1. Intro

Hello everybody and welcome to Talkn Tennis. The only tennis podcast you need to be listening to to get all your tennis headlines, results and well informed unbiased opinions. Don't forget to follow us on X @TalknTennis to get all of our unfiltered opinions. I'm your host, they call me Adam the Animal and I'm joined by my two partners in crime: firstly the man who has made history by becoming the first person to retire from tennis to take on a full-time job as a volleyball coach, its Chrisy P, how are you Chris. Secondly the man whose playing days were cut short prematurely leaving him with a tennis career made up of more knee surgeries than tennis trophies its Vargos, how are you Adrian.

1. Life Updates
2. Headlines

Vera Zvonareva Falls Short in Comeback Final: The 41-year-old Russian's fairytale run at the ITF W100 in Dubai ended in the final on Sunday losing to 20 -year-old Croatian rising star Petra Marčinko in straight sets (3-6, 3-6). Another comeback on the cards with reports last week that Serena Williams had re-entered the doping testing pool, which immediately sparked speculation about a potential 2026 return to tennis. However, the legend was quick to shut down those rumors, issuing a statement on X denying any plans to return to professional competition.

The ATP tennis awards were handed out this week Carlos Alcaraz & Andrey Rublev Win ATP Awards. Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award: Carlos Alcaraz (his second time winning). Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award: Andrey Rublev, honored for his foundation work. Doubles Players Request Denied Around 100 doubles players had a request to the ATP to self-fund and manage their own Instagram account was denied by the ATP. The players offered to self-fund the initiative.

• Vera Zvonareva Falls Short in Comeback Final: The 41-year-old Russian's fairytale run at the ITF W100 in Dubai ended in the final on Sunday. She lost to 20-year-old Croatian rising star Petra Marčinko in straight sets (3-6, 3-6). Despite the loss, it was Zvonareva's first singles final in five years

• Speaking of comebacks, Serena Williams "Comeback" Rumors Swirl and Fade. Last week, reports emerged that Serena Williams had re-entered the doping testing pool, which immediately sparked speculation about a potential 2026 return to tennis. However, the legend was quick to shut down those rumors, issuing a statement on X denying any plans to return to professional competition. Under tennis anti-doping rules, a retired player must make themselves available for testing for six months before they're allowed to compete in a professional tournament.

• Doubles Players Request Denied Around 100 doubles players had a request to the ATP to self-fund and manage their own Instagram account was denied by the ATP. The players offered to self-fund the initiative, with pledges of around $2,000 per player to hire professional social media managers and content creators to run the page, rather than asking the ATP for money. The story gained traction after Calvin Betton (coach of Wimbledon doubles champion Henry Patten) revealed the details during an appearance on the Chip & Charge tennis podcast. He expressed frustration that the ATP seemingly has "zero marketing for doubles" and is solely focused on the Sinner vs. Alcaraz rivalry, yet blocked the players' attempt to fill that gap themselves.

• Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship