Alex Zverev finds a new way to be the opposite of clutch.

Wu Yibing stuns #3 seed Casper Ruud in Acapulco.

Plus, Jakub Menšík keeps collecting wins in Dubai.

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🚨 Tres Strikes! Miomir Kecmanovic topples top seed Alexander Zverev, 6-3, 6-7³, 7-6⁴, to reach the Acapulco quarterfinals. Zverev has arrived as the top seed at the event in each of the last three years and never makes it past the 2nd round.

👀 Sister Act Ajla Tomljanović comes from 3-1 down to dismiss Venus Williams, 6-4, 6-1, in Austin. The 32yo Australian is now one of only two players undefeated against both Williams sisters (the other: Bianca Andreescu). Tomljanović, the last player to defeat Serena before her 2022 retirement, says she still chases the feeling from that night at Arthur Ashe. "I constantly, in the last four years, try to channel how I was in that match against Serena. Because I've never felt that since."

🚨 Wu Hoo!! Qualifier Wu Yibing surprises #3 seed Casper Ruud, 7-6², 7-6¹, in his Acapulco debut. The Chinese star wins 11 of 14 tiebreak points for the 3rd Top 20 victory of his career, following wins over Taylor Fritz in 2023 and Daniil Medvedev last September.

🔥 Czech'd In Jakub Menšík cruises past Alexei Popyrin, 6-3, 6-2, to reach the Dubai quarterfinals. The 20yo Czech improves to 13-3 in 2026 after toppling Jannik Sinner in Doha last week, and next faces Tallon Griekspoor. The Dutchman snaps a 0-4 losing streak against #2 seed Alexander Bublik with a 6-3, 7-6⁴ upset of his own.

💔 Rough Return Dalma Galfi ends Bianca Andreescu's WTA comeback, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, in Austin. The former US Open champion is playing her first main-draw match since Tokyo last October, having spent the off-season grinding to a 13-1 record at ITF level with two titles. Andreescu saves two match points and holds two points to level at 5-5 in the 3rd set, but Galfi finds a run of winners to close the door.

👀 Inside Out! Arthur Rinderknech fires 20 aces to oust #4 seed Jack Draper, 7-5, 6-7⁴, 6-4, in Dubai. At 5-6 in the 1st set, Draper puts on a fresh shirt inside out during the changeover, only notices after losing the first point, and never recovers the set. The Frenchman earns the 8th top-15 victory of his career. Draper was playing his first knockout tournament since last year's US Open due to an arm injury.

🥀 Breaking Point Donna Vekic breaks down in tears on her bench during a 6-3, 6-2 loss to Cristina Bucsa in the Mérida 1st round. The 29yo Croatian, ranked #100, has not won a match since Chennai in late October. She drops to #123 in live rankings and faces her lowest position since September 2015, when she was 19.

👴 Encore, Gaël! Gaël Monfils returns to Acapulco for the first time in 17 years and dispatches Damir Džumhur, 6-4, 7-6⁵, making the most of a wildcard. At 39 years and five months, he surpasses Nicolas Mahut as the oldest Frenchman to win a tour-level match in the Open Era. Monfils last played here in 2009, reaching the final back when the tournament was played on clay.

💬 Clear My Calendar! Daniil Medvedev proposes stripping ranking points from all 250 and 500 events. He cites Holger Rune's Achilles rupture at Stockholm last October as proof of calendar-driven injuries. ATP CEO Andrea Gaudenzi confirms plans to cut the number of 250 events further for 2028, when a new Saudi Masters comes online.

🌟 Hola, Rafa! Wildcard Rafa Jódar takes down Cameron Norrie in 55 minutes to reach the Acapulco round of 16. The Spaniard has won 14 of 18 matches this season, two more victories than compatriot Carlos Alcaraz (12-0). The Spaniard falls to Terence Atmane in the 2nd round, though, and will have to wait at least one more week for his top 100 debut.

👀 Welcome to Miami Alexandra Eala, 20yo and now world #31, calls her 2025 Miami Open wildcard run "the moment that put me on the map." The Filipino star, training at the Rafa Nadal Academy, toppled Iga Świątek in the quarterfinals and climbed from #140 to #70 in a single week. She prepares for her first Indian Wells before returning to Miami.

🎾 Austin Powers The ATX Open introduces a "rage room" where players can vent frustration in private, inspired by Coco Gauff's filmed racket smash at the Australian Open. On the court, #4 seed Peyton Stearns rallies past Francesca Jones, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. Meanwhile, 18yo Iva Jovic sits as the highest remaining seed after defending champion Jessica Pegula withdrew with a knee injury.

⏳ Swan Song Stan Wawrinka's Dubai career comes to a close with a 6-2, 6-3 loss to Daniil Medvedev. The 3-time slam champion, retiring at the end of this season, reflects on the Alcaraz-Sinner duopoly, which has produced the last 9 slam titles. Medvedev collects his 11th tour-level win of 2026.

As Sebastián Varela writes in CLAY, Stefanos Tsitsipas has never played the South American Golden Swing for a simple reason: the money. The former world #3, set to drop out of the top 40 after a 1st round loss in Dubai, says the Middle East and European swings offer far stronger appearance fees. He will also reunite with coach Dimitris Chatzinikolaou, with father Apostolos stepping back to about 70% of tournaments in 2026.

Christopher Morency profiles Naomi Osaka in Hypebeast. The Japanese superstar is redefining what it means to be an athlete at 28. In a wide-ranging cover story, the 4-time slam champion discusses her jellyfish-inspired Australian Open outfit (a Nike collaboration with Robert Wun), motherhood reshaping her view of success, and her hope of winning another slam.

"You can't assume he's invincible. You have to respect Carlos and all the other opponents, but at the same time, you have to believe in yourself and think you can win." - Andrey Rublev on Carlos Alcaraz ¹

"I think I stayed calm whenever he was giving me a lot of pressure. I really had to stay patient and at the same time aggressive." - Wu Yibing after upsetting Casper Ruud ²

"For sure right now Jannik and Carlos are different level. But there will be opportunity in the future. There are always going to be opportunity for players." - Stan Wawrinka on the Sincaraz era ³

"That tournament is the highlight of my career so far. That's what put me on the map. Everything fell into place from then on." - Alexandra Eala on her 2025 Miami Open run ⁴

"I would hope my legacy is that I'm someone who made it easier for the generation after." - Naomi Osaka on what she wants to leave behind ⁵

"Make four grand slams, 11 Masters, and that's it. The other tournaments, maybe make them without points or something." - Daniil Medvedev on reshaping the calendar ⁶

"Sinner is more solid, he plays more tactically, even though he's changing a lot, using more short balls, coming to the net more." - Luciano Darderi comparing the top two ⁷

DUBAI DUTY FREE TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS — Quarterfinals

◆ Daniil Medvedev (3) vs Jenson Brooksby

◆ Félix Auger-Aliassime (1) vs Jiří Lehečka (8)

◆ Andrey Rublev (5) vs Arthur Rinderknech

◆ Jakub Menšík (6) vs Tallon Griekspoor

ABIERTO MEXICANO TELCEL — OOP Not Released

MÉRIDA OPEN — 2nd Round

◆ Emma Navarro (2) vs Shuai Zhang (Q)

◆ Ann Li (3) vs Zeynep Sonmez

◆ Jessica Bouzas Maneiro (7) vs Magdalena Frech

◆ Jasmine Paolini (WC) vs Priscilla Hon (LL)

BCI SEGUROS CHILE OPEN — Quarterfinals

◆ Adolfo Daniel Vallejo (Q) vs Emilio Nava

◆ Francisco Cerundolo (1) vs Elmer Moller

◆ Sebastian Baez (3) vs Cristian Garin

◆ Alejandro Tabilo (8) vs Thiago Agustin Tirante

ATX OPEN — 2nd Round

◆ Anastasia Zakharova vs Ashlyn Krueger

◆ Peyton Stearns (4) vs Kaja Juvan

◆ Kimberly Birrell vs Caroline Dolehide (Q)

◆ Iva Jovic (2) vs Ajla Tomljanović

¹ Mulatier, Baptiste. "Andrey Rublev: We must respect Carlos Alcaraz, but we mustn't assume he's invincible." We Love Tennis, February 25, 2026. link

² ATP Staff. "Wu upsets Ruud, top seed Zverev advances in Acapulco." ATP Tour, February 25, 2026. link

³ Kane, David. "Stan Wawrinka: There will be opportunities to challenge Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner." Tennis.com, February 25, 2026. link

⁴ Rico, Andrés Tomás. "Eala recalls her breakthrough in Miami: That's what put me on the map." Punto de Break, February 25, 2026. link

⁵ Morency, Christopher. "Naomi Osaka Plays a Different Game." Hypebeast, February 25, 2026. link

⁶ Addicott, Adam. "Axe Ranking Points From Lower-Level Events To Ease Player Workload, Urges Medvedev." Ubitennis, February 25, 2026. link

⁷ Mulatier, Baptiste. "Darderi, ranked 21st in the world: Sinner is more solid than Alcaraz." We Love Tennis, February 25, 2026. link

Additional Sources

West, Andy. "Griekspoor upsets Bublik, Rinderknech ousts Draper in Dubai." ATP Tour, February 25, 2026. link

ATP Staff. "Pellegrino upsets Comesana for biggest win of career in Santiago." ATP Tour, February 25, 2026. link

Hughes, Matt. "Breakaway union stands behind Tara Moore's $20m legal battle against WTA." The Guardian, February 25, 2026. link

Tennis.com. "Grigor Dimitrov adds David Nalbandian to coaching team." Tennis.com, February 25, 2026. link

Kallet, Brad. "The perfect itinerary: Stearns' 3 favorite food spots in Austin." WTA, February 25, 2026. link

Solsona, Joan. "Rafa Jódar, the tennis player who has two more wins than Alcaraz this season." Marca, February 25, 2026. link

L'Équipe. "Arthur Rinderknech defeats Jack Draper at the Dubai ATP 500." L'Équipe, February 25, 2026. link

L'Équipe. "Andrey Rublev ends Ugo Humbert's run at the Dubai ATP 500." L'Équipe, February 25, 2026. link

Hypolite, Jules. "Donna Vekic in Tears at Merida." Tennis Temple, February 25, 2026. link

Hypolite, Jules. "After Coco Gauff's Australian Open Racket Smash, Austin WTA Unveils Player Rage Room." Tennis Temple, February 25, 2026. link

Huiber, Jens. "ATP Acapulco: Record! Gael Monfils turns back the clock." Tennisnet, February 25, 2026. link

Tenisový svět. "Lehečka equaled the Dubai maximum! He hit 16 aces." Tenisový svět, February 25, 2026. link

Aktuálně.cz / ČTK. "Czech tennis players are also in the Mexican chaos after the killing of a drug boss." Aktuálně.cz, February 24, 2026. link

WTA Staff. "Tomljanovic denies Venus Williams in Austin; Galfi ends Andreescu return." WTA, February 24, 2026. link

Varela, Sebastián. "Tsitsipas reveals why he has never played the Golden Swing." CLAY, February 25, 2026. link

Morency, Christopher. "Naomi Osaka Plays a Different Game." Hypebeast, February 25, 2026. link