Carlos Alcaraz played some of his best tennis to win the Queen’s Club title last week. However, most of the conversation revolved around his decision to choose Emma Raducanu as his mixed doubles partner for this year’s US Open.
Jessica Pegula clarified that she isn’t giving Coco Gauff the cold shoulder, while Aryna Sabalenka lost her cool in Berlin. Stefanos Tsitsipas had a novel idea to comfort his girlfriend Paula Badosa after the latter’s latest injury setback.
Andy Roddick remained upbeat on Jannik Sinner’s chances at Wimbledon despite his early loss in Halle. Here’s a quick rundown of what caused top players to be in the headlines last week:
#1. Carlos Alcaraz and Emma Raducanu’s team-up for US Open mixed doubles hogs all the limelight
The US Open’s splashy announcement regarding the mixed doubles entry list for its upcoming edition set the internet on fire. There are plenty of star-studded partnerships, including Iga Swiatek and Casper Ruud, Novak Djokovic and Olga Danilovic, Taylor Fritz and Elena Rybakina, among others.
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However, Carlos Alcaraz and Emma Raducanu teaming up has dominated the news. From their viral video promoting the tournament to the Brit watching him compete at Queen's Club, the duo have been in the news throughout the week.
Alcaraz was asked about joining forces with Raducanu during one of his press conferences at Queen's Club. He gave a tongue in cheek response and stated that she will be the "boss" of their team.
"She's gonna be the boss. Yeah, I mean, US Open came to us and give us opportunities to play mixed doubles. I'm super excited about it. I think it's going to be great. It was an amazing idea for the tournament," Alcaraz said.
The duo have been friends for a long time, elaborated Alcaraz. He's sure that they are going to have a lot of fun participating in the US Open.
"Yeah, I know Emma since a really long time ago, so we know each other. I have really good relationship with her. So it's just gonna be interesting. You know, obviously both, you know, we are gonna enjoy, for sure. I will try, you know, to put my doubles skill on it. We will try to win. But obviously it's going to be really, really fun," he added.
Neither has competed in mixed doubles before. Raducanu was supposed to partner Andy Murray at Wimbledon last year but the highly anticipated team-up didn't materialize.
#2. Aryna Sabalenka loses her cool as opponent pushes for proceedings to be halted in Berlin
Aryna Sabalenka's second-round match against Rebeka Masarova at the Berlin Tennis Open took a controversial turn. The former won the first set 6-2 after which the latter felt that one side of the court was too slippery to play. The supervisor agreed with her assessment and made the decision to stop the proceedings for the day.
The decision didn't sit right with Sabalenka, who argued about the same with the supervisor. She felt the grass was perfectly fine and Masarova wanted to stop the play because she was losing.
"So you're stopping the match because she said on that side it's slippery? I just played two games on that side. She's just losing the match," Sabalenka said.
There was no bad blood between them when the match resumed the next day. Sabalenka got the job done to register a 6-2, 7-6 (6) victory. She eventually lost to Marketa Vondrousova in the semifinals.
#3. Jessica Pegula clears the air on her relationship with Coco Gauff
Despite being fierce competitors, Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula have maintained a close bond. The two also competed in doubles for a long time as a pair. In a recent promotional video for the WTA, the 31-year-old mentioned several of her close friends on the tour, though she forgot to name the reigning French Open champion.
One fan took a note of the same and mentioned it under the post. Pegula was quick to clarify that there's no bad blood between them and she even texted Gauff about her recent success.
"She’s always forgetting Coco lately, I didn’t see her congratulating Coco on the Ronald Garros win,” a fan on X reacted to Pegula's video segment.
"I can assure you I texted Coco asap 👏🏼.
The two played doubles consistently between 2022 and 2023. They split at the start of the 2024 season to focus on singles, though each of them has sporadically played doubles with different partners since then.
#4. Stefanos Tsitsipas comforts Paula Badosa after her latest setback
Paula Badosa was starting to garner some momentum at the Berlin Tennis Open. She made the last eight with wins over Eva Lys and Emma Navarro. Unfortunately, she was forced to retire from her match against Wang Xinyu due to a back issue. The same injury had forced her to skip a few tournaments earlier in the season.
Badosa expressed her disappointment with the same on social media, stating she was 'tired' of these retirements. Her boyfriend, Stefanos Tsitsipas, suggested leaving tennis behind and starting a new life.
"Let’s run away and launch a food truck that only sells cereal, is never in the same place twice, and accepts payment in compliments," Tsitsipas suggested.
Badosa is still slated to compete at Wimbledon, though that may change depending on the severity of her injury. The two have also teamed up to compete in mixed doubles at the US Open.
#5. Andy Roddick assesses Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic's Wimbledon chances
Jannik Sinner's title defense in Halle came to an early end, losing to eventual champion Alexander Bublik in the second round. It was his first tournament since losing to Carlos Alcaraz in the French Open final after having three championship points.
Andy Roddick, who was working with Tennis Channel during the tournament, gave his opinion on Sinner's latest defeat. He didn't feel the loss was too surprising, especially with Bublik as his opponent.
"I don't think this is a shocking loss. I think Bublik could be on a shortlist of 10, 15 of the best grass court players right now if he's in form and engaged. I like Bublik on grass alot, more so than I'm worried about Sinner on it," Roddick said.
Roddick also remained optimistic about Sinner's chances of triumph at Wimbledon. While he acknowledged his lack of success on grass, he chose the Italian as one of the favorites alongside Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic.
"We have to have all these conversations and criticisms, with a dose of reality, right? It's not his best surface, it's probably his least favorite surface, and in my mind he's still one of the three favorites to win Wimbledon along with Alcaraz and Novak," he added.
Sinner's best result at the All England Club was a semifinal showing in 2023, losing to Djokovic. He went out in the quarterfinals last year following a tough five-set loss to Daniil Medvedev.
