THE COST OF FAILURE: DANIIL MEDVEDEV'S COMMITMENT TO TOP 10 RETURN
Former World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev is dissatisfied with his year-end No. 13 ranking, stating he would retire if he accepted it. He is focused on improving fitness and consistency for a strong 2026 comeback.
Daniil Medvedev says he'll retire if he's ever satisfied with his ranking, making it clear he wants to be higher in the standings by the end of 2026.
The 2025 season was tough for the Russian. He only won a single match at the Grand Slams, causing him to slide down the rankings.
Medvedev finished the year ranked No. 13, marking his first season outside the world's top 10.
In 2024, he ended the season at No. 4, just 70 points from cracking the top four.
If I'm still ranked the same at the end of 2026? "I won't be happy, which is a good thing," said the 2021 US Open champ at an exhibition event in St. Petersburg.
That's why I'm still playing. If I liked my ranking, I'd probably retire.
I just hope I can play as well as I did at the end of this year because it wasn't too bad.”
Two years ago, Medvedev finished the year ranked No. 3 after making it to the Wimbledon semi-finals (losing to Carlos Alcaraz) and the US Open final (losing to Novak Djokovic).
Since then, he's had trouble getting back to that level, and he went more than two years without winning a title.
He finally broke that streak at the 2025 ATP 250 event in Almaty, beating Corentin Moutet 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 in the final.
About two weeks before that, Medvedev reached the Shanghai Masters semi-finals, his first time in the final four of a Masters 1000 event since Indian Wells in 2024.
But Arthur Rinderknech came back to win 4-6, 6-2, and 6-4 and advance to the final.
"I know I can play even better than I did at the end of the season in terms of being more consistent because some matches were great," Medvedev admitted.
Like the match against [Alex] De Minaur in the quarter-finals in Shanghai. I couldn't have played better.
But I could have been more consistent. So I'm going to work on my fitness to keep up the pace and play well in several tournaments in a row, like before.
And I hope I can play well from one tournament to the next.
Medvedev kicks off his 2026 season in Adelaide from January 12 to 17, using the tournament to warm up for the Australian Open.
He's reached the final of the first Grand Slam of the year three times, losing to Djokovic in straight sets in 2021 and losing after leading two sets to love against Rafael Nadal in 2022 and Jannik Sinner in 2024.
He only has to defend 400 ranking points between the Australian tournaments and Indian Wells. This means the one-time Grand Slam champion is aiming to get back into the world's top 10 soon.
Medvedev is just 230 points behind the current world No. 10, Jack Draper.
IMMEDIATE: SHOCKING DETAILS BEHIND CARLOS ALCARAZ-FERRERO SPLIT; WILL HE JOIN RIVAL JANNIK SINNER
World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz has shocked tennis by splitting with Juan Carlos Ferrero. Learn the real reason behind the breakup.
Tennis fans were shocked when Carlos Alcaraz and his long-time coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, split. Ferrero has now said whether they've talked since.
Even though Alcaraz is only 22, his time with Ferrero is one of tennis' best. The 2003 French Open champ started coaching Alcaraz, who was a young, promising player in 2019.
With Ferrero's help, Alcaraz became a superstar and one of the most exciting players to watch. He's won six Grand Slams and finished 2025 as the world's top player, ahead of Jannik Sinner.
The only major title they didn't win together was the Australian Open. Even though it's still a few weeks away, people recently saw Alcaraz's outfit for the 2026 tournament in Melbourne. It's bright and colourful.
Alcaraz had a great 2025, winning two more Grand Slams, so the split was even more surprising. It sounds like disagreements between Ferrero and others close to Alcaraz caused the change.
In an interview, Ferrero answered a question everyone's been asking: Have he and Alcaraz been in touch since they stopped working together?
We haven't talked yet because he needs to relax so he can train. Once things calm down, we'll talk, and everything will be fine.
Ferrero's nice words about Alcaraz suggest they'll talk again. He thinks they can still be friends after all they've achieved.
I've learned a lot from Carlos. He's a kid with amazing charisma. He's always loyal and honest, tells the truth, and works really hard. I'm happy because once things settle, I'm sure we'll keep talking, remembering all the things we did together, and stay friends.
It must be tough for Ferrero not to be coaching Alcaraz after working so hard to make him one of the best. Taking some time before talking to the 22-year-old might also be good for him.
Juan Carlos Ferrero was also asked about coaching Jannik Sinner after splitting from Carlos Alcaraz.
Since 2024, one of Ferrero's main jobs has been helping Alcaraz figure out how to beat Jannik Sinner. Together, they've won every men's singles Grand Slam in the last two seasons.
Now that Ferrero isn't Alcaraz's coach, he was asked if he'd consider joining Sinner's team, which would be a huge change in tennis.
Ferrero didn't say no. Instead, he said he needed time to get used to not coaching Alcaraz. Sinner is still coached by Simone Vagnozzi and Darren Cahill, after Cahill changed his mind about retiring at the end of 2025.
NIKE OR UNIQLO? THE TRUTH BEHIND EMMA RADUCANU’S 2026 SPONSORSHIP SWITCH REVEALED NOW
Emma Raducanu arrives for the 2026 United Cup in Nike gear, silencing Uniqlo rumours. Get the latest on her fitness and schedule.
The tennis world's been buzzing about Emma Raducanu possibly leaving Nike for another brand before the 2026 season.
Word was she was getting ready to sign a big deal with Uniqlo, following in the footsteps of Roger Federer.
If she had dropped Nike, it would have been a shock. They picked her up right before she won the US Open in 2021 and became a global star overnight.
Even though she hasn't won a tournament since that US Open win four years ago, she's still popular, has tons of followers on social media, and everyone's still talking about her.
So, a switch to Uniqlo wouldn't have been totally out of left field. Since her mom is Chinese, the Japanese company might see her as having value for their brand.
But, when she showed up in Perth for the United Cup, she was still rocking Nike gear.
She could still switch to Uniqlo for 2026 since her Nike deal probably lasts until the end of the year. But for now, it looks like she's sticking with her current brand.
Her arrival in Australia also shut down rumors that a foot problem might keep her from starting the season.
She recently told the media she's feeling good about the upcoming season.
I feel solid with where I am at on and off the court. “I’m in a good spot,” Raducanu said.
I'm feeling like I am building back in the gym, to start with.
“I also feel pretty chill about next year, which is sweet. And I’m just proud of the season that I put in this year and the progress I have made.
Next year, I want to play less than I did this year. But I think also just putting fitness into my warm-ups, so it’s not necessarily just my fitness sessions that are separate.
So much has helped, and I think the biggest thing is little and often; just try and add in as much as you can for your overall health.
I think I’ve found peace with myself, and I’m happier with how I’m doing tennis and the team and the environment I have.
That’s the most important thing because it takes so much work to get where we need to be. And just enjoying each day and being healthy is awesome.
Raducanu is about to play her first event representing Great Britain in the United Cup, but Jack Draper won't be joining her since he's still dealing with an arm injury.