Tennis News

ATP makes history in Washington with player-worn microphones for doubles

History will be made this week at the Mubadala Citi DC Open in Washington. For the first time, the ATP will trial player-worn microphones during doubles matches at the ATP 500 event.

This innovation, part of the 2024 ATP Doubles Trial, aims to enhance the fan and broadcast experience, while also amplifying the profiles of the players. This will take place across select doubles matches throughout the week.

Have you ever wondered what a doubles team is discussing before a critical deuce point, or what they are joking about during a changeover?

Now fans will be closer to the action than ever before with players mic’d up.

Fans will be able to hear these fly-on-the-wall moments live during broadcasts and clipped on the ATP’s digital channels throughout the tournament.

You can listen to NBA players chatting in their huddle, Formula 1 drivers speaking to their race engineers and MLB players sharing their thoughts mid-play. Now you can also hear tennis players live during the action.

ATP Chief Sporting Officer Ross Hutchins said: “The continuation of the 2024 ATP Doubles Trial with the introduction of player-worn microphones during competition is a transformative opportunity for players, fans and the sport as a whole. This will provide fans live, never-before-seen insight into tactics players use during critical points of a match, while also providing interesting glimpses into the lighter, funny moments of the action. Thanks to Mark Ein and the Mubadala Citi DC Open for their vision and collaboration on this project. We look forward to an impactful week in Washington.”

Mubadala Citi DC Open Tournament Chairman Mark Ein said: “I have wanted to bring live mic’ing to tennis for many years after seeing the powerful impact of it in other sports like the NBA and NFL, who collaborated with us on this pilot. We are thrilled that the Mubadala Citi DC Open will be the first tour event ever to use it and know that it will bring fans inside the court, allowing them to hear the most unique insights into the game. This will be an important innovation that will greatly benefit doubles and the sport more broadly.”

The following changes will also be trialed during the Washington doubles event:

• There will be a maximum of 21 seconds between all points.
• There will be 60-second changeovers with time called after 40 seconds.
• Each team may request a 10-second time extension on their serve once per set, including tie-breaks.
• Free crowd movement will be allowed on the sides of the court.
• Eight teams are seeded (up from four) to help create singles versus doubles team matches in the first round.
• When possible there will be a doubles-only court.

The 2024 ATP Doubles Trial began at the Mutua Madrid Open. Further trials have been held at Queen’s Club, Hamburg, Gstaad, Newport and Kitzbühel.

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When will Nadal, Murray play doubles R2 at the Olympics?

Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray will both continue their doubles campaigns at the Paris Olympics on Tuesday.

Nadal, who lost to top seed Novak Djokovic in singles on Monday, will return to action alongside fellow Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz against Dutchmen Tallon Griekspoor and Wesley Koolhof. The match will be the third on Court Suzanne-Lenglen after 12 p.m., following the men’s singles match between Taylor Fritz and Jack Draper and the women’s singles match between Jasmine Paolini and Anna Karolina Schmiedlova.

Nadal and Alcaraz are playing doubles together for the first time. They defeated Argentines Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni in the first round.

Daniel Evans and Murray faced five consecutive match points on Sunday against Japan’s Taro Daniel and Kei Nishikori, but the Britons saved them all and eventually advanced to the second round with a thrilling victory in Paris.

Evans and Murray will follow Alcaraz and Nadal on Court Suzanne-Lenglen when they play Belgians Sander Gille/Joran Vliegen or Frenchmen Arthur Fils/Ugo Humbert.

In singles, Tokyo gold medalist Alexander Zverev will play Czech Tomas Machac second on Court Philippe-Chatrier and fourth seed Daniil Medvedev will face Austrian Sebastian Ofner in the last match on the same court.

Former No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings Stan Wawrinka will also be in action Tuesday against Australian Alexei Popyrin. The Australian won the pair’s only previous Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting in last year’s Umag final.

Ninth seed Tommy Paul will take on #NextGenATP Czech Jakub Mensik and 13th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime will try to move past German Maximilian Marterer. There will also be men’s doubles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles play Tuesday.

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Watch: Djokovic too strong for old rival Nadal

Watch highlights as Serbia’s Novak Djokovic beats long-time rival Rafael Nadal in two sets on day three of the Paris 2024 Olympics.

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Rincon, former US Open boys champ, wins first Challenger title

Daniel Rincon earned a career milestone Sunday at the ATP Challenger Tour 75 event in Tampere, Finland, where the 21-year-old claimed his first title at that level.

The Spaniard joins elite company as a former US Open junior champion to win a Challenger title in the past 10 years, alongside Taylor Fritz, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Wu Yibing and Thiago Seyboth Wild. Rincon, a 2021 graduate of the Rafa Nadal Academy, defeated fourth seed Calvin Hemery 6-1, 7-6(4) in the Tampere Open final.

Following his title run, the lefty is up to a career-high No. 164 in the PIF ATP Rankings. Rincon is the youngest Spanish Challenger champion since Pablo Llamas Ruiz last July.

<img src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/07/29/15/10/rincon-tamperech-2024-trophy.jpg” style=”width:100%;” alt=”Daniel Rincon triumphs on the clay courts of Tampere, Finland.” />
^{Daniel Rincon triumphs on the clay courts of Tampere, Finland. Credit: Tampere Open}

In other ATP Challenger Tour action, Canadian Gabriel Diallo was unbroken across five matches to win the Chicago Men’s Challenger. The 6’8” 22-year-old faced just four break points, according to Infosys ATP Stats, relying on his hefty serve to capture his third Challenger title and first of this season.

A Montreal native who played at the University of Kentucky before turning pro at the end of 2022, Diallo ousted Buyunchaokete 6-3, 7-6(3) in the final. China’s ‘Bu’ last week won the Granby Challenger, Diallo’s home tournament which he triumphed at in 2022.

“It means a lot because it’s hard work from the previous months that we’ve been putting in, my team and I,” Diallo told commentator Mike Cation. “Obviously with my height, the goal is to not get broken, but obviously it happens sometimes. But the fact that I was able to go the whole tournament without getting broken was very impressive. I think it goes to the hard work we put in, not only on the serve, but the serve plus-one and my game overall.”

<img src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/07/29/13/29/diallo-chicagoch-2024.jpg” style=”width:100%;” alt=”Gabriel Diallo is crowned champion at the Chicago Men’s Challenger.” />
^{Gabriel Diallo is crowned champion at the Chicago Men’s Challenger. Credit: Eduardo Cantu}

Swiss Jerome Kym enjoyed a dream week on home soil at the Dialectic Zug Open, where he collected his second Challenger title. The 21-year-old last month won the Prostejov Challenger as a qualifier. Kym raced past fourth-seeded Argentine Roman Andres Burruchaga 6-4, 6-4 in the final and is up to a career-high No. 181 following his title run.

“It’s been an absolutely great atmosphere here in Zug every day,” Kym said while thanking the home crowd in the trophy presentation. “So many fans coming out to see the players. It always feels like playing Davis Cup when a Swiss player makes it to the finals at a Swiss tournament, the people are crazy for tennis.”

<img src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/07/29/15/25/kym-zugch-2024.jpg” style=”width:100%;” alt=”Jerome Kym competes in front of a packed crowd Sunday in Zug, Switzerland.” />
^{Jerome Kym competes in front of a packed crowd Sunday in Zug, Switzerland. Credit: Fabian Meierhans/Dialectic Zug Open}

Frenchman Antoine Escoffier went one step further than last week’s runner-up finish in Pozoblanco to claim the Open Castilla y Leon in Segovia, Spain, where he was a finalist last year. The top seed defeated Spaniard Alex Martinez 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 in the title match.

At 32 years and four months, Escoffier is the second-oldest first-time winner in Challenger history. Only Joseph Sirianni (32 years, 10 months) was older when he won his maiden title in Caloundra, Australia (2007).

<img src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/07/29/15/30/escoffier-segoviach-2024.jpg” style=”width:100%;” alt=”Antoine Escoffier wins the hard-court tournament in Segovia, Spain.” />
^{Antoine Escoffier wins the hard-court tournament in Segovia, Spain. Credit: Open Castilla y Leon}

“I feel very proud because last year it was a close match, I lost in the final. I really wanted to do my best today and hopefully get the title, which is done now,” Escoffier said.

Italian Federico Arnaboldi advanced through qualifying en route to winning the Internazionali di Tennis Verona. The 24-year-old downed #NextGenATP Vilius Gaubas 6-2, 6-2 in the final to win his first Challenger title. Arnaboldi is up 108 spots to a career-high World No. 251.

<img src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/07/29/13/45/arnaboldi-veronach-2024.jpg” style=”width:100%;” alt=”Federico Arnaboldi at the Verona Challenger.” />
^{Federico Arnaboldi at the Verona Challenger. Credit: Internazionali di Tennis Verona}

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Djokovic beats Nadal to keep Olympic dream going

Novak Djokovic outclasses long-time rival Rafael Nadal to win their Olympic second-round match and continue his bid to land an elusive gold medal.

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No sleep & breaking new ground: An unforgettable weekend for Mattia Bellucci

Mattia Bellucci will never forget the past weekend.

It all started in Atlanta, where the 23-year-old qualified for an ATP Tour event for the first time and took advantage by winning his first two tour-level matches and reaching the quarter-finals. That in itself was normal.

Then came his quarter-final Friday evening against Arthur Rinderknech. Due to rain, their clash did not end until nearly 1:30 a.m. local time, when Rinderknech prevailed in three sets. In the early hours of Saturday morning, the Italian knew he had to quickly travel to Washington for his first-round qualifying match at the Mubadala Citi DC Open later that day.

“I said, ‘I’m going to take the earliest flight to go there, and then I’ll try to sleep there’. And the earliest one was at 5:30 a.m,” Bellucci told ATPTour.com. “I basically just went back to my room, I packed and we went directly to the airport, so I didn’t sleep at all. And then we got to Washington around 8 a.m., maybe 8:30.”

Upon his arrival, Bellucci ate breakfast because he had still not eaten. From 9 a.m. until noon, he slept.

“Then I went to the club, I had lunch, and I hit for like 30 minutes, 25 minutes, just to try the conditions, which were completely different from Atlanta, actually,” Bellucci said.

That did not stop the three-time ATP Challenger Tour titlist, who defeated Tristan Boyer 7-6(6), 6-2.

“My mindset was actually to stay completely on what my attitude was on court, because I knew that physically speaking, I was not feeling great. And also about tennis, I couldn’t ask much [of] myself since… I didn’t sleep during the night. So I really tried to be as focused as I could,” Bellucci said. “But the beginning of the match wasn’t the best actually, yesterday, went a break down at the beginning and then managed to break back.”

Bellucci was not thrilled with how he played, but he tried to mentally remain engaged and to pump himself up with shouts of “Come on!” without losing too much energy.

“Otherwise, I would have fallen asleep, I think,” Bellucci said. “When he went to the bathroom, I was seated for four or five minutes. And I was not feeling great, this was between first and second set. It was definitely crazy.”

Saturday evening, Bellucci tried to rest as much as possible. On Sunday, the Italian was back at it and battled past Leandro Riedi 6-7(4), 6-3, 7-6(4) in two hours and 47 minutes to qualify for his first ATP 500 event.

“I’m very, very happy. And about my tennis, I actually feel that, yes, I’m playing good. But these two matches weren’t the best. And also in some matches of last week, I wasn’t completely happy about it, so that’s very, very good [that I’ve been winning],” Bellucci said. “It means that I can improve a lot. And at the same time, I really feel that I have many more solutions than a few weeks ago and a few months ago, mentally speaking. So when I’m in a bad situation, I know how to try to stay focused and how to stay in the match.”

It has been a memorable few days for the 23-year-old, who on Monday reached a career-high No. 125 in the PIF ATP Rankings. He will face American Mackenzie McDonald on Monday in the first round of the Washington main draw.

“I qualified for the first time in ATP event, then won the first time my first match, then first quarter-final, and right now qualified for my first 500 event, so I’m very, very happy,” Bellucci said. “I will obviously try to keep going and embracing it as much as I could.”

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PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah Update: Mensik, Shang impress

Jakub Mensik continued his impressive march towards the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF by reaching the semi-finals at the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag.

The 18-year-old Czech, currently second in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah, earned three consecutive straight-sets wins before he was eventually stopped by Italian Lorenzo Musetti at the ATP 250 clay-court event. Earlier this year, Mensik advanced to the final in Doha. He is currently in action at the Paris Olympics this week.

PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah

Chinese lefty Shang Juncheng remains well positioned in fourth after reaching his second tour-level semi-final of the year at the Atlanta Open. The 19-year-old came through qualifying, beating Ben Shelton en route at the hard-court tournament.

Earlier in July, PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah leader Arthur Fils captured his maiden ATP 500 crown in Hamburg, while third-placed Alex Michelsen advanced to the final in Newport for the second straight year.

Down in 10th place, 18-year-old American Learner Tien has boosted his hopes of qualifying for the 20-and-under event, due to take place from 18-22 December, after reaching the semi-finals at an ATP Challenger Tour tournament in Chicago. Tien won his maiden Challenger Tour title earlier in July in Bloomfield Hills.

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Thompson vs. Nishioka Atlanta final delayed due to rain

Rain has delayed the Atlanta Open final for a second time Sunday.

Jordan Thompson and Yoshihito Nishioka were initially delayed with the Australian leading 6-4, 4-5 and just three points into the resumption of play, heavy rain began to fall at the ATP 250, requiring the players to leave the court. Play is scheduled to resume not before 8 p.m. local time.

Thompson, who leads 6-4, 4-5, 30/15, will continue serving when play resumes. The 30-year-old is aiming for his second tour-level title of the season, having also won Los Cabos.

Should Thompson win, it would mark his first victory against Japan’s Nishioka, who leads their Lexus ATP Head2Head series 4-0. The Australian would also ascend to a new career-high No. 29 in Monday’s PIF ATP Rankings.

Nishioka, 28, is searching for his third tour-level title and first since 2022 Seoul.

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