Tennis Tour Spotlight: 5-Tournament Packed Week Ends With Exciting Results

What happened this week on the ATP and WTA Tours? Did our home-state Floridians win big? In one of the busiest seven days of the season, we witnessed five pro events run simultaneously keeping viewers around the globe entertained, and they all ended with enthralling results. 

On the ATP Tour...

Three tournaments, all at the 250 ranking point level, occurred this week in Almaty Kazakhstan, Brussels, Belgium, and Stockholm, Sweden. In Almaty, 2nd seed Daniil Medvedev closed an 882-day title drought by defeating Corentin Moutet in a three-set thriller final. While this small event may not be the most significant stop on the tour, it sure was important for the 29-year-old who is slowly piecing together his game after a disappointing summer culminating in a first-round US Open exit. While he has improved his results this fall, this victory must be very sweet as it took a lot of work throughout the week to lift the trophy, but he got there in the end.

His first two matches against Adam Walton and Fabian Marozsan were competitive but comfortable 2-set victories for the Russian. From there, he lost a first set tiebreak, 10-8, in his semi-final matchup against James Duckworth but managed to recover well to seal a place in the final. On Sunday, he took out the 8th seeded Moutet 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 to set him up well for the final few weeks of action before the season comes to a close.

Photo credit: Corinne Dubreuil for ATP Tour

At the recently relocated European Open in Brussels, 2nd seed Felix Auger-Aliassime came out on top with an impressive set of victories. The Canadian was married just under a month ago, and this seems to have brought him some excellent results as of late. After a near-death encounter against Damir Dzumhur in the opening round in which the newlywed just scraped by in three sets, things seemed to settle down as he won his next two battles against Elliot Spizzirri and Raphael Collignon in two sets.

Things were a little more tricky against 3rd seed Jiri Lehecka who was ready to make Auger-Aliassime work for the victory. After the 2nd seed was able to win the first set in a tiebreak, Lehecka didn't give up and pushed him back into a tiebreak in the second set which ended with a 8-6 victory for the Czech and a final set showdown. After all that effort in the second, it didn't seem like Lehecka had much left to give and Auger-Aliassime was able to take advantage of an early break and ramp up the momentum throughout the final set to win 6-2. 

Over in Stockholm, 2nd seed Capser Ruud's game just got better throughout the week and the commentators dubbed his final performance as "some of the best tennis they'd ever seen him play." This very well may be true as that last match was won in a defiant manner against an opponent who has an excellent record in tour-level finals, but we'll get to that eventually. First, he defeated veteran Marian Cilic in two sets in a blockbuster opening round. From there, he took down Sebastian Korda in a tight three sets to seal his spot in the semifinals.

Up next was Denis Shapovalov. Shapovalov, another Canadian who was recently married, was seeded 3rd at the event and hoped to put a dent in Ruud's powerful game that seemed to match perfectly with the surface. He was unable to do so, and Ruud marched onwards after a 6-4, 6-4 victory. His final challenge was 4th seed Ugo Humbert. Humbert hasn't played his best tennis lately, but up until last year was 6-0 in finals and tied an ATP record. For some reason, it has never mattered who is on the other side of the net and Humbert has been able to attain a brilliant level to capture many titles. But that level was not on display as Ruud came out firing on all cylinders and stormed to victory in a bleak but dominant 6-2, 6-3 win. 

Photo credit: Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour

On the WTA Tour...

Two WTA tournaments took place this week. The first was a WTA 250-level event in Osaka, Japan, which was won by 4th seed Leylah Fernandez. Fernandez didn't not get the benefit of a bye in the first round, so she had to play a full five matches unlike her male counterparts, but she did so in an exceptional way. Her first three matches were all completed in two sets, and were won against Hailey Baptiste, Dalma Galfi, and Rebecca Sramkova. Sramkova was able to push the Canadian into a tiebreak in the first set, which she won confidently 6-2 before storming to a 6-3 second set victory. Despite a good way to open the week, things got much more difficult in the later rounds. She encountered Sorana Cirstea in the semifinals, and won the first set convincingly 6-1.

From there, Cirstea bounced back to make it a three set affair with a 6-2 second set win. Things were close right out of the gate in the third, but Fernandez came out with a break to just slip by 6-4 and seal a sport in the championship match. Up against unseeded Tereza Valentova, came out playing perfectly and bageled the Czech in a matter of minutes. It appeared as though the deal was sealed, but Valentova staged a brave comeback and fought with Fernandez through the second set before taking advantage of some nerves and grabbing a crucial break to win it, 7-5. However, experience can play the most important role in tennis, and Fernandez has plenty of it. She's a grand slam finalist, and she knows what it takes to win in the big moments. And that she did. Valentova had nothing left to give in the third set, and Fernandez came through with a 6-3 victory. 

Photo credit: Hameltion derivative work: Kacir, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The second WTA event this past week was the Ningbo Open in China, and it was won by 3rd seed Elena Rybakina. Rybakina, who hasn't won a title since the spring, faced off against a stacked roster and claimed her 10th tour-level trophy. Up first was unseeded but dangerous Dayana Yastremska who performed beautifully against her higher ranked opponent. Rybakina came away with the first set before the Ukranian fought back and clinched the second in a tiebreak. Rybakina was then able to finish it off in the third, but it wasn't the most comfortable way to begin her conquest. However, she made up for the instability in the first round by demolishing Ajla Tomljanovic, 6-2, 6-0. She backed that up with an impressive shutout of Jasmine Paolini---6-3, 6-2.

As you may expect from the trend we're on, things weren't as straightforward in the final and her opponent, Ekaterina Alexandrova, opened the match by winning the first set, 6-3. Rybakina staged an impressive hat trick, ignored the one-set deficit to storm back and take the second, 6-0. From there, she maintained her level and allowed Alexandrova to only win two more games as she raised the trophy in Ningbo. With this win, Rybakina strengthens her WTA Finals chances as she is only one spot off from qualifying for the year-end event. 

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Written by Will Turvey. Top photo credit: 2023 Peter Staples/ATP Tour