New Episode: Served 5 Setter
The chase for ATP No. 1, Holger Rune's return and new NCAA rules.
Welcome to your weekly 5 Setter, an express roundup of all things racquet sports with Producer Mike. In this episode:
Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner battle for No. 1
Billie Jean King Cup’s teen takeover this weekend
New rules for NCAA tennis
Welcome back, Holger Rune
Gael Monfils’s Monte Carlo moment
Tiebreak Trivia
Click below to watch today’s 5 Setter on YouTube, and come back here for this week’s bonus stories.
Exclusive Clip: How Fed Cup Flipped Kim and Justine’s Relationship
Picking up where Set 2left off, a bonus clip from Love All on Wednesday sheds light on the role Fed Cup (now Billie Jean King Cup) played in one classic WTA rivalry.
Kim Clijsters and Blair Henley interviewed Kim’s former coach and Belgian national team captain Carl Maes. They had so much to talk about, we had to cut their trip down Fed Cup memory lane. Here it is, including the time Belgium accidentally gave their opponents food poisoning and how Justine Henin made Kim cry happy tears at the height of their rivalry.
Kim and Carl predict that Belgium will beat the United States—with Elise Mertens, not food poisoning. The veteran No. 1 doubles player and No. 20 singles player has the edge in experience over No. 16 Iva Jovic, the teenager leading the Americans in her Cup debut along with Hailey Baptiste and McCartney Kessler.
🏆 Follow the Billie Jean King Cup results.
Sabalenka Withdraws From Stuttgart
The World No. 1 will sit out next week’s Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany, citing an unspecified injury. Her next scheduled event is the WTA 1000 in Madrid the following week.
Sabalenka was spotted in training earlier this week, so here’s hoping the withdrawal is precautionary after putting her body through a Sunshine Double marathon last month.
Zheng Qinwen also withdrew. She is still recovering from last year’s elbow surgery.
The 500-level tournament still has plenty of star power with five of the Top 10, including Elena Rybakina, Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff. It’s also the first tournament sponsored by a car company since Mercedes-Benz became the WTA Tour’s title sponsor this year. Honk if this feels awkward.
Pickleball Adds Another Major for Anna Leigh Waters to Win
Like tennis, Slams are the top tier of competition for the Professional Pickleball Association Tour. A new Slam will kick off the 2026–27 season in North Carolina, joining the Slams in Dallas, Palm Springs, Atlanta and San Clemente on the PPA calendar.
The Veolia Pickleball National Championships will be held at Cary Tennis Park in Cary, North Carolina, August 31 to September 6 with a star-studded field.
The extra major will give the PPA more fodder for its new behind-the-scenes series called Partners, promising intense action and plenty of drama. It premieres May 5 on YouTube, Prime Video and Pickleball TV. Watch the trailer below.
Quick Hits
Daniil Medvedev has no idea what happened to his game in his 6–0, 6–0 loss to Matteo Berrettini in Monte Carlo, after which his seven-part racquet smash went viral. His translation from Russian, via Bounces: “I just couldn’t make anything, get the ball into the court. I never hit two balls in a row into the court.” (Bounces)
Bounces is flush this week. Ben Rothenberg also published an interview with Jesse Levine, Serena Williams’s hitting partner lately. The gist: She isn’t training like someone who is coming back soon, which usually involves playing points. More behind the paywall. (Bounces)
Jack Draper unveiled a shoe collaboration with Swedish brand Axel Arigato. (Hard Court)
Taylor Fritz and Morgan Riddle are not splitsville, despite a recent rumor. (Instagram)
Lorenzo Musetti will drop to No. 9 after losing his opening match at Monte Carlo to Valentin Vacherot, the latest in a series of disappointments that started when the Italian retired from the Australian Open quarterfinal while leading Novak Djokovic two sets to love. Musetti is defending 2,250 points on clay this spring.
Q&Andy Recap
Jason Stacy, Aryna Sabalenka’s performance coach, let us in on what it takes to be the best player in the world. We’ll go out on a limb and say Served is the first tennis podcast to receive an unsolicited question from a world No. 1.
📮Submit a question by emailing askandy@servedmediagroup.com or send it through our website or social media.
Love All Recap
Kim and Blair welcomed a pivotal figure from Kim’s legendary career: her former coach Carl Maes, who broke down player development and shared funny behind-the-scenes stories from Kim’s junior days.
Tiebreak Trivia
In today’s 5 Setter, Producer Mike explained the current battle for No. 1 between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner and compared their dominance—currently at 48 straight weeks—to Roger Federer’s and Rafael Nadal’s, which lasted 2011 weeks. We asked: Who crashed their party in August 2009?
Answer: Andy Murray reached No. 2 after winning the National Bank Open in Montreal that month, beating Novak Djokovic to the punch.
📝 We’ll be back Tuesday with a new episode. In the meantime, join us on Substack to connect with other Chuckers and Served’s staff about the latest news in tennis.
The Weekend Draw
Monte Carlo Masters
ATP 1000
Monte Carlo, Monaco
Friday, April 10: Quarterfinals, singles and doubles
Saturday, April 11: Semifinals, singles and doubles
Sunday, April 12: Finals, singles and doubles
Upper Austria Ladies Linz
WTA 500
Linz, Austria
Friday, April 10: Quarterfinals, singles and doubles
Saturday, April 11: Semifinals, singles and doubles
Sunday, April 12: Finals, singles and doubles
Billie Jean King Cup
Various locations
Friday, April 10: Singles ties 1 and 2
Saturday, April 11: Doubles tie and reverse singles
📺 ATP, WTA and BJK Cup international broadcasters
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What is NIL in the NCAA? You use the abbreviation as though we're all going to know what it is. We don't. (Many non-US listeners will know what the NCAA is, but once you go into the weeds of abbreviations within that - and perhaps even the divisions, because that's also not familiar - you're losing people.)