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With Djokovic awaiting the winner, Murray trails Hanfmann at rain-hit Geneva Open
The Associated Press | Posted May 20 - 12:51 p.m. | Save Story
Andy Murray needed a win to face Novak Djokovic next at the Geneva Open and was saved by a heavy rainstorm. Murray trailed 7-5, 4-1 against unseeded Yannick Hanfmann in their first-round match on Monday. Murray and top-ranked Djokovic both got wild cards to enter the last clay-court event to prepare for the French Open. They have been drawn to meet in the second round. They have not faced each other on tour since February 2017. The 85th-ranked Hanfmann broke Murray's service twice in a row to lead 4-1 when play was suspended.
Rafael Nadal returns to Roland Garros to practice amid doubts over his fitness and form
Tom Nouvian, Associated Press | Updated May 20 - 12:41 p.m. | Save Story
Rafael Nadal is back at Roland Garros for the first time since 2022. He practiced at Court Philippe Chatier for more than an hour in front of about 6,000 fans on Monday. There is less than a week before the start of the French Open. It is still unclear if he will compete in what likely would be his last French Open. The 37-year-old Nadal has won the tournament 14 times. The idea was for Nadal to assess his form after missing most of the past two seasons with hip and abdominal issues.
Saudi Arabia is going to sponsor the WTA women's tennis rankings under a new partnership
The Associated Press | Updated May 20 - 12:28 p.m. | Save Story
Saudi Arabia's move into tennis will now include a multiyear deal to sponsor the WTA women's rankings. The WTA released word of its partnership agreement with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund on Monday, a move that follows last month's news that the kingdom will host the tour's season-ending championships in Riyadh starting this year and February's announcement that it will sponsor the ATP men's rankings. The PIF is the first naming-rights partner for the WTA rankings and the new arrangement also includes plans to promote tennis at lower levels of the sport.
Zverev's stock is rising for the French Open amid questions over Djokovic, Nadal, Sinner and Alcaraz
Andrew Dampf, Associated Press | Posted May 20 - 2:49 a.m. | Save Story
Top-ranked Novak Djokovic hasn't won a tournament all year. Record 14-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal has been far from his best. Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz have been out injured. And Daniil Medvedev has won only one clay-court title in his career. Alexander Zverev's credentials entering Roland Garros are looking pretty good following his second Italian Open title. Especially when considering the state of his rivals in the top five. The clay-court Grand Slam in Paris starts on Sunday. Zverev won 44 of his 49 service points in a 6-4, 7-5 victory over 24th-ranked Nicolas Jarry 6-4, 7-5 in the Rome final to earn his biggest trophy since tearing his ankle apart two years ago.
Emma Raducanu withdraws from French Open qualifying to focus on grass season
The Associated Press | Posted May 19 - 3:19 p.m. | Save Story
Emma Raducanu has withdrawn from French Open qualifying and will instead focus on training for the grass and hard-court seasons. The 21-year-old had been expected to try to fight her way through three rounds of qualifying at Roland Garros, as she famously did on her way to winning the U.S. Open in 2021. But Raducanu instead surprisingly pulled out of the clay-court tournament.
The Italian Open was where Zverev's career took off. Another title in Rome signals a career revival
Andrew Dampf, Associated Press | Updated May 19 - 12:47 p.m. | Save Story
Alexander Zverev put on a serving clinic in a 6-4, 7-5 win over 24th-ranked Nicolas Jarry to claim his second Italian Open title and earn his biggest trophy since tearing his ankle apart two years ago. Zverev opened the match with three straight aces on the red clay court and won 20 of his 21 service points in the first set. It's been a long road of recovery for the fifth-ranked Zverev after tearing three ligaments in his right ankle during the 2022 French Open semifinals against Rafael Nadal. This year's French Open starts next Sunday and now Zverev has established himself among the favorites again.
Swiatek dominates to earn her 3rd Italian Open title and heads to French Open as the big favorite
Andrew Dampf, Associated Press | Updated May 18 - 1:39 p.m. | Save Story
The latest matchup between top-ranked Iga Swiatek and No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka was hardly a contest. Swiatek was in control from the start as she won the Italian Open final 6-2, 6-3 on Saturday. She earned her third trophy on Rome's red clay and established herself as the overwhelming favorite at the French Open again. Roland Garros starts next weekend and Swiatek will be aiming for a third straight title in Paris and fourth overall. Swiatek became the first woman to complete the "dirt double" of winning Madrid and Rome back to back since Serena Williams in 2013. The men's final on Sunday features 2017 champion Alexander Zverev against 24th-ranked Nicolas Jarry.
Zverev to face Jarry in the Italian Open final after a comeback win over Tabilo
Andrew Dampf, Associated Press | Updated May 17 - 4:11 p.m. | Save Story
Alexander Zverev has rallied to beat Alejandro Tabilo 1-6, 7-6, 6-2 for a spot in the Italian Open final. Zverev will face another Chilean in Nicolas Jarry for the trophy after Jarry beat Tommy Paul 6-3, 6-7, 6-3 on the American's 27th birthday in the other semifinal. Zverev's pinkie on his left hand was bandaged following a fall in his previous match. Top-ranked Iga Swiatek will play No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka in the women's final on Saturday. Rome is the last big wamup before the French Open starts on May 26.
Djokovic gets late wild card to Geneva Open in bid for more clay action before Roland Garros
The Associated Press | Updated May 17 - 11:47 a.m. | Save Story
Novak Djokovic is a surprise entry for the Geneva Open, the last men's warmup for the French Open. Geneva organizers say the top-ranked Djokovic got the last wild card on Friday to their event that starts on Sunday. Andy Murray also has a wild card and could meet Djokovic in the second round. They have not played against each other in seven years. Djokovic will turn 37 on Wednesday while in Geneva for his first tournament in Switzerland since 2011. Djokovic unexpectedly loss last Sunday in the third round of the Italian Open. It's left Djokovic looking for more games on clay before heading to Paris to defend his title at Roland Garros.
Tommy Paul feels right at home on European clay. Swiatek to play Sabalenka in Italian Open final
Andrew Dampf, Associated Press | Updated May 16 - 3:44 p.m. | Save Story
Tommy Paul has produced the biggest clay-court result of his career at the Italian Open. And he's still going. The American beat ninth-ranked Hubert Hurkacz 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 to earn a spot in the semifinals at the Foro Italico after a straight-set victory over defending champion Daniil Medvedev in his previous match. Paul's semifinal opponent will be Nicolas Jarry after the Chilean rallied past Monte Carlo Masters champion Stefanos Tsitsipas 3-6, 7-5, 6-4. The other semifinal match will feature 2017 Rome champion Alexander Zverev against Alejandro Tabilo. Top-ranked Iga Swiatek will face No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka in the women's final.
Queen's Club to stage women's event next year in run-up to Wimbledon
The Associated Press | Posted May 16 - 9:25 a.m. | Save Story
The Queen's Club will stage a women's tennis tournament next year for the first time in more than a half-century though it may prove to be a one-off. The WTA event will take place the week after the French Open and usher in the start of tennis' short grass-court campaign. It puts it among the warmup tournaments for Wimbledon. The men's ATP Tour event will be held the following week. Male players have raised concerns that the quality of the grass at Queen's Club will be impacted by a women's tournament being staged there first. Lawn Tennis Association director Chris Pollard says the arrangement could end up only being for a year.
Top tennis players say they're playing too much because the tournaments are too long
Andrew Dampf, Associated Press | Posted May 16 - 5:49 a.m. | Save Story
The long-sought upgrade for the tennis tournaments in Madrid and Rome has been a bonanza for the organizers by expanding them from one to nearly two weeks. There are more competition days which means more tickets sold, more TV time and more money. But the players haven't been as enthusiastic. Recent Monte Carlo Masters champion Stefanos Tsitsipas says "You got to be some type of superhero to be consistent back-to-back 10 days in each event getting to the very end of it." Adds former No. 1 Victoria Azarenka, "We stretched the drama a bit too much" and "it kind of becomes like the 'telenova' that was too many seasons."
Danielle Collins keeps on winning even with retirement looming. She's in the Italian Open semifinals
Andrew Dampf, Associated Press | Updated May 15 - 3:32 p.m. | Save Story
Danielle Collins has been nearly unbeatable lately. Even with her announced retirement looming. The 15th-ranked American beat former No. 1 Victoria Azarenka 6-4, 6-3 to reach the Italian Open semifinals and extend her record to 19-1 since early March. Collins' semifinal opponent will be Aryna Sabalenka. Sabalenka eased past Jelena Ostapenko 6-2, 6-4. Advancing in men's action was Alejandro Tabilo who beat Zhang Zhizhen 6-3, 6-4 to follow up his upset victories over Novak Djokovic and Karen Khachanov in the previous two rounds. Tabilo's semifinal opponents will be 2017 champion Alexander Zverev. Zverev beat 11th-seeded Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-3.
The US Open men's final is shifting to ABC this year. The women's final will stay on ESPN
The Associated Press | Posted May 15 - 1:50 p.m. | Save Story
The U.S. Open men's final will shift to ABC from ESPN this year but the women's title match will remain on the cable outlet a year after Coco Gauff won the Grand Slam tennis tournament. This will be the first time ABC airs the men's final, ESPN said Wednesday. The match is on Sept. 8. The women's final in Flushing Meadows is the day before. ESPN has shown the tournament played in New York since 2009, including holding the exclusive rights for a decade. Gauff won her first major championship at the U.S. Open last year. Novak Djokovic won his 24th.
Sinner can become No. 1 even if he misses the French Open. He's already at the top for his behavior
Andrew Dampf, Associated Press | Posted May 15 - 11:02 a.m. | Save Story
Jannik Sinner is still winning even when he's out injured. The Italian tennis player has a chance to become No. 1 in the rankings even if he misses the upcoming French Open because of a hip injury that has kept him out recently. Unexpected losses for top-ranked Novak Djokovic and No. 4 Daniil Medvedev at the Italian Open mean that the second-ranked Sinner will become No. 1 if Djokovic doesn't reach the final at Roland Garros. But Sinner's rapidly growing fan base in Italy and beyond already consider him No. 1 for his model behavior.
Serena Williams to host The ESPYs in July
The Associated Press | Posted May 14 - 3:01 p.m. | Save Story
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 July 11 from the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. Megan Rapinoe, Sue Bird and Russell Wilson co-hosted the 2020 show, which was virtual because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Danica Patrick was the first woman to host solo in 2018. Williams says the gig is something she's wanted to do for as long as she can remember. She retired from tennis in 2022.
Daniil Medvedev latest to crash out of Italian Open after loss to Tommy Paul.
The Associated Press | Updated May 14 - 2:42 p.m. | Save Story
Defending champion Daniil Medvedev became the latest top player to crash out of the Italian Open as he lost to American Tommy Paul. The 14th-seeded Paul dominated to triumph 6-1, 6-4 and reach the quarterfinals. Medvedev follows 10-time champion Rafael Nadal and top-ranked Novak Djokovic with early exits in Rome. The third-seeded Alexander Zverev eased past Nuno Borges 6-2, 7-5 and will face Taylor Fritz. Top-ranked Iga Swiatek reached the women's semifinals with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Madison Keys.
French veterans Cornet and Gasquet receive French Open wild-card invitations
The Associated Press | Posted May 14 - 11:29 a.m. | Save Story
French veterans Alizé Cornet and Richard Gasquet have received wild-card invitations to play in the French Open. They were among the eight men's and eight women's wild cards given by the French Tennis Federation for the clay-court Grand Slam tournament starting May 26. The 34-year-old Cornet recently said she would be retiring after playing one last time at Roland Garros. This will be Cornet's 20th consecutive appearance at the French Open. Gasquet is 37 and currently ranked No. 113 and his best was No. 7. He reached the French Open quarterfinals in 2016 but has got past the third round since.
Swiatek on course for Madrid-Rome double; facing Keys in the quarters
The Associated Press | Updated May 13 - 5:13 p.m. | Save Story
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek remains on course for a Madrid-Rome double after beating Angelique Kerber to reach the Italian Open quarterfinals. Swiatek needed eight set points to secure the opener but had no such problems at the end of the second. She sealed a 7-5, 6-3 victory on the first match point. The two-time Rome champion will next face Madison Keys after the American player eased past Sorana Cirstea 6-2, 6-1 in a match that had to be temporarily suspended because of a protest by environmentalists. Both of the Madrid finalists are out of the men's tournament after Andrey Rublev and Felix Auger-Aliassime lost their third-round matches.
