Sebastian Baez pulls off the stunner of the new season 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 against Taylor Fritz Not only was it a 5-0 H2H for Fritz before this one but Baez struggled to win games in most of the matches, only getting to 4 games in 1 of the 10 sets 🇦🇷 1-0 🇺🇲 📸 Rio Open

Casper Ruud picks up a big win 6-3, 6-4 over Alex De Minaur Big difference in this match was how many free points Ruud got off his serve, winning 79% of those and got far more in. Brutal first match of the year for both players, but Ruud was ready for the challenge 🇳🇴 1-1 🇦🇺 📸 Frank Franklin II/AP

Stan Wawrinka gets an absolutely incredible win 5-7, 7⁷-6⁵, 7⁷-6⁵ against Arthur Rinderknech to open his 2026 season, the final year of his professional career, and For as much as he loves the game as much as he ever has, that win will feel special for him. 🇨🇭 2-0 🇫🇷 📸 Croatia Open

Zhizhen Zhang wins 6²-7⁷, 7⁷-6³, 7-5 against Zizou Bergs This one will be coming down to the mixed doubles, great to see Zhang fully back but have to feel for Bergs, who lost a heartbreaker to Cobolli to end 2025 and another tough loss to start 2026 🇧🇪 1-1 🇨🇳 📸 Charles Krupa/AP Photo

Belinda Bencic wins 6-2, 6-4 against Leolia Jeanjean 2nd set got closer than it looked like it would initially, but Bencic gives Team Switzerland the lead after a quality start to her 2026 season which is all you're looking for in Week 1. 🇨🇭 1-0 🇫🇷 📸 Jimmie48/WTA Tour

Elise Mertens wins 6-2, 6-2 against Lin Zhu Pretty dominant opening match from Mertens in Sydney, who has started their group play with this one. 🇧🇪 1-0 🇨🇳 📸 Jimmie48/WTA Tour

United Cup Day 2: Sydney: 10:30am 🇧🇪 vs 🇨🇳 Mertens vs Zhu Bergs vs Zhang Mixed Doubles 5:30pm 🇦🇺 vs 🇳🇴 Joint vs Helgo De Minaur vs Ruud Mixed Doubles Perth: 10am 🇫🇷 vs 🇨🇭 Jeanjean vs Bencic Rinderknech vs Wawrinka Mixed Doubles 🇺🇲 vs 🇦🇷 5pm Fritz vs Baez Gauff vs Sierra Mixed

News: Arthur Fils withdraws from the Australian Open. Still suffering from a back injury since Roland Garros last season, will be 4 consecutive slams he does not finish his last match. youtu.be/OpKSFF0sEUo?...

United Cup Standings after Day 1: Group A: 🇦🇷 1-0 🇺🇲 0-0 🇪🇸 0-1 Group E: 🇬🇷 1-0 🇬🇧 0-0 🇯🇵 0-1 3 more groups kick off tomorrow along with USA/Argentina in Group A.

Stef Steps Up New year, new Stefanos? After a (by his standards) disastrous 2025 season, Stefanos Tsitsipas looks for a fresh start at the United Cup. The former world #3 gets past Japan's Shintaro Mochizuki, 6-3, 6-4, to secure the win for Greece.

What a win for Maria Sakkari 6-4, 6-2 over Naomi Osaka to give Team Greece the lead in the evening session tie. Tsitsipas has since taken the opening set 6-3 over Mochizuki, so Greece is just 1 set away now from an opening night win. 🇬🇷 1-0 🇯🇵 📸 Jimmie48/WTA Tour

Solana Sierra wins 6-4, 5-7, 6-0 against Jessica Bouzas Maneiro Both Sierra and Baez pull off unexpected victories on the first day of the new tennis season to secure the tie for Team Argentina. 🇦🇷 2-0 🇪🇸 📸 Jimmie48/WTA Tour

Sebastian Baez wins 6-4, 6-4 against Jaume Munar It's an upset in the first match of the new season to give Team Argentina the lead. 🇦🇷 1-0 🇪🇸 📸 Rio Open

News: Venus Williams has been given a wild card to Hobart. Was announced earlier today she was getting one to the Australian Open in addition to the one she got in Auckland a few weeks back. 📸 Hobart International

The wait is over, the day all tennis fans have been waiting for is finally here, as the 2026 tennis season starts NOW. Jaume Munar and Sebastian Baez along with the rest of Argentina and Spain taking the court right now.

News: Venus Williams has gotten a Wild Card for the Australian Open Will be her first appearance since 2021. Did try and play it a few years ago and got injured in Auckland, hopefully can play it with full fitness this time. 📸 Australian Open

Not quite New Years here yet but Happy New Year to everyone, and most importantly we are officially now under 24 hours away from the new tennis season. Perth: 10am 🇪🇸 vs 🇦🇷 Munar vs Baez Bouzas Maneiro vs Sierra Mixed Doubles 5pm 🇬🇷 vs 🇯🇵 Sakkari vs Osaka Tsitsipas vs Mochizuki Mixed Doubles

News: Lois Boisson withdraws from the United Cup and hopes to return for the Australian Open This means Leolia Jeanjean will be playing the women's singles matches for Team France. They have Arthur Rinderknech for the men's singles matches.

Yes. Team GB will now be going with Billy Harris instead of Draper in next week's United Cup.

News: Jack Draper is out of the 2026 Australian Open The only completely healthy season he's had was 2024. Writing for this one was kinda on the wall when he withdrew from a few exhibitions. Such a shame considering he was the 3rd best player in the first half of 2025 until he got hurt.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all the tennis fans across the world today that I've talked to on here for any amount of time. The best gift we could ask for is the start of the new season which will come in 1 weeks time, looking forward to that.

Learner Tien wins 4⁷-3⁴, 4-2, 4-1 against Alexander Blockx A year after losing that Final to Fonseca, it's a title in Next Gen for Learner Tien. I had questioned what he got out of shortening his offseason to play this but finishes unfinished business. 📸 Vincent Thian/AP Photo

Next Gen Final is set: Tien def Basavareddy 4-2, 4-1, 4-3 Blockx def Kjaer 4-3, 4-3, 4-2

Next Gen Finals are into the Semifinals stage tomorrow:

Breaking some big tennis business news at Bounces: Naomi Osaka is leaving her longtime agent Stuart Duguid and the agency they cofounded in 2022, Evolve. Subscribe to read more about Naomi’s business history and where she’s going next. www.benrothenberg.com/p/breaking-n...

Next Gen Finals Day 3 Order of Play + Scenarios: There are 40 scenarios, 20 in each group. I'm glad I didn't have to come up with the math for this one.

Learner Tien wins 1-4, 4-1, 4⁷-3⁴, 4⁷-3² against Martin Landaluce Tien had that upset loss yesterday after holding the match points, in this match he was up 3-1 40-0 in the 4th and it got to the tiebreak so a good bounceback for him there.

News: Grigor Dimitrov has now split with Daniel Vallverdu, who was his coach for 8 years. No matter who Dimitrov hires his #1 goal will be staying healthy in 2026.

Next Gen Finals Day 2: Jodar beating Tien was the surprise of Day 1, we'll see if he can bounce back vs Ladaluce in the last match of the night.

News: Carlos Alcaraz has split with Juan Carlos Ferraro That was definitely not on my bingo card, I always thought he was like a father figure and he'd be there most of his career if not all but not the case. Samuel Lopez will now be the full time coach for Alcaraz.

Auckland Entry Lists: It's a 250 for both, the WTA event is in the first week of the season and the ATP event is in the 2nd week. Svitolina, Navarro, Jovic, Venus, Shelton, Ruud, Mensik, Monfils headline.

Bernabe Zapata Miralles announces his retirement from tennis at age 28, including the curious line... "I want to start by asking for forgiveness, forgiveness to all the people I have disrespected during these years... I think that many times I did not act correctly with the people around me."

Full WTA 500/ATP 250 Adelaide Entry Lists: Is the week before the Australian Open.

News: Novak Djokovic will be playing in Adelaide the week before the Australian Open January 12th-17th. Something that has worked well for him in the week before Roland Garros with Geneva, he's played United Cup or Brisbane the last few years which is the 1st week, doing something different in 2026

News: ATP establishes and confirms heat rule for 2026 season Have always wondered why the slams and the WTA had a heat rule and the ATP did not previously. The play stops at 32.2 C is interesting, only the Australian Open has something like that in place, is close to 90 degrees F

ATP has released the Next Gen Finals Groups: Tien the top seed after both Mensik and Fonseca withdrew, which was a smart decision from both.

Jakub Mensik withdraws from NextGen Finals, and will be replaced by Justin Engel.

WTA 500/ATP 250 Brisbane Entry List: Some of these names were announced previously but both are very strong fields.

2026 Australian Open Entry Lists: Not on Men's: Rune Men's PRs: Shang, Zhang, Ruusuvuori, Kokkinakis Men's WCs So Far: Duckworth, Kypson, Bu Not on Women's: Collins, Jabeur Women's SRs: Pliskova, Y Wang, Sawangkaew Women's WCs So Far: Jones, Mandlik, Diyas

Carlos Alcaraz wins 7-5, 2-6, 10-8 against Joao Fonseca in the Miami Exhibition You knew this one would be entertaining, everything you want in an exhibition. The Brazilians close to Miami got to see their guy and you know Alcaraz will always put on a show 📸 Antonio Calanni/AP Photo

Aryna Sabalenka wins 6-4, 7-5 against Naomi Osaka at the MSG Garden Cup Great to see these two face again even in an exhibition and great to see tennis at MSG again. 📸 Jimmie48/WTA Tour

Frances Tiafoe wins 4-6, 6-4, 10-8 against Taylor Fritz Taylor hits the overhead into the net to close out this one, exhibitions this early do not mean a thing but was a fun night in Charlotte, crowd was packed for these 2 Americans and Keys/Venus earlier. 📸 Lindsey Watson/AP Photo

News: Legendary Nicola Pietrangeli passes away at 92 years of age. He was the greatest Italian player in history until the last couple of years when Sinner started breaking his records. Was the captain for Italy's 1976 Davis Cup winning team. www.espn.com/tennis/story...

2026 United Cup Schedule: Is 32 days away.

Flavio Cobolli wins 1-6, 7⁷-6⁵, 7-5 against Jaume Munar Just like in 2023 and 2024, the tennis season ends with Team Italy hoisting the Davis Cup trophy. This one even more impressive considering Sinner skipped and this one also comes at home in Bologna. 📸 Luca Bruno/AP Photo 🇮🇹 2-0 🇪🇸

Granollers/Martinez win 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 against Krawietz/Putz Alcaraz and Sinner may not be here, but we still get a Spain vs Italy Final in Bologna. Just like in the QF vs Czechia, it's Granollers/Martinez to close it out in the deciding doubles. 🇪🇸 2-1 🇩🇪

Flavio Cobolli wins 6-3, 6⁵-7⁷, 7¹⁷-6¹⁵ against Zizou Bergs One of the most tense tiebreakers you will ever see, as Team Italy moves into their 3rd consecutive Davis Cup Final 🇮🇹 2-0 🇧🇪 📸 Zuma/Psnewz

Davis Cup SF: 4pm 🇮🇹 vs 🇧🇪 Likely Matchups: Cobolli vs Bergs Berrettini vs Collignon

Krawietz/Putz get the win 4-6, 6-4, 7¹²-6¹⁰ against Zeballos/Molteni The passing shot finds the line to send Team Germany into the Semifinals, an absolutely incredible day in Bologna gets topped off after 1am, they led 6-3 in the tiebreaker and it got real tight 🇩🇪 2-1 🇦🇷

Alexander Zverev wins 6-4, 7⁷-6³ against Francisco Cerundolo Pivotal moment was certainly a 37 shot rally that Zverev won in the 2nd point of the tiebreak, seemed to take everything out of Cerundolo, and for the 2nd time today, we'll have doubles at 1-1 🇩🇪 1-1 🇦🇷