11:19 AM ET Associated Press Tennis star Naomi Osaka has lit the cauldron at the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Games, ending the flame’s long journey from Greece to these delayed Olympics. The cauldron sat atop a peak inspired by Mount Fuji. It’s a sphere that opened like a flower, “to embody vitality and hope,”
Tennis
1:25 AM ET Associated Press Naomi Osaka‘s opening match in the Olympic tennis tournament has been pushed back from Saturday to Sunday. Organizers did not immediately provide a reason for the switch. They said only that the move came from the tournament referee. 1 Related Osaka was originally scheduled to play 52nd-ranked Saisai Zheng of
11:04 PM ET Associated Press Home hope Naomi Osaka will face 52nd-ranked Saisai Zheng of China and Novak Djokovic will play 139th-ranked Hugo Dellien of Bolivia in the opening round of the Olympic tennis tournament in Tokyo. Draws were held Thursday, two days before play opens at Ariake Tennis Park. Osaka is returning to competition
7:47 PM ET Associated Press PALERMO, Italy — Former champion Jil Teichmann was forced to pull out of the Palermo Ladies Open on Wednesday because of injury. The third-seeded Teichmann, who won the title in 2019, had to withdraw shortly before the start of her second round match against Elena Gabriela Ruse because of a
7:18 PM ET Associated Press CHARLESTON, S.C. — Charleston’s WTA event will have a renovated stadium and a new sponsor for 2022. Tournament organizers said Wednesday that Credit One Bank has committed to be a multi-year title sponsor of the event that had been called the Volvo Car Open from 2016 through this past April.
1:33 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — Roger Federer, who withdrew from the Olympics because a knee injury, and Naomi Osaka, who skipped Wimbledon and withdrew from the French Open because of mental issues, are both in the singles fields for the US Open. The USTA announced the fields Wednesday for the tournament that
10:28 AM ET The prospect of winning an Olympic gold medal for Serbia outweighs the disappointment of playing in an empty venue at the Tokyo games, the men’s world tennis No. 1 Novak Djokovic said on Monday. Djokovic considered pulling out of the Olympics due to COVID-19-related restrictions after winning Wimbledon this month but decided
7:23 PM ET Associated Press NEWPORT, R.I. — Kevin Anderson beat 20-year-old American Jenson Brooksby 7-6 (8), 6-4 on Sunday to win the Hall of Fame Open. The 35-year-old South African captured his seventh ATP tour title, his first since the Maharashtra Open at Pune in January 2019. “I guess I’m towards the end, but
3:19 PM ET Tennis star Coco Gauff will not represent the United States at the Tokyo Olympics after testing positive for COVID-19. Gauff announced her diagnosis Sunday on Twitter, saying she is “so disappointed” and she hopes “there will be many more chances” to play in the Olympics in the future. 🙏🏾❤️🤍💙 pic.twitter.com/lT0LoEV3eO — Coco
3:45 PM ET Associated Press Pablo Carreno Busta continued to impress on clay with a 6-2, 6-4 win against Filip Krajinovic in the Hamburg European Open final on Sunday. The second-seeded Spaniard did not drop a set and converted all three of his break opportunities. “It’s an incredible feeling,” Carreno Busta said. “I think that
11:20 AM ET TOKYO — Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini of Italy has pulled out of the Tokyo Olympics due to a thigh injury, he said Sunday. The world No. 8 had his left thigh bandaged during his loss to top-ranked Novak Djokovic of Serbia in the final of the grass-court Grand Slam earlier this month.
10:20 AM ET Associated Press PRAGUE — French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova triumphed at the Prague Open on Sunday for her third WTA title. In an all-Czech final, second-seeded Krejcikova demolished No. 8-seeded Tereza Martincova 6-2, 6-0, hitting 26 winners on her way to victory in 65 minutes. From 2-2 in the opening set, Krejcikova
10:23 AM ET Associated Press PRAGUE — French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova advanced to the final of the Prague Open by beating Xinyu Wang of China 6-1, 6-2 on Saturday. The second-seeded Krejcikova set up an all-Czech final against eighth-seeded Tereza Martincova, who defeated ninth-seeded Greet Minnen of Belgium 6-3, 6-4 in the other semifinal.
8:20 PM ET ESPN staff Australian tennis star Alex de Minaur has been forced to withdraw from the Olympic Games after testing positive for COVID-19, the Australian Olympic Committee confirmed. 2 Related De Minaur, not currently in Tokyo, tested positive during a pre-departure swab, meaning his dream of representing his country at the Olympics is
5:40 PM ET ESPN News Services Novak Djokovic is going to the Tokyo Olympics, keeping alive his chance for a “Golden Slam.” Djokovic, 34, posted Thursday on Twitter that he had booked his flight and was proud to represent Serbia at the Olympics. He made the announcement accompanied by a video in which he wished
4:43 PM ET Associated Press Facebook Twitter Facebook Messenger Pinterest Email print PRAGUE — Second-seeded Barbora Krejcikova advanced to the quarterfinals of the Prague Open by defeating Ysaline Bonaventure of Belgium 7-6 (2), 6-4 on Thursday. The French Open champion will next face her doubles partner and Czech compatriot Katerina Siniakova. Ninth-seeded Greet Minnen beat
4:59 PM ET Associated Press NAPLES, Fla. — Tennis Hall of Famer Shirley Fry Irvin, who won three consecutive major titles in the 1950s to complete a career Grand Slam, has died at 94. Her death Tuesday was confirmed by the International Tennis Hall of Fame, where she was a 1970 inductee. She lived in
4:14 PM ET Men’s British No. 1 Dan Evans has said he will miss the Tokyo Olympics following a positive test for COVID-19 in another blow to Team GB after Johanna Konta also pulled out. Konta, the women’s British No. 1, withdrew on Tuesday having tested positive for COVID-19, two weeks after she pulled out