4:51 PM ET Roger Federer‘s decision to forgo playing tournament tennis for the remainder of 2020 immediately raises the possibility that the all-time leading men’s Grand Slam singles champion will not improve on that 20 title count. But hold the sympathy cards and floral arrangements. We were at this same juncture in 2016, for similar
Tennis
Jun 10, 2020 Associated Press Tennis players ranked outside the top 500 in singles or outside the top 175 in doubles are eligible for grants worth up to $1,000 from the International Tennis Federation to help deal with the suspension of competition because of the coronavirus pandemic. The ITF announced Wednesday specifics of a relief
Jun 10, 2020 Associated Press Petra Kvitova will play in a tennis exhibition event next month in Berlin, and Tommy Haas will come out of retirement to join in. Organizers added Kvitova, a two-time Wimbledon champion, to play in a women’s lineup of Elina Svitolina, Kiki Bertens, Julia Goerges and Andrea Petkovic. Haas hasn’t played
3:21 AM ET Roger Federer announced Wednesday morning that he recently experienced a setback in his recovery from knee surgery, and will be out for the remainder of the 2020 season so as to be “100% ready to play at my highest level.” Federer, 38, previously underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee in February
10:31 AM ET Associated Press LONDON — The tennis rankings that come out after the 2021 French Open will be used to determine who qualifies for the postponed Tokyo Olympics. The International Tennis Federation said Tuesday that its eligibility rules will be the same as originally set up for Tokyo, with requirements related to minimum
9:11 AM ET World No. 1 Novak Djokovic has said participating in the US Open would be an impossible task due to the “extreme” coronavirus protocols in place for the tournament at Flushing Meadows. The US Open, scheduled to begin on Aug. 31, will be the first Grand Slam to be played after the COVID-19
3:51 PM ET The United States Tennis Association, facing the same bleak financial landscape as fellow Grand Slam organizers, announced Monday a comprehensive reorganization program that eliminated 110 jobs — reducing the national staff by about 20% — and will result in the closure of the organization’s office in White Plains, New York. At the
10:05 AM ET American Taylor Townsend said the tennis world is not a united place when it comes to racial tension, and she said she gets extra attention from security at tournaments while others breeze through. “Even in the tennis world it is not a united place,” Townsend said in a Tennis United video on
Jun 8, 2020 Associated Press Serena Williams‘ coach Patrick Mouratoglou has said that tennis is failing to attract a new, younger audience and hopes that a new digitally friendly tournament can help. With discussions ongoing over whether the U.S. Open or the French Open can even take place later this year, a new digitally friendly
7:01 AM ET German tennis great Boris Becker, who previously worked with reigning world No. 1 Novak Djokovic, has not ruled out a return to coaching, the six-times Grand Slam champion said. During his stint with Becker, Djokovic won six Grand Slam titles. After they parted ways, Becker was named by the German tennis federation
7:59 AM ET Associated Press If it weren’t for a coronavirus pandemic-caused postponement, the French Open would have been in Week 2 now, and Rafael Nadal might still have been in contention for a 20th Grand Slam title. Instead, he’s home in Spain, practicing lightly — and wondering along with everyone else in tennis whether
4:28 PM ET Associated Press Nearly five years later, former tennis star James Blake says he never suspected the large man running toward him was a plainclothes New York City policeman. Blake was in town that day for the U.S. Open and was standing outside a Manhattan hotel. “I thought someone was running at me
9:23 AM ET In 2007, the WTA announced that upon revisiting the rankings data for 1976. Evonne Goolagong — a multiple Grand Slam singles champion who had never reached the No. 1 ranking — should have been in the top spot ahead of Chris Evert for two weeks in 1976, officially altering the record 31
12:19 PM ET Associated Press The International Tennis Federation and four Grand Slam tournaments are pledging more than $300,000 in financial support for wheelchair athletes and national event hosts affected financially by the coronavirus pandemic. Wheelchair tennis players who earned under $100,000 in prize money last year and meet certain ranking requirements can apply for
9:31 PM ET There probably weren’t too many Australians who had heard of the coronavirus in early January. Instead, the nation’s focus was on the devastating bushfires wreaking havoc around the country. For months, Australia quite literally burned. Human and animal lives were lost and livelihoods destroyed. The horrific scenes sparked international headlines and countless
6:42 PM ET Associated Press ROME — Former top-10 player Fabio Fognini said on social media that he had arthroscopic surgery on both ankles Saturday. The 2011 French Open quarterfinalist, who reached a career-high No. 9 in the ATP rankings last year, posted two messages on Twitter. The first announced he would have the operations,
6:19 PM ET Associated Press Charter flights to ferry US Open tennis players and limited entourages from Europe, South America and the Middle East to New York. Negative COVID-19 tests before traveling. Centralized housing. Daily temperature checks. No spectators. Fewer on-court officials. No locker-room access on practice days. All are among the scenarios being considered
12:18 PM ET The Ultimate Tennis Showdown will attempt to encourage players to come out of their shells and show their personalities when it begins play next month. The UTS has received approval from health officials in France to start play June 13-14 and will hold events over five consecutive weekends at the Mouratoglou Academy