Sinner sacrifices the match to preserve his condition, Kachanov exits early, Bublik advances, and both the Big and Little Wang duo win

Three minutes daily to catch up on global tennis news. Hello tennis fans, today is Tuesday, October 21, 2025. Welcome to the midday news report brought to you by "Tennis Home."

Let's start with world No. 2 Sinner. Last night Beijing time, Sinner confirmed his withdrawal from this year's Davis Cup Finals. In an interview, Sinner explained his decision: "I have helped Italy win the Davis Cup twice. This decision to skip this year's event was made together with my team. Giving up the Davis Cup was not an easy choice, but after the Turin Finals, our goal is to start 2026 strong at the Australian Open. Having an extra week to prepare is very important, seemingly minor but actually significant. Our aim is to be in top form for the Australian Open. Over the past two years, I have not reached my best due to insufficient time, so we believe that skipping the Davis Cup is the right decision."

Some fans believe this is Sinner sacrificing the team to protect himself, aiming to conserve energy and extend preparation time to pursue a third consecutive Australian Open title in peak condition.

Back to the courts. Last night Beijing time, two ATP 500 indoor hard court tournaments kicked off this week. In Vienna, Australian rising star Demoliner defeated wildcard Rodionov 6-4, 6-1 to advance smoothly; Russian powerhouse Kachanov was eliminated in the first round by Dutch top player Griekspoor 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, suffering an early exit; Kazakhstan's Bublik started strong with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Chilean Tabillo; Arnaldi and Brandon Nakashima also won their opening matches.

In Basel, Czech young talent Menšík narrowly defeated wildcard Benneteau 7-6(1), 6-7(1), 6-3 to advance; Spanish star Fucsovics beat Italian Sonego 7-6(2), 6-4, marking his 25th hard-court tour win this season; Munar and Brooksby also passed the first round.

Now turning to the women's events. Yesterday afternoon Beijing time, the WTA 250 Guangzhou International Women's Tennis Open began. In the first round singles, wildcard and former champion Chinese player Wang Xiyu defeated seventh seed Jones 6-4, 6-4 for a strong start. Next, she will face Italian Cocciaretto, who overcame French player Parry 6-4, 6-7(7), 6-2 in a tough match.

Another wildcard Chinese player, Wang Yafan, also advanced to the second round by defeating Russian Laksimova 6-2, 6-4.

At the WTA 500 Tokyo event, in a first-round singles match, Chinese player Wang Xinyu won the first set 6-4 but was then reversed by qualifier Grachova 6-3, 6-4, resulting in an early exit. In other matches, in a Czech derby, Vančurová retired due to injury while trailing 2-6, 0-1, giving compatriot Muchová a walkover to the next round. Other first-round winners included Kalinskaya, Kessler, Jonté, and Lis.

In doubles, in a first-round match, the Chinese Strait duo Jiang Xinyu and Zhan Haoqing defeated the local wildcard pair Sonobe Hazuki and Ueshima Honoka 6-2, 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals.

Moving on to other news. Early this morning Beijing time, the WTA announced the final two doubles spots for this year's year-end championships. They are Babos/Stefani and Muhammad/Shaw. With this, the doubles field for the year-end finals is finalized.

Finally, let's play a guessing game. The following picture shows a player taking a selfie in the mirror. Without any hints, can you recognize who she is?

Last time's guess was correct. Indeed, the person in the picture is the American star Keys.

(Source: Tennis Home Author: Independent Thinker)