The Weekly Recap: Pro Tennis Around The Globe

What happened in pro tennis around the globe in the past week? Plenty. We can't cover it all here but a few key highlights follow below in order to catch you up on all the action... 

Early Storylines Develop in Beijing at the WTA 1000 event

Photo credit: New Balance

We're only into the Round of 32 in Beijing, but already there's been some key highlights to jot down. Reigning US Open champion Aryna Sabalenka has started off well, comfortably winning against unseeded Mananchaya Sawangkaew in straight sets, 6-4, 6-1. The #1 seed will next play American Ashlyn Krueger. Speaking of Americans, Emma Navarro suffered a shock defeat to Shuai Zhang, who beat the 23-year-old with ease, 6-4, 6-2. But, Delray Beach native Coco Gauff played excellent tennis in her openers, taking out Frenchwoman Clara Burel in straights, and 26th seeded Katie Boulter in straights. Boulter, known to be a difficult opponent, was not able to handle the American's tempo, who played swift, overwhelming tennis to reach the third round. Gauff is currently working with a new coach, Matt Daly, who used to work with Denis Shapovalov. It is unclear if the partnership is set in stone yet, and rumor has it that Gauff has been flooded with offers from very skilled coaches. But clearly something seems to have clicked this week so far, and we'll keep a close eye on that new relationship going forward. Lastly, this week has featured another epic---a four hour, fifteen minute battle between Sara Sorribes Tormo and home-favorite Xinyu Gao. The Spaniard came out on top, winning 7-6, 5-7, 5-7. But when she came out on court on Sunday against Madison Keys, nothing was left in the tank and the American prevailed 6-2, 6-1.  

Two Frenchman Into Tokyo Semi-Finals

Photo credit: ATP Tour

The newly upgraded ATP 500 event, the Japan Open, has had some very entertaining tennis played so far. And there have also been plenty of upsets---but we'll get into that later. Riding on his most successful season yet, Frenchman Ugo Humbert is into another semi-final after smashing his first three opponents. So far, he hasn't faced much pressure, defeating his first two challenges in very comfortable two-set wins, and in the quarter-final against Jack Draper, he only had to win one set before the Brit retired with an injury. Also featured is Arthur Fils, who has faced much more tricky players on the other side of the net, but handled them expertly. He's knocked out two Americans, 1st seeded Taylor Fritz in the first round, and Ben Shelton just hours ago in the quarter-final. Fils will take on Holger Rune, who has had a much trickier road to the semis, while Humbert takes on Czech Thomas Machac. Except for Rune and apart from Fritz and Shelton, Hubert Hurkacz, Casper Ruud, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Tommy Paul have all been upset this week as well, providing a key opening for an unseeded player to snatch the trophy. 

Quarter-Finals Set at the ATP 500 Event in Beijing

Photo credit: US Open Tennis Championships

Back in Beijing, we now turn to the men's draw where some interesting match-ups will take place leading us into the back half of the event. An intense battle between Carlos Alcaraz and Karen Khachanov will be played Monday, in addition to an interesting quarter between Jannik Sinner and Jiri Lehecka. Also still in the event is Danill Medvedev who will take on Flavio Cobolli. But this is all somewhat expected. What's unexpected is our final quarter-final match-up, where Bu Yunchaokete has played brilliant tennis to seal his spot. In the first round, he almost went out to J.C. Shang, but the 22-year-old demonstrated immense mental capabilities in the tough moments, pulling out hat tricks to keep him alive. Then, in the round of 16 against Lorenzo Musetti, Yunchaokete rallied the crowd support and shut the door right in the Italian's face, winning 6-2, 6-4. So far, we don't know who he'll play next due to a rain suspension, but it will be the winner of Andrey Rublev and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. The 4th seeded Rublev is up 2-1 in the first set. 

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Written by: Will Turvey. Top photo:  Peter Menzel - Katie Boulter, CC BY-SA 2.0.