Tennis

11:09 AM ET Associated Press LONDON — Tennis great Boris Becker was sentenced to 2½ years in prison Friday for illicitly transferring large amounts of money and hiding assets after he was declared bankrupt. The three-time Wimbledon champion was convicted earlier this month on four charges under the Insolvency Act and had faced a maximum

12:58 PM ET Associated Press MUNICH — Botic van de Zandschulp upset second-seeded Casper Ruud 7-5, 6-1 to reach the BMW Open semifinals Friday. The Dutch player, who also defeated Ruud at the US Open last year, saved the only break point he faced and won 50% of his first-serve return points. Van de Zandschulp

1:53 PM ET Associated Press MUNICH — Casper Ruud took his time finding his rhythm as he beat Alex Molcan 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals at the BMW Open on Thursday. Molcan built a 4-0 lead in the first set as Ruud struggled with his serve, but the clay-court specialist fought his way

10:48 AM ET Associated Press MADRID — Two-time Madrid Open champion Simona Halep and second-ranked Paula Badosa will meet for the first time in the tournament’s second round after opening with victories on Thursday. Halep beat Zhang Shuai 6-2, 6-3; Badosa defeated Veronika Kudermetova 6-3, 6-0. Halep won consecutive Madrid titles in 2016 and 2017

5:36 PM ET Associated Press MADRID — Former No. 1 Naomi Osaka enters the clay-court season with the goal of not being too hard on herself. Osaka, 24, made the final in Miami last month and will be playing as a wild-card entry when the Madrid Open begins on Thursday. “I’m trying to embrace my

5:42 PM ET Associated Press Fifth seed Frances Tiafoe overcame a resilient wildcard Nuno Borges 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 6-0 in the second round of the ATP 250 Millennium Estoril Open on Wednesday. A tie-break was required to decide the opening set, which the 25-year-old clinched 7-4, before home-favourite Borges fought back in the second to

4:40 PM ET Associated Press MUNICH — Danish teenager Holger Rune upset top-seeded Alexander Zverev 6-3, 6-2 Wednesday to reach the quarterfinals of the BMW Open tennis tournament. The 18-year-old broke Zverev’s first service game in each set to take control of the match on his way to his first career win over a player

7:44 AM ET Associated Press MADRID — Top-ranked Iga Swiatek withdrew from the Madrid Open on Wednesday because of a sore arm. Swiatek, who has won four straight titles, was going to be the top-seeded player in the women’s draw for this week’s clay-court tournament. “It’s time to take care of my arm that has

12:10 PM ET Associated Press MADRID — Rafael Nadal will play the Madrid Open after recovering from a rib injury that sidelined him for a month, he said Tuesday. Nadal had been recovering from a stress fracture he sustained while playing at Indian Wells in March. His loss to American Taylor Fritz in the final

10:59 AM ET Associated Press MADRID — Serbia and Spain will square off in the group stage of the Davis Cup finals, organizers said after holding a draw on Tuesday. That could mean a matchup of Novak Djokovic against Rafael Nadal when their nations play as part of Group B along with Canada and South

8:23 AM ET Novak Djokovic will be allowed to defend his Wimbledon title after organisers at the All England Club (AELTC) said that players will not need to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to compete at the tournament. Djokovic missed the Australian Open in January due to not being vaccinated, and AELTC CEO Sally

2:58 AM ET Emma Raducanu has split from her coach Torben Beltz after just five months. Raducanu began working with Beltz in November but she announced on Tuesday she will transition “to a new training model,” which ESPN understands will carry through to Roland Garros. 1 Related LTA coach Iain Bates will work with her

11:39 AM ET Associated Press LONDON — Carlos Alcaraz moved up to No. 9 in the ATP rankings on Monday, a little more than a month before he turns 19, making him the youngest man to break into the top 10 since Rafael Nadal did it exactly 17 years ago. Alcaraz rose two spots after

3:13 PM ET Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz captured the fourth title of his young career by beating eighth seed Pablo Carreno Busta 6-3, 6-2 in the Barcelona Open final on Sunday, hours after winning a gruelling semifinal that was postponed due to rain. The 18-year-old will enter the top 10 of the world rankings on

12:02 PM ET Associated Press BELGRADE, Serbia — Andrey Rublev defeated Novak Djokovic 6-2, 6-7 (4), 6-0 to win the Serbia Open for his third title of the season on Sunday. The second-seeded Russian player dug deep to stop Djokovic from mounting another comeback as he prevented the top-ranked Serb from claiming his first title

9:49 AM ET Associated Press STUTTGART, Germany — Top-ranked Iga Swiatek defeated Aryna Sabalenka 6-2, 6-2 in the final of the Stuttgart Open for her fourth title of the year Sunday. The Polish player stretched her winning run to 23 matches by beating last year’s finalist in her tournament debut in 1 hour, 24 minutes.

3:59 PM ET Associated Press STUTTGART, Germany — Top-ranked Iga Swiatek will play Aryna Sabalenka in the final of the Stuttgart Open after both came through their respective semifinals Saturday. Swiatek stretched her winning run to 22 matches as she overcame Liudmila Samsonova 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-5 to move into her fourth final of the

12:16 PM ET Associated Press BELGRADE, Serbia — Novak Djokovic booked a place in the Serbia Open final after overcoming another slow start and Karen Khachanov 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 on Saturday. The top-ranked Serb came back from a set down for the third consecutive match after hard-fought wins over Miomir Kecmanovic and Laslo Djere to