Served Newsletter
Top 10 Tennis Matches of 2025 FAN VOTE | Served with Andy Roddick
This week on Served, it’s finally the offseason (if you can call it that with star-studded exhibitions throughout December), and we reveal the top 10 matches of the year. Our list was Chuckers’ Choice—you ranked them, and Andy, Jon, and Mike have the envelopes as well as thoughts on what you got right and what surprised them.
Context-free soundbite: “This is like George Clooney making it at 47 years old.”
If you haven’t watched the episode yet, click the link below, then come back here to read the other stories that have our attention.
A programming note: We won’t put out a 5 Setter episode this Friday, so you’ll have to find something else to listen to in the Maldives. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
2025 NCAA Singles Champions Crowned
College tennis took center stage in Orlando this week as the 2025 NCAA Division I Singles and Doubles Championships concluded with historic performances.
On the women’s side, North Carolina senior Reese Brantmeier captured the singles title with a dominant 6-3, 6-3 victory over Cal’s Berta Passola Folch, claiming the second singles championship in Tar Heels program history.
Meanwhile, Columbia’s Michael Zheng made history by becoming just the ninth men’s player to win back-to-back NCAA singles championships, defeating SMU’s Trevor Svajda 6-4, 1-6, 6-3. Zheng’s victory was even more remarkable as he set an all-time NCAA record with 19 career tournament wins, surpassing Virginia’s Somdev Devvarman’s previous mark of 18. (ESPN)
Italy Makes Davis Cup History
Italy cemented their place in tennis history on November 23rd by defeating Spain 2-0 in Bologna to claim their third consecutive Davis Cup title in the Open Era.
The Italian squad became only the third nation to win three straight Davis Cup championships, joining an elite group that includes France (1927-1932) and the United States (multiple streaks).
This historic achievement showcases the depth and consistency of Italian men’s tennis, with their dominance spanning multiple years and different playing conditions. (ATP Tour)
Read below in our “Numbers Don’t Lie” section to read more impressive stats/records that surround this 3-peat victory.
Here for the Handshake: Tennis Australia and the PTPA Negotiating Settlement
The Professional Tennis Players Association and Tennis Australia are nearing an agreement to end the group’s lawsuit against the Australian Open organizer.
The PTPA is suing the ATP, WTA and the four Grand Slam organizers for more monopolistic practices, hoping to secure more prize money and a better schedule. (The ITF and ITIA were originally also named as defendants, but have been dropped from the suit.) The reported settlement would remove Tennis Australia from the action. It’s pending in federal court in New York. Details of the agreement have not been released.
“Plaintiffs and Tennis Australia are engaged in substantive and productive bilateral settlement discussions and believe that a settlement as to plaintiffs’ claims against Tennis Australia is likely in the near future,” the PTPA’s lawyers wrote in its recent filing to the court. (Reuters)
Cool stories with crazy stats.
Italy’s 2025 Davis Cup Dominance
0 - Singles losses for Italy during the entire 2025 Davis Cup Finals week in Bologna.
3 - Consecutive Davis Cup titles for Italy (2023, 2024, 2025), making them the first nation to achieve a three-peat since the United States (1968-1972).
4 - Total Davis Cup titles for Italy (1976, 2023, 2024, 2025).
7 - Match points saved by Flavio Cobolli against Belgium’s Zizou Bergs in the semifinals, which also featured a 32-point tiebreak.
11 - Consecutive Davis Cup singles wins for Matteo Berrettini, dating back to 2022.
14 - Italy’s current winning streak in Davis Cup singles matches; they have not lost a singles match since falling to Canada 0-3 in the Finals. This was also the 14th time that Italy and Spain had met in the Davis Cup.
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PICKLEBALL: The PPA Tour’s Veolia Lakeland Open concluded this weekend, with Ben Johns and Gabriel Tardio taking home the men’s doubles gold after a strong campaign in Florida. On the women’s side, Anna Leigh Waters and Anna Bright secured the doubles title, continuing their impressive form late in the season. (PPA)
PADEL: Final Premier Padel Major of 2025 kicked off November 24th at Arena GNP Seguros in Acapulco. This event includes a 56-person draw for the Men and a 48-person draw for the women, with qualifying draws for both. (Premier Padel)
TABLE TENNIS: At the season-ending WTT Finals in Fukuoka, World No. 1 Wang Chuqin silenced the Japanese home crowd by sweeping local star Tomokazu Harimoto 4-0 to win the men’s singles title. In the women’s final, Wang Manyu won a thrilling all-Chinese battle against Chen Xingtong, edging her out 4-3 to claim the prestigious trophy. (Olympics)
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