👋 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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Let’s tennis!
Three Points
🎾 Italy defends: Italy defended its Billie Jean King Cup title after defeating the United States in Shenzhen on Sunday. In the first match, world no. 91 Elisabetta Cocciaretto defeated Emma Navarro, 6-4, 6-4. Jasmine Paolini followed that up with a straight-set win over Jessica Pegula, 6-4, 6-2. The pair of singles victories meant that the deciding doubles match wasn’t needed.
What she said: “It was an unbelievable match for me,” said Cocciaretto. “I know that I had to play my best tennis. I’m really happy about the performance and the point that I gave to Italy.”
Noteworthy: With four players in the top 10, something’s wrong if the U.S. can’t put together a winning team.
A bit painful: Seeing the highly talented 17-year-old Tyra Grant, who decided earlier this year to represent Italy instead of the United States, sit on Italy’s bench was a fresh reminder of how the U.S. failed to retain her.
🎾 Another one down: Laver Cup 2025 came to an end on Sunday evening after Taylor Fritz backed up his big win over Carlos Alcaraz with another victory over Alexander Zverev in the deciding match, putting Team World over the finish line against Team Europe.
What he said: “Just seeing these guys on the bench getting pumped up, seeing a legend of the sport like Andre [Agassi] jumping out of his seat cheering for me, it’s impossible not to be so fired up and just give it everything you have,” Fritz said after the match.
And what he said: “Everybody played a part in making this one of the most memorable weeks I've ever spent on a tennis court,” Agassi said on Sunday night. “And that's saying something, because it was a lot of years I've been out there in one form or another with a perceived team, but this really was a team. So proud of the guys. Just unflappable. They never stopped believing.”
A couple of surprises: Joao Fonseca, one of the most exciting young players, who draws a massive crowd wherever he plays, only played once over the weekend (and won!). And Casper Ruud, who loves to grind on a slow court, played just one singles match — but two doubles matches.
An odd choice: If Alexander Zverev was injured, why put him in the deciding match?
One takeaway: Dismissing Laver Cup as an exhibition has become something of a sport unto itself. But top players taking the time each year to participate when it’s not convenient to the tour schedule should be a clue as to the pride they take in playing, performing, and winning. Ranking points or no points, isn’t that what we want in our sport?
🎾 Making family history: Iga Swiatek overcame serving woes to defeat second-seeded Ekaterina Alexandrova 1-6, 7-6, 7-5 to win the Korea Open on Sunday. It’s the first time a Swiatek has won in Seoul after her father, Tomasz Swiatek, competed as a rower for Poland at the 1988 Summer Olympic Games.
What they said: “I’m happy that I could win here because of the family history,” Swiatek said after the match. “My dad couldn't win the Olympics [here], but at least I won this tournament. So hopefully he’s going to come next year to enjoy everything.”
Next: Swiatek heads to Beijing for the China Open beginning on Wednesday.
And, that’s game.
On The Radar
Matches we’re monitoring today:
Hangzhou - ATP 250 (Hard)
Valentin Royer vs. Alexander Bublik (Final)
Chengdu - ATP 250 (Hard)
Alejandro Tabilo vs. Lorenzo Musetti (Final)
*The WTA 1000 China Open, ATP 500 China Open, and ATP Japan Open begin later in the week.
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