The week after a Grand Slam is always an odd one in the world of tennis, but last week there was no shortage of action. From Davis Cup upsets to title defenses and young stars breaking through, plenty of memorable moments occurred. If you took a breather, then read on, as I breakdown the top storylines from the past seven days in the tennis world.
Last week’s results
Outside of the Davis Cup qualifiers – which we’ll get to soon – there were four ATP and WTA tournaments last week. Here’s who came away with the silverware:
- Montpellier Open (ATP 250) – Felix Auger-Aliassime beat Adrian Mannarino 6-3, 7-6(4)
- Abu Dhabi Open (WTA 500) – Sara Bejlek beat Ekaterina Alexandrova 7-5(5), 6-1
- Transylvania Open (WTA 250) – Sorana Cirstea beat Emma Raducanu 6-0, 6-2
- Ostrava Open (WTA 250) – Katie Boulter beat Tamara Korpatsch 5-7, 6-2, 6-1
Auger-Aliassime bounced back from a disappointing Australian Open run by defending his Montpellier title on the weekend. He was dominant across his four matches, seeing off Stan Wawrinka, Arthur Fils (who was playing for the first time since August 2025), Titouan Droguet and Adrian Mannarino to bag his ninth title. In doing so, he surpassed Milos Raonic as the Canadian man with the most singles title in the Open Era.
For the ladies, Bejlek stunned the field in Abu Dhabi, coming from qualifying to win her maiden WTA Tour title. Over in Romania, home favorite Cirstea thrashed Raducanu, who was contesting a championship match for the first time since her 2021 US Open run. Boulter also bagged a title, coming from behind to beat Korpatsch.
Davis Cup delivers drama, upsets
The real drama last week lay in the Davis Cup qualifiers. While there wasn’t much star-power, with Jack Draper the only member of the top 20 representing his country, that did nothing to water down the event. Here’s a summary of how things panned out:
- Chile beat Serbia 4-0
- Germany beat Peru 4-0
- Croatia beat Denmark 3-1
- Ecuador beat Australia 3-1
- Great Britain beat Norway 4-0
- Belgium beat Bulgaria 4-0
- Austria beat Japan 3-2
- India beat Netherlands 3-2
- Korea beat Argentina 3-2
- USA beat Hungary 4-0
- Czechia beat Sweden 3-1
- France beat Slovakia 3-1
- Canada beat Brazil 3-2
Some of the above results were expected – USA, France, Canada, Great Britain, Czechia and Germany advancing is no surprise. However, India knocking out Netherlands, Korea upsetting Argentina and Ecuador beating Australia are major upsets.
Australian tennis is sorry state after Davis Cup embarrassment
The biggest shock of the week was Australia crashing out at the hands of Ecuador. Australia has a proud record at the Davis Cup, winning 28 times (second only to the USA) and coming runner up in three of the last four editions. Failing to even make the second round of qualifying is a major mark on their record.
Australia was without their top-10 star Alex de Minaur, as well as Alexei Popyrin, Thanasi Kokkinakis or Nick Kyrgios. Still, their opponents had no players ranked inside the world’s top 200, and this tie was supposed to be an easy win. Did they take things too lightly?
Columbia vs Morocco beef
The lower tiers of Davis Cup action were also unfolding last week, with some ugly – or fantastic – scenes in Morocco, depending on how you look at it.
Columbia secured the away win, defying the passionate Moroccan crowd, and were sure to let them know about it. Emotions boiled over into a heated exchange between the two teams.
Some will say there’s no place for this kind of behavior in tennis; others will underline these ties as the kind of thing that makes sport what it is. Personally, I love the passion – as long as no-one gets hurt, there’s nothing like a bit of beef to add drama to a rivalry.
Coming up this week
It’s all go next week, with another four tournaments across the ATP and WTA tours:
- Doha Open (WTA 1000)
- Dallas Open (ATP 500)
- Rotterdam Open (ATP 500)
- Buenos Aires Open (ATP 250)
Action is already underway in Qatar, where Iga Swiatek is top seed but Elena Rybakina is favorite to bag her second title of the year following her Melbourne run. Dallas has a strong field with Americans Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton leading the pack, while over in Rotterdam, de Minaur, Auger-Aliassime, Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Bublik all vie for the trophy. In Buenos Aires, Joao Fonseca will look to defend his title.
