Drama over balls, new champions, policy shifts, coaching dynamics, and major deals highlight a busy off-season week in tennis.
Australian Open Tennis Balls Are Already Causing Drama: The quality of balls has been an ongoing debate in the sport, just like court speed, weather conditions, and scheduling issues. However, the ball issue seems to get less attention than other problems plaguing tennis. Full Story: Sports Illustrated
Learner Tien wins Next Gen ATP Finals: A year after finishing as runner-up, the American is leaving Jeddah as champion after a straight-sets win over Alexander Blockx. Full Story:
Does tennis need a Rules Committee?: You don’t have to dive too deeply into tennis to come up with potentially beneficial rule changes. So why can’t tennis get it done? Full Story: Tennis
Tennis heat rule will apply across ATP Tour in 2026 season: The men’s tennis circuit will introduce an extreme heat policy from the 2026 season, following player criticism during sweltering conditions at some tournaments this year. Full Story: The Athletic
How tennis players and tennis coaches choose each other: ‘The most important thing is trust’: Different players at different stages of their careers take various approaches to who they hire, and why. Full Story: The Athletic
Naomi Osaka leaves Evolve, tennis agency she co-founded: Naomi Osaka confirmed the move with a post on social media Friday. “Hi everyone, writing this to say starting in the new year I’ll be parting ways with Evolve,” Osaka wrote. “It’s been a great run and I’m so grateful for all the memories shared.. Full Story: Source
ITA and Match Tennis App Reach Agreement for Live Scoring Solution for College Tennis: ITA member teams will be able to use the new Match Tennis App college tennis live scoring feature for their dual matches at no cost or fee. Through this, programs will be able to access Match Tennis App and its live scoring software in which they can offer fans another way to follow along with matches while also being able to submit completed results to the ITA directly from the app. Full Story: ITA
How Coco Gauff Wins Big On — And Off — The Court: Coco Gauff is a force off the court, with a robust portfolio of sponsors including New Balance, Baker Tilly, and Mercedes-Benz. She hauls in an estimated $25 million annually. That figure, along with her roughly $8 million in 2025 prize money, lands her at the top of Forbes’ list of the world’s highest-paid female athletes for the second straight year. Full Story: Forbes
ATP & Rolex renew global partnership: Rolex’s relationship with tennis dates back to 1978, and the brand has since gone on to support many of the most prestigious events on the ATP Tour. Through the renewal, Rolex will remain the Official Timekeeper of the ATP Tour. Full Story: ATP
Chinese tennis player banned 12 years for match-fixing spree: Pang Renlong admitted to fixing five of his own matches in lower-level events and making “corrupt approaches” to players in 11 more matches, six of which were also fixed. Full Story: ESPN
Is Tennis’ ‘Battle-of-the-Sexes’ a Lose-Lose Situation?: The women’s world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka will play the men’s world No. 652 Nick Kyrgios in a match labeled as the fourth Battle of the Sexes in the sport’s history. The Athletic’s Sarah Shepherd reports on why it’s a lose-lose situation for women in tennis. Full Story: The Athletic
This Week in Professional Tennis
There are no events on the professional calendar this week.
