March 12, 2021

Here’s your roundup of the five most interesting things I’m enjoying or thinking about this week.

1.) Federer’s Return

After two right knee surgeries and a long 405-day hiatus from the tour, Roger Federer returned to tennis on Wednesday with a tight three-set win against world #28 Dan Evans. Unfortunately for Fed fans, he lost his second match yesterday against #42 ranked Nikoloz Basilashvilli of Georgia in another tight three-setter. Overall, Federer suggested it had been “a really positive return” for him.

2.) #ChoosetoChallenge

Monday was International Women’s Day, and the WTA celebrated alongside women worldwide with the #ChoosetoChallenge campaign to challenge and call out gender bias and inequality. Martina Navratilova and Pam Shiver sat down to discuss the topic, and the WTA will be sharing stories about remarkable women in tennis throughout March.

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3.) Medvedev’s Ranking

On Monday, Danil Medvedev will move to world #2 and become the first player other than Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, and Murray to hold that ranking position since 2005. Although many of us are intimately aware of the dominance over those top-ranking positions, it’s still astounding how long it’s been. Lleyton Hewitt, who retired years ago in 2016, is the last person outside of those players to have occupied that ranking position.

View the ATP Rankings

4.) Barty Makes Top 10 List

Ash Barty has surpassed Simona Halep’s 64-week record as world #1 to join the top ten list of players to hold that position for the longest time. Steffi Graf (377 weeks), Martina Navratilova (332), Serena Williams (319), Chris Evert (260), Martina Hingis (209), Monica Seles (178), Justine Henin (1170), Lindsay Davenport (98), and Carolina Wozniacki (71) are the only women to have held the #1 ranking longer.

View the WTA Rankings

5.) Karatsev’s Tweener vs. Thiem

During his round of 16 match against Dominic Thiem in Doha, Aslan Karatsev hit a perfectly executed tweener for a winner. Worth a quick replay if you can spare 45 seconds :)

If you have a moment, I’d love to hear your feedback. Which topic is your favorite? What would you like to see more or less of each week?

Share your thoughts in the comments below and have a great weekend.