Category: Tennis news

British tennis star Fran Jones has broken her silence after collapsing on court and needing a wheelchair to take her away on Tuesday night. 

The British number five was facing Argentina’s Julia Riera in the first round of the Colsanitas Cup in Bogota, Colombia, when she went to serve at 5-3 down in the third set. 

She failed to complete her service motion before collapsing to the ground as she clutched at her head, needing immediate treatment before being whisked away.

Jones was born without two fingers and three toes due to the rare medical condition Ectrodactyly Ectodermal Dysplasia Syndrome, and was told to forget about playing tennis professionally by doctors. 

But Jones has forged a career for herself and reached the first round at Wimbledon the year, the second time she had done that. Last week, she won the Merida Open in Mexico, a WTA 500 tournament. 

Writing on Instagram on Wednesday, she said: ‘After winning the event in Brazil on Sunday, our total trip took over 24h, with minimal rest and recovery from a long week. 

‘Bogota is renowned for its altitude, and often takes a few days to adapt. Unfortunately upon our arrival Monday afternoon we were unable to practice due to rain and this meant that aside from my low-level pre match warm up, my first exposure to the limited oxygen levels at a high intensity was my match. 

‘As the match went on, I worked hard to give myself the opportunity to stay competitive while trying to get used to the conditions but progressively struggled; blurry vision eventually leading to collapsing, with no cramp having occurred. 

‘Overnight we conducted multiple studies and it seems my heart worked a little too hard on the day but thankfully no longer term impact. 

‘Bogota is one of my favourite events of the year and I hope to reconnect in 2026 under different circumstances. 

‘After a few days rest, I will continue to build on the improvements made to date this season. Thank you for the messages and concern.’

Jones was playing in the Colombian capital of Bogota, which is approximately 2,640 metres above sea level. Significant altitude has caused problems for athletes in the past, although it is currently unknown if this was behind Jones’ struggles.

A statement was released shortly afterwards by the tournament organisers that read: ‘Due to a physical issue, Francesca Jones has withdrawn from her match against Julia Riera at 6-2 5-7 5-3 in favour of the Argentinian.

‘We wish the British tennis player a speedy recovery.’

Jones is currently ranked 129th in the world in women’s singles, and has a career-high ranking of 123 that she achieved last month. 

She has made the first round of Wimbledon on two occasions (in 2021 and 2024), and also featured in the opening round of the Australian Open in 2021.

That said, she is yet to make it past qualifying at the French Open or US Open.

Speaking back in 2021 about how dealing with her medical condition has shaped her, Jones insisted it had only made her mentally stronger.

‘I’ve had experiences that many haven’t at my age, and I think that’s moulded me into the person I am today,’ she said.

‘It will have had an impact on my mental strength and my mentality and mindset as a whole, but I am sure everyone goes through hardship and deals with adversity in their own way. Everyone’s story makes a person who they are.’

Explaining how defying a specialist who had told her she would never play professionally had driven her on, Jones added: ‘His comments played a massive part in my life decisions and career commitments to date.

‘I’ve always wanted to make my parents proud more than anything.’

Jones is friends with fellow Brit Emma Raducanu, and they have played together for Great Britain alongside Katie Boulter in the Billie Jean King Cup.

Jones and Raducanu have also spent time in each other’s company away from the court, and were spotted out for lunch together last summer shortly after Raducanu was knocked out of Wimbledon.

Raducanu had received backlash from tennis fans after withdrawing from the mixed doubles with Andy Murray to bring his Wimbledon career to an abrupt end.

But she had the support of Jones as they took a stroll and dined with one another in London.

Daria Kasatkina’s nationality switch was confirmed on Monday with the WTA rankings now being updated to reflect that the Russian-born tennis star will now represent Australia.

The 27-year-old, who has won eight singles titles on the WTA Tour during her career, had been competing as a neutral athlete prior to this week. But her residency application has now been approved by the Australian govenrment and she will now represent the country on the global stage. 

Kasatkina, who is currently ranked 12th on the WTA Tour, was born in the city of Tolyatti, which is located in Samara Oblast region of Russia.

She has not returned to the country in over two years after the 27-year-old star came out as gay in 2022.

‘Today, the rankings updated, and it’s my first official day as an Australian player,’ Kasatkina said on Monday while speaking to reporters.

She also dropped a few Aussie colloquial terms, referring to members of the media as ‘mates’ in a nod to her new citizenship.

‘Honestly, it feels different, I’m not going to lie. It’s emotional for me. I have to get used to it. But I’m really happy to start this new chapter of my life representing Australia on the big stage.’

Kasatkina had initially announced that she was gay during an interview in 2022. During the clip, she criticised Russia’s attitudes and restrictions on LGBTQ+ rights while also denouncing the war in Ukraine.

During that interview, she said ‘living in the closet is impossible. It is too hard, it is pointless. Living in peace with yourself is the only thing that matters, and f*** everyone else.’

The 27-year-old, who has been going out with figure skater Natalia Zabiiako for nearly three years also said back in 2022 that she would ‘never’ be able to hold her partner’s hand in the street.

But on Monday, she opened up further about her decision to move to Australia, telling reporters: ‘With everything going on in my previous country, I didn’t have much choice [to switch allegiance].’

‘For me, being openly gay, if I want to be myself, I have to make this step, and I did it.

‘I have to get used to it a little bit because, for a couple of years, I didn’t hear anything. But it’s something nice to get used to.’

Kasatkina, who reached the round of 16 at this summer’s Australian Open before being knocked out by Emma Navarro, now has plans to settle in Melbourne.

‘I love being in Melbourne and look forward to making my home there,’ she said.

The tennis star had been splitting her time between Spain and Dubai in recent years but is looking forward to getting settled into life Down Under.

‘Coming to Australia every year, seeing how much support the players from Australia get there — I never experienced something like that in my life,’ she added.

‘It’s going to be emotional, for sure, but I think I’m going to enjoy it.’

After she had announced the news that her residency had been approved on social media, Tennis Australia’s official account commented on the post, saying: ‘Welcome to the Aussie tennis family’.

‘Dasha Down Under! A warm welcome,’ the Australian Open’s official Instagram account added. 

She is not the first tennis player to change nationalities, with Natela Dzalamide and Alexander Shevchenko both switching to represent Georgia and Kazakhstan respectively.

Saville and Arina Rodionova, who were also both born in Russia, have made the switch too, with Saville also commenting on Kasatkina’s Instagram post: ‘New neighbour,’ adding a heart emoji.

Saville had gained Australian citizenship in 2014, with Kasatkina revealing the Aussie keeps sending her recommendations on where to live.

‘She’s non-stop… she keeps sending me some stuff like the apartments and the houses around her location,’ Kasatkina added.

The 27-year-old’s last win on the WTA Tour came in 2024 in Ningbo. Prior to that, she clinched victory in Eastbourne.

Her highest finish at a Grand Slam came in 2022 where she reached the semi-finals at Roland Garros.

Nick Kyrgios has thrown the rumour mill relating to his relationship with his girlfriend Costeen Hatzi into overdrive after some speculation had emerged that the pair had split up. 

The rumours arose after they had both removed each other’s initials from their Instagram bios, while Hatzi had also shared multiple cryptic social media posts.

Hatzi, a social media influencer, appeared to publish a post on TikTok which was captioned: ‘You don’t see your friend in a while and you have to update her on your chaotic life’.

During the video clip, she appeared to mouth the words: ‘Who the f*** did I marry? So at this point in time, I have filed for divorce.’

The phrase had been made famous by another internet star, Reesa Teesa, who had gained fame for publishing videos regarding her divorce.

One follower responded to the video asking: ‘Do you have a broken heart?’

Hatzi replied: ‘No’.

Kyrgios, meanwhile, has published multiple snaps on his Instagram story in recent days, including a picture of a luxury sports car with the caption: ‘Fact of the day… don’t believe everything you read. Stay in your lane.’ He also posted a snap of himself playing with a sausage dog, writing ‘blessed’.

But on Monday, Hatzi published two pictures of herself doing her makeup on Instagram doing her make up.

‘Touch ups,’ she captioned the piece with a ‘dove’ emoji.

Kyrgios responded to the post with a ‘heart-eyes’ emoji, which has ignited more speculation about their relationship on social media.

‘He was apparently scrolling through Insta and saw my business account post,’ she had said.

‘He messaged my business account asking if the mirror was available for pick-up and then messaged my personal [account] asking the same thing.

‘It was a professional/friendly conversation and then he came to pick up the mirror from Sydney.’

Hatzi and Kyrgios are understood to have begun dating back in 2021 and were head-over-heels for each other following their first meeting.

The pair had initially met on the social media platform because Hatzi was selling a mirror online.

‘I had no idea this was all a plan, I literally thought he was buying a mirror. He picked up the mirror and, as he would say: “It was love at first sight,”‘ she added.

The pair would later become official in January 2022 and subsequently moved in together in Sydney.

In the past, Hatzi has been Kyrgios’ No 1 supporter, with the social media influencer regularly being seen cheering on the Aussie tennis sensation while he competes on the ATP Tour.

Kyrgios has endured a difficult few years battling back from undergoing surgery on a serious wrist injury that saw him miss nearly all of the 2024 tennis season.

The 29-year-old has since returned to the court but has continued to battle against injuries, notably being hampered by an abdomen strain at the Australian Open, before struggling with his wrist in recent months – notably withdrawing from his clash against Botic van de Zandschulp at Indian Wells.

In Miami, Kyrgios claimed his first ATP Tour singles victory since he underwent surgery on his wrist, beating Mackenzie McDonald at the Miami Open. He would later be knocked out in the second round by Karen Khachanov.

Hatzi, meanwhile, has this year been spotted supporting her beau from the sidelines of the court during his practice sessions this season.

Costeen Hatzi has fuelled intrigue over reports she has split from Aussie tennis star Nick Kyrgios by sharing cryptic social media posts including one saying she is ‘divorced’ – and the tennis star has also had his say. 

Rumours of the couple’s split emerged over the weekend with Hatzi returning from the United States without Kyrgios and scrubbing her social media profiles of almost all references to the 29-year-old.

Previously, the couple had each other’s initials in the bio of their Instagram profiles. They have been removed as well.  

Now Hatzi appears to have confirmed there is trouble in paradise by taking to social media with some thinly veiled swipes at Kyrgios. 

Hatzi, a popular influencer and cosmetics expert, initially addressed the situation indirectly via TikTok. 

She captioned her update, ‘You don’t see your friend in a while and you have to update her on your chaotic life.’ 

The clip shows Hatzi mouthing the words, ‘Part 37. Who the f*** did I marry? So at this point in time, I have filed for divorce.’ 

The person who originally said those words was a woman known as Reesa Teesa went viral on TikTok with a 52-part series detailing her relationship, marriage, and divorce from a man she described as a pathological liar full of red flags.

Since then, it has become adopted by women across the social media platform breaking up with their partners.  

An anonymous follower also asked, ‘Do you have a broken heart?’.

Hatzi replied simply, ‘No’.

The other woman in the video is Golda Mansour, Hatzi’s close friend, a Sydney-based TikTok creator known for her lifestyle and self-improvement content, and the sister of former NRL star Josh Mansour.

Mansour interjected with ‘bare minimum’, another popular trend calling out dating standards, and captioned the video, ‘Gotta keep them in check at all times.’

Meanwhile, Kyrgios appeared to downplay reports of their split on his own social media. 

Posting upon his return to Australia, he wrote ‘blessed’ alongside an image cuddling a dog. 

Kyrgios later uploaded another Instagram story featuring a luxury sports car, captioned cryptically, ‘Fact of the day… don’t believe everything you read. Stay in your lane.’

The couple’s high-profile relationship began after Kyrgios messaged Hatzi about a mirror she was selling on Instagram in late 2021. 

Their connection quickly escalated, becoming official in January 2022. Hatzi once described their bond as ‘love at first sight,’ and the pair rapidly moved in together in Sydney.

Throughout their relationship, Hatzi became a constant presence on tour, notably supporting Kyrgios through significant tournaments and injury recoveries. 

Her influence reportedly stabilised the often-controversial tennis star, with his manager Daniel Horsfall noting, ‘[Costeen] lifts him up and gives him motivation and inspiration.’

Yet, despite their public unity, insiders reported recent issues relating to lifestyle differences. 

A source close to the pair told The Daily Telegraph, ‘Nick is a party boy. He always has been.’ Another added, ‘She would have to be willing to accept how he rolls, and she won’t anymore.’

Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios and his longtime partner, influencer Costeen Hatzi, have reportedly parted ways after more than three years together.

The pair have been the glamour couple of Australian sport for almost four year, however behind the scenes, things were reportedly unravelling. 

According to News Corp, the pair had started growing apart, with lifestyle differences at the heart of the split.

‘Nick is a party boy,’ one insider told The Daily Telegraph. ‘He always has been.’ 

Another added, ‘She would have to be willing to accept how he rolls and she won’t anymore.’

Signs of trouble surfaced recently when both removed each other’s initials from their Instagram bios. 

Hatzi, 24, also returned to Australia from the US, where she had been staying with Kyrgios, suggesting a definitive break.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted both Kyrgios and Hatzi for comment.

The couple first met in late 2021 through Instagram when Kyrgios contacted Hatzi about a mirror she was selling. 

What started as a simple message quickly evolved into a serious romance, with the pair going public in January 2022.

Hatzi later described their connection as ‘love at first sight.’ By May that year, the couple had moved in together, sharing a Sydney apartment.

Throughout their relationship, Hatzi, a Sydney-based influencer and psychology graduate from Australian Catholic University, became a familiar face on the international tennis circuit. 

She followed Kyrgios across Europe, the UK, and the US, supporting him at various tournaments.

In 2023, their bond appeared stronger than ever. They adopted a dachshund puppy named Boo, with Hatzi posting a photo captioned ‘my family’ on Instagram.

Despite Kyrgios battling injuries and missing the Australian Open two years in a row, Hatzi stood by him through rehabilitation and surgeries. 

In January 2025, she expressed her pride on the Today Show, saying, ‘I’ve waited so long and I’m super proud of him to get to this point.’

Just months ago, they were dubbed one of Australian tennis’ most iconic couples. 

Hatzi had grown from someone unfamiliar with the sport to a committed supporter, frequently seen courtside.

In Netflix’s docuseries Break Point, she admitted, ‘I never really watched a tennis game in my life, so yeah, this is all new for me.’

Despite her lack of tennis knowledge, Hatzi embraced the lifestyle and was often credited with having a positive influence on Kyrgios.

‘I’ve seen him in previous relationships, and they perhaps were taking him in the other direction,’ Kyrgios’ manager Daniel Horsfall told ESPN. 

‘[Costeen] lifts him up and gives him motivation and inspiration, and she’s just a great partner to him.’

Earlier this year, Hatzi opened up to 9honey about her daily life on tour with Kyrgios, describing a routine that included breakfast, training sessions, and downtime at the player’s lounge. 

‘In my day-to-day life, Nick’s just my boyfriend,’ she said at the time.

She also reflected on the surreal moments of dating a global tennis star.

‘And then I go to his practice and there’s so many cameras… and I’m like, ‘Oh, you’re actually a really good tennis player too.’

While the pair shared many light-hearted moments, including a cheeky viral clip where Hatzi jokingly called a fellow WAG a ‘b**ch’ during a fashion brand interview, there were signs of mounting pressure.

Hatzi previously shared that she handled all the cleaning duties at home. ‘Nick doesn’t have to worry about that,’ she said.

Though fiercely competitive, she acknowledged that no one matched Kyrgios’ level of intensity. 

‘I don’t think that anyone is as competitive as Nick,’ she said in January.

As an influencer and businesswoman, Hatzi worked with brands like Bondi Sands and said she wasn’t bothered by the ‘WAG’ label often attached to her. 

‘It doesn’t really bother me — I am there to support Nick — but I do my own thing as well,’ she said.

The split comes as Kyrgios attempts to return to top form after a long injury layoff.

At the Miami Open, he secured his first tour-level win since 2022, defeating Mackenzie McDonald. 

However, his run was cut short by Karen Khachanov, who dominated in straight sets.

Kyrgios’ frustration boiled over during the match, resulting in a warning from the umpire after he smashed a ball high into the stands.

Canadian tennis star Gabriela Dabrowski offered a surprising outlook on her cancer battle as she nears the one-year anniversary of her diagnosis. 

Dabrowski won a Bronze medal at the Olympics in Paris last summer just months after being diagnosed with breast cancer. 

The 32-year-old received the life-changing news last April but chose to keep her diagnosis a secret from the rest of the world until on New Year’s Eve when she penned an emotional statement on Instagram. 

Having first found a lump in the spring of 2023, which she was told was nothing to worry about, she had a scan a year later and was informed she had cancer.

‘I don’t regret what the doctor told me then [in 2023], because I’m really happy with how my year turned out, what I learned, what I experienced,’ she told Olympics.com as she spoke out on her journey last week. ‘It’s an acknowledgment that cancer is something really messed up and it can be very scary.’ 

Unbeknownst to her fans, Dabrowski initially delayed treatment to continue competing on the court before taking unannounced time away from the tour for surgery.

Dabrowski did not play a match in April and May but returned in June, winning her first tournament back with partner Erin Routliffe in Nottingham.

She competed at Wimbledon where she and the New Zealander finished as runners-up, while the pair ended the season by winning the WTA Finals, leaving Dabrowski ranked third in the world.

In Paris in August, Dabrowski walked away from the Olympic Games with a bronze medal, having partnered fellow Canadian and men’s singles world No 19 Felix Auger-Aliassime in the mixed doubles.

And, reflecting on the past year, Dabrowski said that her diagnosis has changed her outlook on life, surprisingly, for the better. 

‘Cancer had to happen to me; something had to shake me, and cancer did that,’ she told Olympics.com.

‘It shook me. It’s not to say that I wasn’t grateful for my life before, or the people in it, or the experiences in life that I lead. But it was something bigger, because it really shook me to my core of what it meant to be alive, what it meant to play a sport for a living.’

In her bombshell post in December, Dabrowski revealed that she underwent two surgeries on the cancer at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, and just weeks before playing at Wimbledon couldn’t lift her left arm.

In the Instagram post, she revealed that her coach Patrick was ‘tossing the ball for me on my serve’.

Incredibly, she went on to compete in Nottingham, Wimbledon and at the Olympics, winning the former, reaching the final at SW19 and then getting bronze in Paris.

From there, she went on to have radiation treatment and endocrine therapy, before incredibly going on to win the WTA Finals and end the year as No. 3 in the world.

‘It all seems surreal,’ she wrote. ‘Why am I sharing my story now? For a long time I wasn’t ready to expose myself to the possible attention and questions I’d have gotten before. 

‘I wanted to figure everything out and handle things privately with only those closest to me in the loop.

‘There were so many unknowns and so much learning and research to be done. Currently I’m in a place where I have a better grasp of my treatment, side effects and how to manage them.’

She went on to explain: ‘My intentions in sharing some of my experience are to emphasise the quality of life one can maintain when cancer is detected early, when you have access to doctors and other health care practitioners who are highly skilled and dedicated to their craft, when you take care of your mental, physical and spiritual wellbeing, and when you surround yourself with people who truly have your back (and your front).’

Dabrowski also revealed that ‘losing everything I’d worked for my entire life was a real possibility’.

The tennis star also paid tribute to her doubles partner Routliffe, who she reached the semifinals of the Australian Open with in January. 

Revealing her gratitude for ‘what I had’, she thanked her ‘loving parents and friends, amazing coaches, a doubles partner who stuck by me, a real team, and access to health care experts’.

In conclusion, she wrote: ‘To cancer I say f*** you, but also, thank you.’ 

Sharp as a razor in his slim-fitting suit, Max England tells Mail Sport a tale that begins with defeat by Dan Evans on the tennis court and ends with a seat at Lord’s Sugar’s boardroom table – and the most famous index finger in Britain pointing squarely at his temple.

Professional tennis player turned Apprentice candidate England was fired by Lord Sugar on Thursday night after losing out by 300-odd quid in a TV shopping channel task. With two weeks to go before he had the chance to present his padel business plan to Lord Sugar, it was the equivalent of a five-set defeat in a Wimbledon quarter-final.

Reflecting on the Apprentice, his life in tennis and the UK’s newest sporting addiction, England meets up with Mail Sport at Padium padel centre in London’s Canary Wharf.

England fell in love with tennis aged eight and was a good enough prospect to be backed by the Lawn Tennis Association, moving to train at the high performance centre in Bath aged 15.

He balanced school with travelling to international events, staying in Bath for his business degree, and crossed paths with many who have gone on to excellent careers.

‘Marcus Willis (he of the fairytale run through qualifying to face Roger Federer on Centre Court) was training in Bath at the same time as me,’ says England. ‘I used to compete against Billy Harris (world No 107) regularly. I played Kyle Edmund in the juniors.’

When did he realise he did not quite have what it takes to become a top professional?

‘I have a vivid recollection of that moment,’ the 31-year-old replies.

‘You need to be top 150 to be making a real living and at the time, I’d have been 22 or 23, I still thought that was possible.

‘Then I played Dan Evans in a Futures event and it was the first match when the ball was just taken out of my hand.

‘My game style was a very good serve and a big forehand – dominate play, on my terms. When I played Dan, he took that away from me.

‘It wasn’t a complete whitewash, it was one break in each set, but for me it was very obvious there were two or three more gears, at least, in his game.

‘I left humbled and also thankful that I’d been balancing my education alongside tennis.’

England went all in on business and after working in E-commerce he caught the padel bug which is becoming endemic in the UK.

The game is a hybrid between tennis and squash, played on a shrunken tennis court encompassed by walls, and with chunky bats dotted with holes. The lack of an overarm serve and the smaller area make padel substantially easier to pick up than tennis.

Andy Murray and Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk are investors in a padel company. Pep Guardiola had courts installed at Manchester City’s training ground; Lionel Messi has one at his house. David Beckham is a fan.

In the UK in 2019 there were 50 courts and 6,000 players; last year there were 763 courts and 235,000 players.

‘I started as an enthusiast and the more I played the more I recognized the size of the opportunity,’ says England. ‘It’s a super inclusive sport: as long as you have some basic coordination you can have a really fun game.

‘My vision is a premium centre with really good coaching to help youngsters get into higher levels of the game, as well as being a venue for people to play and then have coffee or beers afterwards, somewhere people would start to build relationships.’

Talking of relationships, the latest craze is padel dating.

‘A good friend of mine is running one and she’s selling out almost immediately,’ says England. ‘It’s like speed dating: eight guys, eight girls and then you rotate courts and play with different people.’

With his own range of MaxPadel bats already on the market England plans to open his first centre soon – and decided to chase investment in front of five million eyeballs on the BBC every week.

‘At first it was, Oh, that would be a fun experience,’ he says. ‘It was kind of tongue in cheek. Let’s apply and see how I get on.

‘In the background I was already devising a business plan and it just felt like it was manifested into existence. It sounds silly but there was just an overwhelming sense, even from the get go, that I’m gonna be on The Apprentice.’

Out of 80,000 applicants England was chosen as one of 18 and thrust headfirst into reality TV.

Mild mannered and softly spoken, he is not your typical pugnacious Apprentice candidate.

He was pleasantly surprised at how well he got on with the other candidates. He bonded with Mia Collins (a bodybuilder) and Frederick Afrifa (a junior sprint champion) over their athletic backgrounds and they are still in touch.

‘I knew there’d be some big characters in there,’ says England. ‘When you’ve had a big boardroom battle you’ve got to go and have dinner with that person, that can be hard to handle. But there was a mutual respect and understanding of: you do what you’ve got to do to win but at the end of the day we’re human beings and everyone was really respectful of that.’

There is no sport that could prepare one better than tennis for intense competition followed by collegiate friendship as soon as the match is over.

‘It’s not about being best friends with the person but it’s about being respectful. You see that with Roger and Rafa, with Lando Norris and Max Verstappen on Drive to Survive.

‘That’s where sport and business go hand in hand: you have to compartmentalize. You have to move on from failure quickly.’

To make another analogy, the life of a tennis player is peculiar, with non-stop travel and times of deep loneliness – but nothing compared to the weirdness of the Apprentice.

For several months candidates were holed up in Mansfield House, a £16million mansion in Hampstead, sleeping in dorm-style rooms and – England reveals – there was almost no contact with the outside world.

‘You don’t have a phone,’ he says. ‘There are allocated times to speak to family but it’s out of your hands. I got married two weeks before and I had limited access to speak to my wife. That was challenging.

‘One of the most frequent questions I get asked is, do you really get 20 minutes to get ready when you’re woken up in the morning of a task? Yes! These are long, hard days working in intense environments, a little bit sleep deprived as well.’

Each week the candidates are allowed out for their various tasks and then called back for a boardroom showdown with Lord Sugar.

‘Lord Sugar is very much what you see is what you get,’ says England. ‘He’s a no nonsense guy. If he tells you, you’ve got 30 seconds to tell me why I shouldn’t fire you and you fluff your lines, you’re in trouble. It is intimidating.’

More intimidating than facing Dan Evans across the net?

‘The boardroom was probably more intense,’ replies England with a laugh. ‘Tennis was my bread and butter whereas no one has gone to Lord Sugar’s boardroom before. It’s all very new, everyone is gunning for the investment.’

England may have missed out on the £250,000 windfall but he is determined to prove Lord Sugar has missed out by not getting in on the padel bonanza.

‘It was an amazing, surreal experience,’ says England. ‘I don’t feel there’s any more I could have done to articulate myself better or fight my cause. I’m really proud of that.

‘The way I look at it is: it’s a privilege. Not many people can say they’ve been fired by Lord Sugar on The Apprentice!’

Not many can say they have lost a pro tennis match to Dan Evans, either. And surely only one man on earth can say he has done both.

Emma Raducanu’s run at the Miami Open is over as she suffered an attack of dizziness during a 6-4, 6-7, 6-2 defeat by No4 seed Jessica Pegula in the quarter-finals.

The 22-year-old was chasing her first title since winning the 2021 US Open but was beaten by a high-class player in a high-class match.

Raducanu’s previous two rounds involved her opponents taking medical timeouts but this time it was her with the physical issues, as she suffered with dizziness and received treatment late in the second set. From 2-0 in the tiebreak she played some of her best tennis of the match to level the scores but Pegula ran away with the deciding set.

‘I just felt really dizzy,’ Raducanu said. ‘I felt faint. It was very humid out there and we had a long wait, so maybe it was just an accumulation, physical points as well with long rallies and heavy conditions. I don’t know how I kind of regrouped in that second set but in the third I definitely struggled a little bit.’

The long wait Raducanu referenced was due to an extended schedule caused by Tuesday’s rain. The Alexander Zverev v Arthur Fils match was carried over to leave five matches on the main court. Given this, what possessed the Miami organisers to start play as late as 1pm? Raducanu’s match finished at 11.25pm and, due to a new ATP directive whereby a match cannot start after 11pm, Novak Djokovic’s quarter-final against Sebastian Korda was held over until Thursday. Boos rang out when the decision to cancel the marquee match of the day was announced.

Earlier in this busiest of days, the stakes for Raducanu’s quarter-final were raised even higher by the stunning upset of world No2 Iga Swiatek by wildcard Alexandra Eala.

The 19-year-old Filipino has been the star of the fortnight and is playing some extraordinary tennis – but the chance to take on the world No140 in a 1000-series semi-final was a mouth-watering prospect for Raducanu and Pegula.

Pegula is a highly aggressive player who keeps her shoes on the baseline and goes flat and hard off both wings. It was vital therefore that Raducanu maintain an offensive style of her own to shift Pegula out of her strike zone and by and large she did that well – as she did in beating the 31-year-old in Eastbourne last year.

The slice backhand from Raducanu was highly effective, as it has been all week. It is not an especially common tactic in the women’s game and that makes it all the more potent; Pegula looked uncomfortable having to scoop up the low ball and when she followed it into the net was often picked off by a Raducanu pass.

In the deciding set Raducanu’s physical issues did not appear to be hampering her too much but even a slight drop was always going to be terminal against a player of Pegula’s class.

The fitness is still a work in progress – as shown by the issues in this match – but the appointment of trainer Yutaka Nakamura is clearly beginning to bear fruit; this was the first time since her US Open title that Raducanu had won more than three matches at one event.

Having split with coach Vlado Platenik after just two weeks on the eve of the event Raducanu brought in Mark Petchey, with whom she has worked before, as a temporary solution.

When the camera panned to her coaching box it was noticeable how often Petchey was grinning – as if he still could not quite believe that a tournament he began as a Tennis Channel pundit ended as the coach of a quarter-finalist.

That relaxed aura he exuded has been a feature of the scratch team Raducanu has assembled this week, with Petchey and Nakamura plus her childhood mentor Jane O’Donoghue.

Raducanu has started well in most of her matches and she put that down to her team’s regular pre-match Spikeball duels. You may have seen the volleyball-style game in parks on sunny weekends: teams of two bounce a ball with their hands into the mini-trampoline.

‘The first section of this year, I would be so locked in,’ Raducanu said this week. ‘Every warm-up would be an hour long. By the time I played the match I was quite tired. That’s something that we adjusted this week, bringing more fun elements into it, shortening certain things, and adding things that are outside the box.’

Raducanu has operated in a kind of flow state this fortnight and her loose, aggressive ballstriking has been reminiscent of her Grand Slam title run.

She must now decide whether to try to tempt Petchey away from his commentary day job to become her permanent coach. But even if that is not the way she goes, she has learned valuable lessons about how to get the best out of herself.

‘Despite losing today I can take good positives from this week,’ Raducanu said. ‘It was just nice to have that feeling of playing pretty well again, I think that’s been missing. And also just fighting and competitive spirit, that’s something I drew out of myself this week and it was refreshing and nice to have that feeling on the court again.’