New Episode: Draper's Ranking Crash, NextGen's Next Home and the NCAA Championships
Plus: The Madrid Cinderella stories you may have missed
Welcome to your weekly 5 Setter, an express roundup of all things racquet sports with Producer Mike. In this episode:
Jack Draper to fall out of Top 100
WTA surprises in Madrid
The Alexander Blockx party
The US Open is Oura maxxing
The NCAA tennis championships begin
Tiebreak Trivia
Click below to watch today’s 5 Setter on YouTube, and come back here for this week’s bonus stories.
Madrid Women’s Final Preview
Mirra Andreeva and Marta Kostyuk avoided the upsets (and upset stomachs) that have defined the women’s draw in Madrid to produce a surprise final on Saturday, but one worthy of a WTA 1000 title match nonetheless. Both have won a clay title already this season.
If you’ve only seen Andreeva’s viral moments this year, you might think the 19-year-old is on the skids. On the contrary, she’s 21–7 with two titles. But she’s lacking a signature win to balance out the pouty scenes in Indian Wells, Miami and Madrid.
In the quarterfinal against Anna Bodnar, Andreeva lost a 5–1 lead and told her team, “I’m not a champion” and “I will choke” and “I am a joke.” Then she was two points from defeat in the third set. But she pulled out the win, just as she has more often than not this year.
If it seems Andreeva is winning in spite of herself sometimes, Kostyuk is the exact opposite. She talked this week about changing her unhealthy relationship with tennis through years of therapy. The work is finally coming to fruition. “Whether it was wins or losses, it was very difficult to live in this constant emotional bombing from the inside. I would destroy myself,” she said.
Kostyuk’s improved mindset is behind her quietly impressive season. She has yet to have a bad loss. Her only Ls are to Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina, plus one to Elsa Jacquemot at the Australian Open 7–6, 6–7, 7–6. Along the way, the Ukrainian beat Andreeva in Brisbane (as well as Jessica Pegula and Amanda Anisimova). She’s in the midst of the best winning streak of her career at 10 matches in a row.
Andreeva, twice a WTA 1000 champion, has the experience, but Kostyuk has the composure and the head-to-head edge. Kostyuk is zoning with her aggressive brand of tennis, but Andreeva loves to counterpunch. It stands to be a fascinating contrast of styles—and a golden opportunity for both players.
College Tennis, Anyone?
College tennis world isn’t all cancelled programs and lawsuits, which have dominated headlines lately. The men’s and women’s NCAA Division I championships start today, and if you are late to the NCAA tennis party, consider this your engraved invitation to finally check it out. It’s different than the pro game, featuring a team point system (explained below), let serves played, no-ad scoring, players calling their own lines and a massive team energy.
Dates
May 1–3: first and second rounds at 16 regional sites
May 8–9: third round at 8 super-regional sites
May 14–17: quarterfinals, semifinals and finals in Athens, Georgia
Match Format
The match (called a dual) starts with three courts of doubles, one set only. The first team to win two of the three courts scores one point.
Six singles matches take place simultaneously, best of three sets. Each court is worth one point for the team.
The first team to score four points wins the dual.
Unfinished matches stop once the team winner is determined, called a “clinch/clinch” format.
Where to Watch
Rounds 1, 2 and 3: Streamed live on Cracked Racquets YouTube channel and Playsight.com. Most matches will be shown on one of these platforms, but a few matches might not be streamed anywhere.
Quarterfinals, semifinals and finals: ESPN+
Schedule
Check the brackets (men’s, women’s). You can also check a school’s athletic department social media accounts for match-time announcements and links to streams.
How to Follow
These sources stay on top of storylines and schedules.
Inside the Baseline on Substack
Zoo Tennis on Bluesky
Why a Protected Ranking Won’t Help Draper
In Set 1, Producer Mike discussed Jack Draper’s withdrawal announcement from Roland Garros. It’s not a surprise since he also withdrew from Madrid and Rome with the same leg injury, but this withdrawal is more consequential. It will drop Draper out of the Top 100 in June.
Draper will likely need a wild card to enter any tournament at that point, including Wimbledon, if he is healthy enough to play the grass-court season.
As Producer Mike mentioned on the show, Draper did not apply for the ATP’s protected ranking for the period he sat out with an arm injury after last year’s US Open. He returned to the tour in February, but he picked up another injury, a knee tendon, that took him out of the clay season, where he is defending a lot of points.
He could apply for a protected ranking if he sits out for six months from his last match in Barcelona two weeks ago. But there’s another issue, and it has to do with this point from the ATP Rulebook:
The entry protection shall be a position in the PIF ATP Rankings, as determined by the player’s average PIF ATP Rankings position during the first three months after his last event played.
Translation: Draper would return with his average ranking from mid-April through mid-July. He could enter nine tournaments with that ranking, but the ranking would be low. The point of a protected ranking is to lock in a high ranking. That window has passed for Draper. Right now, he is ranked No. 28, but after the French Open, he will drop out of the Top 100, and after Wimbledon, he will drop close to No. 200. His average ranking for those three months would likely be in the 80s or 90s at best—not high enough for direct entry into ATP Masters 1000s or 500s. It is scarcely worth coming back at the end of the season to play a 250.
If Draper doesn’t apply for a protected ranking, he will likely return to competition with a ranking outside of the Top 100, whenever that is. He would need wild cards to enter tournaments or he will have to play qualifying. Other players have entered Challenger tournaments in a similar situation to rebuild a ranking.
Let’s hope we see Jack Draper back on court soon, no matter what number is next to his name.
Quick Hits
Kei Nishikori joined the Retirement Class of 2026. The 36-year-old is a historically great match closer. (ATP Tour)
Carlos Alcaraz watched his younger brother, Jaime, play in a tournament in Spain. He had to opera-clap to protect his wrist. (Tennis.com)
A pop-up clay court in the middle of Rome’s neoclassical splendor will be open to the public during the tournament. Have any vacation days?
Served’s Roland Garros Bracket Challenge opens in three weeks. Add it to your Google calendar.
Cin cin, Flavio Cobolli.
The Weekend Draw
Mutua Madrid Open
ATP and WTA 1000
Madrid, Spain
Friday, May 1: Men’s semifinals, men’s and women’s doubles semifinals
Saturday, May 2: Women’s final, men’s doubles final
Sunday, May 3: Men’s final, women’s doubles final
Full international WTA and ATP broadcast lists
Q&Andy Recap
Check out the latest episode to learn how players manage their global travel schedules and what Andy regrets about his old Reebok Figjam tennis shoe.
📮Submit a question by emailing askandy@servedmediagroup.com or send it through our website or social media.
Love All Recap
Kim and Blair answered listener questions for the first time, and you guys nailed it with your submissions! Kim talks about the odd vibe the night after winning a Slam, and Blair explains what happened behind the scenes during her craziest on-court interviews.
Tiebreak Trivia
In today’s episode, Producer Mike discussed both the ATP NextGen Finals returning to Italy and the NCAA Division I Championships starting today, and asked: How many of the eight players in the 2025 Next Gen finals played NCAA tennis?
Answer: 3. Learner Tien (USC), Rafael Jodar (Virginia) and Nishesh Basavareddy (Stanford). Which means there is a good chance that some players in the NCAA Championships this weekend will become NextGen finalists in the near future.
💡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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