👋 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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Today’s tennis mood rating: Stressed with a bit of amazement.

Let’s tennis!

Three Points

🎾 State of the race: There’s just one spot left in the WTA Tour Finals this year, and it comes down to Elena Rybakina and Mirra Andreeva vying for the slot. In reality, though, with Andreeva not competing this week, it’s all up to Rybakina. The way the math works out, she’ll need to reach the semifinals of Tokyo this week to get in. That means getting past Leylah Fernandez and Victoria Mboko. Otherwise, it’s Andreeva who will be playing in Riyadh.

  • Who’s in: Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Amanda Anisimova, Jessica Pegula, Madison Keys, and Jasmine Paolini.

🎾 Out of Paris: Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from the Paris Masters 1000 tournament next week, just days after a leg injury forced him to retire from his match against Taylor Fritz in the Riyadh exhibition. The decision leaves questions as to how much we will see Djokovic the rest of the year.

  • What he said: “After Shanghai, the only tournament I know I’m going to play is the one in Athens. And then let’s see if I play Turin or not, I’m not sure yet,” Djokovic said in China earlier this month.
  • By the numbers: This year has been marked by sporadic play from Djokovic. Aside from the four majors, he’s played in just 8 tour-level events. Notably, he went from Roland-Garros to Wimbledon to the U.S. Open without playing any tournaments between them.
  • Next: Djokovic will play at his family-owned 250 event, which has been moved to Athens this year.

🎾 Foki snubbed: Alejandro Davidovich Fokina is miffed that the Spanish national team passed him over for the Davis Cup Finals in Bologna. At a career-high ranking of number 18 in the world, which makes him the second-highest-ranked Spaniard, Davidovich Fokina says he’s earned his right to represent his country. Team captain David Ferrer felt otherwise.

  • What he said: “David [Ferrer] called me a week ago to tell me he wouldn't be counting on me for the first squad. Before that call, I had already told him he could count on me. I'll always be proud to represent Spain, but in the end, it was his decision, and I accepted it,” said Davidovich Fokina. “Being ranked 18th in the world, I think I deserved to be among the four best players in my country, with all due respect to my teammates, who, as I said, are also great players.”
  • Yes, but: Davidovich Fokina hasn’t played a Davis Cup match in more than two years, and he has a record of 1-5 in the competition.
  • Noteworthy: The Spanish team, which includes Carlos Alcaraz, Jaume Munar, Pedro Martinez, and Marcel Granollers, had room for one more player, according to Davis Cup rules. Ferrer chose to stick with four.