Alcaraz wins International Sports Top Ten Athlete award, Zhang Zhizhen falls to Master V, Li Na’s team trails by a large margin

Three minutes daily to catch up on global tennis news. Hello tennis fans, today is Sunday, December 28, 2025. Welcome to the news midday report brought to you by "Tennis Home."

Last night Beijing time, the 2025 International Sports Top Ten Athlete awards organized by Xinhua Sports Department were revealed, with athletes from multiple sports honored among the top ten. Among these ten, one tennis player made the list at second place: the world No.1 men’s singles player, Spanish star Alcaraz. Xinhua’s commentary on the young Spaniard reads, “Alcaraz reached three Grand Slam men’s singles finals this year, winning titles at Roland Garros and the US Open, bringing his career Grand Slam total to six; finishing the year with a 71-9 record and eight titles, securing the year-end world No.1 ranking.”

The full list of the 2025 International Sports Top Ten Athletes is as follows:

1. Norris (Racing)

2. Alcaraz (Tennis)

3. Marinin (Figure Skating)

4. Chen Yuxi (Diving)

5. Duplantis (Athletics)

6. Kipchoge (Athletics)

7. McIntosh (Swimming)

8. Pogacar (Cycling)

9. Alexander (Basketball)

10. Dembélé (Football)

Let’s shift our focus to the WTCC World Tennis Intercontinental Challenge held in Shenzhen. Last night Beijing time, the event completed its first three stages. Russian star Rublev, representing the World Team, saved match points in the second set and eventually pulled off a thrilling comeback win over Europe’s Monaco player Vachero, 2-6, 7-6, 10-7, giving the World Team a commanding 6-2 lead. However, in the following mixed doubles match, Europe’s Bencic/Kobori defeated Paris Olympic silver medalists Wang Xinyu/Zhang Zhizhen 6-3, 7-6, earning two points and narrowing the score to 4-6.

At noon Beijing time today, in the first match of the fourth stage, Europe’s Vachero defeated World Team’s Zhang Zhizhen 6-3, 7-6, turning the overall score to 7-6 in favor of Europe. Next up, Europe’s Bencic will face World Team’s Leybakina. The afternoon session includes mixed doubles matches of Swiatek/Vachero vs. Rublev/Leybakina and a singles showdown between Kobori and Rublev as the finale. If the teams are tied in the overall score, the head coaches will play a deciding super tiebreak match.

Now let’s turn our attention to Macau. Last night Beijing time, the Macau MGM Tennis Legends tournament concluded its first day. Although Li Na’s team captain scored the first point, subsequent players Shang Juncheng lost 6-7, 5-7 to Fokina; the doubles pair Shang Juncheng/Ierla lost 5-7, 6-7 to Fokina/Wu Yibing; and Embree fell 4-6, 6-3, 6-10 to Wu Yibing, resulting in three consecutive losses and a 1-6 deficit against Martinez’s team.

This afternoon at 2 pm, the two teams will continue their second day of competition, starting again with the team captains’ clash: Li Na vs. Martinez. Following will be three singles matches: Ierla vs. Mira Andreeva, Shang Juncheng vs. Wu Yibing, and Embree vs. Fokina. Can Li Na’s team overcome the large score gap for a comeback victory? The answer will be revealed tonight.

Finally, let’s play a guessing game. The photo below shows a player training on the court. Without any hints, can you recognize who she is?

Last time’s guessing game received correct answers from some fans. That’s right, the person in the picture is the Australian young star Deminor.

(Source: Tennis Home Author: Lone Wolf)