World number one Iga Swiatek eased into the third round of the Madrid Open after comfortably beating Julia Grabher in straight sets.
The top seed dropped only five games to win 6-3 6-2 on her return to Madrid, with her last appearance in the tournament coming in 2021 after missing last year due to a shoulder injury.
After winning four matches last week on the indoor clay at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, Swiatek is now on a five-match winning streak on clay.The uncle and former coach of Rafael Nadal says the 22-time Grand Slam winner plans to be back fit in time to play the French Open next month.
Toni Nadal told Spain’s Radio Marca on Friday his nephew will soon be ready to return from a hip injury that has sidelined him since January.
Toni Nadal, who coached Rafael until the end of the 2017 season, said he expects him to try to come back at Rome in early May.
“He’s going to play in Paris, although how he trains in the coming weeks and what he can do in Rome will be important to measure his aspirations there,” Toni Nadal said.
The loss of a pathway to the top of the sport for officials has been
highlighted as a major drawback of the shift to technology, and ATP chairman Andrea Gaudenzi added: “This is a landmark moment for our sport, and not one we’ve reached without careful consideration.
“Tradition is core to tennis and line judges have played an important part in the game over the years. That said, we have a responsibility to embrace innovation and new technologies.
“Our sport deserves the most accurate form of officiating and we’re delighted to be able to deliver this across our whole Tour from 2025.”
Clay has proved the most challenging surface in terms of accuracy but the ATP said “multiple suppliers” are expected to be approved for use by 2025.
