Russia's Medvedev & Ukraine's Svitolina put aside national differences: 3 insider observations from World Tennis League as Eagles & Kites reach final

The World Tennis League in Bengaluru this week has given Indian tennis fans plenty to cheer about, including the success of some local heroes. The exhibition event, boasting the participation of elite players like Daniil Medvedev, Paula Badosa, Denis Shapovalov, Marta Kostyuk, Gael Monfils, Elina Svitolina, Magda Linette and Nick Kyrgios has completed three days of group stage action.

The final will take place on Saturday at the SM Krishna Stadium in the Karnataka capital, contested between the Eagles and Kites. In the first edition of the event taking place in India, the Eagles team is being led by Gael Monfils and Paula Badosa, while Nick Kyrgios and Marta Kostyuk spearhead the Kites camp.

Our Sportskeeda team was on the ground in Bengaluru to catch the tournament live, and take in the exciting action on the court as well as the festive atmosphere in the stands. The fans were treated to the appearance of celebrity guests like Shreyas Iyer, Kartik Aaryan, Ananya Pandey, Kapil Dev and AP Dhillon.

Returning to the tennis side of things, here are 4 notable observations from the 2025 World Tennis League:

#1 Daniil Medvedev and Elina Svitolina put aside Russia-Ukraine differences

On Day 2 of the WTL, the VB Realty Hawks took on the Game Changers Falcons in the second match of the day. It resulted in a commanding 20-16 win for the Falcons, with Daniil Medvedev winning both in singles and men's doubles. Meanwhile, the women's singles contest went Elina Svitolina's way, a 6-2 win for the Hawks.

At the end of the tie, Svitolina and Medvedev could be seen exchanging a friendly hi-five as the teams met for a group greeting. This would not be a notable news for any other set of players, but Svitolina and Medvedev being involved makes it worthy of a headline.

For those unaware, Ukrainian players on the WTA Tour have been refusing to shake the hands of their Russian and Belarusian counterparts since the start of the Russian occupation of Ukraine in 2022. Svitolina is among the most vocal in that regard, even calling for the Olympics to ban players from the two countries in Paris last year.

Under these circumstances, the duo having a cordial reaction in an exhibition tournament, where the nationalities of the players involved are not highlighted, makes for an interesting observation.

#2 Nick Kyrgios' injury status

2024 Australian Open: Previews - Source: Getty

As things stand now, Nick Kyrgios is not on the entry list for the 2026 Australian Open. The Aussie is set to take on Aryna Sabalenka at the Battle of the Sexes in Dubai on December 28, with the speculation that he might take a wildcard for the Melbourne Major afterwards.

However, this week has not been a undeniably positive week for the former World No. 13. He played no singles matches in three rubbers, only appearing in doubles. While Kyrgios showed signs of his natural talent, the lack of singles participation puts a downer on how fit he is to take part in the upcoming Grand Slam.

#3 Daniil Medvedev, Denis Shapovalov & Paula Badosa's form

2025 US Open - Day 1 - Source: Getty

While the results of an exhibition tournament should not be taken too seriously, you would not expect Daniil Medvedev to lose to a player ranked outside the top 500 on any day in any setting. However, that is what happened, in what could only be described as the shock of the WTL 2025.

Dakshineswar Suresh of India, ranked World No. 524 now, beat Medvedev 6-4 on the third day of the event, sending the Kites into the final. In the previous clash on Thursday, the Russian had beaten Denis Shapovalov 6-4, showing positive signs. However, in the opening clash against Gael Monfils, the former World No. 1 had lost 6-3 to Gael Monfils. This puts him 1-2 in terms of sets won/lost, when ideally you would expect him to go 3-0 with relative ease.

Meanwhile, Paula Badosa won one set and lost one set, losing to Magda Linette 6-4 and beating Marta Kostyuk 6-1. Another cause for concern is Denis Shapovalov, who lost to Medvedev, went down 1-6 vs India's Sumit Nagal while beating Suresh 7-5.

Edited by Shyam Kamal