Tennis News Roundup: Roger Federer's controversial claim shut down by ex-Serena Williams coach; Coco Gauff and boyfriend relax before WTA Finals with Miami vacation

Jannik Sinner defeated arch-rival Carlos Alcaraz in the final of the Six Kings Slam in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He defeated the Spaniard 6-2, 6-4 and took home a whopping $6 million as the prize money for the exhibition event. On the other hand, Taylor Fritz took third place in the event after Novak Djokovic retired from the third-place match after a 76-minute first set.

On that note, let us take a look at some of the top stories of the day:

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#1. Roger Federer's claims opposed by Serena Williams' ex-coach Patrick Mouratoglou

Serena Williams' ex-coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, turned down Roger Federer's claims that tournament organizers introduced slow courts to favor Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. During an appearance on the Served Podcast, the 20-time Grand Slam champion made his feelings known on the recent trend of slow court conditions.

However, Mouratoglou spoke in favor of this type of court. In a video released by Mouratoglou on Instagram, he said:

"We know that what we regret is that it killed service and volley players, but at the same time, it was important because you had guys that were serving too many aces. The game was getting boring in some surfaces..."

He further remarked that these conditions are not very new and have been around when Federer and Rafael Nadal were on tour as well.

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#2. Coco Gauff enjoys a much-needed vacation with boyfriend

Coco Gauff clinched the Wuhan Open title last week, dominating Jessica Pegula 6-4, 7-5 in a thrilling final. After the triumph, she took off to America, where she was seen making the most out of her time off from the sport with long-time boyfriend Jalen Sera. The duo have been together for over two years but confirmed their relationship earlier this year, in June.

In a recent series of Instagram stories posted by the 2025 French Open champion, she was seen with Sera in Miami, Florida, at the III Points Music Festival in Mana Wynwood on Friday. She enjoyed the concert of Stephen Lee Bruner, better known as Thundercat, and had a fangirl moment as she was left awestruck by the performance of the famed American musician.

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#3. Holger Rune withdraws from Stockholm due to an injury

Holger Rune was forced to withdraw from his semifinal match of the Stockholm Open, as he suffered an injury on his left leg during the match. The Dane won the first set 6-4 against Ugo Humbert, but started feeling pain in his leg while being 2-2 in the second set.

Rune had allegedly been suffering with discomfort in his left leg since the quarterfinal, where he powered through to take a strong win over Tomas Martin Etcheverry. However, in today's match, he looked helpless and was in tears while speaking to his team, which led him to eventually withdraw from the Stockholm Open

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#4. Denis Shapovalov's outburst at the Stockholm crowd

Denis Shapovalov was upset with the Swedish crowd as he took on the home favorite, Elias Ymer, in the quarterfinal of the Stockholm Open. The Canadian claimed that amid booing and jeering he received, one of the members in the crowd flipped him off during the match, and he proceeded to take it up with the umpire.

Shapovalov was distributed by the action and demanded that the spectator be taken off the court, which led him to have a heated discussion with the umpire.

"He's flipping me off. He's flipping me off. Can I flip everyone off? So then, why is he allowed?" Shapovalov said.

Irrespective of misbehavior, the member was not taken out of the court. However, Shapovalov gave a strong reply to the crowd by winning the match 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-1.

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#5. Aryna Sabalenka and Paula Badosa reunite in Dubai

WTA stars Aryna Sabalenka and Paula Badosa have been very close friends for a long time. The pair recently joined each other for a date night in Dubai, as both of them caught up after a long time and shared some time together.

Badosa was dressed in a black shirt and pants, while Sabalenka donned a white ensemble. They posted each other's images on their Instagram stories, where they posed for pictures in a stunning Dubai backdrop.

"My fav date @arynasabalenka finally," wrote Badosa.

"It's been a while, finally she is back #Sabadosa," posted Sabalenka.

Their last meeting on the pro tour was at the semifinal of the Australian Open in January this year.