Alcaraz started slow and faced resistance; a sudden incident occurred on court, while Huni won another tiebreak to reach the quarterfinals against the young beauty.

Three minutes daily to catch up on global tennis news. Hello tennis fans, today is Sunday, January 25, 2026. Welcome to the midday news report brought to you by "Tennis Home."

This morning Beijing time, the 2026 Australian Open continued its eighth day of matches. Yesterday, China’s second-ranked player Wang Xinyu defeated Czech rising star Noskova to reach the singles round of 16. Wang rested today and will face American star Anisimova tomorrow. In doubles, around 1:30 PM, Zhang Shuai and Mertens will play a rescheduled second-round doubles match against Jovic and Mboko.

In the men’s singles fourth round upper half match this morning Beijing time, top seed and world No.1 Alcaraz started slowly and was broken first by the 19th seed American Tommy Paul, falling behind in games. Fortunately, Alcaraz steadied himself, broke back promptly, and leveled the score. The two then battled to a tiebreak. Unexpectedly, at 3-3 in the tiebreak, an incident happened on court where a spectator appeared to faint from heat. Officials intervened urgently, and the match was paused for over ten minutes before resuming.

At the time of reporting, Alcaraz had narrowly taken the first set 8-6 in the tiebreak. Other stars like Medvedev, Zverev, Bublik, and Deminor will also compete today for a spot in the quarterfinals.

Last night Beijing time, in the men’s singles third round lower half, ten-time Australian Open champion Djokovic defeated Dutch player Van de Zandschulp 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(4) to reach the round of 16 for the 18th time. This marked Djokovic’s 400th Grand Slam singles victory, extending his own record and reaching a new milestone. In this statistic, Djokovic leads Federer (369 wins) and Nadal (314 wins) by a wide margin, and also surpasses the women’s top two, Serena Williams (367) and Navratilova (306), holding the top position alone.

Winners on the day also included Sinner, Musetti, Fritz, Menchik, Shelton, and Ruud.

Women’s singles: In the fourth round match this morning Beijing time, two-time champion and top seed Sabalenka withstood a comeback from Canadian rising star Mboko, winning 6-1, 7-6(1) in a tiebreak. She extended her new season winning streak to nine matches without dropping a set and reached the Australian Open quarterfinals for the fourth consecutive year. In the quarterfinals, she will face 29th seed and 18-year-old American rising star Jovic, who swept Kazakhstan’s Putintseva 6-0, 6-1 in just 54 minutes.

Notably, the tiebreak Sabalenka won was her 20th consecutive Grand Slam tiebreak victory, surpassing Djokovic’s previous record of 19 and placing her first in the Open Era.

Last night Beijing time in the women’s singles third round, second seed Swiatek defeated Russian star Kalinskaya 6-1, 1-6, 6-1 in a rollercoaster match to reach the round of 16. She will next battle local player Inglis for a quarterfinal spot. Fifth seed Rybakina cruised past 18-year-old Czech rising star Valentova 6-2, 6-3 to also reach the last 16. In the fourth round, she will face Belgian star Mertens.

Finally, a guess and recognition challenge. In the photo below, a player is serving. Without any hints, can you identify who she is?

In the last guessing game, some fans gave the correct answer. Indeed, the person in the picture is former world No.1 Ivanovic.

(Source: Tennis Home Author: Lone Wolf)