It’s going to be a huge week in tennis with the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells playing down to two champions this coming Sunday. What better way to kick off your week than getting up to speed with everything you might have missed over the last seven days? Read on for my full breakdown of all the latest news in the world of tennis, on and off the court.
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Last week’s tennis results
Usually we’ve got a bunch of championship matches to recap, but that’s not the case this Monday. Last week saw Indian Wells begin, which meant no other tournaments on the main ATP and WTA Tours. However, there were a few standout results in the desert over the opening few rounds:
- Marton Fucsovics beat Lorenzo Musetti, 7-5, 6-1 (R2)
- Joao Fonseca beat Karen Khachanov 4-6, 7-6(7), 6-4 (R2)
- Frances Tiafoe beat Flavio Cobolli 6-1, 6-2 (R3)
- Talia Gibson beat Clara Tauson 7-6(2), 4-6, 6-4 (R3)
- Mirra Andreeva beat Solana Sierra 6-0, 6-0 (R2)
- Alexandra Eala beat Coco Gauff 6-2, 2-0 ret. (R3)
A handful of days into Indian Wells and there have already been a raft of upsets. On the men’s side, the biggest was Fucsovics knocking out No 5 seed Musetti in straight sets. The Italian was playing in his first match back since retiring injured vs Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open in January. Afterwards he said, “Physically I’m good. The expectation was to struggle. Obviously there’s a lot to work on, and that’s what I’ll do from here to Miami.”
Speaking of Italian’s taking tough losses, Cobolli was utterly thrashed by Tiafoe in perhaps the most surprising result of the week so far. Not because Cobolli is ranked far above the American, but because he’d convincingly beaten him in Mexico just days earlier. Tiafoe was locked in for revenge though, gaining his first win over a higher-ranked opposition of 2026.
Fonseca also looked locked in as he beat Khachanov in a refreshing turn of form. The much-touted Brazilian had had a limp start to 2026 – in large part due to a back injury – but gutsed his way through saving two match point to earn his best win of the year so far.
For the ladies, Aussie Gibson built on her incredible run in Indian Wells by defeating Tauson. She’d already seen of No 11 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova, and is now through to the fourth round after edging Tauson in three.
There was nothing close about defending champions Andreeva’s (image on top) most recent match, however, with the teen sending out a statement to the rest of the field by handing Sierra a double bagel in her opening match. The win was her 100th on the WTA Tour and makes her the first woman to win 6-0, 6-0 at Indian Wells in a decade.
Finally, in a much-hyped match up, Filipino Eala prevailed over home-star Gauff when the latter was forced to retire in the second set. Eala had come out swinging in front of a packed crowd and taken the opener, but a forearm injury to Gauff brought the match to a premature close.
Fujairah Challenger called off amid bombing in UAE
Earlier in the week, tennis saw unprecedented scenes when players were literally forced to run off court and take cover at the Fujairah Challenger in the UAE. This came off the back of audible bomb explosions, courtesy of the outbreak of war in the region. The event was subsequently cancelled, leaving players and fans to question why it was even allowed to start in the first place.
Udvardy threatened in Antalya
In other grim news, world No 95 Panna Udvardy from Hungary shared that she had been threatened while playing at a Challenger in Antalya, Turkey. She posted on her Instagram story that messages were sent to her personal WhatsApp number from an unknown number, telling her to lose her next match or members of her family would be harmed.
The Hungarian said she immediately contacted the WTA and sent them screenshots, as well as warned her family.
Monfils lights up California
Playing in his last year on the ATP Tour, you know Gael Monfils couldn’t resist putting on a show for fans in Indian Wells. Not only did he get an opening victory – then push Felix Auger-Aliassime to a deciding set – but he wound back the clock to produce some magic of old with this brilliant slam dunk. Air Monfils anyone?
Berrettini leaves it all on the court
The most valiant effort of the week goes to Italy’s Matteo Berrettini, who edged out fellow veteran Adrian Mannarino 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 in a hard-fought opening match in California. The former world No 6 has been having a tough run of it in 2026, withdrawing from Melbourne due to injury then going just 3-3 on the Golden Swing. But he left it all on the court against Mannarino, falling to the ground with full body cramps after match point.
Coming up this week
Last week felt very much like the calm before the storm – and it’s often that way with these 12-day Masters events. Now, the next seven days are all go.
Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are on a collision course in the men’s draw, but can Djokovic intervene once again? Will local hope Taylor Fritz repeat his 2022 title run, or is this the year of Tiafoe or Learner Tien? For the women, Aryna Sabalenka is out for revenge. But she’s got Elena Rybakina, Andreeva and Iga Swiatek to contend with, all of whom are in sharp form so far.
Finals take place this Sunday so don’t forget to keep your weekend clear as we approach the pointy end of this event. Remember the Phoenix Challenger typically attracts elite talent as well, with players that have been eliminated early often taking wildcards and jumping states.
