Tennis news: Jannik Sinner confirms split as Iga Swiatek lashes out at 'false theories'

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Alexandra Eala has been one of the breakout stories of the season, storming into the Miami Open semi-final earlier this year by beating Iga Swiatek, Madison Keys and Jelena Ostapemko.

But Marta Kostyuk sent her packing with a brutal demolition job on Wednesday, beating the teenage star 6-0 6-1 in 62 minutes.

Emma Raducanu survived a topsy-turvy match against dangerous young qualifier Maya Joint.

The Brit failed to serve for victory twice but she finally got the job done at the third time of asking, winning 7-5 6-7(1) 6-3 to earn her first-ever victory at the Italian Open.

Emma Raducanu appeared to be off to a flying start in her opening match against qualifier Maya Joint.

The Brit led by a set and a break before the Aussie got back on serve. But Raducanu broke again and served for the match before Joint suddenly stepped it up.

The qualifier broke again and kept herself alive as the second set went to a tiebreak. Joint raced through it, dropping just one point, and Raducanu now finds herself going to a deciding set after being two points from victory.

Fabio Fognini has announced that this will be his final appearance at the Italian Open. The former world No. 9 will face Britain's Jacob Fearnley in the first match in Thursday's night session.

Before the likes of Jannik Sinner, Matteo Berrettini and Lorenzo Musetti came along, the nine-time title winner spent years flying the flag for Italian men's tennis. But he will now say goodbye to the Foro Italico.

“Since I was a kid I was coming here to say, ‘Oh let’s see, let’s hope to play one day’. And now I’m in the opposite [time of my career]. I think it’s a good time to say goodbye in this beautiful city, special city,” Fognini told Tennis Channel ahead of the tournament.

“But yes, I’m here with a smile on my face because I know that I had a really difficult time during my 15, I don’t know, 16, 20 years in Rome and I would like to enjoy the last lap.”

Cameron Norrie admitted that he was left feeling frustrated after suffering a three-set defeat in Italian Open qualifying on Tuesday.

But the Brit managed to get a spot in the main draw as a lucky loser and, just a day later, earned a convincing victory over Christopher O'Connell after channelling his anger.

“I think yesterday I lost a match where I really didn’t play well and I was so p***ed off after the match. I was completely devastated, I couldn’t believe it, I had been playing so well,” the British No. 3 told Sky Sports.

“Then I found out a couple of hours later I got the lucky loser. I was like, ‘Okay, I’m going to put that anger into the match today and use the energy for my advantage’.

“I was sharp, I didn’t give him much and I played some physical tennis. I was really stingy in my service games. I was just really happy I turned that energy around.”

It's been a mixed bag for the Brits so far in Rome, as Katie Boulter lost her opening match to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

The British No. 1 was broken four times in the match and hit six double faults as she suffered a 6-3 6-3 defeat.

But Cameron Norrie made the most of his lucky loser status, getting into the main draw despite losing his final qualifying match, and he beat Christopher O'Connell 6-3 6-2 to reach round two.

Belinda Bencic faced Maria Sakkari in one of the biggest matches of the day in Rome. But there was a disappointing early end to the contest when Bencic was forced to retire injured after losing the first set 6-2.

A former top-10 player, Sakkari has fallen to No. 81 in the world and had to come through qualifying to reach the main draw of the Italian Open. She's now through to round two following Bencic's retirement.

Iga Swiatek has responded after recent Madrid Open champion Casper Ruud leapt to her defence on social media.

The world No. 2 suffered a heavy 6-1 6-1 defeat to Coco Gauff in the Madrid semi-final and a video of her appearing to cry into a towel mid-match was shared on X (formerly known as Twitter).

"Hey @iga_swiatek keep your head up Like millions of other people I love watching you play. Not your day today, but you inspire so many and you’ll be back stronger than ever!!" Ruud replied.

Swiatek has now addressed his heartfelt message, telling the WTA: "I think Casper is one of the nicest people on tour.

"He's so humble and respectful and he's a true gentleman so I'm happy that he wrote that. For sure, it was one of the messages that got my spirits up after the loss."

Roman Andres Burruchaga caused a big upset at the Foro Italico on Wednesday.

The world No. 135 came through qualifying to make his Masters 1000 debut and he stunned world No. 44 and home favourite Lorenzo Sonego in the first round, earning a 6-2 6-3 victory.

The Argentine tennis star is the son of Jorge Burruchaga, the man who scored the winning goal in the 1986 World Cup final with an assist from Diego Maradona.

Jorge has been wildly supportive of his son's tennis career and will no doubt be delighted with his biggest result yet.

Naomi Osaka is now on a six-match winning streak after coming through her opening match in Rome.

The former world No. 1 beat Sara Errani on Wednesday - three days after she lifted her first-ever title on clay at the WTA 125 in Saint-Malo.

Osaka took a late wildcard into Saint-Malo, making her first appearance on the WTA 125 circuit in almost a decade. After dropping down to the lower-level event, the four-time Major winner said she didn't have an ego while playing a smaller tournament.

"I just wanted to focus on the tennis. I wanted to rack up experience on clay. I didn't really have too much of an ego playing that tournament," she said.

"I've always told people that I'm okay, like, playing on Court 16 if I have to anyways. The reason I came back wasn't to play on centre courts all the time, it's because I really enjoy the game. I just want to see what I can do."

The newly-crowned Madrid Open champion, Casper Ruud, is looking forward to seeing Jannik Sinner back on a match court this week.

The world No. 1 has returned from a three-month suspension and Ruud is set to practice with Sinner ahead of their opening matches in Rome.

Before their training session, Ruud said: "I hope he's welcomed back with a lot of fans and a lot of support. I'm really looking forward to seeing him back on court on Saturday.

"I haven't met him in person yet, but I'm looking forward to getting back together and having a chat. It's great to see him back on the tour."

Jessica Pegula is back in action at the Italian Open after skipping the entire clay season in 2024 with neck and back injuries.

The No. 3 seed has a bye to the second round and will start her campaign later this week.

But, ahead of her opening match, Pegula had to clear up theories that she has Italian roots because of her last name.

"I'm not Italian. Everyone thinks so," the American said.

"It's not Italian. It sounds cool in Italian, like it is, but it's not."

Iga Swiatek has received a special honour from a local restaurant ahead of the Italian Open.

The Pole is a huge fan of tiramisu and often attends Ristorante La Vittoria to indulge in the delicacy when she travels to Rome.

La Vittoria have decided to honour Swiatek by renaming their version of the dessert as Iga Swiatek's Tiramisu.

On their website, they wrote: "Its fame soared thanks to Polish tennis star Iga Swiatek, who fell in love with it during a trip to Rome.

"Upon returning home, she shared her enthusiasm, sparking a phenomenon in Poland.

"For Polish visitors, La Vittoria has become a must-visit destination to savor what they fondly call the famous Iga Swiatek's Tiramisu."

Naomi Osaka is through to the second round of the Italian Open after securing a comfortable win over Sara Errani.

The two-time Grand Slam champion eased to a 6-2 6-3 victory over her Italian rival to book her place in round two.

Osaka will certainly face a tougher test in her next outing, with Jasmine Paolini her upcoming opponent.

Dan Evans has raised concerns about Emma Raducanu's coaching partnership with Mark Petchey, which he is not convinced will last.

Both parties have made it clear that it will continue to be an informal partnership due to Petchey's other commitments.

He also works as a tennis commentator, meaning he will be unable to mentor Raducanu at every tournament.

"It can’t last if she starts losing matches and Petchey is in the commentary box, that’s not going to work," said Evans."I think Emma will be looking for a new coach again pretty soon if she starts to lose some matches on the grass into the US swing. I’m not sure how that can last as it is."

Marketa Vondrousova has announced that she has pulled out of the Italian Open ahead of her scheduled opener against Wang Xinyu.

On her Instagram story, she wrote: "Tried my best, but not ready yet. See you next year Rome."

Vondrousova has been recovering from a shoulder problem as of late and has endured a torrid time with injuries throughout her career.

Naomi Osaka's coach Patrick Mouratoglou has accused Novak Djokovic of lacking motivation during his Madrid Open campaign.

The veteran Serb was beaten in straight sets by Matteo Arnaldi in the opening round.

"I was very surprised to see Novak play like that in Monte Carlo and then again in Madrid," said Mouratoglou.

"For a guy like him, if he doesn’t feel like playing, if he doesn’t have the motivation, I don’t think he should play because he didn’t even look like he was trying to win.

"I am not saying he is not able to play better, he is for sure able to play much better, but I felt like he was not prepared physically.

"I mean, tennis-wise, physically, for those tournaments because he doesn’t have the motivation, and no judgment there.

"But the question is, why did he play then? I don’t understand.

"Motivation is a big thing for him, it’s all about it, and I’ve been saying that now for quite a long time."

Emma Raducanu has revealed that her partnership with Mark Petchey was sparked by a chance meeting in Miami.

"Mark was already there, commentating, and it happened that I bumped into him in one of the corridors in the stadium," she said.

"He’s someone that I trust, so we were just talking. And then I was like: 'I need to do this'.

"It was me being scared to ask: 'Can you help?'. And it was him not wanting to push himself.

"So I was just like: 'Oh, can you maybe help me?'. And he said: 'I can help you around the commitments and stuff'.

"That’s how it started. Ran into each other in the corridor."

Alexander Zverev has accused the media of 'putting players down' after being left frustrated by coverage of his recent displays.

He won last month's BMW Open in Munich and still wants to overtake Jannik Sinner at the top of the ATP rankings.

"It would be nice," said Zverev. "I don’t know. I have not been there. I believe I will, so we’ll see how it goes.

"I do think the media also loves to put players down, right? I had a bad two months before Munich, right?

"I didn’t play great tennis before Munich. All of a sudden I’m like the worst world No 2 in the world ever and I don’t deserve to be there.

"Like, I’m there because I won tournaments. I’m there because I have results."

Aryna Sabalenka has revealed that she walked away from a training session with Andrey Rublev after just five minutes.

Before the start of the Italian Open, the 27-year-old was asked whether she is the hardest ball-hitting player in the women's game.

"I don’t know, I mean, maybe when I was practicing with the guys," she said.

"I practice with Rublev, that was really intense. I was like: 'Okay, whatever, I’m done'. I was done in five minutes, so, yeah.

"But, no, sometimes power is not the key. You can hit really hard but not in the right target. I think the guys serve stronger, obviously."

Iga Swiatek has fired back at the criticism surrounding her psychologist Daria Abramowicz amid her struggles on tour.

The Pole took aim at 'false narratives' as she issued a staunch defence of their working relationship.

"I trust my entire team, and I want people around to know that," said Swiatek.

"This is my team and I decide who's in it. The recent media pressure doesn't create space for calm and focused work. On the contrary it creates additional, unnecessary stress.

"I understand that it's hard to grasp the mental aspect of sport, which can't be judged by stats and numbers especially at a time when I'm not achieving fully satisfying results on the court.

"Also, I'm not someone who wants to talk about everything. The mental work I do should be separate from what happens in the media.

"I think this has all contributed to people not fully understanding what's happening within the team, how it functions, how we work so they invent false theories, but we truly are a team."

Jannik Sinner has revealed that he is no longer in a relationship with fellow tennis player Anna Kalinskaya.

The pair had been dating since last year but Sinner confirmed their split in a press conference ahead of the Italian Open.

He has also been romantically linked with with Russian model Lara Leito after pictures emerged of them together, but he issued a firm denial.

"There's a whole a lot of attention, also off the court," said Sinner.

"I was also very surprised to see some pictures, which are nothing serious.

"I'm not in a relationship. So, whoever is asking, it's all good."

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