Tennis News

Hewitt, Henman, Wawrinka among United Cup captains

Lleyton Hewitt, Tim Henman and Stan Wawrinka are among the star-studded lineup of past and current tennis stars to captain teams at the 2026 United Cup.

The fourth edition of the innovative mixed team competition will again open the global tennis season, with 18 countries set to compete under the guidance of some of the sport’s most respected names from 2-11 January across Perth and Sydney. 

In Perth, three-time major champion Wawrinka will act as a playing captain for Team Switzerland alongside WTA No. 11 Belinda Bencic. Team Switzerland will face Italy and France in Group C action. 

Henman, who inspired a British tennis revival in the 1990s by becoming the first Briton to reach the men’s semi-finals at Wimbledon in 25 years, will captain Team Great Britain, starring World No. 10 Jack Draper and WTA No. 29 Emma Raducanu in Group E. 

Lucas Pouille, former No. 10 in the PIF ATP Rankings, will lead Team France, which will feature French No. 1s Arthur Rinderknech and Lois Boisson in Group C.

Former Japanese player Go Soeda will guide Japan in their United Cup debut with four-time major champion Naomi Osaka and 2019 Wimbledon boys’ singles titlist Shintaro Mochizuki in the same group as Great Britain and Greece.

In Sydney, home favourites Australia will be spearheaded by former World No. 1 and two-time major champion Hewitt in Group D. 

Gabriela Dabrowski, a Top 10 doubles player on the Hologic WTA Tour, will head up second seeds Team Canada, which includes World No. 5 Felix Auger-Aliassime and teenage sensation Victoria Mboko. 

Rounding out the list are a number of father-son duos, including Alexander Zverev Sr.for Team Germany, Christian Ruud for Team Norway and Stefano Cobolli steering Team Italy.

Tickets to the United Cup are on sale now. View the list of teams below:
 

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Best ATP Tour comebacks of 2025: De Minaur, Fonseca among season-defining escapes

To mark the end of another thrilling season, ATPTour.com is unveiling our annual ‘Best Of’ series, which will reflect on the most intriguing rivalries, matches, comebacks, upsets and more. Today we highlight five standout ATP Tour comebacks (not including Grand Slams) from this season.

Every comeback tells a story of resilience, timing, belief, and momentum. In 2025, the ATP Tour was full of moments when players turned matches, tournaments, or even their season around with gutsy performances when it mattered most.

5) Delray Beach F: Kecmanovic d. Davidovich Fokina 3-6, 6-1, 7-5
Miomir Kecmanovic’s five-year title drought ended in spectacular fashion at the Delray Beach Open, where he summoned a bit of his own scrappy play in the process.

Facing a 2-5, 15/40 deficit in the final set against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Kecmanovic summoned the same gritty defence that his Spanish opponent uses so well, saving two consecutive championship points with heart-stopping touches. The second one came via a volley that clipped the net cord and drifted in for a winner.

From there, Kecmanovic reeled off the final five games, including a ruthless break to love at 5-5, to seal his second ATP Tour title, and first since 2020. To add to his fairytale outing, the Serbian teamed up with Brandon Nakashima later that day to win the doubles crown.

4) Paris QF: Zverev d. Medvedev 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(5)
Alexander Zverev may have been falling further behind against his greatest Lexus ATP Head2Head rival Daniil Medvedev in recent years, but he nonetheless scored a win back in memorable fashion at the Rolex Paris Masters.

Staring down the barrel of his sixth consecutive defeat against Medvedev at 4-5 on serve in the deciding set, Zverev rediscovered his own game: big first serves, forward-thinking mindset, and unshakeable nerve. The German fired an unreturned first serve to fend off the first match point and then struck a booming backhand to take control of the second, before edging a tight tie-break to seal his first victory over Medvedev since Cincinnati in 2023.

Despite still trailing 8-14 in their long-running Lexus ATP Head2Head series, Zverev notched a redemptive win: The No. 3 player in the PIF ATP Rankings played the way he knows he can.

“Daniil is kind of my kryptonite, I don’t like playing him,” Zverev said. “He’s somebody who has had my number for the last couple of years. The thing I’m most pleased with is the match points saved, the way I continued being brave and in the important moments, winning the match myself.”

3) Houston: Brooksby’s brilliance en route to first ATP Tour title
Winning your first ATP Tour title is always special, but for Jenson Brooksby, it came after weathering more near-exit experiences than most.

At the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship in Houston, the American survived match points in three separate matches en route to his first tour-level crown at the clay-court event. Brooksby saved one in his first-round qualifying match, two against third seed Alejandro Tabilo in the main-draw second round, and one against top seed Tommy Paul in the semi-finals.

The 24-year-old’s 6-4, 6-2 championship-match victory against 2023 Houston winner Frances Tiafoe was, ironically, the most comprehensive win of them all.

“I’m just someone who hates to lose and loves to win in general — obviously tennis being most important, but even in other games, and I think that’s just how I’m wired as a person,” Brooksby told ATPTour.com. “I just really love winning, so that transfers over into when I’m in tough positions and maybe you should lose in those situations, I’m able to at least find a way out of it sometimes.”

<img alt=”Jenson Brooksby” style=”width:100%;” src=”/-/media/images/news/2025/11/20/15/26/brooksby-houston-2025-trophy-lift.jpg” />_{^{Jenson Brooksby wins his first ATP Tour title in Houston. Photo: Andrew Wevers}}

2) Buenos Aires QF: Fonseca d. Navone 3-6, 6-4, 7-5
Joao Fonseca arrived on the ATP Tour powered by teenage hype and the kind of raw, relentless energy that makes you lean forward in your seat, but Buenos Aires was where that buzz met title-winning substance.

Against home favourite Mariano Navone, in a raucous quarter-final at the IEB+ Argentina Open, the Brazilian produced one of the most mature wins of his fledgling career. Fonseca twice rallied from a break down in the second set to force a decider, in which he once again came back from the jaws of defeat.

At 3-5, 15/40, the then-18-year-old saved two consecutive match points — the second with a drilled backhand winner — to flip the match, winning the next four straight games to reach the semi-finals. Two days later, he downed another Argentine, Francisco Cerundolo, in the final to become the youngest South American to win a tour-level title in the ATP Tour era (since 1990).

“Those are the victories that we work for,” Fonseca said after his quarter-final win. “I was not playing my best and I fought until the end. Since the beginning I was believing I could win, even if I wasn’t playing my best, but I fought and now I’m in the semi-finals.”

1) Washington F: De Minaur d. Davidovich Fokina 5-7, 6-1, 7-6(3)
If comebacks define character, Alex de Minaur’s championship-match victory at the Mubadala Citi DC Open in Washington was a pure reflection of the Australian’s on-court resilience.

With his 10th title on the line, the Australian fought off three championship points against Davidovich Fokina in a thrilling final set, including one so tight he was just 16 millimetres from defeat. But a desperate lob clipped the sideline, and he didn’t look back.

De Minaur had already battled to break back when Davidovich Fokina attempted to serve for the match at 5-3, 30/0. Then, in a mammoth 10-minute return game filled with Deuces, he saved all three championship points before eventually landing a tie-break and delivering more final heartbreak for Davidovich Fokina, who fell to his third defeat at that stage of a tournament in 2025.

“I just backed myself and I told myself to commit no matter what and if I lost this match it was going to be on my terms,” De Minaur said. “Today it went my way. I’ve had a couple of brutal ones not go my way, so I’m glad this one went my way.”

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Rafael Jodar: In Focus

Rafael Jodar went from hitting partner at last year’s Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF to earning his debut appearance after a remarkable late-season surge in 2025.

The 19-year-old Spaniard, who was ranked outside the Top 900 in March, captured three ATP Challenger Tour titles between August and November to secure his spot at the 20-and-under event in Jeddah. The son of two teachers and a University of Virginia sophomore himself, Jodar has balanced collegiate commitments with his rapid rise.

With his latest triumph in Charlottesville last month, Jodar became the third Spanish teenager to win at least three ATP Challenger Tour titles, joining the current No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings Carlos Alcaraz and former World No. 9 Nicolas Almagro.

Jodar, who won the 2024 US Open boys’ title, will make his debut at the Next Gen ATP Finals alongside countryman and close friend Martin Landaluce, with whom he grew up playing tennis in Madrid.

Read more about the Spaniard with our range of exclusive features below…

Jodar, 2024 junior major champ, wins first Challenger title in ninth outing
Jodar’s journey: From idolising Nadal to forging his own path
Jodar racing towards Jeddah… with laptop in tow
How Jodar joined Alcaraz in Challenger history

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Dino Prizmic: In Focus

Dino Prizmic has wasted little time living up to the praise he has received in recent years, earning his debut spot at the 2025 Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF.

The 20-year-old Croatian, who received high acclaim from his idol Novak Djokovic following their four-set clash at the Australian Open in 2024, captured two ATP Challenger Tour titles and this season reached a further two finals at that level. After climbing to a career-high No. 115 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Prizmic will make his debut at the 20-and-under event in Jeddah this month.

Prizmic impressed beyond the Challenger circuit as well, picking up tour-level wins highlighted by his run to the quarter-finals on home soil at the ATP 250 in Umag. Although he fell to eventual champion Luciano Darderi, he earned recognition as a “future Top 10 player” following their encounter.

Find out more about the Croatian with our range of exclusive features below…

Meet Dino Prizmic: #NextGenATP star taking Croatian baton? 
Learning from legends: How Nadal, Cilic, Ram are inspiring #NextGenATP stars
Surging Prizmic qualifies at US Open

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Offseason Odyssey: Fritz & co. embrace global getaways

From vibrant city streets, to beach paradise or crisp mountain air, ATP Tour stars are making the most of their offseason.

While Taylor Fritz and girlfriend Morgan Riddle have been exploring Japan, Flavio Cobolli has been soaking in the sun in the Maldives and Zizou Bergs has enjoyed a mountain vacation, as highlighted on ATP Tour’s Instagram page.

Off-season: activated 😎

Stay tuned as we share what the players have been up to 📸

First up, @Taylor_Fritz97 is vibing in Japan 🇯🇵 pic.twitter.com/mMn1ojC1B7

— ATP Tour (@atptour) December 4, 2025

Novak Djokovic was at Saturday’s Formula 1 Qatar Grand Prix Sprint Race, where he presented hardware to winners Oscar Piastri, George Russell and Lando Norris. That same day, Carlos Alcaraz handed Inter Miami CF a trophy for reaching the final of the MLS Cup and shared an embrace with superstar Lionel Messi.

Andrey Rublev has been on adventures ranging from rock climbing to attending a basketball game. Andrea Vavassori travelled to the Oman desert and Corentin Moutet went on a safari.

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Best ATP Tour Match of 2025 shortlist: Read, watch & vote!

To mark the end of another thrilling season, ATPTour.com is unveiling our annual ‘Best Of’ series, which will reflect on the most intriguing rivalries, matches, comebacks, upsets and more. Today we highlight five standout ATP Tour matches (not including Grand Slams) from this season.

For 2025, fans have the chance to vote for the ATP Match of the Year. Read on for a recap of the shortlisted contenders.

Miami R3, De Minaur d. Fonseca 5-7, 7-5, 6-3
The Joao Fonseca hype-train had hit new heights by the time of March’s Miami Open presented by Itau. The teenage Brazilian, who closed 2024 by winning the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF, quickly became a star attraction for fans this season. Not least in Miami, where he reached the third round of an ATP Masters 1000 for the first time with the raucous backing of hundreds of Brazilian fans.

Yet Alex de Minaur is not known as one of the ATP Tour’s great competitors for nothing. Even in the face of a pro-Fonseca crowd, the Australian showcased all his battling abilities to halt his opponent’s momentum. De Minaur recovered from losing the opening set and from dropping serve in the opening game of the decider to prevail in a pulsating third-round clash.

“It was a hell of a battle. I knew coming in what to expect,” said De Minaur, who nodded to the carnival feel of the match by signing ‘Rio Open’ on the camera lens after his win. “Not only is he an incredibly talented, dangerous, explosive player, but he’s playing with so much confidence at the moment and the crowd behind him. I knew I was going to be up against it and it was going to take every single ounce of me. Just put my head down and got to work, so very happy with that win.”

Watch Highlights Of De Minaur & Fonseca’s Miami Matchup:

Monte-Carlo QF, Alcaraz d. Fils 4-6, 7-5, 6-3
A quality encounter featuring plenty of high-octane exchanges between two of the ATP Tour’s bright young stars lit up the quarter-finals at April’s Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters. Carlos Alcaraz and Arthur Fils, contesting their maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head clash, gave an early indication that their rivalry will be one to savour for years to come.

With both players producing plenty of heavy hitting from the baseline, Alcaraz’s experience and ability to hold his nerve under pressure proved crucial. Already a set down, the Spaniard saved three break points at 5-5, 0/40 in the second set, and he later rallied from 1-3 in the third to earn a dramatic two-hour, 23-minute victory.

“I think his level is high right now and he puts a lot of pressure on his opponents,” said Alcaraz, who went on to lift the title in Monte-Carlo. “Today I could feel it but in some moments he just made a few mistakes. I tried to make the most of those points and wait for my chances.”

Watch Highlights Of Alcaraz Outlasting Fils In Monte-Carlo: 

Washington QF, Moutet d. Medvedev 1-6, 6-4, 6-4
Corentin Moutet’s whirlwind week in Washington was highlighted by a remarkable quarter-final triumph against former No. 1 Daniil Medvedev. Having only made the Mubadala Citi DC Open main draw as a lucky loser, French lefty Moutet survived gruelling heat, cramps, and a mid-match suspension due to lightning to book his last-four spot in the U.S. capital.

Moutet’s bid for a Maiden ATP 500 semi-final appearance was in tatters after he dropped a one-sided first set, but he deployed his crafty game to great effect to rally and ultimately prevailed in a chaotic climax, which featured play being suspended due to lightning before Medvedev could start serving at 4-5 in the decider.

Upon returning to court, Medvedev offered up three double faults in his service game, while Moutet immediately started cramping, but the Frenchman still somehow pulled through by converting a manic match point that featured plenty of scrambling from both players, a net cord, and a delicious Moutet lob.

“I was feeling tired, but not that bad. And then, I don’t know, in two minutes I just started to feel a few cramps and then started to feel my body,” reflected Moutet on the final game. “I was pretty lucky with the interruption. It helped me a lot, even if I came back on the court with cramps still.”

Watch Highlights Of Moutet’s Wild Washington Upset:

Vienna F, Sinner d. Zverev 3-6, 6-3, 7-5
Like Moutet in D.C., Jannik Sinner also cut through cramp to claim a three-set victory in the final of October’s Erste Bank Open. The Italian has become renowned for his ability to bulldoze through opponents (48 of his 58 tour-level wins in 2025 came in straight sets), but Zverev pushed him all the way in a heavyweight championship-match clash in Vienna.

Sinner initially began to move gingerly after he dropped serve in the fourth game of the opening set, which he was unable to rescue. Although he appeared to shake off that issue and produced a classy second-set display to force a decider, he resorted to pickle juice at changeovers and an extra-aggressive approach to keep rallies short after cramp hit his left hamstring midway through the third set.

Whatever Sinner did in the face of his physical struggles, it worked. After clinching a two-hour, 29-minute victory, Sinner earned his 21st consecutive tour-level win on indoor hard courts, a streak he extended to 31 matches by the end of the year after subsequent title runs at the Rolex Paris Masters and Nitto ATP Finals. The Italian also defeated Zverev at both those events and finished 2025 with a 6-4 lead in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

“It was such a difficult start in this final for me,” reflected Sinner after sinking Zverev in the Austrian capital. “I just tried to stick there mentally and play my best tennis when it came. The third set was a bit of a rollercoaster, but I was feeling the ball very well at times, so I tried to push and I’m very happy of course to win another title.”

Watch Highlights Of Sinner & Zverev’s Vienna Title Clash:

Athens F, Djokovic d. Musetti 4-6, 6-3, 7-5
In the last regular-season title match of 2025, Novak Djokovic and Lorenzo Musetti went toe to toe for three hours in an absorbing battle at the Vanda Pharmaceuticals Hellenic Championship in Athens.

Djokovic pushed himself to his physical limits in trademark fashion to clinch the trophy in Athens, but only after prevailing in a pulsating third set that featured 13 breaks points and five breaks of serve. But despite having let slip leads of 3-1 and 5-3 in the decider, the former No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings sealed the title in style by serving out to love.

“An incredible battle… Three hours of a gruelling match, physically,” said Djokovic after he surpassed Roger Federer for the most tour-level titles on hard courts in the Open Era (72). “It could have been anybody’s match, so congrats to Lorenzo for an amazing performance. I’m just very proud of myself to get through this one.”

Watch Highlights Of Djokovic & Musetti’s Three-Hour Marathon:

To read about more of the best encounters in 2025, read our countdowns of the Best Grand Slam matches, the biggest ATP Tour upsets, and the biggest Grand Slam upsets.

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Coach of the Year: Cahill & Vagnozzi, Ferrero & Lopez among the nominees

Success on the ATP Tour is rarely the product of individual brilliance alone. Coaches meticulously plan, constantly refine, and reinforce belief. They are instrumental in a player’s progress.

This year, five coaches or coaching teams have been nominated for Coach of the Year in the 2025 ATP Awards, voted on by fellow coaches. Here are the nominees:

Darren Cahill & Simone Vagnozzi (Jannik Sinner)
Sinner added six titles to his trophy cabinet, including his maiden Wimbledon crown, which he secured just weeks after suffering an agonising defeat in the Roland Garros final. After making technical tweaks to his serve after the US Open, Sinner won four trophies in two months, including a successful title defence at the Nitto ATP Finals.

Juan Carlos Ferrero & Samuel Lopez (Carlos Alcaraz)
Alcaraz finished the season with a Tour-leading 71 match wins, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, and earned ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF honours. He captured eight titles, including two major crowns. Alcaraz, vocally backed by his large entourage, survived rival Sinner in a Roland Garros epic and again defeated the Italian in the US Open title match to reclaim World No. 1.

Frederic Fontang (Felix Auger-Aliassime)
Competing as World No. 30 in May, Auger-Aliassime was a long way from finishing the season inside the Top 5. The Canadian, coached by Fontang since 2017, reached five tour-level finals this year, including his second at ATP Masters 1000 level in Paris. Champion in Adelaide, Montpellier and Brussels, Auger-Aliassime qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals for the second time in his career.

Bryan Shelton (Ben Shelton)
Ben Shelton’s celebration after winning his biggest career title at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers in Toronto said it all. Hugging his father Bryan Shelton courtside, the 23-year-old lefty had just achieved a milestone moment with his dad in his corner. Shelton became the youngest American ATP Masters 1000 champion in two decades and reached a career-high No. 5 in November.

Benjamin Balleret (Valentin Vacherot)
Vacherot is more than just a player to Balleret, he is family. They are half-brothers who lived out a dream at the Rolex Shanghai Masters, where then-World No. 204 Vacherot became the lowest-ranked ATP Masters 1000 champion in history (since 1990). The family connections did not stop there. Vacherot beat his cousin Arthur Rinderknech in the final. Vacherot, the Monegasque player, finished the year at World No. 31.

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Basavareddy joins forces with Gilles Cervara

Nishesh Basavareddy has begun working with a new coach, Gilles Cervara, the American’s team confirmed Thursday.

The 20-year-old had a strong showing in 2025, having reached his maiden tour-level semi-final in Auckland and later climbing to a career-high No. 99 in the PIF ATP Rankings. Basavareddy took a set off 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic in the first round of the Australian Open.

For the second consecutive year, Basavareddy qualified for the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF, which runs from 17-21 December in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Cervara is best known for guiding Daniil Medvedev for eight successful years. During that time, Medvedev reached World No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings, won the 2021 US Open, the 2020 Nitto ATP Finals and six ATP Masters 1000 trophies.

In 2019, the Frenchman Cervara was named the ATP Coach of the Year in the ATP Awards. Cervara and Medvedev parted ways at the end of August.

Basavareddy, who turned pro last December following two seasons at Stanford University, will be one of eight players competing at the 20-and-under event in Jeddah this month. Jakub Mensik, Learner Tien, Alexander Blockx, Dino Prizmic, Martin Landaluce, Nicolai Budkov Kjaer, and Rafael Jodar will also be in action.

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Potapova changes allegiance from Russia to Austria

Anastasia Potapova switches nationality from Russian to Austrian after her application for citizenship is accepted.

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On this day: Kuerten hits No. 1 after Masters Cup magic in Lisbon

It may take 12 months of hard work to reach No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings, but Gustavo Kuerten’s rise to top spot will forever be associated with a hectic 48 hours in Lisbon.

Competing at the 2000 Nitto ATP Finals (then known as the Tennis Masters Cup), Brazilian star Kuerten pulled off back-to-back victories against a pair of American greats to seal the tournament trophy, his first rise to World No. 1, and ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF honours — all in one swoop.

Incumbent No. 1 Marat Safin headed into the prestigious season finale needing three match wins to guarantee he held onto top spot, but he finished his campaign one victory short after losing to Pete Sampras (in the group stage) and Andre Agassi (in the semi-finals). The door was ajar for Kuerten, but the Brazilian now faced the same opponents as Safin, only in reverse: if he could beat Sampras in the semi-final and Agassi in the final, the No. 1 spot was his.

Roared on by an adoring Lisbon crowd, Kuerten somehow overcame the physical issues that plagued him all week in Portugal to pull off a pair of memorable victories. He rallied from a set down in the best-of-three semi-final to defeat Sampras, before riding a wave of emotion to a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 championship-match triumph against Agassi.

Kuerten’s Lisbon triumph was his fifth tour-level title of the 2000 season. He triumphed on his favoured clay in Santiago, at the ATP Masters 1000 in Hamburg, and at Roland Garros, where he reclaimed the major title he had first won in 1997. He also won the first ATP Tour hard-court crown of his career in Indianapolis and reached further Masters 1000 finals in Miami and Rome, respectively, en route to a 63-22 record for the season, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index.

Kuerten therefore had plenty of fond memories from the 2000 season alone, not to mention from the rest of his career. Yet even after finishing his playing days as a three-time Roland Garros champion who enjoyed 43 weeks overall as World No. 1, he recognises his Lisbon heroics were something special.

“As a tennis player, nothing could be higher than becoming No. 1 at the [Tennis Masters Cup], beating Pete and then Andre back-to-back,” Kuerten, who is the only South American to have claimed ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF honours, later said. “This is the highlight of my career by far.”

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