Six Kings Slam beckons Sinner; Rune gets the last laugh on Tsitsipas while Rybakina and Andreeva shine at Ningbo Players Party

In a new Daily Dose of Social Media, Jannik Sinner has already settled in Riyadh to compete in the Six Kings Slam, as he prepares for the final part of the season. In a transition week, Holger Rune took the opportunity to attend the World Cup Qualifier match to support Denmark in their victory against Greece, while also making a nod to his rival Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Mirra Andreeva and Elena Rybakina were among the stars who participated in the Players Party of the Ningbo Open, as the season begins to wind down. Following the conclusion of the Wuhan Open, the last WTA 1000 of the season – only a couple of tournaments remain, and the WTA 500 Ningbo Open features a very interesting lineup, with 4 top-10 players, including precisely Rybakina and Andreeva.

The latter is defending the final she reached in 2024, where she lost to Daria Kasatkina. Both Rybakina and Andreeva are at a key moment in the season as they compete for the last two spots in the WTA Finals. Currently, 6 players have already qualified, and at the moment, Andreeva and Jasmine Paolini would join them, although Rybakina is still the only player with a chance to change things. The Kazakh player will compete in Ningbo this week and the Tokyo Open next week, with the need to earn points to return to the WTA Finals for the third consecutive year.

As the season begins to reach its final phase, Jannik Sinner is already in Riyadh to attend the Six Kings Slam exhibition, where he will be one of the main stars looking for the trophy he already won in 2024. The exhibition tournament offers 6 million dollars for the champion, in which Sinner will face Stefanos Tsitsipas in his debut within three days. Should he advance, he will face Novak Djokovic in the semi-final match.

The World No. 2 makes his return to the courts after retiring midway through the Shanghai Masters due to a right foot injury. The 4-time Grand Slam champion won his debut match against Daniel Altmaier, and then in the second round, he couldn't finish his match against Tallon Griekspoor. The Italian squandered a set lead, and Griekspoor ended up qualifying for the Round of 16 after his opponent's retirement in the third set (6-7, 7-5, 3-2, ret.).

Holger Rune took advantage of his days back in his home country, Denmark, to attend the World Cup qualifier match against Greece at Parken in Copenhagen, which resulted in a victory for the Danish locals thanks to goals from Rasmus Hojlund (21’), Joachim Andersen (40’), and Mikkel Damsgaard (41’). Christos Tzolis scored for Greece (63’), with Denmark maintaining the lead in Group C heading to the 2026 World Cup.

Rune shared a video on social media showing his view from the stadium where he cheered for the Danes' victory, also giving a nod to his rival and colleague Stefanos Tsitsipas, whom he tagged in the video. “Denmark vs Greece. Where are you @steftsitsipas 😀” posted the former World No. 4 Dane. Rune dominates the h2h against Tsitsipas 4-0, with their last match being in March of this year in the Round of 16 at Indian Wells, a straight-sets victory for Rune.