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One-handed backhand players are trading in their picturesque motions and precise ball striking for, well, something peculiar. And the ATP Tour stars are letting this drastic change — using two hands — seep into their daily lives.

Stefanos Tsitsipas is changing his morning grooming routine. Denis Shapovalov is finding it difficult to complete simple tasks. Dominic Thiem is hilariously frustrated. Why?

“The single-handed backhand is dead,” Grigor Dimitrov joked in the latest ATP Tour feature.”We’ve been trying to use two hands everywhere we can!”

How are the players reacting to this not-so-easy transition away from ‘poetry in motion’? Watch the full video below to find out.

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Stefanos Tsitsipas announced on Friday that his father Apostolos would no longer serve as his coach.

"It is with a heavy heart that I inform you that my collaboration with my father as a coach has come to an end. I prefer to keep my father in his role as a father, and only as a father," Tsitsipas wrote in Greek on social media.

"Philosophy teaches us that wisdom comes through understanding our limits and acknowledging our mistakes,” he continued. “In my case, I realised that I was wrong to talk to my father the way I did. Tennis is not just a match, a hit or a performance of a few seconds. It is a long journey full of emotions, pressure and expectations.

"In that moment of frustration, there were many mistakes and errors on the part of my coach and father. As an introvert, I tend to hold in my emotions and build them up until I reach a bursting point. I consider myself patient, so the fact that I reacted this way left me shocked."

Σας ενημερώνω με βαριά καρδιά ότι η συνεργασία μου με τον πατέρα μου ως προπονητής έχει φτάσει στο τέλος της. Προτιμώ να κρατήσω τον πατέρα μου στον ρόλο του ως πατέρας, και μόνο ως πατέρας.

Η φιλοσοφία μας διδάσκει ότι η σοφία έρχεται μέσα από την κατανόηση των ορίων μας και…

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina earned his biggest win of the season Thursday at the Omnium Banque National présenté par Rogers, where he upset third seed Daniil Medvedev.

“It’s not been an easy year for me,” the Spaniard said in his on-court interview. “A lot of changes in my life.”

One of those changes was to his team. Davidovich Fokina had worked with coach Jorge Aguirre from age 11, but at Roland Garros former No. 7 in the PIF ATP Rankings Fernando Verdasco became his coach.

“It’s a lot of years that I was with him and at the end, I think I was struggling about not going forward from the ranking [where] I was,” Davidovich Fokina, who reached a career-high World No. 21 last year, told ATPTour.com. “I think we had our limits. I decided to change [to] Fer because I think I have to have a top player that can tell me things that maybe my coach could not say. Because at the end, the feelings and the emotions and everything that Fernando has on court all his career, he will know how to manage those times.

“We started in Roland Garros, and we didn't have a lot of time together. But we are working every day, and we are enjoying each other, because we know [each other] very well, and I know his family, and he knows me. He knows my people around me, then we are enjoying it.”

Thursday evening action at the Omnium Banque National présenté par Rogers in Montreal has been cancelled due to rain.

A trio of second-round matches will be moved to Friday, including fourth seed Hubert Hurkacz’s meeting with Thanasi Kokkinakis and the all-American clash between Taylor Fritz and Sebastian Korda. Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech led Flavio Cobolli 3-0, 15/15 with the Italian serving when play was suspended.

Hurkacz and Kokkinakis warmed up for their fourth Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting, but rain fell just as they were about to begin the match at 6 p.m. local time. Players briefly waited courtside before heading to the locker room. Thursday’s evening session was called off just after 10 p.m.

Hurkacz, who is set to compete for the first time since knee surgery post-Wimbledon, gave a ballkid an unforgettable memory when he invited him to share an umbrella. The World No. 6 in the PIF ATP Rankings asked the ballkid questions such as, 'Do you play tennis? Do you play any tournaments?'

This year's tournament started one day later than normal on Tuesday due to the Olympics. The final is scheduled for Monday.

Hugo Nys and Jan Zielinski reached the quarter-finals of the Omnium Banque National présenté par Rogers on Thursday, when they downed second seeds Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden 4-6, 6-3, 10-7.

Seeded 14th, the Monegasque-Polish team held its nerves in the closing stages, converting their fourth match point to set a quarter-final clash against singles stars Jack Draper and Jannik Sinner.

Daniil Medvedev and Roman Safiullin also rallied from a set down, overcoming sixth seeds Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin 3-6, 6-1, 10-7. Into the last eight, Medvedev and Safiullin will meet third seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury. The 2021 champions defeated 15th seeds Lloyd Glasspool and Nikola Mektic 6-4, 7-6(4).

Fourth seeds Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic, who won Roland Garros this year, advanced with a 7-6(4), 6-3 victory against ninth seeds Neal Skupski and Michael Venus.

Fifth-seeded Italians Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori ousted 12th seeds Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson 6-3, 7-6(4). Bolelli and Vavassori are third in the PIF ATP Live Doubles Race To Turin.

Top seed Jannik Sinner began his title defence in dominant fashion Thursday at the Omnium Banque National présenté par Rogers. Competing in his first singles match 30 days on from his Wimbledon quarter-final run, the Italian raced past Croatian Borna Coric 6-2, 6-4 in Montreal.

Sinner produced high-quality ballstriking and showed no signs of rust once he found his rhythm in the early stages. The 22-year-old, who missed the Paris Olympics due to tonsillitis, dropped just four points behind his first serve in what was his first hard-court match since winning the Miami title in March.

“I’ve been here for a little bit so I’m maybe a bit more used to the conditions, but still, I’m very happy about the performance,” Sinner said. “It was a very tough match. Even if you watched the score, it felt closer for sure. I had to save a break point in the second set and if he makes that one it could potentially change the match. It was a very good mindset today and I’ll try to keep going.”

The 14-time tour-level titlist honed in on deep returning to pressure Coric early in rallies. Sinner created 11 break chances, converting three of them, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

"Today I felt like I was hitting the ball quite cleanly," said Sinner, who is in the doubles quarter-finals alongside Jack Draper. "It’s very tough to play here, it’s a bit breezy and windy and the ball flies a bit, so we try to get better day by day. Today was for sure a very positive day, so let’s see what’s coming."

Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from the Cincinnati Open, the tournament announced on Thursday.

The Serbian owns a 45-12 record at the ATP Masters 1000 hard-court event, triumphing in 2018, 2020 and 2023. Twelve months ago, Djokovic defeated Carlos Alcaraz in an epic deciding-set tie-break in the title match.

The 37-year-old holds a 29-7 record on the season, having captured his first Olympic gold medal in the men’s singles at the Paris Olympics last week, when he defeated Alcaraz in two tie-breaks less than two months after undergoing surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee to take a 4-3 lead in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

Djokovic is currently sixth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin. The seven-time Nitto ATP Finals champion is trying to qualify for the season finale for the 17th time. Since 2007, the only year in which he missed out was 2017. The 2024 year-end championships will be held in Turin from 10-17 November.

[NEWSLETTER FORM]

Of all people, a Brazilian yoga teacher can proudly claim that he was one of the first to recognise Joao Fonseca's natural athletic ability.

The room inside the Fonseca’s house which is now an office was once an exercise space, where the #NextGenATP star’s father, Christiano, practised jiu-jitsu and had in-home yoga lessons. Meanwhile, a two-year-old Joao would be playing with a ball, as any toddler enjoys. But this was different. The coordination came easy. The reaction time was impressively quick. It was in that same exercise room where Joao and his father began playing mini-tennis matches.

“We made a little net in the middle and I played with my father a lot,” Fonseca told ATPTour.com. “My dad would play a match to 10 and it would be 9/3 and he would make it 9/9, and then sometimes he made me win and other times he would make it 11/9, a win for him. And I cried, I remember.”

Now 17 and one of the fastest-rising names in tennis, Fonseca, who last week won his first ATP Challenger Tour title, grew up a multi-sport athlete, playing soccer and tennis while also participating in jiu-jitsu and judo. It did not take long for the Fonsecas to realise that their son had potential.

“When he was two, we were like, 'This boy is different,’” Christiano said. “I remember that my yoga teacher came here and he started playing with the ball with Joao and he said to me, 'This boy is different. He has much more reflexes and coordination than the average.' Very young, we knew he was different.”

Alexander Zverev wasted little time in earning a Tour-leading 48th win of the season on Thursday at the Omnium Banque National présenté par Rogers in Montreal, where he cruised past Australian Jordan Thompson 6-1, 6-1 to reach the third round.

The No. 4 player in the PIF ATP Rankings was competing on hard courts for the first time since his semi-final run in March in Maimi but adjusted quickly to advance after 63 minutes.

Zverev dominated on serve, winning 95 per cent (18/19) of points behind his first delivery, according to Infosys ATP Stats, while he tallied a 20-8 winners-to-unforced errors ratio to avenge his semi-final defeat to Thompson in Los Cabos earlier this year and level their Lexus ATP Head2Head series at 2-2.

The second-seeded German has fond memories in Montreal, having defeated Roger Federer in straight sets to win the title in 2017 when he was aged 20.

Zverev will continue his quest this week at the ATP Masters 1000 hard-court event against 13th seed Holger Rune, who ousted Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta 6-1, 6-3.

Kei Nishikori earned his first Top 20 win since 2021 on Thursday at the Omnium Banque National présenté par Rogers in Montreal, where he upset World No. 11 Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-4 to reach the third round at ATP Masters 1000 level for the first time in three years.

The Japanese lefty, currently No. 576 in the PIF ATP Rankings, rolled back the years with an impressive display against Tsitsipas to become the third lowest-ranked player to reach the last 16 at an ATP Masters 1000 event since the series began in 1990.

“It means a lot,” Nishikori said after reaching the third round. “I am playing well and feels I am back on track again, so I am really happy with the way I played today.”

Nishikori won 92 per cent (11/12) of net points and 60 per cent (9/15) of points on Tsitsipas’ second-serve, according to Infosys ATP Stats, to advance after just 79 minutes at the hard-court event.

“Beating Stef is not easy and for me it is a great win,” Nishikori added. “I stayed aggressive and was not missing too many balls today. It was much better than the first round.”

The biggest story of tennis at the Paris Olympics was Novak Djokovic securing the gold medal, the most important title he was missing. The Serbian emerging victorious was not a surprise.

What is a surprise is that nearly a week later, there is a tennis-related story making international headlines with people from outside of the sport declaring it worthy of a movie, even earning a segment on the TODAY Show, one of the biggest morning shows in the United States.

That story is the gold-medal mixed doubles run of Czech mixed doubles pair Tomas Machac and Katerina Siniakova. Two days before the start of the competition, news circulated in the Czech media that the longtime partners had separated three weeks prior.

“I think everybody was curious from the beginning, because we said that we are not together before the tournament,” Machac told ATPTour.com. “The media tried to push it before the Olympics. I don't know why, but it was one or two days before the game, so it wasn't easy for us. But we have a good relationship between us together.”

The Czechs won their first three matches in straight sets, including a first-round victory against top-seeded Germans Laura Siegemund and Alexander Zverev, who clinched the United Cup for their country earlier this year. The deeper Machac and Siniakova advanced, the closer fans paid attention to the nature of their relationship. They had separated, but were getting along perfectly well on court.

Jannik Sinner has taken the tennis world by storm in 2024. Few players knew that storm was coming before Borna Coric.

The two men, who will meet Thursday in the second round of the Omnium Banque National présenté par Rogers, have known each other since they were teens training at renowned coach Riccardo Piatti’s academy. Now they will face off on one of the world’s biggest stages, at the Montreal ATP Masters 1000 event.

“That's why you play tennis, and that's why I train. I think it's the same for everybody. So for sure, it's a great excitement, and it's going to be a very good test to see where I'm at,” Coric said. “Now, obviously he's the big favourite. He's playing unbelievable tennis this year. But I always like a good challenge and it's going to be very fun, for sure.”

Coric and Sinner have enjoyed opposite levels of success in 2024. The Croatian admitted it has been a struggle for him, especially during the clay-court season, when he tallied a 2-5 record according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index.

The former No. 12 player in the PIF ATP Rankings felt his level was there early in the year on hard courts, but the results did not come. Then on clay, when he typically feels well, Coric did not.

The smile on Kei Nishikori’s face said it all Tuesday afternoon in Montreal. The former No. 4 in the PIF ATP Rankings had just crushed a forehand winner past #NextGenATP American Alex Michelsen to seal his place in the second round of the Omnium Banque National présenté par Rogers.

More importantly, it was a flash of the Japanese star’s best tennis. The 34-year-old enjoyed finding that form to battle on at the ATP Masters 1000 event.

“In the end, yes, but first and second sets, no, because I still struggled with how I played,” Nishikori told ATPTour.com, cracking a laugh. “I think that's because I haven't played many matches and I don't have confidence, and especially [since] I lost easily last week. I didn't play good last week. That's why I was also worried coming into today.

“But in the end, I was playing much better, like I wanted to play, so I have to be happy with how I played today.”

Nishikori has hit the highest of highs in the sport, earning 435 tour-level wins, 12 ATP Tour titles, competing in four Nitto ATP Finals and reaching a major final at the 2014 US Open. Competing in just his ninth tournament since October 2021, he is beginning his journey back towards the top of the tennis world.

Jordan Thompson made history Monday when he cracked the Top 30 in the PIF ATP Rankings for the first time aged 30. Only three players in the 21st century have accomplished the feat for the first time at an older age: Gilles Muller (33), Jan-Lennard Struff (30) and Michael Llodra (30).

“It's pretty special. Thirty on 30,” Thompson told ATPTour.com after advancing to the second round of the Omnium Banque National présenté par Rogers. “I've been working my whole life to keep pushing forward. So hopefully I can keep going. Top 30 is a good milestone for me, but hopefully I can keep pushing on.”

It has been a long time coming for the Sydneysider. His father, Stephen, is a tennis coach and has mentored ‘Thommo’ since the age of four.

“I remember my dad putting in a lot of hours on the court that I probably never thanked him for, and my mom a lot of time driving in the car with me,” Thompson recalled. “I remember I spent so many hours just driving all around — well, my mom spent all those hours driving around Sydney — and I probably never thanked her either. So it's a lot of sacrifice that goes into any professional athlete. I have a lot to thank them for.”

The Australian has fond memories of those early days. He worked hard to steadily improve, reaching a career-high No. 18 in the juniors and cracking the Top 100 in 2016 aged 22. He credits it all to his family and the coaches who helped him along the way.

Former World No. 6 Matteo Berrettini, Reilly Opelka, Marcos Giron and Max Purcell have been awarded wild cards for the Cincinnati Open, the tournament announced Wednesday.

The Italian Berrettini will bring his 10-match winning streak to the ATP Masters 1000 event, having won back-to-back titles in Gstaad and Kitzbühel. It will mark the 28-year-old's sixth Cincinnati appearance.

Opelka’s next stop in his comeback trail is a familiar one. The 6’11” American first played in Cincinnati as an 18-year-old wild card in 2016 and reached the quarter-finals four years later. Opelka has competed in three tournaments in the past month following a 23-month injury layoff.

Giron looks to continue his standout season. The 31-year-old won his maiden tour-level title in Newport and is currently at a career-high No. 34 in the PIF ATP Rankings. Purcell aims to defend quarter-final points from last year’s run as a qualifier.

Qualifying wild cards were awarded to Cincinnati-native J.J. Wolf, Mackenzie McDonald, Zachary Svajda and Brandon Holt. The Cincinnati Open runs from 12-19 August.

In a second-round showdown between four Top 30 singles players in the PIF ATP Rankings, Jack Draper and Jannik Sinner defeated Alexander Bublik and Ben Shelton 7-6(2), 6-1 at the Omnium Banque National présenté par Rogers.

The British-Italian duo won 81 per cent of their serves and saved all three break points they faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats, to reach the quarter-finals. They will next face second seeds Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden or 14th seeds Hugo Nys and Jan Zielinski.

Bublik and Shelton were competing just hours after playing each other in a first-round singles match, won by the American.

As part of the ATP doubles trial, teams of singles players are pitted against doubles specialist teams in the first round and Wednesday’s action featured a handful of such matches, with the results evenly split.

Miomir Kecmanovic and Casper Ruud ousted the seventh-seeded Argentine duo Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni 7-6(4), 6-3.

Rafael Nadal announced on social media Wednesday that he will not compete at the US Open. The 38-year-old Spaniard shared that his next event will be the Laver Cup in Berlin.

"Hi all, writing today to let you guys know that I have decided not to compete at this year’s US Open, a place where I have amazing memories," Nadal wrote. "I will miss those electric and special night sessions in NYC at Ashe, but I don’t think I would be able to give my 100 per cent this time.

"Thanks to all my US Fans in particular, will miss you all and will see you another time. Best of luck to all for the always amazing US Open! My next event will be the Laver Cup in Berlin."

Hi all, writing today to let you guys know that I have decided not to compete at this year’s US Open a place where I have amazing memories.
I will miss those electric and special night sessions in NYC at Ashe, but I don’t think I would be able to give my 100% this time.
Thanks… pic.twitter.com/FluGRWUzIp

A four-time champion at Flushing Meadows, the lefty has earned a 12-7 season record across seven appearances. In the past month, Nadal reached the final of the ATP 250 event in Bastad and made the second round of the Paris Olympics, where he lost to longtime rival and eventual gold medalist Novak Djokovic. Nadal and countryman Carlos Alcaraz reached the quarter-finals in doubles.

Ben Shelton defeated doubles partner Alexander Bublik 7-6(4), 6-2 in a first-round match that ended in hilarious fashion Wednesday at the Omnium Banque National présenté par Rogers.

The 11th-seeded American hit a backhand drop shot while holding three match points at 5-2 in the second set. Bublik darted towards the net and in a last-second effort, threw his racquet at the ball, making perfect contact. Though the shot did not count due to the racquet leaving Bublik's hand, the ball landed on Shelton's side, leaving the 21-year-old stunned. The pair of Top 25 players in the PIF ATP Rankings shared a laugh during a warm embrace at net.

Shelton, who will team the Kazakhstani later Wednesday in a second-round doubles showdown against Jack Draper and Jannik Sinner, overcame early forehand errors to record his first win in three Lexus ATP Head2Head meetings with Bublik. The two-time tour-level titlist raised his level when Bublik served for the opening set at 5-4 and rarely looked back to earn his career-best 27th match win of the season.

“I think the consistency in my tennis is improving every week,” Shelton said of his 8-0 first-round season record at ATP Masters 1000 level and higher. “I’m feeling more and more comfortable. I’m starting to feel more comfortable on the court against guys that I’ve had a lot of trouble with before. I think that my game is evolving every day. Surely not the player that I want to be in the future, but I think I’m moving the right way with a lot of things and finding identity on court.”

Up next for Shelton will be Australian Alexei Popyrin. The Australian downed Czech Tomas Machac 6-3, 6-4.

The US Open will offer a record $75 million in player compensation this year, with first-round prize money reaching $100,000 per player for the first time.

Early-round increases announced by the USTA cover both qualifying and the main draw of the hard-court Grand Slam in New York. The figure of $100,000 for reaching the first round is an increase of 72 per cent from five years ago, when it was $58,000. Those who lose in the final round of qualifying will this year take home $52,000, an increase of 63 per cent from when it was $32,000 in 2019.

There have also been increases in prize money for those players that go deep into the tournament. The men's and women's singles champions in New York will each receive $3.6 million, a 20 per cent increase from 2023. The singles finalists will earn $1,800,000.

The men's doubles and women's doubles championship teams will claim $750,000 per team. There has been a nine per cent increase in the total prize money for the men’s and women’s doubles draws from last year.

The year's fourth and final major, the US Open will be played at Flushing Meadows from 26 August-8 September.

Second serves are barely an asset.

The ATP Tour average is 51 per cent points won behind second serves. It’s only when you reach the rarified air at the top of the PIF ATP Rankings that you see the needle move in this all-important match metric.

An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of World No. 1, Jannik Sinner, and World No. 3, Carlos Alcaraz, identifies how they are able to create enough separation from their opponents to make a real difference behind their second serves. The data set is comprised of a minimum of 80 matches for each player over the past three seasons.

Second Serve Points Won
• Sinner = 54%
• Alcaraz = 55%

Sinner and Alcaraz only move three and four percentage points north of the tour average of 51%, but it’s enough to make a substantial difference to their careers. What’s fascinating is that Sinner and Alcaraz go about improving their average second-serve points won in different ways.