The tennis season is about to kick to its finish. The WTA tour seems to know its year-end No. 1. Aryna Sabalenka is well ahead. On the ATP side, the race might come down to the ATP Finals between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
All the Grand Slam events are done, but the Shanghai and Paris Masters remain. Each of those carries 1,000 points, but Sinner won the Shanghai Masters in 2024, so Alcaraz could increase his points lead with a win. Because of the Italian's success at the end of 2024, he has a lot of points to defend.
Before we get to those, however, news is still being made. Alcaraz has gone blonde, for instance. Anything is possible.
Carlos Alcaraz is dating, Aryna Sabalenka has to leave, and Novak Djokovic has moved
For one thing, Carlos Alcaraz isn't actually in a relationship with Emma Raducanu, as many speculated, but instead is dating Brooks Nader. If you don't know who she is, she is a swimsuit model and was on Dancing with the Stars. She is six years older than the tennis star, but both are in their 20s the relationship is OK, it seems.
The news of the relationship was apparently confirmed by Brooks' sister, Grace Ann, on E! News. Grace Ann added that "dating" is a loose term, however...whatever that means.
In completely different news, Novak Djokovic has decided to move. Instead of Belgrade, Serbia, as his home, he and his family have moved to Greece. The reason is much more serious than it might seem on the surface.
In late 2024, there was a series of student protests about the socioeconomic conditions in Serbia, and Djokovic tweeted his support of the students. This caused a rift with the tennis great and the current administration, and this likely led to the move.
Finally, Aryna Sabalenka's post-victory celebration was cut short at the US Open. The reason, according to Andrea Petkovic on the Becker Petkovic podcast, was due to security measures put in place due to US President Donald Trump making an appearance at the tournament.
Petkovic took umbrage with Sabalenka having to leave Arthur Ashe Stadium so soon because the security measures took away from the excellence of the tennis. She's right.