Sinner lost his first set and admitted it was tough, Zverev exited in four sets, the Williams sisters met again, and a thief stole a trophy.

Three minutes daily to catch up on world tennis news. Hello tennis fans, today is Sunday, August 31, 2025. Welcome to the midday news report brought to you by "Tennis Home."

Last night and early this morning Beijing time, the 2025 US Open entered its seventh day of competition. In the men’s singles third round, defending champion Sinner was challenged by Canadian star Shapovalov and dropped the first set 5-7, marking the first set Sinner lost in this tournament. However, he quickly regained his form, especially improving his serve, and came back to win the next three sets 6-4, 6-3, 6-3, achieving his 24th consecutive hard court Grand Slam victory.

After the match, Sinner said it was a tough contest. "You can’t always win easily. When he serves well, hits cleanly, and is physically strong and healthy, he can pose all kinds of problems. Today was very difficult for me at times, and the score was against me, but I tried to stay calm. This is a very important win."

In an all-Italian clash, 10th seed Musetti advanced to the US Open round of 16 for the first time after compatriot Cobolli retired with Musetti leading 6-3, 6-2, 2-0. Next, he will face Spaniard Munar, who defeated Belgian Borgs 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 to reach his first Grand Slam round of 16.

Another highlight match saw 15th seed Russian Rublev face strong resistance from Hong Kong’s Wong Chak-lam. After a five-set battle, Rublev narrowly prevailed 2-6, 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, reaching the US Open round of 16 for the seventh time. He will next meet Canadian star Auger-Aliassime, who came back from a set down to beat former finalist and 3rd seed Zverev 4-6, 7-6(7), 6-4, 6-4.

8th seed Australian de Minaur and Swiss qualifier Laaksonen both benefited from their opponents’ retirements during their matches, advancing to the round of 16.

On the women’s side: In a third-round match, former finalist and 2nd seed Swiatek defeated Russian Kalinskaya 7-6(2), 6-4, achieving her 10th consecutive Grand Slam win and reaching the US Open round of 16 for the fifth straight year. She will next compete for a quarterfinal spot against Russian Alexandrovna, who crushed German veteran Siegemund 6-0, 6-1 to reach her first US Open round of 16.

Another former finalist, 3rd seed Gauff, beat Poland’s Fletcher 6-3, 6-1 to qualify for the round of 16 for the fourth consecutive year. She will face Japanese star Osaka for a quarterfinal place; Osaka won 6-0, 4-6, 6-3 against Australian Kasatkina, making her first US Open round of 16 appearance in five years. In their head-to-head, young Gauff leads Osaka 3-2.

Other matches: American Anisimova defeated Romanian Cristian 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 to reach her first US Open round of 16; Ukrainian Kostyuk rallied from a set down to beat French player Parry 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, also reaching her first US Open round of 16; Czech star Muchova overturned compatriot Noskova 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-2, advancing to the US Open round of 16 for the third year in a row.

In doubles, Chinese players performed well in their second-round matches, securing two wins. Xu Yifan/Yang Zhaoxuan defeated 8th seeds Guo Hanyu/Panova 6-2, 6-7(3), 6-3 to reach the round of 16; Wang Yafan/Aoyama Shuko beat Grubusic/Ann Li 6-1, 6-3, also advancing. The US-Canada pair Williams/Fernandez eliminated Akriri/Hozumi 7-6(1), 6-1, securing a round of 16 spot.

Here’s a breaking update: Last night Beijing time, Romanian Kostia posted on social media that her singles trophy from last week’s Cleveland tournament was stolen. She hopes the thief will return it, as the trophy holds great symbolic value for her. Some fans called the thief despicable for stealing someone’s trophy!

Finally, let’s play a guessing game. The image below shows a player leaving the court with a head covering after retiring due to injury. Without any hints, can you identify who he is?

In the last guessing game, a fan gave the correct answer. Yes, the person in the picture is American Gauff.

(Source: Tennis Home Author: Maverick)