Tennis’ best stars have been hard at work during the Miami Open with plenty of action on and off the court dominating the headlines.
It’s not just the supreme tennis that the sport’s best athletes have been producing during the Miami Open that has caught the attention of fans, but the stories off the court too. The tournament – which is played at Hard Rock Stadium – is the second Masters 1000 tournament of the 2025 season and one that has been won by the likes of Roger Federer, Andy Murray, Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic.
With Danielle Collins looking to defend her 2024 title, she’ll have to get through world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka in their fourth round clash. Jannik Sinner, however, will not be able to defend his trophy given the Italian is currently serving a suspension following two positive doping tests. If you’ve missed the biggest stories from the sport in the past few days, Express Sport rounds up the latest news dominating tennis.
Raducanu’s disagreement with Tsitsipas
Emma Raducanu has enjoyed a positive Miami Open experience so far, with the Brit set to compete in the fourth round of the event against Amanda Anisimova on Monday. The 22-year-old booked her passage into the Round of 16 following her walkover win over McCartney Kessler.
Her improved form in South Beach comes off the back of her comments about the ATP Masters 1000 tournaments and WTA 1000 events being extended to almost two weeks. Traditionally played out over a week, the changes were made to create longer events while increasing broadcast and ticket income.
While tennis is known as a sport of tradition, Raducanu welcomed the event change as she said: “I think it’s amazing that we get a day in between, to be honest. I think it helps so much with the recovery. I’m quite a big fan of these longer events, just because it gives us time to recover, especially, you know, by the time we finish everything, press, treatment, eating, by the time we get back and I’m second on, I’ll be home, like, 9pm, I think it’s great that I have a day off to recover.”
Not all tennis players share Raducanu’s opinion with Stefanos Tsitsipas firmly in the opposite camp as he spoke out against the decision to extend the tournaments. Taking to X to speak his mind, the Greek star was brutally honest in his assessment as he wrote: “The two-week Masters 1000s have turned into a drag. “The quality has definitely dropped. Players aren’t getting the recovery or training time they need, with constant matches and no space for the intense work off the court.”
Sinner leaves Murray in the dust
Comfortable in his new life as coach to his former rival Djokovic, Andy Murray witnessed his 41-week reign as world No.1 in 2016 surpassed by Jannik Sinner. The Italian has been the top dog in men’s tennis for 42 weeks now and after leapfrogging the iconic Brit, the current world No.1 is one week away from three-time French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten’s record.
Sinner – who is currently banned from the sport for three months – has become the 14th player in ATP history to be world No.1 for 42 weeks but is unable to build on his ranking points until his return to the court at the Rome Masters. Having not played since the Australian Open which he won earlier this year, the 23-year-old will return in time for the French Open in May.
Alcaraz slammed for ‘pressure’ comments
Following his Indian Wells defeat to Jack Draper, Carlos Alcaraz was open in admitting his struggle to deal with pressure at the top of the sport. The four-time Grand Slam champion said: “I always say that I have to be focused on myself, on my own game. I think today I was more worried about his level, his game, than myself… so when you’re thinking more about the opponent than yourself, then it is a big problem.”
The Spaniard faced criticism for his honest comments by famed tennis coach Patrick Mouratoglou. The Frenchman – who currently coaches Naomi Osaka – was baffled by Alcaraz going public with his struggles. “It was a choice for him to say that. I don’t know if it was good or not,” Mouratoglou told Tennis365. “If it helps him to take it out of his system to say it, to admit it, why not?
“Most other players would not say it, that is his choice. We will see how he plays now after he has said this. We will if he feels less pressure now that he has said this, that he admitted his weakness of that moment. Maybe the fact that he verbalised it will put more pressure on him, we’ll see. It is unusual to hear this.”