he said, referring to the balls.
“Every match I come, I know that basically I have to hit whatever. It doesn’t matter. Tactics matter less,” he said.
Medvedev will face Alex De Minaur and then Sinner as he bids to qualify for the semifinals. He isn’t all that bothered if this is the end of his season.
James Hansen
What’s it like to be an alternate?
It was a tale of two alternates at the WTA Finals last week — one who got to play and one who didn’t.
In one of tennis’ strangest roles, it is reserved for the end-of-year finals on the men’s and women’s tours. The two players ranked just below the cut-off to qualify for the WTA and ATP Tour Finals are selected as substitutes in case one of the players who has qualified has to pull out. Withdrawals are more common at these events: they are the last major tournaments of the season aside from the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup. They are also played to a round-robin format, so there is the possibility for dead rubbers that players are more willing to pull out of if not feeling 100 percent.
At the WTA Finals the two alternates were Daria Kasatkina of Russia and America’s Danielle Collins. Kasatkina as the world No. 9 was the first alternate and was duly called off the bench when Jessica Pegula pulled out with a knee injury on Wednesday after losing her first two matches. Kasatkina’s reward was a match against the world No. 2 Iga Swiatek with only a day’s notice. She lost 6-1, 6-0 in 51 minutes.
Afterwards, a shellshocked Kasatkina spoke of the challenge of the alternate role.
“It’s more difficult than it seems. You have to be here for a week, and then suddenly you have to go and play No. 2 in the world who already played two matches.
“It’s not easy to go and play from zero, being relaxed the whole week, not being in this mentality as when you play a tournament and then going to play Iga,” she said in a news conference.
Collins probably got the better deal as a non-playing alternate. She was a late call-up after Emma Navarro — who would have been the first alternate — withdrew with illness. Collin saw the week as a chance to get into shape for the Billie Jean King Cup Finals, which begins on Wednesday.
Collins, who has not played a match in more than two months, said she hoped her role as an alternate would be a good bridge to playing competitively again at the BJK Cup. “It’s been really nice,” she told The Athletic in an interview in Riyadh. “It’s a great opportunity to get back into tournament mode and and and get a lot of great practice, too, with all these players.”
On the day we spoke, Collins played a practice set with Kasatkina and said that she was essentially in her tournament routine — just without playing the matches.
Perhaps the strangest alternate role is reserved for the beaten semifinalists. Barbora Krejcikova and Aryna Sabalenka were required to stick around to ensure the final would go ahead if one of Zheng Qinwen and Coco Gauff withdrew. Leaving early carried a fine of half their prize money from the tournament.
This week it’s Grigor Dimitrov and Stefanos Tsistipas in the alternate roles, at the ATP Finals in Turin. Waiting and wondering if they’ll get the chance to step in for someone. Though even if they don’t they’ll pick up a $155,000 (£120,317) cheque for their efforts — $140,000 (£108,661) was the alternate rate in Riyadh.
Charlie Eccleshare
So close but so far for Taylor Townsend and Katerina Siniakova?
Last week, as Aryna Sabalenka for the first time became year-end world No. 1 in singles, Katerina Siniakova achieved the same feat in doubles — for the fourth time.
Siniakova won two Grand Slam titles in 2024: The French Open with Coco Gauff and Wimbledon with Taylor Townsend, who partnered her at the Tour Finals in Riyadh. She also won Olympic gold in mixed doubles for the Czech Republic with Tomas Machac.
Siniakova and Townsend were seeded eighth out of eight pairs in Riyadh despite being widely considered as favorites alongside Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe, the Canadian and Kiwi duo who Siniakova and Townsend defeated in the Wimbledon final in July.
Both pairs stormed to the Riyadh final undefeated, with Siniakova and Townsend beating Australian Open champions Hsieh Su-Wei and Elise Mertens and U.S. Open champions Jelena Ostapenko and Lyudmyla Kichenok in the group stage. After four resplendent performances, Dabrowski and Routliffe proved a bridge too far, winning in straight sets 7-5, 6-3 and lifting Dabrowski to No. 3 in the world, behind Routliffe in No. 2. Townsend moved up from No. 9 to No. 5.
Despite this defeat, Siniakova, who has been outspoken about the lack of recognition for elite doubles players compared to their singles counterparts, stands alone at the top.
James Hansen
A long wait for Denis Shapovalov?
After a five-year wait, Denis Shapovalov finally has his hands on an ATP title again — coming all the way through qualifying to claim the Belgrade Open on Sunday.
It was the Canadian’s first title since his maiden victory at the Stockholm Open in 2019, and especially significant given he was out for six months between July 2023 and January 2024 because of a knee injury. This title lifts him 22 places to No. 56 in the rankings, an important step towards the spot in the top 30 that he had before that knee injury last summer, and one that would make him seeded at the Slams (and certainly not have to qualify for 250-level events).
Such a stylish player with a flashing single-handed backhand, it’s good news for fans of variety to have Shapovalov as a factor again, and this title was made even more special by the man handing over the trophy: the 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic.
Shapovalov said how honored he was by Djokovic’s presence after his 6-4, 6-4 win over another Serbian, Hamad Medjedovic.
“It was super weird, because he’s normally taking trophies from us, not giving us trophies,” he said.
Next up for Shapovalov is the Davis Cup finals with Canada, which begin in Malaga a week on Tuesday. All of a sudden it feels like he could have a significant role to play.
Charlie Eccleshare
Shot(s) of the week
When doubles is good, it’s very, very good.
Recommended reading:
- Saudi Arabia’s first WTA Tour Finals: Tennis spectacle collides with everyday reality in Riyadh
- ‘Now I can breathe a bit more’: Alison Van Uytvanck on life after tennis and Grand Slam anxiety
- Aryna Sabalenka crowns the season of her life
🏆 The winners of the week
🎾 ATP:
🏆 Denis Shapovalov (Q) def. Hamad Medjedovic (WC) 6-4, 6-4 to win the Belgrade Open (250) in Belgrade, Serbia. It is the Canadian’s second ATP Tour title.
🏆 Benjamin Bonzi (Q) def. Cameron Norrie 7-6(6), 6-4 to win the Moselle Open (250) in Metz, France. It is the Frenchman’s first ATP Tour title.
🎾 WTA:
🏆 Coco Gauff (3) def. Zheng Qinwen (7) 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(2) to win the WTA Tour Finals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It is the American’s ninth WTA Tour singles title.
🏆 Gabriela Dabrowski / Erin Routliffe (2) def. Taylor Townsend / Katerina Siniakova (8) 7-5, 6-3 to win the WTA Tour Finals in Riyadh. It is the duo’s second WTA Tour title.
📈📉 On the rise / Down the line
📈 Zheng Qinwen moves up two places from No. 7 to No. 5 — a new career high — after her run to the WTA Tour Finals final in Riyadh.
📈 Denis Shapovalov ascends 22 spots from No. 78 to No. 56 after winning the title in Belgrade.
📈 Barbora Krejcikova reenters the top 10 after rising three spots from No. 13 to No. 10 following her run to the semifinals in Riyadh.
📉 Adrian Mannarino falls 14 places from No. 54 to No. 68 after dropping his points from winning the 2023 Sofia Open in Bulgaria.
📉 In an illustration of how bunched players are further down the rankings, Ann Li drops six places for the loss of just 16 points, from No. 93 to No. 99.
📉 Novak Djokovic falls one spot from No. 5 to No. 6 after dropping his 1,300 points from last year’s ATP Tour Finals.
📅 Coming up
🎾 ATP
📍November 10 – 17 in Turin, Italy: ATP Tour Finals featuring Jannik Sinner, Alexander Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev.
📺 UK: Sky Sports; U.S.: Tennis Channel 💻
🎾 WTA
📍November 13 – 20 in Malaga, Spain: Billie Jean King Cup featuring Iga Swiatek, Danielle Collins, Emma Raducanu, Karolina Muchova
📺 UK: BBC (for Great Britain ties); U.S.:
Tell us what you noticed this week in the comments below as the men’s and women’s tours continue.
(Top photo: Getty Images; design: Eamonn Dalton)
