Sinner lost to his rival servant Xiao Ziwei after smashing his racket and exiting the tournament; Zheng Qinwen’s elbow injury remains uncertain, Raducanu squandered three match points and was bageled.

Three minutes daily to keep up with the world of tennis. Hello tennis fans, today is Tuesday, September 30, 2025. Welcome to the midday news update brought to you by "Tennis Home."

Last night Beijing time, the ATP 500 China Open wrapped up its singles quarterfinals, confirming the semifinalists. Top seed and world No. 2 Sinner saved a match point on his opponent’s serve in the second set and eventually defeated Hungarian Marozsan 6-1, 7-5, advancing to the semifinals for the third consecutive year. He will face third seed Deminor, who advanced after Czech player Menšík retired due to injury while trailing 4-1 in the first set. Deminor is known as Sinner’s “servant,” having lost all 10 previous encounters. Will the “little bunny” turn the tide this time?

In another key match, Russian star Medvedev defeated Germany’s Zverev 6-3, 6-3, extending their head-to-head to 14-7 and reaching the semifinals here for the third straight year. Zverev struggled both offensively and defensively and failed to threaten Medvedev. Frustrated, Xiao Ziwei smashed his racket and shouted at his father in the players’ box, but to no avail.

The victorious Medvedev will face American rising star Learner-Chen for a spot in the final, who advanced after Italy’s Musetti retired while trailing 3-0 in the deciding set.

Turning to Japan, last night Beijing time, the ATP 500 Tokyo tournament concluded its singles semifinals, producing the finalists. Top seed and Spanish star Alcaraz came from behind to beat fourth seed and Norway’s Ruud 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, reaching his 10th final of the season and 31st career final. This marks Alcaraz’s 66th victory this season, a new career best.

In the other semifinal, second seed Fritz defeated fellow American Brooksby 6-4, 6-3, reaching the final here for the first time in three years. This is Fritz’s third final this season and 19th career tour-level singles final. He recently defeated Alcaraz at the Laver Cup; can he repeat that success this time?

Now focusing on the women’s side. Last night Beijing time, the WTA 1000 China Open completed its singles third round, finalizing the round of 16. In a match drawing Chinese fans’ attention, top-ranked Zheng Qinwen retired at 4-6, 6-3, 0-3 due to injury, allowing Czech player Noskova to advance to the last 16.

After the match, Zheng explained her retirement was to prevent worsening her elbow injury, as she experienced pain during serving. “I need to get an MRI to check my elbow condition. I still feel positive and able to continue playing tennis. This is a crucial moment to overcome the final hurdle. Actually, I realized during the second set not to push my body too hard. Now I understand that the first set was manageable, but the second set might have been too much. This is my current assessment of my body.” Hopefully, Zheng’s elbow is not seriously injured, and she can return to competition in the next event.

Other results: World No. 2 Swiatek received a retirement from Colombian Osorio after winning the first set 6-0. She will face American Navarro for a spot in the quarterfinals; Navarro advanced after France’s Bouzas retired while trailing 6-2, 1-0.

British No. 1 Raducanu had three match points against American Pegula but failed to convert any and collapsed in the decider, losing 6-3, 6-7(9), 0-6 and exiting the tournament without winning a game in the final set. Ukrainian Kostyuk, Russian rising star Mira Andreeva, Briton Katar, and Russian Potapova all won their matches to reach the round of 16.

Additionally, the draw for the ATP 1000 Shanghai Masters was released yesterday afternoon. Our official account has a detailed article on it, so it won’t be covered here in the midday report.

Finally, let’s play a guessing game. The picture below shows a player taking a selfie in front of a mirror. Without any hints, can you identify who she is?

Last time’s guessing game received correct answers from some fans. Yes, the person in the photo is Chinese player Wu Yibing.

(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Lone Ranger)