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Happy Tuesday! The clay court season continues as the Internazionali BNL d'Italia takes center stage in Rome.
In this week's newsletter:
🏟️ Rome Is Alive: Everything You Need to Know from the Internazionali
👩🍼 Love All Moms: A Mother's Day Tennis Tribute
🎾 Weekly Roundup: Zverev Locks Up the No. 2 Seed at Roland Garros
🧠 Tennis Trivia Challenge 🧠
Think you know your tennis? Take a swing at this week’s question!
Which male tennis star shares a birthday with Aryna Sabalenka, who recently celebrated her 28th birthday on May 5th?
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🏟️ Rome Is Alive: Everything You Need to Know from the Internazionali 🏟️
Image: ATP Tour
The men's draw in Rome is shaping up to be a fascinating battle as the tournament heads into the fourth round. Jannik Sinner kicked off his campaign with a commanding win over Sebastian Ofner, and the world number one continues to look unstoppable, now recording 24 wins to open an ATP Masters 1000 season, joining Novak Djokovic as the only players to achieve the feat. Alexander Zverev, still hunting his first title of the season after falling to Sinner in Madrid, dispatched Alexander Blockx convincingly and looks sharp on clay. Dark horse Rafael Jodar, just 19 years old and 14-2 on clay this season, continued his remarkable run with a gutsy three-set win over Matteo Arnaldi.
On the women's side, the draw has already been turned upside down with top seed Aryna Sabalenka's shocking third-round exit to Sorana Cirstea, who stormed back from a set and a double break down to claim the biggest win of her season. Sabalenka, visibly hampered by lower back pain, now heads into a recovery period ahead of Roland Garros. With the top seed gone, Elena Rybakina looks like the player to beat. The World No. 2 and 2023 Rome champion cruised past Alexandra Eala 6-4, 6-3, becoming the only player to reach the Round of 16 at all six WTA 1000 events this season, making her the clear favorite heading into the second week.
👩🍼 Love All Moms: A Mother's Day Tennis Tribute 👩🍼
Image: Tennis.com
The best shot in tennis might not be a forehand winner or a 130 mph serve. It might be the moment Naomi Osaka's daughter Shai called in on FaceTime during practice, cheering "Go mommy, go!" from a chair on the sideline. Or Taylor Townsend hoisting a Grand Slam doubles trophy knowing her son AJ was watching. In honor of Mother's Day recently passing, it's worth pausing the Rome coverage for a second to appreciate something bigger than rankings and trophies: the growing wave of tennis moms proving that motherhood and elite sport are not mutually exclusive.
What makes their stories so compelling is how different each journey looks. Elina Svitolina came back from maternity leave and won a title within months. Belinda Bencic returned in 2024 and has since climbed back inside the WTA Top 10, making history alongside Svitolina as the first two mothers simultaneously ranked there. And perhaps no one laid the groundwork more quietly than Victoria Azarenka, who returned in 2016 when the WTA had zero maternity protections in place, and spent years advocating until the tour built the progressive policy players benefit from today. The trophies are great. The legacy is better.
What ties all of these women together is something that goes beyond the court. Caroline Wozniacki walked away twice to prioritize family, admitting the mom guilt is real but manageable. Angelique Kerber returned for a farewell season after becoming a mother, then stepped away for good, at peace with her choice. These are not stories of sacrifice, they are stories of women navigating life on their own terms, in a sport that for a long time made that incredibly difficult. The fact that a player can now have a child, take time away, and come back to compete at the highest level is not a small thing. It is a culture shift, and these women built it point by point.
🎾 Weekly Roundup: Zverev Locks Up the No. 2 Seed at Roland Garros 🎾
Image: ATP Tour
Zverev clinches No. 2 seed at Roland Garros after Djokovic's shocking first-round loss to Prizmic in Rome eliminated any chance of closing the rankings gap before Paris.
The prize money battle is escalating ahead of Roland Garros, with Gauff, Sabalenka, and Sinner all threatening a boycott, arguing the French Open's revenue sharing is deeply unfair to players outside the top tier.
A fun birthday note from earlier this week: Sabalenka and Alcaraz share May 5th as their birthday, with the Belarusian turning 28 and the Spaniard turning 23 on the same day.
Mirra Andreeva reached 50 career WTA 1000 wins this week in Rome, doing so at just 19 years old while riding a dominant clay season that includes a title, a semifinal, and a final already.
The NCAA Men's Tennis quarterfinals are set for Thursday, May 14 in Athens, Georgia, with top seed Wake Forest leading a field that includes Texas, Ohio State, Virginia, and TCU all contending for the national title.
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