The Kyrgios comeback, Gauff vs Swiatek vs Rybakina and praise for the United Cup

Tennis Unfiltered

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George Bellshaw (from convalescence after surgery) and James Gray (preparing for a flight to Australia) get together to discuss a genuinely exciting week of pre-grand slam tennis. The off-season is well and truly over!

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They discussed:

• Nick Kyrgios returning to court in singles and doubles, and making sure to return to form on Instagram as well. (See Cruz Hewitt’s post with Jannik Sinner: https://www.instagram.com/cruzhewitt/?hl=en)
• Novak Djokovic is beaten by Reilly Opelka, who reaches the Brisbane final just over two years since he had hip surgery
• Coco Gauff gets another one over on Iga Swiatek as the Americans win a thrilling United Cup (The Brits did okay too, but in truth only won one tie…)
• Luke Johnson and Sander Arends take the title in Hong Kong, beating Andrey Rublev and Karen Khachanov in the final to give Calvin yet another title
• Naomi Osaka gets through to the Auckland final but worryingly retires with another injury while a set up in the final
• Speaking of big-name Japanese stars and comebacks, Kei Nishikori was back in a final this week too!
• Meanwhile, Emma Raducanu did not even make the start line in Auckland, pulling out with a back problem, but is already back in training ahead of the Australian Open in Melbourne
• Elena Rybakina’s coach Stefano Vukov is suspended by the WTA pending an investigation into an alleged breach of the code of conduct, which he denies (H/t to the great reporting by The Athletic’s Charlie Eccleshare and Matt Futterman here: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6034236/2025/01/02/rybakina-vukov-coach-suspended-wta-investigation/)
• Gaby Dabrowski reveals she was diagnosed with cancer in April, but has come out the other side - and played through it to win an Olympic medal and the WTA Tour Finals (Read her incredibly moving Instagram post here: https://www.instagram.com/gabydabrowski/p/DEPGbMNvrCF/?img_index=13)
• Beatriz Haddad Maia hits one of the all-time bad serves (https://x.com/josemorgado/status/1873229229493764484?s=46&t=Rhiq-18RZr7lX_TkDfCsvA)

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