We are still in the post-Australian Open period, with almost all the top women’s players returning to the tour in the next day or so in Doha and the top men already having returned, mostly in Rotterdam.
Last week, the women played tournaments in Cluj-Napoca, Romania and Abu Dhabi, UAE while the men visited Rotterdam, the Netherlands and Dallas, Texas.
Last Week’s Champions (02/03-02/09)
WTA Cluj-Napoca: Anastasia Potapova def. Lucia Bronzetti, 4-6 6-1 6-2
WTA Abu Dhabi: Belinda Bencic def. Ashlyn Krueger, 4-6 6-1 6-1
ATP Rotterdam: Carlos Alcaraz def. Alex de Minaur, 6-4 3-6 6-2
ATP Dallas: Denis Shapovalov def. Casper Ruud, 7-6(5) 6-3
Matches of the Week
Women’s Match of the Week: Cluj-Napoca First Round, Viktorija Golubic def. Arantxa Rus, 7-5 6-4 7-6(10) (Excitement Index: 109.87, Excitement Average: 0.42)
Men’s Match of the Week: Rotterdam Round of 16, Mattia Bellucci def. Daniil Medvedev, 6-3 6-7(6) 6-3 (Excitement Index: 60.81, Excitement Average: 0.27)
Notable Rankings Changes
WTA
ATP
One (Two this week) Incredible Moment(s)
This week, we have two incredible moments for you. First, this week marks the likely retirement of Simona Halep after her loss to Lucia Bronzetti in her home tournament in Cluj-Napoca. The two-time Grand Slam champion was the World #1 for 64 weeks, including taking the year-end top spot twice (2017, 2018). She has had some doping-related issues over the past couple years, but the Romanian was one of the pillars of women’s tennis in the 2010s. We wish her the best in her retirement.
Our second incredible moment is the successful return of the Tokyo 2021 Olympic gold medalist! Belinda Bencic became the Abu Dhabi champion, winning her first title since giving birth to her first child, Bella, last April. The former World #4 also makes her return to the top 100, looking like the same threat to the top of the tour that she has always been. Among other lessons, her quick success upon her return reminds players returning from long-term absences that there is a lot to be gained from dropping down to play lower-level tournaments and getting a lot of matches quickly.
The Week Ahead
The ATP Tour spreads out to the clay courts of Buenos Aires, Argentina for the beginning of the South American clay court “Golden Swing” and the retirement of Argentina’s own Diego Schwartzman. We will also visit the indoor hard courts of Marseille, France, and the outdoor hard courts of Delray Beach, Florida. The WTA Tour comes together for the first big tournament since the Australian Open in Doha, Qatar, a tournament which has been dominated by 3-time defending champion Iga Swiatek. Swiatek doesn’t lose matches in most tournaments, but in Doha, she barely even loses games. In the 13 matches of her 3 championship runs in Doha, Swiatek has lost a total of 45 games, an average of less than 3.5 per match. She was never more dominant than in 2023, when she lost just 5 games across 4 matches.
Follow along with us and enjoy the tennis!
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