The Winterfest of Our Discontent [2025]

The biggest threat often comes from within...

"CARL HALL" (2025; formerly The Petrova Wellness Center)

Yes, it's that time of year once again. Unfortunately, the usual merriment of the season is absent this time around.

As it turned out, the underlying anxiety regarding impending dread that seemed to lurk around every corner at last year's Winterfest Weekend celebration -- a sense recognized by every student, teacher, alumnus and treasued guest in attendance -- proved to be all too appropriate.

Perhaps not surprisingly, as we understood but didn't want to wish into existence a year ago, the worry materialized from a familiar corner.

First, though, a few notes about the timeline of things. Last year, after "all-star" campus leader Carla continued to bask in the glow of a number of awards and honors that had come her way, both from within the Academy after leading the campus back from the Winterfest eve fires that consumed the campus in 2023, as well as other arenas largely due to the continuing success of BSA's sister institution CAVE-INS -- the Carla Academy for the Visionary Education of Indigenous Native Societies. At the same time, her longtime husband Carl had clearly been uncomfortable with any such familial sharing of praise after he had received his own share of accolades after he led BSA's successful hosting of the World Elking Cup in '22.

In 2024, though, Carl didn't revert to his old, destructive "squishing ways," and instead left on a nearly eleven-month, solitary "global elking trek" (w/ his favored champion bull Konig, of course) in order to pass on the great knowledge he'd accumulated about the physical and mental benefits of the "glorious sport of competitive elking." We all felt as if it was a sign that the more thoughtful Carl of recent years was indeed still with us. While he was away, Carl spread his word far and wide, making many new friends (and converts) along the way.

Thing is, when Carl did finally return, it was clear that he had changed. Or rather, he seemed to have reverted back to his former tempermental ways, perhaps a result of his time away from the BSA circle (and, naturally, the calming presence of Carla) that had played such a role in better integrating his personality into society and finding ways for him to contribute more to his surroundings than offering mere threats of squishings, squishings themselves and the promise of still more squishings. Alas, he and Carla were heard arguing quite often upon his arrival on campus, and he finally stormed off the grounds last November heading for parts unknown.

The 2024 Winterfest Weekend went on without Carl, but the worry that his absence contributed to the otherwise festive occasion was palpable.

While rumors that Carl -- having befriended many powerful individuals as well as members of the new, then-incoming U.S. admininstration over the course of the Elking World Cup and his subsequent tour -- might be appointed as the head of a newly-created government entity in Washington, D.C., quite possibly by the name of the Commission on Active Riding as a Lifeblood (aka CARL), which would given him governmental license to continue to travel the world and promote (naturally) Carl's beloved favorite competitive sport, never materialized as fact, the distress created due to his new circle of acquiantances proved to be more than worthy of concern.

Carl would return to the BSA campus early in 2025, and very soon things would begin to change.

Meanwhile, the semesters on Backspin Academy continued to be filled with joy over the past year, including after the return of Carl. As we all compartmentalized our fears and focused on the positive, we cheered as the reigning Student Body President had another banner academic year, though not one without its share of rocky (and oft self-inflicted bad) moments, while a whole new array of star pupils from rarely or untapped corners of the world enjoyed sudden success (The Philippines! Indonesia!), new faces from familiar places ("Mbokomania!" swept campus during the summer; while the Dokic BSA Bookstore sold out of "Francaise Forehand" t-shirts in under an hour in the spring) rose to prominance, past achievers returned to their previous high-achieving form ("Better Call Bencic" and "Amandarama!" were winning shows on the BSA theater stage), well-known stars found success in unexpected academic fields (Iga on grass!), belatedly rose to the occasion (New Madi!) and ultimately found their best (a still buttoned-down Elena, but spectacularly so!) selves after what had been a sometimes trying year.

In fact, plans had been made to celebrate all that and more during this year's Winterfest. The annual Media Wall installation was erected (and, thankfually, photographed... while it could be)...

But, in the end, we were unable to celebrate Winterfest Weekend on the BSA campus this year. Not because we didn't *want* to, but because we were *prevented* from doing so.

Perhaps the worst part of the entire (continuing) ordeal is that we should have expected things to play out just as they did.

It all began upon Carl's re-entrance into BSA society sometime in February. Almost immediately, he began wearing the "traditional" clothing of his ancestors (i.e. animal skins and various furs), along with a blue cap emblazoned with a large "C." For "Carl," we assumed... since when he was asked about it he would only snap back, "What think for?!" and then storm off. His comment was an early sign that his previous advancements in spoken language had devolved, or that he'd made the intentional decision to cater to the vocal crowd that didn't appreciate his recent "assimilation" and efforts to seemingly improve himself (with Carla's gentle prodding).

For the most part, Carl kept to himself in those early weeks.

Though she was worried about Carl, Carla felt that the warmth of the BSA community would envelop him once again in short order, smoothing out any of the newly-roughened edges after his time away. At least she felt she had no choice but to have faith in the prospect, as it was time for her to head off on her own long-scheduled world tour, during which she was to consult with welcoming governments and charities in an attempt to take her CAVE-IN success global, noting that the less fortunate Indigenous cavepeople in society continue to be far underserved in all corners of the earth and that offering as many individuals as possible the chance for a full education would provide the tide that can lift the boats of the entire community, just as it had for her.

As Carla lifted off from campus on a helicopter bound for places where she would meet people that would surely be as charmed by her as we have been over the years, some noted the look of concern of her face through the glass as she watched Carl gaze up from the center of campus as she moved farther away. He had no expression on his face, and once she was out of sight he simply turned without a word and, with his head down, walked back to the home cave he personally carved out of a nearby hillside back in the early days of BSA's construction.

By the time Carla returned a few months later, she would hardly be able to recognize the place, or believe her eyes.

Come March, the campus began to see an influx of new visitors, often arriving in large groups and buses, sometimes several in a single day. As they unloaded, it was noticed that nearly all of them were sporting the same blue "C" hats that Carl wore, and once they showed up they seemed to become a fixture around town, never leaving. Before long, Carl began holding well-attended rallies that gathered them all together. The events overtook the campus, sometimes even when classes were being held, so much so that security soon became a necessity, as large segments of the crowd often grew rowdy and occasionally even harrassed certain students as they made their way between buildings.

Carl took it upon himself, never bothering to consult the BSA Board of Directors, to hire his own security team, which he then decided would remain on the grounds to provide "daily attention" after there were "rumors" of dissention and "threats" being made against Carl and his new, often divisive followers. Carl made a point on his social media to announce on a daily basis each personal conflict that he'd "heard of" and "everyone knows about" that he felt amounted to cases of him and his followers being "persecuted" -- though no one else had ever actually heard of most of what he highlighted -- and occasionally even accused individuals by name of being against him, leading to actual threats being made against those persons and their dorms and residences valdalized, even as no evidence could be found of them having made such "anti-Carl" statements, per se.

But if Carl said it was so, then Blue Hats chose to accept it as gospel, and quickly held it over the head of whomever Carl chose to target in the moment.

As summer began, we were surpised to see elks began to graze on the hillside across the river from campus, often surrounding the CAVE-IN complex. Arriving students started to fear for their safety, as no fencing was provided to keep the elks from overrunning the place. Carl responded by announcing, "THERE NO FENCES IN NATURE!!!" And that was that.

It soon became clear that the elks that had been moved onto the site belonged to the security forces that Carl had hired, a group which it had become known was composed of many of his old elking teammates, as well as instant loyalists of various stripe that he picked up along the way during his global journey last year. The animals were being kept by Carlo, Carl and Carla's oldest son, who is now going by the name Carl Jr. (students quickly began to derisively call him "little Carlo" behind his back) after officially retiring from his competitive elking career after his promising start was besieged by continual injuries, including a severe concussion that finally forced him to give up the game.

Soon after, Carl's security force -- officially known as "Squishismo squads" -- began mounting their steeds as they patrolled the campus grounds on elkback, with at least one individual stationed at nearly every corner on a permanent basis. Their presence was not appreciated, as the student body sensed that they were there to represent a persistent psychological threat, at least until they became something more. That moment came to be when, apparently, one Squishismo began to harrass a foreign-born student who, according to the individual, had "shot him a dirty look" as she passed by the corner checkpoint. The student and Squishismo were soon surrounded by several other students who took offense to the situation, which quickly escalated into a melee in which a dozen students were injured -- often after being trampled by one of the heavy-hoofed elks underneath the additional security forces that had arrived on the scene -- and one Squishismo was hospitalized after a fall when his elk reared up and fell backwards on top of him.

Carl quickly took the side of the Squishismos, calling the students involved in the incident "terrorists suffering from Carl Derangement Syndrome" (words that perhaps hinted that Carl's return to his formerly grammar-mangling, often monosyllabic ways was just as act), and accused nearly everyone on campus of being jealous of not being as strong-willed and magnificent as Carl was himself.

His Blue-hatted base quickly formed an impromptu rally in support of Carl, inspring him to arrive on the scene and express his appreciation for their loyalty, even leading them in multiple chants of "Carl! Carl! Carl!" as he shook his fist to the recording of "Macho Man" that played from the phone that one supporter had passed up from the crowd to be held to an on-stage microphone.

Mussolini Serious GIFfrom Mussolini GIFs

Thankfully, all the individuals involved in the original melee recovered, but the festering situation caused the mounting tension on campus to grow exponentially. Protests demanding an apology from Carl and/or for action against (or removal of) the Squishismo squads to be brought by the BSA Board of Directors were met with Carl swiftly "firing" the entire, dutifully appointed Board and replacing them with members of the Squishismo squad themselves. The previous BSA Board of Directors were then escorted off campus.

While members of the BSA community who were in the know about the official workings of the campus searched in vain for words contained within the academy's charter that proved that Carl had no such right to dispand and/or replace board members en masse on a personal whim -- and certainly not without the approval of Carla -- the wheels of injustice continued to turn without official intervention.

Immediately, Carl dictated that all foreign-born students would have to "carry their papers" to be presented to Squishismo members upon request at any time, and any failure to do so would result in an immediate expulsion from BSA. Some on-site students were so fearful that they began sporting blue caps in the hopes of "blending in" and not being pulled from the crowd by what were being called "Carl's cavalry." Soon, *all* students were being expected to display an affection for "the elking ascentic," a practice which was not quite understood nor explained, but was accepted by most as meaning to see Carl as the epitome of all things good and righteous, and as someone to be admired, if not rightfully emulated.

In one case, a newly arrived student -- given a full scholarship by Carl himself -- received a "zero" from a longtime professor on a paper in which she was asked to explain, with specific examples that backed up her claims, the reasons why so many BSA students have prospered during their time on campus, with the desire being to hear the student espouse the teamwork aspect and atmosphere of support that has always been a hallmark of campus life. Instead, she had written, simply, "Because Carl is here," and to a later similar question, stated that "Carl and my devotion to him determines whether I will succeed, or be doomed to failure."

The student personally protested her grade to Carl, who promptly terminated (fired, I mean) the professor and gave the student an "A++" on the assignment.

After being unable to contact Carla for weeks, word was finally able to get through to her about what was happening on campus. She'd been touring some of the most remote areas of the world, looking to help Indigenous people (cave-dwelling or otherwise) wherever she could find assistance, from the mountains of Tibet (apparently, she and the Dalai Lama were instant kindred spirits) to the Heard and McDonald islands (it was a side trip -- she wanted to see the penguins), as well as the African Pole of Inaccessibility. Needless to say, she was stunned by what she heard, and cancelled the rest of her plans in order to immediately head back to BSA.

Carla was cheered by a string of relieved students lining the autumn leaf-strewn street leading into campus, as well as throughout the grounds once she came through the front gate. She quickly found Carl and expressed her exasperated astonishment over his actions, with the din of the argument being heard from as far away as Henin Hall. No one had ever heard Carla speak with such a furious tone.

Once the proverbial dust settled, Carla seemed satisfied that she'd made her point and that all would be well. She knew that she couldn't stand to continue to be with Carl, and is said to have been overheard on her phone telling her lawyer to file for divorce due to "irreconcilable psychological and archealogical differences" as she headed off to her own private "Zen garden," her office at the main CAVE-IN building, where she worked through the night, completing some of her missed face-to-face meetings with world leaders via video connections, trying to close many of the deals that she had been so assiduously striving toward before being called back home. From what we heard, she did just that.

Come the morning, though, Carla was nowhere to be found. Not at the CAVE-IN complex (her office was empty, but clearly having been the site of much work, as she'd stayed long past all other authorized personnel had gone home for the evening), nor anywhere else on campus. She hadn't returned to her global mission, either. Carla had simply disappeared without a trace. The security system showed no evidence of a break-in, and no one could have gotten in otherwise unless they held the closely-guarded security access codes... which limited the circle of people who may have visited her during the night or early morning hours.

The main suspect in her sudden "erasure" was clear, but no one dared make accusations without evidence, knowing that even that might not be enough to stand up in "the court of the blue hats," and surely not in the eyes of you-know-who.

Quite quickly, though, our suspicions seemed to be justified, as Carl dug in his bare feet and leaned into his authoritarian streak. Anyone not deemed to be on Carl's side in, well, *anything* was quickly rounded up and dumped into rooms at the Petrova Wellness Center, which had almost overnight been renamed as "Carl Hall."

With many foreign-born students already having been spooked by previous incidents, a number had had already taken to attending classes remotely, so they escaped such inhumane treatment; but that just meant that the Squishismo squads turned to the next available "suspects." Soon, the likes of native-born students (even those who showed their IDs) were scooped up, as well, some with the stated suspicion being only being because, "Real American names don't end in 'ova." Of course, when it was pointed out that many of Carl's security forces were from other nations, another reason for being a "suspected collaborator" (to what aim we weren't certain, nor was it really important in their process) was apparent. Thus, still more "arrests" was made.

Still, everyone's love and loyalty to the BSA way of life didn't cause the student body and faculty to instantly flee. For a few weeks, things calmed down, as "suspects" were released, though suspended from participation in campus activities. While Carla was still missing (whispers of being hauled off to "CECOT" seemed reactionary, while "Where Is Carla?" signs were posted quite often until they were soon torn down), classes went on as the final semaster began to draw to a close. Curriculum changes often stood out like a sore thumb, as Carl was now noted as the driving force behind BSA, as well as CAVE-IN, and a new "Carl-101" class was a sudden addition as a prerequisite for graduation, while Carla's name was suddely excised from various plaques and her image cropped out of well-known photos of some of our most cherished moments on campus.

Meanwhile, Carl remained holed up in his cave, save for the occasion rally to inspire his still-growing throng of newly-shipped-in supporters and expanding corps of elk-mounted forces, often spilling out his stream-of-conscious thoughts in late night social media posts, during which he often referred to Carla as his "nasty wifey," questioned her "true cave background" (leading to a conspiracy-driven group of Carla detractors that immediately became known as "Cavers"), and continued to take credit for her personal success. "YOU NO SPELL CARLA WITHOUT CARLA" was part of one memorable screed, while he made additional veiled threats (and some "unveiled" ones, as his time-worn promise "to squish" all opposition popped up more than once) against several nearby academies and local governmental entities unless they join in and commemorate Carl to his liking.

Perhaps fearing the wrath of the monster they'd somewhat helped to create, the World Elking Association (WEA) board of commissioners managed to lure Carl from his cave by presenting him with the very first WTA World Peace Prize. Prostestors at the ceremony were pelted by Squishismos squad members with fuzzy mini-tennis balls fired from refangled t-shirt launchers, and some were captured and dragged away via sewn-together tennis nets thrown from atop the buildings that make up the BSA architecture.

With the arrival of the end of the semester, and the turning of the campus' attention to Winterfest within sight, Carl made his final moves to seize control of BSA.

In a 3 a.m. posting, Carl announced that the BSA Board of Directors had voted (via rubberstamp) to award him with the authority to make any sudden changes to campus, and he stated that his first order of business would be the CAVE-IN complex. Before anyone knew what was happening, everyone was awoken by the sound of heavy machinery in the early morning hours and at first light watched in horror as the CAVE-IN buildings -- Carla's masterpiece that had already helped so many -- were razed by wrecking balls and dynamite. By sundown, the gleaming beacon of hope across the river was no more.

With Squishismo squads lining both sides of the river separating the BSA campus and the site of Carla's dream, protests (some organized by the BSA Historical Society, which had been officially disbanded by Carl, also in the middle of the night) tried but could not drown out the sound of the construction that took place a short distance away. Within 36 hours, the former CAVE-IN complex was fully replaced by the Carl Elking-Training-Center, a fully-functioning ranch in which the elks would be housed, fed and trained for elking competitions to come.

With the BSA that we all knew and loved literally crumbling before our eyes, we collectively tried to figure out our next move, as Carl had seemingly made an end-run around and/or eliminated any institutional powers that might be able to thwart his intentions. The former Board of Directors debated officially installing our beloved Simona as a BSA President-in-Exile, hoping to gather our forces, but we recognized that it would be a powerless position and that Carl would simply laugh at the feeble attempt (soon, in a sign that he may have had spies placed amongst us, he literally LOL'd the notion in a social media post).

We needed Carla, but where was she?

As Simona arrived from Romania to join in on the planning of our next move, bringing with her a load of new ideas and approaches that we hadn't yet thought of, Carl again proved to be a step ahead, throwing the full force of his new authority at what remained of his opposition with the goal of eliminating it for good.

We quickly called it "Squishing Night," and it was surely *not* silent as "all was dark, with all in fright."

Squishismo squads busted down every locked door, and crashed through every bit of unbroken glass, apprehending each individual who could not outrun the elks (apparently, all of those loyal to Carl had been tipped off prior to the raids to evacuate for their own safety). Rather than detain them in any buildings, this time the squads wrapped them in tennis nets and hung them upside down from every available streetlight while chasing everyone else off campus grounds and locking the gates behind them.

The BSA notion of leaving no one behind prevailed during the darkness of night, as Simona personally commanded multiple teams of rescuers who broke through and found openings in the BSA gates, located and cut down those who'd been captured, and led them out to safety under the noses of the Squishismo squads who were too busy to notice as they celebrated their "victory" with a very loud, drunken party that took place in the open field on the very patch of grass on which the World Elking Cup's closing ceremonies had been held just three years earlier, when all seemed right, good and heading in the correct direction. It seems like a lifetime ago now.

We had hoped that, eventually, cooler heads would prevail and things would return to some semblance of "normal." We were dead wrong.

The next morning, rather than the Church of Simona flag being raised above Henin Hall to signal the start of Winterfest Weekend, Carl personally raised a flag that featured his own image above the grounds of Backspin Academy, or what used to be known as Backspin Academy.

Overnight, Carl had announced -- while everyone fled for their lives -- that the new name would be Carl-Backspin Academy (CBSA), and by morning the signs atop the entrance were already in the process of being altered. At 7 a.m., he stated that the annual winter weekend activities would commence at their regularly scheduled time, and that this year the standard of visitor would be raised tremendously as only those on the "Carl approved" list would be allowed to attend. All who applied for entry only had to personally provide Carl with their social media history from the last five years, as well as a handwritten essay that detailed all that Carl has meant to their successful journey in life.

"IT BE BIGGEST CARLFEST WEEKEND. EVER," he posted.

Needless to say, it was the worst Winterfest Weekend ever, as there was none. What did take place did so behind closed doors, with the campus walls lined with Squishismo squad members prepared for any actions that might threaten the new status quo. With everyone feeling as if one intemperate move might light the fuse of something far, far worse the majority of us stayed away. As far away as possible.

The banished throng still decided to join together as usual, though, expressing our thankfulness that we'd all managed to safely escape, while also displaying confidence that we could still reclaim all that had been good about our beloved BSA.

Clearly, the power that Carl enjoyed during the World Elking Cup had gone to his head, or his jealously over our and the world's love of Carla had overtaken and warped him. Or maybe, and probably most likely, Carl had simply played us all for fools, and had only now -- when the opportunity was right -- dropped the mask of newfound respectability that he'd seemed to "earn" in recent years. We had hoped that the good that Carla saw in Carl was truly there, and we wanted to believe that his transformation was genuine. But it had all been a ruse, and he had instead recognized our weakness early on, then waited to use it against us for his own gain.

Carl had shown us long ago who he truly was, and shame on us for not believing it. Unfortunately, even Carla is sometimes wrong.

When this year's "Winterfest" (we refuse to call it by its desecration of a name) was over, we all met on the other side of town. It was then that, finally, we enjoyed our first good news in a long time.

While we all waited for Simona to arrive, a sudden cheer went out from one side of our gathering. Everyone turned in the same direction to see Simona... and walking right beside her was none other than Carla. Everyone cheered in a wild mix of relief and joy, creating a sound so loud that we secretly hoped that Carl could hear it from his cave so far away.

Everyone broke into an instant "Si-mo-na! Si-mo-na!" chant, followed by "Car-la! Car-la! Car-la!" soon afterward.

We hadn't seen our Carla for weeks, and some worried that we might not ever again. But Simona was not one of those. Instead she'd entered through one of the secret entrances to the campus' underground tunnel system, and spent days upon days searching every area looking for Carla. She eventually found her, in a cavern positioned far beneath the surface, near the bank of the river. She was tied up atop a 30-foot high umpire's chair without a ladder from which to climb down, "surrounded by swarming Kyrgios fans" (or so Carla joked... at least we *think* she was joking -- either way, the comment fired up the crowd).

Simona had spent the last two days nursing Carla back to health, until she was ready to make the journey here to see us.

Once everyone had welcomed Carla back, we could see that Simona had a huge grin on her face. We watched as she dug into her bag and pulled out something we hadn't seen in ages -- and some *never* had -- in the form of what was the forerunner to a very special flag.

Before the official Church of Simona flag, with historical crest, had been unveiled a few years ago, an early version had been produced that never saw the light of day. It had been privately presented to Simona as a personal keepsake, and since the usual ceremonies were unable to be held this year (the official banners are still being held in a climate-controlled underground storage unit at an undisclosed bunker located somewhere on campus... a location which Carl knows nothing about) she felt that it was appropriate to pull it out for the world to see.

"To remind us of the good times of the past, and those that we can still look forward to in the future," Simona said. It brought a wide smile to every face, and a sense of the tenacity that will be required for whatever must come next. As BSA history has shown, we've never been stronger than when we've faced, persevered and prevailed over adversity together.

It was decided then and there that Carl was not going to *completely* ruin this year's Winterfest, as we worked as one to create a very special, abbreviated one that we won't soon forget.

Our Rally Winterfest moment included versions of several of our annual traditions, starting off with Simona passing around her special flag so that everyone could lay hands upon it.

After a round of uplifting carols (yes, that *was* Taylor and Alona arm-in-arm as they sang the line "united arrre we-ee!" to the tune of "Oh Christmas Tree"), BSA Poet Laureate in Residence Diane Dees presented her always-anticipated reading of her legendary poem "Billie Jean King's Glasses". This year, as always, it seemed to provide our hearts with the perfect amount of hope and inspiration.

Afterward, as happened at last year's Winterfest, Diane again noticed a cloud formation that seemed to many of us to resemble a floating image of tennis' original rebellious spirit, Suzanne Lenglen, whose ghost has graciously haunted -- in a good way -- the BSA campus for quite some time. We all saw it as a wonderful omen for the future.

Late in the day, just as everyone realized that we were all famished, we were surprised -- shocked, really -- to see famous chef Carla Hall show up. Some very weird wires had erroneously crossed in order for her to find her way there, but we all wholeheartedly appreciated the well-prepared meal that she whipped up for everyone!

Our full stomachs served to fill our heads with renewed confidence and intensity of purpose.

Carl may have gotten the better of us this time, beating us down and imperiling our spirit. But we have *not* been defeated. We win strike back, and we will win this battle. It won't be easy, but we'll never stop fighting.

Not yesterday. Not today. And surely never forever.

2025 WTA Year in Review: Performance and Match Lists

Who did what the best, and how and where she did it...

#1 - AND JUST LIKE THAT	...Iga Swiatek re-writes the script of her season and grass court career, completing her Career Surface Slam with her maiden Wimbledon title. Her first tour-level singles title in more than a year ('24 RG) didn't include a win over a Top 10 player, but concluded with a 6-0/6-0 vicotry in the final (the first double-bagel title match at SW19 since 1911) vs. incoming Top 10er Amanda Anisimova.
#2 - A SWEET SONG IN THE KEY OF MADISON	..."new Madi" rules Down Under, as Madison Keys expertly weathers between-the-lines storms and claims her first major title in her last slam before her 30th birthday. The third oldest first-time major winner, in her 46th slam MD (the third longest wait), she saved a MP in the semifinals vs. Iga Swiatek (reaching her first major final since 2017), then a round later became the first player in fifteen years to win a major with victories over both the #1 and #2-ranked players in the world with her three-set win over top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka. Keys' title run in Melbourne represented the biggest jewel in what was her 18-1 start to the season.
#3 - MBOKOMANIA!	...18-year old Canadian Victoria Mboko brings her lower-circuit success to the WTA tour in Montreal, with her relentless power-and-speed game helping her upset four former slam champions (Kenin, Gauff, Rybakina and Osaka), saving a MP vs. one and showing preternatural big match mettle while coming back from a set down in the SF and Final to claim a 1000 title in just her seventh tour-level MD
#4 - THE RISE OF FRANÇAISE FOREHAND	...a year after missing out on her slam debut at RG due to a knee injury, #361-ranked French wild card Lois Boisson makes an historic run to the semifinals in Paris in just her second tour-level MD event, upsetting three seeds and two Top 10 players (#3 Pegula, #6 Andreeva), then making a subsequent 296-spot jump in the WTA rankings to #65, the tour's largest rise into the Top 100 this century
#5 - TEENAGE DESERT QUEEN	...17-year old Mirra Andreeva puts her stamp on the season's early stage, winning Indian Wells to claim a second consecutive 1000 title (w/ Dubai). In the California desert, she notched her second wins over her 1000 two-fer stretch vs. both Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina, as well as a first over Aryna Sabalenka for her maiden career #1 victory, rallying in the title match from a set down. The youngest I.W. finalist since 2001, Andreeva's win made her the third youngest champion in the event behind only back-to-back 1998-99 winners Martina Hingis and Serena Williams. Her wins over both of the top two ranked players made her the youngest to do so in the same event since Tracy Austin almost 46 years earlier.
#6 - PEAK THUNDER	...Alona Ostapenko takes her first clay title since the 2017 Roland Garros, becoming the first player in thirteen years to defeat the world #1 (Aryna Sabalenka) and #2 (Swiatek, improving to 6-0 vs. Iga) in the same event on clay
#7 - EYE OF THE TIGRESS	...Aryna Sabalenka ends her slam-less 2025 streak, reaching her sixth straight hard court slam final (3 con. in New York), fourth in the last five majors, and becoming the first woman to defend a U.S. Open title since 2014 (S.Williams). 39-3 in AO/US action since the start of 2023, she's won four combined titles in Melbourne and Flushing Meadows.
#8 - BUTTONING DOWN IN THE STRETCH DRIVE	...Elena Rybakina proved over the final weeks of the '25 season that there is much to be said for having something to play for down the stretch. With a few weeks left in the season, the Kazakh was on the outside looking in at the WTAF field, and needed her QF-W-SF regular season finish to become the last player to qualify for Riyadh. Once she arrived in the KSA, no one could touch her as she blitzed the competition with five straight wins to take her biggest title since Wimbledon in 2022. Rybakina's two biggest wins saw her dominate the world #2 (Iga Swiatek, with a 6-1/6-0 2nd/3rd set finish) and #1 (Aryna Sabalenka, closing her season by defeating the Tie-Break Queen in a 7-0 breaker to win in straight sets) as she coasted over the finish line.
#9 - COCO COUTURE	...Coco Gauff completes her Madrid-Rome-Paris final appearance trifecta with a win in the Roland Garros title match over #1 Sabalenka to claim her second major crown
#10 - LIVE LIKE PAOLINI!	...Jasmine Paolini becomes the first Italian woman to win Rome in forty years (Raffaella Reggi), then claimed the doubles title (w/ Sara Errani), as well, to complete the first Italian Open sweep since 1990 (Monica Seles)
#11 - SOUTH BEACH SABALENKA	...Aryna Sabalenka, the WTA's best hard court player, had somehow managed to never win neither Indian Wells *nor* Miami, the two biggest non-major hard court events on the regular tour schedule. Not only that, but this year the world #1 had reached but lost *both* the Australian Open and Indian Wells finals, too. Her third event proved to be the charm, as the world #1 *finally* grabbed her first end of the Sunshine Swing in Miami -- avoiding becoming the second woman to ever lose all three events in a single season -- by taking the title in her "home away from home" without losing a set.
#12 - QUEEN CITY JAZDA	...Iga Swiatek, still riding the wave of momentum from her Wimbledon title run, sweeps through Cincinnati without dropping a set, winning her first hard court crown in a year and a half ('24 I.W.) and reclaiming the #2 ranking
#13 - AMANDA'S ASIAN ASCENDENCY	...despite having already had a career-season, with a pair of slam final runs in London and New York, Amanda Anisimova hadn't won a title since February when she finally added one more great late season run in Beijing. An authoritative 6-1/6-2, 58-minute SF victory over Coco Gauff, followed by a win over Jessie Pegula in the final, made Anisimova the only player this season to post wins over each member of the season's final Top 3: Sabalenka, Swiatek and Gauff.
#14 - AVE MARIA	...in the first Queen's Club women's event since 1973, 37-year old Tatjana Maria goes from qualifier to the fourth-oldest singles champion in WTA history on the strength of her confounding slice-and-dice game that set some of the best players in the world back on their heels, posting wins over Elena Rybakina, Madison Keys and, in the final, Wimbledon-finalist-to-be Amanda Anisimova
#15 - EALA IN THE AIR	...ranked #140, 2022 U.S. Open junior champ Alex Eala came into Miami having recorded just two career WTA MD wins in her career. But the 19-year old wild card proceded to produce an historical accompolishment during a two-week run that saw her produce upset wins over slam champions Alona Ostapenko (the first Top 30 victory by a PHI player), Madison Keys (the first *Top 10* win) and Iga Swiatek (world #2). Against Jessie Pegula, the Filipina led 5-2 in the 1st before dropping a TB and went on to fall in three sets.
#16 - ITALIANS IN THE DIRT	...Sara Errani & Jasmine Paolini sweep the doubles titles in Rome and Roland Garros, succesfully defending their Italian Open crown and then losing just one set in Paris (in the final) as the duo wins their first slam title as a pair. The RG win was the first slam title in Paolini's career, while it's Errani's eighth women's doubles major win (her first Rome/RG sweep since she won both with Roberta Vinci in 2012). Meanwhile, Errani also won the RG MX title alongside Andrea Vavassori.
#17 - LOOK WHO'S BACK, BACK AGAIN	...healthy after yet another injury break, Marketa Vondrousova claims Berlin -- w/ wins over Madison Keys and Aryna Sabalenka (at #164, the Czech is the third-lowest player to ever defeat a world #1) -- to win her first tour title since Wimbledon in 2023
#18 - RISING TO THE TOP OF THE HEAP?	...Gaby Dabrowski & Erin Routliffe win their second U.S. Open in three years, with 2023 and '25 bookending a '24 season during which Dabrowski was diagnosed with breast cancer. After winning the title in Cincinnati, the duo arrived in New York as the #3-seeded team and knocked off both #2 Errani/Paolini (SF) and #1 Siniakova/Townsend (F) en route to the title.
#19 - THE FIRST, PART II	...Wang Ziying wins Wimbledon to become the first Chinese wheelchair slam singles champ (denying Yui Kamiji the only major title she's yet to claim), six months after she and Li Xiaohui became the first Chinese WC slam doubles champs in Melbourne. Wang swept the s/d titles at SW19.
#20 - DOUBLES QUEENS IN THE KINGDOM	...Veronika Kudermetova & Elise Mertens weren't top of mind when WTA Finals round robin play began in Riyadh, but they turned out to be the last team standing when all was said and done, recovering from a first match loss (via MTB) to Hsieh/Ostapenko to go on to win four straight matches en route to the title, defeating the top two seeded teams -- #1 Errani/Paolini to win a head-to-head battle for a SF slot, then #2 Siniakova/Townsend in the SF, saving a MP in a 2nd set TB and then winning a MTB -- before a straight sets win the final over Babos/Stefani. The win is the duo's second WTAF title in four years.
*ADDITIONAL NOMINEES*	Amanda Anisimova: Anisimova rebounds from her 6-0/6-0 loss in the Wimbledon final to Iga Swiatek to reach her second straight major final at the U.S. Open, avenging her SW19 loss to Swiatek in the QF and rallying from a set down to put an end to Naomi Osaka's 13-0 career slam mark from the QF forward (SF). At the WTA Finals, Anisimova defeats Swiatek again with a SF berth on the line, winning eight of the final ten games after being down 7-6/4-4 to reach the final four in the debut appearance. Belinda Bencic: her Abu Dhabi title run was laced with grit, and was sometimes brilliant. After a win over Rebecca Sramkova in three, she double-bageled Veronika Kudermetova and handled Marketa Vondrousova in straights. Comebacks from a set down vs. defending champ Elena Rybakina in the SF, then Ashlyn Krueger in the final, provided a nice finishing touch to a week where nothing was given to, but much was gained by Bencic. The Swiss woman had only returned from maternity leave in October '24, and this had been her first WTA final appearance since Charleston two years ago. Sara Errani: the Italian wins her second MX slam of '25, defending her title with Andrea Vavassori in New York while upholding the honor of all the doubles players who'd been blocked from participating in the "re-imagined" U.S. Open Mixed Doubles (Invitiational) that was actually more like an insult to the idea of what an actual slam event should be (no matter how "successful" the big money qualifying week show was deemed to be), winning the title in the two-day, shortened-sets competition via a MTB win in the final (after having been unable to serve things out at 6-3/5-4) vs. Iga Swiatek/Casper Ruud to produce the only moderately face-saving result that could have occurred, allowing the final result to have a little smaller asterisk next to it, at least. Aryna Sabalenka: a year after not repeating as champion in Madrid despite hold three MP in the final vs. Iga Swiatek, Sabalenka takes care of unfinished business by winning her third title at the event. She dropped just one set en route, twice fighting off surges from Coco Gauff in the final to win in straight sets. Laura Siegemund: the 37-year old German becomes the oldest first-time Wimbledon quarterfinalist, and comes up just short of being the oldest first-time major semifinalist in the Open era, holding a GP for 5-3 in the 3rd vs. Aryna Sabalenka Lilli Tagger: the #235-ranked 17-year old from Austria, this year's RG girls' champ, reaches her maiden WTA final in Jiujiang in what was her tour-level MD debut. In the SF vs. Viktoriya Golubic, Tagger rallied from 5-2 down in the 3rd, where the Swiss veteran served for the match at 5-3 and then held triple MP at love/40 on Tagger's serve at 5-4. Tagger held serve with five consecutive points and swept the final thirteen points of the match to get the win. Clutch. Dasha Vidmanova: the Czech claims the NCAA singles championship and leads the University of Georgia to the women's team title, completing (w/ her NCAA doubles title from '24) the rare "Triple Crown" for her college career. She's just the third woman to do it at the Division 1 level.

==RECENT "TOP PERFORMANCE" WINNERS==
2015 Belinda Bencic (Toronto)
2016 Monica Puig (Olympics)
2017 Alona Ostapenko (Roland Garros)
2018 Naomi Osaka (U.S. Open)
2019 Simona Halep (Wimbledon)
2020 Iga Swiatek (Roland Garros)
2021 Emma Raducanu (U.S. Open)
2022 Iga Swiatek (U.S. Open)
2023 Coco Gauff (summer hardcourts)
2024 Aryna Sabalenka (AO/US HC slam sweep)
2025 Iga Swiatek (Wimbledon)

8?? match points saved! ??

Barbora Krejcikova wins a three-hour marathon against Taylor Townsend—including a 25-minute tiebreaker—and will face Jessica Pegula in the #USOpen quarterfinals.https://t.co/raG0Gba2Ju

— TENNIS (@Tennis) September 1, 2025

1. U.S. Open 4th Rd. - Barbora Krejcikova def. Taylor Townsend ...1-6/7-6(13)/6-3. During the opening week of the U.S. Open, Krejcikova had already had one significant comeback win, climbing out of a 0-3, love/30 hole in the deciding set vs. #11 Emma Navarro in the 3rd Round.

A round later, though, the two-time major champion Czech put that comeback to shame against Townsend. Her triumph was her third victory this season -- and she'd only won 12, so a quarter of her wins -- in matches where she's found herself down MP.

btw a pretty remarkable stat: Barbora Krejcikova has a win-loss record of 12-6 this season, THREE of her 12 wins (25%) have been while saving match points.

13 match points saved across those three matches.

— The Racquet Will Talk Podcast (@racquetwilltalk) August 31, 2025

Still buzzing from her early-round run-in with Alona Ostapenko and the off-court aftermath, Townsend had played her way into her second career slam Round of 16, and here had a stadium full of supporters (save, maybe, for one very committed Krejcikova fan) on Armstrong as she took a 6-1 1st set and pushed toward a straight sets victory. At 5-4, she held a MP on the Czech's serve.

Krejickova saved it, and Townsend had no idea what she'd unleashed.

Having been unable to corral the "W" on her first opportunity, Townsend saw Krejcikova then get a break to take the lead and serve for the 2nd set at 6-5. But Townsend bounced back to break and force a TB, where the Czech took an early 3-1 lead before Townsend ran off five straight points to reach triple MP at 6-3.

On the surface, Townsend *seemed* close to victory, and a passel of kids were let loose by an overconfident usher to bound down the Armstrong stadium steps with their oversized fuzzy tennis balls to be signed immediately after the match. That sort of moment *could* have been close, but it really wasn't. Actually, it was an instant where it was time to recall the longtime catch phrase of just-retired ESPN personality Lee Corso, "Not so fast, my friend!"

When these lovelies were allowed to invade at 6-6 in the breaker = all the motivation Krejcikova needed. pic.twitter.com/Q2eFYULDsg

— Amy Lundy Dahl (@AmyLundyDahl) September 1, 2025

For the remainder of what turned out to be a 25-minute tie-breaker, Krejcikova would keep her wits and play her very best points of the match with her fate in it literally on the line should she take a false swing. Krejcikova saved those three MP, as well as three more (running her total to eight), one (#7) with a second serve return winner after Townsend had only narrowly missed on what would have been a match-ending (and Armstrong-erupting) ace only seconds earlier.

Krejcikova’s EIGHT MPs saved

1 - Krejcikova FH winner
2 - Krejcikova FH winner
3 - Krejcikova FH approach unturned
4 - Townsend BH UE
5 -Krejcikova BH winner
6 - Krejcikova volley winner
7 - Krejcikova FH winner
8 - Krejcikova big unreturned serve pic.twitter.com/jcC2fooV27

— José Morgado (@josemorgado) August 31, 2025

Townsend, too, saved three SP over a span of five points (from #15-19) in the middle of the breaker, but Krejcikova finally converted on her fourth to win 15-13 and push the contest to a 3rd set with a virtual wind suddenly behind her back.

Everyone watching this Townsend-Krejcikova tiebreak ?? pic.twitter.com/shuJFFx3qx

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 31, 2025

The momentum carried the Czech to a 4-2 lead in the decider before Townsend broke back to keep her hopes (and that of the majority of the fans, many of whom were living and dying with every point) alive.

But with the match clock ticking over the three-hour mark, Krejcikova (who this summer built back her physical resilience, while never having lost her psychological sharp edge, since returning from an early-season back injury) was the one of the two with the experience and mettle to "run through the tape." The Czech immediately broke Townsend to regain her break edge, then served out the victory (w/ one final mini-comeback from 15/30 down) on her second MP.

Barbora Krejcikova completes the comeback! pic.twitter.com/Ryp2pKjVvL

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 31, 2025

When Barbora Krejcikova was recently sidelined with injury, she didn't know if she'd be back to experience moments like this ??? pic.twitter.com/iKi3e1PXzF

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 31, 2025

That moment of triumph for Barbora Krejcikova ?? pic.twitter.com/c6Y7Tun7pf

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 31, 2025

=============================================== 2. Australian Open SF - Madison Keys def. Iga Swiatek ...5-7/6-1/7-6(10-8). In the second women's semifinal of the day, #2 Swiatek found herself a lone match away from facing off with Sabalenka with the AO title *and* the #1 ranking on the line in what would be an immediately successful early '25 answer to an end-of-year and off-season stretch that included the news of a drug testing violation, a coaching change and the loss of her position atop the women's tennis pyramid.

Standing in her way was #19 Keys, who entered sporting a 1-5 career mark in slam semis. For the first time in her major career, Keys was *the* last U.S. woman standing in the draw, a distinction that highlighted what might be a "new Madi," who since the end of the '24 season has gotten married (to Bjorn Fratangelo, who has served as her coach since 2023), installed a new service motion (which moves her more aggressively forward into the court), and changed her strings and racket (making it lighter). In the opening chapter of her "new reality series," Keys won a title in the final days before this AO, upset #Elena Rybakina in the Round of 16 in Melbourne, and on this day may have played the most significant (at least until the *next* one) match of her entire career.

The semifinal turned out to be the match of the tournament, as the two women faced off for three sets, all of which displayed the power (and maybe improved mindset) of Keys, as well as the resilience and quick hands/feet of Swiatek. But, in the end, it was the U.S. veteran's ability to turn around various potential slides toward defeat -- something which has often dogged her past slam runs (including a U.S. Open SF loss in '23 vs. Sabalanka in which Keys led 6-0/5-3, and 4-2 in the 3rd before dropping a deciding MTB) -- that denied Swiatek at the final turn.

The opening set showed just what Keys brought into this match, as she quickly ended Iga's 31-game streak of service holds at AO25. Problem was, Keys didn't take advantage of it as it took her more than half the set to hold her own serve. After the match began with four straight breaks, the two got down to business.

With Swiatek leading 3-2, the Laver roof was closed, and almost immediately Keys' errors began to mount as she dropped serve again to fall behind 4-2. It wasn't until game 8 that Keys finally held serve, closing to 5-3 after saving a SP. The moment seemed to spark Keys, who began to hit bigger and more aggressively. She broke Swiatek as the Pole served for the 1st in the following game, then held serve for a second straight time. Swiatek ultimately put away the set on her second SP at 30/40 on Keys' serve in game 12 via a Keys error off a Swiatek return, but even after dropping the 7-5 opener the Bannerette had gotten a glimpse of what a potential path to victory would look like. In crunch time, she'd soon remember it.

Keys then went out and proved what she'd learned -- with flair -- in the 2nd. Breaking Swiatek in the opening game again wasn't enough for her, as she held from love/30 in game 2 and then broke Iga again in game 3. Unlike her inability to take advantage of her edge on the Pole's serve in the 1st set, Keys ran with it this time arond. Firing off bigger and more aggressive groundstrokes, she won 16 of 21 points as she took a 4-0 lead, pressured a frustrated Swiatek into going for too much (Iga started speaking in Polish to her box, i.e not to Belgian coach Wim Fissette), then broke her again with a big return to lead 5-0. And that was only after about 18 minutes.

Keys tied the match with yet *another* break in game 7 to close out a dominant 6-1 set. As expected, the dropped set sent Swiatek scurrying off court in its wake, looking to "reset" then return after a longer-than-normal time period, even as everyone stood around waiting (but not staring her down with an aggravated glare, ala Putintseva) for her to finally get ready to play after her late return to Laver.

Keys handled the situation in the sort of way that a soon-to-be-champion should... with an emphatic ace.

Rules are rules unless you’re Iga Swiatek pic.twitter.com/3UzgmujeFA

— _ (@cfcj_j) January 23, 2025

It was a 3rd that raised between-sets questions about how Swiatek would respond to being run over (again) by a big hitter and whether Keys could keep her game at such a high level long enough without something going haywire and, thus, pull off the upset. The truth turned out to be that both would respond quite well as the match became an instant classic.

With both women playing extremely high quality tennis, the break-fest that was two-sided for half of the 1st set, then one-sided in the 2nd, didn't occur in the third stanza. The first *ten* games featured holds of various stripe. Keys opened with an ace and quick game win at 15, while Swiatek staved off break chances in games 4 and 8. Keys saved BP in games 5 and 9 (four in the latter, after trailing love/40 at the end of a 7-pt. losing sttreak). It was Iga who finally broke the ice, taking a love/30 lead in game 11. A Keys DF put her down love/40 again. She saved two BP, but Swiatek reached a Keys drop shot and fired a winner down the line to take a 6-5 lead and served for the final.

But just when it looked as if Keys had tripped up in a big stage match once again, she had another table to (over)turn. At 6-5, Swiatek reached MP, but Keys' return down the center of the court tied up Swiatek, keeping her hopes alive.

Down match point? No worries ??@bondisands • #BondiSands • #StayCool • #AusOpen • #AO2025 • @wwos • @espn • @eurosport • @wowowtennis pic.twitter.com/2TYZ04NnvZ

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 23, 2025

A sharply-angled return got Keys a BP chance, and Swiatek DF'd as things went to a MTB (ala Keys' last major SF two seasons ago in New York).

Swiatek opened her serve in the breaker with a second straight DF that gave back a mini-break lead (1-1). It would be the first of four times in the MTB when Iga held a mini-break lead only to see Keys raise her game and take it back. Tied at 7-7, Swiatek pulled off a brilliant volley to lead (on serve) 8-7 and finally see the finish line again.

Can’t get this volley out of our heads ??

Watch our @BetMGM shot of the day from @iga_swiatek ??#AO2025 pic.twitter.com/bLAuU7kV6T

— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) January 23, 2025

But as glorious as that shot was, it'd be the last that Swiatek would score on the night. Keys followed up wth an ace to tie the score again, then Iga fired a return long that gave Keys her first MP at 9-8. A Swiatek forehand error would end things, as Keys recorded quite possibly the *most important* win of her career in a thriller that sent her into her second major final (the first since the 2017 U.S. Open more than seven years ago) and preceded what would become her maiden slam crown.

?? She's done it! @Madison_Keys wins four of the final five points of the super tiebreak to book her place in Saturday's final!@wwos • @espn • @eurosport • @wowowtennis • #AusOpen • #AO2025 pic.twitter.com/k7gVLVtibZ

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 23, 2025

===============================================

"Victory belongs to the most tenacious"

It's right on top of the building, and she's living it. pic.twitter.com/OJetpA3lVv

— Jimmie48 Photography (@JJlovesTennis) June 1, 2025

3. Roland Garros 4th Rd. - Iga Swiatek def. Elena Rybakina ...1-6/6-3/7-5. So we finally found out what it would take to shake some sense into Swiatek between the lines of a tennis court.

For most of the #5-seeded, three-time defending and four-time Roland Garros champion's 4th Round match vs. #12 Rybakina, the bizarro world in which the former #1 has been residing over the previous twelve months had finally intruded upon her "sacred ground." Sure, the Pole lost on the terre battue in Paris during last year's Olympics, but that's a "footnote tournament." This was Roland-bleepin'-Garros, where Swiatek virtually made her name, built the foundation of the eventual Hall of Fame career, and even celebrates her birthday every May.

What Rybakina was doing to her for a set and change on Day 8 was almost offensive in that light. It was as if she'd stormed into Swiatek's home, raided her pantry, prepared herself a meal and sat down right in front of Iga and started to gobble it down... after taking a fork from Swiatek's grasp to eat it all with, while Iga could only look on helplessly.

Swiatek had suffered some truly awful loses in '25, including on her favored clay in the spring. But not (yet) at Roland Garros. This was an entirely different animal. While Rybakina had won seven straight clay matches this season, Swiatek had won *24* straight in RG play since 2022, was closing in on the all-time women's streak record of 29 (a 44-year old mark held by Chris Evert) as well as getting ever more near to getting the chance to become the first in the Open era to win the women's title four straight years.

But there was Rybakina, rocking Swiatek's world. Right out of the gate, the Kazakh was dominant. Up love/40 in Swiatek's first service game, she broke to lead 2-0. Swiatek tried serving bigger, but it didn't help. Rybakina's big shots continued to overwhelm her. 4-0. 5-0. Suddenly, everyone had to look up Swiatek's last love set lost at RG (vs. Simona Halep, 2019 4r). The Pole was bageled by Madison Keys in a set earlier this spring, and nearly so by both Coco Gauff and Danielle Collins, as well. But this was Roland Garros.

Rybakina held a SP to win 6-0, but couldn't pull it off. Swiatek DF'd on a GP in game 6, but held to get on the board. Rybakina won the 1st set 6-1, "bullying" (in the words of TNT's Lindsay Davenport) the defending champ on her favorite surface on her favorite court, and didn't seem phased by much of anything early in the 2nd, either.

Elena Rybakina speeds through the opening set, 6-1! #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/KMslu2UGGq

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 1, 2025

Swiatek double-faulted to lose the opening game of the set at love, then saw Rybakina hold at love to lead 2-0. Was this how the streak was going to end, with a funereal silence on Chatrier and all the headlines and dark comments about Swiatek's ongoing plight that would come along with it?

But then something weird happened. Swiatek tried something different. She took a few steps back to return Rybakina's big serve, giving herself time to get a look at it and get into the rally, where she likely could carve out an advantage. It seems like a small, sensible and common in-match alteration of tactics against a big hitter when things aren't going well, but Swiatek has seemingly (stubbornly) refused to do it in such situations for well on more than a year, hoping to outduel her opponent or betting on her cracking in order to turn the tide. It's worked out for her on occasion, but why not give it a chance more often? It's been a lingering mystery, through two different coaching regimes, as Swiatek has often fallen victim, or struggled to pull out victories, against foes who hit deep and hard and don't give her much time to react.

Apparently, the notion of being embarrased and ridden out of Roland Garros in a clown car was finally enough to properly view what has been a reality all along.

With her blinders finally off, though Rybakina didn't suddenly become a pushover as a result, things started to slowly turn in Swiatek's favor.

She reached BP on Rybakina serve in game 4. The Kazakh erased it with a big serve, but on BP #2 Rybakina avoided hitting an overhead volley into the open court and instead tried to direct the ball behind a scrambling Swiatek on the baseline. The ball flew out, putting the 2nd back on serve. A game later, Swiatek held in a long service game in which she faced an early BP, had multiple DF (plus two more BP) and traversed six deuce points en route to a hold and her first lead at 3-2. Another break of Rybakina's serve made it 4-2, as the Pole won the set 6-3 to knot the match.

Rybakina seemed to push Swiatek near the match edge in the 3rd, and briefly had a chance to force the four-time champ to a familiar place where she's often looked panicked in the past against big hitters like herself. She just needed a lead that would make Swiatek play from behind, vs. a streaking opponent, with almost-sure defeat "visible from here" without a tennis miracle suddenly taking place.

Rybakina held for 3-2 when Swiatek netted an easy volley, then violently slammed her racket down in anger on the net cord (she received no warning from chair umpire Kader Nouni). Rybakina grabbed a 15/40 lead on Iga's serve in the following game, one point from a 4-2 and serving for 5-2 edge that would *truly* test Swiatek's mettle. If she could only...

Rybakina painting the line ???#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/XThAW5XXte

— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) June 1, 2025

But rather than "put Iga in the corner," Rybakina saw Swiatek fight her way out of one, saving three BP and tie the score at 3-all. Reinvigorated, Swiatek fired a series of deep returns (two off the baseline) and took at 15/40 lead in game 7, breaking to assume the overall match lead for the first time at 4-3.

Rybakina still had time of her own, and took advantage with a love/30 lead, then BP chances at 15/40 after stepping in and whacking a return winner. A Swiatek DF on BP #2 put the set back on serve, giving the Kazakh another chance to see the finish line and dare Swiatek to keep her crossing it. Rybakina nearly gave the break back, DF'ing on BP only to see Nouni overrule the call and present her with a lifeline. She grabbed it, holding to take a 5-4 lead.

But after maneuvering her way through what had become a tricky spot, Rybakina threw in a clunker of a game at precisely the worst time. A poor drop shot attempt landed at mid-court, allowing Swiatek to put it away for a 15/40 lead. Rybakina's forehand error a point later gave Iga a 6-5 lead and put the match on her racket.

Having overcome a would-be disastrous start, and having survived nearly slipping down another frustration-filled hole that again put her on the brink of defeat in the 3rd set, Swiatek now only needed to hold to keep her latest Roland Garros dream alive. She did just that, winning 7-5 in the decider.

Her house!

Epic comeback from defending champ Iga Swiatek after dropping a quick first set against Elena Rybakina firing on all cylinders. pic.twitter.com/goP2Uto20v

— Jimmie48 Photography (@JJlovesTennis) June 1, 2025

Swiatek didn't go on to win another Roland Garros, and instead went out in a love 3rd set vs. Aryna Sabalenka in the semis, but the lesson she learned vs. Rybakina -- to try something different, to have and *go to* a Plan B, and to trust in her coach that something *more* might be necessary to win, and then to have it all work out, would serve her well during the grass season that turned around her year. =============================================== 4. A Tale of Three Tie-Breaks...

Even we need a breather after that ??

Sabalenka saves a set point to take the 80-minute opener in a tiebreak.#MMOpen pic.twitter.com/q7IbG230AD

— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) April 30, 2025

Madrid QF - Aryna Sabalenka def. Marta Kostyuk ...7-6(4)/7-6(7). Sometimes less *is* more, but that's especially so if the "less" is two dramatic tie-break sets rather than a three-setter with little close competition and/or few big points.

Sabalenka prevailed despite Kostyuk holding SP in both sets, one when serving at 5-4 in the 1st and, after the world #1 had rallied from an early break down and held a MP while serving for the win at 6-5, and three in the 2nd set TB before Sabalenka again finished strong to close out the final women's QF in a rainy Madrid.

The weather had forced the closing of the roof in the TB... though it should have happened earlier, which would have avoided a mini-drama when Sabalenka wouldn't hit a second serve into heavy rainfall when down 4-5. When play resumed, the chair umpire's decision to give Sabalenka a first serve was, well, questionable at best. Kostyuk still managed to reach SP after the situation, but couldn't force a decider.

The heart of a fighter! ??@SabalenkaA passes Kostyuk's test and is into the semifinals! #MMOpen pic.twitter.com/XtAXeXfPwp

— wta (@WTA) April 30, 2025

Two weeks later...

The level from these two is INSANE ??#IBI25 pic.twitter.com/AOaczYiGUx

— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) May 12, 2025

Rome 4th Rd. - Aryna Sabalenka def. Marta Kostyuk ...6-1/7-6(8). Sabalenka vs. Kostyuk. A great series in search of a 3rd set.

The four-match head-to-head between these two, though Sabalenka has won all four matches and Kostyuk has yet to win a set, is still one of the more compelling clashes you'll see on tour at the moment. While the politically-charged subtext of the match-up remains, it's been the intense emotions and shot-making of the two that have propelled the action, leading to three tie-breaks in their last four sets in back-to-back events this spring.

After prevailing in the Madrid QF in two tie-breaks, Sabalenka prevented the first 3rd set between the two by first erasing Kostyuk's 4-3 (and serving two) mini-break in the 2nd set TB in Rome. Late in the breaker, the two traded off MP/SP before Sabalenka, who'd saved a SP at 7-6, finally won 10-8 on her third MP (w/ a perfectly executed drop shot!) to end a 94-minute 2nd set.

If these two go three next time out, buckle in and prepare for a potential classic. If.

The will to win ??@SabalenkaA defeats a resurgent Kostyuk after a nail bitting second set, 6-1, 7-6(8)!#IBI25 pic.twitter.com/tmMBIl1LZg

— wta (@WTA) May 12, 2025

===============================================

A masterclass in turning a match around ??

Iga Swiatek’s continues her reign in Doha as she defeats Linda Noskova 6-7(1), 6-4, 6-4.
°#QatarTotalEnergiesOpen pic.twitter.com/7arKMBHK9R

— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) February 12, 2025

5. Doha 3rd Rd. - Iga Swiatek def. Linda Noskova ...6-7(1)/6-4/6-4. These Swiatek/Noskova match-ups are becoming Must-See WTA occasions. The Pole won here for a fourth straight time in six meetings, but four of the last five of those matches have gone three sets (w/ the Czech getting the upset at the AO last year), as Noskova is proving to be the most consistently nagging nuisance (so far) for Swiatek of all of the tour's new young contenders.

In this one, the two combined for zero breaks of serve in the 1st, with Noskova dominating a 7-1 TB. In the 2nd, they exchanged breaks over games 5-7 as Iga grabbed the lead. The Czech had a BP at 4-5 that would have tied the set for a fourth time, but Swiatek got the hold to knot the match.

In the 3rd, Swiatek broke to open the set, but Noskova didn't let her run away, getting things back on serve three games later. It seemed as if another TB was looming, but Swiatek's Doha winning streak was extended when she broke to lead 5-4 and served out the hard-fought win.

Hell of a performance from Linda Noskova who was on fire tonight, serving 16 aces on her way to almost upset the three-time Doha champ. pic.twitter.com/lrT0YVlRVm

— Jimmie48 Photography (@JJlovesTennis) February 12, 2025

=============================================== 6. Indian Wells Final - Mirra Andreeva def. Aryna Sabalenka ...2-6/6-4/6-3. In the desert, Mirra was no mirage.

Sabalenka came into the match with a 4-1 head-to-head advantage, and 2-0 edge in '25 (via 6-3/6-2 and 6-1/6-2 wins in January) vs. Andreeva. Early on, she held her ground and swatted away the young Hordette's attempts to break her serve for the first time this year, holding from love/30 in game 1 and saving four BP in game 3. She broke Andreeva at love in game 4, and carried out her edge to a 1st set victory.

Things started similarly in the 2nd, as Sabalenka saved three more BP in the opening game, making Andreeva 0-for-7 on the day and 0-for-18 on the year in their trio of match-ups. But the teenager, bolstered by a heap of success since those previous early season defeats, never stopped challenging Sabalenka. Finally, in game 3, her maiden '25 break of Sabalenka's serve came. And it changed everything.

After an Andreeva hold for 3-1, she was the one in the position of saving BP (2 in game 6) to maintain her lead, finishing off Sabalenka's best chance to get back on serve on the BP #2 when she reached a ball in the doubles alley and flicked a crosscourt backhand passing shot that caught the sideline and put her in the driver's seat en route to the title.

Saving break point in style ??

Today's @BetMGM Shot of the Day is from Mirra Andreeva ??
#TennisParadise pic.twitter.com/VVuwsDvGa1

— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) March 16, 2025

Sabalenka saved a SP and held for 4-5, but Andreeva serve out the set a game later, then broke to take charge in the first game of the 3rd.

Sabalenka prevented Andreeva from a game 2 hold despite three GP chances, including one in which the world #1 framed her return, hit the baseline, then saw the teenager commit an error. Two points later the set was back on serve at 1-1, but Sabalenka dropped served again in the next game and Mirra's path was suddenly very clear.

Ultimately, Andreeva didn't need to serve things out. Up 5-3, her second serve return winner down the line gave her a 15/30 lead on Sabalenka's serve, then a great defensive get forced a made-to-hit-one-more-shot Sabalenka UE that handed the teenager her first MP. She wouldn't need a second.

To be the best you have to beat the best ... AND SHE DID ??

Mirra Andreeva defeats Aryna Sabalenka 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 ?? #TennisParadise pic.twitter.com/QFMlBplvzh

— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) March 16, 2025

Conchita #Andeeva pic.twitter.com/Pkt7YSD6qj

— Tennis GIFs???? (tip jar????) (@tennis_gifs) March 16, 2025

=============================================== Whew!

A roar of relief ???#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/nMX5hRVpcK

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 8, 2025

7. Wimbledon QF - Aryna Sabalenka def. Laura Siegemund ...4-6/6-2/6-4. The "impossible" (well, let's just say "unexpected") almost happened at this year's Wimbledon. Again. But then it didn't. But this grass court season's version of "German performance art" nearly stole the show once more.

At Queen's Club, 37-year old Tatjana Maria used her slice-filled game to win the title in the return of the women's tournament, defeating two former slam winners (Elena Rybakina and Madison Keys) along the way. 2022 Wimbledon semifinalist Maria's run didn't carry over into Wimbledon (she lost in the 1st Round), but the variety-and-spice style of her 37-year old German countrywoman Siegemund's attack surely took the baton and ran with it on the AELTC lawns.

Already with wins over a U.S. Open finalist (#29 Leylah Fernandez) and reigning AO champ (#6 Madison Keys) during the fortnight, the latter being her second Top 10 win at a major this season (she'd had *none* in slam play before '25), Siegemund, having already broken Maria's record from '22 (when she was 34) as the oldest maiden Wimbledon quarterfinalist, had the chance to get her first #1 victory *and* break Maria's record as the oldest first-time semifinalist at *any* major.

Sabalenka entered having not lost a set at this Wimbledon, but not have come close to "breezing" through the draw. Through four matches, though she'd only dropped serve six total times, she'd had to win three tie-breaks, a 7-5 set and three close 6-4 stanzas. She didn't have a walk in the park proverbial park here, either... and it nearly turned into a long road to nowhere.

Siegemund's "tennis performance art" of deliberate movement around the court, sudden bursts of unexpected creativity, speed-altering strokes, serve clock limit-pushing pauses before striking a ball to begin a point and, in general, the sort of vexing game style that forces her opponents to actually have to tax their brains by *thinking* all match long (when so many prefer, with oft-brilliant results, to maintain a point-by-point rhythym of hitting hit the ball hard after it has, if they have their druthers, come back at them almost as hard from the *other* side of the net) was in fine form from the start on Day 9. There was often no deflecting her from her chosen path, and such a notion can't help but produce headaches and the sort of frustrations that challenge a foe to avoid seeing their will crushed one point at a time by the drip-drip-drip nature of such an attack.

Siegemund fired off a backhand return winner on BP to break Sabalenka in the opening game of the match, then held after denying the Belarusian on a BP of her own. With Sabalenka still not yet in a groove or having figured out (if she ever really would) what might work best vs. the German, she went up a double-break at 3-0. Sabalenka finally got on the board with a break of her own in game 4, then held in a tight service game moments later.

Siegemund's great shot anticipation, on return and at the net, carved out another BP chance in game 7. A Sabalenka error caused her to drop serve again, putting her behind 5-2. The German's worst game of the set (2 DF, down love/40) followed, as the #1 seed held onto faint hope, breaking then holding for 5-4. But Siegemund didn't falter, serving things out at 6-4 as Sabalenka lost her first set of the tournament.

We’re on upset watch ????

Aryna Sabalenka is in danger as Laura Siegemund takes the first set.#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/mu9UbL1SvE

— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) July 8, 2025

Sabalenka took an early break lead at 2-0 in the 2nd, but Siegemund handled a big serve and elicited a responding error from Sabalenka to get back on serve a game later (breaking her for the fourth time on the day). Sabalenka got the break back at 4-2, despite Siegemund taking a 40/love lead, then had to save a BP and get a hold for 5-2. It was clear that if Sabalenka found a way through this one, she might need a "mental health day" to recover. She got the break to take the 2nd set (again it wasn't easy), taking a breath and heading to the 3rd.

Sabalenka held at love to open the decider, only to then see Siegemund go up 40/love in her first service game. Sabalenka close to 40/30, but the German held with net cord shot (of course she did), the broke at love a game later, utilizing a drop shot one one point, then winning a net battle on the next.

Down on the scoreboard, Sabalenka led love/30 in game 4, then pushed a shot ball wide that would have given her a BP chance. Siegemund held for 3-1. On the opening point for game 5, Sabalenka raced to antoher drop shot but hit it outside the line. Sabalenka whacked the top of net with a hard swing of her racket, but managed to hold serve (w/ the help of a missed overhead from Siegemund at 15/15). Sabalenka got things back on serve a game later (w/ the help of a DF from Siegemund that had given her a BP), only to then see her own unforced error total take a sudden jump in the next game. Down love/30, Sabalenka netted a down the line backhand on a mid-court ball, DF'd on GP, then netted a backhand near the service "T" off a Siegemund slice shot. Siegemund broke to take the lead again, at 4-3. The sixth break of Sabalenka's serve on the day equaled her total through the first four rounds of play.

In game 8, Siegemund had a GP for a 5-3 lead. The game saw Sabalenka win a "battle of slices" on one point, Siegemund hit the baseline with an overhead that produced a Sabalenka error on BP. On another BP chance, Siegemund fired a shot long off a Sabalenka return and things we knotted up again at 4-4.

It was then that Sabalenka finally found *it*, whatever *it* is. Dare one say it, the scene was very "Serena-like," as she blasted her *first* ace of the match to go up 40/love in game 9, then #2 on her second GP to take a 5-4 lead. Suddenly serving to stay in the match, Siegemund opened her serve game with an error and fell behind love/30. Down 15/40, she saved a Sabalenka MP with a drop shot, but on MP #2 Sabalenka took control of the rally and finally got a setter at the net. She put it away to close out the victory, and surely paused to take stock and try to make sense of how she'd survived seeing her Wimbledon life flash -- in bright lights -- before her eyes.

Comeback complete ??

World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka defeats Laura Siegemund 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 to reach her third #Wimbledon semi-final. pic.twitter.com/VBfLu53Evz

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 8, 2025

A fitting applause for Laura Siegemund who played her part in an enthralling Centre Court encounter ??

Congratulations on a brilliant run at The Championships ?? pic.twitter.com/6wmbPP0Hd5

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 8, 2025

=============================================== 8. U.S. Open SF - Aryna Sabalenka def. Jessie Pegula ...4-6/6-3/6-4. In a rematch (a round earlier) of the 2024 final, top-seeded defending champion Sabalenka met #4 Pegula as the Belarussian tryied to get one step closer to filling the conspicuously empty section of her '25 resume where slam titles would be listed. A three-time major winner already in her career, Sabalenka's slam campaign this year had consisted of one frustration after another, as she exited in three-set affairs vs. three different U.S. women in the "money stages" of every major, the AO and RG finals vs. Madison Keys and Coco Gauff, respectively, and then in the Wimbledon SF to Amanda Anisimova.

On this night, neither Sabalenka nor Pegula managed to carve out a BP opportunity until Sabalenka took a 15/40 lead in game 6. On BP #3, she completed a big return/forehand winner combination to grab a 4-2 lead. With the seal broken, Pegula took Sabalenka's service game moments later when a DF on BP ended Sabalenka's streak of 32 straight holds.

Playing with necessary aggression, Pegula had a another BP chance in game 9. Sabalenka's long forehand gave the U.S. woman a 5-4 lead, and she quickly took advantage with a love hold that grabbed the opening set. Pegula finished the 1st by winning 16 of the final 19 points, a run that began soon after Sabalenka went up a break at 4-2.

The 2nd set saw Sabalenka take the early break advantage again, but this time hold it throughout. Pegula kept herself alive in the set by saving BP and holding in games 6 and 8 (to get within 5-3) as the play of both women was a bit scratchy down the stretch. Still, Sabalenka held for 6-3 to level the proceedings.

In the 3rd, Sabalenka once more took the early break lead. It would prove to be key, and just enough to get by, as Pegula spent the rest of the set winning 16 straight points on serve, while Sabalenka struggled to hold her advantage. In contrast to Pegula, Sabalenka fell behind 15/40 and had to save 3 BP in game 6, then another in game 8.

Serving for the win at 5-4, Sabalenka again felt Pegula's breath on the back of her neck at 30/30. Reaching down for the game that has made her the best hard court player in the world, Sabalenka fired an ace to reach MP. She missed on an overhead on her first MP chance, then didn't get down far enough to get her racket on a low ball at the net on MP #2. Finally, on MP #3, Sabalenka ventured toward the net and fired a match-ending forehand winner (soon accompanied by a roar) to close out her latest slam final run, her third in a row at Flushing Meadows, third at a major this season, and sixth straight in a hard could slam. She'd go on to be the first to defend the title since 2014.

Aryna keeps her title defense ALIVE ??

Sabalenka prevails in a three-set showdown with Pegula to return to the US Open final! pic.twitter.com/jq8hepDUZ3

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 5, 2025

===============================================

BREATHTAKING ??

Jess Pegula battles back from a set down against Sabalenka to win the deciding tiebreak 7-2. An absolute classic in Wuhan!
#WuhanOpen pic.twitter.com/bEXfnfZKnC

— wta (@WTA) October 11, 2025

9. Wuhan SF - Jessie Pegula def. Aryna Sabalenka ...2-6/6-4/7-6(2). After post-Baptiste comeback wins over Ekaterina Alexandrova and Katerina Siniakova, Pegula added another vs. Sabalenka in what was her eighth straight three-set match this Asian swing, recording her fifth career #1 win and ending a whole slew of streaks in the process.

Sabalenka led 5-2 in the 3rd, and served at 5-3, but Pegula kept the match alive and even held a pair of MP on serve (because of course she did) after taking a 6-5 lead. She DF'd four times in the game (her only DF on the day) and things went to a TB, of which Sabalenka had won nineteen straight this season. But instead of once again closing out a win with a TB victory, Sabalenka saw Pegula turn the tables with a 7-2 win, putting away her fourth MP attempt.

Not only did the result end Sabalenka's streak of 19 TB wins, it also ended her 20-match win streak in Wuhan (she's now 20-1, with titles in 2018-19 and, after the event's hiatus from 2020-23, another run in '24). Pegula had dropped four straight matches to the Belarussian (she's now 3-8), getting her first win since the '23 WTA Finals, and had also been 0-29 in her career vs. Top 10 opponents after losing the 1st set (only three times before had she even *forced* a 3rd set, let alone win it). Make it 1-29. =============================================== 10. U.S. Open 1st Rd. - Alex Eala def. Clara Tauson ...6-3/2-6/7-6(13-11). The U.S. Open junior champ in 2022, Eala was a breakthrough star this season, reaching the Miami SF, cracking the Top 100 and becoming the first player from the Philippines to play a slam MD match. But she'd yet to win one at that level, until Day 1 in New York.

And she took the long away around to do it.

Alexandra Eala won this match

?????????????????????? pic.twitter.com/8NZFwi3oZV

— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) August 24, 2025

After a personal history of being the upset *maker* in the opening rounds of majors, #14-seed Tauson felt the cold reality of the *other* side of the equation vs. Eala, who became the first Filipino player to record a 1st Round slam win.

After dropping the opening set, Tauson had rebounded well, taking the 2nd and racing to a 5-1 lead in the 3rd, only to soon fall victim to an unbowed Filipina, as well as her own tendency to let her emotions interfere in a match and turn what seemed like a good day into a series of mopey stretches that eventually led her down the path to defeat. The Dane twice served for the match, at 5-2 (30/30) and 5-4, and after an argument over a disputed call that put her down 15/40, DF'd to tie the set. Tauson fell behind 6-5 and saved a MP two games later, managing to get things to a deciding MTB.

Eala took an 8-4 lead, but Tauson staved off three MP at 9-8, 10-9 and 11-10 before Eala's fifth MP proved to be the charm as she won the breaker 13-11 to get her first career slam match win.

Alexandra Eala’s reaction after beating Tauson at the U.S. Open.

She falls flat on her back & bursts into tears. ??

Down 1-5 in the 3rd set

The first Filipino player to win a main draw match in a Slam in the Open Era.

Proud. ??

??????

pic.twitter.com/7D5xkJ97tR

— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) August 24, 2025

Alexandra Eala makes history at the US Open ??

She becomes the first player representing the Philippines to win a major singles match in the Open Era ???? pic.twitter.com/fPgDWzFsm8

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) August 24, 2025

Alexandra Eala felt the ???? support today at the US Open ??? pic.twitter.com/jlFmsex4tZ

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 24, 2025

=============================================== 11. Montreal 1st Rd. - Laura Siegemund def. Tatjana Maria ...7-5/6-7(6)/7-6(2). It just had to happen, right? A match-up of the 37-year old Germans (a week before Maria turned 38) who made waves during the recently-concluded grass season, with Maria winning Queen's Club and Siegemund reaching the Wimbledon QF.

Here the veterans played for 3:26, with Siegemund taking a 7-5/5-3 lead, holding her first MP at 5-3, then having two more at 6-5 as she tried to serve out the victory. She had MP #4 at 6-5 in the 2nd set TB before Maria won it 8-6 to force a deciding set.

In the 3rd, Maria turned around a 4-2 deficit to lead and serve for the win at 5-4. After breaking her countrywoman at love in game 10, Siegemund ultimately won on MP #5 in the concluding TB.

THREE-SET THRILLER ??

Laura Siegemund was the eventual winner against Maria 7-5, 6-7(6), 7-6(2)!#OBN25 pic.twitter.com/ulwc8YoaVG

— wta (@WTA) July 28, 2025

===============================================

The commentator is going nuts for Lilli Tagger 🔥

"Stop it! Stop it!... Behave!" 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/fWfvIRGFVp

— til polarity's end 🎾⚡#SpalettiIN⚡⚫⚪ (@lildarkcage) November 1, 2025

12. Jiujiang SF - Lilli Tagger def. Viktorija Golubic ...6-1/4-6/7-5. Tagger joins the short list of players to reach the final in their WTA MD debut, and does it in clutch comeback fashion vs. the veteran Swiss.

Golubic led 5-2 in the 3rd, served at 5-3 and held triple MP at 5-4 on return. From that moment on, 17-year old Tagger swept the remaining thirteen points in the match, rallying from love/40 down to hold and then winning back-to-back love games to close out the victory.

Hey Siri, define clutch. 👋

Siri : « Just look at what Lilli Tagger did. » pic.twitter.com/FGqBauCqee

— Tiče (@Titche14) November 1, 2025

3 - In the past two decades, Lilli Tagger is now the third player under the age of 18 to reach the final at her first WTA-level event after Donna Vekic (Tashkent 2012) and Olga Danilovic (Moscow 2018). Start! #JiangxiOpen | @WTA pic.twitter.com/egQcDSo0Ge

— OptaAce (@OptaAce) November 1, 2025

===============================================

INCREDIBLE 3RD SET IN EASTBOURNE.

19yo Maya Joint saves FOUR MATCH POINTS and wins her first career title.

12-10 in the 3rd set tiebreak over Alex Eala.

What a final! pic.twitter.com/Q5x8zjs9SQ

— José Morgado (@josemorgado) June 28, 2025

13. Eastbourne Final - Maya Joint def. Alex Eala ...6-4/1-6/7-6(10). The sixth final this decade to feature players whose combined age is under 40 (Joint 19, Eala 20), the youngest title match-up in Eastbourne since 1981 turned into a cracker of a contest as Joint saved a MP en route to the title.

Eala twice held early break leads in the 3rd before Joint forced a deciding TB. There, Eala had four MP chances to claim her maiden tour title (and the first by a PHI woman), at 6-5, 8-7, 9-8 and 10-9. Joint put away her second straight week-before-a-major title with a 12-10 win on her second MP.

Like??? ??

pic.twitter.com/2BvQDDhxBi https://t.co/nl2mPofCqJ

— grass szn ?? (@VenusGauff) June 28, 2025

Maya Joint's reaction to being handed a huge bottle of sparkling wine ?? pic.twitter.com/bfM78i6gyI

— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) June 28, 2025

===============================================

Another extended tiebreak won ??@BKrejcikova | #KoreaOpen pic.twitter.com/1DSUtJ3sQ8

— wta (@WTA) September 18, 2025

14. Seoul 2nd Rd. - Barbora Krejcikova def. Emma Raducanu ...4-6/7-6(10)/6-1. When you reach MP in a hotly-contested match against Barbora Krejcikova, at least in 2025, the Czech has you right where she wants you. Already with three wins after being MP down this season, hey, why not go for a fourth?

Against Raducanu, Krejcikova trailed 6-4/5-2, with the Brit holding her *first* MP while serving at 5-3. Nope. Then, after taking a 5-2 lead in the 2nd set TB, Raducanu had two *more* MP at 7-6 and 9-8. Nope and, you guessed it, nope.

Krejcikova won the breaker 12-10 on her fourth SP and then, sore back and all, took the 3rd set at 6-1 to win in nearly three hours.

Closing out the comeback with an ACE ??@BKrejcikova moves past the No.8 seed Raducanu in three sets!#KoreaOpen pic.twitter.com/g7Lnhxn6Px

— wta (@WTA) September 18, 2025

Krejcikova ultimately won 16 matches in her abbreviated season, with four of them -- that'd be a quarter of the her total -- coming after she'd faced down a MP. =============================================== 15. Cincinnati 3rd Rd. - Aryna Sabalenka def. Emma Raducanu ...7-6(3)/4-6/7-6(5). After facing off for two tight sets at Wimbledon, Sabalenka and Raducanu went the distance this time around.

In 3:13, tying for the longest match of Sabalenka's career, the world #1 and defending Cincy champ maneuvered through the treacherous final games to get the win, but only after coming back strong after Raducanu held in a 23-minute, 13-deuce game to knot the score at 4-4 in the 3rd, saving four BP before converting on her eleventh GP.

How about that game from Emma and Aryna ?? pic.twitter.com/hJespgSmQe

— Cincinnati Open (@CincyTennis) August 11, 2025

Sabalenka held from 15/30 in the next game, then in the deciding TB -- after Raducanu had gotten things back on serve at 4-4 -- the Belarussian once more powered her way to another breaker victory, firing an ace on MP #2.

Grit and determination ??

Defending champion @SabalenkaA battles it out to win 7-6(3), 4-6, 7-6(5) against Raducanu.#CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/cghDnHca1P

— wta (@WTA) August 11, 2025

===============================================

Coco & Danielle had never played before and their first one definitely was not short of drama for almost three hours. pic.twitter.com/EL26MgYfSq

— Jimmie48 Photography (@JJlovesTennis) July 30, 2025

HM- Montreal 2nd Rd. - Coco Gauff def. Danielle Collins ...7-5/4-6/7-6(2). Who needs brilliance to produce fine drama? Not Gauff/Collins, that's for sure.

With neither woman bringing her best game for long, the battle of attrition featured 36 DF (23 from Gauff), and 154 UE (Gauff 74, Collins 80... vs. 30/29 winners). But those are just numbers.

What was *seen* in (surprisingly) the first career meeting between the two was, albeit oft-messy, a compelling clash of personalities and sudden flashes of shotmaking and frustration, as Collins forced a 3rd set after trailing 7-5/3-1, creating the canvas for a back-and-forth deciding set.

Gauff took a 4-2 lead, and after Collins got the set back on serve, holding on for dear life, Gauff saved a BP (w/ a screaming backhand down the line) and held for 5-4.

Coco Gauff is OUT OF THIS WORLD ????#OBN2025 pic.twitter.com/cYUDv4HrWb

— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) July 30, 2025

In the next game, Collins nearly squandered a 40/love lead, saw Gauff twice get a point away from reaching MP, but then held to knot the score. Collins then took a love/40 lead in game 11, breaking Gauff to get the chance to serve for the match.

Then Gauff turned the dial up to "11," taking a 15/40 lead and denying Collins (who twice was within two points of the win) with a break on her fourth BP of the game, forcing a deciding TB. Having survived the earlier fight, Gauff took the breaker 7-2.

So, willl there be a meeting #2?

Never count her out ?????@CocoGauff regroups to defeat Collins in an exhilarating first encounter, 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(2).#OBN25 pic.twitter.com/XA7ei8Wsuj

— wta (@WTA) July 30, 2025

===============================================






*WELCOME TO IGA'S RECURRING NIGHTMARE*

@/iganation https://t.co/LMN8gSjTZ6 pic.twitter.com/SLZrKALcYh

— ?? (@VenusGauff) July 17, 2025

Doha SF - Alona Ostapenko def. Iga Swiatek ...6-3/6-1. In Doha, Swiatek handled her nuisance (Noskova), then her nemesis (Rybakina). As for her bully. Well...

Players with a 5-0 record against Iga Swiatek:

Jelena Ostapenko.

End of list. pic.twitter.com/qGOTAg3x0M

— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) February 14, 2025

In a phrase, Ostapenko kicked her butt. Again. And she relished it, too, as the smirk/smile rarely ever left her face, and certainly not after being renewed by Swiatek's growing frustration.

Jelena Ostapenko's reaction to Iga Swiatek throwing her racquet in Doha

?????? pic.twitter.com/EvIjoEtKBx

— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) February 14, 2025

Ostapenko's easy win ended Swiatek's three-year title run and 15-match winning streak in Doha, improving her career mark in the series to an astounding 5-0. Over the years, the Lavtian has posted wins over Iga when the Pole was ranked #65, #4, #9, #1 and now #2.

Always on top of her game versus Iga ??

Ostapenko remains undefeated against Swiatek and advances to her third WTA 1000 Championship!#QatarTotalEnergiesOpen pic.twitter.com/24omOGXTNd

— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) February 14, 2025

"I know how to play against her." ??

Jelena Ostapenko was feeling confident for good reason ahead of her Semifinal with Iga Swiatek.#QatarTotalEnergiesOpen pic.twitter.com/xcZImgepnj

— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) February 14, 2025

Later...

and she does it AGAIN!@JelenaOstapenk8 defeats Swiatek for a sixth time 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 to advance into the Stuttgart semifinals! #PorscheTennis pic.twitter.com/uNQ60PGMy0

— wta (@WTA) April 19, 2025

Stuttgart QF - Alona Ostapenko def. Iga Swiatek ...6-3/3-6/6-2. In case you haven't heard, Alona is pretty confident when she plays Iga. We saw it again in Stuttgart in their first clay court meeting.

Though she didn't "feel" her game in the 2nd set, Ostapenko jumped right back into groove in the 3rd to improve her career record to 6-0 in her head to head with Swiatek, becoming the first player to defeat the former #1 on hard court, grass and clay in her career.

Ostapenko after beating Swiatek in Stuttgart

“No one else has beaten Iga 6 times in a row. Which statement is more correct.. She hates to play you or you like to play her?”

Jelena: “I think both” ??

pic.twitter.com/ALR9H26iff

— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) April 19, 2025

Jelena Ostapenko after beating Iga Swiatek in Stuttgart

“She’s a great clay court player as well. But you know, I won French Open. So I can say the same thing about myself.” ??

pic.twitter.com/lOKDj8zAAA

— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) April 19, 2025

*MEANWHILE, BACK ON THE RANCH...*

It's like she never left ?????@Venuseswilliams defeats Stearns 6-3, 6-4 to reach the second round in the United States capital.#MubadalaCitiDCOpen pic.twitter.com/r38pH63jCt

— wta (@WTA) July 23, 2025

Washington 1st Rd. - Venus Williams def. Peyton Stearns ...6-3/6-4. Nothing to see here, just a 45-year old walking-and-talking-and-winning Hall of Famer-to-be becoming the oldest woman to win a tour-level singles match since Martina Navratilova (at 47) at Wimbledon in 2004, and doing so against the current world #35 behind a clean game and big and effective serve. It was Venus' first singles win since Cincinnati (vs. V.Kudermetova) two years ago.

Venus Williams is probably my all-time favorite player for her tennis alone, but this interview answer after 16 months away from the tour is such a mood. pic.twitter.com/2x0MR3xbJr

— Paul Coletti (@CelebrityPaul) July 23, 2025

This video of Venus Williams' first tour level win feels appropriate.

A 14-year-old Venus Williams makes her WTA tour debut in 1994 with a win.

Today, she got her 819th tour level win at 45 years old.

31 years on tour.

Some things never change ??

(via @cnnsport) pic.twitter.com/VTkjtYnEAg

— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) July 23, 2025

*SI-MO-NA FOREVER (and ever), AMEN*

Locked in ??

Bronzetti defeats Halep in consecutive sets to secure her spot in the next round in Cluj! #TO2025 pic.twitter.com/kZYQ0DmQdw

— wta (@WTA) February 4, 2025

Cluj-Napoca 1st Rd. - Lucia Bronzetti def. Simona Halep ...6-1/6-1. The day began as the one in which Halep would play her first singles match since October, after going just 1-4 (and suffering through multiple injuries) in her '24 return after a year and a half out spent fighting the Alphabets to clear her name after a positive drug test at the 2022 U.S. Open.

It turned out to be the day that Halep played her final match, as she effectively announced her retirement to the crowd afterward (she'd previously talked of considering such a move, with a bad knee injury that required surgery that she didn't want to have, as well as a lingering shoulder issue).

After her match today at the Transylvania Open Simona Halep announced her retirement. pic.twitter.com/pjej7EAgs6

— Romanian Tennis (@WTARomania) February 4, 2025

?? #halep pic.twitter.com/pt3NbELIzS

— Tennis GIFs???? (tip jar????) (@tennis_gifs) February 4, 2025

a lucky fan left with an unforgettable keepsake ??@Simona_Halep | #TO2025 pic.twitter.com/FWnsMhDiPW

— wta (@WTA) February 5, 2025

Simona Halep says goodbye one last time.

2 Grand Slam titles
2 time year-end world #1
64 weeks as world #1
9 WTA 1000 titles
24 singles titles

Incredible career. pic.twitter.com/bmjmiElgtY

— José Morgado (@josemorgado) February 4, 2025

We'll one day see Simo in Newport (and BSA's Winterfest, of course!), but hopefully she won't be a stranger between now and then.





*Period.*

The MOMENT Elena Rybakina won the WTA Finals.

5 top 10 wins in a row. 👏#WTAFinalsRiyadh pic.twitter.com/YuOgb5YzaT

— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) November 8, 2025

WTAF Final - Elena Rybakina def. Aryna Sabalenka ...6-3/7-6(0). Rybakina's clutch gene decided to stick around this 4Q until the very end, concluding with one of the more remarkable single in-match performances we saw all season long.

While the Kazakh's ability to push back Sabalenka all day were impressive, from cruising to a 1st set win after saving two BP one game after she'd taken a break lead at 4-2, then after being denied two BP chances at 4-4 in the 2nd she saved a pair of SP a game later to get the set into a tie-break.

And it was there that her final push was maybe the most memorable of all, as she managed to keep out-hitting Sabalenka and win a *7-0* TB to finish off her season-closing title run.

Remember, this is the same Sabalenka who has been positively peerless when it's come to winning tie-breaks in 2025, winning an Open era record 22 this season, including 19 straight at one point. The TB shutout was the first of Sabalenka's career.



==RECENT "MATCH OF THE YEAR" WINNERS==
2015 R.Garros 2nd Rd.: Schiavone d. Kuznetsova
2016 Wimb. 4th Rd.: Cibulkova d. A.Radwanska
2017 Madrid 2nd Rd.: Bouchard d. Sharapova
2018 Aust.Open SF: Halep d. Kerber
2019 Ind.Wells Final: Andreescu d. Kerber
2020 R.Garros 1st Rd.: Tauson d. Brady
2021 R.Garros 2nd Rd.: Krejcikova d. Sakkari
2022 Ostrava!!! Final : Krejcikova d. Swiatek
2023 Wimb. 3rd Rd.: Tsurenko d. Bogdan
2024 Aust.Open 2nd Rd.: Blinkova d. Rybakina
2025 US Open 4th Rd.: Krejcikova d. Townsend

THE GREAT ESCAPE ??

Elise Mertens completes a spectacular comeback win vs Alexandrova saving ELEVEN match points to reach the #LibemaOpen final! pic.twitter.com/kc8g0rc3Cq

— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) June 14, 2025

1. Rosmalen SF - Elise Mertens def. Ekaterina Alexandrova ...2-6/7-6(7)/6-4. Alexandrova is a two-time Rosmalen champion (2022-23), but she still couldn't put away Mertens with a third 's-Hertogenbosch final appearance on her racket.

The Russian led 6-2/5-3, and had five MP on serve at 5-4, then five more on serve at 6-5. MP #11 came in the 2nd set TB. But Mertens saved all eleven (ten via Alexandrova errors), then erased a break deficit at 4-3 in the 3rd as she swept the final three games en route to what would be her tenth career WTA title.

Mertens - Alexandrova maçinin 2. Setinde söyle bir seyler yasandi.
Alexandrova 1 tane de tiebreakte toplam 11 maç puani kaçirip seti de kaybetti. pic.twitter.com/X5PNivzOnD

— Mustafa Karalezli (@mkaralezli) June 14, 2025

All 11 match points that Alexandrova had vs Mertens today pic.twitter.com/HEMcNF7KsY

— Owen (@kostekcanu) June 14, 2025

=============================================== 2. In Eastbourne, Barbora Krejcikova, who'd played just four matches (going 1-3) all year at the start of the week, simply refused to lose.

BARBORA KREJCIKOVA WON THIS MATCH pic.twitter.com/jqf9TKsYt6

— Dre (@barbsclaycikova) June 24, 2025

Eastbourne 1st Rd. - Barbora Krejcikova def. Harriet Dart ...6-3/6-7(4)/7-5. Finally, the reigning Wimbledon champ gets her first grass court win since taking the title on Centre Court in 2024.

Krejcikova trailed Dart 5-3 in the 3rd, and was down double MP at 5-4, 40/15.

Barbie K is back in business ??

Krejcikova earns her second win of the season, defeating Dart 6-3, 6-7(4), 7-5. ??#LexusEastbourneOpen pic.twitter.com/WAtMePppac

— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) June 24, 2025

She wasn't finished...

ANOTHER DAY
ANOTHER BARBORA KREJCIKOVA WON THIS MATCH https://t.co/gr5QEq5nn5 pic.twitter.com/mazLpIKLBT

— Dre (@barbsclaycikova) June 25, 2025

Eastbourne 2nd Rd. - Barbora Krejcikova def. Jodie Burrage ...4-6/6-4/7-6(3). After saving two MP in the 1st Round vs. Dart, Krejcikova lost a 6-4/3-1 lead vs. another Brit in the 2nd. For the second straight round Krejcikova saved MP, this time *three* of them at 6-5 in the final set vs. Burrage, and finished strong by taking a 7-3 TB to earn her first consecutive wins since the WTA Finals.

Wow.

Wimbledon champ Barbora Krejcikova survives from match points down against a British wild card for a 2nd consecutive match, defeats Jodie Burrage 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(3) to reach the QFs in Eastbourne.

Quite a week she is having... pic.twitter.com/ijwB629HS1

— José Morgado (@josemorgado) June 25, 2025

Worn down so early in her latest injury comeback, Krejcikova withdrew before her next match. ===============================================

C L U T C H #DDFTennis pic.twitter.com/QhVr1kbtal

— wta (@WTA) February 19, 2025

3. Dubai 3rd Rd. - Elena Rybakina def. Paula Badosa ...4-6/7-6(8)/7-6(2). Rybakina's season was an ongoing work in progress, both off and on-court, with many lost opportunities along the way. She finally found her groove late in the year, but the signs of the mettle to be eventually revealed bubbled up here vs. Badosa in the opening months of the season.

Badosa claimed the 1st set after trailing 0-3, and nearly took out Rybakina in straights. The Kazakh served at 5-3, and held two SP at 5-4 before Badosa pushed the set to a TB, where she led 6-3. The Spaniard had four MP in the breaker, but couldn't convert any as Rybakina knotted the set with a 10-8 win converted on her fourth SP.

4 match points saved ??

and 6-3 down in the tiebreaker Rybakina comes back to force a decider against Badosa!#DDFTennis pic.twitter.com/iLaBaIEuGm

— wta (@WTA) February 19, 2025

Rybakina again served, this time for the match, in the 3rd (at 5-4), but couldn't put away the win. Instead, Badosa eventually had two *more* MP at 6-5 (bringing her total to six) before Rybakina took things to a deciding TB, which she won 7-2.

comeback COMPLETE ??

Rybakina saves SIX match points en route to defeating Badosa 4-6, 7-6(8), 7-6(2)!#DDFTennis pic.twitter.com/pZylK92maa

— wta (@WTA) February 19, 2025

Of course, as the majority of her season went, for every good moment came...

Dubai SF - Mirra Andreeva def. Elena Rybakina ...6-4/4-6/6-3. Down 3-1 to Rybakina in the 3rd set, with the Kazakh holding a GP for 4-1, Andreeva (as she noted later) seemed to have accepted that this was not her day, but was proud of her fight all week. But she didn't give up, and that proved to be the difference.

On her third BP of the three-deuce game, the teenager got the break to get back on serve. Rather than pull away to the final, Rybakina didn't win another game.

Rybakina fell behind on serve love/40 two games later and was broken, but had four BP chances in game 8 to get back to even in the set. Andreeva saved them all and held for 5-3. The Hordette went up love/30 on return in the next game, and never had to deal with serving out the win, getting the break of Rybakina to advance to her first career 1000 final, which turned out to be the site of her first of back-to-back 1000 titles in Dubai and Indian Wells.

Mirra Andreeva is only 17, and she has already beaten all of the players in the picture above ??#MirraAndreeva #ArynaSabalenka #IgaSwiatek #ElenaRybakina #Tennis pic.twitter.com/BqeP1MPEJJ

— Sportskeeda Tennis (@SK__Tennis) February 21, 2025

===============================================

Elina Svitolina won this match
?????????????????????? pic.twitter.com/ZuasIBBxo3

— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) June 1, 2025

4. Roland Garros 4th Rd. - Elina Svitolina def. Jasmine Paolini ...2-6/7-6(6)/6-1. Svitolina *knows* about losing big leads at Roland Garros, see her crushing QF defeat at the hands of Simona Halep in 2017 after holding a set and 5-1 lead (and having a MP). So when she fell behind #13 Jasmine Paolini by a score of 6-2/5-3 here, intellectually, she *knew* she could still win.

When the Italian, a '24 RG finalist, held two MP up 5-4 and 15/40 on the Ukrainian's serve, Svitolina had no reason to think it was over. Not *over* over, at least. She upped her aggression, something which was always necessary years ago in order for her get over her particular "hump" in majors, and things started to work in her favor. She forced a 2nd set TB, and led it 4-2. But when Paolini rallied to hold a third MP at 6-5, it seemed it might finally be a bridge too far. But it wasn't for Svitolina.

Rushing to the net to put away a volley winner to save MP #3 not only turned the TB in Svitolina's favor, but what remained of the match. She won the breaker 8-6, and raced out to a 4-0 3rd set lead vs. her surely-down-in-the-dumps (yes, even the normally-upbeat Jasmine) opponent. Svitolina knows the feeling. Reaching a MP of her own, the Ukrainian fired a backhand into the corner to complete her escape and reach her fifth QF at Roland Garros.

When you comeback from 4-1 down in the second set to win the match, and you can’t believe what just happened ?#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/IjkFSqXqbX

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 1, 2025

What a turnaround, Elina! ??
Svitolina saved three match points and stunned our 2024 finalist ??#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/RzT09qJhvA

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 1, 2025

=============================================== 5. Two more of the just-missed-it defeats that made Elena Rybakina's season-closing surge such a pressure-relieving moment of triumph...

All grit & determination ??#BTO pic.twitter.com/YuB1X03GVG

— wta (@WTA) June 20, 2025

Berlin QF - Aryna Sabalenka def. Elena Rybakina ...7-6(6)/3-6/7-6(6). Sabalenka may have lost some of the biggest finals she played in 2025, but the world #1 was consistently more dialed-in on getting a "W" than any player on tour this season.

After so many potential three-setters have became two-set wins when Sabalenka has raised her game on the most important points, in this case a would-be loss turned into a win for the same reason.

First, Sabalenka had to rally from 4-2 down to claim the 1st, winning an 8-6 TB. Then, after Rybakina denied the Belarusian when she served for the win at 5-4 in the 3rd, Sabalenka staged another comeback after going down quadruple MP at 6-2 in the deciding tie-break. Four straight MP later, it was Sabalenka with the match on her racket. She ultimately swept the final six points to get another 8-6 victory.

Aryna was living on the edge today ??#BTO pic.twitter.com/1LM3lMm1OO

— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) June 20, 2025

It's a win for the ages ??

Leylah Fernandez is into her seventh Tour-level final with a 6-7(2), 7-6(3), 7-6(3) victory over Rybakina.#MubadalaCitiDCOpen pic.twitter.com/h8vHJ8uK5F

— wta (@WTA) July 26, 2025

Washington SF - Leylah Fernandez def. Elena Rybakina ...6-7(2)/7-6(3)/7-6(3). A year ago, in their last meeting in the Cincinnati 2nd Round, Fernandez overcame a 5-3 3rd set deficit, saving a pair of MP vs. Rybakina to get the win in a 7-3 deciding TB. At the time, Rybakina wasn't yet 100% as she was just returning from her latest illness break, and had 20 aces that were somewhat balanced out by an additional 17 DF (Fernandez had 13 DF that day herself, vs. just 5 aces).

This time, in a 3:12 match that featured just two breaks of serve in a three-TB affair, Fernandez again staged a massive situational comeback to get the win. Though she never held a MP this time, Rybakina led 7-6/5-3, and served at 5-4. Fernandez survived with another 7-3 TB win, then went on to win *another* 7-3 TB in the 3rd.

In this instance, Rybakina again had a high ace total (17, vs. just 7 DF), but Fernandez turned around her previous 5/13 numbers from a year ago, with 12 aces this time (vs. 3 DF).

How do you not go insane if you're Elena Rybakina...

? 2025 Dubai SF (break in the third)
? 2025 Roland-Garros R16 (set and a break)
? 2025 Berlin QF (four consecutive match points)
? 2025 Washington SF (set and a break) pic.twitter.com/fG7ZGJNHAf

— Bastien Fachan (@BastienFachan) July 26, 2025

Meanwhile, as late summer neared, Rybakina started to tentatively begin to cook with heat...

Cincinnati 2nd Rd. - Elena Rybakina def. Renata Zarazua 4-6/6-0/7-5 Cincinnati 3rd Rd. - Elena Rybakina def. Elise Mertens 4-6/6-3/7-5 ...after struggling to put away matches late all season, things worked out better for Rybakina in Cincinnati, where Stefano Vukov was back in the coaching box following his suspension.

Rather than go to yet another deciding TB -- which didn't work out well for her in her last two defeats -- Rybakina finished things off before getting to that point in her two early-round Cincy matches, breaking Zarazua to win and holding vs. Mertens to close things out.

Night fight ??

As the clock ticks past midnight, Rybakina closes out Mertens 4-6, 6-3, 7-5. pic.twitter.com/BmvLi2KvjW

— Cincinnati Open (@CincyTennis) August 12, 2025

=============================================== 6. U.S. Open 1st Rd. - Moyuka Uchijima def. Olga Danilovic ...7-6(2)/4-6/7-6(11-9). For a moment, imagine being Olga Danilovic. And by that I mean imagine having *seven* MP chances, including holding triple MP not once, but TWICE, against Uchijima, yet falling in another MTB that marks just her second one-and-done result at a major in ten slam MD appearances since the start of the 2021 season.

Yeah. Imagine that.

Moyuka Uchijima won this match ???? pic.twitter.com/5YCJbhNHVQ

— TNT Sports (@tntsports) August 24, 2025

Thing is, just to get herself into such a position, the Serb had staged a comeback of her own from 7-6/3-1 down. Danilovic eventually led 5-3 in the 3rd, with three MP at 40/love on her own serve, then three more at 6-5, love/40 up on that of Uchijima. In the deciding MTB, Danilovic had another comeback from 6-1, taking the lead and holding MP #7 at 9-8, only to lose the last three points of the match, the final one via a double-fault. Ouch.

It was Uchijima's third win this season after being MP down.

Olga Danilovic wastes SEVEN match points

Moyuka Uchijima snatches the opening round victory pic.twitter.com/a58BzwwDw7

— Barstool Tennis (@StoolTennis) August 24, 2025

=============================================== 7. While her '25 campaign produced diminishing returns after her quick start, would "old Madi" have won so many matches from MP down as "new Madi" did this year? Not likely.

Roland Garros 3rd Rd. - Madison Keys def. Sofia Kenin ...4-6/6-3/7-5. Kenin had won the 1st set by playing all the big points better. Keys had claimed her first two serve games at love, and maintained that lead in total points throughout the set, but saw Kenin break for a 4-3 lead then later serve out a game to take the set when she converted on her fourth SP chance.

Keys, 0/5 on BP chances, finally broke to grab the lead at 4-2 in the 2nd, and held to knot that match soon afterward. In the decider, Kenin broke in game 2 and led 3-0. Keys got the set back on serve at 3-2.

Serving down 5-4, Keys had to fight off three MP. Finally winning the match's big points, the AO champ held in what was a five-deuce game. With the timing perfectly horrible for Kenin, she had to head immediately into a service game after having been unable to close out the match. Not shockingly, she was broken at 15, then saw Keys come back after the changeover and serve out what was her tenth straight win in slam play in 2025.

Madison Keys d. Sofia Kenin 4-6 6-3 7-5 at Roland Garros

3 match points saved.

Down 0-3 in the 3rd set.

Insane comeback from Madi.

She remains undefeated in Grand Slams this season.

10 wins, 0 losses.

?1st Roland Garros R16 since 2022

Guts.

?????? pic.twitter.com/NYRqwKr1B0

— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) May 31, 2025

Montreal 4th Rd. - Madison Keys def. Karolina Muchova ...4-6/6-3/7-5. Though her U.S. Open didn't go well, before that Keys was back to pulling matches out of the fire after starting her '25 campaign doing just that en route to the AO title.

Muchova held two MP at 5-4 on Keys' serve in the 3rd, but after failing to convert either saw the Bannerette sweep the final three games to notch her third win this season after being MP down.

?? Fought her way to QFs! Madison Keys defeats Karolina Muchova in 3 sets 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 #NBO25

Quarts de finale atteintes ?? Madison Keys défait Karolina Muchova en trois manches 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 #OBN25 pic.twitter.com/kSPPuhCz2n

— Omnium Banque Nationale (@OBNmontreal) August 3, 2025

Cincinnati 2nd Rd. - Madison Keys def. Eva Lys ...1-6/6-3/7-6(1). Keys pulled another win out of the seemingly spent ashes here, rallying from 0-3 down in the 3rd, with Lys holding two MP on Keys' serve at 6-5. It marked the *fourth* time this season that she'd won a match in which she was down MP, a total which ultimately tied her for the tour's season lead with Barbora Krejcikova.

2 MPs saved ??@Madison_Keys defeats Lys 6-1, 6-3 7-6(1) making her 11th appearance in Cincy. pic.twitter.com/RrclSXvKDx

— Cincinnati Open (@CincyTennis) August 9, 2025

===============================================

Clara Tauson just hit 26 aces in Auckland ?? That’s 5th most aces in a single WTA match pic.twitter.com/qwGNBWSaoa

— ??nebby?? (@1gamesetmatch) January 1, 2025

8. Auckland 2nd Rd. - Clara Tauson def. Sofia Kenin ...4-6/7-6(7)/7-6(3). Kenin would likely be just fine never seeing Tauson on the other side of the net again. In October '24, she was aced 22 times by the Dane in a 2nd Round loss in Tokyo. This time Tauson threw in 26 aces (fifth-most all time in a WTA MD match, the most ever in a hard court victory) and won again, staging a successful comeback from a set and 5-3 down, saving a MP in the 2nd set TB and winning consecutive breakers to advance.

26 aces is a career high for Tauson, but it's worth noting that she had a another 25-ace performance *last* year, though it was in a qualifying match (Miami vs. Dodin) and doesn't count when it comes to all-time tour records. ===============================================

CRAZY COMEBACK! Polina Kudermetova continues her fine run from qualifying, stunning compatriot Daria Kasatkina from 0-4 down in the decider. Really stepped up her level afterwards for her first career Top 10 win.

Prevails 1-6, 6-2, 7-5 to reach the quarterfinals in Brisbane! pic.twitter.com/JMzGDVLYX2

— WTARussians (@WTArussians) January 2, 2025

9. Brisbane 3rd Rd. - Polina Kudermetova def. Dasha Kasatkina ...1-6/6-2/7-5. After winning a long 2nd Round match over Peyton Stearns in 3:21, Kasatkina seemed on her way here, as well.

After dropping the 1st set, the veteran Hordette led 4-0 in the 3rd and had a pair of GP on serve for a 5-0 bulge. She never won another game, serving for the match once (at 5-3) before becoming the younger Kudermetova sister's first career Top 10 victim. ===============================================

Moyuka Magic You don't see too many players pull off a comeback from 1-6, 1-5 down. But, that's exactly what Japan's #1 player did today in Rouen, digging out of a massive deficit to defeat Dove brand ambassador Lois Boisson, 1-6, 7-64, 6-1. Uchijima moves forward to face Danilovic or Fruhvirtova

[image or embed]

— Tick Tock Tennis (@ticktocktennis.bsky.social) April 17, 2025 at 10:51 AM

10. Rouen 2nd Rd. - Moyuka Uchijima def. Lois Boisson ...1-6/7-6(4)/6-4. Coming a round after the "Harriet Dart incident," this was a loss that had to make the Pastry sweat. (Sorry.)

Uchijima trailed Boisson 6-1/5-1, and saw the Pastry serve at 5-2 (w/ a MP) and 5-4.

Moyuka Uchijima defeats Lois Boisson pic.twitter.com/VVUcItgYpc

— JokerNole (@JokerNole69) April 17, 2025

With this match coming in the weeks prior to Roland Garros, Boisson clearly brushed the loss off pretty quickly, eh? To say the least. =============================================== 11. To take a lead on Anastasia Potapova on clay in '25 was often lethal... to her opponent.

Stuttgart 1st Rd. - Anastasia Potapova def. Clara Tauson ...2-6/7-6(8)/6-3. Potapova prevails after saving a MP at 8-7 in the 2nd set TB, winning 10-8 and going on to eliminate Tauson in three. The Dane's loss prevented her third match-up of the season vs. Aryna Sabalenka in the 2nd Round (they'd split the first two).

The ultimate fight back ??

Anastasia Potapova comes back from a set down to defeat Tauson in an absolute thriller, 2-6, 7-6(8), 6-3!#PorscheTennis pic.twitter.com/9lFOjKijJ3

— wta (@WTA) April 14, 2025

Madrid 3rd Rd. - Anastasia Potapova def. Sofia Kenin ...3-6/6-4/7-6(6). Potapova pulls this one back from the edge of defeat by overcoming a 3-1 3rd set deficit and saving a pair of MP in the deciding TB. Down 6-4, Potapova swept the final four points to reach her first 1000 Round of 16 in fourteen months.

WHAT A WIN!

Anastasia Potapova saves two match points and defeats Sofia Kenin 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 to reach the fourth round of the Mutua Madrid Open for the first time in her career.

Incredible fightback, winning 4 consecutive points from 4-6 down in the final-set tiebreak. pic.twitter.com/Y7l5v2BRkb

— WTARussians (@WTArussians) April 27, 2025

Rome 1st Rd. - Anastasia Potapova def. Dayana Yastremska ...2-6/7-6(6)/6-3. Yastremska led 6-2/3-0, and held a MP at 6-5 in the 2nd set TB before Potapova stormed back to win her third match this season after being down MP.

What a comeback!

Anastasia Potapova saves a match point to beat Dayana Yastremska 2-6, 7-6, 6-3 in a tough opening round at the Internazionali BNL D'Italia.

Will face World No.1 Sabalenka next! pic.twitter.com/VDpuwBEX4n

— WTARussians (@WTArussians) May 8, 2025

=============================================== 12. WTAF SF - Veronika Kudermetova/Elise Mertens def. Katerina Siniakova/Taylor Townsend ...4-6/7-6(6) [10-6]. With #1 Errani/Paolini ousted in the previous SF match on Friday, the door seemed to be the open for the #2 seeds to seize control of the competition in Riyadh. Hmmm, not so fast.

Siniakova & Townsend got within a single point of reaching the final, holding a MP at 6-5 in the 2nd set TB, only to see Kudermetova/Mertens steal an 8-6 breaker victory, then take the immediate deciding MTB that followed to slip into the title match.

Hard fought victory! 💥

Mertens/Kudermetova defeat Townsend/Siniakova to secure their spot in the final!#WTAFinalsRiyadh pic.twitter.com/Tw3ArYLKFk

— wta (@WTA) November 7, 2025

=============================================== 13. Eastbourne 1st Rd. - Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova def. Viktoriya Tomova ...6-1/6-7(5)/7-6(7). Pavlyuchenkova climbed out of a 4-2 2nd set hole to reach MP, but Tomova forced a 3rd. It was the Bulgarian who had then had a handful of opportunities, with a first MP at 5-4, then *quintuple* MP (that's five straight, dontcha know) after going up 6-1 in the deciding TB.

Pavlyuchenkova won 9-7 on her third overall MP on the day.

6 MATCH POINTS SAVED!

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova pulls off the crazy comeback as she comes from 1-6 down in the final-set tiebreak to beat Viktoriya Tomova 6-1, 6-7, 7-6 in the first round of the Lexus Eastbourne Open.

What a win and definitely one that boosts the morale! pic.twitter.com/cTqie7TH8f

— WTARussians (@WTArussians) June 23, 2025

Pavlyuchenkova ultimately reached the SF, her first on tour since consecutive final four runs in Doha and Linz in February 2024. =============================================== 14. Sao Paulo 1st Rd. - Tiantsoa Sarah Rakotomanga Rajaonah def. Ana Sofia Sanchez ...6-4/4-6/7-6(7). Rakotomanga Rajaonah led this one by a set and a break (6-4/3-1) before the Mexican woman surged back. It changed the whole thumbnail description of the match, as it suddenly went from focusing on the comeback of Sanchez to that of the Pastry as Sanchez led 5-0, 30/30 in the 3rd but couldn't close it out.

Sanchez served at 5-1 (w/ one MP) and 5-4 (two more MP) before Rakotomanga Rajaonah forced things to a breaker, where she led 5-3 before finally putting away her third MP to kick off a week that would end with her lifting her maiden tour singles title.

Because of course she did.

To the Max

Her full name is Tiantsoa Sarah Rakotomanga Rajaonah.

But, she calls herself Sarah Rakotomanga on Instagram, so that's what I'm going with because the font would be soooooo small. ??

The 19yo goes the distance to get the win over Ana Sofia Sanchez in Sao Paulo. pic.twitter.com/jRuKgXKQWW

— Tick Tock Tennis (@TickTockTennis) September 8, 2025

=============================================== 15. The ups-and-down of a long tennis season...

Smiling for a big W ??

Jasmine Paolini advances to the semifinals in dramatic fashion ??#IBI25 pic.twitter.com/7RBabgVSqe

— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) May 13, 2025

Rome QF - Jasmine Paolini def. Diana Shnaider ...6-7(1)/6-4/6-2. Eventual Rome champion Paolini wins a match of swinging momentum and emotion, helped along the way by an expectedly partisan crowd.

After Shnaider had rallied from 0-4 down to take the 1st set, Paolini did the same in the 2nd. The Italian was twice a point away from a 5-1 deficit on Shnaider's serve, but broke the Hordette on her fifth BP chance and went on to win six straight games to end the set.

After falling behind 0-2 in the 3rd, Paolini *again* won six games in a row to close out the match as Shnaider more and more let the crowd get to her (and for some reason even stoked the fire on occasion) and erode her concentration.

What a fight from Jasmine ??#IBI25 pic.twitter.com/T8koigUMIi

— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) May 13, 2025

Monterrey QF - Diana Shnaider def. Elise Mertens ...4-6/7-6(6)/7-6(4). Shnaider's resurgent "Big Sascha (Bajin) Era" title-winning chapter in Monterrey included this three-hour comeback in which she saved a first MP at 5-4 in the 2nd set, then climbed out of a 5-1 hole in the 3rd, saving four more MP (three straight from 40/love on Mertens' serve) at 5-2.

DAUNTLESS DIANA ??

Shnaider completes a Houdini-like escape, saving FIVE total match points to make the Monterrey semifinals!#AbiertoGNPSeguros pic.twitter.com/q5sSgJaNxV

— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) August 22, 2025

When there's a will, there's a way ??

Diana Shnaider comes back from 5-1 down in the third set and survives FIVE match points along the way to defeat Mertens 3-6, 7-6(6), 7-6(4) and reach the final four in Monterrey.#AbiertoGNPSeguros pic.twitter.com/H9EY1b0Yv2

— wta (@WTA) August 22, 2025

===============================================

Medical time out during play for Joanna Garland

Just collapsed on the court

Garland serving for the match at 5-3 (40-40) vs Kimberly Birrell pic.twitter.com/gnplNcxSb7

— edgeAI (@edgeAIapp) November 1, 2025

16. Chennai SF - Kimberly Birrell def. Joanna Garland ...6-7(2)/6-3/7-5. Garland hits the physical wall at precisely the wrong time, soon after having taken a 5-0 lead over Birrell in the decider. She twice served for the match, and at 5-3 went up 40/15 and ultimately held five MP.

With her opponent struggling and taking a medical timeout, the Aussie didn't let up and completed the comeback to reach the final.

TENNIS:
Australia’s Kim Birrell is through to the final of the Chennai tennis Open after an epic 3hr 19min semi final. The 7th seed will play 4th seed Janice Tjen from Indonesia in the decider later today.
📸WTA pic.twitter.com/MMWsLdB7b9

— HER WAY (@herwaysports) November 1, 2025

=============================================== HM- BJK Playoffs rr - Rebecca Munk Mortensen/DEN def. Cadence Brace/CAN ...3-6/7-6(4)/7-6(4). Despite being the hard luck team of Group A in the November BJK Playoffs, going 0-2 with a pair of deciding doubles defeats, Denmark had team member post what was likely the most remarkable win of the season's final Cup weekend. 20-year old Rebecca Munk Mortensen, who came into the week with an eleven-match BJK Cup combined s/d losing streak, defeated Canada's Cadence Brace in a 3:38 marathon in which the Dane saved a MP in the 2nd set TB, then *eight* more at 6-5 in the 3rd (recovering from going down love/40) before ultimately winning a 7-4 deciding TB to get the win.

🇩🇰REBECCA MUNK MORTENSEN WITH A SHOCKER AT #BJKCup!

#652 ranked 🇩🇰Munk Mortensen defeats World No. 188 🇨🇦Cadence Brace in her debut for Team Canada in an absolute BATTLE lasting 3 hours and 41 minutes.

Unreal battle. Tough loss for Brace. Had NINE match points... #CdnTennis pic.twitter.com/5ku7RcP0Cv

— Jacob Pacheco (@JacobPacheco6) November 16, 2025

===============================================





*AND ONE MORE FOR THE ROAD*

Sara Errani is retiring from singles
“This, 99 percent, will be my last singles tournament,” the 38-year-old Errani told @BenRothenberg after her comeback win over Jule Niemeier at #RolandGarros yesterdayhttps://t.co/iIcsWbL5xV

— HareshRamchandani (@R1979Harry) May 21, 2025

Roland Garros Q1 - Sara Errani def. Jule Niemeier 0-6/7-6(4)/6-2 Roland Garros Q2 - Anna-Lena Friedsam def. Sara Errani 1-6/6-0/7-6(10-7) ...a singles finalist at Roland Garros thirteen years ago, Errani said that these would be the last singles matches of her career (we'll see). Both were dramatic (and vs. Germans).

Against Niemeier, the 38-year old lost the first seven games of the match, then climbed out of a 6-0/5-2 crater. Niemeier served for the win at 5-3, but Errani rallied and won a TB to force a 3rd set. The Italian converted on her sixth MP chance in the final game of the decider.

A round later, it was Errani who lost a 2-0 3rd set lead, failing to convert a MP at 5-4 before *losing* a deciding MTB to her second straight German opponent.

Friends will be Friends

Jasmine Paolini cheers on doubles partner Sara Errani during her final singles match at Roland Garros. pic.twitter.com/U30Xymsrxc

— Jimmie48 Photography (@JJlovesTennis) May 22, 2025

Sara Errani left this heartfelt message on Instagram following her last career singles match pic.twitter.com/CGyUcy6ZTW

— Mario Boccardi (@boccardi_marioo) May 23, 2025

Sara Errani's singles career comes to a close, will still be playing doubles, and is very successful still.

• Career High of #5
• 9 WTA Titles
• 2012 Roland Garros Final
• 690-516 Record at All Levels, per WTA website
• 13 Top 10 Wins
• 3 Top 5 Wins

?? Jimmie48/WTA Tour pic.twitter.com/SkQIWTpElz

— Tennis Updates (@TennisUpdates25) May 22, 2025

Errani didn't mourn her singles career for long, as she didn't lose a match the rest of her time in Paris, sweeping the women's doubles *and* mixed doubles titles.












1. Alex Eala's Miami oeuvre.

what a win! ????

Alexandra Eala defeats Ostapenko 7-6(2), 7-5!

#MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/IGMbkm9mYP

— wta (@WTA) March 21, 2025

Miami 2nd Rd. - Alex Eala def. Alona Ostapenko ...7-6(2)/7-5. *Shockingly* this was an Ostapenko match which featured multiple big swings of momentum, as Ostapenko led 4-0 in the 1st but saw Eala rally to win a TB, then in the 2nd it was Eala who lost a 4-0 lead, saving an Ostapenko SP, before the Filipina swept the final three games to notch her biggest win (at the time, at least).

Alex Eala understandably emotional after her very tight straight sets win over Jelena Ostapenko. That was a massive fight.

Also so lovely for Penko to come over across the net and congratulate Alex so warmly. A true understanding of what it meant for her opponent. #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/JbrN4yaFiI

— islandtennisgirl (@islandtennisace) March 21, 2025

Alex Eala has more wins over Jelena Ostapenko than Iga Swiatek

— Raj ?? (@RajBhandari1001) March 21, 2025

This was Ostapenko's fourth straight loss (0-8 sets) after she throttled Iga Swiatak to reach the Doha final. She wouldn't win multiple matches in another event until Stuttgart, where she again mowed through Swiatek, this time en route to the title (after which she went 6-11, dropping her last four matches of the year to finish under .500, at 18-20, for the season).


Miami 3rd Rd. - Alex Eala def. Madison Keys ...6-4/6-2. After upsetting Ostapenko in the 2nd Round, Eala kicked off the second week of play in Miami with an even more historic upset, notching the first Top 10 win of her career (and that of all of Philippines tennis history) after struggling to get over the proverbial "hump," despite flashes of big potential, last year.

BIGGEST WIN OF HER CAREER! ??

Alexandra Eala defeats Keys 6-4, 6-2 and will face Badosa in the next round! #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/pSkqPoogtN

— wta (@WTA) March 23, 2025

Alexandra Eala on what it means to be the 1st Filipino to beat a top 10 player

“You have to ask the country ?? Growing up it was tough.. you didn’t have anyone where you’re from to pave the way. I hope this takes Philippines tennis to another step” ??????

pic.twitter.com/MpDzqhXI2k

— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) March 23, 2025

Eala didn't get to celebrate her trip to the QF, as it happened via a walkover from Paula Badosa.

No matter...

SHE’S ONLY GONE AND DONE IT!!!!!!!! ????

Filipino wildcard Alexandra Eala stuns World No. 2 Swiatek 6-2, 7-5 to reach the last 4 in Miami!#MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/xn1zNpck10

— wta (@WTA) March 26, 2025

Miami QF - Alex Eala def. Iga Swiatek ...6-2/7-5. And here one would have thought that wins over Ostapenko and Keys were what career weeks were made of. Nope.

With Swiatek committing too many errors (off the ground, and via DF), Eala took advantage of the growing widening cracks in the world #2's game to lay down a slew of impressive accomplishment notes with this single win: her (and for any PHI player) biggest win ever, her first tour-level SF (and at a 1000, no less... joining Mary Joe Fernandez and Danielle Collins as the only three to get #1 in Miami), the first WC to go so far in South Beach, becoming the only teenager other than Bianca Andreescu to win her first two match-ups with Top 5 players and, last but not least, cracking the Top 100 for the first time.

One of many winners from Alex Eala today ??

This forehand earns our @BetMGM shot of the day!#MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/WVBOnWruph

— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) March 26, 2025

More specifically, Eala coverted 8/10 BP chances on Swiatek's serve, breaking her in 8 of 10 service games (the first five, then the last three) while presenting a note of intimidation -- or the lack thereof when it came to Iga's serve -- by moving inside the baseline to return, and staging rallies in both sets to win in straights. Swiatek held an early break edge in the 1st, and led 4-2 in the 2nd after having reeled off four straight games. =============================================== 2. Wimbledon 1st Rd. - Elisabetta Cocciaretto def. Jessie Pegula 6-2/6-3 Wimbledon 1st Rd. - Dayana Yastremska def. Coco Gauff 7-6(3)/6-1 ...normally, on Day 2 of a major it would be big news that the #5 seed (Zheng Qinwen) had been sent packing. But at this Wimbledon that exit wasn't even in the top *two* highest-seeded women to go during the day, as both #2 Gauff and #3 Pegula were sent out within hours of each other, marking the first time that two of the top three women's seeds have lost in the 1st Round of a major in the Open era.

Pegula was the first to go, ousted by Italy's Cocciaretto.

Elisabetta Cocciaretto, take a bow ??

The Italian beats No.3 seed Jessica Pegula 6-2, 6-3 to storm into the second round of #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/oGWnAVK4BJ

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 1, 2025

It's been some journey for Elisabetta Cocciaretto ??

After missing out on playing at #Wimbledon last year, the Italian was delighted to progress to the second round in SW19 ?? pic.twitter.com/FicmDhlFyI

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 1, 2025

Two years ago, Pegula defeated Cocciaretto 6-4/6-0 in the Wimbledon 3rd Round, but while the Bannerette has gone on to win a pair of grass court titles since then (including this year in Bad Homburg), the Italian has also showed still more grass court ability. She reached the Birmingham SF last year, and the final four at Rosmalen in '25.

The results ended Pegula's streak of seventeen consecutive 1st Round wins in majors.

Later, Gauff's memorable slam debut at Wimbledon of 2019 (at age 15, she defeated Venus Williams in the 1st Round, then reached the Round of 16) got just a little big more lost in the memory bank, as the two-time slam champ (including at this year's RG) was taken down by Yastremska, a former major semifinalist (AO24) and proficient grass court player. The Ukrainian reached the SW19 junior final in 2016, the Wimbledon 4th Round in 2019 and arrived having just reached a final in Nottingham and the Eastbourne QF.

Dayana's delight ?#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/a4ybw2DgnY

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 1, 2025

"It's the win of her career."

No.1 Court is stunned as Dayana Yastremska defeats No.2 seed Coco Gauff 7-6(3), 6-1 ??#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/pZYylWHcs8

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 1, 2025

This is Gauff's second 1st Round loss at Wimbledon in three years. ===============================================

A roar heard all over Paris.

Epic three-set win for French wild card Lois Boisson who stunned Jessica Pegula to reach her first-ever Grand Slam quarter-final. pic.twitter.com/KAK67YGr9j

— Jimmie48 Photography (@JJlovesTennis) June 2, 2025

3. Roland Garros 4th Rd. - Lois Boisson def. Jessie Pegula ...3-6/6-4/6-4. This year in Paris, we found out what we missed *last* year.

In 2024, Boisson was an athletic Pastry looking to take a bite out of the world on the big stage. With multiple challenger titles and a quickly rising ranking (#152 before Roland Garros), she was set to make her slam MD debut in Paris as a wild card before a knee injury a week before the start of play set her career back nine months and delayed her introduction to the tennis world for a full year.

In Paris this year, everyone saw her.

Even while #3 seed Pegula seemed to be outplaying her in their Round of 16 match-up, Boisson got off to a decent start in the 1st set. She held an on-serve lead at 3-2, but the Bannerette reeled things back in down the stretch, winning 15 of the final 18 points en route to a 6-3 win.

Then, lo and behold, Boisson again held a 3-2 edge in the 2nd, but this time the lead didn't feel so tenuous. The Pastry's hard topspin groundstrokes -- especially her favored inside out forehand -- began to help her take advantage of Pegula's (though-improved) still wanting clay court movement. Boisson began to find some traction in the veteran's service games and, with Pegula missing on several first serves, broke to take another 3-2 lead, and even though she gave the break back a game it was still the French player who was clearly gathering some momentum.

Boisson put still more pressure on Pegula's long serve in game 7, holding two BP before the U.S. player finally held on her third GP to lead 4-3. But Pegula couldn't hold the wild card off two games later, and Boisson got the break that gave her a chance to serve out the set. She did so, at love, winning 6-4.

Come the 3rd set, with the late-arriving Chatrier fans (where were you?!?!) finally in their seats to offer her the sort of support that a French player is expected to receive in Paris, Boisson was starting to believe that the match might not just turn out to be an exercise in gaining experience for the future. She broke Pegula to open the set, and held to lead 2-0, running her winning streak to five consecutive games.

Pegula got the set back on serve, but the two were still knotted at 4-4 later in the set. The big tests were about to come, for both women.

In the ninth game, Boisson found an opening on Pegula's serve at 15/30, but the Bannerette would hold three GP for a 5-4 lead before she ever faced a BP. She'd end up seeing Boisson hold four. The French woman ran around a Pegula serve, stepping back into the doubles alley in order to fire off a forehand. But it went long. Pegula's big shots saved the second, while Boisson missed on a nervous-looking angled lob on the third. But on #4, Pegula netted a forehand that put Boisson up 5-4 with the chance to become the first wild card to reach the RG quarterfinals since Mary Pierce (by then just two years removed from being the women's champ in Paris) in 2002.

Boisson quickly went up 30/love, but two points later DF'd to level the game at 30-all. This time, after playing a bit too tentatively, it'd be Boisson who'd be tasked with saving four BP. She got lucky on the first, with a successful drop shot off a framed mishit, then found her groove with a perfect lob over Pegula on the second. A forehand winner denied the third, then Pegula pushed her reply to a drop shot wide on #4.

With the dream suddenly coming close to being true, Boisson directed a high volley drop shot into the forecourt, and Pegula couldn't scramble and slide across the terre battue well enough to pull off a winner, instead firing her shot into the net to give Boisson a MP. A forehand winner down the line completed the year-long circle for Boisson, as she went from disappointed (and injured) would-be wild card to the most successful French player at this year's Roland Garros, reaching the QF in her maiden slam MD with a 3-6/6-4/6-4 win over the world #3 on the biggest court at her dream event.

Elation and packing up & going home are just mere meters seperated on a tennis court. pic.twitter.com/bpyg2AUxF7

— Jimmie48 Photography (@JJlovesTennis) June 2, 2025

What a moment for French wild card Lois Boisson who beat Pegula and qualified for the quarter-finals, and is today’s Extraordinary Moments with @HaierOfficial#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/LQrggWpPyN

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 2, 2025

La vie est belle ?????#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/jK5PstqgBA

— wta (@WTA) June 2, 2025

At #361, Boisson became the lowest-ranked woman to reach a major QF since 2017, then followed up with a QF win over #6 Mirra Andreeva to become the lowest-ranked slam semifinalist (not counting a few unranked former champions on the comeback path) in four decades.

6 GAMES IN A ROW TO REACH THE SEMI-FINALS FOR LOIS BOISSON ??#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/MLPBookvlt

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 4, 2025

LOIS BOISSON.
REMEMBER THE NAME.#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/brvgyZydRe

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 4, 2025

Cold. ??#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/TAxZ6cBFNx

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 4, 2025

=============================================== 4. Miami 2nd Rd. - Ashlyn Krueger def. Elena Rybakina ...6-4/2-6/6-4. If not for the big stage exploits of a handful of other new young stars (Mirra, Alex, et al.), Krueger's early season breakout results -- w/ a 500 RU, Miami 4r -- might have been recognized a bit more in the '25 1st Quarter.

The 20-year old Bannerette missed out on a shot to play Rybakina in the Abu Dhabi final earlier in the season, as while the Bannerette reached her biggest career title match the Kazak fell in the semis to Belinda Bencic (who then defeated Krueger for the crown). Given her belated shot against the 2023-24 Miami runner-up, the 20-year old collected her first career Top 10 victory after having narrowly missed out on the feat on three occasions (def. then #11 Kasatkina, #12 Badosa and #14 Kalinskaya) earlier in the season.

a FIRST Top 10 WIN! ??

Krueger takes down the No. 7 seed Rybakina 6-4, 2-6, 6-4!#MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/NZxPQTTEO8

— wta (@WTA) March 20, 2025

=============================================== 5. Rosmalen 1st Rd. - Carson Branstine def. Liudmila Samsonova ...6-4/5-7/6-1. Defending champ and #1 seed Samsonova goes out in the opening round at the hands of #231-ranked Branstine, the former junior and college star who has battled through years of injuries to finally make her tour-level MD debut with this match.

in the first tour level singles main draw match of her career, ???? carson branstine gets a huge win over wta #18, #1 seed and defending champion, ???? liudmila samsonova, 6-4 5-7 6-1 in 's-hertogenbosch! pic.twitter.com/KkXTFcmkVT

— josh? (@leylixshapeescu) June 11, 2025

Branstine went on to qualify for her maiden slam MD at Wimbledon. =============================================== 6. Wimbledon 3rd Rd. - Laura Siegemund def. Madison Keys ...6-3/6-3. #6-seeded Keys' rocky grass court season finally came to an end vs. Siegemund.

Keys came into Wimbledon having gone 2-2 in warm-up events, losing to Tatjana Maria at Queen's Club and Marketa Vondrousova in Berlin. Both went on to win the titles in the event. At SW19, she barely escaped the early-round hunting of the seeds, edging by Gabriela Ruse before her surprising quick dispatching of Olga Danilovic in the 2nd Round. Such wasn't the case against Siegemund, yet another 37-year old German (like Maria) whose unorthodox game (in 2025) is perfectly tuned to vex players not accustomed to foes who don't go about straightforwardly retrieving-and-returning and/or smashing the ball back over the net.

Not being able to generate much pace off of Siegemund's shots, Keys was at the mercy of her fate, which wasn't good. She fell in straights to become the sixth Top 10 seed to exit in the opening week, as well as the second of 2025's two previous major champions.

"Siegemund stuns Keys." ??

The 37-year-old takes down the No.6 seed 6-3, 6-3 to reach a Grand Slam singles fourth round for the first time ??#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/Psh6Vh5dvb

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 4, 2025

The win gave Siegemund her second victory over a Top 10 player at a major this year, having knocked off Zheng Qinwen in Melbourne back in January. She had zero before this year. It makes '25 the German's first multi-Top 10 win campaign since 2017. Siegemund didn't make her slam MD debut until age 27 at Wimbledon in 2015.

6 - Laura Siegemund is the sixth player in the Open Era to reach the Round of 16 in Women’s Singles at the SW19 after having turned 37 after Billie Jean King, Virginia Wade, Martina Navratilova, Venus and Serena Williams. Rejuvenation.#Wimbledon |@Wimbledon @WTA pic.twitter.com/0WnfGgAHdi

— OptaAce (@OptaAce) July 4, 2025

With a 4th Round win over Solana Sierra, Siegemund became the oldest first-time Wimbledon quarterfinalist. In that QF, she led Aryna Sabalenka twice by a break in the 3rd, and had a GP for a 5-3 lead, before falling to the #1 seed. =============================================== 7. U.S. Open 1st Rd. - Renata Zarazua def. Madison Keys ...6-7(10)/7-6(3)/7-5. While "New Madi" carried the day in the opening major of 2025, AO champ Keys (the #6 seed) could not find a way to put away world #82 Zarazua in the season's final slam event, finishing off a greatly-diminishing slam season with a W-QF-3r-1r major results line.

Keys saved five SP vs. the Mexican player in the 1st set, but won it (12-10 TB) and led 3-0 in the 2nd. But Zarazua just wouldn't go away. She won five straight games to lead 5-3 before Keys forced another TB, this one taken 7-3 by Zarazua, who then claimed another close set in the 3rd to steal the victory over the 2017 finalist. It's Zarazua's second straight U.S. Open with a 1st Round win, her fourth in the last five majors, and her first career Top 10 victory.

Zarazua has appeared in eight consecutive major MD, the longest streak for a Mexican woman since Angelica Gavaldon played in thirteen straight from 1993-1996. At this year's Wimbledon, Zarazua was the first from her nation to post a win at SW19 since 1995.

Todas las emociones ??

Renata Zarazua of Mexico notches the biggest win of her career, rallying from 7-6 3-0 down to stun Keys! pic.twitter.com/NDtoZl6M4F

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 25, 2025

===============================================

Remember the name ???

The 18-year-old wildcard Victoria Mboko defeats Osorio!#MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/NrE9swwsmg

— wta (@WTA) March 19, 2025

8. Miami 1st Rd. - Victoria Mboko def. Camila Osorio ...7-5/5-7/6-3. Months before Montreal, the signs were there.

2025 ITF Queen Mboko makes good on her MD wild card to notch her first career WTA win, nearly three years after her maiden MD appearance (a Granby '22 1r loss to Rebecca Marino at age 15).

The 18-year old Canadian nearly lost a 5-2 1st set lead vs. Osario, failing in two attempts (and 4 SP) to serve it out before finally making good on try #3 and going on to win in three over the world #54.

Jaw-dropping drop shot from Victoria Mboko??#MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/kAGu89C6PU

— wta (@WTA) March 19, 2025

both giving EVERYTHING! ??

Osorio and Mboko with another long rally #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/oBh34WPahZ

— wta (@WTA) March 19, 2025

Montreal 4th Rd. - Victoria Mboko def. Coco Gauff ...6-1/6-4. Gauff's streak of self-generated "luck" finally ran out in Montreal after going 2-0 despite putting up a slew of DF and seeing back-to-back opponents either serve for the match (Collins) or hold a significant lead (Kudermetova 6-4/3-1).

For Mboko, it was her first career Top 10 win, after she'd taken Gauff to three sets in a loss in Rome during the spring. The 18-year old Canadian was the first player younger than Gauff to defeat her in a tour-level match, and this wasn't a flash-in-the-pan moment, either. Mboko went on to win the title.

Pressure? What pressure ??

Victoria Mboko reaches her first ever WTA 1000 quarterfinal after taking out the top seed Gauff 6-1, 6-4.#OBN25 pic.twitter.com/S3X8ttdadw

— wta (@WTA) August 3, 2025

=============================================== 9. U.S. Open 1st Rd. - Janice Tjen def. Veronika Kudermetova ...6-4/4-6/6-4. On the first opening Sunday in U.S. Open history, #24-seeded Kudermetova became the earliest seed to exit in the history of the tournament, sent packing when qualifier Tjen continued her remarkable 15-month stretch as a pro (100-13 after this win) by notching a three-set upset victory in her slam MD debut.

A recent college star at Pepperdine, Tjen is the first Indonesian to record a MD win in a major since Angelique Widjaja at the 2003 Wimbledon.

Indonesia’s first win in a Grand Slam main draw in 22 years! ??????

Janice Tjen pulls off the upset over No.24 seed Kudermetova. pic.twitter.com/1I6ZWrJtpQ

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 24, 2025

===============================================
10. The calm before the Elena storm...

First ever Top 10 (and Top 20) win!!
First ever R4 at a 1000!!
New career high in the rankings!!

Eva Lys!!! pic.twitter.com/1rjui100QN

— Owen (@kostekcanu) September 28, 2025

Beijing 3rd Rd. - Eva Lys def. Elena Rybakina ...6-3/1-6/6-4. This was another spot where Rybakina stumbled in a big event (she didn't reach a major QF this year for the first time since 2020, and had squandered big leads or MP in a number of late round match-ups), as well as another one where Lys puts up a good result, as the German picked up her maiden career Top 10 win *and* did so while also reaching her first 1000 4th Round.

4th Round baby ??

? First Top 10 win
? First R16 at WTA 1000

What a moment for @evalys_ ??#2025ChinaOpen pic.twitter.com/rREYxAVIs3

— wta (@WTA) September 28, 2025

Of course, after this loss, Rybakina reeled off QF-W-SF-W results to end her season, qualifying for and then winning the WTA Finals. ===============================================

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Jasmine Paolini never ceases to entertain.

Today, it was a reenactment of the viral photo ?? pic.twitter.com/Cp6RevWhJe

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 31, 2025