Served 5 Setter
French Legend Retires, Tennis 'Beef' Explodes, Sinner Joins Elite $50M Club, & More.
Happy Friday, everyone!
This week on the Served 5 Setter: The WTA appoints its new leader, a French farewell for Nicolas Mahut, and two Americans make ATP Finals history. Plus, the “beef” between Bublik and Moutet heats up in Paris and Jannik Sinner joins a legendary list.
Watch now to stay ahead of the game and keep scrolling for bonus stories that didn’t make the episode!
WTA Finals Begin on Saturday
The WTA Finals singles draw was released on Tuesday ahead of Saturday’s opening matches with the Top 8 sorted into two round-robin groups named after Stefanie Graf and Serena Williams.
The Graf Group: World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, defending champion and French Open winner Coco Gauff, Jess Pegula, and Jasmine Paolini.
The Williams Group: Wimbledon champ Iga Swiatek, Amanda Anisimova, Elena Rybakina, and Australian Open winner Madison Keys. Anisimova is the only player in the field making their debut at the year-end championship.
Round-robin play starts Saturday, with Swiatek taking on Keys and Anisimova facing Rybakina.
After the round-robin stage, the top two players from each group will advance to the semifinals on Friday, November 7, leading up to next Saturday’s final.
Record Prize Money Coming to ATP Challenger Tour
ATP Challenger Tour prize money is set to hit an all-time high next year, soaring to $32.4 million. That’s a $5 million increase in singles prize money compared to this year. Since 2022, total Challenger prize money has jumped 167%. The tour will also expand its calendar from 216 to 265 events.
ATP Chairman Andrea Gaudenzi credits this growth to the ‘OneVision’ strategic plan, aimed at building long-term investment in the sport and improving financial security for players. Media deals have also helped as Tennis Channel broadcasted 35 Challenger events across 20 countries this season, boosting viewership and exposure more than ever before.
Paris Masters: Vacherot Shines, Dimitrov Withdraws
Is Valentin Vacherot the hottest tennis player on the planet? The 26-year-old from Monaco reached a second-straight Masters 1000 quarterfinal after beating Cameron Norrie on Thursday after the Brit pulled off a career-best win over World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz in the second round.
Vacherot, now World No. 40, will face Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarters on Friday. As fate would have it, Vacherot beat his cousin Arthur Rinderknech in the second round after they met in the Shanghai Final earlier this month.
Meanwhile, Grigor Dimitrov withdrew from the tournament before his second round match against Daniil Medvedev due to a shoulder injury. The Bulgarian was making his return to action after suffering a pectoral injury at Wimbledon. The 34-year-old did win his opener in singles and played doubles with Nicolas Mahut in what was the Frenchman’s final match of his career.
Draper & Raducanu to Represent GB at United Cup
British No. 1s Jack Draper and Emma Raducanu will play for Great Britain at next year’s United Cup, with Raducanu making her debut.
It’s a promising sign for the Top Brits as both Raducanu (illness) and Draper (left arm injury) ended their seasons early but look to begin 2026 on a high note.
Great Britain joins Australia and Poland as the first three teams to be confirmed for the event which will take place in Sydney and Perth the week before the Australian Open. Iga Swiatek and Hubert Hurkacz will represent Poland while Alex de Minaur and Maya Joint will play for Australia. 18 nations in total make up the United Cup.
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Jannik Sinner has tied Carlos Alcaraz for the most quarterfinal appearances at ATP Masters 1000 events among players born since 2000 with 18.
Ben Shelton is the youngest American to reach the quarterfinal round at the Paris Masters since Andy Roddick in 2003, when the event was still held on carpet.
Valentin Vacherot became the second player to win 10+ straight ATP Masters 1000 matches while ranked outside the Top 20.
In the 5 Setter Podcast we asked: What year did Novak Djokovic set the single season prize money record, and how much did he make?
The answer: In 2015, Djokovic earned more than $21M in prize money. All he did was win 11 titles including three Grand Slams.
The Weekend Draw
Paris Masters QF Begin Friday
With Alex de Minaur and Ben Shelton qualifying on Thursday, only one spot remains open for the ATP Finals. Felix Auger-Aliassime is ninth in the Race To Turin standings, trailing No. 8 Lorenzo Musetti.
Auger-Aliassime will face Valentin Vacherot in the quarterfinals with critical points on the line for the Canadian. De Minaur will play Alexander Bublik and Shelton meets Jannik Sinner, who can overtake Carlos Alcaraz as World No. 1 if he wins the tournament.
In a rematch of the 2020 final in Paris, Daniil Medvedev meets defending champ Alexander Zverev to round out the elite eight matches.
Three WTA 250 Titles Up For Grabs
Top seed Belinda Bencic withdrew before her Friday match due to a thigh injury, sending Cristina Bucsa to the semis. Bucsa will face 19-year-old Maya Joint. Victoria Mboko is through to the semifinals after Anna Kalinskaya retired mid-match. Mboko awaits the winner of No. 2 seed Leylah Fernandez and Sorana Cirstea.
Joanna Garland and No. 4 seed Janice Tjen were the first to advance to the semifinals. Friday’s other quarterfinal matches: No. 7 Kimberly Birrell vs. No. 3 Donna Vekic and Polina Iatcenko vs. Lanlana Tararudee.
No. 2 seed Viktorija Golubic will face 17-year-old Lilli Tagger in the semifinals after advancing Friday. Dominika Salkova will meet Anna Blinkova in the other Final Four match. Salkova and Tagger are searching for their first WTA titles.
All finals will be played on Sunday, November 2
Full international WTA & ATP broadcast list.
The Bublik-Moutet Rivalry is Heating Up!
In the Served 5 Setter Podcast, we breakdown the second altercation between Alexander Bublik and Corentin Moutet this season. Their tennis “beef” is definitely intensifying! That had us thinking: could this become an all-time great rivalry? Where does it rank on your list?
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