Our regular tennis feature, The Base Line, returns this week as we look to keep you up to date with the relentless and fast-paced nature of the ATP and WTA Tours. Who were crowned champions, who struggled to make an impact, and what moments stood out the most over the past seven days?
Winners of the Week
Team World secured its third Laver Cup triumph in four years when Taylor Fritz, buoyed by his upset of Carlos Alcaraz on Saturday, clinched a 6-3, 7-6(4) win against Alexander Zverev.
It was a special occasion for the American tennis legend, Andre Agassi, who, on his debut as Team World captain, led his players to a remarkable triumph in the competition, with Agassi's always joyful presence inspiring Team World to a spirited performance throughout the competition.
Jasmine Paolini was the hero of the day when she helped Italy defend their Billie Jean King Cup title as she beat Jessica Pegula to secure a 2-0 victory over the United States. The world number eight is undefeated in singles and doubles at the BJK Cup this year and has lost just one of her previous 10 matches in the competition.
In Seoul, top seed Iga Swiatek won her third title of 2025 and 25th of her career by defeating No. 2 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova 1-6, 7-6 (3), 7-5 in the Korea Open final. Swiatek, who disappointed when she crashed out of the US Open in the quarter-final against later finalist Amanda Anisimova, is now 25-5 all-time in WTA finals.
28-year-old Kazakhstani Alexander Bublik continued his remarkable 2025 campaign at the Hangzhou Open, where he captured his fourth title of the season by downing spirited French qualifier Valentin Royer 7-6(4), 7-6(4) in the final. He thereby became the only man with four or more trophies in 2025, along with Alcaraz.
Almost 1900 kms west of Hangzhou, Chilean qualifier Alejandro Tabilo dominated headlines as he saved two championship points at the Chengdu Open to upset top seed Lorenzo Musetti 6-3, 2-6, 7-6(5) to capture his first ATP title of the season and third overall in his career.
Struggler of the week
It has been a truly dismal season for Holger Rune, and he contributed to Team Europe's downfall in the Laver Cup in San Francisco, where he was on the losing side in both of his matches.
The world number 11 arrived in San Francisco on the back of his tremendous failure to convert a match point against Pedro Martinez in Marbella, which would have qualified Denmark for the Davis Cup finals in Bologna for the first time in history at the expense of Spain.
Rune's form has been marked by illness (food poisoning), injuries, inconsistent performances, and early exits from tournaments.
Despite launching a short-term cooperation with Agassi and introducing a new fitness coach in the face of Marco Panichi, who previously worked with Novak Djokovic for seven years, no player on tour has had as many withdrawals from tournaments this season as Rune.
The question is now if his season could falter even further in the upcoming weeks, as he will arrive in Tokyo and Shanghai with many points to defend, as he reached the semi-final of the ATP 500 tournament in Tokyo and the quarter-final of the ATP 1000 tournament in Shanghai last year.
Moment of the week
Italy's Lorenzo Musetti broke down in tears as he failed to convert two match points to lose the final of the Chengdu Open to Chilean qualifier Alejandro Tabilo. It was his fifth consecutive defeat in an ATP final for the Italian, who will also be remembered this season for his heartbreaking semi-final against Carlos Alcaraz in the French Open when he was forced to retire due to an injury.
He sat on his courtside bench for quite some time, burying his hand in his towel as Tabilo celebrated. And it would be hard not to feel some sort of compassion for the Italian top seed who otherwise looked superior on the day in terms of winners, unforced errors, and points.
Musetti has two ATP Tour-level title wins to his name. Both of those came in 2022, with the first one coming at that year's Hamburg European Open, where he defeated Carlos Alcaraz in the final. Later, at the 2022 Tennis Napoli cup, he had the better of compatriot Matteo Berrettini in the all-Italian final
Rallies of the week
It's been a long time since Australia's Bernard Tomic caught headlines for something other than his occasional controversial statements. But the former No. 17, who has now dropped to No. 169 in the world rankings, proved that this tennis talent is still intact when he won this point against Tianhui Zhang in the Challenger tournament in Jingshan.
Bublik won his fourth season title in style in Hangzhou when he converted his first match point against Royer by initially producing an excellent defensive lob before smashing a forehand down the line to seal the tournament win.
Upcoming events
After the brief intermission of the Davis Cup qualifiers, the BJK Cup and the Laver Cup, big ATP and WTA competitions return, with two ATP 500 tournaments taking place this week, with the Tokyo Open and the China Open in Beijing, while the China Open is a WTA 1000 tournament for women.
The top two players in the world, Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, will not cross paths as the Spanish world No. 1 plays in the Japanese capital while Sinner is in action in Beijing.
Top-tier contenders: Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, and Mirra Andreeva headline a formidable women's field in Beijing, which also includes Madison Keys, Jasmine Paolini, Amanda Anisimova, and Elena Rybakina.
Check out the full schedule for the tournament in Tokyo and for the men's and women's tournaments in Beijing.