INSIDER
Rafael Nadal withdraws from Indian Wells. It would have been his first tournament since January
Read full article: Rafael Nadal withdraws from Indian Wells. It would have been his first tournament since JanuaryRafael Nadal has pulled out of the BNP Paribas Open a day before he was supposed to play his first official match in two months.
Can too many tennis ball changes cause injuries? Players think so. The tours are checking
Read full article: Can too many tennis ball changes cause injuries? Players think so. The tours are checkingPro tennis players have been wondering aloud whether arm injuries in their sport are related to the week-to-week changing of the tennis balls used by tournaments.
The US Open is filled with players making comebacks from retirement, pregnancy or injury
Read full article: The US Open is filled with players making comebacks from retirement, pregnancy or injuryThe 2023 U.S. Open features several players who have made comebacks to tennis after being away for a while.
Barty goes distance, tops Azarenka to reach Miami quarters
Read full article: Barty goes distance, tops Azarenka to reach Miami quartersAshleigh Barty of Australia, returns to Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, during the Miami Open tennis tournament, Monday, March 29, 2021, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)MIAMI โ Ash Barty is tough to beat under any circumstances, especially when sheโs on the ropes. The worldโs top-ranked player has reached the Miami Open quarterfinals, getting there by holding off 14th-seeded Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 6-1, 1-6, 6-2. This, too, was cool: The match lived up to its showdown potential, with the reigning Miami Open champion and current world No. 1 in Barty facing someone who has won the Miami title three times and a previous world No. Svitolina will play unseeded Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia in the quarters; Sevastova was a 6-1, 7-5 winner over wild-card Ana Konjuh of Croatia.
Injured Djokovic advances to quarters at Australian Open
Read full article: Injured Djokovic advances to quarters at Australian OpenSerbia's Novak Djokovic hits a backhand return to Canada's Milos Raonic during their fourth round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Feb. 14, 2021. For anyone curious about the severity of his injury, he put it into context after qualifying for the Australian Open quarterfinals for the 12th time. The eight-time Australian Open champion planned to spend most of the next two days recovering ahead of his quarterfinal against sixth-seeded Alexander Zverev. โIf youโre here, itโs for a reason - thereโs no doubt about it,โ Dimitrov said after his 6-4, 6-4, 6-0 win. AdAnd not since Patrick McEnroe โ Johnโs brother โ in 1991 has a man ranked as low as 114th made it to the Australian Open quarterfinals.
The Latest: Djokovic beats Raonic, reaches QFs in Australia
Read full article: The Latest: Djokovic beats Raonic, reaches QFs in AustraliaAdHe said: โIf itโs any other tournament than a Grand Slam, then Iโd withdraw from that event, thatโs for sure. Defending champion Novak Djokovic has started his fourth-round match against Milos Raonic at the Australian Open. He'll play either U.S. Open champion Dominic Thiem or Grigor Dimitrov next and he says he doesn't have a preference. Their match is to be followed by eight-time Australian Open champion Djokovic against 2016 Wimbledon finalist Milos Raonic โ assuming Djokovic decides he can play. Other men in action include reigning U.S. Open champion Dominic Thiem and the man he beat in that final, Alexander Zverev.
Djokovic not sure if he can keep playing at Australian Open
Read full article: Djokovic not sure if he can keep playing at Australian OpenSerbia's Novak Djokovic celebrates after defeating United States' Talyor Fritz in their third round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Feb. 13, 2021. So I donโt know if Iโll manage to recover from that in less than two days. I donโt know. Letโs be honest.โThis setback dropped Fritz's career record in third-round matches at Grand Slam tournaments to 0-6. I just want to make it to the fourth round," Fritz said.
Djokovic holds off Tiafoe; Venus hobbles out in Australia
Read full article: Djokovic holds off Tiafoe; Venus hobbles out in AustraliaSerbia's Novak Djokovic makes a forehand return to United States' Frances Tiafoe during their second round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021. 1, had never beaten anyone in the Top 5, and now he'd just won a tiebreaker against Novak Djokovic to level their second-round match at the Australian Open. But it wasn't quite enough to beat the eight-time Australian Open champion, who won the 3 1/2-hour afternoon match 6-3, 6-7 (3), 7-6 (2), 6-3. AdAnother U.S. Open champion, Naomi Osaka, needed only an hour to sweep Caroline Garcia 6-2, 6-3. 29 Ugo Humbert 5-7, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (2), 6-4 in a rollicking night cap full of turns and twists.
Serena Williams, Osaka drawn in same half at Australian Open
Read full article: Serena Williams, Osaka drawn in same half at Australian OpenUnited States' Serena Williams makes a forehand return to compatriot Danielle Collins during a tuneup event ahead of the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Friday, Feb. 5, 2021. 3 Naomi Osaka, the U.S. Open champion. Two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka, Johanna Konta and Elina Svitolina are also in Kenin's quarter. Williams already has won seven Australian Open titles and her 23 major titles is a record in the Open era. In the top half, Djokovicโs bid for a third consecutive Australian title โ and ninth overall โ could get tricky.
COVID case at Australian Open hotel cancels play at tuneups
Read full article: COVID case at Australian Open hotel cancels play at tuneupsAn Australian Open courtesy car waits outside the Grand Hyatt hotel in central Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021. All competition at six Australian Open tuneup events scheduled for Thursday was called off after a worker at one of the tournaments' Melbourne quarantine hotels tested positive for COVID-19. The Australian Open is scheduled to begin Monday. Williams won her last major title at the 2017 Australian Open, when she was pregnant with her daughter, Olympia. On the bottom half of the draw, defending Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin rallied from a set and a break down to fend off Jessica Pegula 5-7, 7-5, 6-2.
Zverev tops Nadal, sets up Paris Masters final vs. Medvedev
Read full article: Zverev tops Nadal, sets up Paris Masters final vs. MedvedevGermany's Alexander Zverev reacts after winning his semi-final game against Spain's Rafael Nadal at the Paris Masters tennis tournament in Paris, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2020. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)PARIS โ Alexander Zverev advanced to the Paris Masters final for the first time by beating top-seeded Rafael Nadal 6-4, 7-5 on Saturday, denying Nadal the chance to win a tournament that continues to elude him. Zverev won 78% of points on first serve compared to 60% for Nadal and led 9-1 in aces in that set. Earlier, Medvedev reached the Paris Masters final for the first time after beating Milos Raonic 6-4, 7-6 (4) in a contest between big servers. The 10th-seeded Raonic has never won a Masters event and missed out on a second final here, having lost to Novak Djokovic in 2014.
No. 1 Djokovic, Pospisil would lead new men's tennis group
Read full article: No. 1 Djokovic, Pospisil would lead new men's tennis group1-ranked Novak Djokovic and former top-30 member Vasek Pospisil would be the co-presidents of a new group they are trying to set up to represent mens professional tennis players. A letter emailed to players -- and obtained by The Associated Press on Friday -- pushes the formation of a Professional Tennis Players Association, abbreviated PTPA. Unlike many other professional sports, mens professional tennis has never had a representative body that is represented for players by players, the email said. The mens tennis tour is organized by the ATP; the womens tennis tour is run by the WTA. Djokovic is the president of the ATP Player Council and Pospisil has been a member for two years, but he tweeted Friday night that he was resigning.
Djokovic wins 35th Masters; hurt Osaka withdraws from final
Read full article: Djokovic wins 35th Masters; hurt Osaka withdraws from finalNovak Djokovic, of Serbia, front, holds his winning trophy after winning his match with Milos Raonic, of Canada, at the Western & Southern Open tennis tournament Saturday, Aug. 29, 2020, in New York. Has been challenging mentally and emotionally for me to stay sane and be able to compete on the highest level and win this title, Djokovic said. I just hope Im giving myself, you know, the opportunity and the chance to have enough time to recover ahead of the U.S. Open, Osaka said. Djokovic also won the Western & Southern Open in 2018 and is now the first man to win each Masters 1000 event one level below the Grand Slams at least twice. Osaka initially felt a problem with her leg in her first match of the Western & Southern Open and said she pulled the hamstring in the second-set tiebreaker of her semifinal Friday.
Osaka withdraws in protest; W&S put on hold Thursday
Read full article: Osaka withdraws in protest; W&S put on hold ThursdayNaomi Osaka, of Japan, leaves the court after winning her match with Anett Kontaveit, of Estonia, during the quarterfinals at the Western & Southern Open tennis tournament Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2020, in New York. Soon after, the whole tournament was put on hold for a day. Osaka tweeted that as a Black woman, she feels compelled to pull out of the tournament to put a focus on police shooting Black people. "Watching the continued genocide of Black people at the hand of the police is honestly making me sick to my stomach. I have to be patient, to try to enjoy every single match I play here after six months without competing.
Djokovic's neck better, as is his play; now 20-0 in 2020
Read full article: Djokovic's neck better, as is his play; now 20-0 in 2020Novak Djokovic, of Serbia, returns a shot from Tennys Sandgren during the third round at the Western & Southern Open tennis tournament Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2020, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)NEW YORK Novak Djokovics neck felt much better, and his tennis looked much better, in a 6-2, 6-4 victory over unseeded American Tennys Sandgren at the Western & Southern Open on Tuesday that improved the No. The Western & Southern Open is usually held in Ohio but was moved to the U.S. Opens site in Flushing Meadows this year to make for a two-event, no-spectator bubble amid the pandemic. He has won five of the past seven Grand Slam tournaments, including at the Australian Open in February. Womens quarterfinal matchups set earlier in the day were two-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka against Anett Kontaveit, former No.