Tennis

11:58 AM ET Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Top-ranked Iga Swiatek stayed undefeated against Coco Gauff, beating the American teenager 6-4, 6-2 on Friday to reach the final at the Dubai Championships. The three-time Grand Slam champion improved to 6-0 against the 18-year-old Gauff, and each victory has been in straight sets. The

8:53 PM ET Associated Press RIO DE JANEIRO — Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz was far from his best against veteran Fabio Fognini, but he managed to advance to the Rio Open quarterfinals on Thursday. The top-seeded Alcaraz overcame the 35-year-old Italian 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-4 in 2 hours, 47 minutes. The US Open champion’s next

5:31 PM ET Associated Press DOHA, Qatar — Andy Murray reached the semifinals of the Qatar Open by beating French qualifier Alexandre Muller 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 on Thursday. The 35-year-old Murray will next face Jiri Lehecka after the Czech player upset top-seeded Andrey Rublev 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the quarterfinals. Murray, a three-time Grand Slam

2:15 PM ET Associated Press LOS ANGELES — Serena Williams will be honored for her tennis achievements, business success and efforts to uplift the community at the NAACP Image Awards this weekend. The NAACP announced Thursday that Williams will receive the Jackie Robinson Sports Award during the ceremony, which will air live Saturday on BET.

11:04 PM ET Associated Press COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Saudi Arabia is entering a female team for the first time at an International Tennis Federation tournament — this week’s Asia/Oceania pre-qualifying event for the Billie Jean King Cup Juniors in Sri Lanka. Saudi Arabia and Brunei are making their Billie Jean King Cup Juniors debuts

6:08 PM ET Associated Press RIO DE JANEIRO — Top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz advanced to the second round of the Rio Open on Wednesday, with his mind already set for a year-long contest with Novak Djokovic for the No. 1 ranking. The 19-year-old defending champion closed out the last two games of a match suspended the

11:22 AM ET Associated Press BELGRADE, Serbia — Novak Djokovic has asked American authorities for special permission to enter the United States to play tennis tournaments in California and Florida despite being unvaccinated against the coronavirus, the top-ranked Serb said Wednesday. The Transportation Security Administration has said the requirement for foreign air travelers to be

8:35 PM ET Associated Press RIO DE JANEIRO — Top seeds Carlos Alcaraz and Cameron Norrie have carried over their momentum from last week’s tournament to the Rio Open. Finalists two days earlier in Buenos Aires, Norrie advanced to the round of 16 in the clay-court event on Tuesday, while Alcaraz was a game away

9:29 PM ET Associated Press RIO DE JANEIRO — Dominic Thiem is once again fighting through his matches and enjoying himself, but confidence is admittedly still lacking for the 29-year-old. Thiem lost in the first round of the Rio Open on Monday, falling to Thiago Monteiro 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (2). The former world No. 3

5:24 PM ET Associated Press BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz won his first title since his milestone US Open triumph by beating Cameron Norrie in straight sets at the Argentina Open on Sunday. The world No. 2 overcame No. 12 Norrie 6-3, 7-5 in the clay-court final. “I felt very comfortable,” Alcaraz said.

4:35 PM ET Associated Press BUENOS AIRES — Top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz reached his first final since his milestone US Open triumph at the Argentina Open on Saturday. Alcaraz beat Spanish countryman Bernabe Zapata Miralles 6-2, 6-2 in the semifinals. In the final on Sunday, the world No. 2 will face No. 12 Cameron Norrie, who

12:21 PM ET Associated Press DOHA, Qatar — Top-ranked Iga Swiatek successfully defended her Qatar Open title after beating No. 4-ranked Jessica Pegula 6-3, 6-0 in the final on Saturday. Swiatek broke Pegula for 2-0 and 4-2 but both times immediately lost her own serve. Pegula couldn’t hold again and Swiatek served out to love

Feb 18, 2023 Zenia D’Cunha Sania Mirza wants to be remembered as the girl who fought for the right things. Like the cap she wore after finishing her Grand Slam career at the Australian Open as a 36-year-old — ‘You can’t handle the truth‘ — or the T-shirts she made famous as a teenager —

9:07 PM ET Associated Press BUENOS AIRES — The top two seeds advanced to the semifinals of the Argentina Open on Friday. Top-seeded and second-ranked Carlos Alcaraz beat Dusan Lajovic of Serbia 6-4, 6-2 at the clay court event. He struggled in the first set and cruised to victory in the second on the strength

10:15 AM ET Jeremy WillisESPN.com Break out the cake and balloons because Feb. 17 might be one of the best days for athlete birthdays. On this day, 60 years ago, Michael Jordan came into this world. The college and NBA stardom would follow along with movies, sneaker dominance, business ventures and a world of iconic

8:32 PM ET Associated Press BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Dominic Thiem and Diego Schwartzman were eliminated from the Argentina Open on Thursday. Thiem, the 2020 US Open champion who is trying to regain his form after falling to 99th in the rankings, lost 6-4, 6-4 to Juan Pablo Varillas. Schwartzman, the local favorite, was beaten

11:05 PM ET Associated Press BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Second-ranked Carlos Alcaraz won his first match of the year on Wednesday, beating Laslo Djere 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 in the Argentina Open. The 19-year-old US Open champion missed the Australian Open with a leg injury and ceded the No. 1 ranking to Novak Djokovic, who won

7:13 AM ET Full-time real estate professional Matija Pecotic stunned former world No. 8 Jack Sock on his ATP Tour main draw debut at the Delray Beach Open on Tuesday. Pecotic, who works as a director at a real estate investment firm, plays tennis part time and beat Sock 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 to set up