Tennis

Associated Press May 15, 2024, 09:36 AM ET Open Extended Reactions ROME — Aryna Sabalenka showed no ill effects from her previous marathon match as she eased past Jelena Ostapenko to reach the semifinals of the Italian Open on Wednesday. The second-seeded Sabalenka needed just 73 minutes to win 6-2, 6-4, setting up match point

Associated Press May 14, 2024, 10:46 AM ET Open Extended Reactions ROME — Top-ranked Iga Swiatek reached the Italian Open semifinals when she swept aside former finalist Madison Keys 6-1, 6-3 on Tuesday. It was the same result and score Swiatek achieved against Keys in the Madrid semifinals two weeks ago. The 16th-ranked Keys grew

Associated Press May 14, 2024, 05:21 PM ET Open Extended Reactions LOS ANGELES — Serena Williams is returning to the sports spotlight to host The ESPYS in July. The retired 23-time major tournament winner will be the fourth woman to helm the show honoring the past year’s achievements, athletes and moments. The ESPYS will air

Associated Press May 14, 2024, 02:47 PM ET Open Extended Reactions ROME — Defending champion Daniil Medvedev became the latest top player to crash out of the Italian Open as he lost to American Tommy Paul on Tuesday. The 14th-seeded Paul dominated to triumph 6-1, 6-4. The opener lasted just 28 minutes as Medvedev’s serve

D’Arcy Maine, ESPN.com May 14, 2024, 01:42 PM ET Open Extended Reactions The French Tennis Federation (FFT) announced the players who would be receiving wild cards for the upcoming French Open in a statement Tuesday, awarding most of the slots to French players. Major champions Simona Halep, Venus Williams, Dominic Thiem, Caroline Wozniacki and Emma

May 14, 2024, 02:27 AM ET Open Extended Reactions American Coco Gauff has accumulated 35 double faults in three matches at the Italian Open, but the world No. 3 said the technical changes to her serve only need time to settle. A potent serve can be a powerful weapon in tennis, but US Open champion

Associated Press May 13, 2024, 12:11 PM ET Open Extended Reactions ROME — Top-ranked Iga Swiatek remained on course for an uncommon Madrid-Rome double after beating Angelique Kerber to reach the Italian Open quarterfinals Monday. It was a ninth straight win for Swiatek, and the two-time Rome champion will next face Madison Keys after the

D’Arcy Maine, ESPN.com May 13, 2024, 10:54 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Camila Giorgi confirmed her retirement from tennis with a post on her Instagram story Saturday. The 2018 Wimbledon quarterfinalist, who won four WTA titles during her career, reached a high of 26 in the rankings. She had sparked rumors about her status after

ESPN News Services May 12, 2024, 10:34 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Alejandro Tabilo claimed the biggest win of his career when he beat world No. 1 Novak Djokovic 6-2, 6-3 at the Italian Open on Sunday in a match that lasted just 67 minutes. Djokovic has won the Italian Open six times, with his

Associated Press May 11, 2024, 09:20 AM ET Open Extended Reactions ROME — Fifteen days before he is scheduled to play in what will likely be his final French Open, Rafael Nadal is so unsatisfied with his level of tennis that he is still debating whether to go to Roland Garros. Nadal’s surgically repaired hip

Associated Press May 10, 2024, 03:10 PM ET Open Extended Reactions ROME — Novak Djokovic took a little while to get going in his first match in nearly a month. He cleaned up his game after dropping his first two service games with some sloppy play, though, and completed a 6-3, 6-1 win over left-handed

Associated Press May 10, 2024, 10:37 AM ET Open Extended Reactions LONDON — Two more low-ranking tennis players linked to a match-fixing syndicate in Belgium have been banned from the sport, the International Tennis Integrity Agency said Friday. Alejandro Crespo, a 34-year-old Bolivian, was banned for life and fined $250,000 for his “continuous pattern of

May 10, 2024, 07:43 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Former US Open champion Dominic Thiem will retire at the end of the 2024 season after going through a turbulent few years due to a wrist injury, the 30-year-old Austrian said Friday. The former world No. 3 has struggled to get back to top form after

May 10, 2024, 06:33 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Defending champion Elena Rybakina has withdrawn from the Italian Open due to illness, the tournament said on Friday. The Wimbledon 2022 champion’s withdrawal was announced hours before she was scheduled to begin her title defence against Romania’s Irina-Camelia Begu. Kazakhstan’s Rybakina would be replaced by Frenchwoman

D’Arcy Maine, ESPN.com May 9, 2024, 01:54 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Andrey Rublev fell onto his back, legs outstretched with his hands covering his face. Red clay covered his shirt and his legs as he stood up seconds later. He let out a deep exhale. He had arrived in Madrid without a match win

D’Arcy Maine, ESPN.com May 7, 2024, 07:21 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Women’s tennis has been criticized in recent years for its lack of true rivalries and constant changeover at the top of the rankings. But over the past two seasons, a strong group of elite players has emerged. And that was even more evident

Associated Press Apr 29, 2024, 01:57 PM ET Open Extended Reactions MADRID — Rafael Nadal‘s body withstood its toughest test yet at the Madrid Open as he needed three sets and more than three hours to get past 91st-ranked Pedro Cachin on Monday. In the women’s draw, meanwhile, top-ranked Iga Swiatek remained on track for

ESPN News Services Apr 29, 2024, 02:59 AM ET Open Extended Reactions MADRID — Carlos Alcaraz said he is playing pain-free at the Madrid Open following an arm injury that derailed the start of his clay-court season, but the defending champion still has some lingering doubts about his forehand. The 20-year-old successfully defended his Indian