Tennis

134 Articles

Sofia Kenin: ‘The atmosphere is going to be loud’…

Preparation for this year's Australian Open has been unlike anything these professional tennis players have previously experienced. Some have been through a "hard quarantine" and unable to leave their hotel rooms at all for 14 days, while others have been allowed out to practice for limited hours during the day. However, there is one element of the upcoming tournament, set to begin on February 8, that will at least give the players some sense of normalcy.For the first time at a grand slam
Australian Open: Daily Crowds Up To 30,000 To Be Allowed

Australian Open: Daily Crowds Up To 30,000 To Be…

Daily crowds of between 25,000 and 30,000 will be allowed to watch the Australian Open, organisers said Saturday in a big boost to the season's opening Grand Slam. Aggressive restrictions on incoming travel have helped keep the coronavirus largely at bay in Australia, making it one of the few places in the world where fans can still attend sports events in significant numbers. Victoria state's Sports Minister Martin Pakula said it equated to some 390,000 spectators across the two-week spectacle -- around half
Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal Says Not Everyone Needs To “Advertise” How…

Rafael Nadal said "we all try to help each other" amid Covid restrictions ahead of Australian Open, but some need "to make public everything they do to help others." Rafael Nadal has taken an apparent swipe at Novak Djokovic over his requests for quarantined players preparing for the Australian Open, saying not everyone felt the need to "advertise" how they were trying to help. The Serbian world number one issued a list of suggestions to Tennis Australia last week on behalf of 72

Leander Paes Eyeing French Open Comeback In Record 8th…

Leander Paes, 47, said he skipped the Australian Open as he is apprehensive of playing in a bio-bubble but is looking ahead to the French Open. Indian tennis icon Leander Paes on Monday said he is eyeing a French Open comeback this year in his quest to make a record eighth appearance at the Olympics in Tokyo. Paes, 47, said he skipped the Australian Open as he is apprehensive of playing in a bio-bubble but is looking ahead to the French Open. Playing sport in a bio-bubble is

Three more people linked to Australian Open test positive…

Three more people linked to the Australian Open have tested positive for COVID-19 in Melbourne, increasing to 10 those associated with the Grand Slam tennis tournament which begins Feb. 8. Victoria state Emergency Services Minister Lisa Neville confirmed the new cases had been detected on Wednesday, adding that authorities are "very confident" one of the cases is a tennis player who is shedding the virus and is not infectious. The player is already in hard lockdown as they were on board a flight
Tennis

Australian Open player ‘sorry’ after revealing she has Covid

BBC A Spanish tennis player who was among many Australian Open competitors to complain about quarantine rules has revealed she has coronavirus. Paula Badosa said she had felt unwell with symptoms before testing positive for the virus in Melbourne on Thursday. Badosa is believed to be the fourth competitor to test positive in hotel quarantine, but is the first to identify herself publicly. On Friday, she said "sorry guys", adding quarantine rules were "pivotal". "Please, don't get me wrong. Health will always comes

Naomi Osaka, Robert Lewandowski and Bayern Munich named AIPS…

Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka and Polish striker Robert Lewandowski have been named the AIPS Best Athletes of 2020. Bayern Munich won the AIPS Best Team of 2020 after breaking a plethora of records en route to winning five trophies. This is the result of a poll by the International Sport Press Association (AIPS), where a panel of 422 journalists from 116 countries voted for the Champions of 2020.  It is the first time that Lewandowski and Osaka are winning the prestigious accolade which

Western and Southern Open: Novak Djokovic into Semis, Naomi…

World number one Novak Djokovic cruised into the semi-finals of the ATP and WTA Western & Southern Open on Wednesday while Japan's Naomi Osaka withdrew to protest the shooting of a black man by police in Wisconsin. Djokovic, who launches his bid for a fourth US Open title and 18th Grand Slam crown on Monday, needed only 62 minutes to rout Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff 6-3, 6-1. The 33-year-old Serbian, who seeks a fourth US Open title and 18th Grand Slam crown, advanced to a Thursday semi-final against Spain's Roberto

Top Seed Open: Social distancing, closed door matches, WTA…

Marie Bouzkova expected some adjustment to her first tennis tournament in nearly six months. First was the matter of shedding rust from the layoff caused by the coronavirus shutdown. The Czech Republic player also had to get her mind around the inaugural Top Seed Open and a significantly subdued competitive atmosphere without spectators and a sprinkling of officials around center court. “The beginning felt like practice because my coach was clapping at some point,” said Bouzkova, who quickly adapted to upset No. 3

As Novak Djokovic’s Adria Tour becomes Covid-hotspot, tennis plays…

Novak Djokovic’s stubborn stance to hold an exhibition tournament draws flak after four, including two players, get infected with Covid-19. Croatian tennis player Borna Coric confirmed he has tested positive for Covid-19 on Monday, a day after Grigor Dimitrov’s positive test led to the cancellation of the Adria Tour final in Zadar. Further announcements are expected as national news agencies have quoted the head of Zadar’s local crisis response team, Sime Vickovic, saying that four tennis players and two coaches tested positive. The

No shaking hands, no showering, no sharing: Welcome to…

No shaking, no showering, no sharing, no signing. Welcome to what the world of tennis could look like once government restrictions caused by the coronavirus pandemic have been lifted. On Friday, the International Tennis Federation (ITF), issued a set of guidelines for local and national-level competitions."They emphasize that decisions made by governments take precedence and that tennis (either competitive or recreational) should not be played until governments have sufficiently relaxed any restrictions that are currently in place," said an ITF statement. The guidelines include arriving at a venue already

Sania Mirza raise Rs 1.25 crore to help people…

Tennis star Sania Mirza has raised Rs 1.25 crore to help people as India continues its fight against coronavirus. She has been helping raise Rs 1.25 crore in one week which will help close to 1 lakh people in need during the 21-day lockdown to fight the coronavirus pandemic. “The last week we have tried as a team to provide some help to the people in need..we provided food to thousands of families and raised 1.25 Crore in one week which will help close to 1 lakh people.its

Roger Federer ‘Devastated’ as Wimbledon Cancelled Due to Coronavirus

Former champion Roger Federer said he was "devastated" that Wimbledon has been cancelled for the first time since World War II because of the coronavirus. Wimbledon chiefs pulled the plug on the oldest Grand Slam tournament on Wednesday in response to the continued chaos caused by the pandemic. Federer, who has won a record eight Wimbledon men's singles titles, reacted with a single word, tweeting: "devastated." Serena Williams, a seven-time Wimbledon women's singles champion, was also rocked by the news as the American

Serena Williams, Nadal and Murray confirmed for Australian Open

Tennis ace Serena Williams will look to win her record-equalling 24th Grand Slam at the Australian Open in January after organizers confirmed the American will be a part of the year’s first Grand Slam. Serena who has won the Australian Open seven times earlier previously won the tournament in her last appearance in 2017. The 37-year-old who beat her older sister Venus Williams in the final in 2017 was two months pregnant with her daughter Alexis Olympia at the time she lifted her