Served 5 Setter
Indian Wells drama, Roger's riches and a table tennis takeover.
Welcome to your weekly 5 Setter, an express roundup of all things racquet sports with Producer Mike. In this episode:
Drama in the Desert
More Million-Dollar Doubles
Indian Wells’s Ghost Court
Rest of the Racquets News
Roger Federer, Richer Than We Thought
Tiebreak Trivia
Click below to watch today’s 5 Setter on YouTube, and come back here for this week’s bonus stories.
Pardon the Interruption?
Elina Svitolina scored the biggest upset of the tournament yesterday, taking out the in-form world No. 2, Iga Swiatek, in the qu—hello?! Waves arms
Bear with us, Elina. We have to talk about this hindrance business.
It has been 15 years since a hindrance call against Serena Williams factored into the 2011 US Open final, which she lost to Sam Stosur. Most fans would strain to remember another hindrance call before this year.
Last night, we had our fourth prominent hindrance call of 2026.
It happened in the Daniil Medvedev and Jack Draper quarterfinal at Indian Wells. Draper, the defending champ, was down a set and serving at 5–all, love–15, a big point. Medvedev hit a deep ball that landed on Draper’s baseline. Draper played it, but threw his arms in the air, as if to ask, “Where is the call?” (This is a common reaction in tennis.) Medvedev continued the rally. Seven shots later, he hit the ball into the net. Then he asked the umpire about Draper’s gesticulation.
She hadn’t seen it. She said Medvedev could ask for a review. He did, and the umpire ruled that it was hindrance. Draper lost the point. He argued it, saying there was no way it distracting enough to warrant a call, but he got nowhere. Medvedev won the game and the match. Medvedev and Draper discussed the call calmly over their handshake and parted ways in peace.
Fans weren’t as calm, storming to social media to debate the controversy—and to call the karma police on Draper, who benefited from a dubious double-bounce no-call on match point two years ago against Felix Auger-Aliassime in Cincinnati. Tennis fans don’t forget.
Later at the Tennis Channel desk, Medvedev explained why his conscience is clear.
🎤 Daniil Medvedev
“Was I distracted big time? No. Was I distracted a bit? Yes. And if you look on the first forehand I make after he makes a gesture, I think I would have made a better forehand.”
The incident was at least the fourth notable hindrance call this season. The others:
Flavio Cobolli for a ball falling out of his pocket at United Cup
Aryna Sabalenka for a late grunt at the Australian Open
Daniel Altmaier for saying “oh, no” as his drop shot was in the air in Rio de Janeiro (on match point, no less)
Back to Svitolina. She now leads the WTA Tour in match wins this year at 19. She will play Elena Rybakina in the semifinal today after the Australian Open champ took out Jessica Pegula in straight sets.
Sabalenka’s Big Diva Energy
In Set 1 today, Producer Mike talked about the irritability we’ve been seeing from players and fans in the desert. There must be something in the champagne. One player immune to any negativity is Aryna Sabalenka, who is busy living out every 27-year-old’s mood board.
The world No. 1 started the tournament on cloud nine, in love with her new puppy and new fiancé. Nothing was going to steal her joy as she floated through the draw under palm trees and blue skies, basking in the bliss of it all.
She played wearing her massive diamond engagement ring. She model-walked across Novak Djokovic’s practice court. She warmed up in a bridal veil that a fan had tossed to her.
When she beat Naomi Osaka in the fourth round, she doubled down on the divatude. She told the media that she loved being the only megastar at her agency, Evolve, which also represented Osaka until late 2025.
🎤 Aryna Sabalenka
“I’m super happy that now all time that they were kind of like, how you say, balancing between me and the Naomi, now I got most of the time. I’m happy with that (smiling).”
Sabalenka wants it all, and she owns it. Will she own the tournament in two days? She plays No. 14 seed Linda Noskova today in the semifinal. Sabalenka won their only meeting, three years ago.
Ons Jabeur: “Am I Worth It?”
Ons Jabeur plans to return to tennis after having her first child next month, and she will bring with her a new attitude—that she deserves big titles.
On her new YouTube series, Her Game, Her Rules, the former World No. 2 revealed that she struggled with imposter syndrome after she became one of the most popular players on tour. She was so concerned with remaining humble that she didn’t grasp the scale of her impact as the first Arab player to reach a Grand Slam final.
She and good friend Paula Badosa spent the premiere episode on Badosa’s couch in Dubai, discussing how they both found balance on the tour.
🎤 Ons Jabeur
“Am I worth it? That’s the question that I probably asked myself a lot. So much doubt about it. And that’s what maybe didn’t help me win the biggest tournaments. I’m like, do I deserve this?”
Jabeur is coming around to the idea. When she opened an academy in Dubai in January, the amount of love and support she received was finally undeniable. “I didn’t realize it,” she said.
She and Badosa have both learned to accept the sport’s emotional roller coaster, set boundaries to avoid burnout and generally be a happy pro tennis player. Jabeur revealed the secret sauce on Love All’s premiere episode this year.
Jabeur is the latest top player to document tour life on YouTube, along with Casper Ruud, Ben Shelton, Jannik Sinner, Arthur Fils, Alex de Minaur, Daria Kasatkina and Zeynep Sonmez.
Quick Hits
Pickleball queen Anna Leigh Waters will play her first international tournament, in Vietnam, in April. (The Dink)
The PTPA announced a leadership change yesterday. Executive Director Ahmad Nassar is moving to an “advisory role,” and Deputy Executive Director Romain Rosenberg is taking his place. Nassar said, “This was always the plan. Build the institution, then hand the reins to the right leader.” (PTPA)
The Phoenix Challenger this week is a fine example of a lower-tier, cut-rate event that punches above its weight in entertainment value. Case in point: Wild card 18-year-old Darwin Blanch beat No. 52 Terence Atmane, a Cincinnati semifinalist last year. He lost the next match, but it’s still nice to get a Top 100 win before your driver’s license. (Tennis.com)
Blanch is among the Miami Open wild card recipients. (Miami Open)
The ATP renewed its partnership with Overtime, which resulted in 80 million social-media views and 1 million new followers last year, the tour said. That’s good news if you like clips of players taking quizzes and answering goofy questions about each other. (ATP Tour)
One thing we’ve learned from tennis social media is that ATP players are bad gift-givers. Boys, your time and company don’t count.
Yonex, however, knows what it’s doing. ⬇️
Q&Andy Recap
Andy’s former coach Larry Stefanki delivered the goods on two episodes this week. Tuesday, he told the story of a hangry Andy chucking a muffin across an airport lounge, among other juicy anecdotes from Stefanki’s time coaching legends of the game. Thursday brought Part 2 as he fielded fan questions.
📮Submit a question by emailing askandy@servedmediagroup.com or send it through our website or social media.
Love All Recap
Turkey’s Zeynep Sonmez is bringing a new fan base to tennis, much like her best friend, Alexandra Eala. Kim and Blair talked to the 23-year-old about the friendlier locker room sisterhood compared to Kim’s era and having Ons Jabeur as a mentor.
The Weekend Draw
ATP Masters 1000 and WTA 1000 Indian Wells
Indian Wells, California
Fri., March 13: women’s semifinals, men’s doubles and mixed doubles semifinals
Sat., March 14: men’s semifinals, all doubles finals
Sun., March 15: men’s and women’s finals
Full international WTA and ATP broadcast lists
Tiebreak Trivia
In today’s 5 Setter, we let you know that Roger Federer debuted on the Forbes billionaire list this week with a net worth of $1.1 billion and asked what fellow Hall of Famer is ranked higher on the list than Fed.
Answer: Ion Tiriac. The Romanian player competed in the 1960s and 1970s, before there was money to be made in tennis. Tiriac built his fortune later as a businessman to $2.3 billion in net worth, according to Forbes.
📝 We’ll be back Tuesday with a new episode. In the meantime, join us on Substack for live chats during the weekend’s biggest matches.
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