NEW EPISODE: Miami Open Recap
How Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka got even better, plus major guest announcements.
Context-free soundbite: “He’s my No. 1 in the injury what-if game. I hope no one ever forgets how fucking good he was.”
Welcome to the Miami Open recap! Andy, JW and Producer Mike take a beat to unpack Jannik Sinner’s and Aryna Sabalenka’s Sunshine Doubles before we head into the clay swing. It would be easy to be blasé about their dominance, but not on our watch.
Also in this episode: Andy’s rant about “dog shit” Dunlop balls.
📝 Programming notes:
Next week, Craig Tiley joins Served for an exclusive interview.
Jason Stacy, Sabalenka’s performance coach, is on deck for Q&Andy soon! Please send questions for him to askandy@servedmediagroup.com or DM them to us on socials. Videos preferred.
There’s more Served coming your way this week!
Love All on Wednesday
Q&Andy on Thursday
5 Setter on Friday
Enjoy the new episode, then come back here for this week’s bonus stories.
The latest stories that matter right now
The WTA Finals Will Leave Saudi Arabia
Riyadh is going three-and-out as the host city for the WTA Finals. Journalist Ben Rothenberg wrote on Bounces yesterday that the WTA Tour will relocate its year-end championships in 2027. Its three-year contract with Saudi Arabia ends this season.
While the WTA hasn’t confirmed the news, we have heard the same thing because Charlotte, North Carolina, the world headquarters for Served Media Group, hopes to make a bid. Andy and Producer Mike share their intel on the local buzz in this episode.
One early thought: Good riddance to the generic group photos in Saudi Arabia. The annual glamour shots are beloved by fans, and in previous host cities, they were taken outside in an iconic setting. In Saudi Arabia, they have been in faceless locations, like inside a hotel, below. Hit us up for suggestions in Charlotte.
The Slide Show: Our Top Clay-Season Storylines
The clay season is officially underway at five tournaments this week.
Charleston Open (WTA 500)
U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championships in Houston (ATP 250)
Tiriac Open in Bucharest (ATP 250)
Copa Colsanitas Colsubsidio in Bogota (WTA 250)
Grand Prix Hassan II in Marrakesh (ATP 260)
Here are our burning questions as the players grind toward the French Open.
Will Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner finally play each other?
The two titans have yet to meet in 2026. We’re overdue for a SinCaraz showdown.Will Sinner challenge Alcaraz for No. 1?
Whether they play each other or not, they will be battling for the No. 1 ranking until the French Open. Alcaraz has to outperform Sinner by 460 points to arrive in Paris as the world No. 1.Will Iga Swiatek hire a coach?
She has never played the clay season without one. However, she isn’t in danger of dropping out of the Top 10 this spring even if she doesn’t make her first semifinal of the year.Will Sabalenka continue her finals streak?
She is four-for-four this year and excels on clay. This could become a historic run.Who will emerge as Roland Garros contenders?
Lorenzo Musetti hasn’t gotten out of the gate in 2026, and Flavio Cobolli has been up and down, but both could get new life on clay. Plus, Arthur Fils, Joao Fonseca and Karolina Muchova are poised to make noise on a favorable surface.
Heat Check: All the Sunshine Double Achievements
Blink and you missed a new record or milestone during Indian Wells and Miami, when players—mostly Sabalenka and Sinner, who both won the Sunshine Double in singles—kept achieving new heights. Let’s put them into perspective.
Most unbreakable: Sinner is the first player to win three consecutive Masters 1000 titles without dropping a set. More men have won three Grand Slams in a row than three consecutive Masters. To do so in straight sets adds another level of improbability.
Most extra: Sinner didn’t just win the Sunshine Double. He did it without dropping a set, a first in the sport. Along the way, he broke Novak Djokovic’s record for the most consecutive sets won (34) in Masters 1000s.
Most historic: Sabalenka is the first player to complete the career Sunshine Double. She swept the doubles in 2019 with Elise Mertens.
Most impactful: Jiri Lehecka is the first man to make the final of a Masters 1000 without dropping serve since Novak Djokovic in 2018, a result that might have more consequence for his year than either winner’s will.
Most foretelling: Coco Gauff completed her set of WTA 1000 quarterfinals at just 22 years old, demonstrating her versatility across surfaces and seasons—the mark of a Top 5 stalwart.
Most dominant: Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid won their 60th title, the most of any wheelchair doubles team in history.
Perfect Delivery
En route to losing her third straight match to Elena Rybakina this year, Jessica Pegula walked over to her coaches and unloaded some F-bombs in Miami.
The perfect part, though? Even dropping obscenities, Pegula kept the chill factor we love about her. Check it out:
Pegula worked hard to raise her game this year, particularly the serve, and she has a 19–4 record and a WTA 1000 title to show for it. But she keeps running into her kryptonite, world No. 2 Rybakina. On those days, dirty words are the only answer to clean power.
There is a silver lining for Pegula, though. Keep reading.
200
Consecutive weeks in the Top 10 for Jessica Pegula
According to Tennis.com, the 32-year-old reached a career milestone this week by maintaining a single-digit ranking for nearly four years. She broke into the Top 10 in June 2022 and hasn’t left. It’s the third-longest streak among active players, behind Sabalenka (281 weeks) and Swiatek (231 weeks).
Even more impressive? Most of that time—71%—Pegula has been in the Top 5. It’s hard to remember her last bad loss.
PADEL: Both world No. 2 teams knocked off the No. 1s at the Miami Premier Padel P1 tournament over the weekend. In women’s doubles, Paula Josemaria and Bea Gonzalez beat Delfi Brea and Gemma Triay in a dramatic comeback that lasted over three hours. In men’s doubles, Fede Chingotto and Ale Galan defended their title over Arturo Coello and Agustin Tapia.
PICKLEBALL: The PPA Tour debuts in Vietnam this week, kicking off tomorrow, April 1. It’s the first international competition for Anna Leigh Waters. Given how dominant she has been, losing an average of three points per set, the real suspense surrounds what Nike will have in store for Waters for this milestone.
TABLE TENNIS: The ITTF Men’s and Women’s World Cup 2026 kicked off on Monday in Macao. It’s the first flagship event for the sport’s 100th anniversary tour this year. For the first time in World Cup history, the group stage is using the best-of-five-games format.
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