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...   

Tsitsipas Triumphs in Dubai

Stefanos Tsitsipas is the 2025 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships winner! The 26-year-old played five matches across the week, taking on dangerous opponents and coming close to defeat on multiple occasions, especially in his earlier matches. Despite this, Tsitsipas warmed up as the tournament went on and won his final two matches with ease. 

His first test against Lorenzo Sonego didn't prove to be much of a challenge---the Greek sled through 7-6, 6-3 in a relatively comfortable opener. His second round battle was a bit more tricky, against Karen Khachanov. Despite Khachanov's unseeded tournament status, the Russian is #24 in the ATP rankings making him a difficult player to draw in the second round. And he gave 4th seeded Tsitsipas a real go. After the Greek won a nail-biting first set 7-6, Khachanov sprang back to win the second 6-2. It was up to one fatal break of serve in the final set that gave Tsitsipas the edge, and he was able to come through 6-4. Funnily enough, Tsitsipas's quarter-final was almost identical to his previous match---the Greek took the first set 7-6 against Matteo Berrettini. Tsitsipas then completely lost control of the match as the big-serving Berrettini was able to forcefully win the second set 6-1, making him the obvious favorite going into the third. But just like the battle against Khachanov, Tsitsipas was able to break the Italian's serve and just slip by 6-4 to survive once again. 

Photo credit: Corinne Dubreuil / ATP Tour

After two difficult matches, it was unclear what kind of a level Tsitsipas would produce in his semi-final, but it turns out that he played a lot better---strengthening his service stats and clearly playing with a more confident flair. He quite comfortably took down Tallon Griekspoor 6-4, 6-4 to secure his place in the final. His last challenge would prove to be very important for the Greek as after multiple attempts, he still didn't have an ATP 500 title under his belt. And it wouldn't be easy as his opponent, Felix Auger-Aliassime, recently won two early-season titles and has been on a bit of a tear. But after plenty of hours of court time across the week, Tsitsipas was fully ready to take on the Canadien and played his best match yet, winning 83% on first serves and breaking Auger-Aliassime three times to win 6-3, 6-3. 

Floridian Jessica Pegula Wins in Austin

It's been a comfortable week under the warm Austin sun for Jessica Pegula, and she's played a very high level of tennis which has resulted in her first title of the season. At the WTA 250 in Austin Texas, the American and Boca-Raton resident didn't really face too many challenges during her five matches and was able to raise the trophy confidently, perhaps giving the world #4 some hope for a successful upcoming Sunshine Double. 

Her first test against Aranxta Rus ended rather quickly. After Pegula secured the first set 6-3 and was leading 3-2 when Rus retired due to injury. After just spending over an hour on court, Pegula was able to enter her next match with plenty of energy and completely destroyed Nuria Parrizas-Diaz. While Pegula only hit 49% of her first serve in which is a surprisingly low mark, she didn't need to! She won 90% of points on that first serve and broke the Spaniard four times to win 6-1, 6-3. Despite the shaky stat, Parrizas-Diaz didn't even have one look at a break point which just illustrates how good the American is at winning points not relying on her serve, dominating from the baseline with her flat, aggressive forehand and consistent backhand. 

Photo credit: Credit One Charleston Open.

The 1st seed next took down Anna Blinkova 6-2, 6-2. She served a bit better here, but did lose concentration and let the Russian break her once. Despite this, Pegula broke back five times and was in the driver's seat for the entire match, barely adding any more court time to her record and continuing the comfortable trend. However, Ajla Tomljanovic had different plans for Pegula, and certainly gave her a fight. Like previous matches, Pegula won the first set of her semi-final against Tomljanovic dominantly 6-1. But the experienced Australian wasn't done yet and swung back to clinch the next set 6-4. But after all of the effort she put into that second set, there was little left to give and the American was able to get a couple of breaks in the third and win it 6-3. 

And then it was the final Sunday, and only Pegula and 5th seeded McCartney Kessler, a fellow American, remained. While Pegula did have a difficult time in the semi-final, she was back to her winning ways and won the battle in two sets. The first set seemed to be close as the two held serve up until 5-5. But the 1st seed then broke Kessler and held her own serve, taking what would prove to be a vital first set. And Pegula continued the momentum into the final set winning 6-2 to cement her name on the trophy. 

===

Written by Will Turvey. Top photo credit: US Open Tennis Championships.