11:50 AM ET D’Arcy MaineESPN.com Andy Murray announced Friday that he would not be playing in the upcoming Australian Open after being unable to negotiate a “workable quarantine” with Tennis Australia following his positive COVID-19 test. The former world No. 1 and three-time major champion had been unable to fly to Melbourne last week after
Tennis
5:45 PM ET ESPN staff Novak Djokovic checks out the scene from the balcony at his accommodation in Adelaide, Australia, where he is in relaxed quarantine ahead of an exhibition event before the Australian Open begins in Melbourne on Feb. 8. Morgan Sette/AAP Image via AP As anyone who has been paying attention knows well by
7:27 PM ET Victorian premier Daniel Andrews has blasted the decision to once again honour controversial Australian tennis icon Margaret Court in this year’s Australia Day honours. The 24-time Grand Slam singles champion is set to be promoted from Officer of the Order of Australia to the prestigious Companion of the Order of Australia, the
12:39 PM ET Associated Press MELBOURNE, Australia — A Spanish tennis player ranked in the top 70 who was forced to quarantine in her hotel room after potentially being exposed to the coronavirus on an Australian Open charter flight says she tested positive for COVID-19. Paula Badosa, a 23-year-old who reached the fourth round at
6:14 AM ET Tennis umpire Carlos Bernardes has been hospitalised after suffering a heart attack while in quarantine in Melbourne ahead of next month’s Australian Open, local media reported on Thursday. Photos of Bernardes being wheeled into an ambulance were posted on social media on Wednesday. Both Tennis Australia and the ATP did not immediately
10:58 PM ET Associated Press ADELAIDE, Australia — Ash Barty is set to return to the tennis court for something other than practice for the first time in 11 months. The No. 1-ranked Barty on Thursday said she’ll play in a one-day exhibition event in Adelaide on Jan. 29 that includes Serena Williams, Naomi Osaka
10:53 AM ET D’Arcy MaineESPN.com Novak Djokovic attempted to clarify his heavily scrutinized letter to Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley in a social media post Tuesday, insisting his “good intentions” were misconstrued. Following positive COVID-19 tests on three charter flights to Melbourne, 72 players are currently in a hard quarantine period resulting in 14
11:35 AM ET Associated Press LONDON — The U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship in Houston was canceled for the second year in a row because of the coronavirus pandemic, part of a series of changes to the men’s tennis calendar announced by the ATP on Wednesday. The Houston tournament was supposed to be played April
9:57 PM ET Two more Australian Open players have tested positive for COVID-19, government officials said on Wednesday, as authorities were at cross-purposes over who would pay for the tournament’s quarantine bill. Victoria state police minister Lisa Neville said two players and a non-playing Australian Open participant comprised three new infections reported on Wednesday. A
9:25 PM ET Associated Press Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley has ruled out any change in the best-of-five set format for men’s singles matches at the season-opening tennis major as three more COVID-19 cases — two of them players — were reported among the international arrivals for the tournament. There are 72 players now
Jan 18, 2021 Hitting against windows, walls, doors, upturned beds, mattresses, and just about anything that can pass off as a surface. Daily testing, officials stationed along hotel corridors 24×7, alarms fitted at emergency exits to monitor movements and any breach of regulations drawing as much as $20,000 in fines and criminal sanctions. It’s a
10:49 PM ET D’Arcy MaineESPN.com Roberto Bautista Agut, currently the No. 13-ranked men’s tennis player, criticized the Victorian government’s handling of the Australian Open quarantine protocol in an interview on Monday, comparing the experience to prison. “It’s the same, it’s the same, but with Wi-Fi,” he said to Israeli television channel Sport 5 when told
3:27 PM ET Nick Kyrgios joined former Davis Cup player Sam Groth in criticising Novak Djokovic after the Serbian world No. 1 reportedly wrote to Australian Open organisers asking them to ease quarantine restrictions for players. Passengers who arrived on three charter flights have been placed into hard quarantine, including more than 70 players who
8:08 AM ET Associated Press LONDON — The Davis Cup Finals will expand to 11 days from seven in 2021, and the International Tennis Federation is considering holding the competition in three European cities instead of just Madrid. The ITF announced Monday that the international men’s tennis team event will run from Nov. 25 to
7:33 PM ET ESPN staff The Australian summer of tennis is underway. Kind of. Players from around the world have begun to arrive Down Under in preparation for the year’s first Grand Slam, which is due to commence on Feb. 8 [AEDT]. But things aren’t exactly running smoothly, with nine people having tested positive for
5:42 PM ET Alize Cornet apologised on Monday after many social media users hit out at the Frenchwoman for criticising the country’s strict COVID-19 quarantine protocols ahead of next month’s Australian Open. Seventy-two players and their entourages have to isolate for two weeks and cannot leave their hotel rooms in Melbourne to train after infections
9:25 AM ET ESPN News Services MELBOURNE — Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley has confirmed the year’s first Grand Slam will go ahead from Feb. 8 despite anger from players forced into hard quarantine in Melbourne due to positive COVID-19 cases on their charter planes. Seventy-two players and their entourages have to isolate for
9:39 PM ET Two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka is believed to be among a group of players set to be confined to their hotel rooms for the next 14 days after two positive coronavirus tests emerged from their charter flight. The Herald Sun has reported an email has been sent to all players and