(Getty/Daniel Pockett) Before Day 1 of Billie Jean King Cup qualifying commenced, Australia were heavy favourites to knock off Great Britain. Now, not so much. The Aussies, captained by Sam Stosur, hosted the Brits at Melbourne's John Cain Arena in the first of two-day ties, with a spot in September's BJK Cup Finals in Shenzhen, China, up for grabs. Australia's top-ranked player, Maya Joint, was made unavailable due to a back injury, while Great Britain has been made to do wi

(Getty/Quality Sport Images) As the toxic nature of betting continues to be a cause for concern on social media for professional players, it's no different on court. World No.301 Abdullah Shelbayh was subjected to threats and racist comments from a group of spectators during his ATP Challenger match in Madrid on Tuesday. The Jordanian qualifier, who lost in three sets to fifth seed Zsombor Piros, temporarily halted play trailing 0-3 in the deciding set, as he pleaded with the

(Getty/Jean Catuffe) Renowned coach Patrick Mouratoglou has issued a chilling warning about the future of tennis, predicting that "there won't be anymore tennis" if the sport's lack of interest from young fans continues. Mouratoglou, who has previously coached the likes of Serena Williams, Simona Halep, and Naomi Osaka, created the concept of the Ultimate Tennis Showdown (UTS), a shortened, faster-paced game aimed at attracting a new audience. The exhibition event was recentl

(Getty/Tim Clayton) Just days after former Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanišević defended his extraordinary comments about Stefanos Tsitsipas' professionalism, the Greek star has told his side of the story. Ivanišević, who famously coached Novak Djokovic to 12 Grand Slam titles, joined Tsitsipas' team as coach before the grass court season last year. That period was a disaster for Tsitsipas, retiring after two sets in his first round match at Wimbledon because of a chronic back

Marco Trungelliti. (Getty/Clive Bunskill) At 36 years and 64 days old, Argentina's Marco Trungelliti will next week officially debut in the top 100, becoming the oldest man in the Open era to do so. In 2018, he lost in qualifying at Roland-Garros and decided to head back home to Barcelona, with his 90-year-old grandmother coming to visit. But when he was called up as a Lucky Loser, with no trains running, he drove 10 hours by car with his mother, brother and grandmother to co

A lingering back injury suffered at Indian Wells, has now forced Australia's highest ranked female player Maya Joint out of the upcoming Billie Jean King Cup Team to face Great Britain. The 19-year-old is still rehabilitating, hoping to be right for the claycourt season leading into Roland-Garros. Her replacement in the squad will be former world No.1 junior Emerson Jones. The 17-year-old at a career high No.136 in the WTA singles rankings, could become one of the youngest f

Lesia Tsurenko. (Getty/Vaughn Ridley) Having once suffered a panic attack before facing Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka, it's been revealed that former world No.23 Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko had her lawsuit against the WTA over its handling of the war in Ukraine dismissed. Nikita Vlasov, her coach, shared damning allegations with French newspaper L'Équipe regarding Russia's invasion of Ukraine and how Ukrainian players are not protected. "WTA chief Steve Simon knows the names of Russi

A proposed A$7 million privately funded High Performance Tennis Centre in Queensland has been stalled for more than two years, due to a planning deadlock between Moreton Bay Regional Council, the Queensland State Government and the State Planning Authority. Despite broad acknowledgment by all parties that the project is trapped in a bureaucratic loop, no pathway forward has been identified, raising serious questions about how privately funded, community-focused sporting infra

Danielle Collins and Corentin Moutet (Getty) Tennis entertainer and Miami Open 30th seed Corentin Moutet has fired back at Danielle Collins regarding claims that he slid into the American's DMs and unfollowed her. Appearing on the desk as a Tennis Channel analyst following a persistent back injury and completing egg-freezing procedures, Collins continued with the show's new segment, Storytime with Danielle. Listen to The First Serve Live every Monday at 8pm AEDT in its 18th y

(Getty/Chris Arjoon) Former world No.1 Naomi Osaka is beginning to question her future in the sport in the wake of another early exit, describing her situation as a "dilemma". The four-time major winner bowed out in the second round of the WTA 1000 Miami Open to in-form Aussie Talia Gibson 5-7, 4-6, where Osaka was unable to break her opponent's serve once. Since reaching the US Open semi-finals last year, Osaka has yet to win more than two matches in one tournament. Listen t

(Getty/Robert Prezioso) The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) have published the full decision behind Marinko Matosevic's four-year blood doping ban, which reveals several text messages. Before being due to appear in court last month, former world No.39 Matosevic reached out to The First Serve to release a statement to clarify his situation involving the use of a banned substance. "It's with a heavy heart and a clear mind as I write this. I have been under investi

(Getty/Robert Prezioso) Former Australian player Marinko Matosevic has released a statement in response to being handed a four-year ban by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA). On Monday, an independent tribunal determined that Matosevic committed five anti-doping rule violations between 2018 and 2020, including the use of a prohibited method through blood doping (while an active player) and facilitating another player to blood dope, providing advice to other play

Moise Kouame. (ATP/X) In what will go down as a day he'll never forget, 17-year-old Moise Kouame is an instant sensation after becoming the youngest player to win a Masters 1000 match in 23 years. Kouame made the most of his wildcard, as the world No.385 defeated Zachary Svajda 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 at the Miami Open. Born in 2009, the Frenchman became the youngest player to win a match in Miami, and the youngest to win a Masters match since 2003, when a then 16-year-old Rafael Nadal

(Getty/Rich Storry) World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka admits she's "not sure" whether to play in Dubai again following harsh criticism from the Tournament Director. Last month, Dubai Tournament Director Salah Tahlak vented his frustration over the withdrawals of Sabalenka and Iga Świątek a few days out from the WTA 1000 event. Sabalenka revealed at the time that she wasn't feeling 100 per cent, while Świątek put her decision down to a "change of schedule". "It was an unfortunate su

(Getty/William West) Kooyong Classic Tournament Director and former Australian player Peter Johnston believes there are "essential" steps that Tennis Australia need to take after Craig Tiley's departure. The next few months will prove crucial for Tennis Australia, as Tiley, who acted as the governing body's CEO and Australian Open Tournament Director simultaneously, confirmed his move to become the new United States Tennis Association (USTA) CEO. Listen to The First Serve Liv

( Robert Prezioso/Getty Images) The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) has confirmed that Australian tennis coach and former professional player Marinko Matosevic has been suspended for four years under the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme (TADP). An independent tribunal determined that Matosevic committed five anti-doping rule violations between 2018 and 2020, including use of a prohibited method through blood doping (while an active player) and facilitating another pl

(Getty/Oksana Dolgikh) Tennis player Alana Tuayeva has been hit with a three-year and nine-month ban by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) for her involvement in match-fixing on two occasions. The ITIA confirmed that she accepted the ban and an A$41.5k fine, $29.2k of which is suspended. 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 tennis program on commercial radio running thr

Endorsed by Coco Gauff and Lorenzo Musetti, the new BOOM 2026 tennis racquet series from HEAD has been upgraded with advanced technologies and new designs. Fresh, vibrant color meets powerful touch in the new BOOM 2026 tennis racquet series, which now has even more explosive feel and a choice of striking designs. The colors will be going HEAD-to-HEAD on court; you can choose between Lorenzo Musetti’s BOOM 2026 racquet in bold blue and Coco Gauff’s purple BOOM ALTERNATE. Purpl

(Getty/Robert Prange) I speak on behalf of all the team at The First Serve . It gives us incredible joy to see an Aussie/s take on the world and conquer in arguably the toughest sport there is. Tennis is a sport where anything is possible. Yes, the margins are small in a huge pool of competitors trying to get the 'W' every time they step on court, and as we know, it is not that uncommon from week to week on tour that a qualifier or a lucky loser can have a run that can change

(Getty/Robert Prange) American world No.48 Peyton Stearns has split from coach Rafael Font de Mora amid a WTA investigation into misconduct. Stearns exited the first round of Indian Wells last week in straight sets at the hands of Solana Sierra. A few days earlier, the 24-year-old clinched the ATX Open title in Austin, where she was guided by new coach, Roberto Ortega, despite just three weeks working together. During an interview on Saturday night, Stearns confirmed that she