Tennis

Coco Gauff battled to a 6-3 5-7 6-3 win over unseeded Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk at the Adelaide International 2 WTA tournament on Wednesday to join four other Americans in the quarter-finals. Madison Keys, Alison Riske, Madison Brengle and Lauren Davis also won their respective matches in the round of 16 earlier in the day to book their spots in the quarter-finals which will take place on Thursday. Gauff, who pushed world number one Ash Barty before losing their second-round meeting in the Adelaide

Tennis star Novak Djokovic released a long statement on Wednesday, with details on why he was not in isolation after testing positive for COVID-19 in December and saying his agent made a mistake in filling out his Australian travel declaration. The statement came as Australia's Immigration Minister Alex Hawke was considering whether to cancel the world no.1 tennis player's visa ahead of the Australian Open, which starts on Jan. 17, amid controversy over whether he was eligible for a medical exemption from the

Felix Auger-Aliassime defeated world No. 3 Alexander Zverev of Germany 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 on Thursday to propel Canada into the semifinals of the ATP Cup in Germany. Russia, behind world No. 2 Daniil Medvedev, nabbed the final semifinal spot in a defeat of Italy. Auger-Aliassime's win followed that of teammate Denis Shapovalov, who defeated Jan-Lennard Struff 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-3. The two singles wins secured the victory, while Russia needed to rely on its doubles play to advance. Jannik Sinner defeated Roman Safiullin

Australia said Thursday it had cancelled the entry visa of Novak Djokovic, opening the way to his detention and removal in a dramatic reversal for the tennis world number one. The Serb had landed in Melbourne the previous evening, after celebrating on social media that he had a medical exemption to play in the tournament without proof he was fully vaccinated against Covid-19. The vaccine exemption, granted by the Australian Open organisers after his application had been cleared by two medical panels, sparked

The two-time Grand Slam champion said she spent the time with family and worked on her game in a bid to win her first Australian Open later this month. World number one Ashleigh Barty said Monday that she will need to be patient as she returns to competitive action this week for the first time since the US Open in September. Barty is celebrating 102 consecutive weeks at the top of the women's game but after falling in the third round at Flushing

Novak Djokovic has pulled out of the Serbia team for the ATP Cup in Sydney, event organisers said on Wednesday, raising further doubts over whether the world number one will defend his Australian Open title next month. There has been intense speculation over Djokovic's participation in both events, with the 34-year-old, who is opposed to COVID-19 vaccinations, repeatedly declining to say if he has been inoculated against the virus. Organisers of the Australian Open, which starts on Jan. 17, have stipulated that all

Former world number one Andy Murray eased past Rafa Nadal 6-3 7-5 in the Spaniard's comeback match at the World Tennis Championship exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi on Friday to set up a summit clash with Russia's Andrey Rublev. More than five years on from their last meeting, both players made impressive starts but the Scot's superior match practice told as he saved a break point in the third game of the match and then broke himself to easily claim the first set.

Novak Djokovic dominated the men's game once again and a new star in Emma Raducanu exploded onto the scene at the U.S. Open, but the sport finished 2021 in a stand-off with China over the safety of former doubles number one Peng Shuai. Djokovic started the year by winning a record ninth Australian Open title and by the time the season reached the final of the fourth and last major of the year at the U.S. Open, the Serbian was standing on the

Canada's former US Open champion Bianca Andreescu said on Monday she will not take part in next month's Australian Open as she recovers from two seasons disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Canada's former US Open champion Bianca Andreescu said on Monday she will not take part in next month's Australian Open as she recovers from two seasons disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic. The 21-year-old world number 46, who missed multiple tournaments this season after contracting coronavirus in April, said she planned to use

Russia took an unassailable 2-0 lead over Croatia in the Davis Cup final in Madrid on Sunday to secure their third title and first in 15 years. Reigning U.S. Open champion Daniil Medvedev claimed the deciding second point by defeating Marin Cilic 7-6(7) 6-2 after compatriot Andrey Rublev beat Borna Gojo 6-4 7-6(5). Source: Reuters / Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York; Editing by Jan Harvey

World number one Novak Djokovic overpowered Dennis Novak after Dusan Lajovic battled past Gerald Melzer and Serbia went on to a 3-0 win in their opener against Group F hosts Austria in the Davis Cup Finals in Innsbruck on Friday. Djokovic, aiming to guide Serbia to their first title since 2010 and second overall, made light work of his opponent as he dropped just six points on serve and did not face a break point while claiming a 6-3 6-2 victory in under

Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut has been ruled out of the Davis Cup after suffering an abdominal injury in training and will be replaced by Albert Ramos, the Spanish tennis federation said. World number 19 Bautista Agut, who helped Spain clinch the 2019 title against Canada in the inaugural edition of the revamped event, was the highest-ranked singles player in the team. Ramos, 33, will join Pablo Carreno Busta, Feliciano Lopez, Marcel Granollers and 18-year-old Carlos Alcaraz, who will be making his Davis Cup

Chinese player Peng Shuai has still not directly been in contact with the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), which says "no amount of money" would stop it pulling events out of China. Peng, 35, made sexual assault allegations against a former China vice-premier two weeks ago. WTA chairman Steve Simon told the BBC there will be no events in China next year without proof that Peng is safe. "We cannot stand by compromises. This is a right and wrong issue," he said. The WTA

Four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka said she was concerned over the wherabouts of fellow tennis player Peng Shuai, who has not been heard from since making allegations of sexual assault against a former Chinese vice premier. Peng, one of China's biggest sport stars, said on social media earlier this month that a former member of China's Politburo Standing Committee, Zhang Gaoli, coerced her into sex and that they later had an on-off consensual relationship. The global tennis community has grown alarmed as

Italy's Matteo Berrettini broke down in tears after an abdominal injury forced him to retire from his opening ATP Finals match against Alexander Zverev, casting doubt over his participation for the rest of the season-ending tournament. Olympic champion Zverev was awarded a win after Berrettini pulled out injured early in the second set, with the German leading 7-6(7) 1-0 on Sunday. Berrettini was sidelined for two months due to an abdominal injury he suffered at the Australian Open in February. The 25-year-old was

World number three Stefanos Tsitsipas retired injured from his second-round match against Australian Alexei Popyrin with what appeared to be a right arm problem on a bad day for seeds at the Paris Masters on Wednesday. The 23-year-old Greek was trailing 4-2 during the first set when he called the trainer on court before shaking hands with his opponent to signal his retirement. Tsitsipas declined to share details of his physical condition but added that he did not want to aggravate the problem

Top-seeded Simona Halep recorded six aces while knocking off Romanian countrymate Elena-Gabriela Ruse 6-1, 6-2 on Wednesday in the first round of the Transylvania Open at Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Halep needed just 73 minutes to finish off Ruse, who committed six double faults without notching an ace. Halep won 25 of 30 first-serve points (83.3 percent). Second-seeded Anett Kontaveit of Estonia was a 6-3, 7-5 winner over Serbia's Aleksandra Krunic, while Romania's Jaqueline Cristian posted a 7-6 (5), 7-5 win over fifth-seeded Ajla Tomljanovic

Top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece saved three set points in the first set to take down Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov 7-6 (6), 6-4 in a first-round match Tuesday at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna, Austria. Tsitsipas withstood 10 aces from Dmitrov and saved all four break points he faced in the one-hour, 42-minute win. He next faces Frances Tiafoe, who defeated Tsitsipas earlier this year in straight sets at Wimbledon. Tiafoe reached the second round with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Serbian

Ons Jabeur will become the first Arab player to crack the top 10 of the world rankings after reaching the Indian Wells semi-finals on Thursday and the Tunisian said she is just getting started. Jabeur, currently ranked 14th, reached the final of the Chicago Fall Tennis Classic earlier this month and became the first Arab player to win a WTA title at the Birmingham Classic in June. The 27-year-old defeated Estonia's Anett Kontaveit 7-5 6-3 in Thursday's quarter-final in the California desert, converting

Daniil Medvedev was knocked out in the fourth round of Indian Wells by Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov on Wednesday as the world number two's near-flawless start turned nightmarish in a 4-6 6-4 6-3 defeat. Medvedev broke Dimitrov’s serve to open the match, easing through a near-perfect first set in which he won all but four of his first-serve points and fired off three aces with just five unforced errors. The Russian, who won his maiden major title at the U.S. Open last month, was