Title winners
World number one Aryna Sabalenka threw down an early marker ahead of the Australian Open, defending her Brisbane title without dropping a single set all week.
The Belarusian beat a really impressive Marta Kostyuk 6-4, 6-3 in the final, while overwhelming the likes of Madison Keys and Karolina Muchova on her way to the title, but also displaying lots of variety in her game.
The victory was the 22nd of her career, and she has now won 38 of her last 40 matches in Australia.
The two-time Australian Open champion lost in the final to Keys last year, but she already looks in ominous form a week ahead of her return to Melbourne. Can anyone stop her?
Over on the men's side of the tournament, Daniil Medvedev captured his second title in the last three months after having gone 882 days without a trophy, clinching a 6-2, 7-6(1) win over Brandon Nakashima.
The Russian, who tumbled down the rankings last year after a barren run, seems to have rediscovered some of his old form after parting ways with coach Gilles Cervara following the US Open.
A three-time finalist at the Australian Open, he is gathering some momentum ahead of the first Grand Slam of 2026. While he is unlikely to be much of a threat to Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, he will be hoping to improve on his really poor Grand Slam results last year.
Over in Hong Kong, Alexander Bublik's remarkable run continued, winning 7-6(2), 6-3 against Lorenzo Musetti to pick up his fifth title in the last seven months.
The enigmatic Kazakh is playing the best tennis of his career, as evidenced by his entry into the top 10 of the world rankings for the very first time.
Musetti's hunt for a title goes on, and is winless in finals since 2022. However, he is set to make his top-five debut on Monday.
Meanwhile, Elina Svitolina won the 19th crown of her career in Auckland, as she downed Xinyu Wang 6-3, 7-6(6).
Despite not always playing her best during the week and standing on the cusp of defeats to Sonay Kartal and Iva Jovic, Svitolina showed her experience to find a way through. Now, only four active players have more titles than her (Venus Williams - 49, Iga Swiatek - 26, Aryna Sabalenka & Victoria Azarenka - 21).
Finally, the United Cup served up so much entertainment over 10 days, and the atmosphere also delivered as fans came to support their nations.
In the end, it was Poland who reigned supreme, defeating a Belinda Bencic-inspired Switzerland to finally lift the title, having been to the final on two previous occasions.
For once, it wasn't Swiatek who led the way. The Pole really struggled and cut a frustrated figure in the semi-final and final, losing to Coco Gauff and Bencic, respectively.
In the end, it was Hubert Hurkacz and the mixed doubles pairing of Katarzyna Kawa and Jan Zielinski who managed to step up.
Bencic was crowned United Cup MVP for her astonishing performances during the competition, as the Swiss star won all five of her singles matches as well as four of her five mixed doubles matches.
Bencic is an Olympic gold medalist and a Billie Jean King Cup champion, and she showcased once again that she always rises when representing her nation.
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Biggest strugglers
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina's 2026 season didn't get off to the best start, with the second seed falling 7-6(4), 6-4 to Nakashima in the opening round in Brisbane.
The Spaniard is arguably the best player on the ATP Tour to never win a title, and his goal this year will be to finally lift one.
Emma Navarro also didn't get off and running in the way she would have wanted, as the American suffered a shock 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 first-round defeat to Fran Jones in Auckland.
After a breakout 2024, 2025 was more complicated for Navarro, and she will look to return to the lofty heights she reached two years ago.
Meanwhile, Nick Kyrgios' return to singles tennis didn't go as planned. The Australian was comprehensively beaten 6-3, 6-4 by Aleksandar Kovacevic, and frankly, looks miles off the pace.
As a result, he pulled out of the singles tournament at the Australian Open and will focus fully on the doubles.
Standout moment
There were truly bizarre scenes at an ITF tournament in Nairobi last week, as videos circulated of Egyptian Hajar Abdelkader losing 6-0, 6-0 to German world number 1026 Lorena Schaedel in just 37 minutes.
Abdelkader looked like she had never picked up a racket in her life before, as she struggled to serve or even hit the ball. She would go on to win just three points and served 20 double faults.
Tennis Kenya said that she had been given a last-minute wildcard based on information provided by the player.
"In hindsight, this wildcard should not have been granted. The federation has taken note of this experience and will ensure that such an extremely rare occurrence never happens again," Tennis Kenya said.
The Egyptian Tennis Federation later told the BBC and the Daily Mail that she was not registered with the organisation and had no information about her, despite her ITF profile stating that she has played the sport since the age of 14.
Best rallies
Eva Lys produced some of the best tennis of her career despite losing to Swiatek at the United Cup, and this blistering forehand winner even shocked the German!
Alexandra Eala won a thriller against Donna Vekic in Auckland, and the 20-year-old displayed her remarkable court coverage in this point against the Croatian.
Upcoming events
The action continues in Australia this week ahead of the first Grand Slam of the year, with ATP tournaments in Auckland and Adelaide, and a WTA tournament also in Adelaide, as well as Hobart.
Davidovich Fokina and Tommy Paul are the top seeds in Adelaide, while Ben Shelton and Casper Ruud lead the way in Auckland.
In the women's tournament in Adelaide, Mirra Andreeva, Keys and Ekaterina Alexandrova will be gunning for the title, and Emma Raducanu is the number one seed in Hobart.
Follow the ATP and WTA events in Adelaide, as well as events in Auckland and Hobart!
