Tennis fans, good day! Here’s your tennis news digest for Monday, May 4, 2026.
In the early hours of Monday, the ATP Masters 1000 Madrid final concluded with a dominant performance. Top seed and world No. 1 Jannik Sinner cruised past second seed Alexander Zverev of Germany 6-1, 6-2, extending his winning streak to nine consecutive matches against the German across five Masters events. Sinner claimed his eighth Masters 1000 title, needing only the Rome title to complete the “Golden Masters” career sweep. He also became the first player in ATP history to win five consecutive Masters tournaments and the first to capture the season’s opening four Masters titles—a feat not even the “Big Three” of Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic achieved.
With the Madrid victory, Sinner matched Carlos Alcaraz’s tally of 15 major titles (including Masters and Grand Slams), putting them back on level footing in the count of significant career trophies.
After the lopsided loss, a humbled Zverev told the press: “I think there’s a huge gap between Sinner and everyone else—Alcaraz, me, maybe Novak, and all the others. I’d say there are even two gaps. When a guy hasn’t lost a single match in so many Masters events, it’s hard to say there’s no gap.”
The comment, though intended as praise for Sinner, drew sharp online mockery. Fans questioned: “Zverev, what gives you the right to lump yourself with Alcaraz and Djokovic? Alcaraz actually leads their head-to-head against Sinner. Your nine-match losing streak is your own problem. Don’t drag others into it.” Another commented, “Djokovic has 24 Grand Slams. How many does Zverev have? How can he say that without embarrassment?”
On the women’s side: In the WTA 1000 Madrid doubles final, second seeds Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend defeated Andreeva and Shneider 7-6(2), 6-2, claiming their third consecutive WTA 1000 title. The pair have now won six titles together, all at Grand Slam or 1000 level. With the win, Siniakova returns to the world No. 1 doubles ranking. Meanwhile, Russian rising star Mirra Andreeva reached both the singles and doubles finals but lost both, ending the event empty-handed.
Looking ahead: The WTA 1000 Rome qualifying draw was released Monday night. China’s Yuan Yue faces Australian player Priscilla Hon in the first round. Good luck to Yuan Yue.
In the updated WTA rankings released Monday, Madrid singles champion Marta Kostyuk (Ukraine) rose to No. 15, a career high. Despite losing in the third round, Iga Swiatek moved back to No. 3 after Coco Gauff also exited early. Top 10 rankings and points:
1. Aryna Sabalenka: 10,110
2. Elena Rybakina: 8,555
3. Iga Swiatek: 6,948
4. Coco Gauff: 6,749
5. Jessica Pegula: 6,136
6. Amanda Anisimova: 5,985
7. Mirra Andreeva: 4,181
8. Jasmine Paolini: 3,722
9. Victoria Mboko: 3,531
10. Elina Svitolina: 3,530
Also from the Chinese contingent: At the ATP Challenger 75 in Jiujiang, China, fourth seed Wong Chak Lam (Hong Kong) defeated third seed Australian Luke Walton 7-5, 7-6(4) to win his first career Challenger title. Congratulations!
Finally, a quiz: The photo below shows a doubles pair. Can you identify them?
Last time’s answer was correct—the players were Chinese cross-strait pair Yang Zhaoxuan and Liang En-shuo.
(Source: Tennis Home)
