(Getty/Adam Pretty) Former world No.23 Dušan Lajović has experienced one of the worst days of his career, which included a swift transfer to the hospital after a freak accident. The 35-year-old was representing Serbia in the first round of Davis Cup qualifying in Chile, as he suffered a straight sets loss to Tomás Barrios Vera in the first rubber. Listen to The First Serve Live every Monday at 8pm AEDT in its 18th year on the SEN Network/App, Australia's only dedicated weekly

(Getty/Michael Dodge) Former Australian player Marinko Matosevic has set the record straight in a tell-all interview, taking aim at the ITIA's "corrupt" process involving an investigation into a blood transfusion eight years ago. In November 2018, Matosevic retired from professional tennis at the age of 32, nine months after playing his final match on the ATP Tour. However, it has now been revealed by the player himself that he retired from the sport because he felt "disgust

Ugo Humbert checking his phone during the third set of his match in Montepllier. (ATP) World No.38 Ugo Humbert has raised eyebrows after stopping play to check his phone, before losing his second round match at the Open Occitanie. Leading 4-3 in the deciding set tiebreak, the 27-year-old was four points away from victory over fellow Frenchman Adrian Mannarino. However, Humbert didn't win a single point from that moment. Listen to The First Serve Live every Monday at 8pm AEDT

(Getty/Phil Walter) Just when you thought Novak Djokovic was on his last legs at the final stretch of his long and illustrious career, somehow, someway, he proved the doubters wrong. To win a major, you need a bit of luck on your side, and fortune definitely favoured the 24-time Grand Slam champion at the 2026 Australian Open — no doubt about it. In his own words, Djokovic was "on his way home" as he struggled to cope with the craft and variety of Lorenzo Musetti and his scin

The moment Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard hit his own eye with a ball. (Getty/Alexandre Dimou) A surreal retirement occurred in France as Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard couldn't continue due to a freak eye injury. The world No.57 was down a break late in the first set when he approached the net to hit a routine volley, only for the ball to hit his left eye. At that stage, he was trailing 3-5 when the incident occurred, and there were fears he wouldn't be able to continue, as he fell

(Getty/Robert Prezioso) Former Australian player turned coach, Marinko Matosevic, has called out the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) for a "corrupt" and "unjust" process after being involved in an investigation. Last year, The First Serve Live reported that Matosevic was under investigation by the ITIA, but was unaware about the investigation involving a Prohibited Method. The 40-year-old officially announced his retirement from professional tennis in November 2

(Getty/David Gray) Just when you thought Carlos Alcaraz's young career couldn't get any more remarkable, the 22-year-old completed the Career Slam by winning his maiden Australian Open crown. Coming in, history was on the line, with Alcaraz bidding to surpass Rafael Nadal as the youngest ever player to win all four majors, while that elusive 25th Slam title was in sight for Novak Djokovic to steer clear of Margaret Court's 24. Confidence was sky-high for the 10-time Australia

Getty Images One of two things will happen tonight in Melbourne. Either 22-year-old Carlos Alcaraz will become the youngest man in history to complete the career slam  – winning all four of tennis’ prized majors - breaking an 87-year-old record. Or 38-year-old Novak Djokovic will become the oldest man to ever win a Grand Slam  – whilst defeating the two new-era titans back-to-back - breaking a 53-year-old record. Who wants this one more? You’d think the answer would be the 38

(Getty/William West) Christian Harrison and Neal Skupski have emerged victorious in the men's doubles final, ending the dream run of Australian wildcards Jason Kubler and Marc Polmans with a 7-6 (4) 6-4 victory.   "Unreal experience. This place is unreal to play. The crowds are incredible," noted Harrison. "For me, though, it was just simple. Just focused on enjoying the moment with my partner. He brings a lot of experience. His level is just so high, and it really felt easy

(Getty/Clive Brunskill) When Elena Rybakina burst onto the scene to win the 2022 Wimbledon title, it was rightly assumed that she would kick on and be a force within the women's game. After reaching the Australian Open final six months later, a loss there against Aryna Sabalenka was the last time she would partake in a major final... until the same tournament three years on, against the same opponent. Rybakina, 26, required the sole break in the opening set to have one hand o

(Getty/Phil Walter) Olivia Gadecki and John Peers have clinched a tight mixed doubles championship with a thrilling win over Kristina Mladenovic and Manuel Guinard 4-6, 6-3, 10-8 to become the first pair to defend the Australian Open mixed doubles title since 1989.   The French got off to the best possible start, with Peers struggling on his serve and being broken twice despite Gadecki holding her own on serve and return, which gave the French pair the advantage all the way t

(Getty/Morgan Hancock) Craig Tiley is calling for the right balance to be struck between player privacy around the grounds and fan experience. It comes after world No.3 Coco Gauff was captured smashing her racquet inside Rod Laver Arena - unaware that she was being filmed. "Maybe some conversations can be had, because I feel like, at this tournament, the only private place we have is the locker room," she told the media after her quarter-final loss to Elina Svitolina. Now a h

(Getty/Quinn Rooney) You wouldn't need to be the biggest tennis fan to have come across the controversy surrounding the ban on Whoop bands. For those unaware, a Whoop band is a screenless fitness tracking device that can be worn just like a regular watch, with its purpose to monitor players' body strain, recovery, and sleep to help optimise performance. It is designed to collect data that is then turned into suggestions and insights. Although they may seem harmless, world No.

Olivia Gadecki and John Peers have booked their spot in the mixed doubles final with a thrilling win over Nikola Mektić and Taylor Townsend on Margaret Court Arena, with a 7-6(2) 2-6 13-11 victory.   Playing in front of a huge crowd, Gadecki and Peers served incredibly well to take the set to a tiebreak before bringing their best level in the tiebreak to take a set advantage. The experienced Townsend and Mektić fought back in the second set before Gadecki and Peers took the l

(Getty/David Gray) Six months ago at Wimbledon, Grigor Dimitrov was two sets to the good against then world No.1 Jannik Sinner, only to be cruelled by a devastating torn pectoral injury, which forced a premature retirement four games into the third set. On Wednesday, fifth seed Lorenzo Musetti experienced similar heartbreak, as he had to retire up to sets to love against an underwhelming Novak Djokovic Musetti, who had a stellar 2025 season topped off by qualifying for his ma

(Getty/Lintao Zhang) Australian doubles is looking strong as Olivia Gadecki and John Peers and Jason Kubler and Marc Polmans booked their spots in the semi-finals of mixed doubles and men's doubles respectively, with straight sets victories.   Gadecki and Peers took on Aleksandra Krunić and Mate Pavić, who had defeated two all-Australian pairs on their way to the final and looked strong from the outset, taking a dominant first set 6-1 in 22 minutes, before Krunić and Pavić fo

(Getty/Cameron Spencer) Iga Świątek is now just three matches away from completing the career Grand Slam. Having won four French Opens, a Wimbledon, and a US Open, the Australian Open is her final piece of the puzzle. Świątek has reached the semi-finals in 2022 and 2025, and now it's former finalist Elena Rybakina standing in the way of another appearance in the semis. Their head-to-head stands at 6-5 for Świątek , but to her, that makes absolutely no difference once the two

(Getty/Clive Brunskill) The WTA Tour has been rocked by "inappropriate" coaching allegations, raised by two former players, including former world No.3 Pam Shriver, according to The Athletic. Those complaints are directed at Peyton Stearns' current coach, Rafael Font de Mora, with the WTA now swiftly taking action to get to the bottom of alleged misconduct and inappropriate relationships with players during previous coaching stints. Font de Mora has recently started coaching

Craig Tiley speaking at the Australian Open. (Getty/Morgan Hancock) The fact that the Australian Open is the only one of the four Grand Slams where the Tournament Director is also the national association's CEO surely means that when the all-powerful Craig Tiley announces as early as next week that he is joining the USTA, Tennis Australia will be left with two key roles to fill. Few administrators are as closely identified with an event as Tiley, who has run the AO since 2006

Marc Polmans and Jason Kubler look to go on a deep doubles run at Melbourne Park. (Getty/Lintao Zhang) Wildcard pairings Olivia Gadecki and John Peers, Jason Kubler and Marc Polmans and Kim Birrell and Talia Gibson have all booked their spots in the quarter-finals of the doubles draws at Melbourne Park, capping off a strong Australian doubles contingent.   Defending champions Gadecki and Peers opened up on Margaret Court Arena on Sunday and showed instant chemistry to take th