February tennis was in full flight last week, with brilliant events unfolding in Dallas, Rotterdam, Buenos Aires and Doha. If you missed any of the action – on or off the court – then don’t worry, because I didn’t. Below, I fill you in on all the crucial storylines of the past seven days in the tennis world, so you can stay up to date with all the latest news.
Last week’s tennis results
There were four main tournaments last week – one WTA 1000, two ATP 500s and an ATP 250. Here’s how each panned out:
- Dallas Open (ATP 500) – Ben Shelton beat Taylor Fritz (as we predicted) 3-6, 6-3, 7-5
- Rotterdam Open (ATP 500) – Alex de Minaur beat Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-3, 6-2
- Argentina Open (ATP 250) – Francisco Cerundolo beat Luciano Darderi 6-4, 6-2
- Qatar Open (WTA 1000) – Karolina Muchova beat Victoria Mboko 6-4, 7-5
Last weekend saw a 44-year first on the ATP Tour, with the championship matches of all three events contested by the top two seeds. Of these, two unfolded in a straight forward manner, with De Minaur and Cerundolo both cruising to victory in what was their third final each in their respective events.
Shelton vs Fritz over in Dallas was a much tighter affair. It was American No 1 vs American No 2, an all top-10 clash, and it did not disappoint – despite finishing in well under two hours. The pair swapped sets and were on serve in the deciding set, before Fritz got his opening at 5-4. Shelton faltered on serve and gave his opponent two championship points at 15-40, with a third coming later in the game as well.
The younger American did what he does best, however. Big Moment Ben rose up, saved all three championship points, then promptly broke Fritz’s serve before serving the match out himself. The title is Shelton’s fourth of his career, and makes him the first American since Andy Roddick to win 2+ titles above the ATP 250 level.
For the women, Doha began the week with a stacked draw but that quickly thinned out as the likes of Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina were upset. That left teen Mboko to make her second WTA 1000 final, against veteran Muchova. This time it was experience that won out, with the Czech bagging her first 1000-level trophy.
Teens on the rise
Mboko’s run to the final of Doha means that she will crack the world’s top 10 for the first time this week.
Significantly, her entrance into tennis’ elite means for the first time in 17 years, the women’s top 10 has two teenagers in it. The last time this happened was when Victoria Azarenka and Carolina Wozniacki both made the top 10 in July 2009.
Speaking of teens on the rise, Aussie 17-year-old Emerson Jones won the Brisbane 2 Challenger and leapt 18 spots in the rankings, entering the world’s top 150 for the first time.
Stan ticks off another goal
At the other end of the spectrum, 40-year-old Stan Wawrinka continued his brilliant start to 2026 by reaching a personal goal of his.
When announcing that this would be his final season on tour, Wawrinka set a goal of making it back into the world’s top 100. By beating Thijs Boogaard in the opening round of the Rotterdam Open, he ticked off his goal, rising the No 98 in the world. The win was his fifth win of the season, already more than he achieved in all of 2025.
Aiava calls it quits, emphatically
Aussie Destanee Aiava announced over the weekend that 2026 would be her last year competing as well. The 25-year-old didn’t hold back as she made her announcement, labelling the sport “racist, misogynistic, homophobic and hostile”.
Aiava was the first player born in the 21st century to play a Grand Slam main draw match, competing as a 16-year-old at the 2017 Australian Open. Later that year she became the first player born in the 2000s to win a WTA Tour-level match as well.
However, she largely failed to live up to her potential, topping out at No 147 in the rankings and mainly competing on the ITF circuit. She explained in her retirement post that she had a relationship with tennis similar to that of a “toxic boyfriend” and continued to play out of obligation to others.
“Sometimes I kept playing because I felt like I owed it to not only myself but to everyone who had helped me throughout my career, to try and get back to where (on paper) I belonged,” she said in her Instagram post.
“Other times I kept going because I was too scared to start again. Or I was bored. I also didn’t know who I was outside of tennis and what my true passion was. I was constantly looking for that thing that gave me peace instead of grief. In other words, tennis was my toxic boyfriend.”
Shelton’s girlfriend made a mistake
On a lighter note, check out this hilarious footage of Shelton’s girlfriend, Trinity Rodman, making a big mistake as she congratulated him following his title in Dallas
Safe to say she’ll be giving him a high five or fist bump next time he wins a trophy instead.
Coming up this week
It’s a big week in tennis for both the men and women. Another four events are scheduled, as follows:
- Dubai Open (WTA 1000)
- Qatar Open (ATP 500)
- Rio Open (ATP 500)
- Delray Beach Open (ATP 250)
For the women, it’s Groundhog Day as a similar draw sans Swiatek unfolds in Dubai. Rybakina is top seed with Amanda Anisimova and Gauff chasing her, all of whom will be eager to make up for last week’s disappointment.
The big news for the men, however, is the return of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. Both are set to play in Qatar, each competing for the first time since the Australian Open. Will they meet in the final as they did almost every time they contested the same event last year? Or can someone else crack the monopoly?
Over in Rio, Joao Fonseca looks to make amends for crashing out first-round at the Argentina Open when he plays his home tournament. He’ll have the in-form Cerundolo, Darderi and Sebastian Baez to deal with though. And then there’s Delray Beach as well, where Casper Ruud makes his return from paternity leave and Fritz looks to go one further than he did in Dallas.
