Katie Boulter has settled in well under new coach Michael Joyce, especially after her recent WTA title win in Ostrava.

Boulter had dropped down the rankings in 2025, which ultimately led to her decision to part ways with long-time coach Biljana Veselinovic.

She’s enjoying working with Joyce so far, and the change seems to be paying off. She’s climbed back up to World No. 65 and looks a lot more confident on court.

Speaking ahead of the Miami Open, Boulter shared what has stood out most during her early months working with Joyce.

Katie Boulter sdmits she’s ‘surprised’ by her strong start to the season

Boulter’s title run in Ostrava was followed up by a quarter-final showing in Merida, further boosting her early-season momentum. She is now closing in on Sonay Kartal and Emma Raducanu in the rankings.

Even Boulter has admitted she didn’t expect her form to turn around so quickly under Joyce, who previously worked with Maria Sharapova.

Speaking to Luxury London about how she felt regarding her start to 2026, Boulter said: “I obviously wanted to do more in Australia and felt like I was playing good stuff but, at the same time, I have to be realistic and understand that I’m just finding my feet.

“I’ve just got a new coach and we’re still working things out. I’m having to be patient, which isn’t my biggest virtue.”

Boulter also mentioned she’s been pleasantly surprised by how quickly things have clicked under Joyce: “In a way, I’m surprised I already did well in one of the tournaments [the Ostrava Open] because when you change coaches, you’re still very much walking on eggshells and working things out.”

Boulter backed up those comments with another strong display in Miami, reaching the second round after a win over Jessica Bouzas Maneiro. Reflecting on her progress, she said: “I’m really pleased with the start of my season and feel like I’m building momentum again which is really important.”

Boulter faces Clara Tauson next but has already matched last season’s points total from this stage of the year. The challenge now is to build on this strong foundation and keep climbing.

Katie Boulter’s form is a clear improvement over last season

Following her opening round victory at the Miami Open, Katie Boulter now has ten wins under her belt in 2026.

This marks a significant improvement from where she stood at this point last year. In 2025, Boulter had just four wins by the end of March.

Her loss to Peyton Stearns in the first round of Miami back then capped off a slow start to the season. This year, she already has six more victories and is showing signs of building even more momentum as the season progresses.

Boulter is starting to look like the player who once broke into the top 30, and if her current form holds, 2026 could be a strong year for her return up the rankings.

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Iga Swiatek’s stunning milestone has finally been broken after her Thursday defeat to Magda Linette at the Miami Open.

Swiatek had won 73 consecutive opening round matches before this loss, a run stretching back to 2021. It underlined her dominance and reliability in early rounds across all tournaments.

This time, however, she was unable to maintain that level. Linette produced a composed and resilient performance to secure a turnaround, winning 1-6, 7-5, 6-3 in Miami.

Magda Linette fights back from set down to end Iga Swiatek streak

The match was far from straightforward, with Swiatek initially in control. She dominated the opening set 6-1, breaking twice and winning the vast majority of points behind her first serve.

However, Linette shifted the momentum in the second set. She secured a crucial break and held firm to take it 7-5, forcing the contest into a decider.

From there, the Polish world number 50 took command. Linette moved into a 5-2 lead in the third set and, despite Swiatek saving two match points, closed out a 6-3 victory on her fourth opportunity.

First opening round loss since 2021 WTA Finals

The last time that Swiatek has lost an opening round match was in November 2021. On that occasion, she was beaten 6-2, 6-4 by Maria Sakkari at the WTA Finals.

Since then, Swiatek had built a reputation for fast starts, routinely progressing through the early stages of tournaments without disruption.

That consistency has been central to her rise at the top of the game. It was amid that stretch that the Polish star won five of her six Grand Slams.

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Alcaraz vs Fonseca: Miami Open set for intriguing first-time clash

Carlos Alcaraz and Joao Fonseca will meet for the first time on the ATP Tour at the Miami Open, in a clash that has plenty of attention ahead of it.

Fonseca, still just 19 years old, has been tipped by many as the man to snap the dominance of Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner in men’s tennis following his breakthrough year in 2025.

The Brazilian got his first look at Sinner back at Indian Wells, pushing him to a pair of tiebreaks but ultimately coming up short. Now he’ll face another tough test against Alcaraz, who is looking to rebound after seeing his 2026 win streak snapped in Indian Wells.

Speaking ahead of their matchup in Miami, Alcaraz had nothing but praise for the young Brazilian:

Carlos Alcaraz looks ahead to Fonseca clash

Speaking to Tennis TV, Alcaraz said: “I love watching him. We could see last year how big Fonseca is here in Miami.

“I think it’s great to see a lot of people and a lot of fans around, screaming and cheering, hearing them so loudly. I think it’s great. So just trying to take the joga bonito [play beautiful] from Brazil.”

Fonseca might have lost to Sinner, but he pushed the Italian close in both sets. When asked what he made of the match, Alcaraz replied: “I think he has the level, he has the shots, he has the power.

“I would say that he has everything. A lot of things to improve, obviously, but if he does the right things he is going to be there for sure.

“He is going to fight for great things. He has to improve. He has to learn how to deal with expectation.

“How to deal with everything on court. And obviously, to choose the right things all the time. When or if he does it, he is going to be a player to beat.”

Fonseca knows there’s plenty of expectation building around his future in the game – but for now his focus will be on another test against one of the very best players on Tour.

Joao Fonseca and Carlos Alcaraz’s previous meeting

While Fonseca and Alcaraz have never faced each other on the ATP Tour, they have crossed paths once before in an exhibition match.

Back in December, at the Miami Invitational, the two met for the first time. The match went to a third-set tiebreaker, with Alcaraz edging it to take the win.

There were 14,108 fans in attendance for that one. But now with ATP points and prize money at stake, there’s even more on the line.

Sinner’s victory at Indian Wells narrowed that gap by 1,000 points, leaving him just 2,150 behind Alcaraz.

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There’s been quite a bit of criticism aimed at the UFC London card since it was confirmed.

This Saturday, the UFC returns to the UK for another event in the capital, but this one doesn’t seem to have generated much excitement.

Lerone Murphy and Movsar Evloev are set to meet in the main event, with both men hoping a win will move them closer to an undisputed title shot.

Still, fans haven’t been impressed with the lineup, especially when compared to past cards at The O2 Arena.

UFC London card backed by Dana White

Dana White has never hidden his fondness for hosting events in London. Over the years, he’s often spoken about the energy and atmosphere that comes with bringing the UFC to the UK capital.

Speaking to TNT Sports ahead of Saturday’s event, White pushed back against some of the negative feedback, saying: “It’s an unbelievable card, the card is fun.”

“Seven undefeated fighters on the card, (I love the stats). I love it, I mean, this is what fighting is all about, this is what I always talk about,” White said in reference to the main event.

But despite defending Evloev’s spot at the top of the bill, he previously criticised Movsar Evloev’s style after his fight against Arnold Allen.

“For me, what’s at stake, what does it mean, what does it mean in the division? You know, and again, stakes never higher than they are for the main event in London this weekend and we get to do it in front of some of the best fans in the world.”

White also suggested that a title shot could be on offer for Murphy or Evloev. However Jean Silva recently claimed he would be fighting Alexander Volkanovski next.

Neither fighter has been told directly that their bout will decide a number one contender. The UFC may simply be leaving their options open until after Saturday night plays out.

The contrast between this lineup and previous visits is pretty clear. Recent cards have featured bigger names like Tom Aspinall, Leon Edwards and Paddy Pimblett usually included in the offering.

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Iga Świątek said she is in “the worst nightmare a tennis player can have” after one of the most absurd win-streaks in tennis ended with a shock defeat to compatriot Magda Linette at the Miami Open.

Linette, the world No. 50 snapped Świątek’s run of 73 consecutive opening-match wins, which dated back to 2021, in a 1-6, 7-5, 6-3 result that left the six-time Grand Slam champion telling reporters that tennis “feels complicated in my head.”

“I’ve always been an over-thinker, but lately it’s just been so intense. It’s hard for me to get rid of many thoughts I have and this used to be my strength,” Świątek said.

It was March 2019, before Świątek had reached the world’s top 100, when she last lost a match having won the first set 6-0 or 6-1.

The defeat represents a low point in an up-and-down season for Świątek. Since hiring experienced Belgian coach Wim Fissette toward the end of the 2024 season, she has had mixed results as she works through finding the right balance between baseline patience and going for too much when under stress. The highlight was last summer’s Wimbledon title, but overall Świątek has struggled to find the form that made her such a dominant world No. 1 for the previous few years. Her ranking is now No. 3.

Świątek has frequently vented her frustration at her team, which includes long-term psychologist Daria Abramowicz. This dynamic was particularly apparent toward the end of last week’s quarterfinal defeat to Elina Svitolina at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif, which followed one of her best performances of the year: a suffocatingly restrained 6-2, 6-0 win over Karolína Muchová.

This loss to Linette did not follow a recent trend of Świątek imploding when things have gone against her, which has been worsened by the unreliability of her first serve. Against Linette, Świątek only dropped her serve twice, but made frequent return errors that prevented her from putting any pressure on her opponent, who won just two games in their last meeting.

Though the scoreline and the tennis did not show it, Świątek said she experienced the loss as a kind of collapse. Streaks, and the art of front-running, have been defining in her ascent to and stay at the top of the sport. She compiled the longest WTA win-streak of the 21st century in winning 37 matches in a row during 2022. Before a defeat to Maria Sakkari at this year’s Qatar Open, she had won 109 WTA 1000 matches in a row after winning the first set. Between 2022 and 2024, she compiled streaks of 44 and 56 matches in which she did not lose after winning the first set at any level.

“Unconsciously or consciously it’s hard for me to change things, and then my tennis kind of collapses. So I need to work now to get back from that, because for sure I haven’t felt things like that for like five years,” Świątek said.

“I’ve always had something that kept me figuring things out instead of dropping so much during matches. So I’ll just get back to work, try to get something positive out of the practices and some confidence back, and try to figure it out.”

Asked to describe her emotions, Świątek said: “I feel like I carry a lot of expectations, and I can’t really, like, fulfil them right now. I need to get rid of them, because my game hasn’t been good enough to have any expectations. I think I’m a bit confused, but there’s no way but forward, and I’m going to try to just work hard to get back from that. And I know I have it in me; I just lost it for a second: the game and the mentality that I should have on the court.

“You can’t do, like, one huge step and suddenly it’s not going to — there’s no magic solutions. So I guess you need to do it with small changes, but kind of consistently, and keep your discipline.

“And you know, there’s other stuff — I’ll honestly need time to like figure out and to answer some questions, and I’ll see.

Świątek may benefit from an unexpectedly long break before the clay-court season, which is scheduled to begin for her at the Stuttgart Open in Germany in mid-April. At the Australian Open in January she spoke about the need to skip certain events to avoid physical and mental burnout, before withdrawing from last month’s Dubai Tennis Championships. World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka withdrew from the same event, before its tournament director criticized both players for not attending.

Clay has tended to be Świątek’s strongest surface, with the French Open accounting for four of her six Grand Slams, though it has masked just how good — if less remarkable — her hard-court record is.

She still lost that sense of invincibility on the dirt last year, failing to win a title on the surface, and exiting the French Open at the semifinal stage in her first defeat at the tournament for four years.

Świątek will hope it can be a sanctuary this year, as she looks for solutions.

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

Tennis, Women's Tennis

2026 The Athletic Media Company

The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) has been given a boost in its plans to nearly triple the size of the existing Wimbledon site after a high court judge ruled it was not subject to land-use restrictions.

Wimbledon intends to construst 38 tennis courts and an 8,000 seat stadium on the site which formerly housed the Wimbledon Park Golf Club, meaning the qualifying tournament for the grand slam - currently held several miles away in Roehampton - could be moved on-site.

Campaign group Save Wimbledon Park (SWP) had argued that the land earmarked was under a statutory trust under the Public Health Act 1875, which meant it had to be kept “for the purpose of being used as public walks or pleasure grounds” and therefore the development could not go ahead.

But lawyers for the club said the land was not subject to a trust and even if it had originally been, it would no longer apply after it bought the freehold in 1993.

High court judge Mr Justice Thompsell ruled on Thursday that the land was “unencumbered by any statutory trust” due to previously being used as a private golf club.

The ruling said: “It never became the subject of a statutory trust and therefore the 1986 lease and the 1993 transfer of the freehold were each made free of such trust.

“Even if the above proposition is wrong, it is clear that the land was never used or laid out for public recreation.”

AELTC chairwoman Deborah Jevans said: “The ruling represents a significant milestone for our plans, which will, as well as delivering 27 acres of beautiful new public parkland on previously private land, allow us to maintain Wimbledon's position as one of the world's most successful sporting events.”

SWP said it intends to challenge the ruling at the Court of Appeal.

The ruling is a major breakthrough for the AELTC in its plans to bring Wimbledon further in line with the other grand slams, who all hold qualifying on site.

In September 2024 it was granted approval by the Greater London Authority (GLA) to proceed with the plans, but that decision to grant planning permission is still the subject of legal action. SWP lost an initial high court challenge over the GLA’s approval of the scheme last July but will challenge that ruling at the court of appeal in due course.

SWP director Jeremy Hudson said: “Wimbledon can do better because there are existing, alternative plans which show that their scheme can be accommodated on their current site.

“This not only saves the environment but leaves the park free for the recreation and enjoyment of the public. These better plans would still allow [the club] to stage a qualifying tournament on site in keeping with the other grand slams. Therefore, we fight on.”

Alex de Minaur showcased a brand-new look during one of his first practice sessions at the Miami Open.

The Australian star opted for a headband rather than his trademark baseball cap while he was preparing for the second Masters event on the ATP Tour calendar.

De Minaur is yet to win a Masters title, but he remains one of the most popular stars in tennis, showcased by the reaction to his new look.

While fans shared their opinion on the matter, his fiancee, Katie Boulter, joined in on the debate on social media.

Katie Boulter likes Alex de Minaur’s new look

Boulter and de Minaur have become one of the power couples in tennis over the years, and their popularity peaked when they announced their engagement.

With their marriage imminent, the pair often trade social media comments online, much to the delight of fans.

Boulter reacted to the Australian’s brand-new look in no time at all by responding to a question about De Minaur’s headband.

Taking to X, the British star jokingly replied to de Minaur’s new look with the comment: “Majority shareholder approval granted. You may proceed.”

Boulter and De Minaur will both be appearing at the Miami Open, where they both currently await second round matches.

Who will Katie Boulter and Alex de Minaur play at the Miami Open?

Due to the heavy rain delays at the Florida tournament, De Minaur is still waiting to find out his first opponent at the Masters event.

The Australian awaits the winner of Stefanos Tsitsipas or Arthur Fery, who are set to play their first round match on 19th March.

Boulter, meanwhile, is one of the select few who was able to play her first round tie on time at the Miami Open.

She defeated Jessica Bouzas Maneiro in straight sets to continue the fine form she has produced in the first part of the season.

Boulter will play Clara Tauson in the second round as she looks to continue her rise back up the WTA rankings.

Victoria Mboko has caught the attention of Andy Roddick, who recently made a bold prediction about her future in tennis.

The Canadian teenager has had a rapid rise up the WTA rankings, moving from outside the top 300 to breaking into the top 10 within a year.

In that time, she’s picked up titles at both the Canadian Open and Hong Kong Open while also making finals appearances in Doha and Adelaide.

Roddick believes that by 2028, Mboko will have won her first Grand Slam title.

Andy Roddick backs Victoria Mboko to win a Grand Slam by 2028

She also made it to the quarterfinals at Indian Wells last week, only losing out to Aryna Sabalenka, who went on to win the tournament.

During an episode of his podcast ‘Served with Andy Roddick,’ he said he expects Mboko to claim her first Grand Slam title within the next two years.

“Mboko is going to win a Slam in the next two years. I just needed to say that out loud,” said Roddick. “She plays well every week. We talk about Sabalenka and she is in position every single tournament.

“Mboko is not there yet, but if you take this breakout last year, some injuries, maybe limped to the finish line or was at least spottier. This year she is making the quarters or better every single event. She gets through tough three set matches all the time, when she starts flipping those and turns those three set wins in 4 and 4’s [straight sets], which she will…She has only been on Tour for eight months.

“Losing to Sabalenka does not bother me at all. She is just building. She is physically strong and she can withstand the stress test of big tennis. I am more and more impressed with her as she goes about it.”

Roddick isn’t just throwing out predictions lightly either – he’s usually pretty measured with this kind of thing and doesn’t hype up players unless there’s something real behind it.

Victoria Mboko’s Grand Slam career so far

Mboko’s rapid rise through the WTA rankings is even more impressive considering she’s only played each Grand Slam once.

Her best result came in her latest appearance, reaching the fourth round of the Australian Open before falling to Sabalenka.

Both of Mboko’s WTA titles have come on hard courts, though she is still looking for her first win at the US Open after losing to two-time Grand Slam champion Barbora Krejcikova in the opening round last year.

She has also proven herself on other surfaces, coming through qualifying to reach the third round of the French Open last year.

The 19-year-old continues her season at the Miami Open, where she enters as the 10th seed and received a bye into the second round. She will open her campaign against Anna Blinkova, who recently added another loss to Sofia Kenin’s difficult run of form this season.

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