GOLF SECRETS: ALCARAZ AND ZVEREV BATTLE DAILY ON THE LINKS DURING INDIAN WELLS BREAKS
Explore how Alexander Zverev and Alcaraz maintain their competitive edge through daily high-stakes golf at Indian Wells.
Indian Wells is usually all about the drama on those purple hard courts, but lately, there’s been a different kind of rivalry heating up in the California sun.
Turns out, when they’re not battling it out in front of thousands, some of the world’s best tennis players find other ways to keep their edge. This time, the action moved from the tennis courts to the golf course. Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, and Alexander Zverev all decided to swap rackets for golf clubs and sneak in a few rounds while the tournament was on break.
You don’t often see these guys drop their game faces, but the golf course brings out something different. Zverev talked about it after his match with Frances Tiafoe. He let slip that this wasn’t just a one-off thing; he and Alcaraz actually play almost every day. "Carlos and I played every day, almost, actually. Novak joined us two days ago,” he said. You can tell these guys are just as competitive on the golf course as they are on the tennis court. Zverev figures his own handicap is around 8, and Alcaraz is right there with him. So, the matches get pretty intense.
When Novak joined in, Zverev said, “Yeah, it was fun.” Djokovic admits he isn’t quite at their level, but honestly, it’s still funny to hear Zverev talk up Alcaraz’s skills and then just casually toss in, “Oh, and Novak played too.”
Tennis and golf actually go hand in hand more than you’d think. Both demand crazy hand-eye coordination, serious focus, and that explosive twist in the body. A bunch of tennis pros have got hooked on golf, but a few have really stood out. Mardy Fish, for example, is probably the best golfer the ATP Tour has ever produced. He made it to World No. 7 in tennis, then switched gears and started winning celebrity golf tournaments, including the American Century Championship. In 2022, he even played the 3M Open on the PGA Tour, which makes him the first person ever to compete on both the ATP and PGA Tours.
Ash Barty, who shocked everyone by retiring as world number one, is also a scratch golfer. She’s won a ladies’ club championship in Australia, and golf legend Karrie Webb has said Barty could totally win as an amateur.
Rafael Nadal? The guy’s a monster on the golf course, too. He plays to a 0.3 handicap, which is basically pro level, and he’s finished as high as sixth in the Balearic Golf Championships in Spain.
Then there’s Pete Sampras, whose smooth tennis serve translates into a killer golf swing. He’s played to a scratch or near-scratch handicap for years and pops up at a lot of Pro-Am events.
And after he retired, Ivan Lendl really got obsessed with golf. He plays off a low single-digit handicap and has even tried his luck at professional senior qualifiers and on the celebrity circuit.
Guess the competition never really leaves these guys, no matter what sport they pick up.
EMMA RADUCANU DROPS TO NO. 29 AS VIRAL ILLNESS DELAYS COMPETITIVE TENNIS RETURN
Emma Raducanu falls to World No. 29. Discover her Madrid Open comeback plans and the viral illness that halted her WTA season.
Emma Raducanu has slipped further down the WTA rankings as she focuses on regaining her full fitness. At 23, she has faced several interruptions since her breakthrough win at the US Open in 2021.
While Raducanu stands out as a major title winner, having claimed her US Open victory after navigating the qualifiers, she reached her highest ranking at No. 10 less than a year later. Since then, she hasn’t added another singles title to her name, working instead on finding steadiness in her game. She’s aiming to kick off her clay-court season at the Madrid Open later this month. Yet, her ranking has dipped ahead of that event, partly because she withdrew from both the Miami Open and the Linz Open.
Currently listed at No. 29, down one spot from 28, Raducanu hasn’t gained ranking points recently due to recovering from a viral illness. Her last appearance was at Indian Wells in March, where she exited in the third round against Amanda Anisimova.
Her decision to miss Miami and Linz came after falling ill. Reports from BBC Sport noted that she started feeling unwell in February but kept competing until she pulled out of the Austrian tournament.
As Raducanu prepares for a potential comeback at Madrid, which kicks off on April 21, Romania’s Sorana Cirstea has moved ahead in the rankings. At 36, Cirstea climbed three places to 26th after reaching the quarter-finals in Linz.
Interestingly, Raducanu and Cirstea met earlier this year at the Transylvania Open final in Cirstea’s home country. Cirstea won decisively, 6-0, 6-2, though Raducanu admitted she wasn’t at her best even before the match started.
“In Cluj, I picked up a virus at the start of the tournament,” Raducanu shared with the Guardian in February. “I was dealing with that and its after-effects... which lasted for three weeks. I’ve been trying to shake it off. The Middle East trip was really tough for me.”
It seems Raducanu is keen to recover fully before stepping back onto the court. Looking back, Aryna Sabalenka took the 2023 Madrid Open title with a 6-3, 7-6 win over Coco Gauff in the final.
JANNIK SINNER TAKES WORLD NO. 1; ALCARAZ CAN RECLAIM LEAD IN BARCELONA
Jannik Sinner is World No. 1! Discover how Carlos Alcaraz can reclaim the top spot at the Barcelona Open this week.
Jannik Sinner’s win over Carlos Alcaraz at the Monte-Carlo Masters wasn't just a big match; it sent Sinner straight back to the world number one ranking. Now, the Italian leads Alcaraz by 440 points after his Monte-Carlo victory.
But the clay season is packed, and with so many tournaments coming up, there’s still plenty of room for the rankings to shift before Roland Garros rolls around.
Alcaraz doesn’t have to wait long for his shot to reclaim the top spot. His next chance comes right away at the Barcelona Open, his home tournament. Last year, Alcaraz made the final in Barcelona, and now he’s set to chase down Sinner again.
Honestly, their Monte-Carlo match didn’t quite live up to the hype. Blame the wind. It was a pretty scrappy three out of ten match, if we’re being honest. Not exactly the fireworks everyone expected.
Still, Sinner and Alcaraz will be only 160 points apart at the start of the Barcelona Open, really close. If Alcaraz wins in Barcelona, he actually jumps above Sinner in the rankings, but just barely. He’d have 13,410 points, Sinner would have 13,400. It’s that tight.
Plus, if the rumours are true and Sinner skips the Madrid Open, Alcaraz could hang onto the top spot pretty easily.
Even with the recent slip in the rankings, Alcaraz shouldn’t be discouraged. He knew Sinner had been playing out of his mind lately and probably expected the rankings to flip. Sinner outplayed him in Monte-Carlo and fully deserved that win.
But there’s a lot of tennis left this spring. Alcaraz is strong on clay and has more chances, especially in Madrid, to rack up points. Neither player competed in Madrid last year, so both have a great shot to stretch their leads.
With Alcaraz picking up extra points in Barcelona, Sinner might not stay number one for long. Expect this battle at the top to keep flipping back and forth; it’s far from over.
