Tennis news: Madrid Open saga gets worse as player shares Novak Djokovic texts

It’s a warm, sunny afternoon in Madrid and the Caja Magica is packed. The withdrawals of high-profile stars like Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic haven’t deterred the crowds.

Inside the Magic Box itself, fans are trying out the activations and browsing the shops.

Out in the Tennis Garden, home to the smaller outdoor courts and practice courts, fans are soaking up the sun while watching some action.

Alexander Zverev is practising in the far corner and you can’t even get a glimpse of him anymore as so many fans are lined up watching.

And Court 6, where Italian wildcard Federico Cina is facing Danish qualifier Elmer Moller, is very lively. There are a fair few Italians cheering their man on, but he’s about to lose.

Venus Williams’ losing run continued as she crashed to a ninth consecutive first-round defeat at the Madrid Open on Tuesday. 

Williams was giving away 25 years to wild card Kaitlin Quevedo in her first match on the clay since the French Open in 2021.

The veteran briefly threatened to make it a real contest when she led 3-0 in the second set, but Quevedo hit back to claim a 6-2, 6-4 victory.

And speaking after her latest defeat, Williams said: “I felt like in the last game I started to move better on the clay. But then it was the last game.

“All these things take adjustments. I started my practice on clay a couple of weeks after Miami. I haven’t really played on clay in years. But I enjoy the clay, it’s fun. I played against a very inspired opponent today.

“The conditions weren’t easy for both of us, so much wind and rain and interruptions in the match. I don’t think that was helpful.”

Tennis star Eva Lys has revealed she would not date another tennis player.

Speaking to Claytenis, she said: "I know what it takes to be in this business. It consumes so much of your life.

"I’m trying to keep my private life far away from the sport. For me, it’s refreshing to have friends and interests outside of the sport. But you never know! For now, it’s a no."

Jannik Sinner admits it is unique not to have Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic in the Madrid Masters draw.

Speaking to reporters, he said: “When they aren’t in the draw, the situation is quite unique.

“We’ve shared many tournaments, but if I want to play Carlos, it will only be in the final. The road to a final is very long, and anything can happen there.

“At the same time, I always take it day by day, with many challenges ahead of me starting with my first match against a qualifier who will already have a couple of matches here. I have to try to figure out how to play on this surface and in Madrid.”

Emma Raducanu has been handed a boost in the WTA rankings despite withdrawing from the Madrid Open.

Emma Navarro's dip in form has inadvertently helped boost Raducanu's placement with the American losing her opening match in each of her last three WTA tournament appearances.

Navarro also withdrew from the Madrid Open due to ongoing health issues, handing Raducanu an unexpected boost in the rankings. Raducanu now sits 27th on 1,465 points - 23 ahead of Navarro in 28th on 1,442 and the American's absence removes the immediate threat of her being overtaken in the live standings.

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Andy Murray has explained to Sky Sports why Djokovic can win a 25th Slam. 

"I think that he can," he said. "The difficulty is when you get to the age that he's at, if you play too much tennis, you risk injury, or not being fresh for the majors but then if you're not competing enough and your body is not match-hardened and ready to play seven matches across two weeks, it is also very difficult physically.

"Last year, he made the semi-finals of all four majors, but definitely had three injuries across those events and that's the balancing act.

"It has to be perfect preparation with enough match play and enough training, but you could see at the Australian Open with the results that he had, beating Alcaraz last year and beating [Jannik] Sinner this year, that he still has the potential to do it."

A 15-year-old British tennis star is just three wins from Wimbledon's main draw after winning  the under 16s and under 18s national championships, which means she has been given a qualifying wildcard.

Speaking via BBC News, she said: "I'm just going to bring what I can do onto the court and see how it goes.

"Especially for a British kid. You just want to aim for the stars and play those slams."

Novak Djokovic has broken another Roger Federer record after recording the most weeks ranked in the top five. The world No.4 has spent 860 weeks in the top five - breaking Federer's total of 859.

And it will surprise few that Rafael Nadal rounds out the top three with 837 weeks. 

Venus Williams has reportedly turned down a wildcard for Rome. The American has not won a match since last year's Citi Open in July.

But the 45-year-old remains a bid draw to tournaments and was given a wildcard for Madrid where she lost in straight sets yesterday.

Now it appears that Venus will not be in action again until Roland Garros, if she gets a wildcard. 

Toni Nadal has warned Carlos Alcaraz not to take any risks with the Spaniard an injury doubt for Roland Garros. 

Speaking with Radioestadio Noche, the uncle of Rafael Nadal said: "Listening to Alcaraz, it seems he’s fairly certain he might miss Roland-Garros.

"I think everything he’s said is spot on; we shouldn’t take any risks. They usually advise against returning to competition if the injury isn’t fully healed, and I think that’s what he’s going to do.

"Nowadays, at these speeds, the ball is moving so fast that it’s easy to make a sudden movement, and that’s when tendons and joints suffer. At his age, he shouldn’t take risks, he has many years left and it’s much better to be cautious.

"It’s a real blow for Carlos Alcaraz, because he had a great chance of repeating his title. It’s tough for Carlos, but I think he’s wisely putting his career ahead of his desire to play immediately."

Two-time former Wimbledon finalist Ons Jabeur has received messages of congratulations after giving birth to her first child.

The Tunisian announced her pregnancy back in November last year and also revealed she would be taking an indefinite break from the WTA Tour.

And among those to send their best wishes after the happy news are Emma Raducanu and Coco Gauff.

Tennis legend Venus Williams suffered another disappointing defeat after losing in straight-sets to Kaitlin Quevedo.

The 45-year-old suffered a 6-2 6-4 defeat to home favourite Quevedo. The American is still looking for her first win of the year, having not won a match since the Citi Open in July last year.

Andy Murray has spoken to Sky Sports on his future plans and what coaching Djokovic was like.

He said: "Djokovic probably learned nothing [from me]. No, I learned a lot and honestly, I would coach again but probably not right now.

"I've had a few opportunities to coach but I don't really want to do loads of travelling right now unless it's with my family. I knew lots about Novak's game. I played against him for years and studied his game. It was interesting to see what his day to day looked like in comparison to what I might have been doing and how those things differ.

"From a coaching perspective it's about how you communicate your message to the player that you're working with and how to listen to them. I really think that having kids has helped me with that - learning to be more understanding and seeing something from another person's point of view and perspective.

"But I felt I learned that a bit from coaching in how to work in a team. When you're the focal point as a player, all the team are working for you, whereas when you're part of a coaching team you're a small part of that trying to help an individual do the best they can."

Iva Jovic has shared the messages of encouragement she has received from Novak Djokovic.

“He’s texting me after matches, like analysis, or there will be the WTA or a tournament making a clip of a point that I played well, and he will be like, ‘I love what you did in this point, you should try to do that more,” she said on the Served with Andy Roddick podcast.

“Or before, specifically, I’ve played one opponent, ‘You’ve got to make sure you try to do this, with this one.’

“It’s not like your average, ‘you’ve got this’, it’s unbelievably specific and detailed to the point where it’s obvious that he’s watched many of my matches.

“I don’t know where he finds the time in his day, but he makes an effort with the young players.”

Wimbledon finalist Amanda Anisimova has become the latest big-name to withdraw from this year's Madrid Masters. 

The world number six has pulled out of Madrid due to a wrist injury. She hasn’t played a match on clay so far this year with her next opportunity coming in the Rome Masters.

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the latest tennis news. Madrid is underway with several big names missing at a tournament that still has Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka involved. 

Sinner is looking to become the first player to win five-straight Masters 1000 events while Sabalenka will aim to win three in a row after also securing the Sunshine Double.

Stick with us throughout the day for all the latest!