We're halfway through the Italian Open in Rome, and there’s been no shortage of drama in the final clay Masters event in the build up to the French Open in Paris. Joel and Chris are on hand at Tennis Weekly HQ to talk all about the return of the World Number 1 Jannik Sinner from suspension including the player and fan reaction. Carlos Alcaraz is also back, if a little under the radar after missing Madrid, but has got the pair pondering could we be in for another Sinner-Alcaraz ding dong? And if not, when?

On the WTA side, It’s been another bumpy ride though on the clay for Iga Swiatek who suffered a early loss to Danielle Collins which put the chance of defending her Roland Garros title further into doubt whilst Coco Gauff proved why she could be the biggest threat to Aryna Sabalenka in Paris with a classy win over Emma Raducanu to make the quarterfinals.

Outside of Rome, Novak Djokovic grabbed headlines with a wildcard entry into Geneva whilst his PTPA player union scored a legal win over the ATP. Plus, the Billie Jean King Cup Finals draw in Shenzhen is out as Great Britain were handed Japan - but who will be the British Number 1 leading the charge when September rolls around? We also break down what we’re looking forward as Week 2 in Rome gets underway and Joel is in the hot seat with nowhere to run in a solo edition of Par for The Courts.

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So, SO close… this week at Tennis Weekly HQ, we unpack all the drama from a thrilling Week 2 at the Madrid Open! Jack Draper came agonizingly close to a second Masters title, but it was Casper Ruud who claimed the biggest win of his career in a gripping three-set final. On the women’s side, Aryna Sabalenka continued her dominance with a statement victory over Coco Gauff—could this be her year in Paris at the French Open? We also dive into Iga Swiatek’s struggles after a tough loss to Gauff, who now has won their last 3 encounters without dropping a set. With whispers of Swiatek potentially skipping Wimbledon and the grass court season entirely, we ask: what’s going on with the world No. 1, and is it time for a team shake-up?

Elsewhere, Naomi Osaka picked up her first title in four years at a WTA 125 event which got the gang thinking in the Mailbag—which other big names should consider dropping down to rebuild confidence? Plus, we react to the latest doping-related suspension, this time involving Australia’s Max Purcell. Looking ahead, we preview the Italian Open in Rome, with Jannik Sinner after his suspension and Carlos Alcaraz returning to action while Novak Djokovic opts to sit this one out. The draws are in, the predictions are bold (and occasionally unhinged), and fan-favourite quiz segment Par for the Courts is back!

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A dramatic Monday in Madrid as a power outage across Spain and Portugal cancelled play for the day at the Madrid Open. Join Joel, Kim and Chris at Tennis Weekly HQ as they look back on all the events of the first week where Novak Djokovic lost for the third time in a row leaving us to question (for the umpteenth time) whether he is a serious prospect for another Grand Slam title with the French Open looming. It was also a similar story for defending champion Andrey Rublev who left Madrid with a 1-4 Masters record this year, falling out of the Top 15 for the first time since 2020.

It was not all doom and gloom though as Maria Sakkari returned to form of old with a demolition job over Jasmine Paolini whilst Coco Gauff put Sunshine Swing disappointment behind her to set up a tantalising quarterfinal against teenage sensation Mirra Andreeva. The Brits also enjoyed a solid first week with Draper, Fearnley, Norrie all into R3 and Katie Boulter winning her first clay match on the WTA Tour. Emma Raducanu also revealed there is an 'informal agreement' in place with Mark Petchey on her team.

And though Carlos Alcaraz wasn't in Madrid due to injury, his new docuseries Carlos Alcaraz: My Way launched on Netflix with the gang discussing what they learned about Carlitos (other than his mum being a really good cook). Joel's Game also makes a return and we question what should be done about Electronic Line Calling in this week's Mailbag as Alexander Zverev follows Aryna Sabalenka and take a photo of a dubious mark on the tennis court during his match against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

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Penko Power returns! It’s been a week for upsets on the ATP and WTA Tours this week as Jelena Ostapenko and Holger Rune were the big winners in Stuttgart and Barcelona. The Latvian gave us a reminder of all her talents with wins over Sabalenka and Swiatek whilst Rune put Carlos Alcaraz to the sword and returns to the Top 10. Alexander Zverev also rediscovered form in Munich despite hecklers from the crowds over ongoing domestic abuse allegations whilst Elina Svitolina won out in Rouen. It wasn’t just all about the champions though this week, as Harrriet Dart was in the news for telling her opponent she needed some deodorant (bizarre!), there were wild celebrations from new kid on the ATP block Dedura-Palomero over a retirement win against Shapovalov and the coaching circus continues with Maria Sakkari getting back together with former coach Tom Hill.

Off the court, Serena Williams had her say on the Jannik Sinner ban and brought Maria Sharapova into the debate whilst the French Open organisers announced there would be a special ceremony for Rafael Nadal at this year’s Roland Garros. The gang also preview the upcoming Madrid Masters as we go back to the two week format (eurgh!) and give their champion predictions.

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Monte Carlo(s) Masters! Chris is back from Mallorca to join Joel and Kim to reflect on the past week in tennis, which saw Carlos Alcaraz claim his maiden Monte Carlo Masters Title on the ATP Tour against Italian Lorenzo Musetti. Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic had a horrible week on the French Riviera with early defeat to his clay nemesis Alejandro Tabilo as did Grigor Dimitrov who suffered a double bagel loss at the hands of Alex de Minaur and his short shorts. Whilst it was an off week for many of the top players like Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka on the WTA Tour, an Emma Raducanu-less Great Britain side made their way through to the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Shenzhen joining the likes of USA, Spain and defending champions Italy.

The trio also discuss the latest coaching changes, as former World number 1 Dinara Safina joins Diana Schnaider’s team, Emma Raducanu considers Mark Petchey as her latest coaching option and there's rumour of Goran Ivanesevic joining the Stefanos Tsitsipas camp. There is also news that a certain Mr. Roger Federer is itching for a return to an exhibition tennis court which has got Joel wildly excited at the prospect of a Battle of the Surfaces 2 event against Rafael Nadal (one can dream right?). They also test their knowledge of recent WTA 1000 winners, make some daring clay court predictions and preview Stuttgart, Munich and Barcelona all taking place this week.

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Clay season is upon us! Rejoice in the red (and green) dirt with Joel and Kim as they check in on the first week of action as part of the European / American Clay swing in the build up to the French Open at Roland Garros.

It was an eventful seven days on the ATP and WTA Tours as Jessica Pegula clinched her first ever clay court title out in Charleston to put the disappointment of a final loss in Miami to Sabalenka behind her, whilst fellow American Jenson Brooksby fought his way to his maiden tour title in Houston as a qualifier wildcard saving multiple match points along the way! Italians Flavio Cobolli and Luciano Darderi also reversed their fortunes and won ATP 250 titles, whilst Camila Osorio defended her Bogota title on home turf at an event Joel questions whether should even exist in the first place.

The duo also discuss the use of electronic line calling with Hawkeye on clay courts, upcoming development changes to Henman Hill for the 2027 Championships at Wimbledon, and recent calls for increased Grand Slam prize money from the ATP/WTA Top 20 players. Joel also teases Kim’s knowledge again on singular Masters winners, and they reflect on Jannik Sinner’s recent comments with Sky Italia about his ongoing ban from the Tour.

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Sabalenka wins Miami as the Sunshine Swing ends with a downpour for Novak Djokovic as he lost out to 19 year old Jakob Mensik in straight sets. The title was Sabalenka’s first since that heartbreaking loss in the final of the Australian Open to Madison Keys and with it she cements her place a the top of the world rankings by opening up a 3000 point lead over No.2 Iga Swiatek. Swiatek went out to WC Alexandra Eala in another early shock loss for the former World No.1 and Joel, Kim and Chris question is it time for her to switch up her coach after not winning a title since Roland Garros last year?

Elsewhere Djokovic declared his Miami form to be the best he had played since the Olympics where he won the gold medal, it wasn’t enough for him to win the title in Miami but it did prove that the Murray partnership is on an upward trajectory. There is a 2010s themed mailbag that puts Kim and Chris to the test and Joel talks his anguish when Tim Henman used to face off against Andy Murray in a ‘favourite vs favourite’ mailbag! They also preview the return to clay as Charleston gets under way and a number of 250s on the ATP Tour before the Monte Carlo Masters begins the clay court season proper next week.

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Joel, Kim and Chris are back to catch up at the halfway point of the Miami Open, which has seen Indian Wells Champions Jack Draper and Mirra Andreeva bow out early, and Carlos Alcaraz enduring a surprise loss to a perennial David Goffin. Meanwhile, Britain’s Emma Raducanu earnt her first Top 10 win of the year and has made it through to the quarter-finals of a W1000 event for the first time in a upturn of her fortunes, whilst Novak Djokovic breaks his Lucky Loser curse to continue through the draw.

The trio also dissect the fallout from the latest news that the PTPA have filed a 163 page lawsuit to tennis’s governing bodies, a move that PTPA co-founder Novak Djokovic has himself not got behind. They also reflect on some of the sport’s most unusual or one-sided H2Hs (in honour of Goffin’s over Alcaraz) and Joel tests Kim and Chris’s Miami Open knowledge with a timely Par for The Courts: Back and Forth edition.

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