Tennis

Serena Williams launched her latest bid for a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam with a 56-minute demolition of Laura Siegemund at the Australian Open. The American, 39, said it was "vintage Serena" as she thrashed the German 6-1 6-1 in front of a small, unmasked crowd on Rod Laver Arena. US Open champion Naomi Osaka also made a convincing start with a 6-1 6-2 win over Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. But former champion Angelique Kerber was the first seed to be knocked out. The German

World number one Ashleigh Barty says she is "happy with the progression" of her tennis after warming up for the Australian Open by winning the Yarra Valley Classic. The Australian had not played for 11 months because of the coronavirus pandemic but won four matches at the tune-up event in Melbourne. Barty won 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 in the final against Spain's Garbine Muguruza. Now she is aiming to become the first home champion at the major since 1978. arty, 24, reached the semi-finals

Between 500 and 600 Australian Open players, officials and support staff will go into isolation after a worker at one of the event's quarantine hotels tested positive for coronavirus. Thursday's play at the six warm-up events at Melbourne Park has been cancelled as a result. But Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews said: "At this stage there is no impact on the tournament proper." Players will be free to return to competition after a negative test. "We will work with everyone involved to facilitate testing

More than 500 tennis players and officials were ordered into isolation in the Australian city of Melbourne on Thursday as authorities reintroduced coronavirus restrictions after a worker at a quarantine hotel tested positive for the virus. The city reimposed an order for masks indoors and a limit on gatherings of 15 people after the state's run of 28 days with no new local cases came to an end. Melbourne, Australia's second-biggest city, is preparing to host the Australian Open tennis tournament from Monday

Australian Open boss Craig Tiley says he is "absolutely confident" the Grand Slam will start as planned on Monday, despite 160 players waiting for the outcome of coronavirus tests. A total of 507 people connected to the event were told to isolate by Melbourne health officials on Wednesday after a hotel worker tested positive. Play at six warm-up events and the Slam draws were postponed on Thursday. "We fully expect to keep the original schedule after today," said Tiley. The warm-up events, which are all

Rafael Nadal pulled out of Spain's opening ATP Cup tie with a lower back problem less than a week before he launches his bid for a record 21st men's Grand Slam title at the Australian Open. The world number two, 34, was scheduled to face Australia's Alex de Minaur at Melbourne Park on Tuesday. "I have a stiff low back," Nadal wrote on Twitter. "Hopefully I'll be better for Thursday." Spain play Greece on Thursday. Spain were runners-up to Serbia in the final

Roger Federer is hoping to make his comeback from double knee surgery in 2020 by competing at a smaller tournament after skipping the Australian Open; The 39-year-old is currently tied with Rafael Nadal on 20 Grand Slam titles Roger Federer is set to return to ATP Tour action in Doha, scheduled for the week of March 8, following an absence of 14 months due to injury. Federer made his last appearance at the end of January 2020, when he was beaten by Novak

Barty will play American Shelby Rogers in the quarterfinals of the Yarra Valley Classic and could potentially face Serena Williams in the semifinals. Williams was playing Tsvetana Pironkova in a night match on Margaret Court Arena. 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

Rafa Nadal brushed aside questions about the Australian Open quarantine on Sunday and said it was time to get down to the business of playing tennis and entertaining fans around the world. The 34-year-old, who secured his 20th Grand Slam title at last year’s delayed French Open, completed his two weeks of isolation in Adelaide on Friday before playing an exhibition match and then heading to Melbourne. “When we arrived here, we have this quarantine. But I think that’s over. It’s the moment

Serena Williams says she may not have been able to play in the Australian Open had it not been pushed back by three weeks. The first Grand Slam of the year was delayed to allow players to quarantine. Williams, chasing a record-equalling 24th major singles title next week, said she "needed the extra time" to fully recover from an Achilles injury sustained at the US Open in September. She and Britain's Katie Boulter won their openers as warm-up events began. The two are playing

Britain's Katie Boulter beat Anna Kalinskaya in the first round of the Gippsland Trophy as players began their Australian Open preparations. Boulter, playing in just her second WTA main draw match since February 2019, beat the Russian 6-1 6-3 in 59 minutes. The 24-year-old will play world number 48 Coco Gauff next in Melbourne. American Gauff, who reached the fourth round of the Australian Open in 2020, battled past Switzerland's Jil Teichmann 6-3 6-7 (6-8) 7-6 (7-5). Gauff squandered a 4-2 lead in

Preparation for this year's Australian Open has been unlike anything these professional tennis players have previously experienced. Some have been through a "hard quarantine" and unable to leave their hotel rooms at all for 14 days, while others have been allowed out to practice for limited hours during the day. However, there is one element of the upcoming tournament, set to begin on February 8, that will at least give the players some sense of normalcy.For the first time at a grand slam

Daily crowds of between 25,000 and 30,000 will be allowed to watch the Australian Open, organisers said Saturday in a big boost to the season's opening Grand Slam. Aggressive restrictions on incoming travel have helped keep the coronavirus largely at bay in Australia, making it one of the few places in the world where fans can still attend sports events in significant numbers. Victoria state's Sports Minister Martin Pakula said it equated to some 390,000 spectators across the two-week spectacle -- around half

Thousands of cheering fans packed the stands on Friday to watch some of tennis' biggest stars warm up for the Australian Open -- with hardly a face mask to be seen. In an unusual scene for the coronavirus pandemic, the 4,000 crowd sat cheek by jowl as big hitters including Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka emerged from their 14-day quarantine to play exhibition matches ahead of the first grand slam of the year in Melbourne next month.The scene prompted joy on

Gearing up for Australian Open 2021, Rafael Nadal said he is not obsessed about breaking records but said he will is looking forward to adding to his Grand Slam tally, which stands at 20. World No. 2 Rafael Nadal has said he is not focussed on going behind records but maintained that it would be "amazing" to add to his Grand Slam tally in the new season. Nadal is tied with Federer as the two tennis greats have won 20 major titles each,

Australian Open tennis players have begun to leave hotel quarantine after completing their 14-day isolation, about a week before the event starts.By Sunday, about 500 players will have been released from hotels in Melbourne and Adelaide, organisers said. High-profile stars Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams were among those allowed out on Friday. Players have quarantined because of the Australian government's Covid-19 rules for anyone entering the country. In early January, more than 1,700 players, staff and others tied to the Grand

Rafael Nadal said "we all try to help each other" amid Covid restrictions ahead of Australian Open, but some need "to make public everything they do to help others." Rafael Nadal has taken an apparent swipe at Novak Djokovic over his requests for quarantined players preparing for the Australian Open, saying not everyone felt the need to "advertise" how they were trying to help. The Serbian world number one issued a list of suggestions to Tennis Australia last week on behalf of 72

The ATP Cup debuted last year with 24 teams and was held across three cities in Australia Top-ranked Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal will start their 2021 seasons on Feb. 2 when they lead Serbia and Spain respectively in the team-based ATP Cup ahead of the Australian Open. The top two men’s players will be joined by world number three Dominic Thiem and Russian No. 4 Daniil Medvedev on the opening day of the tournament at Melbourne Park, which will also host the

Veteran table tennis player Mouma Das was among seven sportspersons awarded the prestigious Padma Shri by the Government of India on the eve of the country's 72nd Republic Day. Veteran table tennis player Mouma Das and the legendary PT Usha's coach Madhavan Nambiar were among seven sportspersons awarded the prestigious Padma Shri by the Government of India on the eve of the country's 72nd Republic Day. Besides Mouma and the great athletics coach, better known as OM Nambiar, former India women's basketball team captain P Anitha, long-distance runner

Leander Paes, 47, said he skipped the Australian Open as he is apprehensive of playing in a bio-bubble but is looking ahead to the French Open. Indian tennis icon Leander Paes on Monday said he is eyeing a French Open comeback this year in his quest to make a record eighth appearance at the Olympics in Tokyo. Paes, 47, said he skipped the Australian Open as he is apprehensive of playing in a bio-bubble but is looking ahead to the French Open. Playing sport in a bio-bubble is