Petko on the Carlos/Cicak time violation spat: "Maybe he doesn't know Marija Cicak well. She is mostly an umpire on the WTA side. We all know how strict she is, so you don't want to get into an argument with her. She will destroy you, mentally and emotionally." #facts

Alcaraz chose the worst umpire possible to rant at: Marija Čičak. "Carlos, I can't invent more time." Diva.

João Fonseca lost in his first match while defending his title in Buenos Aires. Sebastián Báez also lost in his opening match in Rio de Janeiro, where he was the defending champion. And Amanda Anisimova retired in the first match of her title defence in Doha.

Even if Andreeva loses all her points from her Indian Wells title she still has a chance to stay in the Top 10, as she won WTA 500 Adelaide in the beginning of the year. Andreeva won Dubai last year beating Vondrousova, Swiatek, and Rybakina.

Andreeva dropped 785 points after failing to defend her Dubai WTA 1000 title, yet she slipped only one spot in the rankings—from #7 to #8—overtaken by Jasmine Paolini, the 2024 Dubai champion.

Alexandra Eala +15 —> #32, career high, by reaching QFs in Dubai. Antonia Ruzic +16 —> #51, also career high, also by reaching QFs in Dubai from qualifying, where she lost IN THE FIRST ROUND and yet got into the main draw as lucky loser after many withdraws.

🚨 BREAKING NEWS 🚨 No tennis player retired today in Dubai. A first in the entire week.

It's good for the sport if either Sinner or Alcaraz lose occasionally. Well done Mensik. 👏 #TennisSky 🎾

There have been quite a few retirements and walkovers at the tournament in Dubai. 😧 #WTA #tennis

Svitolina!!!

Official withdraws/retirements this week (until now...) Dubai: Sabalenka Swiatek Muchova Sakkari Zheng Mboko Krejcikova Baptiste Cocciaretto Bejlek Kasatkina Seidel Badosa Doha: Bublik Munar Rio de Janeiro: Taberner Sonego Müller Djere Delray Beach: Spizzirri Musetti won't play till March.

Luciano Darderi lost the Buenos Aires final to Francisco Cerúndolo last Sunday, and then fell in the first round in Rio de Janeiro to Francisco’s brother, Juan Manuel Cerúndolo, two days later.

Oh no, I have to get back to work.

Eala's hammering Paolini's second serve.

The commentator is insisting that Paolini had a "match point", but it was Eala who won the first set.

Paolini X Eala is on 🔥.

I genuinely love watching Jasmine Paolini play.

Eala’s backhand has turned into a genuine weapon.

Sinner and Alcaraz each got $1.2M USD just to play Doha. Qatar isn’t even the wealthiest emirate.

Another retirement: Paula Badosa. 24th player to not play / withdraw in Dubai.

23 of the 43 players originally entered into Dubai have now withdrawn or retired mid-match. 53% Never seen anything like it.

Anisimova gets a walkover. Probably because there were no LLs left.

Sofia Kenin is Major champion and two-time Grand Slam finalist who struggles to get out of first round. Were 2019 - 2021 the lost years? We got Covid, Kenin, Andreescu and Raducanu as champions and Wimbledon cancelled one year.

Auger-Aliassime 3-3 in ATP 500 finals. Won: Rotterdam'22 (Tsitsipas) Basel'22 (Rune) Basel'23 (Hurkacz) Lost: Rio'19 (Djere) Rotterdam'20 (Monfils) Dubai'25 (Tsitsipas) He or de Miñaur will win a 4th ATP 500 title today.

It seems Samsonova has changed her serve motion. Quite different from what I remember. 7-5 Fernandez, first set, WTA 1000 Dubai.

Álex de Miñaur 3-5 in ATP 500 finals. Won: Washington'25 (Fokina) Acapulco'24 (Ruud) Acapulco'23 (Paul) Lost: Washington'18 (Zverev) Barcelona'22 (Alcaraz) Rotterdam'23 (Medvedev) Queen's Club'23 (Alcaraz) Rotterdam'24 (Sinner) 3rd final consecutive final in Rotterdam against Aliassime or Bublik.

Karolina Muchova will have a WTA 1000 title!

It seems Fernando Verdasco has announced his retirement. He’ll play doubles with Djokovic in Doha, Qatar, and then call time on his career. Let’s hope he will remembered for tennis, not for any medication, “supplements”, or “therapeutic exemptions” controversies.

Only downside to the Mboko-Muchova match is that they can’t both win.

Mboko’s coach, Nathalie Tauziat, with a notepad and pen in hand. Old school.

Muchová and Mboko in a dreamy WTA 1000 Doha final, with Marija Čičak in the chair. It really doesn’t get better than that.

[1] Baptiste, [2] Valentova, [3] Kartal, [4] Stearns, [6] Frech, [7] Jacquemot, [8] Sierra, [9] Bondar and [10] Ruzic all lost at Dubai's qualifying. Among the Top 10 seeds, only [5] Cocciaretto got through. [11] Potapova and [15] Parks also lost.

Destanee Aiava announces 2026 will be her final year on tour, and doesn't hold back. Via her Instagram #tennis

Foki lost. 😕

Oh no Shelton X Kecmanovic went to the third set. Another 30 min at least until Fokina X Shapovalov starts.

The struggle is real.

Tonight at the ATP 500 in Dallas: Shapovalov vs. Fokina, a matchup that reliably flirts with full‑blown comedy.

Victoria Mboko is a Top 10 player as she beat Elena Rybakina at WTA 1000 to get into SFs. 🙂

#37 Jaume Munar into Rotterdam QFs by defeating [5] Khachanov. Next up: [3] Bublik or Struff. Munar rises to #35 in the live rankings, just two spots shy of his career high of 33. The Spanish is playing the best tennis of his career.

Khachanov could launch his mother through the net and Munar would still put her back in play.

Rotterdam already had one of the slowest courts of the circuit ("Muddtterdam") and this year they doubled down by choosing a lower‑quick ball. Watching Khachanov try to hit through Munar on this surface feels like they’re rallying underwater, or like someone tied invisible strings to their shoes.

Fonseca loses his opening match in Buenos Aires, where he was defending the title. 250 points gone.

We need a 3rd set tiebreak to decide this Fonseca X Tabilo in Buenos Aires.

Match point Tabilo.

Take away the 250 points from his ATP 250 Buenos Aires title and João Fonseca slips only four spots to #37.

If Mboko reaches the Doha semifinals, she’ll rise to #10. But to get there, she’ll have to go through either Zheng Qinwen or Elena Rybakina.

#52 Maria Sakkari defeated #8 Jasmine Paolini in her previous match. But if she were to lose today to #73 Varvara Gracheva, it wouldn’t be shocking: just consistent with Sakkari’s unpredictable pattern.

Beatriz Haddad Maia lost yet again, this time as a lucky loser: 0-6, 1-6 #46 Janice Tjen. Other disappointing results: Kalinskaya 6-2, 6-1 Bouzas Maneiro Sakkari 6-1, 6-3 Sönmez Navarro 7-5, 6-1 Maria Valentova 7-6(6), 6-1 Eala Haddad Maia and Tatjana Maria remain winless in 2026.

Doha is on fire: Eala X Valentova Q. Zheng X Kenin Sakkari X Sönmez Kalinskaya X Bouzas Maneiro Raducanu X Osorio Tjen X Haddad Maia Anisimova X Pliskova Andreeva X Linette Noskova beat Joint early in the day.

The best moment of the show: