New Episode: Baby Jabeur Arrives, WTA CEO Leaves and Tennis Hits the Red Carpet
Plus: London is ready for the 100th World Table Tennis Championships
Welcome to your weekly 5 Setter, an express roundup of all things racquet sports with Techy Sean. In this episode:
Roberto Bautista Agut says goodbye to Madrid
Ons Jabeur and Camila Giorgi eye comebacks as moms
Portia Archer steps down as WTA CEO
The Laureus Awards love tennis
Table tennis’s historic moment
Tiebreak Trivia
📮 Ask Kim Clijsters
Kim Clijsters will answer fan questions on an upcoming mailbag episode of Love All. Submit yours on Instagram or by email.
Click below to watch today’s 5 Setter on YouTube, and come back here for this week’s bonus stories.
Pitch-Perfect PR in Madrid
Santiago Bernabéu Stadium is home to Real Madrid, 15 Champions League titles and now, apparently, tennis.
Yesterday, the Madrid 1000 tournament nailed a PR stunt, luring stars to a red-clay court set up in the middle of Bernabéu’s legendary pitch. Players can practice there through April 30 while Real Madrid goes on the road. Even Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham joined the fun, hitting balls with the none other than the King of Clay, Rafael Nadal. It was his son, though, who stole the show with his impressive backhand, according to Tennis Tonic.
It’s too bad the court is walled off or we might have been treated to the sight of Daniil Medvedev returning serve from 121 feet behind the baseline.
Over at the Caja Magica, the only ATP or WTA seeds to fall in the first round were No. 7 Elina Svitolina, No. 22 Anna Kalinskaya, No. 33 Maria Sakkari and No. 34 Magdalena Frech.
Draper to Stay Home from Rome
Jack Draper has withdrawn from Rome, next up on the ATP calendar, and his injury pattern has drawn a comparison to a former player who many feel was robbed of a few Slams by his body.
Tennis Channel’s Gill Gross discussed Draper’s situation on the Craig Shapiro Tennis Podcast this week, and Gross did not sugarcoat it. He said a listener got his attention with a comparison to Juan Martin del Potro—a generational talent snakebitten by injuries. Shapiro called Draper’s stop-and-start 2026 one of the disappointments of the season. That feels right.
We are not in the business of catastrophizing. Draper is 23. DelPo was playing into his 30s through surgeries and setbacks. But brows are furrowing. At this rate, Draper’s new buzz cut will look like Andrey Rublev’s lion’s mane by the time he is healthy enough to play.
Let’s hope the best for both Draper and Carlos Alcaraz, the only two big names out of Rome at this point.
NCAA Tennis Creates New Season
After two years of pilot programs, hand-wringing and surveys, the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Tennis Oversight Committee made it official this week: The individual championships are moving to the fall, permanently.
“Under the previous format, student-athletes only in the singles and doubles championships could wait up to three weeks from the end of the regular season until they competed again. In addition, tennis student-athletes in both the team and individual championships could compete for nine of 10 days,” the NCAA said in a statement.
The team championships will stay in the spring. College tennis now has two distinct seasons, two championship windows—and two camps with different opinions about the whole thing.
The Case for the Change
The previous format staged both the team and individual postseason championships in May. Some players competed in both and some didn’t, which the NCAA says caused too many injuries and withdrawals. Uncoupling them would reduce withdrawals and even the playing field in terms of prep and rest. A recent NCAA survey of coaches and conferences showed 75 percent in favor of the split.
The Case Against the Split
Steve Johnson, the most decorated player in NCAA tennis history, didn’t hold back on social media.
Johnson went further, arguing that the fall should remain devoted to development—players working on their games, implementing new weapons, building team chemistry, and not competing for the national title.
Quick Hits
Fly Squash Club in Shanghai, founded by China’s most accomplished squash player, Wang Junjie, is bringing a long-needed and glossy makeover to the sport, according to Squash Magazine. Fly Squash has bigger ambitions than just looking pretty.
Andy Murray told Sky Sports that he would coach again and backed Novak Djokovic to win a 25th slam, even though Djokovic “probably learned nothing” from the six months that Murray coached him, haha.
Spaniard Daniel Merida beat Marco Trungelleti in the final round of Madrid qualifying. He drew a lucky loser in the main draw. It was Trungelleti. This time, Trungelleti reached match point first. Watch the end.
Alexandra Eala snapped a curious losing streak in Madrid—to players whose last names end in the same three letters. Tennis.com said it best: Curse-Ova?
Barbora Strýcová ran the Boston Marathon this week. The endorphins were gushing at the finish line.
Would you rather go drinking or go camping with Marat Safin?
The Weekend Draw
Mutua Madrid Open
ATP and WTA 1000
Madrid, Spain
Early rounds continue this weekend
Full international WTA and ATP broadcast lists
Q&Andy Recap
Iva Jovic proved once again that she is wise beyond her years when she answered fan questions on the latest episode. Check out her advice for juniors turning pro, how she reframes pressure and what Novak Djokovic taught her about court geometry.
📮Submit a question by emailing askandy@servedmediagroup.com or send it through our website or social media.
Love All Recap
One of Kim’s old friends, Francesa Schiavone, joins the show with wisdom, stories, predictions and the same passion that we loved about the 2010 French Open champion when she played on the tour. Kim and Blair also discuss French Open favorites and the Marketa Vondrousova situation.
Tiebreak Trivia
In Set 4, Techy Sean pointed out that tennis dominates the prestigious Laureus Awards, which emphasize athletes in individual sports. Who is the only tennis player to win two statues in the same year?
Answer: Roger Federer, who won both Sportsman of the Year and Comeback of the Year in 2018. That’s the year he returned from his 2017 six-month injury layoff and immediately won the Australian Open in five sets over Marin Cilic.
💡Have an idea for Tiebreak Trivia? Send it our way and score some Served merch if we use it.
📝 We’ll be back Tuesday with a new episode. In the meantime, join us on Substack and Reddit to connect with other Chuckers and Served’s staff about the latest news in tennis.
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