Fritz and Rybakina Defend Tie Break Tens Title

Taylor Fritz and Elena Rybakina successfully defended their Eisenhower Cup title in the Tie Break Tens mixed doubles event, capturing a $200,000 prize in a packed stadium at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, this week.

The curtain-raiser match, held ahead of the combined ATP and WTA tournament in the Californian desert, highlighted the fast-paced format of Tie Break Tens, launched in 2015. In this setup, every match unfolds as a single tiebreak, with the first player or team to reach 10 points and lead by two securing victory. The event has drawn top talent over the years, including Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal, offering a high-intensity alternative to traditional tennis.

British coach Jamie Delgado, who previously worked with Andy Murray and now mentors Jack Draper, praised the format as a valuable complement to the sport's longer matches. "Tie Break Tens was the first one, I think, of the fast-format tennis events and since then we've had a few creep in as well, but it's a good thing," Delgado said. "It's not something that's trying to replace traditional tennis, the long matches and normal scorelines. I love the way the sport works in that...