Category: Tennis

Anna Kournikova seen in public for first time in years in new photos

The tennis star hasn’t been seen in public much.

It’s rare that we get to see former women’s tennis star Anna Kournikova, who retired way back in 2003 — even on her Instagram page, there’s the rare appearance, although she posted a sweet Father’s Day message to husband Enrique Iglesias, with whom she has three kids together including twins.

So people are all about the photos snapped recently that people are flipping out about — she’s in a wheelchair with a boot on her foot. So maybe she suffered an injury recently that she’s now recovering from.

That’s all we know. Hope she’s doing OK and hope the family is doing well.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1999]

Ben Shelton jumps back to World No. 14 after loud Australian Open

Former Florida tennis star Ben Shelton was one of the final four standing at the Australian Open this weekend, and he’s climbing the rankings as a result.

Former Florida tennis star [autotag]Ben Shelton[/autotag] is one of the young American stars in the sport, and he’s back up to No. 14 in the ATP rankings following a semi-final loss to top-ranked Jannik Sinner at the Australian Open on Saturday.

It’s not quite a career-high mark after spending two weeks at No. 13 last year, but Shelton hasn’t been ranked inside the top 15 since a disappointing finish at the US Open in September.

In fact, it’s Shelton’s best Grand Slam finish since a semi-final appearance at the 2023 US Open. Although he failed to advance beyond the fourth round at all four majors last season, he still had a consistent and healthy year inside the top 25, including 12 weeks at No. 14 overall.

Ben Shelton at the 2025 Australian Open

Shelton cruised to the round of 16, dropping just two sets across three wins. He beat No. 15 Lorenzo Musetti in four sets to advance past the round of 32 and qualified for the quarter-finals after No. 41 Gael Monfils retired in the fourth set of a battle.

Monfils and Shelton went to a tiebreak in each of the first three sets, but a bad back forced the Frenchman to call the match after nearly three hours of play.

Shelton defeated Lorenzo Sonego in four sets to return to the semi-finals. He pushed Sinner to a tiebreak in the first round of the matchup but lost the next two sets 6-2. Sinner ultimately won the tournament, defeating Alexander Zverev in straight sets. Novak Djokovic retired in the other semi-final to set up the trophy game.

What’s next for Ben Shelton?

There are no 1,000-level events in February, but Shelton usually plays a few tournaments back in the Americas to keep fresh for Indian Wells and Miami in March.

The Dallas 250 is next week, and Shelton finished in the semi-finals there last year, so look for him to make a run. The Acapulco 500 is another option at the end of the month. He made the quarter-finals there last year.

Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Lady Vols defeat Ohio State in top 25 match, advance to championship

Lady Vols advance to the ITA National Team Indoor Championship after defeating Ohio State.

No. 18 Tennessee (4-0) defeated No. 15 Ohio State (3-1), 4-3, on Saturday at Goodfriend Tennis Center in the second round of the ITA Kickoff Weekend.

The Lady Vols advance to ITA National Team Indoor Championship Feb. 7-11.

“That’s what college tennis is all about,” Tennessee assistant coach Elizabeth Scotty said. “You love to see those moments when both teams put it all out on the line. Ohio State came out massive after that doubles point. For the team, for Tennessee, we just rallied behind one another and slowly inched our way back into it. It was incredible.”

Tennessee-Ohio State tennis results

Singles

1. #10 Elza Tomase (TENN) def. #8 Luciana Perry (OSU) 6-3, 6-4

2. Teah Chavez (OSU) def. #19 Catherine Aulia (TENN) 6-2, 6-2

3. Shelly Bereznyak (OSU) def. Maeve Thornton (TENN) 6-2, 6-3

4. #106 Leyla Britez Risso (TENN) def. #84 Sydni Ratliff (OSU) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2

5. Nao Nishino (OSU) def. #54 Vanesa Suarez (TENN) 6-1, 6-3

6. Conley Raidt (TENN) def. #46 Audrey Spencer (OSU) 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 (7-5)

Doubles

1. Elza Tomase/Elim Yan (TENN) def. Dani Schoenly/Sydni Ratliff (OSU) 6-2

2. Catherine Aulia/Leyla Britez Risso (TENN) def. Teah Chavez/Luciana Perry (OSU) 6-3

3. Maeve Thornton/Vanesa Suarez (TENN) vs. Nao Nishino/Audrey Spencer (OSU) 5-3, unfinished

Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); singles (2,5,3,1,4,6)

Who is Alexander Zverev’s girlfriend? Meet Sophia Thomalla.

Meet the girlfriend of the tennis star.

Alexander Zverev has risen to the top of the tennis world, with the German star getting all the way up to top-two in the rankings and making it to finals in Grand Slams including the 2025 Australian Open.

And while he’s done that, he’s been dating Sophia Thomalla, who is also German. The two have been dating for a while, maybe since 2020, and we’ve seen a lot of activity on social media between the two. The model and actress is often seen rooting on Zverev from the stands at matches.

Here are some recent photos we’ve seen of the couple together on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/p/DEvB0mJI1ON/?hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/p/DC6o13OJXtl/?hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/p/C8sUu-atY8r/?hl=en&img_index=1

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1999]

Are Jannik Sinner and Anna Kalinskaya still dating? Here’s what we know.

Here’s what we know.

It was the the tennis couple everyone loved to see in 2024: top men’s pro Jannik Sinner and Anna Kalinskaya — one of the best on the women’s side — were a couple even though they kept their relationship mostly private.

But are they still dating as of early 2025? That’s where things get a little complicated.

We don’t know the true answer here, but here’s what’s been reported: per Marie Claire Australia, “Recent reports have hinted that the star-powered couple might be taking a break.”

So that’s where we’re at. Maybe they’re really keeping things private or they’re really broken up. We’ll see if we find out more.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1999]

No. 14 Tennessee defeats Illinois in ITA Kickoff Weekend

No. 14 Tennessee defeats Illinois in the ITA Kickoff Weekend at Goodfriend Tennis Center.

No. 14 Tennessee (4-1) defeated Illinois (0-1), 4-2, on Saturday at Goodfriend Tennis Center in the ITA Kickoff Weekend.

Alejandro Moreno earned a win for Tennessee with a, 6-1, 5-7, 6-4, victory on court five.

The Vols will next play in the ITA Kickoff Weekend Championship on Sunday against Auburn or Michigan. First serve is slated for 1 p.m. EST at Goodfriend Tennis Center.

Tennessee-Illinois tennis results

Doubles

1. #52 Tyler Bowers/Zach Viiala (ILLINI) def. Shunsuke Mitsui/Alex Kotzen (TENN), 6-4
2. Alan Jesudason/Jan Kobierski (TENN) def. Kenta Miyoshi/Mathis Debru (ILLINI), 6-4
3. William Mroz/Jeremy Zhang (ILLINI) def. Alejandro Moreno/James Newton (TENN), 6-4

Singles

1. #34 Alex Kotzen (TENN) def. #14 Kenta Miyoshi (ILLINI) 6-4, 6-3
2. #18 Shunsuke Mitsui (TENN) def. #30 William Mroz (ILLINI) 6-4, 3-6, 6-4
3. Jose Garcia (TENN) def. Jeremy Zhang (ILLINI) 7-5, 3-6, 6-1
4. Jan Kobierski (TENN) vs. Tyler Bowers (ILLINI) 6-4, 3-6, 5-5, unfinished
5. #56 Alejandro Moreno (TENN) def. Zach Viiala (ILLINI) 6-1, 5-7, 6-4
6. Mathis Debru (ILLINI) def. Ian Cruz (TENN) 6-4, 6-0

Photo by Dan Harralson, Vols Wire

Who is Madison Keys’ husband Bjorn Fratangelo? Meet the tennis star’s significant other and coach

Meet the tennis star’s husband.

Madison Keys and Bjorn Fratangelo might be one of the more athletic couples in tennis.

That’s because he was a pro tennis player as well and he’s now her coach as the American star has risen to the top 15 in the WTA’s rankings. Per People, they met when they were training in Florida and started dating in 2017. Then, in 2023, they got engaged and got married in November of 2024 with a bunch of tennis stars in attendance.

Here are some sweet photos of the couple, including some from their engagement and of their wedding from 2024 that they posted on Instagram.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CpS95bhJ-XY/?hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/p/DCy5yNAuOVn/?hl=en&img_index=1

https://www.instagram.com/p/DELXcvuPKE1/?hl=en

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1999]

Who is Aryna Sabalenka’s boyfriend Georgios Frangulis? Here’s what we know.

Get to know the tennis star’s boyfriend.

Aryna Sabalenka has risen to the top of the pro tennis world with a win at the 2024 Australian Open and has been terrific in other Grand Slams. She’s a bona fide star as of publishing this.

She’s also spoken about how happy she is with her current boyfriend, Georgios Frangulis. The Brazilian owner of brand Oakberry and the tennis star went Instagram official in May of 2024 (see below), and he’s been seen at her matches ever since.

Here are a couple of moments to share as we watch Sabalenka continue to compete in the sport she’s been dominating as of late:

https://www.instagram.com/p/C7W36kiAXIn/

https://www.instagram.com/p/C9LXzwdyY9X/?hl=en&img_index=1

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1999]

Alexander Zverev did the classiest thing for Novak Djokovic after Australian Open boos

Really classy here.

It was a stunning moment in the 2025 Australian Open men’s semifinal on Friday.

Novak Djokovic surprised everyone when he retired due to injury after the first set of his match against Alexander Zverev, and surprisingly, some of the Open crowd booed. Maybe fans felt like they weren’t getting their money’s worth.

But Zverev had a message in his post-match interview: “Please, don’t boo a player when he goes out with injury. I know that everybody paid for tickets and everyone wants to see, hopefully, a great five-set match, but you’ve got to understand: Novak Djokovic is somebody that has given this sport for the past 20 years absolutely everything of his life.”

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/wfCtqloQfm8

So classy of him.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1999]

Madison Keys had the best answer about Australian Open comeback over Iga Swiatek

What a moment for Madison Keys.

Sometimes, you can’t describe what just happened when you do incredible things, like beating No.2 Iga Swiatek to punch your ticket to the Australian Open Finals.

For Madison Keys, she was seemingly bereft of words.

Keys did the unthinkable on Thursday. After staring match point in the face at one point, she rallied back and eventually rattled off four of the final five points of a super tiebreak set for a chance at an Australian Open title.

What a comeback. It’s even more special when you realize Keys lost in the semi-final rounds in 2015 and 2022.

This might also explain why Keys flatly said, “Yeah” (while stifling a laugh) when asked about the moment and if it felt good to put herself back in such a position for the second time in her career. As she rationalized in real-time what just happened on the court, she giddily said, “Yeah. I’m in the finals!” That’s the kind of wholesome activity we love to see.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/j1_kIqxHYKs

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 tag=7422531]