WTA - Bad Homburg, Germany, Eastbourne, Great Britain, ATP - Eastbourne, Great Britain, Mallorca, Spain

 

Seven Sisters and Beachy Head Lighthouse, Eastbourne, Great Britain. The headland has been considered a danger to shipping. In 1831, construction began on the Belle Tout Lighthouse on the next headland west from Beachy Head. Because mist and low clouds could hide the light of Belle Tout, it was decommissioned in 1902, after the Beachy Head Lighthouse had been built in the sea below Beachy Head as a replacement.

European Swing - Barcelona Spain, Munich Germany, Stuttgart Germany, Rouen France

 

Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell ATP 500
Barcelona, Spain
April 13 -19, 2026

Surface: Clay

Draws: Singles 32, Doubles 16.  Established in 1953.

Most titles: Rafa Nadal with 12.

2025 champion: Holger Rune who defeated Carlos Alcaraz.

Top 4 seeds (of 8): Carlos Alcaraz, Lorenzo Musetti, Alex de Minaur, Karen Khachanov

Wildcards: Rafael Jodar, Martin Landaluce, Stan Wawrinka, 

Withdrawals: Auger-Aliassime, Davidovich Fokina, Humbert, Ruud, Tien, Vacherot

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BMW Open by Bitpanda ATP 500
Munich, Germany
April 13-19, 2026

Surface: Clay

Draws: Singles 32, Doubles 16. 57 edition. Upgraded to 500 in 2025.

Most titles: Philipp Kohlschreiber and Alexander Zverev with 3 each.

2025 champion: Alexander Zverev who defeated Ben Shelton.

Top 4 seeds (of 8): Alexander Zverev, Ben Shelton, Alexander Bublik, Flavio Cobolli

Wildcards: Alexander Blockx, Justin Engel, Jan-Lennard Struff

Withdrawals: Fritz, Hurkacz, Korda, Lehecka, Mensik

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Porsche Tennis Grand Prix WTA 500
Stuttgart, Germany
April 13-19, 2026

Surface: Clay

Draws: Singles 28, Doubles 16. 48th edition.

2025 champion: Jelena Ostapenko who defeated Aryna Sabalenka.

Top 4 seeds (of 8): Elena Rybakina, Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek, Elina Svitolina.

The top 4 seeds receive a first-round bye.

Wildcards: 3 German players plus Paula Badosa

Withdrawals: Kalinskaya, Krejcikova, Sabalenka, Tauson, Zheng

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Open Capefinances Rouen Metropole WTA 250
Rouen, France
April 13-19, 2026

Surface: Clay

Draws: Singles 32, Doubles 16. This is the 5th edition.

2025 champion: Elina Svitolina defeated Olga Danilovic.

Top 4 seeds (of 8): Marta Kostyuk, Sorana Cirstea, Jaqueline Cristian, Hailey Baptiste

Wildcards: 3 French players plus Sloane Stephens

Withdrawals: 9, including Boisson, Bouzkova, Kenin, Kessler, Osorio

As always our Thanks Shirley.

South American Tour ,Acapulco Mexico,Santiago Chile, Austin Texas,plus Dubai UAE

 

Paris France ATP 1000, Hong Kong China WTA250, Jiujiang China WTA 250, Chennai India WTA 250

 

Washington, DC, Austria, Croatia and Prague

 

WTA - Strasbourg-France, Rabbat-Morocco, ATP - Hamburg-Germany, Geneva-Switzerland

Rolling along to Roland Garros 2025.....

ATP

Merida-Mexico, Austin-Texas, Dubai-UAE, Acapulco-Mexico, Santiago-Chile

Merida Open Akron WTA 500

Merida, Mexico

February 24-March 2, 2025

Surface: Hard

Draws: Singles 32, doubles 16

Founded in 2023, and this year was raised from a 250 tourney to a 500.

Defending champion: Zeynep Sonmez who defeated Ann Li.

Top 4 seeds (of 8): Emma Navarro, Paula Badosa, Beatriz Haddad Maia, Anna Kalinskaya

Wildcards: Include Anna Kalinskaya, Zeynep Sonmez, Sloane Stephens, Marie Bouzkova, Polina Kudertemova

Protected ranking: Julia Grabher

Getting Ready for 2025

 

Wishing everyone a Safe and Happy Christmas and Hanukkah 

Olympics 2024, Paris, France and Citi Open, Washington DC ATP/WTA 500

 

The Paris Olympics 2024
Stade Roland Garros
Paris, France
July 26-August 11, 2024

The Olympic Torch a symbol of light, hope, friendship. The Olympic flame symbolizes the light of spirit, knowledge and life. By passing the flame from one person to another in stages, the Torch Relay expresses the handing down of this symbolic fire from generation to generation. In 17 days the Torch will be passed to the USA where in 2028 the Olympics will be held in Los Angeles and once more the flame will be lit and continue to keep alight the ideals of courage, goodwill and harmony.  A reminder that this figurative fire is eternal and endures.

Almost back to Clay - Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, USA, Italy, Hungary

 

Hamburg Open ATP 500
Am Rothenbaum
Hamburg, Germany
July 15-21, 2024

Street Art, Hamburg, Germany

Surface: Clay
Draws: Singles 32, Doubles 16
This is the 118th edition of the tournament.
Most titles: Roger Federer with 4.
Defending champion: Alexander Zverev who defeated Laslo Djere.

Seeds (in order of seeding): Alexander Zverev, Holger Rune, Sebastian Baez, Francisco Cerundolo, Arthur Fils, Mateo Arnaldi, Luciano Darderi, Zhizhen Zhang

Wildcards: Both German players – Rudolf Molleker, Henri Squire

Protected ranking: Kwon Soon-woo

Withdrawals: Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Dan Evans, Gael Monfils, Corentin Moutet, Lorenzo Musetti

 

Pre Wimbledon ATP 500 Halle & London, WTA 500 Berlin, WTA 250 Birmingham

 

Slip sliding on Clay - Germany - ATP, Spain - ATP, Romania - ATP, France -WTA, Germany-WTA

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Porsche Tennis Grand Prix WTA 500
Tennis Sporthalle Filderstadt
Stuttgart, Germany
April 15-21, 2024

Jupp-Wiertz Vintage German art deco

ATP: Chile, Dubai & Acapulco; WTA: Austin & San Diego, USA

 

This week is full once again with five tournaments - two ATP 500s in Santiago and  Acapulco, along with a 250 in Dubai. The WTA hosts a 250 in Austin, Texas and a 500 in San Diego. A lot of activity right before 12 days in Indian Wells next week. 

I'd say the biggest surprise was the WTA 1000 in Dubai where the top seeds fell, leaving the Final a battle between qualifier Kalinskaya (who dispatched three Top 10 seeds to reach the Final) and the unseeded victor Paolini (who defeated Haddad-Maia and Sakkari on her way, but likely benefited from a W/O by Rybakina in the SF,). Interesting that Paolini lost to Kalinskaya in the 4R of the AO and lost in the 1R of both Linz and Doha before lifting her 2nd title here) However, both ladies made a dramatic rise in the rankings as a result -  #14 for Paolini and #24 for Kalinskaya (who I'm hoping to see much more of)!  

On the men's side perhaps we should all take notice of the surprising performance of the Czech teen Jacub Mensik who defeated the #1 seed Rublev to face the #2 seed and victor Khachanov. IMO, results and surprises like these in Dubai and Doha make tennis much more interesting (and more difficult for some MCM prognosticators).

Congratulations to this past week's Champions:

WTA 1000 Dubai 

Singles: Jasmine Paolini d. Anna Kalinskaya

Doubles: Hunter/Siniakova d. Melichar-Martinez/Perez

ATP 500 Doha

Singles: Karen Khachanov d. Jakub Mensik

Doubles: Murray/Venus d. Musetti/Sonego

ATP 250 Los Cabos

Singles: Jordan Thompson d. Casper Ruud

Doubles:Purcell/Thompson d. Nedovyesov/Escobar 

ATP 250 Rio

Singles: Sebastian Baez d. Mariano Navone

Doubles: Barrientos/Matos d, Erler/Miedler

A lot of tennis coming up for you👇

ATP 500 Rio de Janeiro, ATP 250 Qatar and Mexico, WTA 1000 Dubai

One of the Miracle Gardens of Dubai, UAE

ATP Rotterdam 500, Argentina 250, Delray Beach 250 and WTA Qatar 1000

 

Sunshine Skyway Bridge, St. Petersburg, Florida

Theme for the thread - Bridges. Bridges serve to join and connect different people or things - just like  sports...  

With four tourneys this week we are humming along in 2024. Grigor Dimitrov is I think determined to create and sustain his revival.  Am keeping fingers crossed for him while hoping that Frances Tiafoe and FAA can really make their mark this year, without injuries.  Can Emma Radacanu have her own revival?  I hope so.  So far I don't see major story lines emerging in 2024 so will be patient.  

Congratulations to this past week's winners:

Abu Dahbi, UAE:

Singles - Elena Rybakina
Doubles - B. Mattek-Sands/S. Kenin

Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Singles  - K. Pliskova
Doubles  - A. Muhammad/C. McNally

Cordoba, Argentina

Singles  - L. Daderi

Doubles  - A. Molteni/M. Gonzalez

Dallas, Texas

Singles  - T. Paul

Doubles  - M. Purcell/J. Thompson

Marseille, France

Singles  - U. Humbert

Doubles  - T. Machac/Z. Zhang

Who is playing and where?...

Switzerland and Austria - ATP 500 and China - WTA Elite Trophy

 

Charles Kuonen Suspension Bridge, the longest pedestrian suspension bridge in the world and top of the list for thrill seekers exploring the area on foot. It stretches 494 metres (1,621 feet) across the Zermatt Valley, and intrepid hikers are rewarded with unparalleled bird’s-eye views of the surrounding scenery. Cutting the journey time across the valley by four hours, the bridge takes a mere 10 minutes to traverse, but is certainly no walk in the park.

Asian Swing continues in China - ATP 1000, WTA 1000

 

Chinese actress Li Li-Hua was an opera-trained megastar at home when she became one of the first Chinese women to star in a Hollywood film. In 1958, she acted alongside Victor Mature in the romantic drama China Doll

We are reminded that China and indeed parts of the Asian diaspora were very much a part of movie productions in Hollywood's heyday.  Shanghai itself was central to quite a few movies.  The 1930s, considered the first "Golden Period" of Chinese cinema, saw the advent of the leftist cinematic movement. The civil war between Nationalists and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was reflected in the films produced. It would take years before  Asian actors belatedly received the accolades of the Hollywood movers and shakers.  

The Asian Swing; Guadalajara + The Laver Cup

 

The Asian Swing is in full swing this week with two 250s both tours, but the women are also competing in  a WTA 1000 in Guadalajara, Mexico.

This coming week's starts are a little off kilter for the ATP, while the women's 1000 in Guadalajara and the 250 in Guangzhou begin Sept 17 & 18, the men begin midweek on Wednesday in Chengdu and Zhuhai. And the Laver Cup begins Fri, September 22-24 in Vancouver, Canada.

Congratulations to last week's champions:

San Diego Open:

Singles -  Barbora Krejcikova d. Sofia Kenin

Doubles: B.Krejcikova/K. Siniakova d. D. Collins/C. Vandeweghe

Japan Open:

Singles: Ashlyn Krueger d. Lin Zhu

Doubles: A-L Friedsam/N. Kichenok d. A. Kalinskaya/Y Putintseva

If you already don't know you can check the results of Davis Cup finals here Davis Cup

The Heat is on in Austria, Prague, Mexico, Washington DC

Snoopy has a tennis word or words.....courtesy of Charles Schultz

Yes he is!!!!!  I could not resist....

We know peeps who resemble this......

ATP Atlanta, Georgia, Germany & Croatia & WTA Germany, Switzerland & Poland

 

First, congratulations to last week's Champions: ATP in Bastad - Andrey Rublev d. Casper Ruud; in Gstaad - Pedro Cachin d. Alberto Ramos-Vinolas;; in Newport - Adrian Mannarino d. Alex Michelsen. And for the WTA, in Palermo - Qinwen Zheng d. Jasmine Paolini and Budapest - Maria Timofeeva d. Kateryna Baindl.

This week is very busy, with six tournaments: an ATP 500 and a WTA 250 in Hamburg. Also  two ATP 250s in UMAG and Atlanta plus two WTA 250s in Lausanne and Warsaw👇