Good morning, Court Theorists! ☕️
Today’s tennis mood: Relieved with some serious eyeroll.
We’re almost through the first full week of tennis this year, and it’s already been a wild ride. The Australian Tennis Gods have spoken on the men’s wild cards, and they have been more than reasonable. We’ve also got something of an update on that bizarre incident in Kenya. And it’s time to preview what should be a blockbuster between Aryna Sabalenka and Karolina Muchova.
Let’s tennis!
-Allen
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Four Points
🎾 Stan’s in: The Australian Open awarded a wild card to Stan Wawrinka, kicking off his final year on the pro tour.
What he said: “Winning the Australian Open in 2014, my first Grand Slam title, is an absolute career highlight for me, so I’m incredibly grateful to receive this wild card,” Wawrinka said. “To have the chance to play the Australian Open at the beginning of my final year on tour means the world to me.”
Joining: James Duckworth (AUS), Bu Yunchaokete (CHN), Patrick Kypson (USA), Kyrian Jacquet (FRA), Rinky Hijikata (AUS), Jordan Thompson (AUS), and Chris O’Connell (AUS) are the other recipients on the men’s side.
The women: Emerson Jones (AUS), Zarina Diyas (KAZ), Elizabeth Mandlik (USA), Tiantsoa Sarah Rakotomanga Rajaonah (FRA), Priscilla Hon (AUS), Talia Gibson (AUS), Taylah Preston (AUS), and Venus Williams (USA) received the main draw wild cards.
🎾 Meanwhile: Now that all of the singles wild cards have been awarded, that means Nick Kyrgios will not receive one. In what smacks of an ego-saving preemption, Kyrgios took to social media to persuade followers that his absence from singles was his decision to give up “my spot.” 🙄
What he said: “After some good conversations with Tennis Australia I’ve made the call to focus on doubles for this year’s AO,” Kyrgios posted on Instagram. “I’m fit and back on court, but five-setters are a different beast and I’m not quite ready to go the distance yet.” He added: “This tournament means everything to me, but I’d rather give my spot to someone who’s ready to make their moment count. It’s all building blocks and I’ll be back next year and pumped to compete. See you out there.”
🎾 Now, about THAT match: As a follow-up to that insane match we called out earlier this week, in which an Egyptian woman who never seemed to have played a match of any kind was somehow awarded a wild card to a professional ITF Tour event in Nairobi…well, we have some answers. Tennis Kenya has come out and said the entire thing should never have happened.
What they said: “At the time, Ms. Abdelkader was the only other player who had requested a wildcard,” the organization said, which was therefore granted to her based on the “information provided” by the player, “and in the interest of maintaining a full and balanced draw while supporting the development of tennis in Africa.” They added: “In hindsight, Tennis Kenya acknowledges that this wildcard should not have been granted. The federation has taken note of this experience and will ensure that such an extremely rare occurrence never happens again.”
Yes, but: There are still more questions to be answered. How would a recreational player who didn’t know the rules of the game, can’t really hit a serve, and struggled with score-keeping possibly want to enter a tennis tournament of any level, let alone a pro tournament in another country, and have the know-how to do so? Sorry, but color us here at Court Theory skeptical. This needs a full investigation.
🎾 One to watch: Aryna Sabalenka vs. Karolina Muchova (Semifinals - WTA 500 - Brisbane): If you thought Muchova vs. Rybakina was entertaining, this one should be more of the same — and perhaps a bit better. It’s another contrast of styles of play match. Sabalenka will perform in her ball-bashing ways, while Muchova attempts to pick that apart with angles, off-pace balls, slice backhands, coming to the net, and cracking winners of her own. Who wins? If the record is any indication…
The record: Karolina Muchova leads the head-to-head record over Aryna Sabalenka, 3-1. Those three Muchova wins are their three most recent meetings, two of which were on hard court.
On the line: For Sabalenka, this match is about shaking her losing streak against Muchova. There’s little doubt that Muchova getting the best of her three times in a row is eating at her. On Muchova’s end of the court, this match represents continuity going into the Australian Open, where, aside from her semifinal run in 2021, she’s struggled to perform well.
And, that’s game.
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On Tour
Matches we’re monitoring today:
Brisbane - WTA 500 (Hard)
Jessica Pegula vs. Marta Kostyuk (Semifinals)
Auckland - WTA 250 (Hard)
Alexandra Eala vs. Xinyu Wang (Semifinals)
Elina Svitolina vs. Iva Jovic (Semifinals)
Brisbane - ATP 250 (Hard)
Aleksandar Kovacevic vs. Brandon Nakashima (Semifinals)
Daniil Medvedev vs. Alex Michelsen (Semifinals)
Hong Kong - ATP 250 (Hard)
Lorenzo Musetti vs. Andrey Rublev (Semifinals)
Marcos Giron vs. Alexander Bublik (Semifinals)
Sydney - United Cup (Hard)
Switzerland vs. Belgium
United States vs. Poland
📺 Learn how to watch today’s action over at Tennis Watchers.
Around The Net
Our friends at Racquet have your 2026 tennis travel all set up.
It’s Poland vs. the United States and Belgium vs. Switzerland in the semifinals of the United Cup.
Elina Svitolina barely squeaked through to the semifinals in Auckland after defeating Sonay Kartal, 7-6 in the third.
Fran Jones is getting every bit of attention she deserves.
In the style report, Aryna Sabalenka is quite pleased with her Serena/Sharapova-inspired dress, even if she’s still holding a grudge against Nike for pushing a signature line to 2027.
Andrea Petkovic sends a postcard from United Cup.
