Tennis

Thoughts of the war in Ukraine were front and centre during an emotional opening ceremony for the Billie Jean King Cup qualifier tie between the United States and Ukraine in the North Carolina mountains on Friday. With 78-year-old American great King in attendance, Ukraine-born North Carolina resident Yuliia Kashirets gave an emotional rendition of the war-torn country's national anthem. As Kashirets, who was introduced as having a brother serving in the Ukraine military, belted out the anthem, players from the Ukrainian and U.S.

Second seed Iga Swiatek will face Naomi Osaka for the Miami Open title after the Pole defeated American Jessica Pegula in Thursday's semi-finals. After Japan's Osaka battled past Belinda Bencic 4-6 6-3 6-4 earlier in the day, Swiatek, who will become world number one on Monday, claimed her 16th straight win with a 6-2 7-5 victory over Pegula to reach a third straight WTA 1000 final. Swiatek sailed through the opening set but had to fight back from an early break down in

Top seed Daniil Medvedev moved a step closer to reclaiming the world number one ranking as he beat Spaniard Pedro Martinez 6-3 6-4 on Monday to reach the last 16 at the Miami Open, while Naomi Osaka cruised into the quarter-finals of the women's draw. Medvedev, who can replace Novak Djokovic in the rankings if he reaches the Miami semi-finals, fired down 14 aces and broke Martinez three times to secure victory in 84 minutes. "I just felt like I had to be

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

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,

Commonwealth Games gold-medallist Manika Batra on Friday welcomed the Delhi High Court's order that effectively suspended the Table Tennis Federation of India following her petition, saying ill-treatment from TTFI forced her to take the legal route. Manika, who recently broke into the top-50 of world rankings, had filed a petition in the Delhi High Court after she was not included in the team for the Asian Championships. TTFI had excluded her as she did not attend the national camp before the event "I've

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

World number one Ash Barty and defending champion Naomi Osaka could set up a tantalising fourth-round showdown at the Australian Open with victories at Melbourne Park on Friday. Barty, whose stunning form has seen her drop just three games so far, takes on 30th seed Camila Giorgi in the third round, while Osaka faces Amanda Anisimova, who won the Melbourne Summer Set 2 tournament in the lead-up. Barty and Osaka have both won twice against each other but have not met in over

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

Ash Barty showed a good host can lift spirits at the most subdued of parties as she thumped Lesia Tsurenko 6-0 6-1 in a blistering start at the Australian Open on Monday to reach the second round. With the deportation of men's champion Novak Djokovic leaving a massive hole at Melbourne Park and a major COVID-19 outbreak gripping the city, Barty's twilight clinic at Rod Laver Arena gave the tournament a much-needed boost. Djokovic was heading back to his native Serbia on Monday,

Do you hear the phrase ‘top seed’ and immediately think of agriculture? If so, then this guide is for you. Note: If that's not you — i.e. if you're someone who already follows tennis — did you know that Andrey Rublev outplayed Andy Murray at the recently concluded Mubadala World Tennis Championship to emerge as the MWTC victor? Rafael Nadal played, too, but he succumbed to Andy Murray in the semi-finals and to Denis Shapovalov in the 3rd place play-offs. Head on over

Australia vowed on Friday to enforce its Covid-19 vaccine border rules "rigorously" as a decision loomed on the deportation of unvaccinated tennis superstar Novak Djokovic. Australia vowed on Friday to enforce its Covid-19 vaccine border rules "rigorously" as a decision loomed on the deportation of unvaccinated tennis superstar Novak Djokovic. The Serbian world number one is looking to secure a 10th title at the Australian Open, which gets underway on Monday -- as well as a record 21st Grand Slam. Prime Minister Scott

Coco Gauff battled to a 6-3 5-7 6-3 win over unseeded Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk at the Adelaide International 2 WTA tournament on Wednesday to join four other Americans in the quarter-finals. Madison Keys, Alison Riske, Madison Brengle and Lauren Davis also won their respective matches in the round of 16 earlier in the day to book their spots in the quarter-finals which will take place on Thursday. Gauff, who pushed world number one Ash Barty before losing their second-round meeting in the Adelaide

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

Felix Auger-Aliassime defeated world No. 3 Alexander Zverev of Germany 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 on Thursday to propel Canada into the semifinals of the ATP Cup in Germany. Russia, behind world No. 2 Daniil Medvedev, nabbed the final semifinal spot in a defeat of Italy. Auger-Aliassime's win followed that of teammate Denis Shapovalov, who defeated Jan-Lennard Struff 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-3. The two singles wins secured the victory, while Russia needed to rely on its doubles play to advance. Jannik Sinner defeated Roman Safiullin