Tennis

Australian Nick Kyrgios sealed a comfortable victory over Frenchman Adrian Mannarino in the first round of the Miami Open on Wednesday, while former world number one Naomi Osaka defeated Astra Sharma. Wildcard Kyrgios fired down 12 aces and did not face a single break point in his 7-6(3) 6-3 win. "It was a hell of a performance," Kyrgios said. "Getting on late, it wasn’t easy. So I'm really proud of myself with the way I responded. I felt good, I competed well today

Australia's world number one Ash Barty has retired at the age of 25 and at the peak of her game, citing the fulfilment of her tennis goals and fatigue with life on the Tour. She quits with 15 titles, less than two months after winning the Australian Open, her third Grand Slam singles triumph following Wimbledon in 2021 and the 2019 French Open. "I know how much work it takes to bring the best out of yourself … I don't have that in

World number four Iga Swiatek reached her first Indian Wells final on Friday after overpowering former champion Simona Halep 7-6(6) 6-4 in just under two hours. Swiatek, the 2020 French Open champion, prevailed in a topsy-turvy first set, saving two set points and hitting 19 winners to Halep's five to close out the opener. Halep swung the momentum back in her favour in the second set but was unable to fight past the 20-year-old Swiatek, who rallied from 4-2 down before winning 16

Australia will replace the suspended Russian team for the Billie Jean King Cup Finals, governing body International Tennis Federation (ITF) said on Monday. Russia was banned from defending its Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup titles following its Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine. Belarus, a key staging area for the invasion, which Russia says is a "special operation", has also been banned from the international team competitions. The Australian team were the highest ranked side among the losing semi-finalists in 2021 and

MEXICO CITY - Elina Svitolina put on the yellow and blue colors of Ukraine and beat Anastasia Potapova of Russia 6-2, 6-1 on Tuesday in the opening round of the Monterrey Open, deciding she could do more for her country by playing than boycotting the match. Top-seeded Svitolina earlier said she wouldn't play against Potapova in Mexico or against any Russian or Belarusian opponents until the International Tennis Federation and the men's and women's tennis tours barred competitors from those countries using any

"At this stage, one understands that tennis is sometimes not so important," said Medvedev after winning his quarter-final in the Acapulco Open. Daniil Medvedev confirmed to become new World No. 1 in men's singlesMedvedev spoke about the Russian invasion of UkraineHe will face Rafael Nadal in the semi-final of Mexican Open Daniil Medvedev was confirmed as the new World No. 1 in men's singles tennis on Thursday but the Russian star said it was not easy to focus on tennis as he was

The 35-year-old Spanish left-hander defeated US lucky loser Denis Kudla 6-3, 6-2 to book a hardcourt date with American Stefan Kozlov in the last 16. Rafael Nadal matched his best career start to an ATP Tour season with a victory Tuesday in his first match since capturing the Australian Open title, reaching the second round of the Mexican Open. The 35-year-old Spanish left-hander defeated US lucky loser Denis Kudla 6-3, 6-2 to book a hardcourt date with American Stefan Kozlov in the last

Djokovic this week doubled down on his decision to stay unvaccinated. The No. 1-ranked tennis player said he would skip the French Open, Wimbledon and other tournaments if he was required to get a coronavirus vaccine to compete. Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic received a warm welcome in Dubai, where he visited the world’s fair following the global drama around his decision to remain unvaccinated. After being twice detained and deported from Australia ahead of the year’s first Grand Slam Tournament last month,

MELBOURNE: France's Kristina Mladenovic and Croatian Ivan Dodig swept to a 6-3 6-4 victory against local duo Jaimee Fourlis and Jason Kubler to claim the Australian Open mixed doubles crown at Melbourne Park on Friday. Playing under a closed roof on Rod Laver Arena, Mladenovic and Dodig got off to a solid start, securing a vital break at 4-3 before closing out the set after some big serving from the Frenchwoman. The Australian wildcard pairing were broken again early in the second set

India's tennis star Sania Mirza has announced her retirement plans from the professional tennis world. She will bid farewell to her illustrious career at the end of this 2022 tennis season. Sania Mirza was knocked out of the Australian Open 2022 women's doubles events in the first-round match, at Melbourne on Wednesday. She made the announcement about her retirement after her opening-round loss. “I’ve decided this will be my last season. I’m taking it week by week, not sure if I can last

Tennis star Novak Djokovic released a long statement on Wednesday, with details on why he was not in isolation after testing positive for COVID-19 in December and saying his agent made a mistake in filling out his Australian travel declaration. The statement came as Australia's Immigration Minister Alex Hawke was considering whether to cancel the world no.1 tennis player's visa ahead of the Australian Open, which starts on Jan. 17, amid controversy over whether he was eligible for a medical exemption from the

Novak Djokovic dominated the men's game once again and a new star in Emma Raducanu exploded onto the scene at the U.S. Open, but the sport finished 2021 in a stand-off with China over the safety of former doubles number one Peng Shuai. Djokovic started the year by winning a record ninth Australian Open title and by the time the season reached the final of the fourth and last major of the year at the U.S. Open, the Serbian was standing on the

Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut has been ruled out of the Davis Cup after suffering an abdominal injury in training and will be replaced by Albert Ramos, the Spanish tennis federation said. World number 19 Bautista Agut, who helped Spain clinch the 2019 title against Canada in the inaugural edition of the revamped event, was the highest-ranked singles player in the team. Ramos, 33, will join Pablo Carreno Busta, Feliciano Lopez, Marcel Granollers and 18-year-old Carlos Alcaraz, who will be making his Davis Cup

Chinese player Peng Shuai has still not directly been in contact with the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), which says "no amount of money" would stop it pulling events out of China. Peng, 35, made sexual assault allegations against a former China vice-premier two weeks ago. WTA chairman Steve Simon told the BBC there will be no events in China next year without proof that Peng is safe. "We cannot stand by compromises. This is a right and wrong issue," he said. The WTA

World number three Stefanos Tsitsipas retired injured from his second-round match against Australian Alexei Popyrin with what appeared to be a right arm problem on a bad day for seeds at the Paris Masters on Wednesday. The 23-year-old Greek was trailing 4-2 during the first set when he called the trainer on court before shaking hands with his opponent to signal his retirement. Tsitsipas declined to share details of his physical condition but added that he did not want to aggravate the problem

Alexander Zverev notched his first career win against Andy Murray on Tuesday with a 6-4 7-6(4) victory that moved him into the fourth round at Indian Wells. Former world number one Murray, who got the better of the German in their two previous meetings, jumped out to a 3-0 lead and seemed to unnerve the 24-year-old by standing well inside the court when returning his second serves. But Zverev, seeded third, regrouped to win six of the next seven games and took the

REUTERS MUMBAI, Sept 16 - Inordinately long toilets breaks or medical timeouts at critical moments could soon be a thing of the past in men's tennis with the ATP Tour planning to impose stricter rules, a source at the men's governing body told. The practice has long been a bugbear of players, most recently at the U.S. Open where Stefanos Tsitsipas was accused of gamesmanship by Andy Murray for taking a lengthy trip to the bathroom at a critical point in their first-round

Russia's Daniil Medvedev won his first Grand Slam title by shattering Novak Djokovic's hopes of completing a calendar sweep of the majors in a one-sided US Open final. Second seed Medvedev, 25, lost his two previous Grand Slam finals but was composed throughout a 6-4 6-4 6-4 win. World number one Djokovic had already won the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon titles this year. The 34-year-old Serb was also chasing a record 21st Grand Slam men's title. Victory would have moved him

World number one Novak Djokovic won a gruelling five-setter against Alexander Zverev to set up a US Open final against Daniil Medvedev and keep his bid for a calendar Grand Slam on track. Russian second seed Medvedev had earlier kept alive his hopes of a first major title with a 6-4 7-5 6-2 win over Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime. Djokovic then recovered from falling a set behind to win 4-6 6-2 6-4 4-6 6-2. He now has the chance to win a record 21st

British teenager Emma Raducanu continued her fairytale run at the US Open by reaching the semi-finals with a dominant straight set win over Swiss 11th seed Belinda Bencic. Raducanu, 18, again showed all of her quality and composure in a 6-3 6-4 win. Victory means she will rise to the cusp of the world's top 50 and become the British women's number one. Raducanu will play Maria Sakkari in Thursday's semis after the Greek beat Czech fourth seed Karolina Pliskova. It will be the second