The Garden Cup Round-Up | Aryna Sabalenka again beats Naomi Osaka as Tommy Paul tops Nick Kyrgios

Again it was exhibition action on Monday for Aryna Sabalenka, Nick Kyrgios and Naomi Osaka as they took on The Garden Cup, a yearly exhibition long steeped in history which takes place every year at Madison Square Garden.

Last year saw Emma Navarro, Jessica Pegula, Carlos Alcaraz and Ben Shelton take to the court. Shelton did play in Atlanta earlier in the week alongside Sabalenka, Kyrgios and Osaka but he was left off the line-up for this one with fellow American, Tommy Paul getting the spot to face Nick Kyrgios.

It was a real good examination for the Aussie ace who is picking exhibitions over match practice currently heading into the Australian Open. That being due to his decision to play these, the Battle of the Sexes and Kooyong among others. He is not currently signed up for any main tour events in early 2026 albeit he could feasibly fitness pending play in Australia with most tournaments even now chewing their hand off to have a player of his calibre in their field.

But unlike Shelton who swatted him off the court in Atlanta, it was a game won by a fine margin as Kyrgios took the opening set narrowly 6-4 before he went on to lose 6-3 in the second then 10-5 in the tie-break so in reality fairly comfortable for Paul after the first set but a lengthy tie that was likely needed by Kyrgios even in this more fun and laidback setting.

Naomi Osaka was well beaten in Atlanta by Aryna Sabalenka who has spent more time in the Maldives on holiday than on the practice court since the season ended last month and she seems to be back and refreshed ready for the new year. She won again 6-4, 7-5 over Osaka which featured a hilarious moment as a fan was brought onto court to play for them. The fan was apologetic to Sabalenka saying he still loved her and she was still his favourite but also doing that saw a forfeit as Osaka made him do push-ups on court.

So while these events can be seen as a good warm-up for the new year, it is the same as exhibitions in other sports with more fun elements added to the mix. Albeit there was a win for the losing parties as Naomi Osaka and Nick Kyrgios defeated Aryna Sabalenka and Tommy Paul in mixed doubles to end the night.

The next tournaments are the Next Gen Finals which is technically the last tour event of the year. While fans can also enjoy the World Tennis League from December 17-20 which is taking place in India and is the fourth edition and the first outside of the United Arab Emirates. Nick Kyrgios will play in that. Aryna Sabalenka occasionally is involved but won't be this year.

Her next match will be the Battle of the Sexes while Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina lead the Continental Cup in Shenzhen and Jack Draper and Mirra Andreeva play in Macau over the Christmas period. Off season? What off season as although many of the top names aren't indulging this time of year a smattering of top names are over certain weeks.

Carlos Alcaraz of course played two in New Jersey and Miami winning against Joao Fonseca in the latter and losing to Frances Tiafoe in the former. He was joined by Amanda Anisimova and Jessica Pegula in both events with that also finishing 1-1. Albeit Anisimova in particular made sense in regards to her playing. She is now a bigger attraction and she has ties in both New Jersey and Miami living in the latter and born in Freehold Township but with the season very much over it is only over for a few weeks.