The Professional Tennis Registry (PTR) officially announces Lynne Rolley as Chief Executive Officer, following her appointment as Interim CEO in March.

Rolley currently serves as Chair of the PTR Board of Directors and brings more than five decades of coaching, leadership, and industry experience to the role. Widely respected throughout the global tennis industry, Rolley has dedicated her career to advancing coaching education, player development, and opportunities within racquet sports.

“With Lynne’s leadership, vision, and deep connection to PTR’s mission, we are confident in the future direction of our organization,” said Karl Hale, PTR Board Vice Chair, “Her lifelong commitment to coach education and the game itself makes her uniquely positioned to lead PTR into its next chapter.”

Rolley’s extensive résumé includes serving as Director of Women’s Tennis for the USTA, coaching the Fed Cup Team, PanAm Games, and U.S. National Teams around the world. She has held leadership roles at premier facilities including Berkeley Tennis Club, Moraga Country Club, and most recently served as Executive Director of Tennis at La Quinta Resort and PGA West.

A pioneer in the industry, Rolley became the first woman to coach a men’s NCAA tennis team at St. Mary’s College in Moraga, California. As a player, she achieved Top 10 rankings in the United States and earned multiple national titles as the nation’s No. 1 ranked junior player.

Throughout her career, Rolley has coached some of the sport’s most recognizable athletes, including Lindsay Davenport, Jennifer Capriati, Chanda Rubin, and the Williams sisters. She is also a respected speaker, author, and educator, contributing to Tennis Magazine and other industry publications, while also hosting her own academy show on Tennis Channel.

In 2020, Rolley received the prestigious International Tennis Hall of Fame Educational Merit Award in recognition of her lasting impact on coaching education and the sport of tennis.

Rolley’s appointment represents a full-circle moment in her career, having worked closely with PTR founder Dennis Van der Meer during her early years as a coach. Throughout the decades, she has remained deeply connected to PTR’s mission of education, innovation, and coach development, making her leadership a natural continuation of the organization’s legacy.

“I am incredibly honored to accept the role of CEO and continue serving an organization that has played such an important role throughout my career,” said Rolley. “I believe we have an incredible opportunity to continue evolving how we support coaches; not just through education, but by creating clear career pathways and providing meaningful resources that help coaches grow, lead, and build lasting futures in racquet sports. I’m excited about the future of PTR, PPR, PCR, and PPTR and the opportunity to continue strengthening our community while helping the next generation of coaches reach their full potential.”

As CEO, Rolley will oversee the continued growth and strategic direction of PTR and its family of organizations, including the Professional Pickleball Registry (PPR), Professional Platform Tennis Registry (PPTR), and Professional Padel Coaches Registry (PCR), with a focus on coach education, member experience, and expanding career opportunities within racquet sports.

About PTR
About Professional Tennis Registry (PTR): PTR is the largest global organization of tennis teaching professionals in 127 countries. It has the greatest percentage of multicultural and women members of any such organization. PTR is dedicated to educating, certifying, and serving tennis teachers and coaches worldwide to grow the game. For more information about PTR and its programs, visit www.ptrtennis.org.

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Alexander Zverev stood on a practice court in Paris during the first week of Roland Garros 2026, digesting the same news as the rest of us: Jannik Sinner, the overwhelming odds-on favourite, had been dumped out in the third round by unheralded Argentinian Juan Manuel Cerundolo. Novak Djokovic promptly followed him out of the tournament after losing to teenage prodigy Joao Fonseca, while defending champion Carlos Alcaraz didn’t even make it to the City of Lights. Suddenly, the most loaded opportunity of the German’s career to finally win a Grand Slam was sitting there, unmistakable, in broad daylight.

Zverev had three lost Grand Slam finals’ worth of weight in his arm to deal with before he could even think of making good on his opportunity. The Big Apple 2020. Paris 2024. Melbourne 2025. Three times on the doorstep. Three times, the door slammed shut.

Now, at his fourth major final and with the draw wide open, Zverev finally got the job done, downing upstart Italian sensation Flavio Cobolli in a thriller. But with the monkey finally off his back, could the German now carry that newfound momentum all the way to Wimbledon glory? Here are the last three men to do exactly that.

Rafael Nadal — 2010

Nobody talks enough about what the twelve months before 2010 cost Rafael Nadal. Four consecutive Roland Garros titles, a handful of sets dropped across the entire run — and then Robin Söderling, fourth round, 2009, and the whole thing collapsed. Roger Federer won the title and completed his career Grand Slam on the court that had belonged to Rafa. Knee tendinitis kept him from Wimbledon entirely that year, and he was forced to watch on from a distance as the sport reorganised itself around his absence.

He arrived back at Roland Garros in 2010 as the second seed, behind Federer, with Söderling seeded fifth and very much in the draw. What he produced was something beyond tennis. He didn’t drop a set — only the second time he’d managed that at Roland Garros, after 2008 — beating Nicolás Almagro in the quarterfinals and Jürgen Melzer in the semifinals before facing Söderling in the final. The man who had beaten him here twelve months earlier. Nadal won 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 without letting the occasion breathe on him for a moment.

That capacity to walk directly into the thing that has damaged you and dismantle it without visible emotion is not common. And the place that the King of Clay gets that innate ability from is an unusual one: the poker table. Insights from popular online poker site and blog Ignition Australia show that Nadal is also a serious poker player — serious enough that in 2013, he beat one of the world’s top experts, Daniel Negreanu, at a charity game in Prague.

He’s explained the connection himself: “[Like tennis, poker is] a competition. You need to control your emotions, you need to be focused all the time.” The psychological architecture that made him dangerous across a felt table is the same architecture that allowed him to stand across the net from Söderling in a Roland Garros final and feel nothing except the match in front of him.[JB1] 

He would then carry that momentum into Wimbledon a month later, arriving as the first seed and carrying a streak of 13 straight wins on the lawns. Tomáš Berdych had dismantled Federer in the quarterfinals — ending his run of seven consecutive Wimbledon finals — then beaten Novak Djokovic 6-3, 7-6, 6-3 in the semifinals. Nadal brushed past Andy Murray 6-4, 7-6, 6-4 in his half, then dismissed Berdych 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 in the final.

His second Wimbledon, his eighth major. He added the US Open six weeks later. Three consecutive Slams in one summer. He’d win Roland Garros fourteen times in total, and reach Wimbledon finals in 2011 and 2019. But the Channel Slam? Never again.

Novak Djokovic — 2021

The thing about Djokovic’s 2021 Roland Garros is that he had never truly won the tournament. His previous Paris victory in 2016 had required the then 13-time champion Nadal’s absence through injury. A second French Open title would make him the first male player in the Open Era to win every major twice, but beating a fully healthy Rafa on his own patch was something that he had never done.

This time around, however, he would. In the semifinals, Djokovic beat Nadal — only his third defeat in 108 French Open matches, his first loss across 14 semifinal appearances — and became the only man to beat him twice at Roland Garros, this one against the fully-fit and firing version. Two days later, two sets down against Tsitsipas in the final, he overturned it entirely: 6-7, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4. His 19th Grand Slam title. He called the two matches among the best he’d ever played.

Wimbledon arrived with the calendar Grand Slam whispers no longer quiet. His 27-0 record at Grand Slam events in 2021 entering the fortnight was unimpeachable. Draper, Anderson, Kudla, Garín, Fucsovics — dispatched. He saved ten break points to beat Shapovalov 7-6, 7-5, 7-5 in the semifinals, then claimed a sixth Wimbledon title against Matteo Berrettini — Italy’s first Grand Slam finalist in 45 years — in four sets. His 20th major. Federer and Nadal’s record equalled.

Carlos Alcaraz — 2024

Carlos Alcaraz arrived at Roland Garros in 2024 with a protective sleeve on his forearm and admitted fears about hitting his forehand at full force, an injury that forced withdrawals from Monte Carlo, Barcelona, and Rome. A first major final on clay against the man who would be trying to win his own first Slam in the very same Paris draw two years later. He beat Sinner in five sets — coming back from two sets to one down — then faced Zverev in the final and won 6-3, 2-6, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2, the last two sets a statement of intent that the middle-set wobble had been an aberration, rather than a warning.

Wimbledon was a different kind of statement entirely. As defending champion — having beaten Djokovic in a five-set final in 2023 — he navigated Lajal, Vukic, Tiafoe, Humbert, and Paul (5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2), beat Medvedev in the semifinals 6-7, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4, then faced a Djokovic who had undergone meniscus surgery weeks earlier and somehow reached another final. The scoreline — 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 — didn’t flatter Alcaraz. The seven-time champion never got a foothold. He was 21 years old, and he was the second man in the Open Era to win his first four Grand Slam finals.

 [JB1]taken from here https://ignitiongaming.net/au/why-pro-athletes-make-great-poker-players/

The post Who Were The Last Three Men To Win Roland Garros and Wimbledon Back-to-Back? appeared first on World Tennis Magazine.

BY JAMES BECK

Watch out! Sasha is running loose.

The sky’s the limit now. He has the serve and game to make things difficult for the rest of men’s tennis.

Alexander Zverev is still just 29 years open.

He has the monkey off his back now that he has won a Grand Slam tournament. So, move over Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz, and make room for the biggest serve in tennis and some of the best ground strokes.

Just when it was looking like Sunday’s French Open men’s final might go to the wire, Zverev jumped on the train for possible true stardom.

THE FIFTH SET WAS ALL ZVEREV

There he was dead even with impressive 24-year-old Italian Flavio Cobolli after four sets. Zverev was supposed to be signing autographs by now.

He could have panicked with Cobolli looking to be capable of ruining his dream. Dead even at deuce in the opening game of the fifth set, anything appeared to be possible.

Just then, Zverev became the real Sasha, the one that was as dangerous as anyone in men’s tennis.

He had the game. But he hadn’t taken it.

TALL GERMAN TURNED ON BURNERS

The tall German with the powerful serve turned on his burners to win the next two points to break Cobolli’s service for a 1-0 lead to start the fifth set.

All of a sudden, Zverev took over the match again. His once shaky knees shook no longer.

Three games later,  Zverev had broken serve again and held his own service twice for a 4-0 lead.

Cobolli held service, but Zverev held his own service easily and then watched as Cobolli couldn’t control a wild overhead that sent Zverev into a celebration on the red clay of Roland Garros.

Finally, Zverev was a Grand Slam champion with a 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-1 victory.

—

James Beck was the 2003 winner of the USTA National Media Award  for print media. A 1995 MBA graduate of The Citadel, he can be reached at Jamesbecktennis@gmail.com.

The post Will Alexander Zverev Become The New Star of Tennis? appeared first on World Tennis Magazine.

Federer last competed at the US Open in 2019 after famously captivating New York by becoming the only man or woman to win five consecutive US Open singles championships (2004-08). He’ll make his return to Arthur Ashe Stadium this year by playing in an exhibition event alongside 2003 US Open champion and longtime rival Andy Roddick, as well as fellow tennis icons and US Open champions Andre Agassi and John McEnroe. Further celebrity appearances and iconic surprises will treat fans throughout the evening, which will begin at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, August 25.

“The US Open has always been one of the most special tournaments for me,” Federer said. “So many unforgettable moments of my career happened in New York, and Arthur Ashe Stadium is a place that means a great deal to me. I’ve missed being part of that atmosphere and feeling the incredible energy that the fans bring every year. To return to Arthur Ashe and share the evening with Andy, Andre and John makes it even more meaningful. I’m looking forward to celebrating those memories, seeing the fans again, and enjoying a very special night together.”

Read daily Federer anecdotes and anniversaries in the book On This Day In Roger Federer History here https://a.co/d/08AIRyYZ via @Amazon

“It goes without saying that Roger Federer is one of the greatest champions to ever step onto a tennis court, and his legacy at the US Open will carry on for generations,” said Brian Vahaly, Chairman of the Board, President and Interim Co-CEO, USTA. “We’re thrilled to welcome him back for this unique and special event, giving fans an opportunity to celebrate Roger’s legacy and thank him for all he has meant to our sport.”

Tickets for ‘Roger Federer – An Icon Returns to New York’ go on sale via presale on Wednesday, June 10, to US Open subscribers at 9 a.m. ET and Insiders at noon, via Ticketmaster and USOpen.org. Tickets go on sale to the public on Thursday, June 11, at 9 a.m.

The post Roger Federer To Return To The U.S. Open appeared first on World Tennis Magazine.

The post Alexander Zverev Credits “Cramps” In Winning First Major Title at Roland Garros appeared first on World Tennis Magazine.

Outside of Rafa Nadal’s dominant run at Roland Garros, the French Open rarely follows a neat script. Still, 2026 tore it up and tossed the shreds into the Paris wind.

Fifteen seeds vanished in round one alone, a jailbreak that included three men’s top-10 seeds and one from the women’s top tier, the normally consistent No. 3 seed Jessica Pegula. Months after Melbourne’s orderly procession of favorites, Paris delivered the opposite: only two of the top eight seeds reached the quarterfinals (Alexander Zverev and Aryna Sabalanka), and for the first time in the Open Era not a single men’s major champion made it to the round of 16. The results felt less like a bracket than a live-wire experiment where heat tolerance, nerve, and problem-solving trumped pedigree.

The women’s draw bore the sharpest edge, with No. 114 ranked qualifier Maja Chwalinska making it all the way to the final. Her former doubles partner in juniors and fellow Pole Iga Swiatek arrived in Paris with a 30–3 record at Roland Garros since 2020, but fell in the fourth round to Np. 15 Marta Kostyuk, guaranteeing a first-time champion. World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka was toppled by lefty Diana Shnaider; Coco Gauff, the defending champion, exited before the semifinals; and Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva continued her rise with resilient, cool-headed tennis, including a surprisingly decisive victory against Kostyuk, whom she’d lost to two times earlier this year. 

Before losing to Andreeva 3-6, 2-6 in the final, southpaw Maja Chwalinska had a truly fairy tale run in Paris, defeating an Olympic Champion and three seeds while dropping just one set, to become the first qualifier to reach the finals in 125 years of the French Open. Her arsenal of lefty backhand slices and heavy top spin forehands threw off the rhythm of seasoned opponents such as Maria Sakarri, Elise Mertens and Anna Kalanskaya. She said it herself: “I know I’m playing different tennis than most of the girls on tour. I don’t have the conditions to play strong, so I need to develop different weapons. I just try to change the rhythm a lot. I feel like it’s pretty tough to play against this kind of style, because you don’t have any rhythm — every ball can be different.” 

As a junior, she rose through the ranks with her close friend Świątek, and both made their professional debuts at the same tournament in Zawada, Poland, in 2015. They finished runners-up together in the 2017 Australian Open junior doubles final. “Iga and I have a lot of history in common,” Chwalińska said in Paris. “We went through a lot together and it brought us together.” Świątek went on to win Roland Garros four times. Chwalińska took a different road — including a year away from tennis at 19 after revealing she had been suffering from depression — before grinding back through the ITF circuit to No. 114 in the world. A Polish company that sponsors Świątek quietly covered her hotel costs when she ran out of funds mid-tournament (her well-earned 1.6 million dollar paycheck wasn’t handed out until completion of the final). 

The often fiery 19-year-old Andreeva hoisted the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen after practicing patience and pressing Chwalinska at every opportunity to become the youngest champion since and 18-year-oldMonica Seles won in 1992. 

At Roland Garros 2026, the opponent across the net was often secondary to the extreme weather. Unprecedented heat arrived first, then the wind — and by the time the final was played, both had claimed as many victims as any player in the draw. France experienced its hottest May on record. Starting on May 24—the day the French Open began—a record-shattering heatwave pushed temperatures 10–15°C above normal and May 26 was the hottest May day in French history, with climate scientists describing the event as a roughly one-in-1,000 occurrence for this time of year. Sinner and Djokovic, amongst others, wilted in their five-set defeats and without Carlos Alcaraz in the draw, it became the first time in the Open Era that no former major champion reached the round of 16 at a Grand Slam tournament. The chaos produced surreal matchups, including a Matteo Berrettini – Matteo Arnaldi quarterfinal between two players ranked outside the top 100, the first such Slam pairing since 1991. Like the women’s event, whoever lifts the trophy in Paris, Cobolli or Zverev, will be a first-time Slam winner.

Officiating grabbed its own headlines too. In João Fonseca’s upset of Casper Ruud, a late second-set tiebreak sequence—ball called out, then corrected—triggered confusion over whether to replay or award the point, drawing immediate broadcast criticism and swinging momentum at a hinge of the match. Tournament director Amélie Mauresmo defended retaining human line judges afterward, noting electronic systems are “not 100% reliable.” The moment stood out all the more because the US Open, Australian Open, and Wimbledon use electronic line-calling across all courts, as do all the clay court tournaments leading into Paris.

Roland Garros didn’t just crown two new champions- it laid bare how unpredictable life can be, especially on clay during the era of climate chaos. Will Sabalanka, Gauff and Swiatek recover on the grass later this month or will Andreeva continue her rise? Will Zverev finally take home a Slam? This year, Paris erupted into the most unpredictable fortnight in recent memory and made clear that anything is possible and that dreams really do come true. 

The post Roland Garros 2026 – Tennis’s Most Open and Chaotic Fortnight appeared first on World Tennis Magazine.

Fighting gusty winds, cool temperatures, high expectations and the tenacious and quirky game of her unexpected Cinderella opponent of Maja Chwadlinska, Andreeva claimed the final-round victory with 6-3, 6-2 win that wasn’t really in doubt after the eighth game of the first set.  

“I’m just happy that I kept my composure, kept my focus, and I felt like no matter what, no matter what the score is gonna be, no way I’m gonna lose this match,” Andreeva told TNT’s Mary Joe Fernandez shortly after the trophy ceremony. “I was just very happy with how locked in I was in the last game.”

“I felt like their conditions were extremely tough, a lot of wind going into a lot of different directions,” Andreeva continued. “So I’m just happy that I was able to stay focused and I was able to play aggressive and go for my shots.”

Aged 19 years and 39 days old on finals day, Mirra Andreeva is the first teenager to win the Roland Garros women’s singles title since Iga Swiatek in 2020 (who was 19 years and 132 days old, older than Andreeva).

Her title makes her the youngest Roland Garros women’s singles champion since 18-year-old Monica Seles won her third straight Roland Garros title in 1992, which was played exactly 34 years to the day of Andreeva’s victory.

The 2007-born Andreeva is the first player born after 2005 to reach a Grand Slam singles final (including women’s and men’s events).

Chwalinska, the Polish qualifier ranked No. 114 (only the second qualifier to ever reach a Grand Slam tournament final after 2021 U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu), initially dug in after being broken in the opening game, breaking straight back to move 3-2 ahead. Andreeva then reeled off nine consecutive games before finally closing out the win.

Andreeva will move from No. 8 to No. 6 in the WTA rankings, while Chwalinska will move from a career-changing ranking inside the Top 30. Her incredible story is documented here: https://worldtennismagazine.com/the-extraordinary-story-of-maja-chwalinska/27810

The Extraordinary Story of Maja Chwalińska – World Tennis Magazine

The post Mirra Andreeva Persists To Win First Major Title At Roland Garros appeared first on World Tennis Magazine.

BY JAMES BECK

CHARLESTON, S.C. – – Roland Garros and TNT Sports need a good weekend.

Only a couple of second-stringers will try to make it happen. Relative unknowns Maja Chwalinska and Flavio Cobolli have a big job.

At least, their opponents are being as gifted as possible Grand Slam champions. Mirra Andreeva and Alexander Zverev are heavy favorites to start next week as just that.

If that doesn’t happen, it wouldn’t be as surprising as playing the latter stages of this French Open  without world’s No. 1s Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner.

IS ZVEREV A SAFE BET TO JOIN THE ALL-TIME RANKS?

Zverev looks like a safe bet to finally put his name on a Grand Slam tournament championship trophy.

He has been resting in the shadows of Carlos Alcaraz and Sinner since Rafa Nadal retired or Novak Djokovic appeared on the edge of giving up his chase for all-time Grand Slam men’s tennis records.

And now, it’s up to the talented Zverev to make his move for greatness.

The 6-6 Zverev appeared to be really sharp and determined to win Friday’s semifinal bout against 6-5, 20-year-old Jakub Minsik rather easily. Zverev’s 7-5, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 victory surprised no one.

ZVEREV TALENTED AND TOUGH

After looking so talented against the always great Djokovic in the round of 16, Brazilian Joao Fonseca  

couldn’t handle Mensik. But then Mensik was no match for Zverev in the semifinals.

And too bad the Italian angle didn’t show up in its entirety as Matteo Arnaldi might have been called a no-show for his withdrawal against talented 24-year-old Flavio Cobolli in the semifinals. The question now is whether Cobolli can compete with the tall hard-hitting Zverev who became the first German man to win an Olympic gold medal in 2021.

Probably not. Zverev is in his fourth Grand Slam final and may be headed for glory the rest of the year and maybe next year, too. He has the talent and toughness to take over the men’s game on every surface.

POLISH SURPRISE IS AMAZING

 Chwalinska may look harmless, but the 5-5 24-year-old Polish surprise is dangerous with her left-handed game. She’s almost amazing. You might say she hits everything that bounces, and with great placement.

She’s not the smooth, yet powerful 5-9, 19-year-old Russian Andreeva.

This one could be a challenge for Andreeva on the red clay at Roland Garros.

—

James Beck was the 2003 winner of the USTA National Media Award  for print media. A 1995 MBA graduate of The Citadel, he can be reached at Jamesbecktennis@gmail.com.

The post No One Knows What Will Happen At Roland Garros On The Final Weekend appeared first on World Tennis Magazine.

There is a particular kind of agony reserved for the nearly man — the player who does everything right, climbs all the way to the summit, and still finds someone standing a little higher. For Alexander Zverev, that agony has been served three times in major finals, each defeat written in its own cruel chapter. He is just the seventh man in the Open Era to lose his first three Grand Slam tournament finals — a statistic that flatters nobody, but one that also hints at a remarkable truth: Sascha Zverev keeps getting there.

Here is the story of each of those heartbreaking afternoons.

Chapter One: The Match That Got Away — 2020 US Open

Arthur Ashe Stadium, New York. September 13, 2020.

The world had gone quiet that year. The grandstands of Arthur Ashe Stadium, usually a wall of noise and colour, sat empty — a ghostly backdrop for what turned out to be one of the most dramatic finals in US Open history.

A 23-year-old Zverev was trying to give Germany its first male Grand Slam champion since Boris Becker in the 1990s.  Across the net stood Dominic Thiem, the Austrian who had already lost three Grand Slam finals of his own and was desperately hungry for the title.

For an hour and a half, it looked like Zverev’s moment had finally arrived. He significantly outnumbered Thiem in winners after the first two sets (24 to 12) while also hitting fewer unforced errors.  He took both sets comfortably, 6-2, 6-4. He was six points from the title.

Then came the unravelling.

Nerves crept in as Thiem continued to boost his first-serve percentage, from 37 percent in the first set to 74 percent in the third.  The Austrian’s belief grew with every game. The fourth set slipped away too, and suddenly the fifth set was all that separated two young men from glory.

With Zverev serving for the match in the fifth set at 5-3, Thiem broke at 40-30 and followed it up with three exceptional points, including back-to-back forehand winners to level the set at 5-5.  The dream was slipping.

It came down to a fifth-set tiebreaker — the first in US Open final history. Thiem saved two championship points on second serves.  When the match finally ended on a backhand error by Zverev, Thiem fell to the court. He briefly covered his face with his hands, then rose to meet his friend. The men exchanged a stylised handshake and hugged. Zverev cradled Thiem’s head in his right hand. Then Zverev sat on the far side of the umpire’s chair, with his chin resting in his steepled hands, gazing straight ahead. 

Thiem became the first player in the Open Era to rally from two sets down in a US Open final.  For Zverev, there was nothing to do but absorb the pain. “I was a few games away, a few points away,” he said quietly. “I’m 23 years old. I don’t think it’s my last chance.” 

Final score: Thiem def. Zverev, 2–6, 4–6, 6–4, 6–3, 7–6(6).

Chapter Two: The Clay Court Dream — 2024 French Open

Court Philippe-Chatrier, Paris. June 9, 2024.

Four years is a long time to carry a memory. Zverev had lived through injury, doubt, and reinvention in the years between that empty stadium in New York and the clay cathedral of Roland Garros. But here he was again — in a Grand Slam final, this time on his best surface, against the electric young Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz.

On his way to the final, Zverev had overcome challenges from 14-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal, David Goffin, Tallon Griekspoor, Holger Rune, and Alex de Minaur.  It was a run of real substance, proof that Zverev’s game had evolved and matured.

The final itself was a sprawling, compelling contest. After an intense four hours and 20 minutes, Alcaraz won 6-3, 2-6, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2.  Zverev had fought back to take the second and third sets, giving the 90,000 Paris faithful a real match. But in the fourth and fifth sets, the young Spaniard pulled away.

The occasion was not without controversy. At a crucial juncture, trailing 1-2 in the fifth set, Zverev argued that an Alcaraz second serve had landed out. Chair umpire Renaud Lichtenstein decided otherwise — and Hawkeye data later revealed that Zverev had been correct. Had the call gone his way, he would have broken back and levelled the score at 2-2.  It was a gut-punch that may have altered the match’s history.

Alcaraz became the youngest man to win a Grand Slam on all three surfaces, passing his compatriot Rafael Nadal who did so at 22.  Zverev, for his part, was gracious in defeat — but the court controversy stung long after the trophy ceremony.

Final score: Alcaraz def. Zverev, 6–3, 2–6, 5–7, 6–1, 6–2.

Chapter Three: Stopped by the Best — 2025 Australian Open

Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne. January 2025.

If the first two finals had been epics, the third was closer to an execution — precise, controlled, and delivered by the man who has become the undisputed king of the modern game.

To reach the final, Zverev had navigated a brutal draw. He was seeded second at the Melbourne Major , and his semifinal win came when Novak Djokovic retired from their match due to a muscle tear in his upper left leg.  The path to the final was open. Waiting on the other side: Jannik Sinner.

The world number one was in the form of his life, and it showed. In the championship match, Zverev fell short of claiming his first Grand Slam title, succumbing to the defending champion in straight sets, 3-6, 6-7(4), 3-6. 

There was no dramatic collapse, no stolen moments, no controversial call to lament this time. Zverev himself acknowledged the outcome plainly: “He completely outplayed me. He deserved to win.” 

Final score: Sinner def. Zverev, 6–3, 7–6(4), 6–3.

The Weight of Three

When looking at Alexander Zverev’s résumé, a good argument can be made that he is the best player in ATP history without a Grand Slam title. He is an Olympic gold medallist, a seven-time Masters 1000 champion, and a two-time ATP Finals winner. He has also lost in the finals of three majors. 

Three finals. Three different opponents. Three different stories — each one unique in its cruelty.

But there is something worth holding onto in that fact. Not every great player earns a seat at the table three times. Many spend careers hoping for one shot. The question for Zverev is no longer whether he belongs among the elite — that is settled. The question is whether he can find, on one very specific afternoon, the version of himself that holds his nerve long enough to lift the trophy.

The post Reliving Alexander Zverev’s Three Grand Slam Final Heartbreaks appeared first on World Tennis Magazine.

She nearly quit tennis forever. Now she’s one of the greatest Cinderella stories the sport has ever seen.

If you hadn’t heard of Maja Chwalińska before June 2026, you’re not alone — and that’s precisely what makes her story so extraordinary.

Born in the southern Polish city of Dąbrowa Górnicza, she picked up a tennis racket at age seven after being spotted through a school recruitment program.  Nobody could have predicted that this little girl from an industrial city in Silesia would one day stand on the courts of Roland Garros as one of the most talked-about players in the world. But the road between those two points was anything but straight.

A Prodigy Steps Into the Spotlight

A talented left-hander, Chwalińska quickly emerged as one of Poland’s brightest prospects.  Her left-handed style, touch, and court intelligence made her different from many power-based players of her generation. 

Her junior career was genuinely dazzling. Her early potential was highlighted by European U14 and U16 doubles titles and a run to the junior Australian Open final at the age of just 16.  That Australian Open run came alongside a doubles partner who would go on to become one of the most dominant players in the history of the sport — Iga Świątek. The two were close friends as juniors, represented their country together in the Junior Billie Jean King Cup, and finished as runners-up in the 2017 AO girls’ doubles event. They also made their professional debuts at the same tournament in Zawada in 2015 and celebrated their first ITF victories in Toruń the following year. 

It looked like Poland had found its next great tennis star. Maybe even two of them.

The Weight of Comparison

Turning professional brought new pressures that Chwalińska struggled to carry. She won her first senior singles title in Bytom, Poland, in July 2019 and entered the WTA Top 200 for the first time in August 2019.  Progress was happening — but slowly, and always in the shadow of her childhood friend’s meteoric rise.

Watching childhood friend and former doubles partner Świątek become one of the world’s biggest tennis stars only deepened her struggles. “I was incredibly proud of her,” Chwalińska said. “But I felt even worse about myself then, because I knew we were the same age, and she was so high up and winning tournaments. And where was I?” 

That question — where was I? — would become the defining crisis of her young career.

Rock Bottom: The Courage to Step Away

In 2021, after a first-round qualifying defeat at Wimbledon, Chwalińska made one of the hardest decisions of her life. She took an indefinite break from tennis, revealing that she had suffered from depression. Then aged 19, she associated tennis with “pressure, stress and crying,” and did not know if she would ever return to the sport. 

In her own words, the warning signs had been building for a long time. “The break itself wasn’t very tough. The tough moments were before the break,” she admitted. “I was struggling a lot. At the beginning, I thought I just needed to stay strong, be tough, and just keep practicing. But eventually I couldn’t get out of bed anymore. I was just lifeless, to be honest. I knew that I needed to take a break because otherwise I wasn’t able to live properly.” 

She was not the only player to go through this — four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka was very vocal about her troubles, which inspired many.  Chwalińska drew strength from athletes willing to speak openly about mental health, and she chose to prioritise her wellbeing over her rankings.

After moving back to live with family and seeking professional help, she rediscovered some enjoyment in the sport and returned after four months. “The results don’t define me as much as they did before,” she said. “I just couldn’t differentiate [between] Maja and the tennis player. I was just one. I just needed time to kind of figure it out.” 

The Quiet Rebuild

Her return to tennis was gradual, humble, and built on a foundation that went far deeper than rankings points. Central to that recovery was her coach, Jaroslav Machovsky. “Six years together, and this relationship is already more like a father-daughter relationship,” she said. “He’s very supportive. He gives me peace of mind.” 

Year by year, she grinded her way back through the lower tiers of the tour — ITF events, WTA 125 tournaments, Grand Slam qualifying draws. She won seven career ITF singles titles and 14 career ITF doubles titles, and made her WTA qualifying debut as far back as 2016.  This was not a player being handed anything. Every point was earned in the trenches.

In April 2026, she won her third WTA 125 singles title at the Oeiras Ladies Open, which propelled her to a career-high ranking of No. 114.  A solid achievement — but not one that suggested what was about to happen in Paris.

Paris, 2026: The Fairy Tale

When Chwalińska arrived at Roland Garros in late May 2026, she had to come through qualifying just to reach the main draw. In the qualifying rounds, she beat Alice Rame, Carole Monnet, and Suzan Lamens.  Then the real magic began.

An incredible journey in Paris saw the Pole defeat Olympic gold medallist Zheng Qinwen, 23rd seed Elise Mertens, Maria Sakkari, and home favourite Diane Parry to reach the quarter-finals.  And still she wasn’t done. She secured her place in the last four with a stunning 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 victory over 22nd seed Anna Kalinskaya, making her only the second female qualifier since Nadia Podoroska in 2020 to reach the French Open semifinals, and just the sixth qualifier in the Open Era to make the final four of a Grand Slam. 

Before the 2026 French Open, Chwalińska had only ever managed to reach the main draw of a Slam on two previous occasions — the second round at Wimbledon in 2022 and a first-round exit at the 2025 Australian Open.  Now, against all odds, she was in the semifinals in Paris.

For Chwalińska, the financial impact was as significant as the sporting achievement. After years of competing primarily on lower-tier tours, her French Open breakthrough instantly changed the trajectory of her career.  She had earned around $864,000 in prize money over her entire career before Paris — and by reaching the semifinals, she pocketed nearly that same amount in a single tournament. 

More Than a Tennis Player

What makes Chwalińska’s story resonate so deeply is not just the on-court heroics. It is the honesty with which she has shared the darker chapters of her journey — the depression, the doubt, the morning she could not get out of bed. In doing so, she has become something more meaningful than another tennis champion.

Her openness made her story more meaningful, especially in a sport where pressure often stays hidden. 

At 24 years old, standing 5’5” and playing left-handed with a two-handed backhand, ranked in the top 30 in the world  following her Paris run, Maja Chwalińska is proof that the path back from rock bottom is possible — that identity is not defined by a ranking, a result, or a comparison to someone else.

She nearly walked away from tennis forever. Instead, she walked onto the biggest stage in clay-court tennis and announced herself to the world.

The post The Extraordinary Story of Maja Chwalińska appeared first on World Tennis Magazine.