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Title winners
It was yet another imperious week for Jannik Sinner, as the Italian continued his utterly incredible record at Masters 1000 level to defeat Carlos Alcaraz in a pretty ugly Monte Carlo final, 7-5(5), 6-3, while recapturing the world number one ranking in the process.
The final took place in gloomier, very windy conditions, the exact opposite of the previous several days in Monaco, which had seen gorgeous, sunny weather.
As a result, both players were miles off their best, struggling big time with their timing from the back of the court and their first-serve percentage. The pair missed several break-point opportunities as a result, and it was miles from a vintage 'Sincaraz' match.
The magnitude of the occasion must have played a part, too. The hype was real ahead of the clash. It was their first meeting of 2026, with both players knowing that the top ranking would be on the line, as well as the Monte Carlo trophy.
But Sinner managed the big moments better, making fewer unforced errors (38) compared to Alcaraz (45), and creating the most opportunities on his opponent's serve (11 break points to Alcaraz's five).
Sinner has become just the second player to ever win Indian Wells, Miami and Monte Carlo to start a season after Novak Djokovic, and ties the Serb's and Rafael Nadal's record of four-straight Masters crowns.
The new world number one has won 17 matches on the trot and 22 straight at 1000 level. It is his eighth Masters title and 27th overall.
His historic run of 37 consecutive sets won at Masters events did come to an end, though, in the last 16, when Tomac Machac managed to snatch one off him.
Record after record broken, and also importantly for him, he has won his last two meetings against his nemesis, both in straight sets.
From Alcaraz's point of view, he will be bitterly disappointed by his performance in the final. Conditions were tough, but he didn't cope with them well at all. His level was fluctuating all week, and perhaps the pressure of trying to fend off Sinner in the hunt for world number one got to him.
However, there is plenty of time before the French Open. With tournaments to come in Barcelona, Madrid and Rome, he will have chances to make a statement that he is still the man to beat on clay.
This rivalry is fantastic because the pendulum keeps swinging. The second you think one has seized the initiative and got on top, the other makes improvements and soars ahead.
The dominance that Sinner and Alcaraz have at the summit of the men's game is mindboggling. Between them, they have 26,590 ranking points. That is the most any duo has had since the latest ATP ranking system was introduced in 2009.
Is it a good thing or a bad thing? How long can 'Sincaraz' finals make up for the often pretty dull rounds that take place before it?
Sinner crushed Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals, making it four events in a row that he has beaten the German comfortably in straight sets. He is meant to be the world number three!
The rest of the field is light-years away from the top two, and it doesn't make for very good viewing.
But anyway, over on the WTA Tour, top seed Mirra Andreeva won the WTA 500 event in Linz with a hard-fought 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 win over local favourite Anastasia Potapova.
Linz has been an indoor hard-court tournament for many years, but made the move to indoor clay this season.
Andreeva defeated Sloane Stephens, Sorana Cirstea and Gabriel Ruse en route to the final, while Potapova, who changed nationality from Russian to Austrian in December, overcame Shuai Zhang, Tamara Korpatsch, Lilli Tagger and Donna Vekic.
Potapova was in great form all tournament and played a superb opening set against Andreeva in the final. But Andreeva elevated her level and showcased just why she is a top-10 player, taking control of the contest and adding to her Adelaide triumph at the start of the year. She now has five titles to her name overall.
Additionally, Potapova moves up from 97th in the world rankings to 54th.
Finally, last week, the Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers took place, and unfortunately, several big names decided to opt out due to how packed the WTA Tour schedule is and needing some time to rest and get ready for the clay season.
However, some top players did take part. Elina Svitolina and Marta Kostyuk shone as Ukraine beat Poland and reached just the second BJK Cup Finals in their history, while Jasmine Paolini and Elisabetta Cocciareto led two-time defending champions Italy past Japan.
Great Britain, Kazakhstan, Spain, the Czech Republic and Belgium also qualified for the Finals in September, while hosts China had already secured an automatic spot in the showpiece event in Shenzhen.
A great story emerged from GB when 17-year-old Mika Stojsavljevic, who was making her BJK Cup debut, defeated Talia Gibson, helping the underdogs overcome Australia.
With Emma Raducanu, Katie Boulter and Sonay Kartal all not playing, the 2024 US Open junior champion had to lead from the front, and she did exactly that. Her opponent, Gibson, had been in great form in 2026, so this was a massive upset.
Speaking of upsets, 18-time champions, the USA, who were led by Iva Jovic and McCartney Kessler in the absence of Jessica Pegula, Coco Gauff and Madison Keys, were stunned by Belgium.
But a little more on that later.
Biggest strugglers
How many times has Stefanos Tsitsipas popped up in this section? It truly has been a torturous couple of years for the former world number three, Australian Open and French Open finalist, and three-time Monte Carlo champion.
Returning to the scene of some of his best moments, playing on his favourite surface, he would have been desperate to grab some momentum after dropping to 48th in the world.
However, a 7-5, 6-4 defeat in the first round to Francisco Cerundolo was a sign of how bad things have got for him, and there is no sign of any improvement. He now sits at 66th in the rankings.
It was also a bad week for Lorenzo Musetti. The Italian has so many points to defend this clay-court season after really impressing during this period last year, which included reaching the final of Monte Carlo.
But a 7-6(6), 7-5 second-round loss to eventual semi-finalist Valentin Vacherot - which was an extremely tough player to draw for someone who has been struggling with injury in 2026 - meant that he dropped four places in the rankings down to 9th, and if he can't pick up some form soon, he could plummet even further over the next few months.
Finally, it was a tough few days for Jovic, as the young starlet failed to win both her BJK Cup singles matches for the United States.
With several American stars pulling out, the really exciting Jovic was given her tournament debut. The world number 16 and Australian Open quarter-finalist was the favourite to win both her contests.
Yet she lost to Hanne Vandewinkel and Greet Minnen, who were ranked 94th and 149th at the time.
A bitter disappointment for Jovic and the USA, and their nine-year wait for a Billie Jean King Cup title goes on.
Standout moment
We have seen Daniil Medvedev break down before. But this may have been his best one.
The Russian was beaten in barely-believable fashion in the second round of Monte Carlo, losing 6-0, 6-0 to Matteo Berrettini in 49 minutes. He became the first top 10 player to be double-bagelled in a decade after Tomas Berdych was destroyed by David Goffin in Rome.
Medvedev doesn't enjoy playing on clay, and he has made it known before. But this was truly an awful performance from the man who was playing great in recent weeks on the hard courts.
The moment of the match came at the start of the second set, when he lost his eighth game in a row. Medvedev could no longer contain his anger and gave us one of the greatest racket smashes of all time, obliterating his racket multiple times, much to the amusement of the crowd.
Best rallies
Himeno Sakatsume defeated Lucia Bronzetti in a dead rubber clash at the Billie Jean King Cup, and on her way to the victory, she won this unbelievable, rollercoaster point to clinch the first set.
Sinner displayed many of the new weapons he has added to his arsenal to conquer the clay over the past week, including this Alcaraz-like fake drop shot against Zverev.
Upcoming events
The world's top-ranked women begin their clay-court season in Stuttgart, a prestigious WTA 500 event played indoors.
World number one Aryna Sabalenka is set to miss the tournament with an injury, so Elena Rybakina will be the top seed, with Gauff, Iga Swiatek and Svitolina the other leading players.
Defending champion Jelena Ostapenko is also taking part, and she has been drawn with sixth seed Andreeva in the first round!
It'll be interesting to catch a glimpse of Swiatek back on the dirt, especially after spending some time with Nadal over the last week or two, and with Francisco Roig as her new coach.
Simultaneously, there will be a 250 event in Rouen, with Kostyuk and Cirstea headlining proceedings.
On the ATP Tour, there are a pair of high-quality 500 events to look forward to.
In Barcelona, last year's runner-up Alcaraz is the top seed on home turf, with Musetti, Alex de Minaur and Karen Khachanov all targeting glory.
Over in Munich, top seed Zverev will be looking to retain his crown in front of his German fans, while the man he defeated in last year's final, Ben Shelton, is at the opposite end of the draw. Alexander Bublik and Flavio Cobolli make up the top four seeds.
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