Good morning, Court Theorists! ☕️☀️
Today’s tennis mood: Bracing for the inevitable and wondering about Laver Cup’s longevity.
Let’s tennis!
-Allen
🎾 On tap: The WTA tournaments in Singapore and Seoul are reaching the later stages, while the men in Hangzhou and Chengdu are just in the second round. In action: Maja Chwalinska, Leylah Fernandez, Daniil Medvedev, Valentin Vacherot, and more. In the semifinals of Billie Jean King Cup in Shenzhen, Italy faces Ukraine, and the winner will face Czechia in the final. And today, after a long wind-up, Laver Cup action has begun. Catch the line-up and scores on the Laver Cup site.
🎾 Sinner out: Jannik Sinner has pulled out of the China Open in Beijing later this month, citing his ongoing knee injury. The world number one last played at Wimbledon, but he missed the entire North American hard court season and, now, the start of the Asian swing.
What he said: “My knee is not where I would like to be, and I am not ready to compete yet, but I will do everything possible to be there on court as soon as I can,” Sinner said in a social media video. “I am very disappointed that I cannot defend it this year, but I’m very happy to come back next year. I wish everyone a very good tournament, and I see you all very soon on court again.”
By the numbers: In the live rankings, Sinner is ahead of Alexander Zverev by just 1,370 points. Post-Beijing, Sinner has 3,500 points to defend through the end of the year. Zverev has only 980 to defend. It looks all but certain that Sinner will not be the world number one much longer.
Yes, but: Can’t a healthy-ish Alcaraz surge? He might, but not enough to make a difference. He’s ranked number three but is currently 4,570 points behind Zverev in the live rankings.
🎾 Also out: That’s Ben Shelton, who pulled out of the Japan Open in Tokyo next week after withdrawing from Laver Cup this weekend.
What he said: “Hi guys, Ben Shelton here. I’ve got some bad news; sadly, I won’t be coming to the Japan Open this year. I was really looking forward to seeing all my fans there again this year. It’s a tournament that I love; it was my first ATP title, and I always look forward to playing there,” Shelton said on the Japan Open’s official Instagram account. “The U.S. Open and Davis Cup took a toll on my body, and I’m not going to be able to make it. The good news is that I hope to be back next year. I appreciate all of your love and support, and hopefully see you in 2027.”
And that’s game.
