The famous player ridiculed the US Open, Mei won a total of 400 wins, Pegula was out, and the Wimbledon wild card was announced

Three minutes a day, knowing about tennis in the world. Hello fans and friends, today is Thursday, June 19, 2025, and welcome to the afternoon newsletter brought to you by "Home of Tennis".

The day before, the US Open officially announced 16 pairs of mixed doubles this year, many of which sparked heated discussions among fans. They either entered directly through the overall singles rankings or received a wild card from the US Open. This year's U.S. Open has revamped the mixed doubles format, with the singles main draw being played for just two days, and the prize money for the winner has skyrocketed from $200,000 to $1 million. This reform has been dissatisfied with many doubles players, who believe that it has become a high-end exhibition tournament and has deprived many players of their qualifications.

Polish doubles player Zelinski posted an article ridiculing the reform of the US Open organizing committee. "I don't think winning two Grand Slam mixed doubles titles in one year is not enough to get an invitation to an 'exhibition match' at the US Open. Thank you for canceling my mixed doubles opportunity and making the tournament fair for everyone. Zelinsky partnered with Taiwan's Hsieh Shuwei last year to win two Grand Slam mixed doubles titles, the Australian Open and Wimbledon. However, this year's quota is monopolized by big-name stars, and he and Hsieh have no chance to compete at all, so it's no wonder he wants to vent his frustration.

Let's get back to the field. Last night, Beijing time, the two ATP 500 grass court tournaments continued this week. London: In a second-round singles match, second seed and British No.1 Draper overcame a tie-break 2-4 down to beat Australia's Poplin 3-6 6-2 7-6(5) to advance to the quarterfinals. Next, he will face American Brandon Nakashima, who eliminated Englishman Evans in two sets.

Fourth seed and Denmark's Karun Rune defeated American McDonald 2-6 6-1 6-1 to set up a quarter-final clash with Spain's Agutte, who defeated Czech rising star Mensik Mensik 3-6 6-3 7-5.

Halle: In the second round of singles, third seed Dmitry Medvedev of Russia defeated France's Aris 6-2 7-5 to secure a place in the quarter-finals. It was the 400th career win of May's career and his 83rd appearance in the quarter-finals of a tour. In the quarter-finals, he will face American teenager Mickelson, who eliminated Greek star Tsitsipas 7-6(5) 7-5.

In the remaining two matches of the first round, German Zverev Jr. eased 6-2 6-1 against American Giron and will face Italy's Sonego in the second round. Eighth seed Khachanov defeated Belgian Boggs 7-5 6-3 to face Canadian Aliassime in the second round.

Women's Field: Fifth seed Fernandes of Canada defeated Spaniard Buksa 6-3 6-4 in the second round of the WTA 250 Nottingham singles to advance to the quarter-finals against Ukraine's Yastremska, who eliminated Croatia's Rudzic 6-2 2-6 6-4. Noskova and Slamkova also defeated their respective opponents to advance to the quarterfinals of the WTA grass court for the first time.

WTA 500 Berlin: After world No. 1 Sabalenka won the first set 6-2 on the day, Switzerland's Masarova postponed the match on the grounds that the grass was too slippery. Despite Sabalenka's displeasure, the referee took the Swiss on his hand and the match was postponed until today.

The No. 3 seed Pegula and the No. 4 seed Paulini lost one after another and missed the cut. Among them, Pegula missed the match point and was reversed by the Russian Samsonova in the tiebreaker; Little Steel Cannon lost in two sets to former tournament champion and Tunisian sister Jabbar. Spanish star Badosa Badosa, the eighth seed, defeated American Navarro 7-6(2) 6-3 to advance to the quarter-finals awaiting the winner between China's Wang Xinyu and world No. 2 Gauff.

Let's focus on Wimbledon again. Last night, Beijing time, the 2025 Wimbledon official announced the list of 15 wild card players in the main draw. In addition to the Czech star Kvitova, the other 14 were covered by local players. Among them, men's singles: Clark, Crawford, Evans, Lovehagen, Monday, Pinnington-Jones, Searle; Women's Singles: Kvitova, Berech, Dart, Jones, Krugman, Stoisavlevic, Watson, Xu Mingge.

Finally, let's guess and recognize. Here's a picture of a player hiding his face with his hands after winning. 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 women's singles world No. 1 Sabalenka.

(Source: Tennis Home Author: Maverick)