On this day, April 21, 1992, future world No 1 Pete Sampras made his first appearance at the Monte-Carlo Open. He was defeated in his first round by Carl-Uwe Steeb, from Germany (6-3, 6-4). In his entire career, he would only play the tournament four times, winning only one match, in 1998, against his rival Andre Agassi. Carl-Uwe Steeb, born in 1967, turned pro in 1986…

Carlos Alcaraz picked up the 2026 Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award in Madrid on Monday evening – wrist splint and all. But while the Spaniard smiled on the red carpet in a tuxedo, his right wrist sat immobilised in a cast, a vivid reminder of the cloud hanging over his clay-court season. Speaking candidly at a press conference ahead of the ceremony, Alcaraz laid out ...

The draw for the 2026 Mutua Madrid Open was made on Monday, after no fewer than eight men pulled out of the main draw before a ball was struck, headlined by Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic. Alcaraz, who also withdrew from the Barcelona Open citing a right wrist injury, wrote on social media that it hurt enormously not to play at home for the second year in a row. Djokovic, ...

Arthur Fils stepped off the court in Barcelona on Sunday, soaking wet and grinning, having just jumped into a swimming pool with the ball kids. “As soon as I won, the first thing they told me was: ‘OK, now we’re going to the pool!’ We had a great time, you have to know how to savour these moments.” It was the first title he had won in eighteen months. But it felt like more th...

On this day, April 20, 2006, in Monte-Carlo, Guillermo Coria, runner-up at the 2004 French Open, defeated Nicolas Kiefer (6-7, 6-4, 6-3) to reach the quarter-finals of the event, despite an incredible total of 23 double faults. The Argentinian, who had struggled with his serve since a shoulder operation at the end of 2005, had already double faulted 20 times in the previous r...