Pamela Navarro Takes Down Nadal: Time to Rave for Slam Glory!

But there was plenty else going on in the tennis

Welcome back to the Monday Tennis Briefing, where The Athletic will explain the stories behind the stories from the past week on court. This week, the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells took center stage. Aryna Sabalenka started her self-assigned mission to win more big finals in 2026 by beating Elena Rybakina to win the women’s singles title, while Jannik Sinner put the brakes on Daniil Medvedev’s tennis renaissance to win the men’s singles title.

But there was plenty else going on in the tennis world too. If you’d like to follow our tennis coverage, click here . Why the racket smash can quickly become a dangerous pursuit?

Last Monday at the BNP Paribas Open , Alexander Bublik , Taylor Fritz and Mirra Andreeva demonstrated the infinite potential of the tennis racket smash . Another player took it to another, more dangerous level a few days later, when Corentin Moutet, the combustible Frenchman, did not smash his racket, but launch it. Moutet was playing in the semifinals of the Arizona Tennis Classic Challenger event against America’s Marcos Giron when he became so frustrated that he chucked his racket into the sky, and out of the stadium, after losing the match.