25th August, 2025
Missed some of last week’s tennis action? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. As all eyes are on the US Open in New York this week, here’s a quick look back at what happened in the sport over the past seven days.
Champions corner
A handful of smaller ATP and WTA tournaments took place last week, providing a final opportunity for players to grab hard-court matches heading into the US Open. Here’s how the championship matches unfolded:
- Tennis in the Land (WTA 250) – Sorana Cirstea beat Ann Li (6-2, 6-4)
- Monterrey Open (WTA 500) – Diana Shnaider beat Ekaterina Alexandrova (6-3, 4-6, 6-4)
- Winston-Salem Open (ATP 250) – Marton Fucsovics beat Botic van de Zandschulp (6-3, 7-6(3))
There were few big names in action last week, but the likes of Cirstea, Shnaider and Fucsovics pounced on the opportunity to add to their title counts.
Mixed doubles a smash hit
Waves were caused when the US Open announced earlier in the year that they’d be revolutionizing the format of the mixed doubles event: played on Tuesday and Wednesday of fan week, free entry, first-to-four game sets, and consisting mainly of singles players.
It’s safe to say the changes were a smash hit. Big names competed hard and drew eyeballs, both on screens and in the packed out Arthur Ashe Stadium.
There was a fascinating undercurrent of controversy due to the exclusion of most doubles players, which peaked when the only specialists – Sara Errani and Andrea Vavasorri won the event.
Afterwards, players raved about the changes:
“I loved it,” said Jack Draper. “I wasn’t expecting to have as good of a time as I did.”
“I would like to thank the tournament for going a little bold,” said Casper Ruud. “It’s been really cool for us players to try doubles.”
Alcaraz, Djokovic in same half of US Open draw
Thursday saw the singles draws announced for the 2025 US Open, bringing with it some exciting permutations. We put together a full piece analysing the draw here, but the big storylines are:
- Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic are in the same half of the men’s draw
- The ATP draw is well-balanced overall, with Jannik Sinner vs Jack Draper the most notable quarter-final projection
- For the women, Aryna Sabalenka received Elena Rybakina in her quarter
- Jessica Pegula shares with Mirra Andreeva while Coco Gauff and Madison Keys are on-course to meet in the quarters
- Iga Swiatek has a favorable draw, with Amanda Anisimova the highest seed in her quarter
Gauff hires a new coach
Changing coaching staff just days before a Grand Slam is rarely recommended, but that’s exactly what Gauff did last week. The American cut Matt Daly, replacing her coach of one year with biomechanical expert Gavin MacMillan instead.
MacMillan famously helped Sabalenka overcome some of her serving issues, which will be precisely the area of her game that Gauff is hoping for a quick turnaround in too.
Favorites cruise on first-ever Sunday start at US Open
Starting on a Sunday for the first time in history, day one of the US Open saw the majority of favorites cruise through their opening matches. The following contenders all won in straight sets:
- Ben Shelton
- Novak Djokovic
- Taylor Fritz
- Aryna Sabalenka
- Jessica Pegula
- Jasmine Paolini
- Emma Navarro
In fact, only three seeds fell on day one, with Veronika Kudermetova, Clara Tauson and Tallon Griekspoor crashing out. By far the most dramatic was Tauson’s defeat, with the Dane fluffing a 5-1 lead in the decider to lose at the hands of Filipino star Alexandra Eala.
Photographer-gate in Medvedev v Bonzi
The US Open wouldn’t be the US Open without some late night drama, and that’s exactly what Sunday delivered.
In a rematch of their Wimbledon clash, Daniil Medvedev took on Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi in the final match on Louis Armstrong. Given Medvedev’s loss of form, and the fact that when he lost to Bonzi in July he claimed it was only because Bonzi “played the best tennis of his life”, the stage was set for a cracking match.
Over the opening three sets, it was all but that, as Bonzi dominated and clinically moved his way to match point at 5-4 in the third. Then, all hell broke loose.
A photographer unforgivably walked onto the court between Bonzi’s first and second serve on match point. Umpire Greg Allensworth awarded him a repeat of his first serve as a result, citing an unreasonable delay because of the interruption.
That set Medvedev off, who whipped the crowd into a frenzy and caused a more than six minute delay to proceedings while arguing with the umpire and instigating the fans.
What followed was even more bizarre: Medvedev saved match point, forced a tiebreak, won it, won the fourth set to love (losing just nine points), just to lose the final set 6-4…
Medvedev looked distraught after the match, to say the least:
Daniil Medvedev looking totally distraught after his loss to Bonzi at the U.S. open.
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) August 25, 2025
He’s smashing his racquet and just sitting on the court.
Brutal loss to swallow.
pic.twitter.com/CYvceKNR2M
Coming up this week
This week is all about the US Open. Both the men’s and women’s draws will be in the fourth round by this time next week, so there are a lot of matches to come between now and then. Check out our value bets piece here for those who are keen to get stuck into some of the action over the next seven days.
