Good morning, Court Theorists! ☕️
Today’s tennis mood: Relieved plus pleasantly surprised.
Play at United Cup is heating up as the top teams are making their way through the quarterfinals. The first team through to the semifinals is the United States, with some gutsy play at key moments. And we’ve got some other matches queued up at tour-level events worth your attention, too.
Let’s tennis!
-Allen
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Three Points
🎾 Coco back on United Cup track: After a little hiccup against Spain on Monday, Coco Gauff pulled Team USA into the semifinal by winning both of her matches against Greece on Wednesday. First, she straightforwardly defeated Maria Sakkari, 6-3, 6-2. Then, after Taylor Fritz lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets, Gauff and Christian Harrison plotted a narrow escape in the deciding mixed doubles match against Sakkari and Tsitsipas, 4-6, 6-4, 10-8.
What she said: “I think I was striking the ball well today, and when that happens, my movement on the court is also good,” Gauff said after her singles win. “I usually know it’s going to be a good day.”
Next: The U.S. faces the winner of Australia vs. Poland.
🎾 Something we didn’t see coming: That was the return of Argentina’s Sebastian Baez. The 25-year-old, who might stand 5’7”, reached the top 20 in 2024 and seemed to have lost his juice since then. But he was perfect in United Cup play, taking down Jaume Munar, Taylor Fritz, and Stan Wawrinka. He looks fitter, stronger, and smarter in kicking off 2026 — and he is absolutely thumping the ball. Color us impressed here at Court Theory HQ. If this level of play is sustainable, expect a return to the top 20.
🎾 One to watch: Amanda Anisimova vs. Marta Kostyuk (3rd round - WTA 500 - Brisbane): This match-up is psychological warfare every single time. Watch it for that alone. But there’s also a fun style of play interplay that makes it rewarding, too. In most cases, the match is decided by who can hold onto the wild momentum swings the longest and at the key moments. We’ll see if that remains true now that Anisimova has surged well ahead in the rankings following her truly outstanding 12 months last year.
The record: Kostyuk leads the head-to-head record over Anisimova, 3-1, although one was a walkover. Anisimova won their most recent meeting on the hard courts of Doha in a three-set thriller last year.
On the line: Defending points aren’t an issue for either player this week. This match is about position. Anisimova will want to prove that being ranked third in the world means she’s not bothered by an unfavorable record against a player more than 20 spots below her. And Kostyuk will be looking to show she’s ready to get back to business and back into the top 20 and rising.
🎾 🏆 🎤 YOUR CALL
(Yesterday’s poll results: 73.91% of you voted for Learner Tien defeating Alex Michelsen. Michelsen won the match 6-4, 6-2.)
And, that’s game.
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On Tour
Matches we’re monitoring today:
Brisbane - WTA 500 (Hard)
Elena Rybakina vs. Paula Badosa (3rd round)
Marta Kostyuk vs. Amanda Anisimova (3rd round)
Diana Shnaider vs. Madison Keys (3rd round)
Dayana Yastremska vs. Jessica Pegula (3rd round)
Mirra Andreeva vs. Linda Noskova (3rd round)
Auckland - WTA 250 (Hard)
Petra Marcinko vs. Alexandra Eala (2nd round)
Magda Linette vs. Elisabetta Cocciaretto (2nd round)
Elina Svitolina vs. Katie Boulter (2nd round)
Ella Seidel vs. Sonay Kartal (2nd round)
Brisbane - ATP 250 (Hard)
Rinky Hijikata vs. Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard (2nd round)
Raphael Collingnon vs. Grigor Dimitrov (2nd round)
Cameron Norrie vs. Aleksandar Kovacevic (2nd round)
Quentin Halys vs. Brandon Nakashima (2nd round)
Hong Kong - ATP 250 (Hard)
Lorenzo Sonego vs. Juncheng Shang (2nd round)
Michael Mmoh vs. Karen Khachanov (2nd round)
Botic van de Zandschulp vs. Alexander Bublik (2nd round)
Alexandre Muller vs. Marcos Giron (2nd round)
Perth - United Cup (Hard)
Belgium vs. Czechia (Quarterfinals)
📺 Learn how to watch today’s action over at Tennis Watchers.
Around The Net
Coleman Wong breaks through and makes history on home turf in Hong Kong.
In a true WTAF moment, an Egyptian woman was given a wild card to an ITF Tour event in Nairobi. She won three points and seemed not to know where to stand while serving, raising some serious questions for the tournament organizers (including whether or not this was a betting set-up.)
Iga Swiatek says she misses the days of being an underdog.
Francesca Jones continues to defy odds — and remain humble.
New Balance releases its Australian Open collection, and we here at Court Theory HQ want to know how nobody thought of an Aussie, Aussie, Aussie and Oi, Oi, Oi t-shirt before.
Speaking of Aussies, the “Special K’s” went down in Brisbane.
