IS SHE BACK? WHY RICK MACCI CLAIMS NAOMI OSAKA WILL STUN THE WTA
Legendary coach Rick Macci predicts Naomi Osaka will hit the WTA Top 10 in 2026. Read her full season preview and United Cup news.
Rick Macci, a famous tennis coach, believes Naomi Osaka will get back into the WTA's top 10 rankings by 2026. She's trying to keep up the good work from 2025.
Osaka ended 2025 ranked 16th after a great second half of the year. It was the first time since 2022 that she was back in the top 20.
She came back to tennis after having a baby in early 2024. By the end of that year, she was ranked 59th.
Things were hard for Osaka with her fitness and being consistent in late 2024 and early 2025. She eventually split with her coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, after losing in the second round at the Washington Open in July.
After the split, she hired Tomasz Wiktorowski and started playing her best tennis since her return.
Osaka made it to the final of the WTA 1000 Canadian Open in Montreal and reached her first Grand Slam semi-final in over four years at the US Open, giving Amanda Anisimova a tough time in a close three-set match.
Before playing in Montreal, she was just inside the top 50, but her good performances helped her get back into the top 20.
Now, Macci, who has worked with the Williams sisters and Maria Sharapova, thinks Osaka will have another big year in 2026.
He posted on Twitter/X that Osaka would pull many upsets during the season and finish the year in the top 10.
He said that Osaka will be the wildcard and she will win many games this year. She will be ranked in the top ten soon. Changing the coaching changed her game. She had an understanding motivation to play better.
Osaka will start her season at the United Cup in Perth, representing Japan.
She is going to compete against Raducanu and Maria Sakkari in stage matches. Additional matches to contest should Japan progress to the next rounds.
She can earn ranking points at the United Cup based on opponent ranking.
Osaka will lose some points from the Auckland Open final last year. The Australian Open in Melbourne will commence on January 18 to begin the Grand Slam. Osaka won the title in 2019 and 2021.
THE EIGHT-YEAR GAP: SVITOLINA REACHES FIRST WTA 1000 FINAL SINCE 2018 IN DUBAI
Svitolina stuns Gauff! Discover how she reached the Dubai final to face Pegula, plus Alcaraz's 11-0 streak and Venus' return.
Elina Svitolina stunned world number four Coco Gauff to earn a spot in the Dubai Tennis Championships final, where she’ll face Jessica Pegula.
Pegula got there first, clawing her way back after a rough start against Amanda Anisimova. She dropped the first set badly and even lost her serve early in the second, but still pulled off a 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 win.
Gauff, just 21, almost set up an all-American final, but Svitolina refused to fold. The match? Epic. Svitolina took it 6-4, 6-7 (13-15), 6-4 after more than three hours on court. She let four match points slip in a wild second-set tiebreak, but didn’t let that break her. She powered through the decider, and now she’s back in the Dubai final for the first time since she won the title back-to-back in 2017 and 2018.
“I was playing like there’s no tomorrow, just giving it everything,” Svitolina said afterwards.
Over in the men’s Qatar Open, world number one Carlos Alcaraz kept his perfect 2026 record alive. He beat Andrey Rublev 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 to reach the final. Alcaraz, just 22, already grabbed the Australian Open this season and became the youngest man to complete a career Grand Slam. He’s won all 11 matches he’s played this year.
“I know what I can do every time I step on the court,” Alcaraz said.
He’ll face Arthur Fils from France in the final. Fils beat Jakub Mensik of the Czech Republic, who’d knocked out world number two Jannik Sinner earlier in the week, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4).
And in some more big news, Venus Williams is heading back to Indian Wells. The seven-time Grand Slam champ, now 45, got a wildcard for both singles and doubles.
“It’s great to be heading back to Indian Wells and returning home to California,” Williams said in a statement.
9-0 STREAK: ANALYZING CARLOS ALCARAZ’S PERFECT START TO THE 2026 TENNIS SEASON
Alcaraz hits 9-0: Discover why Valentin Royer warned Alcaraz and Sinner after their 2026 clash and the latest ATP rankings.
Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner just got a playful warning from their ATP rival, Valentin Royer.
Alcaraz, with seven Grand Slam titles, and Sinner, who has four, have completely owned men’s tennis for the last couple of years. They’ve split the last nine majors; each grabbed four ATP Masters 1000 trophies; and keep swapping the No. 1 spot in the ATP Rankings.
No one else has really kept up. Novak Djokovic is still hanging around, but the rest of the guys, like Alexander Zverev, Lorenzo Musetti, Alex de Minaur, Taylor Fritz, Felix Auger-Aliassime, and Ben Shelton, are all chasing from behind.
Alcaraz is rolling right now. He’s unbeaten in 2026 so far, standing at 9-0. After winning his first Australian Open title, he followed up with wins over Arthur Rinderknech and Royer.
After Alcaraz beat Royer 6-2, 7-5, the two shared a light moment at the net. Royer, currently world No. 60, told Alcaraz, “I’ll come for you and Jannik, don’t worry. Some day.” Alcaraz laughed and said, “I will wait for you, man.”
Royer actually had a shot in the second set. He broke Alcaraz’s serve early and was up 5-3, serving for the set, but Alcaraz broke back, held serve, and broke again to close out the match.
Asked if he was nervous, Alcaraz admitted, “Honestly, I had to be ready for anything. There were moments when I thought about a third set; I’m not going to lie. But that was just a small part of my mind. Mostly, I was focused on finding solutions, figuring out how to get back on track.
“I’m really happy I found my rhythm again and played good tennis. Sometimes it just comes down to one point. Closing out a set or a match isn’t always easy. I just had to stay in it, and I’m glad I turned it around and got the win in straight sets.”
Next, he faces seventh seed Karen Khachanov in the quarterfinals. If he gets through, he’ll meet either Andrey Rublev or Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semis. Sinner is the likely opponent waiting in the final.
“Everybody expects us to play every final, every tournament, but that’s not easy. There are a lot of players out here who want to beat us,” Alcaraz said about a possible final against Sinner.