Tennis

8:17 AM ET Andy Murray has entered the qualifying rounds for the French Open later this month but tournament director Guy Forget said the former world No. 1 “deserves” a wildcard spot for the claycourt Grand Slam. Three-times Grand Slam champion Murray has fallen to 123rd in the world rankings after long injury lay-offs because

6:03 AM ET Associated Press PARMA, Italy — Serena Williams has accepted a wild-card invitation to play at the Emilia-Romagna Open in Parma starting this weekend. The move came immediately after Williams lost in straight sets to Nadia Podoroska at the Italian Open on Wednesday in her first match in nearly three months. “Maybe I

7:00 AM ET It’s time for the 10th Annual Luke Walton All-Stars, honoring journeymen and guys who have fought to stick in the NBA. (Learn about the origins of the column here.) Brown walked into the Detroit Pistons practice facility in November when his phone blew up: After a solid second season, the Pistons were

1:05 PM ET Associated Press ROME — Serena Williams‘ 1,000th tour-level match ended in defeat as she marked her return to action with a 7-6 (6), 7-5 loss to Nadia Podoroska on Wednesday in the second round of the Italian Open. The eighth-seeded Williams, who is 851-149 for her career but hadn’t played since the

10:01 AM ET Associated Press Players at the French Open will be allowed a daily one-hour window outside their social-distancing bubble, tournament organizers said Wednesday. Guy Forget, the director of the clay-court Grand Slam, said players will have the chance to get out for a jog or enjoy some fresh air during their stay in

4:05 PM ET ESPN News Services ROME — World No. 1 Novak Djokovic was furious with the chair umpire for not suspending play as rain trickled down during his Italian Open second-round match against American Taylor Fritz on Tuesday. The 33-year-old Serb made his feelings clear after he was broken when serving for victory in

4:49 PM ET Associated Press ROME — Rafael Nadal joined the growing number of tennis players expressing doubts about competing in the Tokyo Olympics. Third-ranked Nadal, in Rome for the Italian Open, said Tuesday that his status for the Tokyo Games is uncertain. “I don’t know yet. Honestly, I can’t give you a clear answer

10:46 AM ET Associated Press ROME — Japanese tennis player Kei Nishikori has doubts about whether the IOC and local organizers are doing enough to plan for a worst-case scenario of “hundreds” or “thousands” of coronavirus cases at the Tokyo Olympics. Or whether it’s even still feasible to hold the games when a state of

7:44 PM ET Associated Press ROME — Seven months ago, Jannik Sinner twice had chances to accomplish something few tennis players have been capable of: taking a set from Rafael Nadal at the French Open. The Italian teenager served for the first set at 6-5 in the Roland Garros quarterfinals and was up a break

3:19 PM ET Rachel MarcusESPN Editor Close ESPN Editor Joined ESPN in 2013 Maryland native, Syracuse graduate Welcome back to the NFL, Tim Tebow. Nine years years after his final regular season game — and more than 300 minor league baseball games later — Tebow, 33, is expected to sign a one-year deal with the

11:24 AM ET Associated Press There are no American men in the ATP’s Top 30 for the first time in the nearly half-century of computerized tennis rankings. The highest-ranked man from the U.S., Taylor Fritz, slid one place to No. 31 on Monday after a first-round loss at last week’s Madrid Masters. Next is John

4:58 PM ET Associated Press MADRID — Alexander Zverev continued his impressive form going into the French Open by winning his second Madrid Open title on Sunday. After beating top-seeded Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals and fourth-ranked Dominic Thiem in the semifinals, Zverev rallied to defeat Matteo Berrettini 6-7 (8), 6-4, 6-3 for his second

9:58 AM ET Associated Press ROME — Naomi Osaka is conflicted over whether the Tokyo Olympics should be held amid the coronavirus pandemic. The second-ranked tennis player, who represents Japan, was asked about the games at the Italian Open on Sunday. “Of course I would say I want the Olympics to happen, because I’m an

8:39 AM ET Tory Z. RoyESPN Five minutes. University of Arizona women’s basketball coach Adia Barnes was rushing to her team’s locker room in the Alamodome in San Antonio on April 4 for five minutes she wasn’t sure she had to spare. Five minutes. I just need five minutes. In an empty bathroom, while hooking

3:47 PM ET ESPN News Services MADRID — Aryna Sabalenka is glad she changed her mind about playing at the Madrid Open. Two weeks after nearly withdrawing from the tournament because of a muscle injury, Sabalenka was standing on center court with the winner’s trophy in her hands on Saturday. Sabalenka defeated top-ranked Ash Barty

12:57 PM ET ESPN News Services MADRID — Alexander Zverev followed his triumph over Rafael Nadal with a win over Dominic Thiem to reach another Madrid Open final on Saturday. The No. 6-ranked Zverev defeated No. 4 Thiem 6-3, 6-4 to reach the final again after beating Thiem for the 2018 title. Zverev broke Thiem’s

4:09 PM ET Associated Press Sofia Kenin no longer will be coached by her father, announcing just weeks before the French Open she is “putting together a new technical team.” Kenin, the Australian Open champion and French Open runner-up in 2020, wrote about the switch on Instagram on Friday. The post included a photo of

12:01 PM ET Associated Press MADRID — Rafael Nadal‘s bid to reach a 75th semifinal at a Masters event ended Friday with a 6-4, 6-4 loss to Alexander Zverev. The sixth-ranked German beat Nadal for the first time on clay and for the third time in a row overall. Zverev broke Nadal’s serve twice in