Category Archives: Tennis

Wildcard Kyrgios cruises into Halle semis after blowing away Busta

Posted on by
  • Kyrgios into semis after defeating Pablo Carreno Busta 6-4 6-2
  • Australian No 2 on the verge of reaching his first grass-court final

With no histrionics and no dramas, just pure, no-nonsense enjoyment, Nick Kyrgios has roared into the semi-finals of the Halle grass-court tournament.

The Australian, so often sidetracked from his own brilliance by unnecessary distractions, was the model of businesslike concentration on Friday - with just the odd showman’s trick chucked in - as he blew away Top 20 baseliner Pablo Carreno Busta 6-4 6-2.

Continue reading...

‘Never say never’: Ash Barty refuses to rule out returning to tennis in future

Posted on by

Ash Barty has said she would “never say never” about returning to professional tennis following her shock retirement. She would not be drawn on questions about plans to remain in professional sport, and in response to a question about the prospect of a comeback, the Australian said: “Well, you never say never, it’s a long way off.”

Barty also hinted at a role with junior tennis in her home country, saying that “seeing the smiles” of the faces of younger players taking up the sport had reminded her “of why I started playing”. Asked if that meant she would have a formal position with junior tennis, Barty said she had “no details to share as yet”.

Continue reading...

Tennis star Coco Gauff attacks Florida law that marginalizes LGBTQ+ people

Posted on by
  • World No 19 says bill will halt important conversations
  • Law restricts instruction on sexual orientation

Tennis star Coco Gauff has voiced her opposition to a bill in her home state of Florida that would prohibit classroom discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity for many young students.

“I’m against it,” Gauff told reporters on Wednesday in California, where she is preparing for the Indian Wells tournament. “I think these conversations are important, and for me, who has friends in the LGBTQ+ community, I couldn’t imagine not being able to talk about your identity. I feel that’s something that is normal.”

Continue reading...

Novak Djokovic set for French Open with vaccination restrictions to be eased

Posted on by
  • French government to suspend vaccination pass from 14 March
  • Path clears for Serb to defend title at Roland Garros in May

Novak Djokovic’s efforts to compete at the next grand slam on the tennis calendar will be far less complicated than his failed Australian Open bid after the French government announced it would suspend its vaccination pass this month.

The decision to end current restrictions on 14 March means the Serb will likely be able to defend his French Open title at Roland Garros, beginning on 22 May.

Continue reading...

Emma Raducanu stalker given five-year restraining order

Posted on by

Amrit Magar, who repeatedly turned up at tennis star’s home, must also do 200 hours of community service

A man who stalked and harassed the British tennis star Emma Raducanu has been given a five-year restraining order and sentenced to community service.

Amrit Magar, 35, who said he had walked 23 miles to the US Open champion’s home in London and then took her father’s shoe – thinking it belonged to Raducanu – as a souvenir, was found guilty of stalking at Bromley magistrates court last month.

Continue reading...

Novak Djokovic’s propensity for self-sabotage has become a defining trait | Tumaini Carayol

Posted on by

The Serb is willing to pay price of being unvaccinated but is it worth missing the chance to be seen as the greatest ever?

Over the past 11 years of men’s tennis, during which Novak Djokovic rose to dominance and improbably positioned himself as one of the greatest to play the game, the only time his success has been in doubt came after the summer of 2017 when he suffered through many months with an elbow injury.

The injury became a point of contention between himself and his then-coach, Andre Agassi, who later said he had swiftly advocated for surgery. But Djokovic addressed the injury by resting for nearly six months, believing his body was built to heal itself naturally. It was not. After returning the next year to pain and early losses, Djokovic finally underwent surgery in February 2018. As he digested his guilt about agreeing to the surgery, he cried for days.

Continue reading...

‘No sport has had such success in so short a time’: padel takes off in Italy

Posted on by

When Covid stopped contact sports, Italians took to padel, a sport popular in Spain, similar to tennis with a dash of squash

At one of Italy’s darkest moments in the pandemic, the government introduced a list of draconian rules to halt the outbreak of Covid, including which sports Italians would be allowed to practise.

Among the activities the authorities considered safe were a few Italians barely knew. One was padel, a fast-paced racket sport popular in Spain, similar to tennis but with a dash of squash thrown in. For Italians, it was love at first smash.

Continue reading...

Journalist who interviewed Peng Shuai casts doubt over her freedom

Posted on by

L’Equipe reporter Marc Ventouillac, who spoke to Peng this week, says it is ‘impossible to say’ if the Chinese tennis star is safe

One of the journalists who conducted the first sit-down interview with Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai said that the carefully controlled conversation did not answer questions about whether she can speak her mind or move freely.

A Chinese Olympic official was in the room and translated the conversation with Peng, who disappeared from public view for weeks last year after she made public allegations that a former top-ranked Communist party official pressured her into having sex.

Continue reading...

Peng Shuai says Weibo post sparked ‘enormous misunderstanding’

Posted on by

Tennis star gave an interview to French sports daily L’Équipe on the sidelines of the Winter Olympics in Beijing, accompanied by a Chinese official

Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai has given her first interview to an independent media organisation since she alleged on Weibo that a senior Chinese official had coerced her into sex, saying it was an “enormous misunderstanding”.

The interview with French sports daily L’Équipe came as the International Olympic Committee said it wasn’t up to them or anyone else “to judge, in one way or another, her position”.

Continue reading...

Rafael Nadal hails greatest comeback to win ‘unexpected’ 21st grand slam title

Posted on by
  • Sixth seed plays down becoming most successful male player
  • Daniil Medvedev criticises spectators after defeat

Rafael Nadal described his Australian Open triumph as his greatest comeback after he recovered from two sets down against Daniil Medvedev to win a record-breaking 21st grand slam title.

Nadal defeated Medvedev, the second seed, 2-6, 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 in five hours and 24 minutes, the second longest grand slam final. It is the first time in Nadal’s career he has come back from two sets down in a slam final and the Spaniard has now won at least two singles titles at all four grand slam tournaments.

Continue reading...

Ash Barty beats Collins to end 44-year wait for home Australian Open winner

Posted on by
  • No 1 seed beats Collins 6-3, 7-6 (2) at Melbourne Park
  • Barty’s home victory seals her third grand slam title

When Ash Barty took her first steps on to Rod Laver Arena for her first Australian Open final, there was already no doubt about the completeness of her game, the integrity with which she carries herself and the historic career she is building before our eyes. But it still remained to be seen how she would handle and digest a moment like nothing before it.

She did so with the composure of a champion who could go on to win so much more. Before a crowd that lived every moment with her, Barty calmly navigated the fire of Danielle Collins, recovering from a 5-1 second-set deficit to win 6-3, 7-6 (2) and clinch the Australian Open for the first time. She is the first Australian to win an Australian Open singles title since Chris O’Neil in 1978. She did not drop a set. With three grand-slam titles to her name, Barty has joined Serena Williams as the only active women’s players to hold grand slam titles on all three surfaces.

Continue reading...

Australia news live update: nation records at least 74 Covid deaths; Invasion Day rallies begin; lockdown call for NT remote communities

Posted on by

Lockdown call for NT remote communities as nation records at least 74 deaths from Covid-19; Scott Morrison speaks at Australia Day ceremony in Canberra; Russian ambassador to Australia says country ‘doesn’t intend to invade’ Ukraine; Invasion Day protests begin. Follow all the day’s news

A leading health expert has warned of the potential spread of the virulent Omicron Covid-19 strain during events today as large crowds gather for protest or celebration, AAP reports.

Jane Halton, chair of the coalition for epidemic preparedness and former health department head, says the closer people pack together the more likely it is the virus will spread.

We know it’s highly infectious and the closer everyone gets together, the more the likelihood you’ll be close to someone whose got Covid and therefore the greater the likelihood you’ll contract it.

People should be careful. What we don’t want to see is a big increase in cases.

I don’t think we should be cancelling things. I just think people should be courteous, thoughtful, and a little bit careful.

Continue reading...

Australian Open reverses its ban on ‘Where is Peng Shuai?’ T-shirts

Posted on by
  • Shirts to be allowed but banners still barred, says Craig Tiley
  • Tennis Australia u-turn comes after international backlash

The Australian Open has reversed its ban on ‘Where is Peng Shuai?’ T-shirts following widespread backlash to the tournament’s claim they constituted “commercial or political” material, but banners will still be prohibited.

Late last week spectators at Melbourne Park were asked to remove their shirts referencing the Chinese player, whose wellbeing has been the subject of international concern since she accused a senior Chinese official of sexual assault in early November.

Continue reading...

Martina Navratilova says Tennis Australia is ‘capitulating’ to China over Peng Shuai

Posted on by
  • Former world No 1 labels Australian Open organisers ‘weak’
  • Messages of support for Chinese player banned from grand slam

Tennis great Martina Navratilova has condemned as “pathetic” the Australian Open’s decision to stop fans wearing ‘Where is Peng Shuai?’ T-shirts, accusing Tennis Australia of “capitulating” to China.

Late last week spectators at Melbourne Park were asked to remove their T-shirts and security confiscated a banner emblazoned with the same words, on the grounds that TA prohibits “clothing, banners or signs that are commercial or political”.

Continue reading...

Djokovic-backed ‘biotech’ firm’s approach likened to homeopathy

Posted on by

Exclusive: QuantBioRes says it designs treatments for viral diseases based on electromagnetic frequency

A Danish “biotech” company in which Novak Djokovic holds a majority stake is working on a “frequency” treatment for Covid-19 that an expert says bears similarities to the principles of homeopathy.

The world No 1 men’s tennis player was forced to leave Australia on Sunday after the country’s immigration minister cancelled his visa on the basis that his presence in Australia might risk “civil unrest” as he is a “talisman of anti-vaccination sentiment”.

Continue reading...

Australian Open day two: Stephens v Raducanu, Murray and Kyrgios win – live!

Posted on by

First set: Basilashvili 1-2 Murray* (*denotes next server) Wahey! Basilashvili attempts to serve but the ball hits the top of the frame of his racket and it pings off skywards! You don’t see that every day in professional tennis. Anyway, it clearly doesn’t help him and a couple of unforced errors give Murray two break points - he grabs his chance as Basilashvili goes long and the Scot edges ahead earlier in this match.

First set: *Basilashvili 1-1 Murray (*denotes next server) There are some vocal fans in the arena today. I don’t speak Georgian but am assuming the bloke who is making himself heard from the stands is a Basilashvili fan. Good start from Murray, who ignores the distractions and secures a love-service game.

Continue reading...

Djokovic’s French Open title defence in doubt after Covid pass ruling

Posted on by
  • France rules all athletes will have to be vaccinated for events
  • French MP says Novak Djokovic’s behaviour is ‘irresponsible’

Novak Djokovic may not be allowed to defend his French Open title in May after the French government ruled that all athletes will have to be vaccinated in order to attend and compete in sporting events in France.

The French sports minister, Roxana Maracineanu, has announced that athletes would not be exempt from France’s Covid pass, which will soon come into effect for over 16s. “The vaccination pass has been adopted. As soon as the law is promulgated, it will become mandatory to enter public buildings already subject to the health pass (stadium, theatre or lounge) for all spectators, practitioners, French or foreign professionals,” she wrote on twitter.

Continue reading...

Serbian president Aleksandar Vučić criticises Australia on Novak Djokovic visa ruling – video

Posted on by

Serbian president Aleksandar Vučić criticises the Australian federal court's decision to dismiss Novak Djokovic's visa appeal as 'political'. 'Of course, all of us in Serbia are very much disappointed with the court's ruling,' says Vučić. 'I think Australian authorities humiliated themselves with these kinds of procedures against Novak Djokovic.'

Djokovic  was trying to use a medical exemption to get around the requirements that everyone at the Australian Open - players, their support teams, spectators and others - be vaccinated against Covid-19.

Continue reading...

Australia news live update: PM asked about double standard on Djokovic anti-vax concerns; 23 Covid deaths in Victoria, NSW as hospital cases rise

Posted on by

Victoria reports 22,429 new Covid cases, six deaths and 1,229 people in hospital; NSW records 29,504 cases and 17 deaths, with 2,776 people in hospital; Scott Morrison discusses Novak Djokovic deportation; Australian surveillance flight to assess Tonga tsunami damage delayed; unions meet over workforce and supply chain shortages. Follow all the day’s news

Prime minister Scott Morrison has appeared on 2GB this morning, confirming Djokovic didn’t comply with entry requirements ... but that is not why his visa was cancelled.

Australia has very clear rules and Australians have been following those rules ... we apply our rules equally in this country and there was a very clear message sent – he wanted to come, he wasn’t vaccinated, well you’ve got to have a valid medical exemption and neither of those were in place. People make their own choices, and those choices meant you couldn’t come here and play tennis.

The idea someone could come and not follow those rules just was not on ... he was wrong, simple as that ... we didn’t give him an exemption, the federal government gave him no such exemption.

And that is that Mr Djokovic would be asked to leave, it is in the remit of the minister to do that, the judges reviewed the process and found the process the minister followed was legal. But to be quite frank, I am on the same page as Mr Djokovic. We’ll move on. And the things I will move on to are making sure to keep food on the shelves of supermarkets as ... people have been interested in the story, it’s been a ... soap opera. But now people are going to focus on the tennis, watch the tennis and also focus on looking after them and one of the big issues right now is making sure we keep food on the shelves at the grocery store.

Continue reading...