Never mind that the 29-year-old German had just converted his first championship point with a 137mph serve. Never mind that the chair umpire had declared the match his, or that a crestfallen Ben Shelton was trudging disconsolately to the net for the handshake. Zverev passed the ball in his pocket to the opposite end and prepared to return serve. He was ready for more.

Zverev would later offer various explanations. He said he had forgotten the score, that he was too dialled in to register what was going on around him. He claimed the din of the crowd had drowned out the umpire’s announcement that the match was done. Tellingly, though, he also said he heard nothing.

“In that moment, I was in the zone,” Zverev, the top seed, remarked after defeating Shelton, the eighth. “I didn’t hear noise at all. I was in this kind of tunnel where I just didn’t hear anything.”

In a sense, Zverev has always been there. He has had to be. The alternative, after losing his first three major finals, would have been to heed the voices – not least, perhaps, the one inside his own head – that questioned whether he would ever become a grand slam champion. 

That debate was laid to rest when Zverev won Roland Garros this summer. But maybe the mantle of perennial contender is harder to shake off – and maybe that did Zverev a favour. He acknowledged afterwards that not knowing he was serving for the title had helped. Closing out a match from a winning position, when nerves are at their most taut and an opponent with nothing left to lose starts swinging more freely, is rarely straightforward.

Zverev knows that as well as anyone. At the 2020 US Open, in an Arthur Ashe Stadium emptied of spectators by the global pandemic, he served for the title against Austria’s Dominic Thiem only to falter two points from victory. The tears he wept afterwards set the tone for much that would follow, at least until this season. The despair of that defeat haunted him, yet it also fuelled a resolve to do better. He has been fighting ever since, and it seemed oddly appropriate that, even with the last ball of the US Open final struck, his first instinct was to keep battling.

How Ben Shelton breathed new life into the American dream

Now it is Shelton’s turn. 

Zverev’s maiden US Open title laid waste to the American dream of crowning a first homegrown men’s champion since 2003, when Andy Roddick won at Flushing Meadows. The prospect of such a drought seemed remote back then, with the exploits of Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi and Jim Courier still fresh in the memory, and the near quarter of a century since has brought much hand-wringing and angst. But in the imposing form of Shelton, there is hope.

The past fortnight has redefined Shelton’s place in the global pecking order. The former University of Florida man had twice before made a major semi-final, first at the 2023 US Open, where Novak Djokovic memorably put the phone down on him, and then at last year’s Australian Open, where Jannik Sinner defeated him in similarly decisive fashion. The impression was of a fine young player, one well worth the top-10 place he secured for the first time last summer, who nonetheless remained a work in progress. 

Shelton’s strengths – a ferocious southpaw serve, rubber-limbed athleticism, power and variety off the ground – were always clear. But so too were the deficiencies. He lacked the consistency and focus to hang with the very best from the back of the court, certainly over the long haul of a five-setter. His backhand remained relatively vulnerable. And his return game was not at the level of the best of his contemporaries, which in turn put more pressure on his serve, the bedrock of his game.

Shelton’s epic quarter-final victory over defending champion Carlos Alcaraz showed just how far he has come in addressing those shortcomings. He not only went toe-to-toe with the Spaniard from the baseline, showing hitherto unseen levels of consistency, defensive resilience and sustained quality, but also rode the contest’s momentum shifts beautifully. Shelton remained focused after dropping the opening set, weathered the inevitable Alcaraz fightback, and played with composure – and deep conviction – to recover from 5-3 down in the fifth-set tiebreaker. 

Then he did it all over again to take down his compatriot and close friend Frances Tiafoe in the last four. 

So this was no flash in the pan, even if some will highlight the absence of the injured Sinner and the fact that Alcaraz, playing his first event since hurting his wrist in mid-April, came into the tournament undercooked. Shelton’s run to the final has propelled him to a career-high ranking of fourth, and on the latest evidence that feels about right. The challenge now will be to remain there, but his ceiling looks high and, at the age of 23, his current trajectory bodes well for the years ahead. 

Why Zverev was the wrong opponent for Shelton

But as Shelton contested a major final for the first time, it was his misfortune to face an opponent singularly well-equipped to nullify his main strengths. 

Zverev, who spent his formative years sparring with his older brother Mischa, a former world No 25 who plays left-handed, is the scourge of the southpaw fraternity. The German came into the final with just one defeat in his last 45 matches against left-sided players, a statistic that underlines his mastery of the relevant patterns of play. A peerless two-handed backhand, combined with the enormous wingspan afforded by a 6ft 6in frame, enables Zverev to neutralise not only the sliced, outswinging serves to the ad court that traditionally confound right-handers, but also the line-breaking cross-court forehands favoured by Shelton and his ilk.

That reality was reflected in the numbers. While Zverev made 69% of his first serves but won a dominant 85% of those points, Shelton was unable to parlay the exceptional consistency of his first delivery into a more significant statistical advantage. The American made 71% of his first serves – well above the top-10 average of 64% – but could only break even in terms of points won, falling below the 75% average normally achieved by the elite.

No calculator was required to discern the reason for that disparity. Shelton sacrificed speed for consistency. At 119mph, his average first-serve speed was 5mph down on his semi-final win over Tiafoe, and slower than it had been at any stage since his fourth-round win over Stefanos Tsitsipas. Having produced a mighty 20 aces in his semi-final win over Tiafoe, Shelton was limited to half that number against Zverev. The occasion demanded more and yet, against an opponent more capable than most of neutralising his chief weapon, Shelton delivered less.

That was a problem, because rather than winning free points on serve, Shelton opened the door for Zverev to get into baseline exchanges in which the German was able to expose his primary weakness. Shelton’s backhand, though much improved, is at its most effective against pace, which Zverev denied him by peppering that wing with deep, high balls. As Andy Roddick pointed out, the strategy was made possible by the heavy forehands Zverev occasionally sent down the line, which deterred Shelton from running around his forehand.    

The cumulative effect was to place intolerable pressure on Shelton, who was guilty of some untimely errors as he attempted to become the first black American to win the title since Arthur Ashe in 1968. The tone was set early. In the opening game of the match, the first of four Shelton double faults over the course of the final yielded an immediate break for Zverev. The second arrived on set point, gifting Zverev the first set. For Shelton, meanwhile, chances were scarce and, when they arose, freighted with tension. He would convert just one of the break points he created. 

Even that breakthrough did not come until two hours and 49 minutes into the contest. Nonetheless, as Zverev shanked a high forehand volley to drop the third set, there was a whiff of vulnerability about the German for the first time. The home crowd finally had something tangible to get behind and Shelton, feeding off their energy, began the fourth at a lick, pouncing on a short ball to rifle a backhand winner, then exuberantly celebrating Zverev’s failure to put a second serve return back in court. 

It was a delicate moment in the contest, but Zverev has become a master of moments this season. So he was again, working his way back into the game before grinding out a long rally to secure the break. He would make only one more unforced error, completing victory in three hours and 33 minutes – an echo, oddly, of Shelton’s 3.33am finish against Alcaraz. Shelton will not have appreciated the irony. 

A complicated victory

As is often the way, the aftermath of a largely underwhelming final was chiefly about the revelation of character. For many, that is where things get complicated. 

If Zverev’s failure to notice his victory provoked bemused laughter, not least from the player himself, then his decision to approach Shelton’s team, each member of which received a handshake and a word of congratulation on a job well done, could only prompt admiration. Magnanimity comes easily in victory, of course, and it would be easy to dismiss the gesture as an attempt by Zverev to improve his optics. Yet the warmth and respect he expressed towards Shelton, whom he hailed as “an incredible person and player”, felt genuine enough.  

There was empathy, too. When he described his opponent’s run to the final as a “family affair”, Zverev, who has been coached throughout his career by his father Alexander Sr, knew whereof he spoke. It was an acknowledgement of the shaping influence that Bryan Shelton, a former pro with a career-high ranking of 52, has played in his son’s career. A tribute too to the tireless support of his mother Lisa, herself once an accomplished junior player, and his ever-present sister Emma, a former college player turned investment banker. Zverev, who spoke emotionally of his mother Irina’s strength in refusing to allow a childhood diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes to define him, appreciates the importance of family.

There was even a shoutout to Shelton’s girlfriend Trinity Rodman, the Washington Spirit forward, whom Zverev joked was usually a “lucky charm” for her partner. That drew laughter from Rodman, although not everyone saw the funny side. Social media snipers immediately declared the comment disrespectful, suggesting Zverev was mocking her. That seemed a stretch, but public scrutiny has become a way of life for the German.

Zverev has twice been accused of domestic violence, allegations he has consistently denied. Two years ago, he reached an out-of-court settlement with his former partner Brenda Patea, the mother of his child, after she claimed he had physically assaulted her. The Tiergarten district court in Berlin, where a scheduled trial was discontinued in June 2024, made plain at the time that the proceedings had been discontinued without a verdict and that the dismissal did “not constitute a finding of guilt or an admission of guilt”. 

Zverev had denied the allegations, just as he did those of Olya Sharypova, another former girlfriend, whose claims were the subject of an independent investigation commissioned by the ATP. The inquiry found insufficient evidence to substantiate Sharypova’s claims. 

In the absence of a court verdict on the allegations, people have inevitably formed their own perceptions of Zverev. Some cannot forget, others are eager to move on; many are ambivalent. In other words, he is a divisive figure. Zverev has won two of the four majors this season, and 25 of 27 matches at grand slam level. He may yet claim the year-end No 1 ranking. Yet he continues to languish at the epicentre of a moral maze.

It was never supposed to be this way.

When he won the season-ending ATP Finals in 2018, Zverev was widely seen as the man most likely to shatter the long-running cartel operated by Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. At the time, that assumption did not seem fanciful. He had gone through Federer and Djokovic in successive rounds to win the ATP Finals, becoming only the fourth man to do so. He possessed a blunderbuss service, a sumptuous backhand, and greater speed and agility than might be expected from a man of his size. The world seemed Zverev’s to conquer.

Except, it did not quite work out like that. There were some notable victories, including seven Masters 1000 titles, a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics, and a second ATP Finals crown. But time and again, the biggest prizes eluded him. The years came and went, and with them three losing appearances in grand slam finals. Part of the sandwich generation caught between the Big Three and the emergence of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, Zverev seemed destined to miss out along with the likes of Tsitsipas and Andrey Rublev.

Things came to a head last summer, when the German was defeated by Arthur Rinderknech of France in the opening round of Wimbledon. In the aftermath, he talked disconsolately of feeling empty and alone: of struggling to find joy in life, let alone tennis. Something inside was missing; something had to change.

Effecting that change has been a process. But on Sunday night in Arthur Ashe Stadium, Zverev became a multiple grand slam winner. He has made peace with the past. Whether others will follow suit, only time will tell.

The post How Alexander Zverev made peace with his past to win US Open appeared first on Love Game Tennis.

Early on Wednesday morning, after four hours and 28 minutes of electrifying theatre in Arthur Ashe Stadium, the 23-year-old American ended Carlos Alcaraz’s reign as US Open champion with a thrilling 6-7 (5-7), 6-1, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (10-7) quarter-final victory in which he elevated his game to new heights. 

Punctuated by a 146mph ace at 3.33am, the finest win of Shelton’s career also marked the tournament’s latest ever finish. 

Shelton has twice before reached a major semi-final, but never by going through a player of Alcaraz’s stature. While it was no surprise to see him match the Spanish second seed for firepower and athleticism, the conviction and composure he showed at the death, when Alcaraz opened up a 5-3 lead in the decisive tiebreak, have not always been apparent against the very best. Likewise the patience, rally tolerance and impressive returning that laid the foundations for the win. It was a night – and early morning – when everything came together for Shelton. 

Ben Shelton hails ‘epic match’ against Carlos Alcaraz

“That was a war, an epic match,” he said of his first success in 18 attempts against a top-three player. “I thought I was smart with how I went about my return games. I thought I made him play a lot. I thought I capitalised when he missed his spot, and didn’t worry or stress too much when he did hit his spot.

“I think for me to be able to hang in there in the rallies, have a game plan from the ground, and be able to execute that game plan and not be losing all the baseline points, also helps with the return.” 

Infamously, no US player has won a major since Andy Roddick triumphed at Flushing Meadows in 2003. Shelton’s victory sets up a meeting with Frances Tiafoe, his fellow countryman and close friend, meaning there is guaranteed to be an American presence in the final. With Alcaraz out and the injured Jannik Sinner absent, the trajectory of American men’s tennis could finally be about to change. 

Yet the wider context will have been the last thing on Shelton’s mind as he completed an unforgettable night’s work with dawn beckoning. In defeating Alcaraz for the first time in four meetings, he became only the second man in 17 attempts to get the better of the Spanish maestro in a fifth set, a distinction he shares with Matteo Berrettini, who achieved the feat at the 2022 Australian Open. 

How Alcaraz was undone after early brilliance

That statistic says everything you need to know about the ability of Alcaraz to meet the moment. But after four and a half months out with a wrist injury, perhaps the real surprise was that he remained in contention so long. The 23-year-old made his way to the last eight without dropping a set, comfortably navigating a potentially tricky opener against the experienced Roman Safiullin and a fourth-round assignment against the 20th-seeded Tommy Paul. In Shelton, however, he faced a challenge of a different order.

That much was apparent from an opener that began with the pair trading heavy blows and ended with an exchange of breaks and mistakes. Alcaraz looked to have seized the advantage when he punished a slight dropoff from Shelton at 5-5, but some wayward hitting off the forehand skewered his hopes of serving out the set. When the American gained the early edge in the ensuing tiebreak, hammering away an overhead to conclude a lung-busting, sinew-stretching rally in which both men explored the full geometry of the court, it seemed he might ride the reprieve all the way to a winning start. Instead, Alcaraz produced a trademark flurry of brilliance, producing two blazing forehand winners to bring up a set point that he converted following another display of acrobatic excellence from both men.

At that point, a familiar narrative looked to be unfolding. But for once, understandably after so long on the sidelines, Alcaraz was unable to sustain the magic. Instead, his form dropped off a cliff. The second set went by in a blizzard of unforced errors. The third was only marginally more competitive. By the fourth, Alcaraz was shooing away a cameraman before vomiting into a towel. The champion looked out on his feet.

Alcaraz ‘happy and proud’ with performance

But whatever his extended break from the game may have cost Alcaraz in terms of fluency and match fitness, his fighting spirit remains very much intact. Having fended off a break point at the start of the fourth set, the Spaniard broke for 2-0 and suddenly looked revitalised. As the clock ticked past 2.20am, he levelled the contest with a love hold. The record for the tournament’s latest finish, set by Alcaraz and Sinner in another five-set classic in the 2022 quarter-finals, was in obvious danger.

So it proved, and while Alcaraz was ultimately unable to prevail over the long haul as he had done on that occasion, it did not prevent him from congratulating Shelton with the broadest of smiles when it was all over. Despite committing 53 unforced errors and losing his grip on the trophy, he had got what he came to New York for: a return to the sport he loves, and confirmation that he is once again healthy. For now, that was enough.

“I’m just not going to be disappointed about not getting the win at the end,” said Alcaraz. “I’m just happy. I’m just proud about myself, about how I fought. After the third set, physically I was really tired. But I found a way to push myself up, and physically give extra.

“I was playing against one of the best. He is a beast. Shelton is an unbelievable player, powerful. He just managed to play really, really well in every situation, so credit to him. I leave the court happy. I leave the court with a smile, healthy, and this is what I needed.” 

What Shelton needed, as the sound of beeping garbage trucks doing their early morning rounds echoed around Arthur Ashe Stadium, was some sleep.

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The words belong to Sex and the City’s Samantha Jones, but the sentiment is one Aryna Sabalenka has owned from the moment she touched down in New York. She has had little option. 

The world No 1 arrived at Flushing Meadows, scene of the two most recent of her four grand slam title wins, still smarting from an unexpected loss to 35th-ranked Sára Bejlek at the Cincinnati Open and the online brickbats that followed. Branded a “showgirl” and accused of being more interested in self-promotion than sport, Sabalenka was accused of allowing social media updates and sponsor activities to interfere with the day job.  

Rightly or wrongly, that perception has been fed by some patchy results over the past five months. On clay, there were defeats from seemingly unassailable positions against Hailey Baptiste in Madrid, Sorana Cirstea in Rome and, most damagingly, Diana Shnaider in Paris. On grass, there was a third-set beatdown from Jessica Pegula in Berlin, and a straight-sets loss to Naomi Osaka in the fourth round of Wimbledon. 

The seasonal switch to hard courts has so far done nothing to arrest the malaise. Ekaterina Alexandrova squared her head-to-head with Sabalenka at five apiece in Toronto, while that 7-6 (9-7), 6-4 defeat to Bejlek at the Cincinnati Open, where the 28-year-old Belarusian held commanding leads in both sets, once again showed an alarming knack for reverse alchemy. 

How the pressure has mounted on Aryna Sabalenka

So as she donned her revealing new mesh Nike outfit in preparation for the US Open mixed doubles alongside Novak Djokovic, Sabalenka must have been hoping for better. Instead, she got more of the same.

A disappointing reversal against doubles specialists Katerina Siniakova and Henry Patten was followed by further brickbats. Critics deemed her dress “trashy”, while a £295,000 jewellery set, the latest provided by Sabalenka’s sponsor Material Good, prompted accusations of tackiness and hypocrisy, given her vocal support for players to receive a larger slice of tournament revenues.

Factor in the growing threat to her ranking – failure to mount a successful title defence will see Sabalenka ousted as No 1, a fate that awaits anyway if Elena Rybakina makes the semi-finals – and she could be forgiven for coming over a bit Kim Cattrall. Or even a lot Kim Cattrall, as she did in an Instagram reel published a couple of days before the tournament began in earnest. Dressed to kill in a pink dress and heels, Sabalenka mouthed along with the famous Samantha Jones quote, which was played over upbeat music as she sashayed along a rooftop balcony with New York’s night skyline twinkling in the background.

The message could not have been clearer – or more in keeping with Sabalenka’s innate bullishness. She couldn’t care less about the noise surrounding her. And in case anyone missed the memo, she has barely missed a chance to reformulate that sentiment in terms more palatable to the delicate sensibilities of the wider tennis world.

‘Maybe there is something wrong with people’

Asked in her pre-tournament media briefing if there was something wrong with her game, Sabalenka replied: “Maybe there is something wrong with people.” A follow-up question about whether she felt as confident as she did last year was given similarly short shrift. “I’m always confident,” she said. 

If those remarks were offered with an air of detached semi-amusement, Sabalenka struggled to suppress outright laughter as she offered a more forthright response to the snarking after her emphatic 53-minute win over qualifier Polina Iatcenko in round two.

“I’m so tired of those miserable haters,” she said in a television interview. “So I decided to really stay strong with myself and trust the process, trust myself, trust my choices. 

“Whoever loves me, they’re going to be there for me no matter what. The haters, honestly, I don’t want to curse here right now, but they can go and… get on with their own lives.”

Even at her most relaxed, there is a simmering intensity about Sabalenka. For weeks, she has taken repeated inquiries about her form and off-court commitments in good part. But the line of questioning has clearly – and understandably – started to grate. Nobody likes to be told they aren’t living up to expectations in the workplace, especially when the truth cuts close to home – and no one will have been more conscious of her recent shortcomings than Sabalenka herself. 

Her bubbling frustration finally burst the banks this week when a reporter enquired, following her demolition of Iatcenko, how her mood was after a build-up week of “parties and fun and stuff like that”. 

Sabalenka: ‘You guys are a joke’

“You guys are, like, a joke,” interjected Sabalenka, shaking her head in despair. “Parties? Fun? Like, why would you even say that? Why would you even think about that? Like, what kind of question is that? Just because I posted some activities with brands, you think I’ve been partying and not training?”

Some context is required here. The question was almost identical to one Sabalenka fielded after her first-round victory over Camila Osorio, when she was asked how she balanced the energy required to attend sponsor events in the week leading up to the US Open with maintaining her level on court. On that occasion, Sabalenka was plainly frustrated – “Why do you think the week before wasn’t focused on tennis?” she countered – but went on to offer a patient and reasoned response.

‘I really enjoy my time with brands’

“It’s like my hobby outside of tennis,” she said of her attendance at events hosted by the drinks companies Electrolit and Dobel Tequila, cosmetics brand Moroccanoil, and fashion house Gucci, all of which are among her sponsors. 

“The whole schedule we plan is all around tennis. So all those events are not drawing [my energy] in any way. All the people that I work with, all brands that I work with, I choose them very carefully. I have to be really comfortable around those people, just so I’m not drawing my energy when I’m surrounded by them. 

“I really enjoy my time with brands, with [the] people who work there. I have fun; it’s like my hobby outside of my tennis schedule. It actually gives me so much energy.”

Whatever one makes of that explanation, Sabalenka is hardly unique among the top players in using the US Open’s “fan week” to honour commercial obligations. According to Forbes, she has earned $23m (£17m) off the court over the past 12 months, a figure that, combined with $13.1m in prize money, placed her behind only Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Serena Williams on the list of the sport’s highest earners. Tennis comes first, but in a career where the peak years are all too brief, sponsorship opportunities must also be taken.

‘Think before you say stuff’

The larger question is just how worthwhile it was to revisit an issue Sabalenka had already addressed fairly fully, albeit with some exasperation, two days earlier. While she was never likely to offer a different answer, she was almost certain to be irritated – particularly when asked if, with the tournament proper underway, she was now “getting serious”.

“Oh yeah, I wasn’t serious before that,” Sabalenka shot back sarcastically. “Think before you say stuff.”

In the reporter’s defence, the question, however ill-timed, did not appear to be deliberately provocative. Despite her 99-week stranglehold on the top ranking, Sabalenka is seeking redemption at the season’s final major for a second successive year. It is not what one would expect of an otherwise dominant world No 1, and while her difficulties last term were largely limited to the business end of majors, the narrative has changed since March, when she became only the fifth woman to complete the Sunshine Double of Indian Wells and Miami. She has not won a tournament since, yet her off-court activities – TikTok content, magazine shoots, Instagram posts, her popular vlog – have continued unabated. It is perfectly legitimate to wonder if she has taken her eye off the ball.

And let’s not forget Sabalenka did not need to react as she did. She could simply have rolled her eyes and trotted out the same response she gave two days earlier. She could have referred her interrogator to her previous answer, or declined to comment at all. Her tetchy response was therefore telling. Is she feeling the heat? You bet she is. But feeling it and dealing with it are two very different things, and it is the manner of her response that merits attention.

A mission to silence the doubters

Through to a sixth straight quarter-final at Flushing Meadows, a landmark last reached by Serena Williams in 2014, Sabalenka has yet to drop a set. Throughout, her determination has been palpable. It has not been all plain sailing – Kamilla Rakhimova tested her at times, while the wily American southpaw Taylor Townsend salvaged four service breaks from a 6-4, 6-3 defeat – but the four-time grand slam winner is clearly on a mission to silence the doubters. Better yet for the defending champion, she is enjoying it.

“I love matches like that, because it was really challenging,” Sabalenka said following her win over Townsend. “Going through tough challenges and overcoming those challenges, it definitely gives you really strong belief that you can do it. So this kind of match is really, like, a boost of confidence.”

That would seem timely, what with Linda Noskova, the Wimbledon champion and sixth seed, awaiting in the last eight. The pair have met twice before, with Sabalenka prevailing in straight sets on each occasion, but the Czech promises to be a tougher out this time. Against Marta Kostyuk, Noskova once again showcased the resilience that earned her a maiden grand slam title in SW19, winning in three tight sets after failing to convert match points that would have given her a straight-sets victory, just as she did against Karolina Muchova in the Wimbledon final. The matchup is sure to generate further noise, including the sound of Sabalenka’s critics sharpening their knives. Do not expect her to be listening.  

“Throw tough challenges at me, I will come back only stronger,” Sabalenka said at the start of the tournament.

So far, she has been as good as her word.

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The cruel irony was that, just like five years ago, when defeat to Daniil Medvedev in the US Open final prevented him from becoming only the third man in history to win all four majors in a calendar year, the cheers owed as much to pity as adulation.

Pity at the spectacle of one of the sport’s greatest champions enduring a humbling 7-6 (7-5), 5-7, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 loss to 49th-ranked Mariano Navone that snapped a streak of 77 opening-round wins at grand slam level dating back to 2006. Pity that the 39-year-old was once again dogged by the undisclosed health issue that did for him against another Argentinian, Thiago Agustín Tirante, earlier this month in Cincinnati. Above all, pity that Djokovic, for so long the doyen of the improbable, was for once unable to turn the tide as he has so often in the past.

It was not for want of trying. Having lost the opening set, where he looked off colour even as he established a 4-1 lead, Djokovic fought back to win the next two and claimed an early break in the fourth. By that stage, however, he had already vomited repeatedly in addition to looking unsteady on his feet and showing signs of cramping. In truth, it was a marvel that the 24-time grand slam champion was able to create a platform for victory at all; having done so, though, his race was run. 

From 2-1 up in the fourth set, Djokovic would win only one more game. When that moment came, three games into the decider, he fought back tears as the locals chanted his name, much as he had struggled to contain his emotions in similar circumstances against Medvedev in 2021. 

Back then, Djokovic said the love he received from the crowd would stay with him forever. He will waste no time in trying to put this latest torrid experience on Ashe behind him, yet he will surely also hold on to the latest outpouring of affection from the New York public, even if it once more came in the most unwelcome of circumstances.

“The love and respect they showed me at the end really touched my heart,” said Djokovic, speaking to reporters outside the locker room shortly after midnight local time.

“I’m so grateful that I experienced that. When it comes to the match itself. and the general feeling of how I felt in my body and how I played, it really wasn’t pleasant. I pretty much despised every moment I spent on the court today.”

If those were strong words, they were also understandable. With Jannik Sinner, the Italian world No 1, absent because of a knee injury, and defending champion Carlos Alcaraz playing his first event since leaving the tour in April to heal an inflamed wrist, this year’s US Open presented a real opportunity for Djokovic to claim a record 25th major. An injury retirement against Alexander Zverev in Melbourne last year aside, only Sinner and Alcaraz have been able to stop Djokovic at the majors in the past two seasons. But it was clear almost from the outset that he was not himself, with heat and humidity once again contributing to his malaise.

“[It was] an awful feeling on the court for me,” Djokovic said of his four hour and 36 minute ordeal. “It’s something that I’ve been carrying, unfortunately, pretty much every match this year. You know, vomiting, throwing up, serious issue there. And then my whole body starts to collapse, basically cramping and pain. The back just gave up in the end, and the shoulder, and I couldn’t close it out. 

“[I] just struggled all the way, since the fourth game of the match. And again, I don’t want to take too much out of his win: congrats to him, he’s a nice guy, a fighter. But you know, I didn’t enjoy myself.”

That much was increasingly evident as the match ran away from Djokovic. After making a fast start, he began to labour physically whenever the rallies extended beyond a few shots, which Navone, a player more naturally at home on clay, almost invariably ensured they did. Djokovic was given pills by the trainer late in the first set and received a back massage before the fifth, but neither medical attention nor the rain that prompted the early closure of the roof, bringing the stadium’s air conditioning into play, could help him pull off another of those comebacks that were once his stock-in-trade.

Djokovic admitted afterwards that he had contemplated retiring from the match. Encouraged by his success in the second and third sets, however, he said he didn’t want to throw in the towel when “maybe there is a chance”. 

The question now is how many more chances there will be for Djokovic – although it should be remembered that it is barely seven weeks since he reached a Wimbledon semi-final. It would be a major surprise not to find him in Melbourne come next January. For now, though, the priority must be to find a solution to the health issues that, together with a spirited performance from Navone against his childhood idol, denied Djokovic a proper tilt at a fifth title in New York.

“I’m trying, man, I’m trying,” said Djokovic. “I’m just trying to see what is really happening and how far I can go like this.”

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“Linda is unflappable,” Ivana once explained. “She has this temperament from my husband. I think this trait is a big part of her success. She just doesn’t care. Whether it’s break point or match point, she’s always calm. It’s not that it doesn’t matter to her, but she can detach herself from it.”

On Saturday at the All England Club, the 21-year-old Czech demonstrated the truth of those words. 

Facing her compatriot Karolina Muchova in the Wimbledon final, Noskova stormed into an apparently unassailable lead only to suffer a catastrophic second-set collapse as Muchova, belatedly rousing herself, survived five championship points to force a deciding set. 

It was a devastating blow for Noskova, one that inevitably recalled the Centre Court implosion against Steffi Graf that left Jana Novtona weeping on the shoulder of the Duchess of Kent in 1993. But she would not allow her title challenge to be defined by it. Instead, remarkably, Noskova calmly regrouped to crown an afternoon of high drama and high emotion with a 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 victory that earned her a first grand slam title. 

The one sadness was that her mother, who died from cancer two summers ago, was not there to witness it. Afterwards, as Noskova thanked her watching father, Drahoš Nosek, together with the rest of her family and team, Noskova ensured she was not forgotten.

“There is also one more person I would like to thank, which is my mum,” said the Czech, her voice trembling. “I definitely would not be standing here without her, so thank you.”

‘Sad years, happy years, sweat’: what shaped Linda Noskova’s Wimbledon win

After blowing a kiss skywards, Noskova briefly reflected on “all the sad years, all the happy years, all the sweat and blood put into this”. It was a nod not only to her own dedication, but also to the sacrifices made by her parents as they strove to foster her talent on limited resources. To the years when the family was split asunder as Noskova’s ambitions took her from the bucolic village of Bystřička, where she grew up, to the city of Prerov, an hour’s drive away, where her mother cleaned offices to make ends meet while Drahoš remained at home, where he worked for a railway firm. 

“It was all worth it,” reflected Noskova.

That much is undeniable. Noskova becomes the third Czech champion in four seasons, following the victories of Marketa Vondrousova in 2023 and Barbora Krejcikova a year later. She is also the youngest winner since 2011, when Petra Kvitova defeated Maria Sharapova. Both were on hand to witness the occasion from the Royal Box, where nine-time champion Martina Navratilova was also among the usual glittering array of luminaries. 

The scrutiny could not have been more intense and, for the first half of what would be, at two hours and 28 minutes, the third longest women’s final in history, Noskova met the challenge head on. Her serve, the destructive fulcrum of her run to the final, was once again near-flawless. Noskova navigated the opening set without facing a break point, dropping just a single point behind her first delivery, while her smooth power and impressive movement allowed her to dictate the baseline exchanges. In the rare moments she wasn’t exceptional, Noskova was rock solid.

How Karolina Muchova struggled in her second major final

The same could not be said for Muchova. It is widely acknowledged that, on her day, the 29-year-old has the tools to defeat any player in the world. Here, however, she struggled to find her range in the face of Noskova’s excellence. By the time she did, the cause was all but lost. In that sense, Muchova’s second grand slam final mirrored her first, at the 2023 French Open, where she fell behind by a set and a break against Iga Swiatek only to force a decider after her game belatedly clicked into gear.

You would have got long odds on history repeating itself with Noskova leading 6-2, 5-2. Muchova had struggled throughout to summon the free-swinging power on her forehand that got her over the line from match point down against Coco Gauff in the semi-finals (a feat of escapism she also performed against Aryna Sabalenka at the same stage of her final run at Roland Garros, curiously) and as she served to stay in the contest, that wing once again faltered. 

Muchova twice survived after netting forehands to present Noskova with championship point; by the time she saved a third with a beautifully executed drop shot, the mental and emotional shackles were visibly starting to loosen. Her serve was gathering force. She was moving with newfound freedom. The variety and creativity that make her so dangerous were finally starting to flow. At the other end of the court, the opposite was happening. 

“It was very tough for me,” Noskova later reflected. “My hand kind of froze at certain moments. My feet were not as quick as they had been before.”

‘That’s insane’: Linda Noskova’s battle to remain in the second set

Up to then, moments of peril had been rare for Noskova – and when they came, she had been ready. Facing her first break points of the afternoon early in the second set, she snuffed out the danger with bold, decisive serving. As Muchova threatened to prolong the contest, she did so again. Noskova had already fended off two break points by the time Muchova nailed a glorious backhand winner to bring up a third. The younger woman responded with a thumping 112mph ace; then, when an error gifted Muchova a fourth opportunity, she produced another. 

“That’s insane,” mouthed the watching Navratilova.

Not so insane that Noskova couldn’t do it again, sending down an untouchable 114mph delivery to complete a stunning triptych of aces. Indeed, it was not until Muchova’s seventh break point that Noskova finally yielded, sending a forehand wide. By then, a double fault had cost her a fourth championship point, and a fifth would go begging in the next game. It was a torrid sequence for Noskova, one that would culminate with the loss of five straight games. Coming from a woman who normally wears the mask of impassivity so lightly, the anguished cry she emitted as the set slipped away spoke volumes.

So too did the manner in which she put her fingers over her ears as Centre Court rose to acclaim Muchova’s fightback. Yet, if Noskova’s impulse was to block out the reality of the moment, moments later she would be confronted by it in the most palpable form. As she retreated for a bathroom break, the Czech was greeted by the sight of the Venus Rosewater dish, the trophy awarded to the champion. Beside it sat the more modest silver plate awarded to the beaten finalist. Noskova’s resolve hardened.

Linda Noskova: ‘I’m going to leave my soul on court’

“The first step I took off court, the trophies were there,” said Noskova. “I was ​looking at the big one. I was like, ‘I’m taking this one, no matter what. I’m going to leave my soul on court.’”

If Noskova was replenished, Muchova was depleted. It had taken a monumental effort to restore parity. The momentum was hers but, after an exacting semi-final win over Gauff, did she have the physical and emotional reserves to capitalise?

“I think I started really slow,” Muchova reflected. “On the other hand, Linda started really strong, really good serving games. She played really fast. I was kind of looking for myself. It took a lot of power and strength out of me, I would say, to get back in that second set. I gave it my all. 

“The people were cheering on me; I felt it, I felt the support. I felt the momentum in the second set. It was definitely nice that it happened. It took, as I said, some strength out of me.”

As is so often the case in tennis, the opening game of the set was pivotal. Noskova had to stem the tide of games against her. Three break points for Muchova instead threatened to continue the surge. But Noskova held firm and, in the next game, some solid defending earned her a break. The tone was set; she would not be caught.

Noskova: ‘I think she would be proud’

Two years after her mother died on the eve of Wimbledon, Noskova’s victory was punctuated by a palpable sense of catharsis. No two people experience the anniversary of a parent’s death in the same way, but for most it is a time freighted with deep personal significance. So it appears to have been for the Czech, who revealed afterwards that her mother had been on her mind on the eve of the final. As a final service winner confirmed her triumph and she fell to the grass, her body heaving with emotion, those thoughts surfaced anew. 

“I had a moment yesterday night when I was thinking about her,” said Noskova. “Sadly, she passed away two years ago, at the beginning of the tournament. So just to be sitting here and looking at the title two years later, it was a big moment for me. But I think she would be proud. I think I made her happy today.”

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The words are Shakespeare’s, but the sentiment belonged firmly to Serena Williams on Tuesday night, at least from the perspective of an adoring Centre Court crowd. They were there to witness the second coming of a sporting legend and, hanging on her every move, they got what they came for.

Some may have feared that Williams, 44 years old and playing her first singles match since 2022, might suffer a mauling at the hands of Maya Joint, an opponent who was not even born when the American won the first half dozen of her 23 grand slam singles titles. They needn’t have worried; Serena Williams was unmistakably Serena Williams. 

The aura of old remained intact, and may even have been magnified by her lengthy absence. Her serve, once the most feared shot in the women’s game, was as silken as ever – and, once she had worked through the gears, barely less destructive in its force and accuracy. Williams can still crush a groundstroke with the best of them, certainly when the ball is in her wheelhouse, and neither has time diminished the mental intensity that made her the finest competitor of her generation. 

Whatever has been lost over the past four years – a period in which she has welcomed a second daughter into the world, devoted more time to her business interests and become a figurehead for the efficacy of GLP-1 weight-loss medications – Williams remains a formidable competitor.

How the second coming of Serena Williams gathered momentum

Understandably, it took time for her to rouse herself, to shake off the rust of competitive inertia. Yet the mentality of a champion is the last thing to go. Williams demonstrated as much when she stood within a point of a straight-sets defeat. Had she folded in that instant, had she failed to meet the moment with the spirit of old, few would have blamed her. She had produced a decent performance. She had kept things close and made a match of it.

But that is not the kind of thinking that wins you seven Wimbledon titles, and Williams’ refusal to go quietly offered an emphatic response to the myopic minority who questioned whether she was worthy of a place in the draw. 

As she threw down two big serves, the second an unreturnable 122mph delivery that brought up a set point of her own, it was hard to believe this was the same woman who only a few months ago posted a video of herself serving for the first time since February 2023. And as Williams won the next point, patiently outrallying Joint to level the match – who said she couldn’t run? – her reaction spoke of expectation rather than serendipity. There was no bellicose explosion of emotion, no roaring or histrionics. Instead, a silent raised fist acknowledged a job well done, while an impassive expression signalled that more work remained.

Criticism of Serena Williams’s return – and why it was misplaced

For some, though, all that mattered was her inability to complete the task. Williams’ 6-3, 6-7 (6-8), 6-3 defeat merely confirmed what these well-informed knew all along: that the sport has moved on in her absence. That the rank and file now wield just as much power as Williams from the baseline, and will no longer be intimidated by her game. That she has lost half a step, either struggling to get into the corners or failing to summon her former weight of shot once there. A few went even further. Williams’s decision to return to the competitive fray on one of the sport’s biggest stages without playing a warm-up event was an insult to the tournament, it was said; as such, she got what she deserved. So the arguments ran.

Such analysis vastly underplays the difficulty of competing on a grass court, let alone an indoor grass court. A closed roof locks in humidity, making a naturally slick surface even slippier. Players can compensate to some degree by getting lower to the court, but the quick starts and rapid changes of direction required at elite level inevitably become more challenging. Hard courts, however, are another matter. There, Williams would almost certainly be quicker. Only she knows where her journey will take her next but, should she choose to play at the US Open, there will be a sturdier basis on which to judge the quality of her movement.

Either way, it should be acknowledged that the law of diminishing returns kicks in mercilessly after 40. Some balls are simply no longer worth running for. It is hard for a player at any level to accept that reality, let alone one of WIlliams’s stature. Who wants to play the role of bystander as balls you would once have chased down with ease instead sail past? It is a blow to the ego, an unwanted reminder of your own mortality, both sporting and otherwise. And yet it is a necessary art, one where the skill lies in being selective, in shepherding your resources, in saving the greatest effort for the moments of greatest need. 

That is precisely what Williams did when presented with the opportunity to level the match, hanging tough to come out on the right side of a 13-stroke rally. Would moments like that would have been made simpler by playing a warm-up event? Undoubtedly. There is no substitute for match play, where adrenaline and nerves come into play, and physical commitment is at the maximum. But as Williams explained in her pre-tournament press briefing, she remained unsure about whether to accept a wildcard right up to the eve of the qualifying competition, a deadline beyond which the decision would have been taken out of her hands. 

Why Serena Williams deserved her place in the draw

She was permitted that luxury because she is a seven-time Wimbledon champion and one of the greatest players in tennis history. That status was earned, not conferred. To view her participation simply through the prism of the £80,000 cheque that might otherwise have gone to Katie Volynets, the American world No 101 who was next on the entry list, seems pedantic, reductive and self-righteous. 

It also ignores the restorative effect the victory might have for Joint, a fine young player who has been ranked as high as 28th but has struggled for form this year. Coming into the fortnight, the 20-year-old had lost all but one of her previous 13 matches. Now she has one of the most significant victories of her career, a result that will forever remain a personal reference point. Not everyone can say they have beaten Serena Williams at Wimbledon. How do you put a price on that?

As for the All England Club, commercial reality was always going to outweigh other considerations. Even in retirement, Williams remains one of the biggest names in world sport. Her comeback was one of the most significant stories of the year, generating huge buzz around the tournament. It would have been madness to deny her a wildcard. No doubt Volynets was disappointed to miss out, but the disappointment of millions of tennis fans worldwide would have been far greater had it been the other way around. 

As it is, the woman who evolved away from the sport four years ago has now revolved back. Not as a perfect recreation of her peak self – because that would be impossible – and seemingly with more humble objectives, if her insistence that she just wants to “have fun” and enjoy the sport from a new perspective is to be believed.

“I don’t need to win, I’ve won more than most people in their whole lives,” Williams said last month at Queen’s Club, where her doubles partnership with Victoria Mboko lasted just one match before the Canadian suffered an injury.

“That is not important to me, and it’s important I keep reminding myself of that. I don’t have anything to prove, I don’t have anything to lose. Everything here is to gain.”

It may be a while before we learn what Williams has gained so far, given that she did not speak to the media following her defeat. What we do know is that the interregnum is over. For how long, who knows? In many ways, the uncertainty is part of the fun.

Serena Williams may not be able to recall time past but, as her brief singles adventure in SW19 showed, she can still have plenty of impact on time present.

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As the defending Wimbledon champion, however, that is the role in which the 25-year-old has been cast since her arrival in SW19 last week, and she has appeared faintly bemused by the attendant pageantry. Perhaps that is partly because Swiatek, a player better known for her exploits on clay, always regarded the prospect of winning on the lush lawns of the All England Club as “impossible”. It is hard to be fully prepared for something you never envisaged happening in the first place.

Happen it did, however, and having beaten Amanda Anisimova to win the title last summer, it fell to Swiatek to open the Centre Court programme on the first Tuesday, as tradition dictates the returning champion must. 

On the eve of the fortnight, Swiatek spoke of keeping her expectations low – as well she might, after a chequered season in which she has slipped to third in the rankings, lost an opening round match for the first time in 74 outings in Miami, and failed to win a title. Yet, with the sense of occasion underlined by the presence of her father and sister in the Royal Box, there was no prospect of going under the radar as she faced American doubles specialist Taylor Townsend.

An unkind draw may yet pit her against more illustrious names, but Townsend represented an undeniably tricky opening assignment. The 30-year-old’s modest singles ranking of 79th belies her pedigree and skills – she is No 2 in doubles, where she is a three-time major winner – and the suspicion was that she would would provide a stern early test for the Polish third seed. So it proved.

How Iga Swiatek narrowly avoided an unwanted record

For two hours and two minutes, momentum flitted back and forth and Swiatek frequently seemed closer to disaster than triumph. Defeat would have earned the Pole the dubious distinction of joining Steffi Graf and the suspended Marketa Vondrousova as only the third defending champion in the open era to lose in round one. Little wonder, then, that her 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 victory exacted an emotional toll that was plain to see as she sat weeping into a towel afterwards.

“For sure it’s not easy to come back as a defending champion, so I’m happy that I got through the match,” said Swiatek, who began the afternoon in near-immaculate fashion only to end it with 36 unforced errors, including nine double faults. 

“I think the whole process of opening on [Centre Court] and playing as the defending champion is for sure really emotional. Last year, probably the most amazing thing in my whole tennis career happened here, so I felt it also today. It was a mix of different emotions. Overall, I’m happy that I got to win and I can have another chance to play on this court.”

That opportunity will come against Czech former finalist Karolina Pliskova, but at times it was touch and go. Swiatek admitted in her on-court interview that nerves got the better of her in the second set, but expressed satisfaction that she was able to recover her game in the decider.

“These are the moments that you feel you did the job,” she said, “because it is not hard when everything goes your way and you are so confident that everything goes in.”

How did Taylor Townsend run Iga Swiatek so close?

Townsend’s assertive approach to the contest limited Swiatek’s ability to establish that confidence. Time is at a premium on a grass court, and it was clearly the American’s intention to ensure her opponent enjoyed as little of it as possible. It is no secret that the Pole can be vulnerable from the back of the court when rushed, and Townsend’s tactic of adopting a highly aggressive return position, often a foot or more inside the baseline, served to maximise the champion’s discomfiture. 

Smoking her returns, Townsend fashioned five break points in Swiatek’s opening service game. The world No 3 saved them all and, having held from 15-40, went on to snatch a break of her own. Another soon followed, Swiatek forcing a volleying error with a dipping return. With barely half an hour played she was, emphatically, on her way.  

At a set down, Townsend faced a tactical puzzle. She had the makings of an effective strategy, but unforced errors – 11 in the first set, versus a miserly four from Swiatek – were making it hard to implement. It did not help that she was landing a relatively modest 60% of her first serves at that stage, limiting her ability to play the match from the net, and therefore on her own terms. Invited to make hay on the return, Swiatek accepted the gift gleefully, limiting the American to a meagre 30% of points behind her second delivery.

With the tactical clarity of Townsend’s early efforts becoming a distant memory, the dawn of a new set brought a chance to reset. This time, she executed her game plan to perfection. Nailing a return to force a Swiatek error, Townsend broke in the first game. That fed her conviction and, committed once more to a front-foot approach, she soon began to showcase her proficiency at the net, picking off volleys behind knifed approach shots. As Townsend attacked with aplomb and defended with newfound resilience, it was Swiatek’s turn to wobble. 

The numbers behind Iga Swiatek’s second-set dropoff

The numbers reflected the extent of the turnaround. Having won six of 13 net points in the first set, Townsend claimed 13 of 16 in the second. Her seven unforced errors were fewer than half Swiatek’s 16, while her success rate behind the second serve soared to an impressive 70%. By the time Swiatek left the court for a comfort break with the match level, it was the champion who had all the thinking to do. Her analysis made for fascinating listening. 

“I felt that at the beginning of the second set, Taylor kind of pushed a little harder, she went to the net more successfully, compared to some volleys she missed in the first set.,” said Swiatek. “There are always two people playing, you know; if she didn’t push, then maybe I wouldn’t make these mistakes. 

“I felt like at the end of the second set it was a more even game – it’s not like I was playing stupid – so I had something to be positive about. I went into the third set knowing that now we start from the beginning.”

And what a beginning it was.

For 21 minutes the players toiled, Swiatek alternately shooting herself in the foot with double faults, of which she produced three, before training her sights on Townsend. The absorbing battle of wills, a mirror of Swiatek’s first service game of the afternoon, eventually went her way – although not before she had staved off four break points, one of them with a meaty 104mph second serve.

It was a vital breakthrough. Swiatek won her next two service games to love and, although she was dismayed when Townsend cancelled out a break midway through the set, she broke again in the eighth game with a lovely rolled pass. She would not be caught again, sealing victory with her second ace of the day.

Having met the demands of the occasion, Swiatek will no doubt be grateful to relinquish the spotlight.

“You feel like a lot of people are waiting for this match, like it’s all coming up to have this moment on this court, which feels strange because it’s just a tennis match,” said Swiatek.

“But that’s what Wimbledon is about a little bit, and I really wanted everyone to enjoy it – and I wanted to enjoy it, which is obviously not easy, because playing tennis is sometimes tough.”

Whatever unfolds over the next fortnight, Swiatek will have few days tougher than this.

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The British 30th seed, who was scheduled to begin her campaign against Antonia Ruzic of Croatia on Monday, announced the news on Sunday evening, just hours after a press briefing in which she admitted she was struggling with a “niggle” but said she hoped to play.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but sadly I’ve had to withdraw from this year’s Wimbledon,” Raducanu said in a statement. 

“I’ve done everything possible to try to get to the start line tomorrow but after a final scan tonight, the ­niggle I’ve been managing has developed into a stress fracture and I’ve been medically advised to stop pushing through. 

“Playing at Wimbledon, in front of a home crowd, means everything to me, so this is really difficult to process. I want to thank you all for your support and encouragement. Especially at a time like this, it is invaluable. I look forward to seeing you when I’m back.”

The latest addition to the 23-year-old’s unhappy history of injury setbacks follows several days of speculation about her fitness.

How a stress fracture cost Emma Raducanu her latest tilt at Wimbledon

On Wednesday evening, Raducanu was seen leaving the All England Club grounds with a protective boot on her right foot. 

She was not seen again until Saturday afternoon, when she appeared to be moving gingerly during a session with her team on the Aorangi Park practice courts. Raducanu, who wore strapping on her lower right leg, subsequently cut short a practice set with Anna Kalinskya, the 19th seed, before moving her scheduled pre-tournament press conference to the following day.

The former US Open champion completed a session with her hitting partner Alexis Canter at Aorangi Park on Sunday, but appeared to be limiting her movement to avoid putting any stress through her right leg. 

The frustration of having to withdraw from the tournament will be all the greater for Raducanu after her encouraging showing at Queens Club earlier this month, where she reached her first final since winning the US Open in 2021. 

Having struggled with a foot injury during the off-season before suffering with a viral illness and its after-effects for several months, her performances in west London suggested she was finally beginning to establish the momentum that has largely eluded her since that fairytale run in New York. But she now faces yet another spell on the sidelines. 

Emma Raducanu: ‘I’ve had a tough start to the season’

“I had a great week at Queen’s Club,” Raducanu reflected earlier on Sunday. “All I want to do is to keep building on that momentum. I’ve had a tough start to the season, a lot of time out.

“I have great people around me, that’s one thing that’s really been helping in this latest setback. Having their support, they’re really in it with me. It means a lot to have that.”

She will need that support more than ever in the weeks ahead.

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The 26-year-old declined to submit an out-of-competition sample when visited at her home by a doping control officer in December of last year, prompting the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) to charge her with an anti-doping rule violation in late February.

Writing on social media, Vondrousova attributed the incident to an accumulation of “months of physical and mental stress” that clouded her judgment and meant she “couldn’t process the situation rationally”. She also cited safety concerns.

However, an independent tribunal hearing held earlier this month in London found that Vondrousova provided “no compelling justification” for her refusal to take a test. She must now serve a suspension until 21 June 2030, although she retains the right to lodge an appeal with the court of arbitration for sport.

What did Marketa Vondrousova say about her four-year ban?

“I would not wish what I have been through over the past few months on anyone,” Vondrousova wrote on Instagram. “It has been an incredibly exhausting and painful period that affected me far more deeply than I could have ever imagined.

“I have never doped. I have never had a positive test throughout my entire career. I have undergone countless anti-doping controls and have always stepped on to the court with a clear conscience.

“Professional sport means accepting rules and controls. I’ve always respected them.”

The Czech, who reached the 2019 French Open final as a teenager and won a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics two years later, has a career-high ranking of sixth. She is currently ranked 122 in the world, having not played since withdrawing from the Adelaide International in January with a shoulder injury. 

“I honestly do not know what comes next,” Vondrousova added. “For the first time in my life, I do not have a plan.”

A host of senior WTA players including Sorana Cirstea, Paula Badosa, Coco Gauff and Ons Jabeur responded to the former Wimbledon champion’s post with expressions of support.

What did the International Tennis Integrity Agency say about Vondrousova’s ban?

Karen Moorhouse, the ITIA chief executive, acknowledged the severity of the punishment but said treating refused tests with the same rigour as proven anti-doping violations was the only way to uphold the effectiveness of the wider system.

“We recognise that this is a significant ban,” said Moorhouse. “The reason for that is that you can’t have an anti-doping system where a player is in a better place by refusing to take a test than they would by taking the test and testing positive.

“That feeds into the structure of the doping rules that provides for a starting point of a four-year ban for refusing to take a test, the same as a starting point for testing positive.”

Moorhouse hailed the tribunal verdict as an endorsement of the importance of random testing in maintaining the sport’s integrity. 

While the doping control officer who visited Vondrousova did so outside the daily one-hour slot when players are obliged to make themselves available at a specific location, the rules also allow for occasional unscheduled testing. 

“Unpredictable testing is an essential tool to protect clean sport,” said Moorhouse. “The independent tribunal ultimately supported that principle. The case is an important reminder that players can be tested at any time, in any place, and that refusal comes with significant risk.”

What happened when Vondrousova was visited by a doping control officer?

At about 8pm on 3 December 2025, a female doping control officer arrived unannounced at Vondrousova’s home to conduct an out-of-competition test. According to Nicole Sapstead, the ITIA’s senior director for anti-doping, the Czech refused to admit the officer, instead signing a refusal form as she left her apartment with her dog.

“The player signed the refusal form outside,” said Sapstead. “She left her apartment to walk her dog and made it clear to the doping control officer that she was refusing a test. The doping control officer asked her to sign the form to indicate as much. 

“We ask our doping control officers to be as clear as possible when they’re engaging with players. It’s not for them to tell a player where a sanction may lay. 

“What we do say is: ‘Please make it very clear that there are consequences, some significant consequences, if that individual refuses.’ So yes, that was made very clear to the player. It was very clear that the player did not wish to engage with the process.” 

Vondrousova later said on social media that her refusal to co-operate stemmed from concerns about her personal safety resulting from the officer’s alleged failure to provide the appropriate credentials and authorisation. She said experts had confirmed that she suffered an “acute stress reaction and generalised anxiety disorder”. 

“The doping control incident happened because I reached a breaking point after months of physical and mental stress,” Vondrousova wrote in April. “When someone rang my door late at night without properly identifying themselves or following protocol – I reacted as a person who felt scared. 

“In that moment it was about feeling safe, not about avoiding anything. Fear clouded my judgment and I just couldn’t process the situation rationally.”

‘We don’t take strangers at our door lightly’

In the same post, Vondrousova also alluded to the knife attack suffered by her compatriot Petra Kvitova when an intruder broke into her home in Prague in 2016. The double Wimbledon champion was forced to undergo surgery following the incident, in which she suffered potentially career-threatening injuries to her left hand. Kvitova made a successful return to competition six months later. 

“After what happened to Petra, we don’t take strangers at our door lightly,” said Vondrousova.

The Czech’s account of her actions has fallen on deaf ears, however, and only a successful appeal can now save what should be her peak years in the sport. 

Vondrousova’s camp have indicated that they will await publication of the full written judgment before deciding on next steps.

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The 44-year-old American, seven of whose 23 grand slam titles have come on the lawns of the All England Club, has been awarded the final remaining wildcard for the women’s draw.

Williams’ last competitive appearance as a singles player came at the US Open in 2022, when she was beaten in the third round by Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic. Notably, she stopped short of saying she was retiring, insisting that she was simply “evolving away” from tennis. 

Williams’ return marks the culmination of a slow-burning saga that began last October, when her re-entry to the drug-testing pool, a necessary precursor to any competitive comeback, became the focus of feverish speculation. 

She played down that conjecture until the start of this month, when she announced she would play doubles with Victoria Mboko at Queen’s Club. The partnership lasted just one match before an injury forced the Canadian teenager to withdraw from the event. 

Williams continued her comeback in Berlin, where she lost in the first round of the doubles alongside Karolina Muchova, the Czech world No 11. The outcome notwithstanding, that appearance, which came hard on the heels of the announcement that she would compete in the women’s doubles at Wimbledon with her sister Venus, 46, left Williams optimistic about the state of her game.

What has Serena Williams said about her level since returning to tennis?

“I felt pretty good out there,” she said. “I felt actually more nimble and sturdy and quicker than the first match at Queens. Overall I felt pretty good, just physically and quickness, which I think you need a lot of on grass.”

WIlliams added that it would be “fun” competing with Venus in SW19, where the sisters have claimed the doubles title six times. But she remained evasive when asked if she would be interested in taking up the final singles wildcard if it were offered.

“Would you be interested that I took it?” she replied to her interrogator. “Do you think I’m ready for singles? I need to get to work. That’s the question of the hour. I don’t know, I don’t know.”

That stance has clearly changed over the past five days. But while it will be fascinating to see Williams she fares, the odds remain stacked against a deep run. She has not won a singles match at the All England Club since 2019, when she was trounced in the final by Simona Halep, and it remains to be seen how she will cope with the more onerous physical demands of competing one-on-one. That said, if history has taught us anything, it is that writing off the great American is a fool’s game.   

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