NEW EPISODE: 2026 Season Kickoff, Aussie Summer Storylines & More
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Context-free soundbite: “And I said, ‘No, I kiss your mother with this mouth.’”
This week on Served, Andy and JW unpack their thoughts on Australian Open wild cards, Stan Wawrinka’s farewell, the ATP’s new heat rule and player health leading up to the first Slam of the year.
5 Setter returns Friday, but first, Served will launch two weekly podcasts!
Love All, hosted by Kim Clijsters and Blair Henley, returns to a permanent Wednesday slot starting tomorrow, January 7, with a focus on the WTA.
Q&Andy debuts Thursday, January 8. Every week, Andy will answer viewers’ questions. If you want to be part of the next Q&Andy, don’t forget to submit your questions. Send a video, a voice note or a short email to askandy@servedmediagroup.com, or DM the Served Instagram account. Preference will be given to video questions.
Check out the full episode below, then come back here for this week’s bonus headlines.
Three stories we love this week.
United Cup Heroes: Bencic, Hurkacz, Hunter
The first five days of United Cup kicked off the 2026 tennis season with thrillers and upsets.
Belinda Bencic went 4-0 (two singles, two mixed doubles) in the round-robin stage to lead Switzerland to the group win over Italy and France. The sweep included a 10-7 clincher in mixed doubles (with Jakub Paul) over Italy’s Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori, the reigning US Open mixed doubles champions.
Stan Wawrinka turned back the clock by beating No. 27 Arthur Rinderknech of France and stretching No. 22 Flavio Cobolli of Italy to a third-set tiebreak.
Other notable triumphs:
Hubert Hurkacz of Poland upset Alexander Zverev of Germany 6-3, 6-4. It was Hurkacz’s first match in seven months after an injury layoff.
Jessica Bouzas Maneiro of Spain upset Coco Gauff of the U.S. 6-1, 6-7, 6-0, spoiling the American’s 9–0 United Cup record going into the match.
Taylor Fritz, playing through “serious” knee pain, leveled the U.S.–Spain tie with a 7-6, 3-6, 7-6 win over Jaume Munar, and Gauff and Christian Harrison delivered the win in mixed doubles.
Storm Hunter of Australia, ranked No. 426 in singles, subbed in for ailing No. 32 Maya Joint and lifted the home team past Norway with wins in singles and mixed doubles, partnering with John-Patrick Smith.
Maria Sakkari of Greece, a former Top 3 player who is now No. 51, beat Naomi Osaka of Japan and Emma Raducanu of Great Britain.
The group stage will wrap up Wednesday when Poland plays the Netherlands for the last quarterfinal spot. Either Poland or Germany will advance, joining Argentina, Australia, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Greece, Switzerland, and the U.S. in the knockout rounds, beginning Wednesday.
Anisimova Is the New American No. 1
Amanda Anisimova started 2026 with a career-best achievement—even before playing a single point.
Due to a schedule quirk, the WTA’s new rankings yesterday featured some movement when United Cup and Auckland points from Week 1 last year fell off but no new results replaced them. Anisimova lost zero points and Coco Gauff lost about 500 points, which was enough for the two to trade spots in the rankings. Anisimova is now No. 3, the highest-ranked American woman. Gauff is 14 points behind at No. 4.
Anisimova, last year’s US Open and Wimbledon runner-up, is the 15th American woman to crack the Top 3 since the WTA rankings were introduced in 1975. Two years ago, the 24-year-old was ranked No. 442 after taking a seven-month break. (Tennis.com)
Change of Clothes: New Sponsorships Keep Coming
According to tennis fashion journalist Jessica Schiffer, Wilson signed three new players to 360 deals—meaning rackets, shoes and apparel. Alex de Minaur (formerly Asics), Karen Khachanov (Nike) and Jiri Lehecka (Le Coq Sportif) are suiting up for the brand this year.
De Minaur is Wilson’s first ATP Top 10 player with a 360 contract. Marta Kostyuk, Victoria Mboko, Peyton Stearns and Alycia Parks also have head-to-toe Wilson deals. Along with Adidas and On, Wilson is one of the brands increasing its investment in tennis as Nike continues to back away.
Other off-season moves include: Anastasia Potapova to Wilson, Eva Lys to Lacoste, Alejandro Tabilo to Ellesse for apparel and On for shoes, Donna Vekic to Ellesse and Rinky Hijikata to Yonex. (Hard Court, Score and Change)
Which clothing brand will be the next tennis powerhouse? Take our poll below.
Quick Hits
Arthur Fils withdrew from the Australian Open to continue rehab on his back, a process he’s chronicling on his new vlog, Renaissance.
A tennis/NFL crossover story.
Behold this ambidextrous teen, but spare him the hype machine.
Must watch: Iga Swiatek–Eva Lys highlights from United Cup.
Are you keeping up with Served?
Global action beyond tennis.
PICKLEBALL: Andre Agassi wants pickleball players to channel his early-’90s rebel style. “We gotta shake things up a little bit. If I had some legs and I was younger, I’d get out there and at least bring some spice and get people talking,” he said. (Pickleball.com)
PADEL: The Reserve Cup, a new tournament series, will launch in January with the largest purse in the sport to date. The series builds on the success of the star-studded Reserve Miami Seaplane Base event last year, attended by A-listers including Derek Jeter and Zac Efron. NBA All-Star Jimmy Butler is the honorary chairman of the Reserve Cup. (PR Newswire)
SQUASH: Pakistan, once a powerhouse in the sport, is hosting its first pro tournament in recent years, with the largest purse ever offered in the country. The PSA gold-level Karachi Open starts January 6. World No. 4 Karim Abdel Gawad is the top seed in the men’s draw, and World No. 4 Amina Orfi leads the women’s draw. (Arab News)
BADMINTON: The Malaysia Open Super 1000 kicks off this week, led by both World No. 1s, An Se-young and Shi Yuqi. (Badminton World Federation)
RACQUETBALL: The International Racquetball Tour announced Formulaflow as its new ball sponsor. (IRT)
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