Winners of the week
As the ATP Tour embarked on the clay season, the Italian players certainly didn’t waste any time proving their skills on the surface as Fabio Cobolli and Luciano Darderi claimed all the honors in tournaments in Bucharest and Marrakech respectively.
Flavio Cobolli completed a remarkable turnaround week in an otherwise very difficult 2025 season to claim his first ATP Tour title on Sunday at the Tiriac Open in the Romanian capital. Cobolli got the better of Sebastian Baez, winning 6-4, 6-4 to complete a dream title run at the clay-court ATP 250 tournament.
Cobolli’s triumph in Bucharest marked a stunning turnaround of the season for the Italian, who otherwise arrived in Bucharest on the back of an eight-match tour-level losing streak.
Despite losing the final, Baez could take heart from another deep run on clay in 2025. Baez has won more tour-level matches (79) on the surface since the start of the 2022 season than any other player.
Another Italian who arrived with a poor record before a tournament was Luciano Darderi who came to Marrakech with a 2-8 tour-level record for the season. But Darderi dropped just one set throughout the tournament and claimed his second ATP Tour crown by defeating top seed Tallon Griekspoor 7-6(3), 7-6(4) in the championship final.
On the women’s WTA Tour, Jessica Pegula is enjoying a superb season, and it got even better on Sunday when she won the first clay tournament of her career by beating fellow American Sofia Kenin 6-3, 7-5 to capture the Credit One Charleston Open title. Pegula has now won 17 of her last 19 matches, and recorded her 25th win of the season against Kenin. She will overtake Coco Gauff as the top-ranked U.S. player, and rise to a career-high World No. 3.
Strugglers of the week
A big question on the Women’s WTA Tour is if we will ever see Greek contender Maria Sakkari back to her best. The former World No 3 had a dreadful past season struggling with mental fatigue and endured a frustrating year, with early Grand Slam exits and extended losing streaks before a shoulder injury ended her season prematurely when she was forced to retire in the first round of the US Open against Wang Yafan.
"The pressure, it was a lot, being constantly chased and having to prove something to everyone," Sakkari told WTA Insider. She has already suffered comprehensive defeats this year against Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek.
At Charleston, where she reached the semi-final last year, it did not mark a turnaround for Sakkari, who crashed out of the tournament already in the second round where she lost to the Olympic champion, Qinwen Zheng, 6-4, 6-1.
On the Men’s circuit, Kazakhstan’s 24-year-old Alexander Shevchenko, who made his ATP debut at the 2022 Generali Open in Kitzbühel, is struggling to find the form which in February last year catapulted him into No 45 in the world rankings, his best ranking ever.
Shevchenko struggled for form over the back half of 2024 and was unable to defend the points he had earned in Basel (did not play) and Metz (first-round loss), thus finishing as World No. 78. His record in 2025 is 4-7 and he also looked out of sorts in Marrakech where he lost in two sets to the Austrian Filip Misolic in the second round. He has now dropped to 106 in the rankings.
Moment of the week
It's unusual you bring a dog to a winning ceremony. Nevertheless, that was the case when Jessica Pegula celebrated her first title in the clay-tournament in Charleston by holding on to her dog Maddie, a miniature Australian shepherd, when she presented the trophy.
Pegula and her husband, Taylor Gahagen, actually brought all of their three dogs to the tournament, and she apparently tries to bring her dogs to all of her tournaments when it is possible.
In fact, Pegula’s devotion is so profound that it’s permanently inked on her skin. Among her collection of tattoos, one stands out—a delicate paw print. This isn’t just any tattoo; it’s a tribute to her furry companions.
Pegula’s passion for dogs extends beyond her personal life into her philanthropic efforts. She and her husband, Taylor Gahagen, who share a deep love for dogs, run a charity called *A Lending Paw*. The foundation’s mission is to train rescue dogs to become service animals, thus supporting both dogs and people in need.
Rallies of the week
Jenson Brooksby captured his maiden ATP title at the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championship on Sunday with a stunning win over 2023 champion Frances Tiafoe to cap off a superb tournament that he began as a wild card in the qualifying rounds. The American also came out on top in a breathtaking rally against Tiafoe, when he under intense pressure fired a double-handed backhand winner down the line.
Veteran Richard Gasquet beat Matteo Arnaldi 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 on Sunday to reach the second round of the Monte Carlo Masters, but the Italian had the better of Gasquet in this duel, when he, seemingly having lost the point, scraped an incredible forehand winner past the discouraged Gasquet.
Upcoming events
The Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2006, is the first of three ATP Masters 1000 tournaments played on clay.
Top seed Zverev and second seed Alcaraz are chasing their first titles in The Principality, while Djokovic seeks tour-level trophy 100. Stefanos Tsitsipas has fond memories of Monte-Carlo, having won three of the past four editions.
The tournament has always been a favorite for players and fans due to its magnificent location at the Monte-Carlo Country Club.
Spain's Rafael Nadal is the ultimate king of the tournament, having won 11 titles at the event, including an Open-Era record eight successive titles between 2005-2012.
Women's tennis will, for the upcoming week, be dominated by the Billie Jean King Cup Qualifiers, which takes players across six countries, three continents and three different surfaces.
Defending champions Italy and hosts China are automatically qualified for the finals, which will be hosted in Shenzhen, China.