Mboko shocks Rybakina as Swiatek loses to Sakkari
Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina is knocked out of the Qatar Open by Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko, while top seed Iga Swiatek is toppled by Maria Sakkari.
Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina is knocked out of the Qatar Open by Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko, while top seed Iga Swiatek is toppled by Maria Sakkari.
Ben Shelton fought off a stern test from French lefty Adrian Mannarino on Thursday at the Nexo Dallas Open, where the American is into his 25th tour-level quarter-final.
Shelton, the No. 9 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, overcame Mannarino 7-6(2), 6-7(4), 6-3 in a topsy-turvy battle filled with superb shotmaking. Mannarino, a finalist last week in Montpellier, expertly absorbed Shelton’s firepower, best showcased during a 29-shot rally on the opening point of the first-set tie-break, but the second seed raised his level in the important moments to advance after two hours and 40 minutes.
Fired up 🔥@BenShelton digs deep to get past Mannarino 7-6(2), 6-7(4), 6-3.@NexoDallasOpen | #DALOpen pic.twitter.com/12YqCVFnBJ
— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 13, 2026
“Ridiculous tennis,” Shelton said in his on-court interview. “I thought [Adrian] played at an extremely high level, I think he always does against me. We’ve had some crazy matches, last match I got injured against him at the US Open. A big battle for sure. He does a lot of things that make it very, very difficult. Especially playing him on a low-bouncing indoor court.”
Throughout the clash, Shelton and Mannarino traded momentum shifts. Mannarino forced a decider in dramatic fashion, converting his sixth set point. The 37-year-old had let slip four set points on return at 6-5, two of which the American erased with booming aces. Earlier that game, Mannarino hit a shot-of-the-year-contender when he struck a no-look, between the legs winner.
Shelton in the decider pulled away by winning 52 per cent of his return points, according to Infosys ATP Stats, compared to 32 and 31 per cent in the first and second sets, respectively. With his win, the 23-year-old improved to 2-3 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with his fellow left-hander Mannarino. Up next for Shelton is fifth seed Tommy Paul or Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic.
In earlier action, defending champion and seventh seed Denis Shapovalov raced past Aleksandar Kovacevic 6-4, 6-4 after 66 minutes, during which the Canadian did not face a break point. Shapovalov next faces third seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
Marin Cilic, who earned his 600th career tour-level win on Wednesday, downed Ethan Quinn 7-6(4), 6-3. Cilic is into his 123rd tour-level quarter-final, second most among active players, only behind Novak Djokovic (226).
Cilic’s next opponent is British qualifier Jack Pinnington Jones, who escaped Eliot Spizzirri 7-6(5), 4-6, 7-6(4) after a two-hour, 52-minute thriller. Pinnington Jones turned pro last year after three seasons at Texas Christian University and is now into his first tour-level quarter-final.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Great Britain’s Jack Pinnington Jones reaches his first ATP Tour quarter-final as he continues his superb run at the Dallas Open.
Five months away from clay was not enough to stop Luciano Darderi from making a typically assured return to the surface Thursday at the IEB+ Argentina Open.
The second-seeded Italian powered to a 6-1, 6-3 opening-round victory against Tomas Barrios Vera at the ATP 250 in Buenos Aires to pick up where he left off on his favourite surface in 2025. Darderi, who lifted two ATP Tour titles (Bastad, Umag) and an ATP Challenger Crown (Genoa) in his most recent appearances on clay, needed just 82 minutes against Barrios Vera to extend his winning streak on the surface to 15 matches.
Brilliant from start to finish 🏁@Lucianodarderi_ blasts his way past Barrios Vera 6-1, 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals in Buenos Aires.@iebmasargopen | #ArgOpen2026 pic.twitter.com/D2x9IUKK5x
— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 12, 2026
“It’s the first match on clay after [five] months playing on hard, but I feel really comfortable here on clay,” said Darderi, who reached the fourth-round on the hard courts of the Australian Open last month. “Today was a really good match and I felt really good. In the second set, he started to play better but I’m really happy to be in the quarter-finals here again.”
Competing at a career-high No. 22 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Darderi converted five of nine break points he earned against Barrios Vera, according to Infosys ATP Stats. The 23-year-old could secure his rise into the Top 20 for the first time if he can lift his fifth ATP Tour title this week. Standing in Darderi’s way next in the Argentine capital will be Pedro Martinez or home favourite Juan Manuel Cerundolo.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Carlos Alcaraz kick-started his season by going ‘full throttle’ at January’s Australian Open, where he lifted the trophy to become the youngest man to complete the Career Grand Slam.
On Thursday, the No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings visited a couple of fellow Spanish sporting stars who are also aiming to begin their respective 2026 seasons in style. Alcaraz caught up with Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz as the duo took part in the F1 pre-season testing in Bahrain.
🇪🇸🏎️🤝🏽🎾 pic.twitter.com/KRkEjCOEWI
— Carlos Alcaraz (@carlosalcaraz) February 12, 2026
A keen motorsport fan, Alcaraz has long been a big supporter of both Alonso, a two-time winner of the Formula One World Driver’s Championship, and Sainz. He posed for photos with both drivers, who will also be hoping for a magic moment in Melbourne to begin the year: The 2026 F1 season starts in the city with the Australian Grand Prix on 8 March.
The 22-year-old Alcaraz is in the Middle East ahead of next week’s Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha, where he will compete as the top seed. He will be joined in the field in the Qatari capital by his great Lexus ATP Head2Head rival, World No. 2 Jannik Sinner.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Lorenzo Musetti knows how to put his flair to devastating effect, and one of his latest moments of magic has earned him January’s Hot Shot of the Month presented by Yokohama.
Trailing by a set against Andrey Rublev in their Hong Kong semi-final, the 23-year-old Italian went searching for a spark — and found it in spectacular style. Musetti whipped a wicked banana forehand that swerved outside the tramlines before bending back in and landing for a clean winner.
That flash of brilliance proved the turning point. Musetti surged back to claim a three-set victory, levelling his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Rublev at 1-1 and launching his season with a run to his ninth ATP Tour final.
Musetti claimed the fan-voted award ahead of Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Brandon Nakashima and Cameron Norrie. Stay tuned to see what February has in store for the ATP Tour’s next round of jaw-dropping hot shots.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Can Alex de Minaur finally get his hands on the trophy at the ABN AMRO Open in Rotterdam?
The top-seeded Australian cruised past 2015 champion Stan Wawrinka 6-4, 6-2 on Thursday at the indoor hard-court event, advancing to the quarter-finals for the fifth year in a row to equal three-time champion Roger Federer’s record for consecutive appearances at that stage.
Foot on the throttle 🏎️
Top seed @alexdeminaur came to play and WIN!@abnamroopen | #abnamroopen pic.twitter.com/jDogBDWfcy
— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 12, 2026
A finalist in the past two editions of the ATP 500, De Minaur has earned more wins (15) than anyone in this year’s field. In a dominant display against Swiss wild card Wawrinka, the No. 8 player in the PIF ATP Rankings forced the 40-year-old into errors with his consistent ballstriking, improving to 2-0 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series.
“I think over the years it’s changed,” said De Minaur, when asked why Rotterdam seems to bring out his best. ”Every year I’ve come here it has been a bit different in terms of the playing conditions. A little bit slower, and the balls are a little bit different, so I think I’m just doing a good job at adapting. I don’t think there are too many players out here who are feeling really comfortable, so it’s all about just finding a way and that is where I thrive.”
De Minaur has now recorded 50 victories at ATP 500 events since the start of 2023, lifting trophies at that level in Acapulco (2023, 2024) and Washington (2025), according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index. Aiming to break his title duck in Rotterdam, he will next play Botic van de Zandschulp.
The Dutchman Van de Zandschulp defeated the 2022 finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 7-6(4) to advance to the quarter-finals in Rotterdam for the first time. He is the fourth active Dutchman to reach the last eight at the ATP 500.
Second seed and World No. 6 Felix Auger-Aliassime joined his fellow Top 10 star De Minaur in the last eight in Rotterdam by pulling through a potentially tricky second round against Hamad Medjedovic. Auger-Aliassime, who lifted an indoor ATP 250 trophy in Montpellier on Sunday, prevailed 6-4, 6-4 to extend his winning streak to six matches.
Now 17-1 against players from outside the Top 50 since last August, the 2022 Rotterdam titlist Auger-Aliassime will next play home favourite Tallon Griekspoor. The two players are split at 1-1 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series, and Friday’s quarter-final clash will be their first meeting indoors.
Earlier, Ugo Humbert and Jaume Munar also both advanced to the quarter-finals. Frenchman Humbert backed up his win against Daniil Medvedev with a 6-4, 6-3 triumph against Guy Den Ouden, while Munar upset fifth seed Karen Khachanov 7-6(8), 3-6, 6-3.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Jack Pinnington Jones, the former college tennis star at Texas Christian University, lost in the first round of qualifying at this year’s Australian Open to Gilles Arnaud Bailly. The next evening, the Briton began a 32-hour solo journey to Egypt for an ATP Challenger Tour event.
“I remember when I got to Egypt, I was like, ‘Oof, I’m going to be hurting for the next few days’. I woke up in the night, jet lagged, didn’t know where I was,” Pinnington Jones told ATPTour.com. “It was just a completely new experience and going from my first experience in Australia [for a] Grand Slam to a Challenger in Egypt where I didn’t know anyone, it was just a bit like, ‘You’re still 200 in the world. It’s all a journey’.”
Then No. 197 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Pinnington Jones had different thoughts going through his mind. The Briton had not been home since Thanksgiving, meaning two and a half consecutive months on the road. Maybe that would not be his week to shine.
Instead, Pinnington Jones made the final in Soma Bay and after qualifying for the Nexo Dallas Open and upsetting Flavio Cobolli in the main draw, he is up to No. 153 in the world.
“My body by the end of it wasn’t in good stead, but I made the final. I made the best of a tough situation with travel and everything like that,” Pinnington Jones said. “My team was great, rallying around me and saying, ‘No, you’ve just got to compete every match, and keep going, keep going, you never know what could happen.
“I feel like that’s the mindset I’m trying to take week in, week out.”
It has been a learning experience for Pinnington Jones, who this time a year ago was beginning his final spring season at TCU, where he competed for three years and earned All-American singles honours twice. A former junior World No. 6, the Briton followed in the footsteps of Top-100 players Cameron Norrie and Jacob Fearnley, who also played for the Horned Frogs.
“It was a big change. Obviously being away from home for such an extended period of time for the first time, was a big shock,” Pinnington Jones said. “Having other British players on the team, like Jake Fearnley, Lui Maxted — who I knew from growing up — was a huge help. And the coaches and just the culture of TCU was great. I felt really welcomed and just sort of settled in after the first few weeks.”
[ATP APP]Pinnington Jones competed under the leadership of head coach David Roditi, who explained that his former star player “was a big, huge personality” on their team.
“He brought a lot of that competitive spirit and that edginess of getting everybody to go a little further or compete a little harder or every day in practice,” Roditi said. “I think that helped our team a tonne. That was all Jack. Everybody knew that at the end of the day, winning was the main purpose out there. That’s what his personality was on the team.”
Pinnington Jones is first to admit that he enjoyed himself off the court, too. “He was trying to be a superhero: win on the court, and then win at night as well. I think eventually he learned that he can’t do both,” Roditi said.
“He’s just a big personality, and he was very social, and very playful. He loves to play, so he would get bored easily, and probably staying in his dorm or staying in his apartment and just chilling is just not part of his DNA.”
Since deciding to forego his senior season at TCU, Pinnington Jones has stepped into a new world. Instead of traveling with his team to different dual matches or tournaments, he is climbing the ATP Tour ladder.
“I did preseason in Florida, did Thanksgiving in Texas, and then I went to Hawaii, Australia, Doha, Egypt, London [and now] Dallas. I’ve basically done a loop,” Pinnington Jones said. “I’ve got a great team around me, I’m really thankful I’ve got support from the LTA and am leaning on them to sort of help guide me on how to manage the stresses, the travel, the stuff that I’m completely new to and leaning on them when I can. That’s the biggest thing.
“I’d say [it has been about] travel, jet lag, and then just trying to control what I control: going out, competing, practising the best I can, and just trying to improve.”
[NO 1 CLUB]In the past year, Pinnington Jones has climbed more than 200 places in the PIF ATP Live Rankings. Thanks to his college success, he was a multiple-time qualifier for the Next Gen Accelerator, which allows qualifiers to benefit from direct entry into ATP Challenger Tour events.
“It’s awesome. You look at just the guys, when I was in college who have come through: Jake Fearnley, Eliot Spizzirri, Ethan Quinn, just to name a few. Diallo and Shelton were just before me, but all of those guys. It just gives them a leg up,” Pinnington Jones said. “Their level is there, but they might not be ranked. When they’re playing at the top of the lineup for a great college team, the level’s really high.
“I remember all season long thinking, ‘I’ve got to keep playing well, I’ve got to make sure I’m earning these wild cards’, because I know it’s such a big boost to start your pro career.”
Before arriving in Dallas, Pinnington Jones spent a week at TCU with his former coaches and teammates, some of whom have been supporting him at the ATP 500 event.
“I spent three years at TCU. Fort Worth, and Texas feels like a second home in a way. There are so many great people that I have met along my journey through college here and so many of them have been coming out to support,” Pinnington Jones said. “It really feels like a home tournament and especially to have the run I’m having, it’s really special.”
[NEWSLETTER FORM]A professor famous for debunking hoaxes investigates three unsolvable cases.
Alejandro Tabilo claimed a thrilling win at the IEB+ Argentina Open Wednesday, beating the defending champion Joao Fonseca 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 in the second round and extending the Brazilian’s challenging start to the 2026 season.
Despite letting slip a break lead at 3-1 in the third set, Tabilo ultimately capitalised on Fonseca’s 33 unforced errors to seal the victory on his third match point in a two-hour, 24-minute battle.
“I was very connected with the team. They helped me through it all,” Tabilo said. “A lot of nerves at the end, but I feel like we played a very good game, very smart tactics and just outlasted him. I knew he was going to come out swinging and I just had to be very solid.”
Tabilo won 77 per cent (40/52) of his first-serve points and saved 57 per cent (4/7) of the break points he faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats. With the triumph over No. 33 in the PIF ATP Rankings Fonseca, Tabilo earned his first Top-50 win on clay since upsetting No. 5 Novak Djokovic in the second round at the ATP 1000 event Monte-Carlo last April. He will face seventh seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the quarter-finals.
Fonseca, who withdrew from Brisbane and Adelaide due to a lower back injury and lost in the opening round at the Australian Open, was unable to hold out against the Chilean’s ball-striking. He claimed his first tour-level title a year ago in Buenos Aires. The 19-year-old former Next Gen ATP Finals champion will hope to regain form when he competes next week at the ATP 500 in Rio de Janeiro, his hometown.
[ATP APP]Etcheverry booked his quarter-final spot by rallying past fellow Argentine Roman Andres Burruchaga 7-6(5), 6-7(3), 6-4. The Argentine saved a set point in the opening set. With the win, the 26-year-old recorded his 50th tour-level clay-court victory.
In other action, Vit Kopriva halted eighth seed Matteo Berrettini’s run in the second round by defeating the Italian 6-4, 6-3. Berrettini was competing in his first tournament of the season after withdrawing from the Australian Open due to an abdominal injury. By defeating Berrettini, Kopriva became the first Czech quarter-finalist in the tournament’s history and will face top seed Francisco Cerundolo or Hugo Dellien in the last eight.
Mariano Navone defeated Emilio Nava 6-2, 6-1 to book his second-round spot.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]