The first full week (plus days) of tennis is in the books and the Australian Open is beckoning, with the main draw just over a week away. So, whose stock rose and whose stock fell?
Inventory: Hubert Hurkacz
After missing seven months due to knee surgery – his second in two years – Hubert Hurkacz has returned to the tour with a vengeance. His moving like a young stallion and raining down aces with supreme confidence. The Pole, ranked 83, will be the player that nobody wants to see when the Australian Open draw is revealed next week. he
He hit 21 aces in each of his first two matches, beating Alexander Zverev and Talon Grikspoor, and was narrowly eliminated by Alex De Minaur in three tense sets in the Fed Cup quarterfinals (Hulkac, however, hit 19 more aces in the match).
Stock Drop: Taylor Fritz
Fritz spoke to reporters about not having enough time in the offseason to completely get rid of his knee problems. It’s scary when you have a player who has played more than 75 games in each of the past three seasons talking about potentially shutting it down if things don’t improve. Add to that the fact that Fritz has lost two of his first three United Cup games – to Sebastian Baez and Stefanos Tsitsipas – and that raises a red flag for yourself.
Stock: Belinda Bencic
In her comeback season, which saw her rise all the way to No. 11 in the world and reach the Wimbledon semifinals, Bencic looks like a player expected to break into the top 10 this season. She performed well in both singles and doubles at the Fed Cup, going 6-0 overall in the quarter-finals – the perfect start to another stellar year for the Swiss.
Stock Drops: Jiri Lehecka and Jakub Mensik
We know they are talented and will likely finish in the top ten. But rising Czechs Jakub Mensik and Jiri Lehecka already looked tired in the first week of the season, which is not a good sign. Lehka was forced to abandon Brisbane’s title defense in the last 16 after withdrawing from his match against Sebastian Cora with an ankle injury. Mencic has been battling illness and has lost two of his three Fed Cup matches (in straight sets to De Minaur and Zizou Bergès).
Inventory: Alexandra Eala and Iva Jovic
Two young players who impressed on the WTA Tour last year will be doing the same thing in Auckland this week. 18-year-old Eva Jovic and 20-year-old Alexandra Ella quickly exited the competition and both reached the semi-finals.
Stock Drop: Sloane Stephens
Last year was a miserable one for 2017 U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens. She ended 2025 on a 12-match winning streak at the tour level. Stephens lost to Mexico’s Renata Sarasua 7-5, 4-6, 6-2 in the first round in Auckland and is currently ranked 13th.
Inventory: Stefanos Tsitsipas
In the 2025 season, Tsitsipas’s world ranking dropped to 34th due to back problems. In 2026, the former world No. 3 is back and feeling healthy, and it shows in his tennis. Tsitsipas earned his first top-10 win in 18 months against Fritz in the Fed Cup and is now 3-0 on the year.
Stock Drop: Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
For Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, 2025 is a very fulfilling year. He has won 43 matches, reached four finals, and is ranked 14th in the world this year (a career-high). However, he also suffered a loss early in the year, losing to Brandon Nakajima as the second seed in Brisbane.
Stock: Zizou Bergs
After losing to Zhang Zhizhen in the first game of the Fed Cup, Burgess made consecutive wins in the top 20, defeating No. 5 Felix Auger-Aliassime and No. 18 Jakub Mencic. Burges became the lowest-ranked player and the first player to finish outside the top 20 in the ATP or WTA multiple times in a single Fed Cup.
Inventory reduction: PTPA
Without one of its co-founders, Novak Djokovic, the future of the PTPA looks bleak indeed. How will they achieve their ambitious agenda without a GOAT at the helm?
Stock: Christian Harrison and Jakub Paul
They were more unknown than their superstar doubles partners at the Fed Cup (Harrison paired with Coco Gauff, Paul with Belinda Bencic), but to their credit, the two went 3-0 each in their first three matches in doubles, with all six wins coming in tiebreakers.
Martha Kostyuk
The Ukrainian notched two consecutive top-10 wins to reach the Brisbane semi-finals. She defeated Amanda Anisimova and Mira Andreeva in straight sets to earn her first top-10 win at the same hard-court event since 2023.
