👋 Welcome back to The Daily Theory, our morning rundown to help you stay on top of your favorite sport. I’m Allen McDuffee, your guide to all things tennis.

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Programming note: We’re back in action, but we need tennis to catch up. Because of the lull in play, today’s edition is somewhat abbreviated.

Let’s tennis!

Three Points

🎾 The youngest: American Iva Jovic became the youngest winner on the WTA Tour this year by winning the Guadalajara Open Akron — her first tour title — after defeating an unwell Emiliana Arango of Colombia 6-4, 6-1 in the final.

  • The moment: Jovic very clearly found it difficult to celebrate the monumental win over her friend, who struggled to compete but insisted on finishing the match. As she walked toward the net, she had almost a look of sorrow on her face for the win, while Arango flashed a smile to express how happy she was for Jovic.
  • What she said: “You showed so much fight and gave the people a show,” Jovic said. “It’s not easy to start out on tour when you’re young ... but people like Emiliana make it easier and always have a smile on their face.”
  • The numbers: Jovic entered the tournament ranked number 73. Today, she is 36 in the world.
  • The year: Jovic began the year just inside the top 200, making a tough choice for the WTA to choose between her and Victoria Mboko as Newcomer of the Year. But what has been so impressive about Jovic’s rise is her ability to adapt to every surface. That’s thanks to a willingness to adjust, but also her insanely clean technique that she has honed in her junior years.

🎾 Davis Cup drama: The dramatics run deep and wide during Davis Cup, and the second-round ties over the weekend were no exception, with a spot in the Final 8 on the line.

  • Knocked out: The U.S. lost to Czechia at home in Delray Beach. An under the weather Taylor Fritz won one of his two singles matches. An underperforming and uninspired Frances Tiafoe won neither. The doubles team of Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram did their job in the doubles slot. Like men’s majors, the U.S. Davis Cup team is in a massive drought — coming up on 20 years.
  • Quick recovery: Raphael Collignon bounced back from collapsing on the court with cramps to defeat Alex de Minaur. He then won the deciding match over Aleksandar Vukic to put Belgium into the Davis Cup Finals in Bologna.
  • Ace!: In Hungary vs. Austria, Zsombor Piros aced Lukas Neumayer with a serve that would make a beginner blush. Neumayer looked to the chair umpire for an intervention, but there was none to be had.
  • Safety first: Israel and Canada played their Davis Cup final with no fans out of safety concerns for Israel.
  • What home advantage?: Out of all the Davis Cup ties, only Spain pulled out a win at home.
  • The Final 8: Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Czechia, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. The Davis Cup Finals for 2025 will be held in Bologna, Italy, from November 18-23 at the Bologna Fiere exhibition center.

🎾 Seoul searching: Amanda Anisimova pulled out of Seoul this week, leaving the 500-level event with just one top 10 player: Iga Swiatek. Perhaps that’s a step up from Guadalajara (also a 500-level event) last week, which didn’t have a player in the top 20.

  • What they said: “I’m so sad to miss Korea this year, as I really enjoyed my time there last year,” Anisimova posted on social media. “I really hope to be back next year.”
  • Meanwhile: The Korea Open is going to struggle to attract top talent, as well as depth in the field, after Billie Jean King Cup restructured the schedule, which now overlaps with the longstanding tournament. It will rely on pulling in players who have been knocked out of the team competition — or on players like Emma Raducanu who have decided to go their own way.