Indian-origin tennis player Nishesh Basavareddy caused the first major upset of the French Open as he stunned seventh-seeded American Taylor Fritz in the opening round in Paris.

Wild card entrant Basavareddy, an American citizen now, beat world number nine Fritz 7-6(5), 7-6(5), 6-7(9), 6-1 in a gruelling match that lasted two hours and 45 minutes on Sunday to reach the second round.

The 21-year-old, whose parents moved to the USA from Nellore in Andhra Pradesh in 1999, became the first American man to beat a top-10 opponent at Roland Garros since Jan-Michael Gambill eliminated then-World No. 8 Nicolas Kiefer in 2000.

He was aggressive early, using plenty of drop shots and his backhand down the line. He also withstood 71 winners from Fritz, hitting 51 of his own to claim the first Top-10 victory of his career.

Basavareddy had played just five tour-level matches this season when he walked on court against Fritz.

He will face another young American Alex Michelsen in the second round.

A meltdown notwithstanding, Ilya Ivashka managed to come out on top in his semifinal outing against Hamish Stewart at the S.M. Krishna Memorial Open ATP Challenger tennis here on Friday (May 22, 2026).

Trailing 3-4 in the second set, Ivashka was furious when the chair umpire overruled a line call in favour of Stewart. 

Ivashka, who had hit the last shot of the rally into the net, was convinced that the deuce point must be replayed. The umpire, however, awarded the point to Stewart, citing that the original ‘out’ call from the linesperson did not affect Ivashka’s shot. 

“No! No! No chance!,” Ivashka screamed at the top of his lungs.

Ivashka sat in his chair and demanded to see the supervisor, who agreed with the umpire’s decision. 

Ivashka reluctantly went back to the court, going on to lose the second set 3-6. The Belarus player exchanged verbal volleys with the supervisor — seated in the stands — on his way out of the court. 

The short break before the third set allowed Ivashka to regroup. The 32-year-old stayed focussed on the job, completing a 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 win over third-seed Stewart. 

Ivashka will face fourth-seed Petr Bar Biryukov in the singles final on Friday. 

In the doubles semifinals, the Indian pair of Adil Kalyanpur and Mukund Sasikumar took out Charles Barry (Ireland) and Joshua Charlton (Australia) 6-4, 6-3. 

Niki Poonacha and Saketh Myneni, who won the Karnataka Open last week, fell to Biryukov and Grigoriy Lomakin.

The results (Semifinals): Ilya Ivashka bt Hamish Stewart (GBR) 6-3, 3-6, 6-2; Petr Bar Biryukov bt Alastair Gray (GBR) 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(5).

Doubles: Adil Kalyanpur & Mukund Sasikumar bt Charles Barry (Irl) & Joshua Charlton (Aus) 6-4, 6-3; Petr Bar Biryukov & Grigoriy Lomakin (Kaz) bt Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha & Saketh Myneni 6-3, 6-4.

Mukund Sasikumar was handed a great chance to seal a semifinal berth at the S.M. Krishna Memorial Open here on Thursday, but he failed to capitalise on it. 

In the middle of the third set, his opponent Alastair Gray called for a medical time out. Weighed down by a troublesome back, Gray moved gingerly when he came back to the court.  

Sasikumar would have liked to keep the rallies going long to trouble an injured Gray, but a slew of unforced errors damaged his chances. With nothing to lose, second seed Gray went on the offensive, ripping one-handed down-the-line backhand winners to stay afloat. 

An animated Sasikumar (world no. 524) exclaimed loudly after every good play, but it was the fighting Briton who prevailed 6-2, 5-7, 7-6(3). 

Gray will face fourth seed Petr Bar Biryukov in the semifinal on Friday. 

The results: Quarterfinals: Alastair Gray (GBR) bt Mukund Sasikumar 6-2, 5-7, 7-6(3); Hamish Stewart (GBR) bt Ognjen Milic (Ser) 6-2, 6-1; Petr Bar Biryukov bt Mitsuki Wei Kang Leong (Mas) 6-2, 5-7, 6-3; Ilya Ivashka bt Alex Hernandez (Mex) 6-1, 6-2. 

A clinical Keegan Smith outclassed Philip Sekulic 6-2, 7-5 in the final to emerge as the Karnataka Open ATP Challenger singles champion at the S.M. Krishna Tennis Stadium here on Saturday (May 16, 2026). 

The Indian duo of Niki Poonacha and Saketh Myneni took top honours in doubles, defeating Petr Bar Biryukov-Grigoriy Lomakin 6-2, 6-3 in the summit clash.

The unseeded Poonacha-Myneni notched up a first tournament win together. The occasion was particularly sweet for Poonacha, who claimed a maiden Challenger title in his home city. 

“We decided to play together just last week,” 38-year-old Myneni said. 

Myneni stated that the pairing worked well because Poonacha’s aggressive game complements his measured style. 

Poonacha and Myneni took home $2,980 and 50 ATP points. 

In the singles, Smith’s all-round game won the day. The 6’7” American showed fantastic court coverage to frustrate Sekulic (world no. 357). When top-seed Smith came to the net, his soft touch — evidenced by a delicious backhand half-volley in the first set — drew applause from the crowd. 

Sekulic’s electric forehand, which worked so well in his semifinal win over Kriish Tyagi, could not find the mark on Saturday. Smith (world no. 289) did not make it easy either, keeping his returns deep and flat. 

Smith claimed $9,500 and 50 ATP ranking points, while Sekulic collected $5,500 and 25 ATP points.

The results (final): Keegan Smith (USA) bt Philip Sekulic (Aus) 6-2, 7-5. 

Doubles: Niki Poonacha & Saketh Myneni bt Petr Bar Biryukov & Grigoriy Lomakin (Kaz) 6-2, 6-3. 

The Karnataka Open ATP Challenger tennis tournament, which commences at the S.M. Krishna Tennis Stadium here on Monday, offers a chance for Indian players to earn valuable ranking points.

The likes of sixth-seed Karan Singh, Sidharth Rawat, Prajwal Dev and Sasikumar Mukund will look to use this week-long home tournament — the first of back-of-back Challenger events that will be held at this venue — to make stirring runs and rise up the ATP ladder. 

Maan Kesharwani, Dev Javia and Krish Tyagi have been handed main draw wild cards. 

Formerly known as the ATP Bengaluru Challenger, this tournament carries a prize purse of $63,000.

American Keegan Smith, now at a career best ranking of 289, has been given top billing. Scotland’s Hamish Stewart (world no. 328) and Russian Petr Bar (world no. 337) are two other top contenders. 

In doubles, the Niki Poonacha and Saketh Myneni combo stands out as one of the most experienced teams in the draw.

The top tennis players are already upset they’re not receiving a bigger share of tournament revenues at the French Open. Now they’re hoping Wimbledon and the U.S. Open respond to their demands, according to Jannik Sinner.

Fellow No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka said this week the players should consider a boycott.

“It’s more about respect. Because I think we give much more than what we are getting back,” Sinner said on Thursday at the Italian Open. “It’s not only for the top players; it’s for all of us players.”

Sinner wouldn’t commit to a boycott.

“It’s tough to say,” he said. “I cannot predict the future in a way. But in the same time I also believe that somewhere we need to start.”

The players have targeted the upcoming French Open for reducing players’ share of revenue to an alleged 15% — compared to the 22% at ATP and WTA events like the Italian Open this week.

The same group of players sent a letter a year ago to the heads of the four Grand Slams seeking more prize money and a greater say in decision-making. Wimbledon increased its 2025 total pot by 7%, the U.S. Open by 20% and the Australian Open in January by 16%.

“It’s not nice that after one year we are not even close to conclusion of what we would like to have,” Sinner said. “I truly believe that within 48 hours you have not only a response but you also have a meeting.”

French Open organisers announced last month they were increasing overall prize money by about 10% for an overall pot of €61.7 million ($72.1 million), with the total amount up €5.3 million from last year. But the players’ statement said “the underlying figures tell a very different story,” claiming they will receive a smaller share of tournament revenues.

The players claim their share of Roland Garros revenue has declined from 15.5% in 2024 to 14.9% projected in 2026.

Wimbledon has not yet announced its prize money for this year.

“I think in the next couple of weeks we know also the prize money we’re going to have in Wimbledon. We truly hope that it’s going to be better. Then, of course, U.S. Open,” Sinner said.

Including profit sharing and an end-of-the-year bonus pool, men’s players actually get about 30% of the share of revenues at ATP Tour events like the Italian Open.

“We’ve been quiet for a long time and now the time has come to raise our voice,” Sinner added in Italian. “We’re not asking for 50% — we wouldn’t even dare — but right now we’re getting too little.”

French Open organizers have not responded to requests for comment.

Novak Djokovic announced in January he was cutting ties with the Professional Tennis Players Association he co-founded, and that sued the sport’s governing bodies last year.

And while the 24-time Grand Slam champion said he has not been involved in the current player protest, he said the “players know that they’ll always have my support.

“The new generations are coming up,” Djokovic added. “I’m glad that there is willingness from the leaders of our sport, like Sabalenka, to really step up and really understand the dynamics of how the tennis politics works and understand the nuances and really what needs to be done not only for her benefit and well-being, but for everyone.”

One of the big issues affecting tennis governance was that there were seven organizing bodies: The four Grand Slams, ATP, WTA and International Tennis Federation.

“Tennis, as any big global sport, is a big business,” Djokovic said. “It needs to be approached from all sides with willingness to work together and figure out what the formula is.”