Tennis

Jannik Sinner opened his Australian Open title defence with a 7-6(2) 7-6(5) 6-1 win over Nicolas Jarry on Monday, contrasting doping cases in the two players.  World number one Sinner, who survived suspension despite two drug tests in March, was well-served at Rod Laver Arena on a blazing Rod Laver Arena by the large-serving Chilean who spent 11 months in 2020 behind bars for doping.  Jarry had written in the build-up to the match to the Chilean newspaper La Tercera that he hoped

Jannik Sinner begins defence of his Australian Open title against Nicolas Jarry and women’s champion Aryna Sabalenka faces 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens as the draw for the year’s first Grand Slam was made at Melbourne Park on Thursday.  Novak Djokovic goes to the wire for his second Australian Open title in record time and 25th Grand Slam title against the US wildcard Nishesh Basavareddy, but he isn’t going to make it to the Melbourne Park final easily.  Third round: Djokovic may

World No1 Aryna Sabalenka is also in for a nasty shock as she tries to become the first woman since Martina Hingis to rack up an AO hat-trick in 26 years.  Sabalenka plays Sloane Stephens (last major champion) and a scheduled quarterfinal against No.5 Zheng Qinwen (replay of last year’s Australian Open final).  Then she might square up to Coco Gauff in an explosive semifinal, the same round where the two champs clashed here 12 months ago.  Sabalenka came into Brisbane as the

Elena Rybakina, reigning champion, is set to defend her title in the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open which will take place from February 1st to February 8th at the International Tennis Centre, Zayed Sports City. She is now fit to play after battling injuries in the previous season.  Belinda Bencic, Daria Kasatkina, and Elena Rybakina look to be rivaling for the title this season. Rybakina, who is a 25 year old Kazakh strong player, is going up against fierce competition including Bencic, who gave

Novak Djokovic has already confessed to still getting anxious upon landing in Melbourne airport three years after he was deported from Australia.  The 24-time Grand Slam winner lost his visa before the 2022 Australian Open amid days of over Australia’s Covid entry policy and his unvaccinated status.  ‘I have to be very open,’ Djokovic told Melbourne’s Herald Sun newspaper.  ‘The two times I had landed in Australia the last couple of times, to pass through passport control and immigration – I had some

The 19th of December sees the ‘Greatest Show on Court!’ as world class tennis players and musicians are united for World Tennis League Season 3.  This season is set to play at the Etihad Arena from 19-22 December with Abu Dhabi Sports Council (ADSC), Department of Culture and Tourism (DCT) and Miral supporting the league.  The 4 players each will be in four teams, consisting of HonorFX Eagles, TSL Hawks, Game Changers Falcons, and Kites in the 3rd season of World Tennis League.

Aryna Sabalenka, the world number one, Iga Swiatek, five-time Grand Slam winner and Dubai champion Jasmine Paolini – all of the top 10 WTA players in the world – head a celebrity line-up of athletes for the landmark 25th anniversary Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships’ women’s event.  Paolini has enjoyed the best season of any Italian woman in WTA rankings history as the four-times champion holds the record as the highest-ranked female in WTA history, taking her second career title in Dubai, finishing

New Delhi: A year after she became the first Indian paddler to reach Round of 16 at the Olympics, outplayed a former world champion and world No.2 on her way to her maiden quarter-finals at Saudi Smash, and became the first Indian table tennis player to make it all the way to the last eight at a WTT Champions competition, Manika Batra is very modest in her assessment.  "It’s been a pretty even year," she says. "I have won some, lost some. ‘I

Iga Swiatek, the French Open victor, has received final and non-appealable sanctions, namely a one-month ban from competition, after test results showed that she ingested Trimetazidine (TMZ), which is on the WADA prohibited substances list. Such a definitive decision about this doping case was announced on Thursday by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) after examining the evidence for the 23-year-old Polish player who had tested positive during an out of competition sample taken in August 2024.  However, the ITIA took a rather

Dubai: 2023 finalists set to return for 27th Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge The field that has included last year’s finalists is quite robust and it is expected that they will be back at next month’s 27th Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge to be held at the Al Habtoor Grand Resort from December 2-8. Anastasia Tikhonova last year, in her pursuit of the singles title, had no trouble defeating Arianne Hartono from The Netherlands in straight sets. And so both players are now somewhere in

Apart from all these, the gripping news for all the tennis lovers is the retirement news of Rafael Nadal who is announcing the same after winning a total of 22 grand slam titles. The Spaniard has been performing at one of the best tennis players ever and the last tournament in which he will wear the `Rojas’ color will be the Davis Cup finals for which he plays for his nation in November. The 38-year-old was last seen on the courts in Paris

The Davis Cup Final Eight is complete and coming to Malaga this November will be one big head: Rafael Nadal. The last time each player saw the court was during the paris 2023 Olympics where he played the singles event and lost to Novak Djokovic in round two, and Carlos Alcaraz in a doubles quarterfinals. Although Nadal has not officially announced his retirement, there has been no clear timetable given – but as normally, there are common assumptions the Davis cup of this

The esteemed women’s tournament will mark its 25th year anniversary and will take off starting February 16. This remarkable year will feature the best and most competitive women tennis players’ events over the last one quarter of a century. Men’s event of the tournament is expected to be organized a week after the women’s event with an expectation to excite the tennis lovers with great matches and memorable moments. In other tennis news, organizers of the 2025 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships have

Carlos Alcaraz stated that he came into the game starstruck the first time he met Rafael Nadal and explained that playing against the 22-time Slam winner was somewhat a nightmare for him. In Berlin on Thursday ahead of the Laver Cup, Alcaraz who is now in his 21 years of age shared his experience of locking horns with Nadal who is also his countryman. "It was a huge thing when I played him for the first time," explained the 3rd ranked male tennis

As it turns out, Rafael Nadal, one of the most known names in tennis, has announced that he will self-withdraw from the upcoming Laver Cup, which has sparked further questions about its legitimacy in regard to his retirement plans. The ongoing statements issued by Nadal are very emotional and have made fans regret and worry about what could happen next in the life of this all-time great. Rafael Nadal, the defending twenty-two-time Grand Slam, has radically changed the way tennis has been played

Abu Dhabi gears up for a te­nnis spectacular from Feb 1-8, 2025, at Zayed Sports City. The­ third Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open promises to be anothe­r top-tier global event to follow the­ resounding success of the e­arlier one.  The e­vent, officially announced by the Wome­n’s Tennis Association (WTA) and IMG, will unfold again at the International Te­nnis Centre. To cele­brate the ticket kickoff for the­ WTA 500 event, Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open launche­s a fan contest to win a dream trip to the

On Sunday, Jannik Sinner grabbe­d his second Grand Slam of 2024. He dashed Taylor Fritz's dre­ams in the US Open final, breaking a 21-ye­ar American drought for a male champion at the majors. Sinne­r, ranked number one globally, claime­d his first Grand Slam at the Australian Open in January. His 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 victory also made him the­ first Italian man to celebrate a win in Ne­w York. 23-year-old Sinne­r recently asserte­d his dominance in tennis with a 55th win and a sixth

Jessica Pegula fought back after a sluggish beginning, coming from behind in a set and a break to beat Karolina Muchova 1-6, 6-4, 6-2 at the U.S. Open. Securing the win placed Pegula in her inaugural Grand Slam final, displaying toughness and perseverance following a challenging first set against the Czech opponent. Jessica Pegula, seeded at No. 6 and a 30-year-old New York native, has been in outstanding form, securing victory in 15 out of her last 16 matches. Her outstanding performance at

Jessica Pegula defeated top seed Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals, extending American success at the US Open. Meanwhile, men's world number one Jannik Sinner defeated Daniil Medvedev to advance to the semi-finals. Rahul Dravid ended his time as Team India's head coach successfully by guiding the team to win the ICC T20 World Cup. India emerged victorious over South Africa in the final, securing a seven-run win in an exciting match in June. Dravid played a crucial role in helping India win the

Roger Federer has commented on the report that Jannik Sinner can participate in tournaments even though he is currently facing trial for doping. One of the main underlying themes at the current US Open is how Italian top-ranked player Jannik Sinner has managed to avoid a suspension despite testing positive for clostebol on two occasions. Several current and former teammates have raised doubts about allowing him to participate in tournaments while he was facing an undisclosed trial for the matter. Tennis champion Roger