Tennis News: Carlos Alcaraz, Paula Badosa and Lleyton Hewitt

Carlos Alcaraz might have thrown it all away. He didn’t do anything malicious, of course, but for some odd reason, his game has just not been the same since he won Wimbledon in July. Alcaraz has played in five tournaments and he hasn’t won any of them. Plus, he just lost in the fourth round of the Rolex Shanghai Masters and that could very likely cost him.

Had Carlos Alcaraz reached the final at the Shanghai Masters, he would have retaken the No. 1 ATP ranking from Novak Djokovic. Djokovic has decided to take some time off before he comes back to play at the Rolex Paris Masters at the end of October. Alcaraz will be there too.

Carlos Alcaraz also plays in the Swiss Indoors tournament in Basel the week prior to Paris. Should he win that tournament, Alcaraz and Djokovic would then be tied atop the rankings as currently, 500 points is what separates them and the Swiss Indoors is an ATP 500 tourney.

Carlos Alcaraz says he missed opportunities, Paula Badosa has a complaint

After losing to Grigor Dimitrov at the Shanghai Masters on Wednesday, Alcaraz admitted he had “thrown away several opportunities” to get back to being No. 1. Now his road to get there is much tougher and likely requires him to win a title or two and perhaps defeat Novak Djokovic in a final. Should be a fun year-end run.

Tennis balls and the constant change of them from tournament to tournament has been an issue lately. Many players are contributing to injuries they’ve had, especially wrist, elbow, and shoulder pains. The newer balls have been somewhat designed to play slower meaning long rallies and longer matches for the benefit of the tennis fans watching.

Paula Badosa also recently commented on Twitter (or X or whatever it is now called) in a reply to Gastao Elias saying the conditions playing with the new tennis balls are “inhumane.” Eventually, the balls will likely revert back to how they were, especially if top players like Paula Badosa keep commenting on the situation.

Lleyton Hewitt is getting honored

On Wednesday, Tennis Australia announced that former No. 1 and Aussie Lleyton Hewitt will be inducted into Australia’s Tennis Hall of Fame with the ceremony of the induction happening on January 24. This will occur, rightfully so, during the Australian Open in Rod Laver Arena. Hewitt is also getting a bronze statue made for him and that will be placed in Garden Square at Melbourne Park.

Hewitt responded to the honor by saying, “It’s a great honor to be inducted into the Australian Tennis Hall of Fame, following in the footsteps of some of my great Australian idols. I’ve always been such a proud Australian and loved the rich tennis history we have in our sport.”

Hewitt ranks 10th all-time in the list of most weeks at No. 1. He was No. 1 for a combined 80 weeks. He also won two Grand Slams in singles, the 2001 US Open and 2002 Wimbledon.