How much do you know about Russian players changing nationalities? Akka reveals how to beat Sinner, Wang You and Shapovalov top the worst tiebreak win rate list

Three minutes daily to catch up on global tennis news. Hello tennis fans, today is Monday, December 8, 2025. Welcome to the midday news report brought to you by "Tennis Home."

In the past few days, following Russian beauty Potapova's acquisition of Austrian citizenship, the subject of Russian players changing nationalities has been quite hot. So, do you know which Russian players have switched nationalities in recent years? Let's find out together. According to statistics, currently, 15 Russian tennis players have chosen to change their nationality. Among them, the largest number switched to Kazakhstan, totaling four players: Putintseva, Bublik, Rybakina, and Shevchenko. Two players moved to Australia: Saville and Kasatkina. Another two switched to France: Grachyova and Yevremova.

Other Russian players who changed nationality include Avanesyan, Saksyan, Timofeyeva, and Lakhimova. The first two moved to Armenia, while the latter two switched to Uzbekistan. Additionally, a player named Bakhmutkina changed her nationality to Belgium. How many of these players do you recognize?

Let's turn to an exhibition match. Yesterday, Beijing time, the "Atlanta Cup" tennis exhibition took place as scheduled at the South Atlanta Arena. In the singles matches, world number one Sabalenka defeated Japanese star Osaka Naomi, and America's second-ranked player Shelton beat Australia's troublemaker Kyrgios. In the mixed doubles exhibition, Sabalenka teamed up with Shelton to claim victory.

Let's also focus on Italy's top player and world number two, Sinner. During the break, Sinner traveled to Abu Dhabi to watch the final race of the F1 Grand Prix. It seems he is also a motorsport enthusiast!

Meanwhile, world number one Alcaraz recently shared his thoughts on playing against Sinner. He believes that to defeat this strong opponent, one must do the following: "Yannick has almost no weaknesses. His offensive skills are powerful, his defensive speed is very fast, and he is extremely consistent. Playing well alone is not enough. You must stay focused throughout the entire match and never let your guard down. Against him, you have to give your all from the first point to the last to have a chance to win." Currently, Sinner has a positive head-to-head record against Djokovic, Zverev, and Medvedev, but trails Alcaraz 6-10. Will the Italian rewrite this record in the 2026 season?

Now let's look at a statistical ranking. On the 2025 tour, the worst tiebreak win rate list (with at least 10 tiebreaks) includes China's second-ranked Wang Xinyu and top player Bu Yunchaokete. Wang Xinyu holds a 28.6% tiebreak win rate, placing third on this list, just above Mboko's 20% and Kocheret's 27.3%. Meanwhile, Bu Yunchaokete ranks second with a 21.7% win rate, slightly above Safrin's 17.6%. Taiwanese player Zeng Junxin follows closely behind Bu Yunchaokete with a 25% win rate, ranking third.

Additionally, the 2025 China Tennis Tour "Aoyu Comprehensive" professional final (Macau) and the National Tennis Singles Championships concluded yesterday, with champions crowned in each category. The men's singles champion was Sun Fajing; women's singles was You Xiaodi; men's doubles were Cui Jie and He Chengrui; women's doubles were Dang Yiming and You Xiaodi.

Finally, let's play a guessing game. The following picture shows a player enjoying the view by the water. Without any hints, can you identify who he is?

In the last guessing game, tennis fans gave the correct answer. Yes, the person in the picture is Russian star Rublev.

(Source: Tennis Home Author: The Independent)