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Jannik Sinner has hiccup before moving on at 2025 Italian Open

2 days ago | lobandsmash.com | Lee Vowell

A win is a win, though. Jannik Sinner came out of the proverbial gate in his second match back from his three-month-long suspension for two failed drug tests in March 2024. His seemingly poor opponent, Jesper de Jong, was only a slight road bump on the Italian's path to his first Italian Open title. Sinner led 4-1 and had broken de Jong twice. Then things changed quite a bit. Shockingly, de Jong got the breaks back to even the first set at 4-all.
Italian Open recaps: Coco Gauff reminds Emma Raducanu who is boss

2 days ago | lobandsmash.com | Lee Vowell

Setting the tone early. Emma Raducanu is a fine player but has not been sustainably great. She won a Grand Slam in 2021 at the US Open when she won her title without having to play a top-10 player. Still, everyone else had the same opportunity and did not take advantage of the situation. That victory remains Raducanu's only WTA title. Since then, she has dealt with dips in form and various injuries. She has had surgeries on both wrists and an ankle.
Return of the king: Jannik Sinner wins first match in three months

4 days ago | lobandsmash.com | Lee Vowell

Bad news for the rest of tennis. Jannik Sinner could not play between January and May as he was serving a suspension for failing two drug tests in March 2024. No one would have blamed him had he bounced out of the Italian Open early. Practicing tennis is fine, but real matches can be tough. Sinner did not look rusty against Argentinian Mariano Navone, though.
Why Novak Djokovic skipping Rome for Geneva could make him more dangerous

5 days ago | lobandsmash.com | Lee Vowell

Never too late. Novak Djokovic keeps playing even though his level of success is nowhere near what it used to be. Father Time always wins out in the end. Whether it is form or injuries, Djokovic cannot compete for titles as he once did. He is the best player ever, but also currently an also-ran most of the time. One might wonder why he keeps playing. We can safely assume he doesn't need the money. He holds many of the important records. Perhaps he is driven by getting to 100 tour-level titles. He has 99.
Alexandra Eala is getting a little help from her WTA peers

6 days ago | lobandsmash.com | Wendi Oliveros

Marta Kostyuk, Coco Gauff, and Bianca Andreescu have reached out to Eala since her Miami Open successAlexandra Eala enjoyed a breakout moment at the Miami Open in March and now gets a little help from her WTA peers. Eala, 19, may have lost her first-round match at this week's Italian Open to Marta Kostyuk, but she remains an emerging talent on the WTA tour. Clay is not her favorite surface, a surprising fact since she trained at Rafael Nadal Academy.
Jannik Sinner’s delivers bold statement on suspension before Italian Open

1 week ago | lobandsmash.com | Lee Vowell

The return of the king. Jannik Sinner is back, and he is back in the best situation. After serving a three-month suspension for two failed drug tests in March of 2024, and after the World Anti-Doping Agency appealed his initial ruling of innocence by the International Tennis Integrity Agency, Sinner is set to return at the Italian Open. He is scheduled to play his first match at the event on Friday.
2025 tennis season has already been filled with unexpected moments

1 week ago | lobandsmash.com | Wendi Oliveros

We are four months into an unpredictable and tumultuous 2025 tennis season. With the conclusion of the 2025 Mutua Madrid Open where Casper Ruud and Aryna Sabalenka were crowned the singles champions, we are at the four-month mark in an eleven month tennis season. We have seen the winter hardcourt season come and go, and are in the thick of the European clay court swing, and the common theme underscoring all has been unexpected results.
Former ATP No. 1 drops some harsh truth on Emma Raducanu

1 week ago | lobandsmash.com | Lee Vowell

So many doubts. Maybe Emma Raducanu was never going to be as good as she showed at the 2021 US Open. At the time, still a teenager, she shocked the tennis world by winning the Grand Slam. It did not seem to matter that on her run to the title, she did not face a top-10 ranked WTA player. She defeated everyone she had to, and no one else could take advantage. That title remains Raducanu's only one on the tour, though. That is the only final in her career.
Coco Gauff's stunning win over Iga Swiatek is a game-changer in Madrid

1 week ago | lobandsmash.com | Lee Vowell

On clay too!Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek had faced each other 14 times heading into the 2025 Madrid Open semifinals. Swiatek had dominated the rivalry 11-3. Moreover, Gauff had yet to win a set on clay against the Pole. Swiatek's best surface is clay, so another smashing of Gauff seemed likely. Not so fast. In the first set of the semis, Gauff used immense pace and brilliant placement to get three breaks of the WTA No. 2. Swiatek seemed powerless to beat an opponent who was in the proverbial zone.
Unprecedented Italian Open is on tap on May 6

2 weeks ago | lobandsmash.com | Wendi Oliveros

The 2025 Italian Open will be the backdrop for two rare eventsWith the 2025 Madrid Open temporarily in darkness because of the European power outage, this unusual break in tennis action allows us to look ahead to next week's Italian Open, also known as the Internazionali BNL d'Italia. Rome's outdoor clay courts will host the world's top tennis players in the combined ATP/WTA 1000 event, starting May 6 and running through May 19. Alexander Zverev and Iga Swiatek are the defending singles champions.