Tennis

9:53 AM ET D’Arcy MaineESPN.com The United States and Ukraine may be opponents on the court this week at the Billie Jean King Cup qualifying tie in Asheville, North Carolina, but off the court, it’s a decidedly different story as the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues. In addition to the emotional toll the war has

7:25 PM ET Associated Press HOUSTON — Reilly Opelka beat fellow American John Isner 6-3, 7-6 (7) on Sunday to win the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship in the tallest matchup in an ATP Tour final. The 6-foot-11 Opelka won his fourth tour title and first on clay. He improved to 5-1 against the 6-10

6:21 PM ET Associated Press CHARLESTON, S.C. — Belinda Bencic won three of the last four games to outlast Ons Jabeur 6-1, 5-7, 6-4 and win the Credit One Charleston Open on Sunday for her first clay-court championship. Bencic won her sixth career WTA title and first since the Tokyo Olympics. Bencic lost her opening

12:50 PM ET Associated Press MONACO — Novak Djokovic is ready to move on from the controversy surrounding his refusal to get vaccinated against COVID-19. “I miss competition,” the Serbian tennis star said Sunday on the opening day of the clay-court season at the Monte Carlo Masters in Monaco. “I still feel motivation to be

10:21 PM ET Associated Press HOUSTON — Tall, big-hitting Americans John Isner and Reilly Opelka joke about being “serve-bots” and their similar styles of play will be on display against each other in the final of the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship. The fourth-seeded Isner, who won the Houston title in 2013, hit 17 aces

9:45 PM ET Associated Press CHARLESTON, S.C. — No. 4 seed Ons Jabeur continued her run of success the past two years at the Credit One Charleston Open, overcoming Amanda Anisimova 2-6, 6-1, 6-4 on Saturday to reach the championship. Jabeur of Tunisia will face Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic of Switzerland, a 6-4, 6-3

10:21 PM ET Associated Press HOUSTON — Reigning champion Cristian Garin beat No. 2 seed Taylor Fritz 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-3 on Friday to reach the semifinals at the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship and improve his career record at the tournament to 8-0. Fritz is the highest-ranked American man at No. 13 and had

9:00 PM ET Associated Press CHARLESTON, S.C. — Belinda Bencic rallied to beat second-seeded Paula Badosa 2-6, 7-6 (2), 6-4 on Friday to advance to the semifinals of the Credit One Charleston Open. No. 4 Ons Jabeur also reached the final four in the season’s opening clay-court event, beating Anhelina Kalinina 6-3, 6-2. Also on

10:50 AM ET Associated Press LONDON — Tennis great Boris Becker could face a jail sentence after being found guilty on Friday of illicitly moving thousands of dollars from a bank account after he was declared bankrupt. A jury at London’s Southwark Crown Court convicted Becker on four charges under the Insolvency Act, including removal

1:40 AM ET Associated Press HOUSTON — John Isner erased a match point and hit a tournament-record 38 aces during a 6-7 (1), 7-6 (4), 6-3 comeback victory over Steve Johnson at the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship on Thursday night. Isner, who won the title in 2013, is one of five Americans in the

5:24 PM ET Associated Press CHARLESTON, S.C. — American Amanda Anisimova rallied after losing the opening set to defeat top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 and reach the quarterfinals of the Charleston Open on Thursday. In another surprise, Coco Vandeweghe also reached the round of eight by defeating U.S. countrywoman and sixth-seeded Jessica

11:48 AM ET D’Arcy MaineESPN.com Patrick Mouratoglou, the longtime coach of Serena Williams, announced he would be working with former world No. 1 and two-time major champion Simona Halep on a full-time basis in a tweet on Thursday. Williams, 40, has been sidelined from competition since having to retire with an ankle injury from her

2:51 PM ET Associated Press MILAN — Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini will miss the next three ATP Masters 1000 tournaments as he recovers from surgery. The 25-year-old Italian player, who is ranked sixth, had surgery on his right hand last week. “Following advice from the medical experts, my team and I have decided that it

6:34 PM ET Associated Press HOUSTON — Michael Mmoh beat Sam Querrey 6-2, 6-4 on Wednesday in the second round of the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship. Mmoh, who had a bye into the second round after No. 1 seed Casper Ruud dropped out because of a wisdom tooth problem, advanced to a tour-level quarterfinal

5:43 PM ET Associated Press CHARLESTON, S.C. — Top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka won for the first time since late February, outlasting American Alison Riske 7-6 (3), 6-4 on Wednesday to start the weather-delayed Credit One Charleston Open. Sabalenka, of Belarus, had lost her opening matches at Indian Wells and Miami after falling to new No. 1

10:32 AM ET Tennis officials will dish out stricter punishments for on-court misconduct, the ATP warned players in an internal note on Monday as the men’s governing body also simultaneously reviews its guidelines to clamp down on repeat offenders. Australian Nick Kyrgios was fined $60,000 for a series of angry outbursts at the Indian Wells

9:18 AM ET Associated Press Iga Swiatek moved up one spot to the top of the WTA rankings on Monday, becoming the first tennis player from Poland to be No. 1 in the sport. The 20-year-old Swiatek takes over from Ash Barty, who announced last month she would be retiring at the age of 25

6:28 PM ET D’Arcy MaineESPN.com Iga Swiatek left no doubt about her spot atop the game and Carlos Alcaraz and Taylor Fritz earned the biggest titles of their burgeoning careers. If there’s one thing we learned during the Sunshine Double in Indian Wells and Miami over the past month, it’s that the future is very