\u2018Do you want a player to die on court?\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n Valentin Vacherot\u2019s fairytale Shanghai Masters win over his cousin, Arthur Rinderknech<\/a>, was the tennis story of the tournament, but the event was defined by stifling heat and humidity.<\/p>\n World No. 2 Jannik Sinner succumbed to debilitating cramps against Tallon Griekspoor<\/a> in the third round. Novak Djokovic<\/a> vomited on court later the same day during his win against Yannick Hanfmann. Daniil Medvedev was so wary of exacerbating his cramps against Learner Tien in the fourth round that he even asked if a ball girl could remove his sweat-soaked shirt. A male ATP supervisor was on hand to perform the task.<\/p>\n But it was Denmark\u2019s Holger Rune who posed the question as he received a medical timeout against Ugo Humbert on the same day Sinner had to retire: \u201cWhy doesn\u2019t the ATP have a heat rule? You want a player to die on the court?\u201d<\/p>\n In a news conference a couple of days later, Rune said, \u201cThere should be some kind of rule. We can handle a certain amount of heat because we are fit, strong and mentally strong as well, but there\u2019s a limit. It\u2019s also important to take care of your health. We need to survive.\u201d<\/p>\n In his next match, Rune\u2019s body finally gave out when he cramped up at the end of a three-set defeat to Vacherot. There were seven retirements across the tournament, and many more incidents of players cramping or barely reaching the baseline within the allotted 25 seconds between points. Last Sunday\u2019s match between Taylor Fritz and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard \u2014 huge servers who tend to play short points<\/a> \u2014 saw both players barely moving in the closing stages.<\/p>\n The conditions were similarly brutal at the Wuhan Open, a WTA 1000 (one tier below Grand Slams) played in 95-degree conditions until the final weekend. WTA world No. 2 Iga \u015awi\u0105tek expressed similar sentiments to Rune during an on-court interview. \u201cI hope the other matches will be scheduled at a time where girls can compete, rather than just die on the court,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The WTA has an extreme heat policy. When the wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT, which measures air temperature, humidity, and the impact of sunlight and wind) exceeds 86.1 degrees, players can take a 10-minute heat break at the end of the second set. Either player can request that the rule be used. Play was suspended on outside courts and the roof closed on the main show court a couple of times.<\/p>\n The ATP takes a more ad-hoc approach. \u201cUnder ATP rules, decisions regarding the suspension of play due to weather conditions \u2014 including extreme heat \u2014 lie with the on-site ATP supervisor, in coordination with on-site medical teams and local authorities,\u201d said a spokesperson for the organisation.<\/p>\n \u201cIn parallel, the ATP medical services team implements several measures in cases of extreme heat to help protect player health during competition.<\/p>\n \u201cThis remains under active review and additional measures, including the implementation of an official heat policy, are being evaluated in consultation with players, tournaments, and medical experts.<\/p>\n \u201cPlayer safety remains a top priority for the ATP.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2014 Charlie Eccleshare<\/p>\n Two \u2018strange\u2019 seasons for the WTA top two?<\/strong><\/p>\n Judging only by the noise that surrounds them at the end of a lot of tennis tournaments, it might appear that world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka<\/a> and \u015awi\u0105tek have been muddling through the tennis season.<\/p>\n Sabalenka flung her racket in frustration toward the end of her Wuhan Open semifinal loss to Jessica Pegula<\/a> of the U.S., fortunate that she both avoided striking a ball kid and any further punishment from the chair umpire. \u015awi\u0105tek suffered a tired defeat to an inspired Jasmine Paolini, who was playing for her place in the WTA Tour finals, in the previous round.<\/p>\n Most players on the planet would kill to supposedly muddle as they have. As for the past few years,\u00a0\u015awi\u0105tek and Sabalenka have opened up a pretty big lead over everyone else in the rankings with just a few weeks left in the season, dominating the later rounds of the biggest tournaments and winning titles.<\/p>\n World No. 1 Sabalenka has 10,000 points for the year and a nearly 1,700-point lead over \u015awi\u0105tek. She won the U.S. Open and two WTA 1000 titles at the Miami and Madrid Opens. She reached two more Grand Slam finals. The definition of a stellar season.<\/p>\n The problem \u2014 and it\u2019s an excellent problem to have \u2014 is that she has lost those two other Grand Slam finals, as well as the BNP Paribas Open final at Indian Wells.<\/p>\n \u015awi\u0105tek is in a similar boat. Her supposedly down year included semifinals at two Grand Slams and two WTA 1000s, as well as a first Wimbledon title and a WTA 1000 win at the Cincinnati Open. She has risen back to world No. 2, overtaking Coco Gauff after falling down the rankings in failing to defend her absurd clay-court record from 2024, when she won the three biggest tournaments on the surface in a row.<\/p>\n She probably won\u2019t get back to world No. 1 by the end of the season, but she is nearly 1,800 points up on Gauff for the year, and well set to attack the ranking she wants back next year. She has spent the season trying to rebuild the counterpunching style that made her the best in the world, with defeats most often coming when the type of tennis she wants to move on \u2014 and which became her default setting \u2014 returns in tight moments.<\/p>\n It\u2019s been a weird ride for the two best players in the world, but only because of the ridiculously high standards they set for themselves, and others set for them.<\/p>\n \u2014 Matt Futterman<\/p>\n A title for a former world No. 1 at a unique event<\/strong><\/p>\n Germany\u2019s Angelique Kerber<\/a> won a tournament on Sunday. Don\u2019t worry, the tennis world did not somehow miss a world No. 1 returning from retirement: Kerber was competing at the Luxembourg Ladies Tennis Masters<\/a>, the tournament designed specifically for players who recently ended their careers.<\/p>\n Kerber, 37, retired from tennis last year. She beat France\u2019s Aliz\u00e9 Cornet<\/a>, who also said goodbye in 2024, before doing so again in September after a brief return. Eugenie Bouchard<\/a>, who retired in August, was another big-name player in action, while 42-year-old four-time major winner Kim Clijsters, who unfortunately tore her Achilles in her first match on Friday, was one of a couple of slightly older players.<\/p>\n Former WTA Tour players love the competitive outlet that the Luxembourg event provides. Typically, the only real option for former players is to play hit-and-giggle exhibition events that can be good fun, but tend to be less satisfying.<\/p>\n For Kerber, the event gave her a target after giving birth to her second child, Ben, in June. \u201cThis was actually a goal for me to come back and have a good preparation again after such a short time and to be ready to play a match,\u201d Kerber said in a phone interview Friday, having just beaten Belgium\u2019s 39-year-old former world No. 13 Kirsten Flipkens to reach the semifinals. Kerber enjoyed catching up with familiar faces and being back in a competitive environment.<\/p>\n The tournament originated as an exhibition event in 1991, and went back to being one four years ago. But from 1996 to 2021, it was an official WTA 250 tournament, with an end-of-season slot that invited big-name players to take wildcards with the chance to accrue points before the WTA Tour Finals. Clijsters won it five times, including the first WTA title of her career in 1999, when she was 16. Other winners include Grand Slam champions Ana Ivanovic, Venus Williams and Jennifer Capriati.<\/p>\n The tournament was known for its quirkiness and intimate venue, with only a few courts and a roof so low the ball would often hit it during play. The current iteration is played at an even smaller venue, the Coque, with a capacity of around 1,500. There are always good crowds in what is a minuscule country, with Luxembourg\u2019s population of around 675,000 putting it just below the Solomon Islands.<\/p>\n After beating Flipkens on Friday, Kerber, a three-time Grand Slam champion, took out former world No. 16 and doubles world No. 1 Barbora Strycova, ahead of a tight 1-6, 6-3, 10-7 win over Cornet in Sunday\u2019s final.<\/p>\n Kerber said she is enjoying having time with her baby and her two-year-old daughter, Liana, in retirement. She is working with the German Tennis Federation, but is finalizing the details on where and how she can add the most value.<\/p>\n The weekend, though, was all about getting her hands on some more silverware.<\/p>\n \u2014 Charlie Eccleshare<\/p>\n A beacon of consistency breaking new ground?<\/strong><\/p>\n What is the opposite of bursting onto the scene? The clich\u00e9 is used in sports to describe a player, usually a youngster, suddenly catapulting themselves into the limelight.<\/p>\n The opposite of that might be Ekaterina Alexandrova today entering the world\u2019s top 10 for the first time. Alexandrova, a generally unassuming person and player who turns 31 next month, is the second-oldest player to make their top-10 debut since Opta began collecting the data in 1984.<\/p>\n Even more stealthily, Alexandrova has reached the career-high ranking without any real breakout moment in 2025. For casual tennis followers who only focus on the Grand Slams, Alexandrova could still probably walk past them without recognition. She has never reached the last eight of a major, nor the final of a WTA 1000 event.<\/p>\n Instead, her progress up the rankings from No. 28 at the start of the year is down to her reaching seven semifinals and three finals, winning one title: the WTA 500 (the rung down from the 1000 events) Linz Open in February.<\/p>\n No breakthrough moment, just the type of steady progress that has typified her career.<\/p>\n \u2014 Charlie Eccleshare<\/p>\n Shot of the week<\/strong><\/p>\n China\u2019s Zhang Shuai was 5-0 up in the final set of her Wuhan Open match against Sorana C\u00eerstea, before C\u00eerstea got back to 5-4. On Shuai\u2019s third match point, C\u00eerstea appeared to take control with an inside-out forehand \/ drop-shot combination, but then Shuai did this:<\/p>\n \ud83c\udfbe\u00a0ATP:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n \ud83c\udfc6\u00a0Vacherot (Q) <\/strong>def.\u00a0Rinderknech <\/strong>4-6, 6-3, 6-3 to win the Shanghai Masters <\/strong>(1000) in Shanghai. It is the Mon\u00e9gasque\u2019s first ATP Tour title.<\/p>\n \ud83c\udfbe WTA:<\/strong><\/p>\n \ud83c\udfc6 Coco Gauff (3) <\/strong>def. Jessica Pegula (6) <\/strong>6-4, 7-5 to win the Wuhan Open <\/strong>(1000) in Wuhan, China. It is the American\u2019s second title of the year.<\/p>\n \ud83d\udcc8\ud83d\udcc9 On the rise \/ Down the line<\/strong><\/p>\n \ud83d\udcc8\u00a0Vacherot<\/strong> ascends 164 spots from No. 204 to No. 40, a career high, after his stunning run in Shanghai. \ud83d\udcc9 Ga\u00ebl Monfils<\/strong> falls 10 places from No. 55 to No. 65. \ud83d\udcc5 Coming up<\/strong><\/p>\n \ud83c\udfbe\u00a0ATP\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n \ud83d\udccdAlmaty, Kazakhstan: Almaty Open<\/strong> (250) featuring Karen Khachanov, Medvedev, Alexander Bublik, Hamad Medjedovic. \ud83d\udcfa UK: Sky Sports; U.S.: Tennis Channel \ud83d\udcbb: Tennis TV<\/p>\n \ud83c\udfbe WTA<\/strong><\/p>\n \ud83d\udccdNingbo, China: Ningbo Open<\/strong> (500) featuring Elena Rybakina, Pegula, Emma Raducanu, Karol\u00edna Muchov\u00e1. \ud83d\udcfa UK: Sky Sports; U.S. \/ \ud83d\udcbb: Tennis Channel<\/p>\n Tell us what you noticed this week in the comments below as the men\u2019s and women\u2019s tours continue.<\/p>\n (Top photo: Getty Images; design: Eamonn Dalton)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Welcome back to the Monday Tennis Briefing, where The Athletic\u00a0will explain the stories behind the stories from the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":497433,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4105],"tags":[79,25711,1068,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-497432","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tennis","8":"tag-sports","9":"tag-sports-business","10":"tag-tennis","11":"tag-uk","12":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115369661959336126","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/497432","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=497432"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/497432\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/497433"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=497432"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=497432"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=497432"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Untitled-ezgif.com-video-to-gif-converter-1.gif\")
\ud83c\udfc6\u00a0The winners of the week<\/strong><\/p>\n
\ud83d\udcc8 Laura Siegemund<\/strong> re-enters the top 40 after rising 18 spots from No. 57 to No. 39.
\ud83d\udcc8 Arthur Rinderknech<\/strong> rises to a career high of No. 28, moving up 26 places from No. 54.<\/p>\n
\ud83d\udcc9 Wang Xinyu<\/strong> drops 25 places from No. 37 to No. 62.
\ud83d\udcc9 David Goffin<\/strong> tumbles 22 spots from No. 83 to No. 105.<\/p>\n
\ud83d\udccd<\/strong>Brussels: European Open <\/strong>(250) featuring F\u00e9lix Auger-Aliassime, Lorenzo Musetti, Mpetshi Perricard, Zizou Bergs.
\ud83d\udccd<\/strong>Stockholm: Nordic Open <\/strong>(250) featuring Sebastian Korda, Casper Ruud, Matteo Berrettini, Denis Shapovalov.
<\/strong><\/p>\n
\ud83d\udccd<\/strong>Osaka, Japan: Japan Open <\/strong>(250) featuring Leylah Fernandez, Naomi Osaka, Alex Eala, Iva Jovi\u0107.
<\/strong><\/p>\n