November 3rd, 2025
Struggled to keep up with last week’s tennis action? No worries–we’ve broken down the key results and storylines from the past seven days below.
Champions’ corner
Last week there were three fresh champions, with a Masters 1000 event for the men and two WTA 250s:
- Paris Masters (ATP 1000): Jannik Sinner beat Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-4, 7-6(4)
- Jiangxi Open (WTA 250): Anna Blinkova beat Lilli Tagger 6-3, 6-3
- Hong Kong Open (WTA 250): Victoria Mboko beat Cristina Bucsa 7-5, 6-7(9), 6-2
Headlining the week’s tennis results was the Paris Masters, where Sinner extended his indoor win streak to 26 matches in a row. The title was his second in a row after claiming Vienna the previous week, and sees him regain the world No 1 spot in the rankings. While Sinner looked physically compromised for several of his matches in Paris, the gulf between him and the rest of the field was vast as he became the first man since Carlos Alcaraz at the 2023 Indian Wells to win a Masters without dropping a set.
In the week’s other results, Blinkova and Mboko picked up trophies too. Significantly, the title was Mboko’s second of the year, affirming her strong form from earlier in the North American hardcourt swing. The teen played out the year’s longest final on the WTA Tour against Bucsa, pulling away in the third set. More on Mboko’s racquet.
Felix all but grabs final ATP Finals spot
With the conclusion of the Paris Masters, the qualification picture for the ATP Finals is much clearer.
Thanks to his final run, Auger-Aliassime is now in the box seat to bag the eighth and final spot. He currently leads Lorenzo Musetti by 160 points, with just 250 points up for grabs this week as the Italian competes in the Athens tournament.
Auger-Aliassime recently announced that he will not be competing this week, withdrawing from Metz due to injury. So, the Canadian is leaving his fate entirely in Musetti’s hands. Should Musetti make the final and pick up 165 points, he’ll eek in front of Auger-Aliassime.
The other question is whether or not Novak Djokovic withdraws from the ATP Finals at some stage this week. Should he opt to do so, then Musetti currently sits in the ninth spot that would gain entry. Alexander Bublik and Daniil Medvedev trail him, with the former looking set to book his place as an alternate at the event for the first time.
The rise of Bublik
Speaking of Bublik, the Kazakh gave several insightful interviews on the Tennis Channel over the course of his semi-final run in Paris. From a guy who once said he was content sitting inside the top 50 and earning a million a year, Bublik is now showing remarkable focus and ambition.
“Maybe the first time in my career I have a big milestone close to me,” he said after knocking out Taylor Fritz earlier in the week.
“I think if I would just relax and say I don’t want to play anymore, I’m tired, I’m injured or whatever I would just blame myself after it.
“You don’t have many chances to hit the Top 10, to be at least an alternate for [ATP Finals], if you have this chance, you’ve got to use it. You’ve got to give 100 percent because in the next year I have to start defending my points. It’s going to be tougher.
“For me, I’m closer and closer to the goal I never think I could achieve. And then with this you have a little more extra inside of you if you’re not cracking under the pressure.”
WTA Finals gets underway
Amidst the climax of the Paris Masters and the unusual start date, you’d be forgiven for missing the start of the WTA Finals in Riyadh. The women’s year-end event is two days deep, with each player having played one match so far. Here are our top-level takeaways:
- Gauff has work to do in the off season
- Anything but a Swiatek vs Sabalenka final would be a surprise
- Rybakina is the only player looking likely to spring an upset
As expected, Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka rolled through their opening matches in Riyadh, racing past Madison Keys and Jasmine Paolini respectively. Jessica Pegula and Rybakina also picked up wins, with the former impressively dropping just four games to Amanda Anisimova.
Coming up this week
All eyes this week will be on how the group stage of the WTA Finals unfolds. There are two more matches remaining for each player, with plenty of permutations possible despite the group favorites looking obvious already. For the men, it’s an odd week – Musetti and Djokovic’s progress in Athens will be fascinating, that is, unless the former announces his withdrawal from the ATP Finals.
