Tennis Weekly

World No.1 AND US Open champion! Elena Rybakina completed a fairytale in New York, beating Aryna Sabalenka in three sets to win her second Grand Slam title and finally reach the top of the rankings. Join Joel and Chris at Tennis Weekly HQ for our US Open Day 14 catch-up as we celebrate an incredible turnaround for Rybakina, who was a major injury doubt before the tournament and is now one Roland Garros title away from completing the career Grand Slam. Could she really go on to dominate women’s tennis? For Sabalenka, there were yet more emotional scenes and racket smashes as she lost another big final and is now slamless for the first time since 2023. When will her Grand Slam trophy drought finally end, and what is it about Rybakina’s game that Sabalenka finds so difficult to solve?

Away from the court, we discuss the worrying financial situation facing the WTA, with projected operating losses of $23 million in 2026. Is the tour struggling to capture the casual audience and market its biggest stars? We also celebrate Neal Skupski’s Grand Slam doubles triumph, Alfie Hewett’s wheelchair tennis heroics and look ahead to the men’s final between Alexander Zverev and Ben Shelton. Can Shelton become the first American male Grand Slam champion since Andy Roddick in 2003?

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Ben Shelton is one win away from ending a 23-year wait for an American man to win a Grand Slam singles title! The 23-year-old battled past Frances Tiafoe in an all-American US Open semi-final to reach his first major final. Join Joel and Chris at Tennis Weekly HQ for our US Open Day 13 catch-up as we get stuck into Shelton’s comeback from a set down, his serving brilliance and what Tiafoe needs to do to finally reach his first Grand Slam final. Meanwhile, Alexander Zverev reached his third consecutive Grand Slam final with a straight-sets win over Karen Khachanov, but surprisingly low ticket prices for the match — less than the cost of a Honey Deuce! — raised questions about just how much star power Zverev actually brings to the court. We also debate Zverev’s extended ball-bouncing routine, with Khachanov clearly not impressed.

We preview the blockbuster Zverev vs Shelton final, including whether Zverev’s dominance against left-handers could prove crucial, how he’ll handle the all-American crowd and whether his 1-4 Grand Slam final record will count against him. Plus, we celebrate doubles legend Katerina Siniakova completing the career Grand Slam with two different partners — Taylor Townsend and Barbora Krejcikova — and discuss the all-important finals-weekend entertainment announcement… including JoJo!

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World No. 1 vs impending World No. 1. It doesn’t get much bigger than this! Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina are set for a blockbuster US Open final after both battled through their semi-finals on Day 12. Join Kim and Chris at Tennis Weekly HQ as we look back on Rybakina backing up securing her first-ever World No. 1 ranking to be made official on Monday by battling past Coco Gauff to reach her first US Open final, while Sabalenka produced what Jessica Pegula called the best match she’s played all year to reach her fourth consecutive final in New York. Is this the perfect final for the US Open, and after their incredible Australian Open final earlier this year, will Sabalenk be able to serve up some revenge?

We also get stuck into the semi-final performances themselves, with Rybakina recovering from a shaky start to get past Gauff and Sabalenka once again showing just how ridiculous her record is on hard courts of grand slams. With her 99-week reign at No. 1 now over, could winning the US Open be the perfect response from Sabalenka? And after reaching eight consecutive Grand Slam finals on hard courts, is she simply a different beast in New York? Plus, we preview the blockbuster Rybakina vs Sabalenka final, debate where it could be won and lost and make our final predictions.

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Elena Rybakina is the new women’s World No. 1 for the first time! Join Joel and Kim at Tennis Weekly HQ for our US Open Day 12 catch-up as we look back on her three-set victory over Qinwen Zheng and reflect on Rybakina finally reaching the top of the rankings after such a long wait. We also look back on Aryna Sabalenka’s incredible 99-week reign and what comes next for the two-time defending US Open champion. Coco Gauff battled back from a set down and saved two match points to reach another US Open semi-final against Rybakina. It was classic Coco — winning ugly, finding a way and somehow surviving when she looked to be on the brink. Did Mirra Andreeva miss her chance to close it out or did Coco come up clutch at the right moments?

On the men’s side, Alexander Zverev continued his US Open run with a straight-sets win over Botic van de Zandschulp to reach his third semi-final at Flushing Meadows, where he’ll face Karen Khachanov after Alexander Blockx was forced to retire. Is Zverev now the favourite for the title? We also get stuck into Tennis Australia CEO Andrew Abdo’s comments about potentially shortening best-of-five matches and the Australian Open’s punchy response, before looking ahead to the women’s semi-finals and making our predictions.

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WHAT. A. DAY. Ben Shelton stunned defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in a four-and-a-half-hour US Open epic that finished at 3:33am — the latest finish in US Open history. Join Joel and Chris at Tennis Weekly HQ for our US Open Day 10 catch-up as we relive one of the best days of tennis we’ve seen this season (second only to Australian Open men’s semi-finals day!). Is Ben Shelton now the favourite for the title? And did four-and-a-half months off the tennis court finally catch up with Carlos Alcaraz, or was it simply fifth-set nerves? Plus, Frances Tiafoe completed an incredible comeback from two sets and a break down against big-serving Alex Michelsen to book his place in a third US Open semi-final.

On the women’s side, Aryna Sabalenka survived a huge test against Linda Noskova to reach her sixth (!) consecutive US Open semi-final, reminding us all of her champion quality after a season where it’s been lacking a little too often. Was this exactly the type of win Sabalenka needed against the Wimbledon champion? Jessica Pegula battled past Emma Navarro to set up another Flushing Meadows encounter with Sabalenka, while we debated Wimbledon’s decision to crack down on influencers following the US Open chaos. Plus, we look ahead to Day 11 and make our predictions for Gauff vs Andreeva, Zverev vs van de Zandschulp and Zheng vs Rybakina — will Rybakina seize the World No. 1 ranking?

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REVIEWS

***Please take a moment to rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your pods. It really means a lot to us at HQ and helps make it easier for new listeners to discover us. Thanks!***

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