Tennis

Japan's Naomi Osaka, a self-confessed introvert who withdrew from the French Open and Wimbledon on mental health grounds, has encouraged girls around the world to embrace what makes them different. Osaka, 23, one of Japan's best gold medal prospects at the Tokyo Olympics, used her spot in the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) "Stronger Together" campaign to say that the definition of an Olympian is broader than sometimes thought. "People might think I'm quiet. Different. That I don't fit the box of what an

Emma Raducanu's brilliant Wimbledon run comes to an end in the fourth round as she is forced to withdraw during the second set of her clash with Australia's Ajla Tomljanovic after struggling with her breathing Emma Raducanu's remarkable story at Wimbledon came to an end after she was forced to retire from her match against Australian Ajla Tomljanovic. The teenage sensation has quickly become the story of the Championships, having only played one WTA Tour level match before this tournament. But she was

Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer headline Wimbledon on Monday (Jul 5) with the two Grand Slam heavyweights looking to edge closer to a dream title showdown. World number one Djokovic, chasing a sixth Wimbledon title and record-equalling 20th major, is already halfway to becoming just the third man to complete a calendar Grand Slam. The Serb faces Cristian Garin of Chile while eight-time champion Federer takes on Italy's Lorenzo Sonego. Chilean 17th seed Cristian Garin had never previously won a main draw match

People are often put in a jam when they are asked a question that they don't fully understand, and try to talk their way out of it as they don't wish to reveal that they didn't get it. However, Roger Federer had no qualms in admitting that he did not comprehend a certain English phrase while being interviewed after getting a walkover in his Wimbledon first round match against France's Adrian Mannarino. Federer's honesty left the crowd at Centre Court in splits. The official Twitter

US Open champion Dominic Thiem on Thursday joined Spanish superstar Rafael Nadal in withdrawing from the Tokyo Olympics. World number five Thiem said he wanted to concentrate on Wimbledon and then defending his only Grand Slam title in New York. "Hi everybody, I have some sad news to share with you all. After talking with my team and analysing the situation I have taken the very difficult decision to withdraw from competing in the Tokyo Olympics," the 27-year-old Austrian wrote on Twitter. "For me, like all

Rafael Nadal and Naomi Osaka, with 24 Grand Slam titles between them, both withdrew from Wimbledon on Thursday (Jun 17) with the Spanish star also pulling out of the Tokyo Olympics in a bid "to prolong my career". Nadal's snub of the Olympics was later followed by world No 5 Dominic Thiem also withdrawing from Tokyo. Osaka, however, said she still intended to take part in her home Olympics. The 35-year-old Nadal, who won Olympic gold and Wimbledon in 2008, triumphing again at

LONDON: Former champions Venus Williams and Andy Murray were named in Wimbledon's initial list of wild cards on Wednesday (Jun 16) for this month's grass court Grand Slam. American Williams, who will turn 41 on Thursday, won five out of her seven Grand Slam singles titles at Wimbledon, but has slipped to 103rd in the women's world rankings. She has not made it past the opening round at any tournament since reaching the second round of the Australian Open in February. Britain's Murray

For the second time in six years Novak Djokovic is halfway to a calendar year sweep of all four Grand Slam titles after winning the French Open for a second time on Sunday. The 34-year-old dug deep into his reserves of resilience to hit back from two sets down against Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas to win 6-7(6) 2-6 6-3 6-2 6-4 and increase his Grand Slam tally to 19. That takes him only one behind the men's record 20 held by Rafa Nadal and

Unseeded Czech Barbora Krejcikova sealed her rapid rise in the singles game by claiming a first Grand Slam title in an emotional French Open win. Krejcikova beat Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-1 2-6 6-4 in only her fifth major singles draw appearance. The former doubles world number one paid tribute to mentor Jana Novotna, who died in 2017 at the age of 49, saying she owed her success to her. "She is looking after me from up there," said 25-year-old Krejcikova. Krejcikova has often

Czech Barbora Krejcikova reached the French Open final as she beat Greek 17th seed Maria Sakkari 7-5 4-6 9-7 on Thursday in a nail-biting, see-saw contest in which she saved a match point and overcame a wrong line call that held up her celebrations. Krejcikova dragged herself back from the brink of facing a match point at 3-5 in the third set and then rode an emotional roller coaster when she thought she had booked her place in the final before a wrong

PARIS: A fired-up Novak Djokovic repelled a stirring fightback by Italian Matteo Berrettini to claim a 6-3 6-2 6-7(5) 7-5 victory on Wednesday to set up a mouth-watering semi-final showdown with defending champion Rafa Nadal. The 34-year-old bellowed a series of frightening roars after completing a victory that at one stage looked like a formality but became increasingly fraught as Berrettini threw the kitchen sink at the Serb who becomes only the second man to reach 40 Grand Slam semi-finals after Roger Federer.

Russian second seed Daniil Medvedev says French Open organisers "preferred Amazon to people" by putting his quarter-final against Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas on at night without fans. Medvedev, 25, lost in straight sets in a match played behind closed doors because of France's coronavirus curfew. Asked if he was disappointed there were no fans, Medvedev said: "Yes, 100%. "Our match was definitely the match of the day, so Roland Garros preferred Amazon to people. It's easy as that." This year's French Open has featured

Defending champion Iga Swiatek held off a fierce challenge from Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk to reach the French Open quarter-finals with a 6-3 6-4 victory on Monday. The eighth-seeded Pole has now won 22 consecutive sets at Roland Garros going into her clash with Greek 17th seed Maria Sakkari as she bids to become the first woman to retain theRoland Garros title since Justine Henin in 2007. Against an 18-year-old opponent who threw everything at her, Swiatek kept her composure on an empty court

SHANGHAI: A decade ago, more than 110 million people tuned in from China to watch Li Na become the first Asian-born player to win a Grand Slam singles title. But now she is rarely seen on TV or in the country's media. Her big breakthrough for Chinese and Asian tennis at the 2011 French Open was followed by a second major at the Australian Open in 2014 before Li tearfully called it quits later that year. Now 39, Li is only seen fleetingly

Taking a hard line with elite athletes – that they are contractually bound to show up before the media - can backfire when there is anxiety among the best performers, says a psychologist. QUEENSLAND: Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka took a stand this week that called attention to the mental health of professional athletes. She refused to conduct interviews with the media after her matches at the French Open, citing concerns over her own mental well-being. And, in return, the tennis authorities fined

TOKYO: Japanese fans and public figures rallied in support of tennis star Naomi Osaka on Tuesday (Jun 1), offering sympathy after she withdrew from the French Open and opened up about her battles with depression. The four-time Grand Slam winner's career is followed closely in Japan and the controversy in Paris, which followed her refusal to attend press conferences, led news bulletins on Tuesday. Reaction in Japan was largely sympathetic, with one Twitter user urging Osaka to "take a good, long break". "I

PARIS: Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas overcame a sluggish start to reach the second round of the French Open with a 7-6(6), 6-3, 6-1 victory over France's Jeremy Chardy on Sunday (May 30). The fifth seed, who extended his winning run on clay to five matches after clinching the title in Lyon last week, was in trouble in the opening set in an empty court Philippe Chatrier after spectators were sent home under a 9pm local time curfew before making his superiority count. Tsitsipas, who

Iga Swiatek returns to the scene of her biggest triumph on Monday when she starts her French Open defence against unseeded Kaja Juvan, while Serena Williams will resume her quest for a 24th major in the night session on Court Philippe Chatrier. Swiatek, who turns 20 on Monday, was catapulted into the spotlight at Roland Garros last year when she became Poland's first Grand Slam singles champion and the youngest woman to capture the title in Paris since Monica Seles in 1992. She

PARIS: Thirteen-time champion Rafael Nadal, 20-time Grand Slam winner Roger Federer and world number one Novak Djokovic were placed in the same half of the French Open draw on Thursday (May 27). The three most successful players in the history of the men's game have won 17 of the last 20 Grand Slam titles between them and Federer and Djokovic are on a quarter-final collision course. Title holder Nadal, who starts against Australian Alexei Popyrin, could face Italian prospect Jannik Sinner, the 18th

PARIS: Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic will set their sights on more Grand Slam history at Roland Garros as the French Open embraces a new and eerily empty era of night time tennis. A 14th title in Paris for Nadal would take him to a record-setting 21st major, surpassing the mark he shares with Roger Federer who has already written off his hopes of adding to his lone success in the French capital back in 2009. Djokovic, the champion in 2016, can move