(Getty/John Lamb) Aussie tennis player Thomas Fancutt has openly shared his past experiences of receiving constant threats and abuse because of gambling. It is an ongoing crisis that is yet to be fully dealt with by tennis' major governing bodies, as the situation continues to spiral out of control. "I probably get five messages after a match if I lost," Fancutt told Good Humans Pod. Listen to The First Serve Live every Monday at 8pm AEDT in its 18th year on the SEN Network/A

(Getty/Justin Setterfield) Will she or won't she? That's the question tennis fans are asking about Serena Williams' potential return to professional tennis, but another stage has been ticked. Six months ago, the 23-time major champion re-entered the testing pool for doping after registering with the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA). As a result, Williams has had to provide her whereabouts for one hour each day for testing. After a photo of her name was added to th

(Thomas Fancutt/Instagram) Australia's Thomas Fancutt has marked his return from a lengthy ban by taking out a UTR Pro event on the Gold Coast. Fancutt, who turns 31 at the end of February, defeated fellow Aussie Scott Jones via a walkover to collect a paycheck of $3,600. Before his first match at the start of the month, the former world No.382 hadn't played a singles match since the end of 2024. Listen to The First Serve Live every Monday at 8pm AEDT in its 18th year on the

(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

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/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

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/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

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

(Getty/Robert Prange) Popular tennis commentator and former Australian Open champion Jim Courier has shared fascinating insight into backroom talks involving a dispute involving world No.2 Iga Świątek and tournament rights holders Channel 9. Świątek, who is bidding to complete the career Slam in Melbourne, is scheduled first up on Rod Laver Arena tonight at 7pm against Aussie qualifier Maddison Inglis. The First Serve Live returns on Monday February 2nd at 8pm AEDT for its 18

(Getty/Martin Keep) Many were expecting a nail-biting contest on Rod Laver Arena between Alexander Bublik and Alex de Minaur. It was anything but. A ruthless display from the Demon helped avenge his two losses to Bublik, sealing back-to-back quarter-final berths at Melbourne Park with a 6-4, 6-1, 6-1 triumph, taking just over 90 minutes. It remained competitive at 4-4 in the first set until an untimely double fault helped de Minaur to grab a one-set advantage, and from there,