All posts tagged: French Open 2025

Novak Djokovic refuses to discuss injury issues after shock Italian Open loss

Novak Djokovic refuses to discuss injury issues after shock Italian Open loss

3 min readUpdated: May 9, 2026 10:25 AM IST Novak Djokovic’s return to the court after a two-month injury lay-off ended in a dismal Italian Open defeat to a 20-year-old whom he had considered to be like playing a mirror two years ago. At the 2024 Australian Open, Djokovic had quashed Dino Prizmic in four sets in the opening round. On Friday, the young Croatian had the number over his idol, defeating the 24-time Grand Slam champion 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 at the clay-court event. Making his first appearance since the Indian Wells fourth-round defeat to Jack Draper in March, Djokovic appeared on court with a visibly strapped right shoulder. While that did not stop him from breezing through the first set, the former world no. 1’s energy dropped considerably thereafter. Djokovic admitted that he is not competing at the desired standards as he gears up for the French Open in two weeks, revealing that he was carrying one ailment or the other at tournaments during this stage of his career. “It’s not an ideal preparation, …

Rafael Nadal slams Netflix documentary ‘Carlos Alcaraz: My Way’, saying, ‘I think the documentary doesn’t reflect his personality’ | Tennis News

Rafael Nadal slams Netflix documentary ‘Carlos Alcaraz: My Way’, saying, ‘I think the documentary doesn’t reflect his personality’ | Tennis News

22-year-old Carlos Alcaraz is one of the promising stars in Tennis. Earlier this year, streaming platform Netflix has released a documentary on the star player titled ‘Carlos Alcaraz: My Way’. In the show, apart from showing him as a professional athlete, there have also been glimpses of his life outside tennis, into his partying habits. The latter part did make Alcaraz susceptible to criticism from a few pundits. But his fellow countryman, Rafael Nadal, slammed the documentary. “However, knowing Carlos a little, I think the documentary doesn’t reflect his personality or the way he lives his career. He doesn’t come across as a tennis player who trains, but as someone who likes to party, who needs it, who isn’t very professional. It’s just not true,” Nadal speaking to L’Equipe “Carlos is a great professional. He’s a person who works very hard to bring his tennis and his physique to the highest level. I think the documentary was approached in the wrong way, because people’s perception is different from what his real life,” he added. Story …

‘Alcohol banned in stands at French Open, can be consumed in aisles; won’t hesitate to evacuate unruly spectators ‘ – Amelie Mauresmo | Tennis News

‘Alcohol banned in stands at French Open, can be consumed in aisles; won’t hesitate to evacuate unruly spectators ‘ – Amelie Mauresmo | Tennis News

Sipping champagne, guzzling beer and dispensing gyaan to tennis pros on how to play, will be barred from the French Open with an alcohol ban in place in the stands at Roland Garros. In a bold move to combat boorish behavior from spectators, French Open organizers declared a complete ban on alcohol consumption in the stands for this year’s tournament. The decision came after a series of disturbing incidents involving fans at recent events, leading to upping the guard and a zero-tolerance policy towards disruptive conduct. The deteriorating level of fan behaviour continued at the Italian Open over the last fortnight. Story continues below this ad At Rome, women’s world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka told a fan to “shut the f*** up” after they heckled her during her quarter-final defeat to Zheng Qinwen. In an earlier round, world No. 22 Clara Tauson was left pleading the umpire to intervene after a crowd member turned unruly after she served a double fault against Mirra Andreeva, and asked, “Who are you?” The Jakub Menšík – Fábián Marozsán …

Sumit Nagal crashes out in qualifiers

Sumit Nagal crashes out in qualifiers

India’s Sumit Nagal bowed out of the 2025 French Open qualifiers after succumbing to Austria’s Jurij Rodionov on Wednesday. Nagal, India leading men’s singles player and ranked 170 in the world, was beaten in round two of the qualifiers by the 225th ranked Austrian in straight sets 2-6, 4-6. Nagal found the Austrian too hot to handle from the word go. While the Indian did land a greater percentage of first serves in (82%) when compared to Rodionov (74%), winning points on serve proved to be a challenge. After effecting twin breaks of serve, the Austrian ran away with a first set. In the second set, however, Nagal did appear to find his footing and clawed his way back to level terms after being broken. However, having to serve out to level the score at 5-5, the Indian failed to hold out. This latest disappointment for Nagal comes on the heels of a string of unsuccessful outings on the tour – R32 exits at Challengers in Bordeaux, Prague and Monza across April and early May …

‘Really shocked to see…’: Jim Courier on Djokovic, Sinner and other top 20 stars playing in ATP Tournaments before French Open  | Tennis News

‘Really shocked to see…’: Jim Courier on Djokovic, Sinner and other top 20 stars playing in ATP Tournaments before French Open  | Tennis News

With 13 out of the top 20 players in the world playing in the Geneva Open and Hamburg Open between May 17 to May 24 ahead of the French Open, it would mean that the likes of Novak Djovokic and world number one Jannik Sinner will not be travelling to France at least one week in advance. Four-time Grand Slam winner Jim Courier has criticised the top 20 players’ move ahead of the French Open, which starts May 25 and finds this decision shocking. “With someone like Jannik Sinner there is a lot of insurance at play. For Novak Djokovic, he needs the matches because he has not played, and he is going to try and do what he did last year, which is get two or three matches and maybe try and pull the cord with a little bit of match toughness. But I am really shocked honestly, to see some of the names on here,” Courier told The Tennis Channel. While the Hamburg Open will see the participation of eight players out of …

Rafael Nadal makes a French Open comeback… but only for trailer of Roland Garros

Rafael Nadal makes a French Open comeback… but only for trailer of Roland Garros

The King of Clay Rafael Nadal won’t be playing at Roland Garros this year, but his voice is the star of the tournament’s official teaser trailer. Nadal is also set to be felicitated during the tournament that it’s director Amélie Mauresmo has promised will be “exceptional”. But first, his voice is being heard. In the 45-second clip, that ends with a tight close-up of him, posted to Roland Garros’ social media channels two weeks ahead of the start of the main draw, Nadal reads a poem to go with dreamy visuals from the tournament. These are the words said by Rafa. Story continues below this ad “Only where love is written in capital letters, only the clay where champions fight, only the glide, the power, only the endurance until the night, only where tennis and everyone rhyme, only where hats fit all heads, only where the clay marks passion in red, only where rituals leave a trace, only a stage for courage and fire, only here where all dreams transpire, only at Roland-Garros,” Nadal says …

Novak Djokovic, MS Dhoni and the painful April of watching the unbreakable legends break | Tennis News

Novak Djokovic, MS Dhoni and the painful April of watching the unbreakable legends break | Tennis News

Novak Djokovic can be advised to follow MS Dhoni’s IPL season. If the Serb finds cricket boring, he can just watch his four-ball inning – calling it a painful-to-watch outing would be more apt – against Punjab Kings in CSK’s last game. Dhoni, 43, has looked in shape, sufficiently beefed up. But he couldn’t middle many balls. When he did, he failed to clear the ropes, like he did once upon a time. CSK’s fortunes would get impacted. The IPL final is still about a month away but the multiple champions are out of contention. Dhoni failed when his team wanted him to succeed the most. And in his and CSK’s failure, is a lesson for Djokovic – Form wasn’t on tap, it doesn’t flow by just turning the knob. Few days back, towards the end of last month, Djokovic, 37, had lost to World No.44 Matteo Arnaldi in straight sets. It was a meek surrender. Acknowledging his fall but not sure if it was time to call it quits, Djokovic spoke about a “new …

Carlos Alcaraz blames ‘demanding sport’ for withdrawal from Madrid Open, says will be fit for French Open title defence

Carlos Alcaraz blames ‘demanding sport’ for withdrawal from Madrid Open, says will be fit for French Open title defence

Carlos Alcaraz will not be part of the Madrid Open tennis tournament because of existing muscle injuries. The world no 3 said that he didn’t want to risk making things worse before the French Open and that he has still in a race to recover from the upper leg ailment which had hampered his movement during the Barcelona Open final last Sunday. Alcaraz, who would have been the home favourite at the Madrid Open to claim his third title after wins in 2022 and 2023, blamed his injuries on the “really tight” schedule that is part of the “demanding sport” of tennis. “Madrid is one of the special tournaments for me, it’s a tournament that I enjoy, I get to play in front of my fans, it’s one of the first tournaments I attended when I was a kid,” Alcaraz said. “These types of decisions are not easy to make but sometimes you have to think about your health and about what is important. A Grand Slam is a Grand Slam. If I play here, …

French Open plans special tribute to Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros | Tennis News

French Open plans special tribute to Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros | Tennis News

A year after he bid adieu to Roland Garros for the last time as a player, 14-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal will receive a special tribute at the venue where he was virtually unbeatable for the most part of his career. The Spanish legend called time on his illustrious career after the Davis Cup Finals late last year, having amassed 22 Grand Slam titles, and will be honoured on Court Philippe Chatrier at the end of the day session on the tournament’s opening day – May 25. “Rafa made history at Roland Garros and his 14 titles will perhaps remain unequalled,” tournament director Amelie Mauresmo said. “The idea is to have a vision for the future and also to celebrate those who thrilled us in the past.” Story continues below this ad The French Open will also honour the retiring Richard Gasquet and 2000 champion Mary Pierce. “To mark Rafa’s first season post-retirement, a ceremony will take place following the conclusion of the day session’s three fixtures,” the organisers said in a news release. …