Germany

The ATP Tour’s clay season is back in full swing, as 32 singles players and 16 doubles teams competed in Munich this past weekend at the BMW Open by Bitpanda. This was the BMW Open’s first tournament after its promotion to an ATP 500 “designed to elevate the fan and player experience through long-term investment.” 

German Alexander Zverev, ranked as the No. 3 men’s tennis player at the start of the tournament, played No. 37-ranked Tallon Griekspoor in the quarterfinals on Friday, April 18. During the match, a heckler in the crowd shouted at Zverev, whose former partner and mother of his child has previously accused him of domestic abuse. The heckler yelled, “Let’s go, you … wife-beater!” Zverev asked the umpire to eject the heckler, but it is unverified whether or not the person was actually forced to leave. 

This is not the first instance where someone in the crowd has called out Zverev for his alleged behavior, even after the case was dropped in June 2024.

“The crowd carried me to victory,” Zverev said after winning the match 6-7, 7-6, 6-4. “I was already mentally exhausted, but they cheered me on in the decisive phase.”

Zverev also won his semifinals match and went on to face No. 15-ranked Ben Shelton in the finals — the first American man to reach a clay-court final in a tournament at the ATP 500 level in 23 years. In their second meeting, Zverev extended his head-to-head lead over 22-year-old Shelton, winning the tournament with a score of 6-2, 6-4. Thanks to his win and Carlos Alcaraz’s loss in the ATP 500 Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell that same day, Zverev rose to the No. 2 spot in the rankings. 

Spain

A new tennis documentary series launched on Netflix this Wednesday, called “Carlos Alcaraz: My Way.” Produced by Spanish production company Morena Films, the three-part series follows the then 20-year-old Spaniard on his journey with tennis and how he balances the sport and his personal life. 

Alcaraz is one of the most successful tennis players of his generation: He was the youngest No. 1-ranked tennis player for 36 weeks at just 19 years old. He has already won four Grand Slams — including Wimbledon twice — and only needs to win the Australian Open to complete the career Grand Slam.  

The documentary gives audiences insight into who Alcaraz is through interviews with himself, his family, his team and even his competitors. Viewers learn more about his mentality, thought process and livelihood, and understand that he loves tennis but doesn’t want it to consume him. He wants to do things his way: If that means partying in Ibiza after losing to Novak Djokovic in the Roland-Garros semifinals, and then coming back to beat him in the 2024 Wimbledon final, that is what he’ll do.   

The documentary premiered on Netflix the same day as the first round of the ATP Masters 1000 Mutua Madrid Open — a tournament Alcaraz was forced to withdraw from due to a right leg injury sustained at the Barcelona Open this past week. 

London

In the first leg of the UEFA Women’s Champions League semifinal on Saturday, Arsenal suffered its first loss of the tournament against Lyon at Emirates Stadium in London. Both teams are at the top of the standings in their respective groups. 

In the 17th minute of the game, Lyon forward Kadidiatou Diani scored the first goal. Arsenal responded about an hour later, due to a penalty kick scored by forward Mariona Caldentey in the 78th minute. In an unfortunate end for the home crowd, Lyon’s Melchie Dumornay scored the final goal of the game during the 82nd minute, bringing the full-time score to 2-1.

Lyon has the most UEFA Women’s Champions League titles, and the team is looking to reclaim its title from the 2021-22 season. Arsenal, on the other hand, only won one title in this league back in 2007. 

Both teams are looking to advance to the finals, but Lyon has a leg up on Arsenal based on the results of the semifinal’s first leg. The second leg of the semifinals will be played on Sunday, April 27, at Parc Olympique Lyonnais, where Arsenal will have to work hard to overcome the French crowd and pull ahead of Lyon on aggregate.