Tennis

1:40 PM ET Associated Press Novak Djokovic will begin his bid to win the US Open for a men’s-record 21st major tennis championship and to complete a calendar-year Grand Slam by facing a player who comes through qualifying. Win that match and Djokovic’s path — as determined by Thursday’s draw — could include 2014 finalist

10:06 PM ET Associated Press Fifth-ranked Sofia Kenin pulled out of the US Open on Wednesday because she recently tested positive for COVID-19, even though she said she has received a vaccine. Kenin announced what she called “disappointing news” on social media. The 22-year-old American won the 2020 Australian Open and was the runner-up at

9:55 PM ET Associated Press WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Frances Tiafoe followed his victory over three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray by beating Thiago Monteiro 7-5, 7-6 (2) on Wednesday night in the third round of the Winston-Salem Open. The 23-year-old American, ranked No. 51 in the world, won the first set by breaking Monteiro in

3:45 PM ET D’Arcy MaineESPN.com The US Open begins on Monday, and while many of the world’s best players, after a pandemic-impacted tournament in 2020, will return to New York, as will a near-capacity-level of fans in all their rowdy glory, it will be who isn’t in attendance that might be felt most of all.

7:40 AM ET Associated Press Serena Williams added herself to the list of big-name withdrawals from the US Open on Wednesday, pulling out of the year’s last Grand Slam tournament because of a torn hamstring. Williams hasn’t competed since injuring her right leg in the first set of her first-round match at Wimbledon in late

9:50 PM ET Associated Press CLEVELAND — Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus defeated fifth-seeded Nadia Podoroska of Argentina 6-7 (7), 6-4, 6-4 to advance to the quarterfinals at Tennis in the Land on Tuesday. No. 37 Podoroska double-faulted on set point in the second and committed four service errors in the third, including back-to-back attempts in

3:25 PM ET D’Arcy MaineESPN.com The United States Tennis Association announced the launch of a new mental health initiative on Tuesday, ahead of the US Open later this month. Mental health has been the subject of a prevalent and ongoing conversation in professional tennis throughout the summer after world No. 3 and four-time major champion

9:18 PM ET Associated Press CLEVELAND — Top seed Daria Kasatkina of Russia and second seed Anett Kontaveit of Estonia won their first round matches at Tennis in the Land on Monday. Kasatkina defeated Kaja Juvan of Slovenia 6-3, 6-3 in the opening match of the day, while Kontaveit rallied for a 1-6, 6-0, 6-0

1:13 PM ET Associated Press The two singles champions at this year’s US Open will earn 35% less than in 2019, the last time the Grand Slam tennis tournament allowed spectators, while prize money for qualifying and the first three rounds of the main draw will rise as part of an overall increase. A year

6:31 PM ET Associated Press CLEVELAND — Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania beat third-seeded Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia 7-6 (3), 6-3 on Sunday in the first round of Tennis in the Land. The 75th-ranked Begu is 3-0 against Alexandrova. Begu won the final four points of the tiebreaker, ending it with a forehand that clipped the

5:00 PM ET Associated Press MASON, Ohio — Top-ranked Ash Barty won her fifth title of the season, taking eight of the last nine games from wild card Jil Teichmann for a 6-3, 6-1 victory in the Western & Southern Open final on Sunday. Barty, who won her first Wimbledon title in July before getting

4:45 PM ET Associated Press MASON, Ohio — Top-ranked Ash Barty will make her first Western & Southern final appearance on Sunday, while Andrey Rublev will do the same on the men’s side. The 25-year-old Barty used a strong service game to survive a challenge from No. 22 Angelique Kerber and reach the women’s final

3:57 PM ET Associated Press MASON, Ohio — Top-ranked Ash Barty defeated Barbora Krejcikova 6-2, 6-4 on Friday to reach the semifinals of the Western & Southern Open. Barty will next face two-time Cincinnati finalist Angelique Kerber, who won her quarterfinal when two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova retired during the second set because of a

6:34 AM ET Rafael Nadal said on Friday that he will end his 2021 season early due to a left foot issue that has been troubling him for a year, ruling him out of this month’s US Open. The world’s number four player suffered a early exit in Washington this month, where he kicked off

7:51 PM ET Associated Press MASON, Ohio — No Novak, no Roger, no Rafa doesn’t mean winning his second Western & Southern Open championship will be no problem for top-seeded Daniil Medvedev. He’s just making it look that way. Medvedev, the 2019 champion and last year’s runner-up to Novak Djokovic, advanced to the quarterfinals of

5:23 PM ET ESPN News Services MASON, Ohio — Down a set and a break to 17-year-old Coco Gauff, second-ranked Naomi Osaka fought back to pull out a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 win at the Western & Southern Open on Wednesday, her first WTA Tour event since the French Open in late May. Osaka appreciated being

4:30 PM ET Tory BarronESPN Editor Close Tory Barron is a Bristol-based writer and editor for ESPN.com. After retiring from playing lacrosse at UConn, the DC native decided to try her hand at writing about people playing sports. Can Venus Williams and Serena Williams lead workouts on social media every day? It would make some

1:11 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — Two-time champion Venus Williams will be back at the US Open after being given a wild card on Wednesday into the Grand Slam tournament. Williams, 41, has won seven major titles, including victories at Flushing Meadows in 2000 and 2001. But with her current WTA ranking of