#doubles-tennis

#doubles-tennis

Players will be allowed to review specific judgement calls made by the chair umpire, such as 'not-up', 'foul shot', or 'touch', either on a point-ending call or immediately after the completion of a point.

On a Wednesday in the desert last March, Reilly Opelka, the American with a cannon of a serve, was grinding out a tough match against French number one Arthur Rinderknech. Nearby, former US Open men's finalist Kei Nishikori beat Luca Nardi, part of the new wave of Italian talent, while Brazilian phenom Joao Fonseca closed out Pavel Kotov, who reached number 50 in the world in 2024.

Over the 74,301 years he's been playing tennis, warming to Novak Djokovic hasn't always been easy. And the man himself knows it, frequently bristling at sleights perceived, imagined and real, his 24 grand slam titles unable to replace the basic need to feel loved. What we all learn from Djokovic, though what even Djokovic himself can learn from Djokovic is how to execute the perennially torturous business of loving yourself.

Alexander Bublik, the resident eccentric of professional men's tennis, has the lyrics to two different Eminem songs tattooed on his arm. Doubles specialists, he's said, aren't "real athletes," though Bublik himself reached the doubles final of the 2021 French Open. The 28-year-old Kazakh has quoted Kung Fu Panda to cast doubt on Jannik Sinner's doping status, and called the tennis exhibited by greats like Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal "boring."

Alex de Minaur went into his quarter-final with Jannik Sinner at the 2025 Australian Open hopeful that he could make life difficult for the defending champion. Not only did that not happen, but the manner of his one-sided defeat left him wondering if he really had the game to trouble the top players. Fast forward a year and the Australian again finds himself in the last eight, again facing one of the sport's superstars, this time Carlos Alcaraz.

The third-seeded Gauff, a two-time major winner, struggled with her serve and recorded five double-faults in the first set, when she was broken four times. There were two more service breaks in the second set and, once the match was over -- in 59 minutes -- Gauff stayed composed as she left the center court and tried to find somewhere quiet -- without cameras -- to let go of her frustrations.