Emma Raducanu faces a potential rematch with Coco Gauff in the third round of the Rome Open, with the American responsible for her fourth-round exit at the tournament last year.
The British No 1 has not played since Indian Wells in March after struggling to shake off a viral illness, and has yet to play a clay-court match this season.
Her stop-start beginning to 2026 was complicated by an injury to her right hand, which she cited as her reason for pulling out of last week’s Madrid Open.
But she is slated to take part in Rome. She will begin her campaign in the second round - after receiving a first-round bye - against either world No 72 Solana Sierra or a qualifier.
All of the WTA top 20 are taking part in the final WTA 1000 event before the French Open, where Gauff is the reigning champion. The American will face either Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva or Czech teenager Tereza Valentova in her opening match in Rome.
Should Raducanu replicate her strong run in Rome last year, her likeliest opponent in the quarter-finals would be world No 8 Mirra Andreeva, who has enjoyed a brilliant clay season so far, winning the Linz Open and finishing runner-up in Madrid.
World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka - who has been drawn in Raducanu’s half - willl play either 2021 French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova, who is returning from injury, or Elsa Jacquemot. Defending champion Jasmine Paolini has been drawn in the same quarter as Gauff, Raducanu and Andreeva.
Four-time Roland-Garros champion Iga Swiatek has yet to reach her usual heights this season and faces a tough draw in Rome, with Emma Navarro potentially awaiting in the third round and Naomi Osaka in the fourth.
British No 3 Katie Boulter will open against Eva Lys; should she win that encounter, she will play Osaka in the second round.
In the men’s draw, British No 1 Cameron Norrie, who reached the Barcelona Open quarter-finals on clay, has a bye to the second round. Jack Draper is out for the remainder of the clay season as he continues to battle a series of injuries.
World No 1 Jannik Sinner is on a record run of five consecutive Masters 1000 titles and looking to make that six at his home Masters, while Novak Djokovic will be relieved he can only face the Italian in the final.
Sinner is aiming to replicate Djokovic’s achievement as the only man to complete the career Golden Masters - winning all nine titles at this level - with Rome the only one the 24-year-old has yet to claim.
Sinner is seeded to meet Jakub Mensik - one of the few players to beat him this year, in the Qatar Open quarter-finals - in the third round and rapidly rising Frenchman Arthur Fils, whom he defeated in the Madrid semi-finals, in the fourth.
Djokovic, who has been out of action since Indian Wells as he recovers from injury, will open against Marton Fucsovics or a qualifier.
SAN ANGELO, Texas (Concho Valley Homepage) — KLST Season Pass returns for Week 33 and as always, Griff McClellan provides coverage of everything Angelo State Athletics.
The newest edition features the following headlines:
-No. 12 Rams baseball opens the Lone Star Conference Tournament at home, beginning its quest for a fifth LSC crown in six seasons.
-No. 13 Rambelles softball concludes its regular season with difficult matchups at West Texas A&M and Eastern New Mexico.
-Rambelles tennis faces a familiar opponent in its LSC Tournament semifinal.
-Rambelles golf prepares for NCAA West Regionals.
-And a former Angelo State Ram begins his next chapter in the Canadian Football League.
KLST Season Pass airs Sunday nights at 10:30 p.m. Central Standard Time. The show recaps the week of Concho Valley athletics, ranging from the high school level to Angelo State and more.
Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ConchoValleyHomepage.com.
After coming up short against Jannik Sinner in the Madrid Open final, Alexander Zverev had something interesting to say about the Italian’s growing rivalry with Carlos Alcaraz.
Few players know them better than Zverev, who has faced both numerous times over the years. He’s spent enough time on court with them to pick up a thing or two about their games.
But his comments after the match might raise a few eyebrows.
Sinner, by contrast, has been flying. He hasn’t lost before the semi-final stage in any tournament this year and now holds an incredible 28-2 record for 2024.
What really stood out, though, was how he separated the field into distinct tiers. Zverev placed Sinner in a league of his own at the top, then put Alcaraz and Djokovic in the next group down – and included himself in that category as well.
Speaking about his position, Zverev said: “Well, I think there’s a big gap between Sinner and everybody else right now. It’s quite simple. I think there’s a big gap between Sinner and everybody else. And I think there’s a big gap between Alcaraz, myself, maybe Novak, and everybody else. I think there’s two gaps right now.
“It’s difficult to say that there’s not a gap between Sinner and everybody else if he hasn’t lost a match in how many Masters events? Since Shanghai. He hasn’t lost a match in almost nine months. I think you have to admit that there’s a gap between him and everybody else, yeah.”
Zverev ended up apologising after the final for what he felt was an underwhelming performance.
Even though Sinner only lost to three different players, he still finished the season with six defeats. That gap can largely be explained by one factor: Alcaraz.
The Spaniard beat him on some of the sport’s biggest stages, winning the Italian Open final, US Open final and that remarkable Roland Garros showdown.
With Alcaraz now confirmed out for the rest of the clay season due to injury, it opens up a clear path for the world number one, who may not face much resistance in the coming months.
Zverev is considered one of Sinner’s main challengers, but after his straight-sets defeat today, it raises questions about whether anyone else on tour can step up soon enough to prevent Sinner from running away with things.
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Blockx’s tournament run helped him climb up in the ATP rankings, as he moved from 38th place to 30th.
The Belgian, who has been ranked as high as number 20 in the world, later spoke about the significance of his semifinal appearance in Madrid.
Zverev beat Blockx in straight sets, 6-2, 7-5, to set up a final showdown with world number one Jannik Sinner.
Blockx later posted on Instagram: “Two weeks that will stay with me for a very long time! Crazy good level from @alexzverev123 today, simply too good. Hope to be back next year @mutuamadridopen.”
This year’s Madrid Open was the fifth time Blockx has competed at an ATP Masters 1000 event. He made his first appearance at the Miami Open in 2025 and has since played in Canada, Cincinnati, Monte-Carlo and Madrid.
In his post-match press conference, Blockx had plenty of praise for Zverev, saying: “I think he has a very complete game.
“He serves really well. He returns really well. I felt a lot of pressure from the beginning already of the match and, yeah, I think he deserves to be in the final here. He was just better today, and that’s all I can say.
“I tried to, yeah, keep my serve up, as I did in the last matches. In the rally I tried a bit of everything.
“I tried to hold the rally, I tried to be aggressive, I tried to open up the court. I felt like he had an answer to everything. But, yeah, I just need to improve everything I’m doing now to hopefully have a chance the next time.”
Zverev will now attempt to snap an eight-match losing streak against Sinner – whom he has not beaten since 2023 – in Sunday’s final.
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In 2025, TNT Sports took over broadcasting rights of the tennis‘s second grand slam of the year, the French Open at Roland Garros, from NBC.
There was a flurry of excitement and a lot of information released beforehand on who would be the broadcast personalities and analysts in a reimagined way of covering the event.
TNT Sports kicked off the 10-year broadcasting deal, featuring Sloane Stephens and Venus Williams, and earned rave reviews.
MORE: Former WTA World No. 1 Ash Barty answers quickly when asked about a tennis comeback
This year, Stephens and Williams may be wildcards in the French Open draw. TNT, which prided itself on getting younger talent, may be on the hunt for new media personalities. Perhaps that’s why we have not heard anything.
The network knows it will unlikely be able to top last year’s men’s final since Carlos Alcaraz is out of the tournament.
MORE: Marta Kostyuk wins but the postmatch Madrid Open drama steals the show
Coco Gauff will be vying to defend her title, and Jannik Sinner is shooting for a win to complete his Career Grand Slam.
Qualifying will begin on May 18. The main draw ceremony is expected to occur on May 22.
Singles draw play begins on May 25, doubles on May 28, and mixed doubles on June 1.
The women’s singles final will be on June 6 followed by the men’s singles final on June 7.
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