Tag: Tennis

Novak Djokovic ‘Very Happy’ Visa Ban Overturned Ahead of Australia Open

Former world number one Novak Djokovic will be playing in the 2023 Australian Open after the government overturned his three-year ban. At the beginning of the year, Djokovic was deported and banned from the country after his visa was cancelled over his vaccination status, causing him to miss out on the tournament. Following his victory…


Nadal Eliminated From ATP Finals, Alcaraz to Finish Year at No. 1

TURIN, Italy—Rafa Nadal was eliminated from the ATP Finals as Casper Ruud beat American Taylor Fritz in their round-robin match in Turin on Tuesday, which also guaranteed that teenager Carlos Alcaraz would end the year as world number one. Spaniard Nadal needed to win the tournament to take the rankings top spot from compatriot Alcaraz,…


Caroline Garcia Downs Aryna Sabalenka to Win WTA Finals

Caroline Garcia earned the biggest championship of her career on Monday, Nov. 7, capturing the WTA Finals with a 7–6 (4), 6–4 win over Aryna Sabalenka in Fort Worth, Texas. Garcia, a 29-year-old France native who was seeded sixth, has never been to a Grand Slam final, but she now owns 11 WTA Tour event…


Sabalenka Stuns Swiatek, Faces Garcia for WTA Finals Title

FORT WORTH, Texas—Aryna Sabalenka stood stoically ever so briefly, before crouching for an emphatic fist pump to go with a scream. Yeah, the seventh-ranked woman in the eight-player WTA Finals couldn’t hide the emotion, because she knew exactly what she had done. Sabalenka ended world No. 1 Iga Swiatek’s 15-match winning streak against top-10 opponents,…


Danish Teenager Rune Stuns Djokovic to Win Paris Masters

PARIS—Unseeded Danish teenager Holger Rune staged a stunning comeback to secure the biggest victory of his career by beating Novak Djokovic 3–6, 6–3, 7–5 in the final of the Paris Masters on Sunday. Rune denied Djokovic a record-extending 39th Masters title. The 19-year-old Rune, who is a friend and former junior doubles partner of top-ranked…


Nadal to Return at Paris Masters, Says Coach

Rafa Nadal will return to competition at next week’s Paris Masters before taking his place at the season-ending ATP Finals, coach Carlos Moya said. Nadal has struggled with injuries this year, capturing his 14th French Open title while playing with pain-killing injections to deal with a chronic foot injury and pulling out of Wimbledon due…


‘I Am Not Retired’ Serena Williams Says

Serena Williams on Monday said she has not retired from tennis and that the chances of her returning are “very high” after she previously indicated that she would step away from the sport after last month’s U.S. Open. “I am not retired,” Williams said at a conference in San Francisco while promoting her investment company,…


Simona Halep, 2-Time Major Champ, Gets Provisional Drug Ban

Two-time Grand Slam champion Simona Halep was provisionally suspended by the International Tennis Integrity Agency after failing a drug test during the U.S. Open in August. The ITIA announced the punishment Friday for Halep, a former No. 1 player who is currently No. 9 in the WTA rankings. She won Wimbledon in 2019, beating 23-time…


ATP Roundup: Andrey Rublev, Felix Auger-Aliassime Win Titles

No. 1 seed Andrey Rublev of Russia overwhelmed Sebastian Korda 6–2, 6–3 for his fourth title of the season and 12th of his career on Sunday, Oct. 16, at the Gijon Open final in Spain. Rublev posted 29 winners (including six aces) and just four unforced errors in 77 minutes, breaking the unseeded American’s serve…


Swiatek Downs Vekic to Win San Diego Open

World number one Iga Swiatek collected her eighth title of the year with a 6–3, 3–6, 6–0 win over Croatia’s Donna Vekic in the San Diego Open final on Sunday. Swiatek pumped her fist and blew a kiss to the crowd after Vekic double faulted on match point to cap a third set where the…