Carlos Alcaraz had taken the long way to his first major final, at the US Open. He had spent more than 20 hours on court. His three previous matches had gone five sets and finished after midnight. In the fourth round and the semifinals, against Marin Cilic and Frances Tiafoe,Read More →
If you care about the future of men’s tennis, and in particular the state of the current race to Roland Garros, this is a match-up you’ve been waiting to see. We know how well Alcaraz can do against one perennial French Open contender, Rafael Nadal; after two losses, the 19-year-oldRead More →
“That’s a shot you would have stuck your house on Djokovic making,” one of the commentators calling the Serbia Open final said, after a forehand pass from the ATP No. 1 found the bottom of the net on Sunday. It was true. Djokovic seemed to have everything set up forRead More →
he Iga Swiatek winning streak just kept growing in Stuttgart on Friday, as she held off a stern challenge from reigning US Open champion Emma Raducanu in the quarterfinals of the WTA 500 clay-court event, 6-4, 6-4, for her 21st win in a row. The 20-year-old Polish trailblazer’s winning streakRead More →
That is staggering news, a decision that strikes me as unfair to the athletes—and sets a dangerous precedent. Should similar steps be taken with athletes from other countries whose leaders go to war, or engage in questionable human rights practices? The slope is slippery beyond belief. Who should next beRead More →
The women join the men on European clay this week, with the first leg of their run-up to Roland Garros in Stuttgart. After gathering in Monte Carlo over the last seven days, some of the ATP’s best head west, to Barcelona, while others go east, to Belgrade. In a rarity,Read More →
How did Rafael Nadal negotiate his way through two tiebreakers against a 7-foot opponent hitting 140-m.p.h. serves and 100-m.p.h. forehands? At first, when he was asked this question on Wednesday, he claimed he had no idea. “I can’t tell you,” he said. “I can create a story, but honestly IRead More →
The Indian Wells Tennis Garden watched Rafael Nadal pull off one of his greatest comebacks on Saturday, but few watched with greater interest than the WTA’s No. 3 seed Iga Swiatek. “It inspired me a lot,” she said on court after pulling off her own Houdini act against Clara Tauson,Read More →
When it comes to playing in the wind, two things traditionally help: (1) Being able to hit hard enough to keep the breeze from blowing your shots around; and (2) taking the little steps needed to adjust to any last-second gusts that send the ball veering out of your strikeRead More →
The Serbian’s name was on the entry list when the men’s draw was made Tuesday, so the five-time tournament champion was included. The U.S. requires visitors to be vaccinated to enter the country. Novak Djokovic was placed in the men’s draw for the BNP Paribas Open on Tuesday, although itRead More →
A little more than a week ago, Dayana Yastremska was sheltering with her family in an underground location in Odessa, Ukraine. Today, with her country’s now-ubiquitous blue-and-yellow flag draped over her back, she accepted the runner-up trophy after losing a close final to Shuai Zhang in Lyon. In January, SergiyRead More →
Former Top 20 player Varvara Lepchenko was given a four-year doping suspension on Friday by the International Tennis Federation after she tested positive for a banned stimulant during a tournament last year. Her lawyer, Howard Jacobs, wrote in an email to The Associated Press that Lepchenko intends to appeal the decision toRead More →