Wimbledon runner-up retires, Strait duo exit in first round, Zhu Lin wins big in debut, Musetti redeems in doubles

Three minutes daily to catch up on global tennis news. Hello tennis fans, today is Monday, January 12, 2026. Welcome to the midday news update brought to you by "Tennis Home."

Early this morning Beijing time, Canadian star Milos Raonic posted on his personal social media that he is officially ending his tennis career and retiring. The 35-year-old, nicknamed the "Canadian Cannon" and "Raonic," reached the Wimbledon final in 2016, earning runner-up honors and making history for Canadian men’s tennis. He achieved a career-high world ranking of No. 3 and won 92 Grand Slam matches, ranking third among players born in the 1990s after Zverev and Dimitrov. In recent seasons, Raonic has been plagued by injuries and occasional comebacks ended in defeat. It now appears his injuries are too severe to continue competing professionally. Farewell, Raonic! Wishing him all the best in his retirement!

Back to the courts. This week features two ATP and two WTA tournaments starting today. At the ATP 250 Adelaide event, players like Opelka, Korda, Vacherot, and Humbert will compete from noon and afternoon. At the ATP 250 Auckland tournament, two first-round singles matches have concluded: American Brooksby defeated New Zealander Watt 6-4, 6-3 for a winning debut; Argentine Comerzan beat Frenchman Royer 6-4, 6-4 to advance to the second round smoothly.

At the WTA 500 Adelaide event, in matches finished this morning, American star Navarro defeated Briton Jones 6-3, 6-3, avenging her previous loss to the same opponent. Canadian rising star Mboko came from behind to beat Brazil’s top player Maia 5-7, 6-3, 6-2, also moving into round two successfully.

Australian Tomjanovich took the first set 7-6(5) before her opponent Townsend retired due to injury. In another match, Russian Kalinskaya dominated Ruse 6-0, 6-3. Players like Aleksandrova, Badosa, Buzkova, Kasatkina, and Sakkari will also compete in today’s singles opening rounds. Additionally, Chinese veteran Zhang Shuai and Czech star Siniakova will face Burel/Jonath in the doubles first round. Best of luck to Zhang Shuai!

At the WTA 250 Hobart event, completed first-round singles matches saw Australian Preston defeat Spaniard Manero 6-4, 7-6; Mexican top player Zarazua came back to win against American Baptist 6-7, 6-3, 6-3. In doubles, the Strait duo Jiang Xinyu/Zhan Haoqing lost 5-7, 5-7 to N. Kichenok/Makoto Ninomiya, exiting in the first round. The China-Japan pair Tang Qianhui and Aoyama Shuko will face Malekova/Skocic at 2:30 PM Beijing time today.

Also, the 2026 Australian Open singles qualifying draws were released yesterday Beijing time. China has nine players competing in men’s and women’s events. Among them, women’s singles: Yuan Yue vs. Zhiliko,

Zhu Lin vs. Pigossi, Guo Hanyu vs. Sharkova, Gao Xinyu vs. Tagger, Bai Zhuoxuan vs. Korneeva, Ma Yexin vs. Lepchenko, Wei Sijia vs. Kelieva; men’s singles: Wu Yibing vs. Krueger, Huang Zelin vs. Brownshay. In the women’s singles qualifying first round held this morning Beijing time, Zhu Lin defeated Pigossi 6-4, 6-4 to advance successfully.

Now let’s review the champions from yesterday’s events. The United Cup mixed team tennis champions: Poland. They defeated Switzerland 2-1 to reach the final for the third time and won the title for the first time.

ATP 250 Hong Kong Tennis Open singles champion: Bublyk. He beat top seed Musetti 7-6(2), 6-3. Although Musetti lost in the singles final, he partnered with compatriot Sonego to win the doubles final 2-1 against the Russian team, securing the doubles trophy and making the trip worthwhile.

ATP 250 Brisbane singles champion: Medvedev. He defeated American Brandon Nakashima 6-2, 7-6(1) to claim the 22nd singles title of his career, each from a different tournament.

WTA 500 Brisbane singles champion: Sabalenka. She defeated Ukrainian Kostyuk 6-4, 6-3, strongly defending her title without dropping a set in the first week of the new season.

WTA 250 Auckland singles champion: Svitolina. She beat China’s second-ranked Wang Xinyu 6-3, 7-6(6) to win the 19th singles title of her career on the tour. Although Wang Xinyu did not claim the title, her runner-up finish helped her re-enter the top 50.

The doubles title went to the Chinese-French pair Guo Hanyu/Meladnovic, who defeated the Chinese duo Xu Yifan/Yang Zhaoxuan 7-6(7), 6-1.

Finally, let’s play a guessing game. The picture below shows a player holding her younger sister as a child. Without hints, can you recognize who she is?

Last time’s guess was answered correctly by a fan. Yes, the person in the picture is the American star Anisimova.

(Source: Tennis Home Author: Independent Thinker)