11:38 AM ET Associated Press SOFIA, Bulgaria — Novak Djokovic was named the best Balkan athlete of the year Wednesday for a record seventh time. The 34-year-old Serbian tennis great is ranked No. 1 in the world and won three of the four Grand Slam tournaments this year. The results of the annual poll were
Tennis
6:35 AM ET SYDNEY, Dec 29 (Reuters) – Novak Djokovic has pulled out of the Serbia team for the ATP Cup in Sydney, event organisers said on Wednesday, raising further doubts over whether the world number one will defend his Australian Open title next month. There has been intense speculation over Djokovic’s participation in both
5:49 AM ET Dominic Thiem has pulled out of next month’s Australian Open to work towards regaining full fitness after a long-standing wrist injury, the former world No. 3 said on Tuesday. The 28-year-old Austrian, who has not played since suffering the injury at the Mallorca Open in June, was unable to defend his U.S.
4:45 AM ET World No. 5 Andrey Rublev is the fifth player to test positive for COVID-19 after playing at an exhibition event in Abu Dhabi this month. Spaniard Rafael Nadal, Canadian Denis Shapovalov, Switzerland’s Olympic champion Belinda Bencic and Tunisian Ons Jabeur all tested positive after taking part in the event. 1 Related US
9:36 PM ET Associated Press SYDNEY — Canada’s Denis Shapovalov has announced he has tested positive for COVID-19 after arriving in Sydney for the ATP Cup. The 22-year-old is one of the first overseas players to arrive in Australia and is part of Canada’s team for the team-based tennis tournament in Sydney from Jan. 1
5:15 PM ET AAP with Reuters Canadian tennis star Denis Shapovalov has announced he has tested positive for COVID-19 after arriving in Sydney. The 22-year-old is one of the first overseas players to arrive in Australia and is part of Canada’s team for the ATP Cup in Sydney from January 1-9, ahead of the Australian
9:09 AM ET Former world No. 1 Andy Murray has been handed a wildcard into the main draw of next month’s Australian Open, the tournament organisers said on Thursday. 1 Related The Briton, down at 134th in the world rankings after long injury lay-offs due to hip surgery, has reached the final five times at
6:24 AM ET Rafael Nadal said on Monday he had tested positive for COVID-19 upon arrival in Spain after making his comeback from injury in the Mubadala World Tennis Championship exhibition event in Abu Dhabi last week. The 20-time Grand Slam champion said he was having some “unpleasant moments” but was hoping to feel better
10:32 PM ET Associated Press BEIJING — Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai has told a Singapore newspaper that she never said she wrote of having been sexually assaulted, despite a November social media post attributed to her that accused a former top Communist Party official of having forced her into sex. The Lianhe Zaobao Chinese-language
4:45 PM ET Associated Press SYDNEY — Former U.S. Open champion Dominic Thiem‘s lengthy recovery from a right wrist injury has forced him to miss the ATP Cup and another tournament in Sydney ahead of next month’s Australian Open. Thiem was expected to play in Dubai this week but withdrew after catching a cold and
4:19 PM ET Emma Raducanu has won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award, rounding off an incredible year where she became the first British women in 44 years to win a Grand Slam singles title at the U.S. Open. Raducanu, then aged 18, was the first qualifier in the Open era to win
8:08 PM ET Associated Press MELBOURNE, Australia — Jennifer Brady has become the latest withdrawal from next month’s Australian Open and two warm-up tennis tournaments because of injury. Australian Open officials on Sunday confirmed the 2021 finalist would miss the 2022 tournament because of a left foot injury, and said in a tweet: “wishing you
3:43 PM ET Russia’s Andrey Rublev beat a resilient Andy Murray in 6-4, 7-6(7-2) straight sets to claim the Mubadala Tennis Championship title in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on Saturday. Murray could not overcome Rublev in the exhibition event following a strong week on route in the Middle East that saw him beat compatriot
1:41 PM ET Andy Murray defeated Rafael Nadal 6-3, 7-5 on Friday to reach the final of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship. The match was Nadal’s first since he prematurely ended his season in August with a foot injury. It was also the first time the two players had met on a court since May
7:31 AM ET It is a quiet scene, not germane to the plot or destiny of any of the characters, but it is one of the most powerful in the new film “King Richard,” Will Smith’s biopic of Richard Williams. Richard and his wife, Oracene Price, (played by Aunjanue Ellis) watch on a small television
8:13 PM ET Associated Press MELBOURNE, Australia — Karolina Pliskova has withdrawn from next month’s Australian Open and two warm-up tournaments because of a right hand injury sustained in training. Australian Open officials on Thursday confirmed the world fourth-ranked player’s withdrawal, and said in a tweet: “wishing you a speedy recovery.” Pliskova had earlier said
1:14 PM ET Associated Press LONDON — Six Moroccan men’s tennis players, including four who played in the Davis Cup, have been banned in a match-fixing investigation, the International Tennis Integrity Unit said Tuesday. A hearing found the six players “were guilty of multiple offenses and a variety of match-fixing charges, including fixing elements of
9:22 AM ET U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu has tested positive for COVID-19 and will miss this week’s Mubadala World Tennis Championship exhibition event in Abu Dhabi, it was announced on Monday. Raducanu is in the midst of preseason as she prepares for her first full season on the WTA Tour. She will also compete