10:53 AM ET Associated Press ROME — Five-time champion Novak Djokovic can come to Rome and play at the Italian Open next month even if he is still not vaccinated against the coronavirus, the president of the Italian Tennis Federation said Wednesday. “The rules regarding players’ participation are established by the government and the ATP,”
Tennis
9:04 PM ET Associated Press Maria Sharapova says she is pregnant. The five-time Grand Slam tennis champion, who retired from the sport in February 2020, delivered the news via a social media post on Tuesday — her 35th birthday. “Precious beginnings!!!” Sharapova wrote, adding: “Eating birthday cake for two has always been my specialty.” She
6:32 PM ET Associated Press STUTTGART, Germany — Coco Gauff was knocked out in the first round of the Stuttgart Open on Tuesday after a 6-4, 6-2 loss to Daria Kasatkina. The 18-year-old Gauff seemed in control when she was 4-0 up in the opening set, but Kasatkina recovered to win the next six games
10:33 PM ET Ash Barty is returning to the sports world stage, this time wielding a golf club rather than a tennis racket. The former world No.1 will play in a teams exhibition event in New Jersey from June 30 to July 1, alongside some of sport’s biggest names. Barty, who announced her shock retirement
1:29 PM ET Associated Press MONACO — Stefanos Tsitsipas became the first repeat champion at the Monte Carlo Masters since Rafael Nadal in 2018 with a 6-3, 7-6 (3) win against unseeded Alejandro Davidovich Fokina on Sunday. “It’s a great feeling because we had the crowd this year,” the third-seeded Greek said after winning the
3:00 PM ET Associated Press MONACO — Defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas breezed into the Monte Carlo Masters final after dispatching second-seeded Alexander Zverev 6-4, 6-2 on Saturday. Tsitsipas lined up the first big final of the clay-court season against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, the Spaniard who knocked out Novak Djokovic in the second round. Davidovich Fokina
9:13 AM ET Associated Press RADOM, Poland — Poland reached the Billie Jean King Cup finals for the first time after top-ranked Iga Swiatek overpowered Andreea Prisacariu of Romania 6-0, 6-0 on Saturday. Swiatek needed just 52 minutes to extend her singles winning streak to 19 in her second competitive match since becoming world No.
6:26 PM ET Associated Press ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Alison Riske and Jessica Pegula gave the United States a 2-0 lead over Ukraine on Friday in the best-of-five Billie Jean King Cup qualifier. Riske beat Dayana Yastremska 7-6 (18-16), 7-5, surviving an epic first set that lasted 1 hour, 27 minutes. Pegula beat Katarina Zavatska 6-2,
2:06 PM ET Associated Press MONACO — Third-ranked Alexander Zverev beat Pablo Carreno Busta 6-2, 7-5 at the Monte Carlo Masters on Thursday to reach the quarterfinals of the clay-court season opener in Monaco. Carreno Busta broke Zverev to open the second set and built a 3-1 lead before the German rallied, setting up a
12:42 PM ET Associated Press MONACO — Sebastian Korda beat Carlos Alcaraz 7-6 (2), 6-7 (5), 6-3 in windy conditions at the Monte Carlo Masters on Wednesday to reach the third round of the clay-court season opener in Monaco. Both players struggled with their serve in the decisive set as winds reached 20 mph. Korda
7:10 AM ET Associated Press MADRID — The latter stages of the Davis Cup finals will be played in the southern Spanish city of Málaga in November, organizers said Wednesday. The revamped tennis competition will remain in Spain after the first two editions were played in Madrid. The group phase will be played from Sept.
2:42 PM ET Associated Press MONACO — Novak Djokovic opened his clay-court season with a surprising loss to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina at the Monte Carlo Masters on Tuesday. Davidovich Fokina stunned the top-ranked Serb 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-1 in the second round to hand Djokovic another setback as he tries to move on from the
2:24 PM ET Associated Press WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — Lew Sherr has been selected as the chief executive officer and executive director of the USTA. The national governing body for tennis in the United States announced the hiring Tuesday, saying Sherr will start his new role on May 2. He has been with the association
11:30 AM ET Associated Press LONDON — Four-time Grand Slam singles champion Kim Clijsters has retired from professional tennis again. Clijsters, who ended her second retirement in 2019 after a seven-year hiatus, announced Tuesday that she will “no longer play official tournaments.” “I can’t wait to see what new adventures will cross my path,” the
2:29 PM ET Associated Press MONACO — Alexander Bublik cut short Stan Wawrinka‘s return to the tour, defeating the Swiss 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 in the first round of the Monte Carlo Masters on Monday in his first singles in 13 months. Wawrinka started off confidently against the Kazakh, winning the first set with ease. He
9:53 AM ET D’Arcy MaineESPN.com The United States and Ukraine may be opponents on the court this week at the Billie Jean King Cup qualifying tie in Asheville, North Carolina, but off the court, it’s a decidedly different story as the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues. In addition to the emotional toll the war has
7:25 PM ET Associated Press HOUSTON — Reilly Opelka beat fellow American John Isner 6-3, 7-6 (7) on Sunday to win the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship in the tallest matchup in an ATP Tour final. The 6-foot-11 Opelka won his fourth tour title and first on clay. He improved to 5-1 against the 6-10
6:21 PM ET Associated Press CHARLESTON, S.C. — Belinda Bencic won three of the last four games to outlast Ons Jabeur 6-1, 5-7, 6-4 and win the Credit One Charleston Open on Sunday for her first clay-court championship. Bencic won her sixth career WTA title and first since the Tokyo Olympics. Bencic lost her opening