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Iga Swiatek lost her No.1 ranking to Aryna Sabalenka last year due to her three-week provisional suspension and the Belarusian’s dominating performance on the hard court events. The provisional suspension was part of a one-month ban that was handed to the Pole because of trimetazidine contamination.
Swiatek did not shy away from revealing that she indeed was worried about her No.1 rankings this season. She was constantly chasing the top spot but her inability to reach the finals and claim titles along with Sabalenka’s successful runs only increased the points gap this season.
Sabalenka sits on top with 10541 points, which is 3000-plus points more than Swiatek’s 7470. The 23-year-old, after losing her cool during the Indian Wells semifinal against eventual winner Mirra Andreeva, hit a ball toward a ball kid which drew the ire of the tennis world.
Swiatek took to Instagram, writing a lengthy post to explain her conduct, and also revealed that her performance on the Middle East Swing was affected by her constant worries about her rankings as realizing that the doping case would keep affecting her rankings “deeply upset” her. Tennis great Mats Wilander, however, doesn’t think a player of Swiatek’s caliber needs to worry about rankings.
She’s worrying about all the things that you have to just tell yourself you should not worry about, which is, obviously, very hard to do. But to worry about ranking points from the previous year when you have been as dominant as Iga Swiatek and when you’ve been world No.1, and when you’ve already won a handful of Grand Slam titles… to worry about ranking points just tells you that you are not in a good state mentally.
Mats Wilander told TNT Sports
Swiatek hasn’t yet reached a final since June last year. She lifted her fourth French Open (third consecutive) title and later won the bronze medal at the Paris Olympics. In the recently-concluded Miami Open, Swiatek got knocked out in the quarterfinals after a straight-set defeat to Alexandra Eala .
Iga Swiatek makes a difficult decision about her schedule amid her struggles to win titles
Amid her struggle to win trophies, Iga Swiatek decided to put more focus on herself and her training. She has pulled out of the Billie Jean King Cup qualifying tournament in Radom, Poland.
I have made a difficult decision. I know that this is not the information that fans, especially Polish ones, wanted, nevertheless it is the right decision for me for now. I will not play in the Billie Jean King Cup qualifying tournament, which will be held in Radom. I always represent my country with pride. I played everything there was to play for the country last year.
Iga Swiatek wrote on Instagram
Iga Swiatek will not play the Billie Jean King Cup qualifying tournament in Radom.
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) April 2, 2025
“I have made a difficult decision. I know that this is not the information that fans, especially Polish ones, wanted, nevertheless it is the right decision for me for now.
I will not play in the… pic.twitter.com/IIiIFEZoQC
The tournament runs from April 10 to 12 and Poland will be locking horns with Ukraine and Switzerland. Last year, Poland was defeated in the semifinals by eventual winner Italy.
She has shifted her focus to the clay swing, which started with the Charleston Open in South Carolina. Swiatek is not playing in the tournament.
Iga Swiatek is the defending champion in Madrid, Rome, and Paris
Iga Swiatek is expected to end her trophy drought on the clay swing, for she, without a shadow of a doubt, is the best player on the red dirt in the WTA tour at present. Last year, except for the Stuttgart Open and the Paris Olympics, Swiatek won all the tournaments she played on clay.
She denied Aryna Sabalenka her second straight Madrid Open title, then again beat the World No.1 in the Italian Open final. At the French Open then, the five-time Grand Slam champion breezed past Jasmine Paolini .
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'I don’t know if there is any other sport like this' - Nikoloz Basilashvili shares dark side of tennis after huge losses
Nikoloz Basilashvili has become Georgia's best tennis player. Formerly ranked inside the top 16, he boasts five ATP titles and a Masters 1000 final to his name, and has made it to at least round three of every Grand Slam. More recently, it has not been smooth sailing for the 33-year-old, who has now started to cover the costs in his professional tennis career, picking up a staggering £88k loss on tour last year in a bleak reality check for some tennis stars. Instead of fighting for titles, he is now struggling outside the top 100 in the world, fighting for important ranking points to place him back within the top players as he looks for a way to earn his money back. Basilashvili reveals money struggles Basilashvili's career took a turn for the better in 2018, when, as a qualifier, he went on to win the German Open, defeating Leonardo Mayer in three sets to claim his first ATP title in his third final. Later that year, the Georgian stormed to victory in another 500 event, conquering 2009 US Open winner Juan Martin del Potro 6-4, 6-4. He carried on to pick up titles in 2019, surviving two match points in the semi-finals against Alexander Zverev before overcoming Andrey Rublev in the Hamburg Open. He peaked at a high of 16 in the world, something he was unable to replicate for the rest of his career. A drop-off in 2020 was swiftly forgotten about the next year, when he won a brace of 250 titles in the space of a couple of months in Qatar and Germany. Later that year, he would reach his maiden Masters 1000 final, but come out second best to British star Cameron Norrie. The following year, he backed up his Qatar success with a repeat of the prior year's final, but this time lost out to Roberto Bautista Agut. He has failed to reach a final since, and his career has been circling out of control. He finished 2022 down in 92nd after consistently ending the year around the 20th rank. In 2023, he suffered a crucial elbow injury, which he ended up having three surgeries on. He took the risk to carry on playing instead of protecting his ranking, and paid the ultimate price. He dropped outside the top 500 and practically had to restart his career. This was a really tough period for the Georgian, who was not only battling his injuries but also personal demons swirling around his head, one of which is the money he is losing. Now mostly playing Challenger Tours, he struggles to make as much money as he once did. For example, he won £46,500 in prize money compared, which was not close to covering his travel and coaching costs, which totalled out at £107k, leading to a net loss of £88k in 2024. In an interview with The Guardian, Basilashvili opened up about his demise in tennis. He said: “I wanted to quit after my injury because I was very burned out for many years. You are mostly alone, and you don’t really have a lot of friends to talk to. I don’t know if there is any other sport like this, to take a flight on the same day you play a match and then next week you are in another city.” Despite this, things are starting to look up for Basilashvili. Now regularly getting into Grand Slams, he won his first Grand Slam tie since 2022, defeating number ten in the world Lorenzo Musetti in four sets before losing by the same scoreline to fellow Italian Lorenzo Sonego. He also qualified for his first Masters 1000 event since 2023 at Indian Wells, where he failed to get past the first round. Now up to 112th in the world, he needs more big wins to progress back up the rankings and to earn the money he is simply not earning on the Challenger Tour.
Oregon suspends former five-star WR recruit indefinitely
Oregon wide receiver Jurrion Dickey has struggled to live up to expectations in his first two seasons with the Ducks, and he is now in a terrible position heading into 2025 as well. Dickey has been suspended indefinitely by Oregon, head coach Dan Lanning announced on Tuesday. Lanning also suggested that Dickey may not play for the Ducks again. "We have two team rules; that’s respectful, be on time,” Lanning said, via James Crepea of The Oregonian. “There’s some pieces of that where I felt like he needed a break from us and we needed a break from that so we could focus on what’s in front of us right now. "Wishing him nothing but the best, as far as success and want to see him get back to where he can be a contributor somewhere; that might be here that might be somewhere else.” Dickey was a five-star recruit and rated as one of the top wide receivers in the country when he came out of Menlo-Atherton High School in Atherton, California, in 2023. He suffered an injury in his senior year in high school and redshirted as a freshman at Oregon. Dickey has two catches for 14 years during his time with the Ducks. Oregon went 13-1 in Lanning's third season with the program last season. The Ducks lost to eventual national champion Ohio State in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals.
Cowboys fans won't like Jerry Jones' update on Micah Parsons standoff
With the regular season approaching, the Dallas Cowboys should be aiming to extend EDGE Micah Parsons promptly. But they're still in no rush to do that. Parsons is set to play on the fifth-year option of his rookie contract in 2025 and has requested a trade. Dallas insists it has no plans to move the 26-year-old pass-rusher but hasn't clarified when it will extend him. Giving him a new deal before the regular-season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sept. 4 at 8:20 p.m. ET (NBC, Peacock) seems wise. Dallas owner Jerry Jones, however, said that's not the team's deadline, nor does it need one. "No, not at all," Jones said Wednesday, via Jonah Javad of WFAA-TV in Dallas. "You don't have deadlines when you're playing under contract." Parsons is under contract, but that doesn't mean he must suit up. The EDGE could hold out of regular-season games, like former Cowboys star running back Emmitt Smith did in 1993. The Pro Football Hall of Famer missed the first two games of the season before becoming the league's highest-paid RB at that time. Parsons hasn't said whether he would hold out of regular-season games, but it's apparent he's unhappy with where things stand. "My mouth is closed," Parsons said Wednesday while leaving the practice field in Oxnard, California, via Field Level Media. Jones didn't say if talks with Parsons would resume when the Cowboys return to Texas for their second preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens. The matchup is scheduled for Saturday at 7 p.m. ET. The owner still seems confident Parsons will play on the fifth-year option if Dallas doesn't sign him before the start of the regular season. "Again, all you've got to go on are contracts," Jones said. "We are negotiating for a contract. When you do a contract, you would hope that after a negotiation, that's what both the team and player look to see what our obligations are. I have a lot of respect for the contract." Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb played the last years of their rookie contracts. Perhaps Jones wants Parsons to do the same. Still, that would be silly. Paying the four-time Pro Bowler should be a no-brainer for the Cowboys, so they should stop wasting time and show him the money.
Bruins' top prospect makes decision on college that will shake up the scene
Boston Bruins top prospect James Hagens has announced he will return to Boston College for his sophomore season. In a brief interview with Scott McLaughlin of Boston’s WEEI 93.7, Hagens shared that he’s in no rush to advance to the next step, acknowledging that development is a, “marathon, not a sprint.” Hagens revealed the news while participating at the Bruins’ 14th annual back-to-school celebration, alongside current Bruins Mason Lohrei and John Beecher. Few announcements will shake the college scene as much as the news of Hagens’ return. He was among the best freshmen in college last season, tracking to 37 points in 37 games. That scoring earned him a unanimous selection to Hockey East’s All-Rookie team — an accolade he shared with teammate Teddy Stiga and Boston University rival Cole Hutson. Hagens reached those heights while filling an interesting role with the Eagles, stepping in between wingers Gabe Perreault and Ryan Leonard after the two spent their last three years centered by San Jose Sharks prospect Will Smith. Each of Perreault, Leonard and Hagens scored fewer points than the Eagles’ top-line managed in 2023-24, but it seemed that was more the cause of a low-scoring year across Hockey East. The top unit recorded points on 36 percent of BC’s goals this season, an ever-so-slight improvement over the 34 percent contributed by Smith, Leonard and Perreault in 2024. But while Hagens faced questions of his scoring upside relative to other top draft-eligible talents in the NCAA, it was hard not to be impressed by his on-ice results. He’s long been a dynamo among his age group, with an innate ability to predict movement and put himself in position to make a play. Hagens is strong on the puck — with an ability to use finesse moves and bulky shoulders to force his way into the dangerous areas of the ice. More than that, he showed clear signs of improvement as the year went on — developing his physical presence and ability to make a difference even when he wasn’t the first man in on a play. Those signs of growth give Boston a prospect to be excited over. Hagens was lauded as the clear first overall talent in the 2025 draft class, prior to the beginning of the 2024-25 season. Much of that claim came from his command of the U.S. NTDP over the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons, where he served as the team’s top-line center and snappy playmaker next to electric goal-scorer Cole Eiserman. With Eiserman’s help, Hagens was able to become the fifth-highest scoring player in NTDP history, with 187 points in 118 games. He also set the scoring record at the World U17 Hockey Challenge in 2023, with 21 points in seven games, and the World U18 Championship in 2024, with 22 points in seven games. Hagens will be returning to a fresh-faced Boston College lineup next season. Both Leonard and Perreault signed their NHL entry-level contracts at the end of last season, leaving the Eagles with vacancies on both wings on their top-line. One of those spots will be occupied by Stiga, who has shown years of chemistry playing next to Hagens. The other spot will be closely contested, but could land in the hands of transfer forward Ryan Conmy or fellow Bruins draft pick William Moore. Hagens and Moore will be two of six Bruins prospects on next year’s Eagles squad, providing local fans with plenty of reasons to walk to Conte Forum when the puck drops.
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