We are less than a week away from the start of tennis’ ‘Sunshine Swing’ at the BNP Paribas Open, but there’s still some important business to take care of before all the top players in the world go head-to-head in the California desert.
Over the weekend, Italy’s Jasmine Paolini became the newest WTA 1000 champion thanks to a victory over Anna Kalinskaya in the unlikeliest of finals in Dubai. The victory propelled Paolini to a career-high ranking of no. 14. On the men’s side, Argentine Sebastian Baez took home the biggest title of his career at the ATP 500 event in front of a boisterous crowd in Rio. Aussie Jordan Thompson won his maiden ATP singles crown in Los Cabos after knocking out Casper Ruud in the final and managed to complete the trophy sweep with an impressive triumph in doubles. In Doha, Karen Khachanov was the winner after defeating upstart 18-year-old Jakub Mensik of the Czech Republic in the championship match.
Medvedev, Pegula, and Wozniacki Return to Action
Final preparations for Indian Wells are underway on both Tours with some big names hitting the court this week.
Australian Open finalist Daniil Medvedev will play his first tournament since Melbourne at the ATP 500 event in Dubai. He’ll have a familiar face in his coaching box for the occasion as the recently retired Gilles Simon has joined his team. In the first round, Andy Murray notched the 500th win of his illustrious career on hard courts. Meanwhile, Alexander Zverev and Holger Rune headline the draw in Acapulco. For their part, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have already hit the practice courts in California and even crossed paths on the flight over. Imagine being a passenger on that plane!
The WTA is making a pair of stops in the United States in San Diego and Austin, Texas. Jessica Pegula and Caroline Wozniacki are both back in San Diego while Canadian Marina Stakusic will make her WTA main draw debut after playing her way through qualifying in her first tournament of the year. Her compatriot Leylah Annie Fernandez is the eighth seed and will face Tatjana Maria in the opening round. In Austin, Anhelina Kalinina, Sloane Stephens, and Danielle Collins lead the way while Vancouver’s Rebecca Marino also qualified for the main draw and will meet Sachia Vickery in round one.
It’s never too early to purchase your tickets for the National Bank Open presented by Rogers as we get ready to host the best players in the world from August 3-12, 20024 in Montreal and from August 4-12, 2024 in Toronto.
Feature image: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images
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