Tennis

2:07 AM ET Associated Press AUCKLAND, New Zealand — Former US Open champion Emma Raducanu overcame wind and rain in a match which stretched over almost four hours to beat Linda Fruhvirtova 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 Tuesday in her first singles match of 2023 at the ASB Classic. The match twice was interrupted by rain and

12:39 AM ET Associated Press World No. 1 Novak Djokovic kept up his winning streak in singles matches in Australia, beating Constant Lestienne of France 6-3, 6-2 Tuesday in the first round of the Adelaide International. It was Djokovic’s 30th straight singles victory on Australian soil in a streak that goes back to 2018. Tuesday’s

10:04 AM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — Tennis great Martina Navratilova said Monday that she has been diagnosed with throat cancer and breast cancer. In a statement released by her representative, the 18-time Grand Slam singles champion and member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame said her prognosis is good and she will

10:01 AM ET Associated Press AUCKLAND, New Zealand — Venus Williams is back in the win column. Williams, 42, beat 21-year-old American qualifier Katie Volynets 7-6 (4) 6-2 in the first round at the ASB Classic on Monday for her first singles victory since Wimbledon in 2021. The seven-time major champion has been awarded a

12:45 AM ET ESPN News Services SYDNEY — Taylor Fritz and Madison Keys fueled a critical day for Team USA on Monday, posting victories over Germany at the United Cup mixed teams event, securing the Americans a berth in the tennis tournament’s quarterfinals. The competition vs. Germany continues Tuesday, when Jessica Pegula faces Laura Siegemund

12:12 PM ET Britain stormed into the knockout stage of the United Cup mixed team tournament on Sunday as Dan Evans came through a gruelling match against Spain’s Albert Ramos-Vinolas with a 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 win that gave his team an unassailable 3-1 lead. Britain began the day with a 2-0 advantage in the tie

7:04 AM ET Wimbledon’s decision to ban Belarusian players from last year’s tournament “changed nothing,” world No. 5 Aryna Sabalenka said on Sunday, adding that she hoped to return to the grass-court Grand Slam in 2023, having missed its fans and atmosphere. Wimbledon organisers banned players from Russia and Belarus last year after Moscow’s invasion

1:54 AM ET Associated Press SYDNEY — Casper Ruud has taken up in 2023 where he left off in 2022, beating Brazil’s Thiago Monteiro 6-3, 6-2 in the first men’s singles match of the New Year to boost Norway at the United Cup mixed teams championship in Brisbane. Ruud had a successful 2022, rising as

9:18 PM ET Associated Press SYDNEY — Jiri Lehecka has scored a 6-4, 6-2 upset win over world No. 12 Alexander Zverev to give the Czech Republic a 1-0 lead over Germany at the United Cup on Saturday. The 21-year-old Lehecka, ranked No. 81, broke four times in the Group C match at Ken Rosewall

10:29 PM ET Associated Press SYDNEY — The U.S. beat the Czech Republic 3-1 at the mixed teams United Cup when American Frances Tiafoe‘s opponent Tomas Machac retired due to a right ankle injury in the second set of their singles match Friday. Top-seeded Greece and Italy also completed wins on Friday. Tiafoe won the

7:42 PM ET ESPN News Services MELBOURNE, Australia — Former U.S. Open champion Dominic Thiem was given a wild card into the main draw of next month’s Australian Open after his successful return from a right wrist injury, it was announced. Tournament officials said Friday that Thiem, an Australian Open finalist in 2020, received a

6:16 AM ET Associated Press ADELAIDE, Australia — Novak Djokovic is reiterating that he bears no hard feelings on his return to Australia after his visa cancellation and subsequent deportation in January ahead of the Australian Open tennis tournament. Djokovic was deported almost 12 months ago after arriving unvaccinated against COVID-19 at a time when

1:25 AM ET Novak Djokovic and the rest of the world’s premier tennis players will compete for more than AUD$100 million (USD$67.35 million) in prize money over the Australian summer. The historic high mark comes from a record AUD$76.5 million (USD$51.52 million) Australian Open purse and the addition of the lucrative new United Cup mixed

9:54 PM ET Associated Press SYDNEY — Taylor Fritz and Madison Keys gave the United States a 2-0 lead over Czech Republic at the new United Cup mixed teams tournament on Thursday. Fritz broke Jiri Lehecka‘s serve in the ninth game of the second set and went on to beat the Czech player 6-3, 6-4.

1:25 AM ET Nick Kyrgios faces a race against time to hit peak form and fitness for his Australian Open tilt after pulling out of the inaugural United Cup teams event due to injury. World No. 22 Kyrgios was scheduled to spearhead the Australian team, starting against Great Britain’s Cameron Norrie in Sydney on Thursday

4:55 PM ET Associated Press SYDNEY — Novak Djokovic has arrived in Australia almost a year after he was deported over his stance against COVID-19 vaccination, Tennis Australia confirmed Wednesday. Djokovic will open his 2023 campaign in Adelaide as he prepares for a shot at a 10th Australian Open title. The 21-time major winner has

5:08 PM ET Associated Press BERLIN — Tennis great Boris Becker tearfully recounted the moment the door of his single-occupancy cell at Britain’s notorious Wandsworth prison closed for the first time, speaking publicly after serving eight months for bankruptcy offenses. “It was the loneliest moment I’ve ever had in life,” Becker said in an interview

2:44 PM ET Three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray has said he will keep competing as long as his body is in good shape, but added that he is one “big injury” away from calling time on his career. Murray, 35, has suffered with injuries during his career and had hip surgery in 2018 and