Title winners
Carlos Alcaraz clinched his fifth ATP title of 2026 and the ninth 1000-level trophy of his career after a hard-fought 7-6(5), 7-5 victory over Ben Shelton in the Paris Masters final on Sunday.
Having lost a five-set epic to the American in the US Open quarter-finals back in September, Alcaraz gained a measure of revenge in the French capital, securing his third piece of silverware since returning from four months on the sidelines due to a wrist injury.
The Spaniard proved too strong for Shelton in the key moments in Paris, saving six of seven break-point opportunities, while firing down 33 winners across the two sets.
When asked to rank his title run in the context of the second half of the season, Alcaraz said: "Probably my best week in terms of tennis.
"I can match it with Vienna that I feel really comfortable in terms of tennis. But I would say this one, this week, I made one step forward mentally. I had a lot of really tough moments."
The biggest moment of jeopardy arrived in the last eight, when Alcaraz saved two match points to beat Taylor Fritz in a dramatic clash - scenes that were reminiscent of the Spaniard’s Roland Garros triumph over Jannik Sinner last year.
With two French Opens and now a maiden Paris Masters crown, the 23-year-old is undefeated in title matches in the French capital.
Furthermore, heading to Turin on the back of nine consecutive wins across Vienna and Paris, Alcaraz is arguably playing his best-ever tennis on an indoor hard court, as he targets his maiden title at the prestigious year-end finals.
Over in Hong Kong, American Claire Liu captured her first career title after a mightily impressive 6-3, 6-0 win over Philippines star Alexandra Eala in the showpiece event.
Ranked 102nd in the world heading into the WTA 250 tournament, Liu broke in the eighth game of the match against second-seeded Eala for a 5-3 lead and never looked back, running rampant in a one-sided second set to clinch victory.
The 26-year-old, who didn’t drop a set all week (including wins over Katie Boulter and Zeynep Sonmez), will now surge into the top 70 as a result of her breakthrough run.
As for Eala, the 21-year-old moves to a career-high 17 in the world after a brilliant 2026, with the highlight being a WTA 500 crown in Washington.
"This season has changed my life; it's changed my life for the better," she said. "This is only the beginning."
Finally, in Chennai, third seed Magda Linette secured her fourth career title after recovering from a set down to beat Janice Tjen 5-7, 6-1, 6-4.
The Pole, who was runner-up to Linda Fruhvirtova at the Chennai Open in 2022, managed to overcome a pollution delay to go one step further this time, outlasting the tournament's top seed in two hours and 52 minutes.
Biggest strugglers
Novak Djokovic missed out on ATP Finals qualification after a shock second-round defeat to Rinky Hijikata at the Paris Masters, with the Australian coming from behind to prevail 2-6, 6-3, 6-2.
The 39-year-old Serb was chasing a remarkable 19th qualification for the season-ending finals, but he looked physically spent against Hijikata, hitting a series of unforced errors in sets two and three.
Djokovic, who insisted he was “looking forward” to some rest over the coming weeks, will now turn his attention to the 2027 season, as he targets a record-extending 25th Grand Slam crown.
Alex de Minaur also missed out on qualifying for Turin after an early exit in the French capital, while Alexander Zverev made a losing start to his reign as world number one, with the German falling 6-7(5), 2-6 to Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti.
Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, 46-year-old Venus Williams suffered a 17th successive loss on the WTA Tour, as the seven-time major singles champion went down 2-6, 3-6 to fellow American Mary Stoiana.
Venus, ranked 597th in the world, last won a singles match in July 2025 - a straight-sets victory over compatriot Peyton Stearns in Washington.
On whether she plans to continue playing in 2027, the American said: “I haven't made any plans for next year, also this year I didn't make plans, just took it one step at a time. We'll see.”
Standout moment
An extra layer of intrigue was added to the year-end WTA Finals on Wednesday last week, when Jessica Pegula was heard describing French Open champion Mirra Andreeva as "a diva".
The American, who was unaware that a private conversation with coach Mark Knowles was being picked up by microphones on a practice court at Indian Wells, was also heard saying the world number three “needs to be humbled”.
Pegula had words for Andreeva’s coach, Conchita Martinez, too, saying she encourages the Russian’s behaviour: "I like Conchita (Martinez), but I’ve lost a bit of respect for her."
The WTA have subsequently removed recordings of the practice session and taken "full responsibility" for failing to inform players about the active microphones on site.
"We sincerely apologise for failing to meet our responsibility to ensure players and coaches were properly informed," a statement read.
Despite the unsavoury comments, Pegula was also heard praising Andreeva in the YouTube live stream, with the American describing the teenager as "smart" and "wonderful".
Best rallies
Upcoming events
The WTA Finals at Indian Wells take centre stage this week, as the best women in the world look to give their seasons the perfect ending at the prestigious tournament.
Aryna Sabalenka lines up as the top seed following Elena Rybakina’s withdrawal, with the Belarusian desperately searching for form after a major-less 2026.
Sabalenka will face Andreeva, Elina Svitolina and Karolina Muchova in Group B, while Coco Gauff, Pegula, Linda Noskova and Marta Kostyuk contest an intriguing Group A.
Gauff and Noskova began their campaigns with victories over Pegula and Kostyuk, respectively, on Sunday.
Meanwhile, on the ATP Tour, the season-ending finals get underway on Sunday in Turin, with the draw set to take place on Thursday.
In the absence of Sinner, Alcaraz will fancy his chances of clinching a maiden title at the year-end championships, while Zverev, Shelton, Daniil Medvedev, Flavio Cobolli, Arthur Fils, Frances Tiafoe and Rafael Jodar make up the rest of the draw.
Before that, a 250 event in Stockholm takes place, with Fritz, Musetti and reigning champion Casper Ruud among the standout names taking to the court.
