Zvi was dissatisfied with being rated as the worst NO.2, Swaa was busy refuting the rumors that Kova finally won, and Wang Xiyu was defeated

Three minutes a day, knowing about tennis in the world. Hello fans, today is Wednesday, May 7, 2025, and welcome to the afternoon newsletter brought to you by Home of Tennis.

At the ATP1000 Rome Masters Media Day, Zverev, the tournament's second seed and world No. 2 Jr., expressed his displeasure with the deliberate disparagement of some media outlets, not considering him the worst world No. 2 in history, "I do think the media like to belittle players, right? I wasn't in good form for the two months leading up to Munich, right? I didn't play very well before Munich. All of a sudden, I was the worst world No. 2 ever, and I didn't deserve that. I was in that position because I won the championship, and I was able to be there because I got results. "I've won a lot of titles, that's why I'm second in the world, and the rankings don't lie. Of course it's better to be number one in the world, I haven't reached that height yet, but I believe I can do it, so let's wait and see! ”

Do you think that with Sinner and Aka, Xiao Ziwei still has any hope of winning a Grand Slam title or becoming world No. 1?

Let's take a closer look at Poland's Swiatek. World No. 2 Swiatek, who is preparing for the tournament in Rome, tweeted yesterday to clarify the rumours that she will not be competing at Wimbledon, "People shouldn't believe in this kind of thing. I've seen millions of untrue comments over the past few days. I really don't get it. Now there are a lot of rumors about me in the Polish media, but none of these rumors are true. They like to write engaging articles, and I understand that this is part of the job. However, I certainly won't be absent from Wimbledon. I really want to learn how to play better on grass. Every year is a new opportunity. I'm definitely going to Wimbledon, unless I'm injured. ”

Let's get back to the field. Last night, Beijing time, the WTA 1000 Rome Open was the first to start. Two-time Grand Slam champion and Czech Republic's Kvitova defeated Romania's Begu 7-5 6-1 in a highlight-reel match in the first round of singles to claim her first win in the fifth tournament since her postpartum comeback. After the win, Kova picked up her child as soon as possible and celebrated happily together. In the second round, she will face Tunisian sister Jabbar.

Other debutant winners were Qatar, Lulu Sun, Slamkova, Bronzetti, Christian, Lamens, Stearns, Bouzkova and Maneiro. In the decisive round of the singles qualifying tournament in Rome, China's Golden Flower Wang Xiyu lost 2-6 2-6 to Dutchman Ruth, unfortunately missing the main draw.

In addition, the ATP announced the update of the prize pool for the ATP1000 Masters and the ATP Finals at noon yesterday. After the first four Masters tournaments of the season, the top five are Britain's Draper, Spain's Alcaraz, Czech rising star Mensik, Norway's Ruud and Italy's Musetti.

After participating in the Masters and Finals this season, the top 30 players will share $21 million in prize money, with the top-ranked player receiving $4.5 million.

Finally, let's guess and recognize. The picture below is the back of a player. Can you recognize who she is without prompting?

In the last guess, some golfers gave the correct answer. That's right, the person in the picture is the Italian star Musetti.

(Source: Tennis Home Author: Maverick)