Tennis Tour Spotlight: Swing Continues Across Europe and Asia

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 four pro events run simultaneously keeping viewers around the globe entertained, and they all ended with enthralling results. 

On the ATP Tour...

The penultimate week in October is a special one on the calendar. It features two historic ATP 500 events which have been held since the early 1970s, and attracts top talent as the field warms up for the season's final party in Paris. The first is the Erste Bank Open, held in Vienna Austria. This year's champion was no shocker. 

Without rival Carlos Alcaraz on court this week, it seemed as though Jannik Sinner's path to the title in Vienna was pretty open. That stayed true right up until the championship match, where a man who has had a disappointing year gave the Italian a real run for his money. Four days prior, Sinner stepped out to face Daniel Altmaier in the first round, who he defeated flawlessly: he surrendered only two games en route to the second round.

Photo credit: © Rolex

Next up was fellow Italian Flavio Cobolli, who bowed out to Sinner in two sets as well as 8th seed and 3rd seeds Alexander Bublik and Alex de Minaur, who fell to the same fate in the following rounds. It looked like Sinner was going to walk home without dropping a set, but Alexander Zverev had different plans for the final.

Despite the fact that the Italian had a 90% likeliness to win, Zverev came out of the gate firing, and with a 75% first serve rate soared to the opening set, 6-3. Sinner leveled things out in the second, and set a final set showdown with a 6-3 comeback. Things were deadly close in the third, and the two men held even all the way until 5-5 which is when Sinner made use of a beautiful opportunity to break the German and then serve it out comfortably. He is the easy favorite this coming week in Paris. 

While the similar event in Basel may not have hosted the two top dogs, it did host plenty of spectacular tennis, and it was won in a stellar fashion by tour rookie Joao Fonseca who is enjoying his first full season on the swing. This was Fonseca's second title, first at the 500 level, so it was particularly enchanting to follow the youngster's path to victory. He started off against big-serving Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, who he countered brilliantly in two sets.

Photo credit: © Rolex/Jed Jacobsohn

Next came a bit of good fortune for the Brazilian as 7th seed Jakub Mensik, who he was set to play in the following round, had to retire before the match. While unfortunate for the Czech, it gave Fonseca an extra day of rest and a spot in the quarterfinals. He handled 9th seed Denis Shapovalov after losing the first set, and then won in two against Spaniard Juame Munar to reach the final.

Across the net was Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, the eighth seed. Fokina, despite having earned a high status in the spotlight after huge successes on the tour, has not yet won a title. There was a lot of pressure on the Spaniard to do it here after almost winning the Delray Beach Open earlier this season. But in the end, Fokina's trophy woes continued as Fonseca came through with a captivating 6-3, 6-4 performance to set down another milestone in his young career. 

On the WTA Tour...

While the men battle it out back in Europe, the Asian swing is still in full swing on the WTA Tour as two tournaments were held in Japan and China this past week and ended with enticing results. Up first at the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, Japan, a seasoned expert and one of the few tour moms came away with the title. 

Seeded 5th at the event, Belinda Bencic has had a good season and already triumphed at a tournament, but despite stiff competition in Tokyo she was hungry for an end-of-season victory to gain confidence heading into 2026. She began her campaign on Wednesday against Vavara Gracheva, who she took down confidently in two sets. Next on the roster was 8th seed Karolina Muchova.

Photo credit: © Rolex/Jon Buckle

Muchova, who's career has been plagued with injuries which have sometimes prevented her from maintaining a top level status, is never someone you want to meet early on in a tournament. And she proved that right after taking the first set off of Bencic, 6-3. It continued to be competitive in the following sets as the Swiss scraped by in the second, 7-5, and completed a mini hat trick to avoid a tiebreak all together and win the third 7-5 as well. Even though things weren't taken to 6-all in her quarterfinal, that's the first thing that happened against Sofia Kenin in the semis.

The opening set tiebreak was close, with Bencic just gaining the advantage 7-5 in points. Kenin fought back in the second, and set the fans up for some final set entertainment. Unfortunately for the American, it wasn't very entertaining as Bencic raised her level brilliantly to reach the final, shutting out Kenin 6-2 in the final set. 6th seed Linda Noskova didn't have much on the agenda on Sunday morning, and Bencic utilized her experience in the big moments to put on a commanding performance and cruise to victory, 6-2, 6-3. That's title #10 for Bencic, and while she won't qualify for the year-end finals, she's a name to watch next year. 

Photo credit: si.robi, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Meanwhile in Guangzhou, China, 25-year-old Ann Li scored a big victory at the 250-level event. Once a top prospect, the media attention surrounding the American has slowly faded as results have not come as cleanly as she hoped, but she was able to win her first title in four years as her ranking takes on some impressive improvements. Seeded 2nd at the tournament, Li opened against Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva who she took down in two competitive sets.

Camilla Osorio was up next, and Li handled her once again in two. Things stayed even in the quarterfinals against Elisabetta Cocciaretto, and she then reached the final against Zhang Shuai after Shuai retired on court with an injury. Li's final challenge was Lulu Sun, the unseeded New Zealander who fought her way through qualifying on a dream run. The first set was tight, with Li just clinching it 8-6 in a tiebreak. With opportunities for both, this loss seemed to set Sun off course and Li was able to roll with momentum in the second set, and took advantage of a quick break of serve and never looked back. She ended the match with a 6-2 victory. While 2025 may be almost over, she'll be someone to keep track of heading into the new season. 

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Written by William Turvey. Top photo credit: © Rolex/Jon Buckle