27th October 2025
The 2025 tennis season is rapidly hurtling towards its conclusion, with another packed week of tournaments across the ATP and WTA Tours. With events in Vienna, Basel, Tokyo and Guangzhou, read on for all you might have missed across the tennis world in the past seven days.
Champions’ corner
Last week saw four players crowned champion:
- Vienna Open (ATP 500): Jannik Sinner beat Alexander Zverev 3-6, 6-3, 7-5
- Basel Open (ATP 500): Joao Fonseca beat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-3, 6-4
- Tokyo Open (WTA 500): Belinda Bencic beat Linda Noskova 6-2, 6-3
- Guangzhou (WTA 250): Ana Li beat Lulu Sun 7-6(6), 6-2
It was business as usual in Vienna, with Sinner extending his searing indoor tennis win streak to 21 with victory over Zverev in the title match. The Italian dropped the opening set and was struggling with cramp, but never looked like losing, despite Zverev producing some of his best tennis.
This one feels very special ? Thank you all for the support ?? pic.twitter.com/KWJ3SHJEz5
— Jannik Sinner (@janniksin) October 26, 2025
Over in Basel, Fonseca reclaimed the kind of form that got him into the limelight earlier this year. The 19-year-old bagged his second title of the year, and biggest trophy to date, powering his way past Davidovich Fokina. It was his opponent’s fourth final of the year, with his search for a maiden ATP title continuing. At least this time it wasn’t heartbreakingly close for Foki, though I’m sure that will be little consolation.
In women’s tennis, Kiwi Lulu Sun made a splash for the first time since her 2024 Wimbledon run, going from qualifying to the Guangzhou final. She fell at the final hurdle to Ana Li, but the same can’t be said for Bencic, who played inspired tennis to race past Noskova for the Tokyo title (image on top).
Fonseca’s ominous stat
With his victory in Basel, Fonseca rockets into the world’s top 30. An ominous statistic has emerged off the back of this.
Age when making top-30 debut:
- Roger Federer – 19 years, two months
- Novak Djokovic – 19 years, two months
- Andy Murray – 19 years, two months
- Joao Fonseca – 19 years, two months
It’s safe to say the Brazilian is on a positive path, with Australian Open seeding looming, should he get another win or two this season.
Rybakina secures last WTA Finals spot
Earlier in the week, all eyes were on the final qualification spot for the WTA Finals.
Mirra Andreeva had been in the box seat to qualify given her WTA 1000 double six months ago, but Elena Rybakina stormed into contention and ended up edging out the Russian last week.
Heading into Tokyo, Rybakina required two wins to secure her spot. Back-to-back victories over Leylah Fernandez and Victoria Mboko got the job done, after which Rybakina promptly withdrew from the event, drawing the ire of fans.
ATP Finals race still live heading into Paris
There’s a little more time to go in the ATP Finals race, with a few spots still up for grabs heading into the Paris Masters. The top four – Alcaraz, Sinner, Zverev and Djokovic have qualified, but Fritz, Shelton, De Minaur and Musetti are yet to confirm their spots. Here’s how they sit:
- Fritz – 3,885
- Shelton – 3,770
- De Minaur – 3,745
- Musetti – 3,685
All four are likely safe, however, a title or final run in Paris by any of the following would shake things up:
- Auger-Aliassime – 3,245
- Ruud – 2,835
- Medvedev – 2,610
Davidovich Fokina (2,585), Bublik (2,480) and Rublev (2,420) are outside shots at a spot too, should Djokovic withdraw from the event.
Year-end No 1 still up for grabs
Speaking of points, Sinner’s win in Vienna throws a spanner into the works for the year-end No 1 race. Alcaraz remains in top spot and the box seat to round out the year as No 1. However, should he fail to make the semi-finals in Paris, and Sinner win the event, the Italian will return to the sport’s pinnacle briefly.
Big picture, to claim year-end No 1, Sinner needs to go unbeaten across Paris and Turin, while Alcaraz can’t earn any more than 460 points from the two events. This is still quite unlikely, given there are 2,500 points up for grabs across the two.
Players drop like flies in Vienna, Basel
Another big story line this week was the sheer volume of retirements and withdrawals on the ATP Tour. The length and intensity of the season has been top of mind this month, given injuries to players like Holger Rune and high-profile criticism from Jack Draper and Fritz.
In the space of 24 hours, three of the Basel quarter-finals ended early due to withdrawals, there was a walkover in Vienna, and then one of the Basel semis was cut short too. Whether this was due to genuine injury, or a business decision by players choosing to focus on the upcoming Paris Masters is another question.
Coming up this week
It’s a huge week for the ATP Tour, with the Paris Masters kicking off this evening and running until Sunday (read our Paris Masters draw analysis). There are match ups galore given the now unusual seven-day format, and with players vying for Turin qualification, there’s plenty to look out for.
On the WTA Tour, it’s an odd week. There are three WTA 250s taking place in Hong Kong, Jiujiang and Chennai, none of which feature much star power. However, come Saturday, the WTA Finals get underway in Riyadh, where there will be more than enough stars on show.
