1:58 AM ET Ashleigh Barty will launch her Australian Open assault against world No. 77 Danke Kovinic while the draw hasn’t been overly kind to Australia’s leading men’s hopes. Women’s top seed for the second year running, Barty could face compatriot Daria Gavrilova in the second round at Melbourne Park. If she makes the second
Tennis
4:44 PM ET Associated Press WIMBLEDON, England — Wimbledon organizers are planning for a reduced-capacity crowd at this year’s Grand Slam tournament, though other options remain, the All England Club said Thursday. The club previously announced that the tournament, canceled in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic, would go ahead with or without fans. The
5:46 PM ET Nick Kyrgios doesn’t always need tennis, but he says we do. Famed as much for his indifference to the sport that’s made him a living as his freakish ability and questionable on-court antics, Kyrgios offered no easy answers when it came to hosting a tennis tournament amidst a pandemic. But his sense
11:10 PM ET Tennis Australia boss Craig Tiley said Australian Open would start as planned next Monday despite a worker at one of the Melbourne hotels used to quarantine players and their entourages testing positive for COVID-19. “We’re absolutely confident the Australian Open will go ahead,” he told reporters in Melbourne. “We are starting on
5:46 PM ET Nick Kyrgios refused to play for several minutes after receiving a time violation during his 6-2 7-6 (9-7) win over fellow Australian Harry Bourchier in an Australian Open warm-up event in Melbourne. Kyrgios fought off three set points in the second-set tiebreak before finally getting over the top of world No. 303
8:55 AM ET Associated Press MELBOURNE — Some players preparing for the Australian Open will have to isolate until they return a negative test for COVID-19 after a worker at one of the tournament’s quarantine hotels tested positive for the virus. Daniel Andrews, the political leader of Victoria state, called a late-night news conference Wednesday
12:50 AM ET ESPN News Services Ash Barty looked like the world No. 1 in the first set, then struggled the rest of the way against No. 52-ranked Marie Bouzkova before completing a 6-0, 4-6, 6-3 win in an Australian Open tuneup tournament on Wednesday. In the third set, the 2019 French Open champion exchanged
9:54 AM ET Associated Press BASEL, Switzerland — Roger Federer is aiming to play his first tournament after two knee surgeries and more than one year out in Qatar next month. Federer told Swiss radio station SRF on Tuesday he has targeted the Doha Open from March 8-13. The 20-time Grand Slam champion said he
4:10 AM ET Nick Kyrgios has breathed a sigh of relief after making a typically lively return to tennis following a near year-long hiatus. Kyrgios overcame a leg injury to reach the second round of an Australian Open warm-up event in Melbourne with a gritty 3-6 6-4 7-6 (7-4) comeback win over the lowly-ranked Frenchman
12:04 AM ET MELBOURNE — Controversial American Tennys Sandgren has overcome Australian John-Patrick Smith and his own temper to advance to the second round of the Open warm-up event in Melbourne. Sandgren berated himself, screaming “I hate this stupid sport”, before going on to secure a 6-3 5-7 6-4 victory over local wildcard Smith. The
12:09 AM ET Associated Press MELBOURNE, Australia — Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova beat Japan’s Misaki Doi 6-1, 6-4 in a first-round match at the Yarra River Classic, one of six tuneup tournaments being played this week at Melbourne Park ahead of the Australian Open. The first major of the year was delayed by three weeks to allow
2:49 AM ET ESPN News Services Coco Gauff didn’t make it easy on herself in her first-round match at the WTA’s Gippsland Trophy on Monday. The 16-year-old American was up a service break in the second set and looked ready for straight-sets win until Jil Teichmann won the second-set tiebreaker. The players then went to
12:29 AM ET Bernard Tomic’s prospects of another deep Australian Open run have suffered a major blow, with the former Davis Cup star withdrawing from the Melbourne Summer Series. Tomic was to have played fellow Australian Marc Polmans in the first round of the Murray River Open on Monday night but pulled the pin, citing
11:47 PM ET After weeks of off-court drama, Australian Open preparations will be in full swing from Sunday when the first two WTA events of the Melbourne Summer Series get underway. Australia’s world No.1 Ash Barty has a first-round bye in a star-studded Yarra Valley Classic draw, where Sofia Kenin, Serena Williams, Karolina Pliskova and
7:42 AM ET Associated Press ADELAIDE, Australia — Serena Williams was preparing to play Naomi Osaka at an Adelaide exhibition tournament on Friday. But first things first — after 14 days in quarantine because of the COVID-19 pandemic regulations in Australia, the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion took her daughter to the zoo. Williams said
12:55 AM ET World No. 1 Novak Djokovic pulled out of an Adelaide exhibition because of a blistered hand on Friday before appearing on court to play a set after all, helping his compatriot Filip Krajinovic beat Jannik Sinner. Djokovic was scheduled to kick off the “Day at the Drive” event in front of a
2:54 PM ET Sports fans should savour Ash Barty’s return to tennis because it could be fleeting. While Barty hopes Friday night’s [AEDT] comeback match in Adelaide marks the start of a “long season” ahead, the world No.1 is offering no real guarantees beyond the Australian summer. Barty hasn’t played since last February, deciding not
6:30 PM ET You could be forgiven for thinking reigning Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin was short-changed in 2020. The 22-year-old broke through for her maiden Grand Slam win in Melbourne last year, defeating Garbine Muguruza in three sets in the final, and looked on the cusp of an incredible breakout season. But one by