July 28th, 2025
The US Open is less than a month away, and North American hardcourts saw plenty of action last week with events in Washington for both the men and women. Read on for a breakdown of all the action you may have missed, both on and off the court.
Champions corner
Last week saw a pair of 500-level events played on the ATP and WTA Tours, as well as a handful of other 250s. Here’s who came out on top in each:
- Kitzbuhel Open (ATP 250) – Alexander Bublik beat Arthur Cazaux, 6-4, 6-3
- Umag Open (ATP 250) – Luciano Darderi beat Carlos Taberner, 6-3, 6-3
- Citi Open (ATP 500) – Alex de Minaur beat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, 5-7, 6-1, 7-6
- Prague Open (WTA 250 – Marie Bouzkova beat Linda Noskova, 2-6, 6-1, 6-3
- Citi Open (WTA 500) – Leylah Fernandez beat Anna Kalinskaya, 6-1, 6-2
Italy’s Luciano Darderi is proving to be a menace on clay, winning his third trophy this year and his second in as many weeks. In Kitzbuhel, Alexander Bublik also won a second-straight title, with the Kazakh continuing to ride a rich vein of form that has seen him make the quarters of Roland-Garros and win three titles in his last five events.
Leylah Fernandez returned to the winner’s circle too, claiming the biggest title of her career with a dominant performance against Anna Kalinskaya in the Washington final. For the men, no Americans made it through to the final, with Alex de Minaur beating Davidovich Fokina in three sets to lift the trophy.
Very tough for Davidovich Fokina as he was so close to winning his first ATP title.
Tennis is the greatest sport in the world. ??
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) July 28, 2025
pic.twitter.com/j0eT84hDw7
Caroline Wozniacki gives birth to third child
To off the court action, and former world number one Caroline Wozniacki, who is a tennis legend in all regards, has given birth to her third child. The Danish player was active on tour not too long ago, competing after several years of absence.
She did fairly well and seemed to have plans for the future, but then a pregnancy happened, and now fans will have to wait and see if Wozniacki attempts yet another comeback. For now, she’s enjoying a new addition to her ever-growing family, with congratulatory messages pouring in from all sides.
Challenger match draws suspicion of match fixing
A match on the Challenger Tour between Hynek Barton and Nicolai Budkov Kjaer drew attention from many on social media when the Czech player began to play rather strange tennis.
Kjaer won the opening set, with Barton holding a 6-5 lead in the second set and a 30-0 advantage on his serve. What followed was a sequence of outrageous shot attempts that didn’t work, giving Kjaer a chance to break back.
The Czech player continued to try a variety of strange shots, very few of which worked, and ultimately lost the match in the tiebreak. Nobody really knows what was going on, with many users pointing out the bizarre shot selection and suggesting it should be investigated.
The shot attempts were so outrageous that it didn’t even resemble an exhibition match, but rather someone trying to lose points on purpose. Dozens of fans were left puzzled by the outcome, but no formal investigation has been launched yet.
Rising star Jerry Shang returns to tennis
One of the more promising young players in tennis is Jerry Shang from China. He’s done some tremendous things in the sport so far, including winning a trophy in his native China last year.
Unfortunately, he spent most of this year struggling with chronic pain in his foot, which left him unable to play tennis. That is over now, and the youngster will return to the sport in Canada, hoping for a good result. It’s good to have one of the bright stars in tennis back.
Coming up this week
This year’s Canadian Open has been expanded, with more players competing than ever before this year. It’s part of the ATP initiative to extend Masters events into essentially two-week tournaments. In light of that, the event has begun, even though the first week hasn’t officially started.
Both the men’s and the women’s draws began on Sunday, July 27th, with the finals scheduled for August 7th. While some of the best won’t be there, such as Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, and Jannik Sinner, there are other big names that should deliver plenty of good tennis for fans.
