No Drought In The Desert

The first half of the sunshine double is officially in the books, and the action is about to really heat up 🔥.

As always, there is plenty to discuss, so let’s get into this week’s topics!

New Videos!!

We have a brand new video on our channel this week!

It is another jam packed recap of the biggest takeaways from last week’s action on the pro tour.

Check it out and let us know what you think!

What Happened Last Week?

Mirra Andreeva & Jack Draper are Indian Wells champions!

This has been a career-best week for both players and raises expectations WAY up for the rest of the season.

Andreeva had a very tough road that, interestingly, mirrored Madison Keys’ run to the Australian Open title. From the 4th round on, Andreeva had to face Elena Rybakina, Elina Svitolina, Iga Swiatek, & Aryna Sabalenka. 

Sound familiar? 

The youngster needed three sets to pull it off, defeating Sabalenka in the final 2-6 6-4 6-3.

To top it off, Mirra is only the third woman under 18 years old to defeat the world no. 1 & no. 2 in the same event in the last 40 years. The last two were Steffi Graf in Miami (1987) & Serena Williams at the U.S. Open (1999).

Draper has proven that British tennis is alive and well. Some fans may have been anxious about who the next big star would be after the incomparable Andy Murray retired last summer. 

Those fears can be thrown out the window, at least for now, thanks to Draper capturing his first Masters 1000 title. 

Jack had multiple big wins in the desert, taking out #2 Carlos Alcaraz, #4 Taylor Fritz, #11 Ben Shelton along the way. 

The Brit saved his best performance for last, taking out #12 Holger Rune in straight sets 6-2 6-2.

Live Ranking Update: The Biggest Movers Of The Week

WTA:

21. Liudmila Samsonova (+4)

8. Mirra Andreeva (+3) [NCH]

19. Donna Vekic (+3)

All three of these players made impressive runs at Indian Wells this year.

Liudmila Samsonova is getting closer to being back inside the top 20 thanks to a quarterfinal showing. 

Mirra Andreeva has been one of the best players this season so far, ranked top 8 in the official WTA rankings and 4th in the WTA Finals Race rankings.  

Donna Vekic is two spots off of her career high, and will have a chance to get back there with only 2nd round points to defend in Miami.

ATP:

11. Jack Draper (+3) [NCH]

18. Arthur Fils (+3) [NCH]

32. Brandon Nakashima (+1) [NCH]

It is raining new career high rankings this week on the ATP Tour. 

Jack Draper has had a stellar start to the year, and is less than 150 ranking points away from a debut in the top 10.

Arthur Fils lost a heartbreaker in the Indian Wells quarterfinals, but hopefully getting back inside the top 20 will lift his spirits. 

Brandon Nakashima has essentially locked up a top 32 seed in Miami, which is a big deal in avoiding the top players early on in the tournament.

Major Tournament Updates

Here’s a quick look ahead to what’s coming up this week:

• ATP/WTA Miami Open (March 18 - March 30)

Once again, all of the top players will be in action at Hard Rock Stadium for the next couple weeks.

There will be a different winner on the men’s side this year as defending champion Jannik Sinner is still serving his ban from the tour. 

Players to look out for this time around include 2024 finalist Grigor Dimitrov, the 2022 & 2023 champs Daniil Medvedev & Carlos Alcaraz, and Indian Wells semifinalists Jack Draper & Holger Rune.

On the women’s side, the defining champion, Danielle Collins, will be in action. Alongside her in the draw will be world no. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, 2023 finalist Elena Rybakina, 2022 champion Iga Swiatek, & Florida’s best, Coco Gauff.

Watch Out For These Players

Elina Svitolina:

This 30 year-old from Ukraine has been through a lot the past few years.

Elina gave birth to her daughter Skai in 2022 and returned to the pro tour amid the invasion of her home country. 

Last September, Svitolina had to undergo surgery to insert two screws into her ankles. She has always had a game style that relies on movement, so this procedure was vital to her future success on the WTA Tour. 

“When you are a top athlete, you are worried [a] little bit if you can come back to the top level, if you can actually move after, or if you can brake [with] your foot afterwards,” she said.

Thankfully, none of those doubts have materialized, and she played some fearless tennis this week. En route to the Indian Wells quarterfinals, Svitolina took out 3 Americans, including Ashlyn Krueger, #14 Danielle Collins, & #4 Jessica Pegula.

The strokes have always been solid, but now Svitolina can add more mental fortitude and a clean bill of physical health to her game, which is already producing results.

Tallon Griekspoor:

This 28 year-old had the biggest upset by ranking on the men’s side this week.

The Dutchman took out top seed Alexander Zverev in the 2nd round, and backed it up with subsequent wins over #29 Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard & Yosuke Watanuki.

Tallon eventually fell to Rune in the quarters, but it was his ability to show up tough mentally in big moments that got him that far.

Coming into the match against Zverev, he trailed 1-6 in their head-to-head. He acknowledged how that affected his mentality after the match, saying, “it was such a mental thing. I lost to him 5 times last year…I played so many battles against him and had chances but they all went his way. I am incredibly proud of myself from this performance and to get it over the line.”

He has been working on a tougher mentality, especially against top players, a lot recently. It also helped him to an upset of Danill Medvedev in Dubai last month.

A solid mentality is one of the most valuable assets in tennis, and can lead to some major scalps, which is exactly the case here.

Off The Court

McDonald, USTA Create College Fund:

Former world no. 37 Mackenzie McDonald is part of a new initiative from the USTA called the Mackie McDonald College Fund.

The fund will provide support for high schoolers looking to continue their academic and athletic pursuits in college, and whose own journeys began through the USTA Foundation’s National Junior Tennis & Learning (NJTL). 

“[The College Fund] touched on what maybe I could do in the future. But I think now with my age and some of the success I’ve had with my career, the timing is perfect. I think it’s a strong partnership,” says McDonald on the reasoning behind the fund.

Mackie is a former UCLA standout, and a staunch advocate of the college game. He believes that the College Fund will continue to grow and will be a proud part of his legacy.

McDonald is currently ranked #101 and is competing in the qualifying event of the Miami Open this week.

Gauff Launches Off-Court Shoe, With Help From Grandma:

It was Coco Gauff’s 21st birthday, but she was the one giving out the gifts. 

Coco has launched a new signature shoe, called the Coco Delray. This shoe is similar to her first custom one in its design with vintage basketball and tennis influences. However, this shoe is aimed more for casual play and off-court wear.

The white with navy and off-white colorways, paired with aqua and navy accents represent Gauff’s desire to make tennis more equitable by providing state-of-the-art footwear for players of all skill levels. 

Gauff’s grandmother, Yvonne Lee Odom, was the first Black student to attend public school in Gauff’s hometown of Delray Beach. The campaign for the shoe is narrated by Odom:

“It represents an opportunity to broaden access to those interested in playing the game and will have a positive cultural impact for generations to come. Delray Beach helped spark my tennis journey, so it’s special to me to tell the story of this community that influenced exactly why I love this sport,” Gauff said about this new project. 

In Case You Missed It…

Nadal Joins TikTok:

TikTok has been a great tool in increasing the visibility of the tennis world.

Taylor Fritz’s girlfriend Morgan Riddle is a very popular influencer with over 587.4 thousand followers. She has dedicated a lot of her content to introducing people to tennis and the pro tour as she travels the world.

In terms of professional players, Zizou Bergs is also a pro at TikTok trends and skit videos.

Now, Rafael Nadal has seemingly found a fun way to kick off his first full season as a retired player. 

His TikTok debut was short and sweet. Set to the Pink Panther theme, the Spaniard walked out on court and pulled a ring light out of his tennis bag and wrote “Hola TikTok” on the camera lens. 

The video already has over 4.3 million views and the Rafael Nadal account has 205,000 followers!

Hopefully having a legend like Rafa on the platform will continue to build up tennis’ image in the communities outside of tennis.

Highlights Of The Week

Check out some of the best shots from last week!