“Picture tennis doubles” and then “increase the intensity by around 15%”, said Marie Le Conte in The Observer. Padel is taking the world of sport by storm, with players of all skill levels romping across its “claustrophobic” courts wielding rackets akin to “those zappy things you can use to obliterate mosquitoes”.

Described by the Lawn Tennis Association last year as the world’s fastest-growing sport, padel originated in Mexico in 1969. Enrique and Viviana Corcuera wanted to build a tennis court in their backyard in Acapulco but didn’t have quite enough space. A smaller space surrounded by a wall soon became the world’s first padel court.

Almost 50 years later, padel is played by more than 30 million amateurs in nearly 150 countries, according to the International Padel Federation. In Britain, around 1,500 courts have sprung up since the start of the pandemic – a “exponential pattern of growth” that could see it “overtake tennis in Britain just as it already has in Spain”, said The Telegraph.

‘Magnetism of padel’

Part of padel’s appeal is its accessibility – “absolute beginners can enjoy a match within minutes of picking up a bat”. Players “tend to be more exuberant” and the game more approachable. “It’s a fun sport, a very sociable sport,” said Jamie Murray, one of Britain’s leading tennis doubles players. “It’s a lot easier to get started in the game than tennis.”

And demand for the sport defies its lofty price point. While public tennis courts can be used for as little as £5 per hour, or even for free for those willing to provide their own equipment, padel court hire typically starts at around £30 an hour, and can go much higher. But “the magnetism of padel” is such that hundreds of thousands of people played the sport at least once last year.

“There’s no glory” in getting into long-established sports like football or rugby as an adult, but attending a padel match for the first time “felt like an opportunity to get in on the ground floor”, said Le Conte. But even if there was something charming about the atmosphere, “I have to confess, somewhat guiltily, that I do prefer the glitz and glamour” of tennis.

‘Like a rifle shot’

“As a self-confessed tennis head” who thought padel might feel familiar, “I imagined a game close to squash but with the lightness of ping pong and the clipped etiquette of tennis”, said Arabella Byrne in The Spectator. “How wrong I was.”

The lenient scoring system takes away the tension, while players “grunt and lurch around holding carbon fibre bats that look like squashed colanders”. The whole spectacle “is deeply uncivilised, like a dinner party with paper plates”.

But this hasn’t stopped celebrities like David Beckham, Prince William and Lionel Messi from picking up a racket at a time when tennis and squash are diminishing in popularity. Padel “must be doing something right”, however, said Byrne. “Its low barriers to entry” give it a broad appeal and even the promise of “accessible flirting”.

However, the appeal of padel is lost on some residents living close to the newly erected courts appearing up and down the country. Padel involves firing plastic balls into glass walls, a combination that produces a loud, sometimes jarring noise.

“We’ve had tennis courts here for years and they’re brilliant,” Bob Wilkinson, a Harrogate resident who lives near a recently opened padel court, told BBC Radio York. “Padel courts, it’s like a rifle shot.”

Not quite ready to make your U.S. Open debut but still want to unleash your inner Coco Gauff or Carlos Alcaraz? Head to one of these eight hotels serving up impressive tennis offerings.

Borgo dei Conti Resort, Perugia, Italy

Borgo dei Conti has had many lives. Once a 13th-century fortress, it was also the 19th-century estate of Count Rossi Scotti before becoming the secluded resort it is today. Tucked away in the Umbrian countryside, this "deeply romantic" property doubles as parkland, and its synthetic fabric tennis court is surrounded by tall trees and shrubs, said the Michelin Guide. There's also a court for padel, a hybrid of tennis and squash, and a "serene" full-service spa with a Finnish sauna and Turkish bath.

Cambridge Beaches, Somerset Village, Bermuda

Activities at Cambridge Beaches "range from the chill to the thrill," with tennis landing squarely in the middle, said The Telegraph. This is a vibrant property, and the blue and green tennis courts pop against the pretty pink buildings, turquoise ocean and "perfectly manicured" grounds. In between sets, cool off in the infinity pool, play a game or two of croquet, or go snorkeling.

Cromlix, Stirling, Scotland

Make some magic on the court at Cromlix, the charming Victorian estate owned by tennis great Andy Murray and his wife, Kim. The "regal" property "emits a sense of nobility," and this feels palpable on the tennis court painted in Wimbledon colors with an umpire's chair used in a charity match between him and Roger Federer, said Vogue. Check the schedule to see if Murray's mother, Judy, is coaching during your stay, and make room in your schedule to walk the sprawling grounds and find some friendly competition in the billiards room.

Enchantment Resort, Sedona, Arizona

Try not to let the incredible views from Enchantment Resort's tennis courts distract you from your game. Sedona is known for its "colorful red-rock landscape," and Enchantment is on the outskirts of town, "set right among all the beauty," said Travel and Leisure. Take in the sights during a friendly match, Cardio Tennis clinic or private lesson. Afterward, cool off in the pool and go to the Artist Cottage for a pottery or wood-burning class.

Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc, Antibes, France

An "icon of the French Riviera," Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc is the go-to escape for those seeking respite in "bucolic surroundings," said The Hollywood Reporter. It has long been a haven for tennis lovers, who head to the five clay courts for a day of play underneath pines, palms and olive trees. Book a private session with a coach to refine your skills, then go for a dip in the cliffside saltwater infinity pool.

Rancho Valencia Resort & Spa, Rancho Santa Fe, California

Spring, summer, fall or winter, come to Rancho Valencia Resort & Spa any time of year, and you will hear the familiar thwack of tennis balls being smashed across nets. This enclave is the "epicenter of country club California cool," with the resort's 12 plexipave, three European red clay and four pickleball courts surrounded by gardens and citrus groves, said Vogue. Guests can also try their hand at padel and take lessons from pros before exploring the rest of the resort, a "terracotta, tile and adobe dream."

Sheraton Maui Resort & Spa, Lahaina, Hawaii

Feel the ocean breeze as you practice your serve and perfect your forehand. Sheraton Maui Resort & Spa's three tennis and pickleball courts are steps away from Ka'anapali Beach, offering "seaside bliss," said Time Out. Keep the good times rolling by "lazing about the massive lagoon-style pool" and jumping into the ocean for turtle watching and snorkeling at Black Rock.

Singita Castleton, Sabi Sand Game Reserve, South Africa

At the Singita Castleton, prepare to "experience a match like no other," said Country Life. The luxe lodge sits within the 45,000-acre Sabi Sand Game Reserve, and its tennis court is "surrounded by the sounds and sights of the African bushveld." Because of the property's location, there are several one-of-a-kind amenities also available, like a visit to Sabi Sand's anti-poaching canine unit.

The US Open has staged its new quickfire mixed doubles event at Flushing Meadows in New York this week, but not everyone is happy about the changes.

The format, which boasts an increased prize pot of $1 million and shorter matches, took place during "fan week", which precedes the US Open singles tournaments, and offers places to top singles players over doubles specialists.

The two-day competition has attracted huge attention thanks to the big names competing, with the likes of Emma Raducanu and Carlos Alcaraz, as well as Olga Danilovic and Novak Djokovic, teaming up.

'Gimmicky sporting reformat'

The new 16-pairs format was hailed as an "exciting prospect" when it was revealed in February, offering tennis fans the chance to see the "world’s top male and female players competing alongside one another", said The Independent.

Even so, it's "difficult to shake the thought that this event has the feel of an exhibition" with its "quickfire scoring system" and the fact it was to take place "prior to the official US Open start date". The idea is in "deep contrast to the tradition and prestige which usually is the hallmark of any Grand Slam event".

You can see why the "truncated nature of matches" and "generous prize money" have attracted the top stars, but it does feel like in the "era of the great gimmicky sporting reformat, tennis finally has its turn", said The Telegraph.

The matches are best of three sets, with sets of up to four games, rather than the usual six. And there is no "advantage" point at deuce; the winner of the next point wins the game. But the very first match showed, however, that this "shortened, starry format has a future".

Doubles specialists prove point

The loudest objection has been that seasoned mixed doubles players have "lost an opportunity to win a Grand Slam" and "an avenue to make money", said Flashscore.

"But the facts are, people just don't watch doubles" and "supporters are only really drawn to their favourite singles player". Taking the "emotion out of it", the previous format "doesn't really make any sense" for players, who are "earning a fifth of the prize money, but they're not being watched".

Ultimately, it was Andrea Vavassori and Sara Errani, the "only doubles specialist team" in the 16 pairs, who beat the "singles superstars" and took home the $1 million prize last night, said The Guardian.

The Italians had been determined to prove the value of doubles players and "made their points clear". But so did the US Open organisers. Their aim was to "create a bigger stage" for a format "deemed obsolete" and the interest it has subsequently generated is "undeniable".

And the 25,000-seat Arthur Ashe Stadium was almost full for yesterday's semi-finals and final, "with only a slither of empty seats at the very back", said the BBC.

"Scratching around for form and struggling with tonsillitis" is how Britain's Wimbledon hopeful Jack Draper is feeling before the biggest tournament of them all next week, said the Daily Mail.

Draper "was a bubbling volcano of emotion" during his semi-final at Queen's Club in London. When his Czech opponent Jiri Lehecka "hammered a backhand past him for the decisive break of serve", the 23-year-old Draper "erupted, smacking his racket into an advertising hoarding".

"I don't condone that behaviour but that’s where I was at today," said Draper, who is ranked No.4 in the world. "When you're not feeling great, your energy is really low, you use everything you can to get yourself up."

'Fighting spirit' or 'missed opportunity'?

Queen's was Draper’s first grass-court tournament of the season, and he had been "trying to find rhythm and comfort", said The Guardian. But Lehecka "bulldozed everything in his path", beating the home favourite 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 to set up a final with Carlos Alcaraz.

Despite the loss, Draper's showing at Queen's, which included wins over Alexei Popyrin and Brandon Nakashima, was promising and he will go into Wimbledon as the fourth seed in the men's singles.

Some fans believe his performance at Queen's has "affirmed a vital point" that could work in his favour when Wimbledon kicks off next week, said The Observer: he has a "fighting spirit, and will scrap when a match lurches away from him". For others, however, the fact that Draper "missed a gilded opportunity against an opponent ranked 30 in the world" may prompt them to view his Wimbledon chances "more realistically".

A challenger to Alcaraz?

The challenge Draper will face at Wimbledon is clear. Spain's Carlos Alcaraz "is on another level", said The i Paper, having won Queen's and the French Open back-to-back and now aiming for his third straight Wimbledon title. Draper's seeding means he would escape a match-up with Alcaraz until at least the semi-final, but beating him over five sets is a "daunting" prospect.

Still, he has done it before. He is the only player to beat Alcaraz on grass in the last two years. "Draper is absolutely a contender to win Wimbledon," said Sky Sports. “He is definitely a contender to make the final."

But the question remains whether Draper can pull off a mammoth feat in overcoming Alcaraz, who remarkably is only No.2 in the world, and the current No.1, Jannik Sinner. The chances of Draper being able to beat both of them "back-to-back" at Wimbledon seems "unlikely" right now. But "maybe in the future".

Nick Kyrgios called it a "sad day for tennis"; Tim Henman said it "leaves a pretty sour taste". Last Saturday, it was announced that the world's best player, Jannik Sinner, had negotiated a settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) over offences committed last March, and would be banned for just three months.

Sinner twice tested positive for the banned steroid clostebol, said Stuart Fraser in The Times. He claimed the substance had entered his system accidentally, as a result of it being present in an over-the-counter spray used by his physiotherapist to treat a small wound. And last August, a tribunal cleared Sinner of any wrongdoing. But that decision was appealed by Wada, on the grounds that even if the Italian wasn't personally at fault, he was still responsible for mistakes by his team. At a hearing scheduled for April, Wada said it would seek a one-year ban. But a compromise agreement has been reached which bans Sinner until 4 May – allowing him to return for the French Open.

This outcome fits Sinner's interests so precisely as to almost seem like no punishment at all, said Simon Briggs in The Daily Telegraph. Had his ban started after Wada's appeal was due to be heard, he would have missed both Roland-Garros and Wimbledon. As it is, he will be able to put his feet up during the "dog days of late winter and early spring", before returning for the crucial summer tournaments.

"He has timed it all as sweetly as one of his whiplash forehands", and that's what is angering many people, said Matthew Lambwell in The Mail on Sunday. Sinner's case, and that of women's No. 2 Iga Swiatek (who last year received a month-long ban after testing positive for a prohibited substance), contrast starkly with that of some lower-ranked players. Take Britain's Tara Moore, who in 2022 was banned after testing positive for nandrolone metabolites and Boldenone. After 19 months of tortuous wrangling, "the source was found to be contaminated meat at a local restaurant", and Moore was cleared. But "the saga evaporated her life savings and stuck her £200,000 in debt". Her career has never recovered. Sinner gets a free pass; yet when lower-ranked players face career-threatening charges, the sport does next to nothing to help.

Some action is at least on the horizon, said Charlie Eccleshare on The Athletic. The Professional Tennis Players Association recently announced plans to give all players access to pro-bono legal support. That may help players in Moore's situation, but won't do much to shift the general perception that tennis is a sport that gives "preferential treatment" to its elites. The "two-tiered resentment" this generates, and which Sinner's case has so clearly illustrated, "does not look likely to fade away any time soon".

Following a bumper year for sport that saw the Paris Olympics, Euros and Copa America, and T20 cricket World Cup, 2025 may appear somewhat anticlimactic.

But there are still a host of showcase events from rugby and football to cycling and racing, to appeal to every sports fan. Here are some of the most popular taking place in the UK and around the world in 2025.

Darts: 2024-2025 PDC World Darts Championship final

The sporting year starts with a bang as the PDC World Darts Championship final takes place on 3 January at Alexandra Palace in London. Teenage sensation Luke Littler, who made his breakthrough at the event in January, is odds-on favourite to go one better this time and clinch the title at Ally Pally.

3 January, Alexandra Palace, London

Rugby union: Six Nations

England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales go for glory in the Six Nations Championship. Ireland will be looking to retain their crown, with England aiming to do the same in the Women's Six Nations, having won the Grand Slam in 2024.

Men's, 31 January to 15 March; women's, 22 March to 26 April

NFL: Super Bowl LIX

The NFL's showpiece event, the Super Bowl, takes place for the 59th time in 2025. Kendrick Lamar is set to headline the halftime show, which often draws more viewers than the game itself.

9 February, Caesars Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana

Horse racing: Cheltenham Festival

Four days of National Hunt jump racing will attract thousands of fans to Cheltenham Racecourse. There will be 14 Grade One races, including the Cheltenham Gold Cup, Champion Hurdle and Queen Mother Champion Chase.

11 to 14 March, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire

Horse racing: Grand National Festival

A few weeks after Cheltenham, the world of horse racing will then focus on Aintree for the three-day Grand National Festival. The 2025 National, often described as the greatest Jump race in the world, will start at 4pm on Saturday 5 April.

3 to 5 April, Aintree Racecourse, Liverpool

Snooker: World Championship

Snooker's biggest event, the World Snooker Championship, will be held at the legendary Crucible Theatre in Sheffield for the 49th consecutive time.

19 April to 5 May, Sheffield, South Yorkshire

London Marathon

The London Marathon returns for its traditional April slot on the sporting calendar. Olympic triathlon champion Alex Yee has said he will take part. It will be his first professional marathon in his hometown, fresh from winning gold in Paris.

27 April, London

Men's football: Uefa Champions League final

FC Bayern Munich's Allianz Arena hosts European club football's biggest match. It marks the culmination of an expanded and reformatted Champions League, with Real Madrid hoping to continue their extraordinary success in the tournament by clinging on to an unprecedented 16th title.

31 May, Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany

Tennis: The Championships, Wimbledon

Wimbledon, one of the UK's summer marquee events, will see the world's top tennis players head to SW19 for the grass court grand slam event. At the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club in 2024, Barbora Krejčíková won the women's singles title and Carlos Alcaraz won the men's.

30 June to 13 July, All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club, London

Formula 1: British Grand Prix

The British Grand Prix takes place in July at the spiritual home of motor racing, Silverstone Circuit, in Northamptonshire.

3 to 6 July, Silverstone, Northamptonshire

Cycling: Tour de France

The 112th edition of the Men's Tour de France starts in Lille on 5 July, with the final stage ending on the Champs-Élysées in Paris just under three weeks later.

Men's, 5 to 27 July; women's, 26 July to 3 August, France

Rugby: Women’s World Cup

This autumn will see the Women's Rugby World Cup come to England. Games will be spread across the country, from Brighton and Bristol to London and Manchester.

22 August to 27 September, various locations, England

Men's football: African Cup of Nations  

The 35th edition of Africa's biennial football tournament will be hosted by Morocco for only the second time, and the first since 1988.

21 December to 18 January 2026, various locations, Morocco

Live out your star-athlete fantasies without having to be an Olympian. At these eight resorts, sports enthusiasts and athletes of all abilities can unleash their inner Serena Williams or Michael Phelps, taking advantage of tennis and equestrian centers, colossal swimming pools, golf courses, beach volleyball courts and mountain biking trails. 

Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, Oregon

Bandon Dunes has made GolfDigest's 100 Greatest list for 23 years and counting, thanks to its rugged coastal scenery and its seven courses that are incredibly fun to play. This golfer's delight gives players multiple opportunities to sharpen their skills, whether that is at the 100,000-square-foot Punchbowl Putting Course, in the practice center or out on the green with one of the resort's PGA golf professionals. Lodging here is eclectic, with forest cottages, lakeside rooms and suites with views of the links.  

Beach House Hermosa Beach, California 

Get ready to serve, set and spike in the sand. From sunup to sundown, there is always a rousing game of volleyball happening outside the Beach House Hermosa Beach. Start your own on one of the courts, or if you feel comfortable ask to join a match already underway. Book a Strand Ocean Front studio to watch the action unfold from the comfort of your patio. 

Biltmore Miami-Coral Gables, Florida

Swimmers will want to dive right into this historic property's massive pool, where aquatic sensation Esther Williams once enthralled guests. Covering 23,000 square feet and holding 600,000 gallons of water, this is the largest hotel pool in the continental U.S. and is always heated to 80 degrees Fahrenheit. For a total splurge, rent a private, fully-furnished cabana with outdoor rain shower, so you can go back and forth between the water and shade as you please.

Halekulani, Hawaii 

The best place to learn about modern surfing is where it all began: Hawaii. Right on the beach in Waikiki, the Halekulani hotel offers an Art of Surfing program with activities for guests looking to learn more about the sport and those who already know how to ride the waves. Everyone is invited to head down to the water in the morning for a daily surf demonstration that covers basic stances, with enthusiasts able to sign up for private or semi-private surfing and stand-up paddle lessons tailored to their abilities. 

Keystone Lodge & Spa, Colorado

Keystone Bike Park offers exhilarating downhill mountain biking with lift service so riders can spend more time on the trails. The terrain is professionally maintained and it is accessible to riders of all skill levels, with more advanced bikers loving the technical rock gardens and drops. After spending the day on two wheels, retreat to your room at Keystone Lodge & Spa and enjoy views of the mountains, Keystone Lake or Snake River.

Kiawah Island Golf Resort, South Carolina

Golf may be in the name, but this resort is known for its phenomenal tennis offerings. The revamped Roy Barth Tennis Center boasts 22 tennis courts, including 10 new Har-Tru clay courts, and guests can sign up for group or private lessons with a pro. If pickleball is more your speed, consider attending one of the center's clinics or show up for open play. When your long day on the court is done, relax at The Spa at The Sanctuary or enjoy a cocktail at The Ocean Room.

Omni Bedford Springs, Pennsylvania 

The archery program at Omni Bedford Springs is right on target. There are separate sessions for children and adults, with each group learning how to use a bow before testing their aim, and families wanting to use archery as a bonding experience can book private experiences. Take advantage of being in the Allegheny Mountains and sign up for other outdoor activities, including axe throwing, fly fishing and scavenger hunts.

Salamander Middleburg, Virginia 

The centerpiece of Salamander Middleburg is its impressive Equestrian Center, with a 14,000-square-foot stable, 22 stalls, nine paddocks, an outdoor riding arena and 25 acres set aside for new riders. An array of activities are offered to guests, from group trail rides through the Virginia countryside to family horsemanship lessons. Salamander Middleburg is also home to a sweet miniature horse named Cupcake, and kids can learn how to groom her, feed her treats and give one of her pony friends a bath. Following their experience, guests walk away with a deeper appreciation of horses and the work that goes into caring for them.

Andy Murray has been denied the chance to end his singles career at the scene of his greatest triumphs, as injury forces the tennis star to abandon a solo farewell appearance at Wimbledon. 

The Scot will instead take to Centre Court today alongside his brother Jamie in the men's doubles, his last competition at the All England Club.

Battles with injury have been a "tortured psychodrama" spanning years of his career, said Oliver Brown in The Telegraph, and his latest surgery was one "not even this indomitable athlete could surmount". As Murray now prepares to retire after the Paris Olympics, his impending departure from the sport leaves a feeling of "profound sadness" and a "crater" to fill in British tennis.

'Grind and graft'

Murray's mission to compete in the Wimbledon singles event was derailed two weeks ago when he was forced to pull out of Queen's with a back injury. Despite making "massive strides", he was unable to recover in time to be "competitive across the best of five sets", said Tumaini Carayol in The Guardian.

Although the Paris Olympics in July and August will be Murray's final career appearance, his Wimbledon withdrawal ends the Grand Slam career of one of the "finest male tennis players the sport has ever seen".

Part of a generation of "all-time greats", he claimed three Grand Slam titles, including two at Wimbledon, and a stint as world No.1. Achieving these victories "usually meant" beating two of the formidable trio of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic at each tournament, and "absorbing many defeats in the process".

But that is why Murray "deserves every accolade and more", said Brown. While Federer "made tennis look blissfully easy", Murray "reminded everyone that it was hard" and showed "grind" and "graft" in overcoming the odds to win.

The 37-year-old has remained "ever the competitor" in his long battle against injury, having been "struck down in his prime", aid Andy Sims in The Independent. These physical struggles have "robbed" Murray of the "chance of a proper send-off" and brought an "outstanding era in British sport to a sad end".

'There will never be another'

Murray will undoubtedly be "lauded for his achievements", said Kevin Palmer at Tennis365. He "rose to the top" in "an era that was tougher than any in the history of tennis". The debate over who is the "greatest British sportsperson of all time" is "skewed by personal preference", but Murray achieved so much in a "truly global" sport.

Ending Britain's "77-year wait for a homegrown male champion" at Wimbledon in 2013 is surely enough to put Murray "top of that list", said the Irish Independent. His win put an end to what had "long since become a national embarrassment".

But more than his victories, it is the "perseverance" and "determination" that Murray has shown throughout his career that make him Britain's greatest sportsperson, said Martin Samuel in The Times. 

He "never was the best player" in his era, and often approached his career like a "madman" to overcome the challenges that he faced. Yet while "no doubt, his achievements will be matched, even overtaken" one day, there "will never be another" like him.

Carlos Alcaraz went into this year's French Open following a miserable clay-court season, said Tumaini Carayol in The Guardian. A forearm injury had caused the Spaniard to miss three of his four planned tournaments, and he was badly hampered in the one event – the Madrid Open – in which he did compete. 

Such poor preparation would have precluded most players from having any sort of a shot at the Roland-Garros title. But Alcaraz is a "generational talent", and his explosive, highly watchable game is matched by a "big-match temperament" and resolute self-belief. On Sunday, after "five turbulent, tension-filled sets", he claimed his first French Open title, with a 6-3, 2-6, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2 victory over the German fourth seed Alexander Zverev. 

The win makes Alcaraz only the seventh male tennis player to have won a major title on all three surfaces – grass, hard and clay – and, at 21, he is the youngest player by more than a year to have achieved the feat. After the match, Zverev described his conqueror as "a beast, an animal" who "plays tennis at a different [intensity] to other people". 

He's not wrong, said Simon Briggs in The Daily Telegraph. It's not just the quality of Alcaraz's tennis, however, that makes him stand apart. In its combination of power, agility and variety, his game also offers something unprecedented. He can "pull winners out of thin air in any number of ways, whether by larruping 100mph forehands or feathering the daintiest of drop shots". His powers of retrieval regularly induce gasps – as with the single-handed backhand pass he conjured in the penultimate game on Sunday, "all while scooting laterally across the court so swiftly that he could have been on wheels". 

And the package is completed by a likeable and ebullient personality, which is confident without being cocky. No wonder there's a growing feeling that Alcaraz is "becoming the saviour of tennis" – the man who will keep the sport fresh and exciting as the era of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic passes. 

Another rare attribute possessed by Alcaraz is an ability to win when not playing his best, said Matthew Lambert in the Daily Mail. His form on Sunday was patchy, as it had been in his fiveset semi-final victory over Jannik Sinner. He had "two shocking spells", going from 2-1 to 2-6 in the second set and 5-2 to 5-7 in the third. But when he most needed to, he found his game: he played his best tennis in the final two sets. It's telling that of the 12 five-set matches he has played, he has won 11. 

John McEnroe and Boris Becker have both said that he's a "better player at this age than Federer, Nadal or Djokovic were" – and he's still clearly some way off his peak. One suspects that once he reaches it, "he will be close to unstoppable".

Ever since Coco Gauff first burst onto the scene as a 15-year-old qualifier at Wimbledon in 2019, it seemed inevitable she would one day win a grand slam title, said Stuart Fraser in The Times. And last Saturday, inside the world's biggest tennis stadium, that moment "finally came to pass". On a "thrilling evening of drama", the American battled back from a set down to beat second seed Aryna Sabalenka. It was a match that will perhaps be remembered less for its quality than "for the way in which Gauff was willed to victory by a feverish capacity crowd of 24,000 people". Nervous and error-prone throughout the first set, she claimed a crucial break early in the second set, and rarely looked back after that, running out a 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 winner. The 19-year-old becomes the third American female teenager to have won the US Open, after Serena Williams and Tracy Austin. 

Gauff, who lived for most of her childhood in Delray Beach, Florida (with regular trips to the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy in France), has always been a precocious talent, said Molly McElwee in The Daily Telegraph. But her rise to the top hasn't always been smooth, and she has admitted to having struggled with the weight of expectation – a burden only intensified by the "constant" comparisons with Serena Williams. "I remember I lost [a match] when I was 17 and there was a stat, they were like, 'Oh, she's not going to win a slam before Serena's age,'" Gauff said on Saturday. "I felt like I had a time limit on when I should win one." Her latest dip came this summer, when she crashed out of Wimbledon in the first round – a "humbling" defeat that forced a restructure of her coaching team, said Jonathan Jurejko on BBC Sport. Her father, Corey Gauff – her main coach since childhood – stepped back from his front-line role; Spaniard Pere Riba now "heads up" the team, with the "vastly experienced" Brad Gilbert – once coach to Andy Murray – as consultant. 

The shake-up clearly worked, said Tumaini Carayol in The Guardian. Since her "painful" exit at Wimbledon, Gauff has enjoyed an "astonishing" hard court swing, claiming titles in Washington and Cincinnati. Her game has become more aggressive, though in the final it was mostly her defensive skills that enabled her to get the better of Sabalenka. Wowing the crowd with her "incredible movement and anticipation", she consistently deflected the hard-hitting Belarusian's "blows into difficult spots", forcing her to "haemorrhage errors". At 5-2 in the final set, she served out the game to love, before "collapsing to the ground in shock". She then climbed into the crowd and embraced her family. One of the warmest hugs was for her father: she noted afterwards it was the "first time she had ever seen him cry".

Novak Djokovic faced quite a few extra challenges in his bid to be crowned 2023 Australian Open men’s champion, said Christopher Clarey in The New York Times. For a man who was deported on the eve of last year’s tournament for failing to get a Covid vaccination, a return to Australia “would have been plenty to process on its own”. But the Serb had to contend with much else besides: not just the hamstring injury he carried into the tournament, and which visibly affected him in the early rounds, but also the “latest controversy sparked by his father, Srdjan, who posed for photos with flag-carrying Russian supporters inside Melbourne Park”.

Remarkably, none of this appeared to affect Djokovic’s performance on court, said Mike Dickson in the Daily Mail. The 35-year-old lost just one set en route to the final, and then duly claimed his tenth title in Melbourne on Sunday with a 6-3, 7-6, 7-6 victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas. “I would say this is probably the biggest victory of my life, considering the circumstances,” Djokovic said afterwards.

Djokovic’s win was a reminder of how “complete and foolproof” his game is, said Tumaini Carayol in The Guardian. Many players cannot function when a particular stroke misfires, yet Djokovic’s tennis has so many “built-in contingencies”, he can still succeed even when one strength fails. His backhand in Melbourne was a case in point: it’s “one of the best strokes in the history of the sport”, yet throughout the tournament “it was actually off”, and he hit far more errors from that wing than usual. It barely mattered, because Djokovic compensated “by simply dominating with forehand”. In the final, he thoroughly outplayed Tsitsipas’s forehand, generally considered one of the best in tennis. “I never saw him hitting better forehands before,” noted Djokovic’s coach, Goran Ivanišević.

Perhaps because Djokovic is widely held not to be “as likeable as his peers”, there has long been a tendency, when he wins matches, to emphasise his opponents’ failings rather than his own strengths, said Matthew Syed in The Times. When he overcame Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2019, all the talk was of the “vulnerability of the Swiss player on the big points”. In the Australian Open final of 2019, his 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 demolition of Rafael Nadal was cast as a story of “Nadal’s collapse rather than the man who was its author”. Given that Djokovic has now won 22 grand slam titles (level with Nadal; two ahead of Federer), the time has come to reflect again “on his place in the pantheon”. He has positive head-to-head records against all his main rivals, has won every slam at least twice, and is again world No. 1. Judged solely on the qualities he brings to the court, he is “surely unrivalled” in tennis history.

Novak Djokovic is embroiled in a new controversy at the Australian Open after images emerged of his father posing with fans brandishing pro-Russian flags.

Srdjan Djokovic “has managed to steal the limelight from his son’s game” by being pictured with the “notorious” Night Wolves motorcycle gang, which is “known for its public support of Russian president Vladimir Putin”, said The Firstpost.

The episode threatens to overshadow the Serbian tennis star’s run to the final of a grand slam tournament he was prevented from appearing in just 12 months ago due to his Covid vaccination status.

A ‘disgrace’

Djokovic senior was pictured with a man who was holding a Russian flag carrying Putin’s face, and wearing a T-shirt printed with the pro-war Z symbol.

Formed during the 1980s, the Night Wolves is Russia’s “largest and most infamous motorcycle club”, said The Guardian in 2016. Putin has previously described the members of the gang as his “friends” and has been pictured with the group on several occasions.

The gang, also known as Putin’s Angels, has been targeted by US and Canadian sanctions for its support of the 2014 annexation of Crimea by Russia, which some of its members fought in.

Describing the reported Djokovic connection with the gang as a “disgrace”, Ukraine’s ambassador to Australia urged tennis officials to ban Djokovic senior from the Australian Open. Vasyl Myroshnychenko also insisted that the tennis champion himself should “apologise for what has happened, and condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine”.

‘Undying resentment’

However, there is a “sense of brotherhood that continues to unite many from those two countries in support of the war in Ukraine”, wrote William Nattrass for The Spectator.

Moscow is seen by many Serbs as “a truer ally than the West will ever be”, he added, “due in large part to Russia’s support for Serbia’s claims on Kosovo and Serbs’ undying resentment against western intervention during the Balkan wars in the 1990s”.

In Belgrade, media coverage of the Melbourne incident argues that Western offence is an attempt to distract Djokovic, who has also come under fire for his stance on vaccines, as he pursues another grand slam title.

Sportal, a popular Serbian tabloid, called the fallout a “new attack on Novak”, arguing that “instead of talking about Novak’s perfect slam so far, media in Australia and Europe are unfortunately writing about the ‘scandal’ and calling on the Australian Open to react”.

In a statement released by the tennis player’s representatives, Djokovic senior said he had “no intention” of being caught up in politics, noted Sky News. “I am here to support my son only,” he said. “I had no intention of causing such headlines or disruption.”

Srdjan was outspoken last year when his son was prevented from playing in the Australian Open and deported for not having had a Covid vaccine. He accused Australia of trying to “assassinate” his son, said the Daily Mail.

However, said The Telegraph, “this latest PR disaster may be one that Srdjan struggles to talk his way out of”. Djokovic junior has yet to comment on the episode.

The moment, when it came, was always going to be “exquisitely framed”, said Oliver Brown in The Daily Telegraph. Last week, with an “impossibly expensive watch on his left wrist”, and “eight golden replicas of the Wimbledon cup glinting in the cabinet behind him”, Roger Federer delivered the news that his millions of fans have long been dreading.

The Swiss great announced that this weekend’s Laver Cup would mark his final competitive appearance. Federer is retiring at the “ludicrously advanced age of 41”, having been kept out of the sport for most of the past two years by a series of intractable knee injuries, said Barney Ronay in The Guardian.

‘Winning grand slams before the iPhone’

A retirement in such circumstances is hardly surprising – and yet in Federer’s case, it “still feels like a shock”. We’ve grown so used to him being part of tennis that it’s hard to contemplate the sport without him. “Here is a man who was winning grand slam tournaments before the iPhone was invented, while Tony Blair was still a very popular prime minister.”

It’s easy to forget that when Federer emerged in the early 2000s, men’s tennis “was not in a great spot”, said Matthew Futterman in The New York Times. The Sampras-Agassi era was drawing to a close, and the leading lights of the next generation were David Nalbandian, Lleyton Hewitt and Andy Roddick – not exactly names to set pulses racing. Then along came a “young player from Switzerland with a goofy ponytail”, and suddenly crowds were “oohing and aahing” again.

“Baryshnikov in sneakers” was how John McEnroe described him, while Cliff Drysdale, the commentator and former pro, began to notice that whenever Federer played, the locker room would empty as players went off to watch him, something he “had not seen since the days of Rod Laver”. Soon, the trophies were arriving “by the truckload”: by the end of 2008, when Federer was still just 27, he’d already won 13 grand slams – one behind Pete Sampras’s all-time record.

Federer v Nadal: a rivalry ‘too good to be true’

But it was around this point that Federer’s aura of invincibility came to be challenged for the first time, said Simon Briggs in The Daily Telegraph. Rafael Nadal, five years younger, began to threaten him not just on clay – the Spaniard’s best surface and Federer’s weakest – but also on hard courts and grass. In the 2008 Wimbledon final – widely regarded as the greatest match ever – Nadal prevailed in five epic sets, and then repeated the feat at the 2009 Australian Open, a defeat that famously made Federer cry.

For marketeers, their rivalry was “too good to be true”, so perfectly did they embody opposing tendencies. While the “calm Swiss maestro” made the game look effortless and barely ever seemed to sweat, Nadal is “earthier by nature, and heavier in thew”, with his grunts, his tics and his “giant left bicep”. Their battles elevated men’s tennis to an unprecedented pitch of excitement – and greatly enhanced Federer’s popularity, since they revealed his fallible, human side.

In the second half of his career, though Federer never recaptured his earlier dominance, he continued to be a player who “redefined” the sport, said Tumaini Carayol in The Guardian. He remained (with Nadal and Novak Djokovic) part of tennis’s “Big Three”, and returned from knee surgery in his mid-30s to win three more grand slam titles – an achievement that changed “how people view the length and arc of a tennis player’s career”.

With a remodelled topspin backhand, he even finally got the better of Nadal, winning six of their last seven matches. Above all, it was his “love of the sport” that provided the motivation to keep on going. He had plenty of opportunities to “exit on top” – as Sampras did 20 years ago – but he was ultimately having “far too much fun”.

Conjuring his ‘own kind of optical illusion’

While Federer won’t go down statistically as the most successful player of all time, said Matthew Syed in The Times, there is little doubt that no other player has provided such “aesthetic pleasure”.

Like all the very greatest athletes, he was someone who “conjured his own kind of optical illusion”: just as Michael Jordan was “said to defy gravity, hanging in the air for an extra split-second”, so Federer “made it look as if he was gliding over the surface of the court” – and would regularly play shots of such audacity that they seemingly required him to “slow down time”.

He was “one of those rare people who elevated life above the mundane and prosaic” – and that, above all, is why so many are struggling to accept that his “magical era has come to an end”.

People have been saying it for some time, and now we know it’s true, said Simon Briggs in The Daily Telegraph: the “Spanish prodigy” Carlos Alcaraz is the “future of men’s tennis”. On Sunday night at Flushing Meadows, Alcaraz confirmed his status as the sport’s new superstar by claiming an “extraordinary treble in New York”.

First, he won his maiden grand slam title by beating Casper Ruud of Norway 6-4, 2-6, 7-6, 6-3. Second, at the age of 19 years and 130 days, he became “the youngest man to claim the world No. 1 ranking, smashing Lleyton Hewitt’s record by more than 16 months”. Third – and perhaps most significantly – he “won over the 24,000 fans in Arthur Ashe Stadium as if he were an American”. Not only is Alcaraz a once-in-a-generation talent, he’s someone tennis fans simply adore watching.

That’s hardly surprising, given the astonishing brand of tennis he plays, said Stuart Fraser in The Times. While his game is founded on a mix of blistering power and “lightning speed”, he also has an array of subtler shots at his disposal – whether perfectly weighted topspin lobs or the most feathery and delicate of drop shots. His matches are full of dazzling rallies that leave those watching them gasping in wonder.

What’s more, he seems to take “pure joy from competing, even in the middle of the night”, said Matthew Futterman in The New York Times. Alcaraz’s route to the final involved three gruelling five-setters in a row – including a monumental quarter-final against Jannik Sinner that didn’t finish until 2.50am. Such exertions would have exhausted most players, but however tired he was really feeling, Alcaraz continued to look fresh and energised right to the end of Sunday’s final.

The Spaniard is undoubtedly the “best teenager in men’s tennis since Rafael Nadal nearly two decades ago”, said Bryan Armen Graham in The Guardian. And his emergence feels well-timed, given that the triumvirate who have long dominated the men’s game – Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer – are all approaching the end of their careers. But while it’s tempting to assume that the “era of the Big Three” is about to give way to the era of the “Big One”, we should be wary of expecting too much of Alcaraz: tennis history, after all, is littered with players who never quite fulfilled their potential.

We should remember, too, that Alcaraz is by no means the sport’s only up-and-coming star, said Jake Nevins in the New York Magazine. Several other players rose to prominence at this US Open – including the 24-year-old American Frances Tiafoe, who reached his first grand slam semi-final, and runner-up Ruud, who is only 23. With players of such calibre competing alongside Alcaraz, the future of men’s tennis “looks pretty damn bright”.

Roger Federer’s announcement that he will retire from top-level tennis after the Laver Cup in London this month has reignited the debate over whether he is the game’s “GOAT” – the greatest of all time.

“My body’s message to me lately has been clear,” wrote the 41-year-old on Twitter yesterday. “I have played more than 1,500 matches over 24 years,” said the 20-time Grand Slam champion. “Now I must recognise when it is time to end my competitive career.”

Leading the tributes, Federer’s great rival Rafael Nadal said it was a “sad day for me personally and for sports around the world”.

The ‘greatest in an era of greats’

Federer was “the greatest player in an era of greats”, said The Guardian’s Barney Ronay. Even as part of the “Federer-Nadal-Djokovic tripod of power”, the Swiss was “without any reasonable cause for argument” the “greatest tennis player ever”, argued Ronay.

Federer retires from tennis “as the GOAT”, said Mark Cannizzaro for the New York Post. Although his 20 Grand Slam titles place him third behind Rafael Nadal (22) and Novak Djokovic (21), Cannizzaro insisted that Federer is “the GOAT for the entire package that he was as a player and a human being” because “he was flawless at both”.

The game’s greats have also positioned him at the top of the tree. “Roger Federer is a champions’ champion,” wrote Billie Jean King on Twitter. Taking to Instagram, Serena Williams wrote that “Retirement just got the GOAT.”

“Certainly, Roger will be the greatest player of all time,” agreed International Tennis Federation president David Haggerty, speaking to Sky News.

‘Greater than the Pope’

Even some of those sitting on the fence on the question have tended to lean in Federer’s direction.

“There is no absolute answer” to the question of whether Federer, Djokovic or Nadal “was the greatest tennis giant of them all”, wrote Owen Slot for The Times. However, he added, “no player ever raised the aesthetics of hitting a tennis ball to a height quite like Roger Federer”.

He was “tennis’ avatar, a dazzling representation of tennis’ possibilities”, said Tennis.com, which also looked beyond the sport to consider where Federer lay in the wider scheme of things.

It recalled that a poll in 2011 found that he was the second most respected person in the world “behind only Nelson Mandela” and “ahead of Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Oprah Winfrey, Barack Obama and Pope Benedict XVI”.

Writing for The Guardian last month, Tim Joyce tried to bring the GOAT discussion back down to earth. He described the debate as a “tiresome, simplistic and one-dimensional approach to assessing greatness” and a “myopic, insecure and immature reflex by sportswriters and commentators who feel the need to declare their own generation is undoubtedly the best”.

In fact, he argued, “comparing players across generations is a futile activity”.

Twenty-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer has announced his retirement from professional tennis, ESPN reports Thursday.

Federer, who has been a dominant force in the sport for the last two decades, has been battling a number of injuries and surgeries. In an audio clip posted to social media, the tennis star said he has "worked hard to return to full competitive form. But I also know my body's capacities and limits, and its message to me lately has been clear." Federer said he intends to keep playing tennis, just "not in Grand Slams or on the tour."

The announcement was met with an outpouring of admiration and support from Federer's fans and colleagues, including tennis great Billie Jean King, who described him, "a champion's champion."

Next week's Laver Cup in London will be the 41-year-old's last appearance competitively, The New York Times reports. He will play alongside fellow tennis legends Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

"Finally, to the game of tennis," Federer said in a written statement also released on Twitter: "I love you and will never leave you."

The U.S. Open ended with a bang as 19-year-old Carlos Alcaraz was titled champion, making him the youngest man to win a Grand Slam title since Rafael Nadal in 2005. Alcaraz had a strong start, winning the first set, but was set back in the second. He then went on to win two more sets in a row, including a tie-break in set three.

The Spanish player beat Casper Rudd of Norway 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (1), 6-3 for the trophy, making him the youngest No. 1 ranked player in men's tennis, reports ESPN.

The road to victory was no easy feat as Alcaraz played three consecutive five-set matches to make it to the championship. This included the longest match in U.S. Open history, where the game lasted 5 hours and 15 minutes, against Jannik Sinner. He also played an emotional match against Frances Tiafoe of the U.S., who was the first American man in the semi-finals since 2006.

Alcaraz has received an outpouring of support from all over the world, including fellow Spaniard and tennis legend Rafael Nadal, who Alcaraz defeated in the Madrid Open last year.

In a news conference following his victory, Alcaraz said, "I want to be on top for many weeks, many years," Then, pointing at the trophy: "I want more of these."

After Emma Raducanu’s victory at last year’s US Open, all the talk was of British women’s tennis being on the brink of a spectacular revival, said Mike Dickson in the Daily Mail. Yet we were looking in the wrong direction: the real success story has been on the men’s side.

At the US Open, a “Fab Four” – Cameron Norrie, Dan Evans, Andy Murray and Jack Draper – took the nation to historic heights. Not since the start of the Open era, in 1968, had a British quartet made it through to the third round at Flushing Meadows. All four are about to move into the world’s top 50, another first for the Open era.

Draper, at 20, is the youngest of the four, and a hugely exciting prospect, said Tumaini Carayol in The Guardian. He followed his first-round victory over Emil Ruusuvuori with an even more “startling” straight sets win over the sixth seed, Félix Auger-Aliassime.

But in the next round, his breakthrough came to a “sudden halt”, said Stuart Fraser in The Times. In the third set of his match against the Russian Karen Khachanov, tied at 1-1, he felt a sharp pain in his thigh and retired shortly after. Murray and Evans also lost in the third round, but Norrie made it through to the last 16, before losing in straight sets to the ninth seed, the Russian Andrey Rublev, in a strangely lacklustre display.

It’s not just in singles that Britain’s men are thriving, said Molly McElwee in The Daily Telegraph. Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski are currently the first- and third-ranked doubles players in the world. All this means that Britain’s Davis Cup captain, Leon Smith, faces some tough decisions next week when he picks his side for the group stage in Glasgow. In the past, “the team practically picked itself”: now Smith has almost too many options. As Dan Evans put it, “it’s an amazing problem to have”.

When Emma Raducanu wowed the tennis world by winning the US Open as a qualifier in 2021 the British star played ten matches and did not drop a single set on the way to her maiden grand slam title. Fast forward 12 months, however, there was not going to be another fairytale of New York for the 19-year-old. Raducanu’s title defence ended at the first hurdle after she lost in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3, to Alize Cornet in the first round this morning.

The British No.1, seeded 11th, was “out-hustled” and “out-scrapped” by the experienced Frenchwoman, said Jonathan Jurejko on BBC Sport. “Seeing a defending champion knocked out early often feels like a shock, but the reality is that this defeat was not unexpected.”

At the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati earlier this month Raducanu recorded “memorable” wins over former world No.1s Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka, Jurejko added. But a “series of niggling injuries” and a lack of “consistent performances” have seen her lose 16 of 29 matches this season. The teenager has “found her full-time transition to the WTA Tour a testing one”.

‘The target will be off my back slightly’

Since beating Leylah Annie Fernandez 6-4, 6-3 in last year’s US Open final, the scrutiny “has been intense” for Raducanu, said Greg Garber on WTATennis.com. “But it’s a small sample size.” She didn’t play her first WTA main draw until less than 15 months ago.

Raducanu’s defeat at Louis Armstrong Stadium means she will drop from 11th in the world rankings to 79th “at best”, said Tumaini Carayol in The Guardian. It also means she will be unseeded at lower events on the tour and will have to enter the qualifying rounds of the bigger tournaments. “She will now have to build her ranking and status the conventional way.”

Speaking after her loss to world No.40 Cornet at Flushing Meadows, Raducanu said that in a way “the target will be off my back slightly”. While losing in the first round is “obviously really disappointing”, she is also happy because it’s a “clean slate”. With a drop in the rankings coming, she has vowed to “claw my way back up there”.

She knows ‘where she stands now’

The “hunter of 2021” was the “hunted of 2022”, said Steve Tignor on Tennis.com. Raducanu’s “Cinderella phase” may have come to an end, but “maybe that’s not a bad thing”. Although life in the 70s and 80s of the world rankings “will be harder”, it will also be “more realistic” for the Briton. “Knowing she has to improve just to be able to compete in WTA events should be motivating.” She knows “where she stands now” and she also knows “that it’s in her to stand some place much better”.

Raducanu will “always be the teenager who won the US Open from nowhere”, said Martin Samuel in the Daily Mail. She must now “sit down and reflect” on how this experience “can be rationalised as another gradient on the learning curve”. It’s “all part of the apprenticeship” that she is now enduring, “having joined the firm as chief executive officer”.

The “queen of New York” has “reverted to commoner status”, said The Telegraph. She still has her “2.5m Instagram followers” and her “ten endorsement contracts”, but she “no longer has a seat at the table as one of the leading players on the tour”.

In just over a fortnight, Emma Raducanu will begin the defence of her US Open title, said Stephen Davies in The Mail on Sunday. But last week, her preparations “suffered another setback” after she was “bullied into defeat by Liudmila Samsonova of Russia” in the quarter-finals of the Washington Citi Open in Washington. The 19-year-old blew four set points in the first set, and from then on her performance was “dismal”. She slumped to a 7-6, 6-1 defeat.

It’s an inauspicious start for Raducanu, who has won just 11 of her 25 matches played on the WTA Tour so far this season. She keeps losing to players ranked well below her – Samsonova was the world No.60 – and keeps getting injured, said Jamie Johnson in The Daily Telegraph. In the past year, the afflictions have mounted: sore ribs, a foot injury, shortness of breath. In Washington, she suffered a return of the blisters on her right hand that plagued her at the Australian Open in January.

On Tuesday world No.10 Raducanu suffered another loss, this time 7-6, 6-2 against Italy’s Camila Giorgi at the Canadian Open in Toronto. The defeat to defending champion Giorgi was the “latest blow” to Raducanu’s US Open preparations, said the Press Association. The teenager “squandered chances to seize the initiative” in either set and “let slip a 2-0 lead in the second before bowing out in one hour and 49 minutes”.

Another issue is her lack of “coaching consistency”, said Johnson in the Telegraph. She has hired and fired two coaches over the past year, and is now working on a temporary basis with the Russian former player Dmitry Tursunov. Yet Raducanu insists she isn’t feeling any pressure. She said: “I’m still 19. I’m a slam champion, so no one’s going to take that away from me. The pressure is on those who haven’t done that.”

Such is her standing in the worlds of sport and culture, it was no surprise that Serena Williams announced her imminent retirement from tennis by writing an intimate first-person essay in Vogue. In its September issue, the fashion magazine said the 40-year-old would bid farewell to tennis “on her own terms – and in her own words”.

In fact retirement is not a term that she’s ever liked, “it doesn’t feel like a modern word to me”, she wrote. “I’ve been thinking of this as a transition. Maybe the best word to describe what I’m up to is evolution. I’m here to tell you that I’m evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me.”

A few years ago Williams “quietly started” Serena Ventures, a venture capital firm. Soon after that, she started a family. “I want to grow that family.”

‘I should have had 30-plus slams’

It’s “almost the end of an era”, said Amy Lofthouse on BBC Sport. As “one of the greatest tennis players of all time” and a “sporting icon”, it will be “difficult to imagine tennis without the American legend”, who has won “all there is to win” during her 27-year career.

A winner of 23 grand slam singles titles in the open era, Williams is just one behind the all-time record held by Australian Margaret Court. In her essay she suggested that the 2022 US Open, which starts on 29 August, will be her farewell event. It was in New York, as a “braided 17-year-old phenomenon”, where she lifted the family’s “first major title” in 1999, said Bryan Armen Graham in The Guardian. Her older sister Venus, a seven-time grand slam champion, won the US Open major a year later and in 2001.

Within reach of Court’s 24 slams, Williams would “be lying” if she said she didn’t want that record. “Obviously I do,” she wrote. “But day to day, I’m really not thinking about her. The way I see it, I should have had 30-plus grand slams.”

With 23 slams and 73 career titles, Williams has “set the marker that matters”, said Tumaini Carayol in The Guardian. “No asterisks needed”, her tennis legacy “goes far beyond statistics”.

‘It hurts like a 120mph serve to the stomach’

Williams’ retirement will be “a crushing loss” for tennis, said Johnny Oleksinski in the New York Post. “Without a doubt”, she is a “once-in-a-generation athlete” on the “same godlike level” as Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, LeBron James or Tom Brady. “The sports world will be a lot less ferocious or fascinating without her.” We all knew this sad day was coming, but it “still hurts like a 120-miles-per-hour serve to the stomach”.

Regarded by many as the women’s tennis “goat” – the greatest of all time – from a “purely sporting point of view”, Williams will be remembered as an athlete who possessed “the purest serve” and a “never-fading desire to win”, said Lofthouse on the BBC. She will also be remembered for “speaking out against racism, pushing for gender parity and equal prize money, and about her experiences of the healthcare system as a black woman”.

It has been years since Serena was “simply an athlete”, said Steve Tignor on Tennis.com. “She’s a symbol – of black excellence, modern motherhood, female success without compromise, survival”. Along with Beyoncé and Oprah, she’s also one of a group of African-American women who are at “the centre of American culture, not just sporting culture”.

‘The Serena effect’

Following her announcement, the US Open has taken on “a whole new meaning” this year, said Prakash Amritraj on Tennis.com. And it looks like fans are going to turn out in great numbers to bid farewell to the tennis icon.

Tournament officials have confirmed that there has been “unprecedented” demand for tickets for this year’s slam in New York. “You talk about the Serena effect, it’s like a tsunami,” USTA spokesman Chris Widmaier told the New York Post.

Widmaier also said it is still to be determined how the US Open will honour Williams during the tournament. Previous “notable farewells” at Flushing have included American stars Andre Agassi in 2006 and Andy Roddick in 2012.

Williams said she’s “going to try” and win the New York slam, but she is not looking for some “ceremonial, final” on-court moment. “I’m terrible at goodbyes, the world’s worst,” she said to her fans. “But please know that I am more grateful for you than I can ever express in words. You have carried me to so many wins and so many trophies. I’m going to miss that version of me, that girl who played tennis. And I’m going to miss you.”

Serena Williams will retire from tennis after the upcoming U.S. Open, the legendary athlete announced in a Vogue article published Tuesday.

"It's the hardest thing that I could ever imagine. I hate it. I hate that I have to be at this crossroads," said Williams, almost 41, as told to Vogue's Rob Haskell. "I keep saying to myself, I wish it could be easy for me, but it's not. I'm torn: I don't want it to be over, but at the same time I'm ready for what's next."

Williams notes that she never liked the word "retirement," and prefers to think of herself as "evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me," like giving her daughter Olympia a sister. "[T]hese days, if I have to choose between building my tennis résumé and building my family, I choose the latter."

With over $100 million in prize money and 23 Grand Slam titles under her belt, Williams is widely considered one of the best athletes of all time. Her influence has since grown far beyond tennis, into areas like fashion, entertainment, and business, notes The New York Times.

The King Richard subject concluded the Vogue piece by thanking her fans — "[P]lease know that I am more grateful for you than I can ever express in words." "I'm going to miss that version of me," she went on, "that girl who played tennis. And I'm going to miss you."

There will be a new name on the Wimbledon wall of champions at the All England Club. After two weeks of grass-court action in SW19, Elena Rybakina and Ons Jabeur are through to Saturday’s women’s singles championship match – the first time either player has reached the final of a grand slam.

Tunisian third seed Jabeur, the world No.2, secured her place in the showpiece with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 win over Tatjana Maria in the semi-finals. She is the first Arab player to reach a slam singles final and first African woman since South Africa’s Sandra Reynolds at Wimbledon in 1960, the BBC reported. After “years of work and sacrifice”, it’s a “dream come true”, the 27-year-old said. “I’m really happy it is paying off and now there is one more match to come.”

Rybakina progressed to the final after beating 2019 champion Simona Halep 6-3, 6-3 in the last four. Ranked 23rd in the world, Rybakina is expecting a “great match” against Jabeur. “She’s a great player, very tricky player – it’s not going to be easy to play against her drop shots and volleys. I think I already did the work so it’s time to enjoy it out on court.”

“Born in Russia, made in Kazakhstan”, should the 23-year-old be crowned Wimbledon champion it could be a “potentially awkward moment for organisers” after Russian players were banned from the tournament following the invasion of Ukraine, said AFP. After switching federations in 2018 Rybakina has grown tired of “fending off questions over her nationality”, the news agency added. The 23-year-old has been playing for Kazakhstan “for a long time” and is “really happy” representing the nation. “They believed in me,” she said. “There is no more question about how I feel.”

1. Start time and TV coverage

Saturday’s Wimbledon women’s singles final will start at 2pm (BST) on Centre Court. The final will be shown live in the UK on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. The BBC’s coverage starts at 1pm.

2. Player profiles and head-to-head

Elena Rybakina

• Nationality: Kazakhstani
• Age: 23
• Seeded at Wimbledon: 17
• WTA world ranking: 23
• Turned pro: 2016
• Plays: right-handed (two-handed backhand)
• WTA career singles titles: 2
• Win-loss singles: 223/108

Ons Jabeur

• Nationality: Tunisian
• Age: 27
• Seeded at Wimbledon: 3
• WTA world ranking: 2
• Turned pro: 2010
• Plays: right-handed (two-handed backhand)
• WTA career singles titles: 3
• Win-loss singles: 376/207

Head-to-head: previous matches

• Matches played: 3
• Wins: Rybakina 1, Jabeur 2

They have played each other three times on the WTA Tour – all on hard courts. Jabeur edges the head-to-head 2-1 having won their last two encounters. Rybakina won in Wuhan in 2019 and Jabeur drew level in Dubai last year. Jabeur also won at the Chicago 500 last September after Rybakina retired.

3. Predictions: who will win the women’s final?

There will be a “clash of styles” in Saturday’s final, said Shahida Jacobs on Tennis365.com. Jabeur offers “finesse and cheekiness” against the “aggression and power” of opponent Rybakina. “The big question, though, for any first-time grand slam finalist is whether or not they can keep the butterflies in check.” If both players play to their full potential, “then they will be tough to separate”. Rybakina “might just edge it with her power game”. However, “nerves often lead to a one-sided final” and in that case Jabeur with her care-free nature “might just settle better”.

Jabeur was “our pre-tournament tip” to win the women’s singles at Wimbledon and “we’re sticking with her” in the final against Rybakina, said Tony Kelshaw on bwin.com. “If Jabeur brings her A-game, with all its delightful variations and deft drop shots, we still believe she is a cut above.”

Rybakina “hasn’t been as strong under pressure”, although she has been “spectacular” throughout the Wimbledon fortnight, said Sudeshna Banerjee on SportsKeeda. Overall, Jabeur’s “fabulous consistency” and “amazing guile” give her the edge, but Rybakina “surely won't bow out without a fight”. Prediction: Jabeur to win in three sets.

Jabeur is the “favourite on paper”, but Rybakina has “exceeded expectations time and again” at Wimbledon this year, said Jim Smith on LastWordOnSports. “Why shouldn’t she do so once again?” Prediction: Rybakina in three.

You could make a strong case for either player, said Trystan Pugh on The Stats Zone. Jabeur has looked “machine-like at times” this past fortnight, but the manner in which Rybakina dismissed Halep in the semi-finals “was certainly eye-catching”. The final is “a difficult one to call” but “three sets would not be a surprise – so backing this to go to a decider is the suggestion”.

For some, he’s a foul-mouthed bully who demeans the sport of tennis; for others he’s a “tortured and underachieving genius”. But whatever your take on Nick Kyrgios, he’s undoubtedly box office, said Mike Dickson in the Daily Mail. And in a year when Wimbledon had no Russians and carried no ranking points, the 27-year-old’s strong showing over week one was a big fillip for the tournament. Especially mesmerising was the Australian’s third-round clash against fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, a contest notable for its near-constant drama and “astounding” tennis. It was, quite simply, “among the best first-week matches ever seen”.

No one who watched could “take their eyes off it for a second”, agreed Oliver Holt in The Mail on Sunday. After a high-quality first set, which Tsitsipas won on a tie-break, the match erupted into controversy when Kyrgios clinched the second with a brilliant passing shot. At this point Tsitsipas took a ball from his pocket and smashed it into the lower section of the crowd, narrowly missing a spectator. The umpire handed him a code violation, but this just enraged Kyrgios, who insisted his opponent should have been more harshly penalised. “You can’t hit a ball into the crowd… and not get defaulted,” he railed at the umpire. Tsitsipas, for his part, told the umpire that the Australian had “zero respect”.

But by now Tsitsipas had “Kyrgios in his head”, said Tumaini Carayol in The Guardian. And the Greek soon “descended further into madness”, when Kyrgios threw in an underarm serve. Tsitsipas sprinted up to the ball and slapped it high at the back fence, for which he was handed a penalty point violation. Later in the third set, he “twice slapped the ball as hard as possible at Kyrgios as he stood at the net”.

Such “toxicity threatened to derail the match”, yet the tennis continued to be of an extraordinary standard – nowhere more so than in the fourth-set tie-break, during which an “utterly nerveless” Kyrgios “demolished a series of forehands to bring up match point”, before rounding the match off with a delicate drop shot.

Verbal volleys

“It’s constant bullying, that’s what he does,” Tsitsipas complained afterwards. “He has a very evil side. He bullies the opponents. He was probably a bully at school himself. I don’t like bullies.” But Kyrgios brushed the charges aside, calling Tsitsipas “soft” for having allowed the disputes to rattle him.

Kyrgios’s tennis may be brilliant for the sport, said Owen Slot in The Times, but some of his antics are “utterly reprehensible”. In the first round, he even spat at a spectator – something he should never be “allowed to get away with”. You suspect, though, that he’s incapable of changing, said Elgan Alderman in the same paper. “And if we have to choose between all of Nick or none of him, I choose all.”

Till next time, Rafa…

After defeating Tsitsipas in the Wimbledon men’s singles third round, Kyrgios has gone on to beat Brandon Nakashima in the last 16 and Cristian Garín in the quarter-final. He was due to meet Rafael Nadal in the semis on Friday, but the Spaniard has withdrawn because of an abdominal injury. This meant Kyrgios was handed a walkover to Sunday’s Championship final, where he will face defending champion Novak Djokovic or Britain’s Cameron Norrie.

In a message posted on Instagram, Kyrgios wished Nadal well. “Different players, different personalities,” he wrote. “@rafaelnadal I hope your recovery goes well and we all hope to see you healthy soon. Till next time.”

World No.40 Kyrgios will now play in his maiden grand slam singles final. He is the lowest ranked player to reach the Wimbledon men’s final since Mark Philippoussis in 2003.

Cameron Norrie admits that he faces “one of the toughest tasks in tennis” when he takes on defending champion Novak Djokovic in the men’s singles semi-finals at Wimbledon today. The British No.1 has, however, vowed to “take it” to the 20-time grand slam winner on Centre Court.

Norrie, 26, reached the semi-finals after a five-set thriller against David Goffin. The ninth seed is the first British male to reach the Wimbledon singles semi-finals since Andy Murray in 2016 and the first British player since Johanna Konta in 2017.

Top seed Djokovic, 35, is seeking a seventh men’s title at Wimbledon – and fourth successive crown. Norrie told the BBC that it’s “going to be a tough one” with the Serb’s record at SW19. “Obviously, grass is his favourite surface. I would say [it’s] one of the tougher tasks in tennis.”

The winner of today’s match will play Nick Kyrgios in the Championship final on Sunday. Australian Kyrgios received a walkover in the semi-finals after Rafael Nadal withdrew because of an abdominal injury.

Can Norrie stun Novak?

Tim Henman, who reached four Wimbledon semi-finals in his career, said that while Djokovic is the “heavy favourite”, Norrie has “always got a chance”. The BBC commentator added: “It’s a two-horse race. We’ve seen these upsets in the past and, fingers crossed, Cam can provide one of the biggest upsets.”

The duo have only faced each other once before, a group stage tie at last year’s Nitto ATP Finals which Djokovic won 6-2, 6-1. Coming into the game with a 26-match winning streak on grass, Djokovic “will look to replicate that performance”, said Kiril Anastasov on LastWordOnTennis. Norrie will “rely on the support of the British crowd to spoil the party and end the streak”.

Djokovic “holds the edge in pretty much every single category” against the Brit, said Aman Mohamed on SportsKeeda. Norrie will hope to make it as tough as he can for the six-time Wimbledon champion, but it “likely won’t be enough against a man determined to make yet another final at SW19 – Djokovic to win in four sets”.

The Brit will have the crowd on his side, but will it be enough, asked Liam Elyes on SportsChatPlace. “This is as straightforward as they come.” Djokovic is “a much better player” than Norrie and while the left-hander is a “very tough opponent” and “won’t give up without a fight”, even the “raucous crowd won’t be enough here”. Djokovic winning “is a certainty”, in “three, maximum four” sets.

Expect Djokovic to “cruise into the finals”, said Derek Ringer on SportsKeeda. The Serbian has been “battle tested” and “proven capable” of winning the big matches this tournament. “Not only should he win but he should dominate.”

World No.3 Djokovic has not lost a semi-final match or final at Wimbledon since 2013, and “he is not about to now, even if the pro-Norrie crowd will be against him”, said Mike Spector on Oddschecker.com. “We expect Djokovic to know how important it is to take the crowd out of the match with a convincing first-set victory en route to an anti-climatic straight-set win.”

According to Oddschecker.com, Djokovic is the overwhelming bookies’ favourite to reach Sunday’s Wimbledon final. He’s priced at 1/12, while Norrie is a 11/1 shot.

‘Norrie Knoll’ fans hail their new hero

The Briton’s run to the last four has seen Wimbledon’s “iconic” hill get a new name, said Ash Rose on MailOnline. For years it was known as “Henman Hill”, then “Murray Mount”, but now it’s been renamed “Norrie Knoll” in honour of the “new hero of SW19”.

The atmosphere on The Hill for Norrie’s win against Goffin was “reminiscent of the glory days” of Henman and Murray, Rose added. It promises to be “bouncing” for today’s semi-final as Norrie aims to become only the second British player of the modern era to reach a Wimbledon final.

When asked about The Hill’s new nickname, the player himself gave a “quote of the day” contender, said Stephanie Livaudais on Tennis.com. “I don’t even know what a knoll is,” Norrie replied laughing. “I would say it doesn’t roll off the tongue as well as Henman Hill.”

‘Cool, understated demeanour’

Whatever the result in the semi-final, it has been a superb 12 months for Norrie. At the start of 2021 he was 74th on the ATP rankings – today he’s No.12 in the world, after reaching a career-high No.10 in April. Last season he won two singles titles – Indian Wells and Los Cabos – and has followed that up with two more – Lyon and Delray Beach – in 2022.

“Not many” would have predicted Norrie would become the “leading British hope on the men’s tour”, said Jonathan Jurejko on the BBC. And “even fewer” must have thought he would become one of the world’s top ten players. He may not have the “box-office attraction” of three-time grand slam champion Murray, but his “cool, understated demeanour” is “one of his biggest strengths” and allows him to “focus completely on improving on the court”.

With his cool demeanour, focus and support from the fans on Norrie Knoll, the 26-year-old will hope to cause a huge shock against the defending champion and write a new chapter in British tennis history.

It’s the men’s singles semi-finals day at Wimbledon, but following Rafael Nadal’s withdrawal from the tournament it means that just one last-four clash will feature at SW19 on day 12.

British hope Cameron Norrie will face top seed and defending champion Novak Djokovic on Centre Court this afternoon. The winner will play in Sunday’s Championship final against Nick Kyrgios, who received a walkover after Nadal’s injury.

In the women’s singles Ons Jabeur and Elena Rybakina are through to the final. Third seed Jabeur beat Tatjana Maria 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 in yesterday’s semi-final, while 17th seed Rybakina defeated 2019 champion Simona Halep 6-3, 6-3. Tomorrow’s women’s final starts at 2pm.

Men’s semi-finals

• 2.45pm BST (approx): Novak Djokovic (1) vs. Cameron Norrie (9)
• Nick Kyrgios vs. Rafael Nadal – Kyrgios receives walkover

Women’s semi-finals results

• Ons Jabeur (3) beat Tatjana Maria 6-2, 3-6, 6-1
• Elena Rybakina (17) beat Simona Halep (16) 6-3, 6-3

Women’s singles final

• Who: Elena Rybakina (17) vs. Ons Jabeur (3)
• When: Saturday 9 July 2022
• Start time: 2pm (BST)

1. Day 12: today’s order of play

Start times are BST, seeds in brackets.

Centre Court (not before 1.30pm)

• Women’s doubles semi-final: Lyudmyla Kichenok and Jelena Ostapenko (4) vs. Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova (2)
• Men’s singles semi-final: Novak Djokovic (1) vs. Cameron Norrie (9)
• Women’s doubles semi-final: Elise Mertens and Shuai Zhang (1) vs. Danielle Collins and Desirae Krawczyk

2. Wimbledon winner betting odds

Men’s singles winner odds

According to Oddschecker.com, as of 8 July.

• Novak Djokovic: 1/4
• Nick Kyrgios: 3/1
• Cameron Norrie: 22/1

Women’s singles winner odds

According to Oddschecker.com, as of 8 July.

• Ons Jabeur: 4/6
• Elena Rybakina: 13/10

3. UK TV coverage

Sue Barker will be at the helm for the last time as host of BBC’s Wimbledon TV coverage. Barker, who is retiring after 30 years, will be joined at the All England Club by a host of former champions, including John McEnroe, Martina Navratilova, Billie Jean King and Pat Cash. Other pundits include Tracy Austin, Johanna Konta, Caroline Wozniacki, Tim Henman and Annabel Croft.

The broadcaster will show live TV coverage across BBC One, BBC Two and BBC iPlayer from 11am daily. BBC Radio 5 Live will bring daily coverage from the grounds including a new Wimbledon Daily podcast with Jonathan Overend.

4. Pre-tournament predictions: who will win Wimbledon?

At the start of the year tennis writers from the Daily Express put together their predictions for the 2022 season. For Wimbledon, tennis trends writer Yasmin Syed said Novak Djokovic and Ajla Tomljanovic would be crowned men’s and women’s singles champions respectively, while senior sports reporter Stuart Ballard tipped Djokovic and Emma Raducanu. Sports writer Neil McLeman said Andy Murray could “make a run” at Wimbledon.

TennisProGuru has been running a readers’ poll for the winners of Wimbledon. In the men’s, Djokovic had 45% of the vote ahead of the tournament. Rafel Nadal (32%) and Matteo Berrettini (7%) were also tipped. In the women’s Iga Swiatek had 54% of the votes, ahead of Simona Halep (6%) and Coco Gauff (5%).

Former player Todd Woodbridge believes fellow Australian Nick Kyrgios could be a serious threat this year. “He is a legitimate force” and has the chance to “go deep” at Wimbledon, he said on Nine’s Sports Sunday. “It’ll depend on his draw. That’s significant.”

It should have been a moment of undiluted triumph, said Tumaini Carayol in The Guardian. In Sunday’s French Open final, Rafael Nadal romped past Norway’s Casper Ruud to win 6-3, 6-3, 6-0, proving yet again why he is the “king of clay”. The victory – the Spaniard’s 14th at the tournament – moves his grand slam tally to 22, two clear of both Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer. It also made him, at 36, the oldest ever male champion at Roland Garros.

Yet after the match, there was a “bittersweet feeling in the Parisian air”, said Simon Briggs in The Daily Telegraph. For, as Nadal admitted, his career “hangs in the balance”. He has long suffered from Mueller-Weiss syndrome, a disease which restricts the flow of blood to a bone in his left foot. The condition has flared up in recent weeks, causing him near-constant pain: only regular anaesthetic injections, which put his “foot asleep”, had enabled him to compete in Paris. Speaking candidly at the post-match press conference, the Spaniard admitted that if a medical solution isn’t found quickly, he’ll probably have to retire.

The irony of it is that Nadal’s form has rarely been better, said Stuart Fraser in The Times. He began the year by coming back from two sets down against Daniil Medvedev to win only his second Australian Open. With this latest victory he has, for the first time ever, “won the first two major tournaments of the season” – a truly astonishing achievement given the way his body is suffering.

The French Open women’s final was also a one-sided affair, said Mike Dickson in The Mail on Sunday. Iga Swiatek, the Polish world No. 1, needed just 68 minutes to beat Coco Gauff of America 6-1, 6-3. It was Swiatek’s second victory at Roland Garros, and the 21-year-old has now won 35 matches in a row – the longest winning streak in women’s tennis since Venus Williams won the same number in 2000.

Iga Swiatek is a two-time grand slam champion after a dazzling display in the French Open final against Coco Gauff. The Pole, 21, beat the American teenager 6-1, 6-3 to win her second title in three years at Roland Garros.

Not since “Serena Williams in her prime” had there been “as strong a favourite for a grand slam women’s singles title” as Swiatek, said Jonathan Jurejko on BBC Sport. The top seed, who also won Roland Garros in 2020, “underlined why she was the red-hot favourite” by winning in straight sets for her sixth successive title.

For 68 minutes on Saturday, the women’s world No.1 “captivated the tennis world”, said D’Arcy Maine on ESPN.com. Swiatek showed “blistering, athletic play” to dismantle “teenage phenom” Gauff, winning the “first four games of the match – and never looked back”. It was her 35th straight victory and she leaves Paris as the “dominant force in women’s tennis, and one who is poised for future greatness”.

‘It’s something special’

Taking her career title count to nine overall, Swiatek has “cemented her status at the top of the women’s game”, said Courtney Nguyen on WTATennis.com. She has “amassed a longer winning streak” than 23-time major champion Serena Williams, “who ran off 34 wins in 2013”, and has tied with Venus Williams for the longest streak in the 2000s.

After going 5-0 to win Doha, 6-0 to win Indian Wells, 6-0 to win Miami, 2-0 in the Billie Jean King Cup, 4-0 to win Stuttgart, 5-0 to win Rome and now 7-0 to win Roland Garros, Swiatek “joins some very rare company”, said John Berkok on Tennis.com. She is just the “eighth woman in the entire Open Era to have a winning streak of 35 or more matches in a row”.

It may seem “pretty weird”, but “having that 35th win and kind of doing something more than Serena did, it’s something special”, Swiatek said. “Because I always wanted to have some kind of a record. In tennis, it’s pretty hard after Serena’s career. So basically that really hit me.”

At the top of the WTA rankings the gap has widened between her and the rest of the field, Berkok added on Tennis.com. After capturing her second slam title on the “terre battue”, she now has a 4,305-point lead over new world No.2 Anett Kontaveit – 8,631 to 4,326.

Needing a ‘plan B’ in case tennis didn’t work out

Swiatek has beaten the odds to become the next “tennis superstar”, said Tumaini Carayol in The Guardian. She “displayed her early promise as a junior”, but it took a long time for her to “believe that she could achieve the career that she is currently building”. Reflecting on her journey from a junior to world No.1, Swiatek admitted that even in 2020, when she won the French Open for the first time, she still felt like she “needed a plan B in case tennis is not gonna work out”.

When Swiatek arrived in Paris two years ago, “she was a virtual unknown”, said Maine on ESPN.com. Now, it seems as though the WTA has found the “elusive superstar talent who can consistently contend for major titles on different surfaces – and do what so few have been able to do since Serena Williams was in her prime”.

He has “been on his way for quite some time”, said John Westerby in The Times. And now it’s official: teenage sensation Carlos Alcaraz has taken his place at “tennis’s top table”. Last Sunday, just three days after his 19th birthday, the Spaniard swept aside world No. 3 Alexander Zverev 6-3, 6-1 to claim his second Masters 1000 title and move to six in the world rankings.

Even more impressive than winning the Madrid Open was the way Alcaraz overcame the biggest names in men’s tennis en route to the final, said Adam Zagoria on Forbes. In the quarter-finals, he beat Rafael Nadal in three sets – and then repeated the feat in a superbly dramatic semi-final against the world No. 1, Novak Djokovic. Never before have Nadal and Djokovic – who have 41 Grand Slam titles between them – been knocked out of a clay court tournament by the same player. At the presentation ceremony on Sunday, the defeated Zverev jokingly told Alcaraz: “You are the best player in the world right now, even though you are five years old.”

There can be little arguing with the first part of that statement, said Mike Dickson in the Daily Mail. Alcaraz is a player seemingly without weaknesses: “he strikes the ball early and supremely cleanly off both flanks” and regularly wrong-foots opponents with his “exquisite drop shot”. The French Open starts in a few days – and few would be surprised were the Spaniard to win it.

It’s only two miles from the scene of his greatest triumphs, but Boris Becker’s new home is a far cry from Wimbledon Centre Court, said David Brown in The Times. Sentenced last week to two-and-a-half years, he is now residing in HMP Wandsworth, a crumbling, vermin-infested Victorian jail. Becker had been convicted of four charges under the Insolvency Act: before declaring bankruptcy in 2017, he had concealed millions of pounds of assets to avoid paying his debtors.

How did it happen? “How did it all go wrong for the former golden boy of tennis”, who became the youngest ever Wimbledon champion, aged just 17? How did someone who earned some £40m during his career as a player, coach and commentator end up drowning in debt?

What the judge described as Becker’s “fall from grace” began on the evening of his final defeat at Wimbledon in 1999, said Tim Adams in The Observer. After losing to Pat Rafter in the fourth round, he drank too much and found himself in the broom cupboard of Nobu restaurant with the Russian-Algerian model Angela Ermakova.

The resultant paternity suit, and a divorce from his first wife, Barbara, which cost him a reported £12m, “began the emptying of Becker’s finances”. After retiring from tennis, Becker invested in a “dizzying number” of projects, said Richard Kay in the Daily Mail: a tennis academy in China, footwear in India, mobile phones in Slovenia, a winery in Chile. But he was “hammered by poor judgement”: he is said to have lost a fortune after investing £8m in the Nigerian oil and gas industry; he rented a huge house in Wimbledon for ten years, at a cost of £22,000 per month. “Money troubles followed him everywhere.”

As Becker’s many friends point out, he has never liked to play by the rules, said Jim White in The Daily Telegraph. In 2002, he was convicted of evading taxes in Germany, by pretending he was living in Monaco. His marriage to his second wife Lilly also collapsed in 2018 amid accusations of infidelity. Becker seems to have thought he could bluff his way through anything: he even tried to make it as a professional poker player. Now Becker’s money is all gone, and “finally his bluff has been called”.

Wimbledon’s decision to ban Russian and Belarusian players from this year’s tournament has prompted predictable outrage, said Simon Briggs in The Daily Telegraph. But no one expected it to plunge the sport into “outright civil war”: the bodies that run the men’s and women’s tours – the ATP and WTA – have both issued furious statements, condemning the move as “discriminatory and unfair”. There has even been talk of them withdrawing ranking points from the tournament, effectively turning it into an “exhibition event”.

It’s already true that Wimbledon without any Russians or Belarusians will be much devalued as a sporting contest, said Ben Rothenberg on Slate. There was a “real possibility” this year of a player from either nation winning a singles title. “Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka is ranked fourth in the WTA top 10, and Russians Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev are ranked No. 2 and No. 8 on the men’s side, respectively.”

Yet what was Wimbledon supposed to do, asked Henry Mance in the FT. Any Russian success at the tournament would doubtless have been “exploited by the Kremlin”, and there was also the prospect of Russian players being continually pressed to condemn Putin, yet feeling “unable to do so”. The ban is far from ideal, but before rushing to condemnation, we should remember that the “shunning of Russian athletes worldwide is a predictable result of Putin’s atrocities”.

Djokovic: it’s a ‘crazy’ decision

Ian Hewitt, chairman of the All England Lawn Tennis Club, explained that the organisation had taken UK Government guidance on limiting Russia’s influence into account, InsideTheGames reported. Defending the “agonising decision” to ban Russian and Belarusian players from this year’s grass-court grand slam, Hewitt added that there was “no viable alternative”.

In reaction to the ban, men’s world No. 1 Novak Djokovic branded the decision as “crazy”. The Serbian, a six-time Wimbledon champion, said he will “always condemn war” but he “cannot support the decision”. He added: “I think it is crazy. When politics interferes with sport, the result is not good.”

For years now, any victory by a young player over Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer has been hailed as a “changing of the guard” in men’s tennis, said Stuart Fraser in The Times.

But they all turned out to be false starts, as the world-beating trio continued their extraordinary dominance of the game. That’s why Carlos Alcaraz’s victory over Djokovic at Wimbledon on Sunday felt like a “seismic” moment. Be sure of this: “the 20-year-old from Spain is here to stay at the summit of tennis”. It isn’t only this victory that tells us that; it’s the “astonishing” circumstances in which he secured it.

Until this tournament, Alcaraz had played only a handful of matches on grass, and often looked uncomfortable on the surface. He wasn’t even born the last time someone other than Djokovic, Nadal, Federer or Andy Murray won the men’s Wimbledon title. Yet here he was, “beating the greatest player of all time over the course of five sets on a grass court”. Alcaraz’s rise has been meteoric, said Jamie Braidwood in The Independent. A grand slam winner at 19, he was world No. 1 – the youngest ever – going into this tournament. Now, he has fulfilled his lifelong dream, by not just playing in a Wimbledon final – but winning one.

And what a final it was, said Owen Slot in The Times. Djokovic “humiliated” his opponent in the first set, which he won 6-1. But the 85-minute second set was a “titanic battle” edged by Alcaraz, who also took a third set featuring an epic 26-minute game with no fewer than 13 deuces. A fired-up Djokovic took the fourth, said Barney Ronay in The Guardian. But the young Spaniard had too much talent for his 36-year-old opponent: Djokovic could only “attack the court furniture, mangling his racket head on the net post” as Alcaraz produced an array of sublime volleys and drop shots to take the fifth set. Does this mean Djokovic’s powers are waning? Perhaps. But “the real story was a brilliant display of champion nerve and intuitive learning on the job from Alcaraz”, who now looks destined for greatness.

‘Never feared older or bigger players’

He always has, said Michael Mewshaw and Simon Briggs in The Daily Telegraph. The young Carlos, whose father was a professional tennis player, was blessed with natural speed and exceptional hand-eye coordination. “What truly set him apart, however, was his attitude, his enthusiasm.” A small and thin kid, he’d spend hours in the gym to bulk up. Defeats didn’t discourage him, he “never feared older or bigger players”, and by the time he was 15, credible figures in the game were judging his forehand to be “among the five best in the world”.

This result is just the tonic that tennis needed, said Charlie Eccleshare on The Athletic. Having outlasted Federer and Nadal, Djokovic had become “too dominant” in the men’s game: he’d won six of the past eight Wimbledon titles before this year, and hadn’t lost on Centre Court for a decade. His French Open win last month took him to a record-breaking 23 men’s grand slam titles. But the emergence of Alcaraz, who possesses an easy charisma and “never-before-seen gifts” on the court, has the potential to force Djokovic to get even better, while thrilling a new generation of fans. What an extraordinarily “exciting prospect”.

Ash Barty, the women’s world No.1 and reigning Australian Open and Wimbledon champion, has shocked the world of tennis by announcing her retirement from the sport at the age of 25.

Speaking to friend and former doubles partner Casey Dellacqua in a video posted on Instagram, the Australian revealed she was quitting tennis as she wanted to “chase other dreams”.

“Success for me is knowing I’ve given everything I can – I’m fulfilled, I’m happy, and I know how much work it takes to bring the best out of yourself,” said the three-time grand slam champion. “I’ve said it to my team multiple times, it’s just that I don’t have that in me, I don’t have the physical drive, the emotional want – everything it takes to challenge yourself at the top level anymore. I am spent... physically I had nothing more to give. I’ve given absolutely everything I can to this beautiful sport of tennis.”

Barty’s second ‘retirement’

This marks Barty’s second “retirement” from the sport, Sky News said. She walked away from tennis as a teenager in late-2014, before “returning two years later and rising rapidly up the rankings”.

Barty’s rise to the top of women’s tennis was an “incredible story”, said the Daily Mail. After picking up a racquet at the age of four, her talent “was obvious” and she quickly competed against older children. However, after going overseas to play international competitions when she was 14, the schedule “became too much and the teenager found herself overwhelmed”.

In 2014 she “walked away from a promising tennis career”, Fox Sports said. Barty revealed she got “twisted” and quit tennis to be with the people who loved her. “I think I just needed to find myself a little bit,” she said. “I felt like I got twisted and maybe a little bit lost along the way in the first part of my career, just within myself mentally and what I wanted to do.”

Turning her attention to cricket, Barty earned a contract with the Brisbane Heat in the Women’s Big Bash League. After all the “media attention, pressure and depression” as a ​​dazzling tennis prodigy, the stint playing cricket “set things right”, The Guardian said.

‘As a person, this is right’

After winning the Australian Open in January, Barty became the first Aussie to win the men’s or women’s singles title in 44 years. Now feeling “so happy” and “so ready”, Barty knows “in my heart, for me as a person, this is right”.

“People may not understand it and I’m ok with that because for me, Ash Barty the person has so many dreams that she wants to chase after that don’t necessarily involve travelling the world, being away from my family, being away from my home, which is where I’ve always wanted to be, it’s where I’ve grown up,” she said. “I’ll never ever ever stop loving tennis, it’ll always be a massive part of my life, but now I think it’s important that I get to enjoy the next phase of my life as Ash Barty the person, not Ash Barty the athlete.”

‘One of the great champions of the WTA’

Across all-levels of play, Barty had a 305-102 record in singles and a 200-64 record in doubles, earning total career prize money of $23,829,071, Greg Garber said on the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) website. Her current reign as world No.1 is the “fourth-longest streak in the history of the WTA Tour”, behind Steffi Graf (186 weeks), Serena Williams (186) and Martina Navratilova (156). Her 121 total weeks are seventh on the all-time list.

Steve Simon, chief executive of the WTA, praised Barty for being the “ultimate competitor” who always led by example through the “unwavering professionalism and sportsmanship” she brought to every match. “With her accomplishments at the grand slams, WTA Finals, and reaching the pinnacle ranking of No.1 in the world, she has clearly established herself as one of the great champions of the WTA,” he said.

How the tennis world reacted on social media

It's not the type of match they're used to, but three of Ukraine's most famous tennis stars — Sergiy Stakhovsky, Andriy Medvedev, and Alexandr Dolgopolov — have joined the forces fighting to defend the country from Russia's unprovoked invasion, The New York Times reports Friday.

Dolgopolov, 33, who retired last year following a wrist injury, said he trained in Turkey before traveling back to Kyiv this week, per the Times. The player announced his decision to fight on Wednesday.

"I am not Rambo in a week, but quite comfortable with the weapons," he said in a statement. "This is my home, and we will defend it!"

Medvedev, 47, was a top men's singles player in the 1990s, while Stakhovsky, 36, retired from professional tennis in January. He was on vacation in Hungary with his family when the war broke out, and left them so he could return home, per the Times.

"I don't have the words to describe it. I would never imagine in my life that it would come to this — that I would be in my home city … with a gun in my hands," Srakhovsky told The Associated Press this weekend. He initially announced his decision to join his country's army at the beginning of March.

"I know that it is extremely hard on my wife," Stakhovsky said on BBC Radio 4 Today, per Sports Illustrated. "My kids don't know that I'm here. They don't understand war. They're too little to understand what's going on."

Other Ukrainian athletes to have taken up or have vowed to take up arms include boxers Oleksandr Usyk and Vasiliy Lomachenko, and former heavyweight champions Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko, the latter of which is now the mayor of Kyiv, Reuters reports.

Tennis star Novak Djokovic has given his first major TV interview since being deported from Australia last month. The men’s world No.1 had travelled to Melbourne to defend the Australian Open grand slam title but his visa was cancelled over his Covid-19 vaccine status.

Speaking exclusively to the BBC’s Amol Rajan, the 34-year-old Serbian discussed a number of topics in the wide-ranging interview, including vaccines and playing future grand slams.

We pick out the big talking points from Novak Djokovic: The Amol Rajan Interview, which will be aired on BBC One and iPlayer at 8.30pm tonight.

‘I’m not anti-vax’

Djokovic confirmed to the BBC that he had vaccines as a child and was keeping his “mind open” about the possibility of being vaccinated in the future. “I was never against vaccination,” he said. “But I’ve always supported the freedom to choose what you put in your body. I understand that globally, everyone is trying to put a big effort into handling this virus and seeing, hopefully, an end soon to this virus.”

‘I take Covid very seriously’

In the interview, Rajan asked Djovokic about the sequence of events leading up to the Australian Open and how it was suggested that “it was convenient” how the player’s positive Covid case happened in time for him to be granted a medical exemption.

“I understand that there is a lot of criticism, and I understand that people come out with different theories on how lucky I was or how convenient it is,” he said. “But no-one is lucky and convenient of getting Covid. Millions of people have and are still struggling with Covid around the world. So I take this very seriously, I really don’t like someone thinking I’ve misused something or in my own favour, in order to, you know, get a positive PCR test and eventually go to Australia.”

‘The reason why I was deported’

Djovokic was “really sad and disappointed” with the way the whole saga ended in Australia. He said his vaccine status was not the reason why he was deported, but the possibility the situation would create an anti-vax sentiment down under.

“What people probably don’t know is that I was not deported from Australia on the basis that I was not vaccinated, or I broke any rules or that I made an error in my visa declaration,” he said. “All of that was actually approved and validated by the Federal Court of Australia and the Minister for Immigration. The reason why I was deported from Australia was because the Minister for Immigration used his discretion to cancel my visa based on his perception that I might create some anti-vax sentiment in the country or in the city, which I completely disagree with.”

‘The price that I’m willing to pay’

Rafael Nadal’s victory in Melbourne was the Spaniard’s 21st career grand slam title – he is now one ahead of his “big three” rivals, Djokovic and Roger Federer. When asked by Rajan if he would pull out of major events such as Wimbledon and the French Open because of his vaccine stance, Djokovic said that’s “the price that I’m willing to pay”.

Djokovic hopes that vaccination requirements in certain tournaments would change as he wants to play “for many more years”. However, he would forego the chance to become statistically the greatest male tennis player of all time because he felt so strongly about the situation, the BBC reported. He said: “The principles of decision making on my body are more important than any title or anything else.”

Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai told a French newspaper on Sunday it is her "wish" that people stop twisting a social media post she made last year accusing a high-ranking Chinese official of sexual assault, calling it "an enormous misunderstanding."

Peng's interview with L'Equipe was conducted in Beijing, with a Chinese Olympic Committee representative translating. The questions had to be submitted ahead of time, L'Equipe said, and Peng's answers printed verbatim. This was the 36-year-old's first interview with non-Chinese media since she posted and quickly deleted the accusation in November, The Associated Press reports.

The allegation was posted on Peng's verified account on Weibo, a Chinese social media platform. She wrote that Zhang Gaoli, a former vice premier and member of the powerful Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, forced her to have sex with him. After the post was taken down, Peng disappeared from public view, sparking concerns about her wellbeing.

When asked about what she posted, Peng told L'Equipe, "Sexual assault? I never said that anyone made me submit to a sexual assault. This post resulted in an enormous misunderstanding from the outside world." She also said she "erased" the post, adding, "Why? Because I wanted to."

Peng did not respond to a query about whether the post got her in trouble with the Chinese government. L'Equipe also asked about how her life has been since November, and Peng responded, "It is as it should be: Nothing special."

Even before a ball was served at Melbourne Park, this year’s Australian Open would have been one of the most dramatic grand slams in recent history. While the Novak Djokovic deportation saga dominated the headlines pre-tournament, the first major of 2022 will now be remembered for the performances by Ash Barty and Rafael Nadal.

Barty cemented her reputation as a “national hero” after becoming the first Australian player to win a singles title in 44 years, the BBC said. In the women’s final on Saturday the 25-year-old top seed fought back from 5-1 down in the second set to win 6-3, 7-6 (7-2) against American Danielle Collins.

Speaking in front of a partisan 12,000-strong crowd and a nation watching on, the now three-time grand slam champion said it was a “dream come true” to win her home major. “It’s been the most incredible experience of the last fortnight to probably play my best slam,” the world No.1 told WTA Insider.

With Barty securing the women’s title, and local heroes Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis winning the men’s doubles, Tennis Australia “couldn’t have dreamt of a happier ending”, said the AFP news agency. And that was just on Saturday – there was more drama to come...

Finding the extra gear

Even without the visa saga, much of the talk in the build-up to the Australian Open was whether men’s world No.1 Djokovic could defend his crown and secure a record 21st grand slam title. But with the Serb not competing in Melbourne, it was one of his “big three” rivals who stepped up to make history.

Just a month-and-a-half ago there were doubts if Rafa Nadal would even be able to play elite tennis again because of a foot injury, let alone compete for another major. Two sets and a triple break point down against Russia’s Daniil Medvedev in Sunday’s final, Nadal’s hopes of winning the elusive 21st looked bleak.

However, the Spaniard “somehow found an extra gear when it mattered most” to win the third set, said the Daily Express. With “momentum” and the majority of the crowd on his side, Nadal went on to win the final two sets of an “epic” final which lasted five hours and 24 minutes.

Rivals hail Rafa

After completing the incredible comeback, the “sheer elation” on Nadal’s face “told its own story”, said Simon Cambers in The Guardian. The 35-year-old “is back as champion and for now, the most successful of the lot”.

Twenty-time grand slam champions Djokovic and Roger Federer both congratulated the Spaniard on his stunning win in Melbourne. “Amazing achievement,” said Djokovic. “Always impressive fighting spirit that prevailed another time.”

Swiss star Federer hailed his “friend and great rival” Nadal for becoming the first man to win 21 slams. “A few months ago we were joking about both being on crutches,” Federer said. “Amazing. Never underestimate a great champion. Your incredible work ethic, dedication and fighting spirit are an inspiration to me and countless others around the world.”

Rafael Nadal is just one win away from a record 21st career grand slam title. On Sunday the Spaniard will face Daniil Medvedev in the Australian Open men’s singles final – and should he beat the Russian he would move one clear of “big three” rivals Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, who also have 20 slams to their name.

Sixth seed Nadal progressed to Sunday’s final after beating Italy’s Matteo Berrettini 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. Second seed Medvedev secured his spot with a 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 semi-final victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Nadal’s achievement in reaching a 29th grand slam final “comes only a few months after he thought a foot injury could end his illustrious career”, the BBC reported. The 35-year-old admits there were “a lot of challenging moments” and it could have been “a chance to say goodbye”.

“That was not a lot of months ago,” he said. “To be able to be where I am today, I really can’t explain in words how important it is for me in terms of energy, in terms of personal satisfaction, in terms of being very thankful for all the support that I received from the fans and especially from the people really close to me. It’s much more important to have the chance to play tennis than win the 21.”

Can Medvedev stop another 21st slam attempt?

Facing an opponent bidding to win an elusive 21st slam, Medvedev “has been here before”, Eurosport said. At last year’s US Open final he stopped Djokovic from winning his 21st – and is now “planning to stage a repeat against Nadal”.

Speaking to Jim Courier on court after his four-set win over Tsitsipas, Medvedev said: “I’m going to play again against one of the greatest. What’s funny is again I’m going to play someone going for the 21st slam. I guess last time Rafa was watching… I think Novak will be watching this one also. Grand slam finals are special. I’m ready. I know that Rafa is a very strong player, I know I will need to show my best to try to win this match.”

How to watch on TV in the UK

Starting at around 8.30am GMT on Sunday morning, the Australian Open men’s singles final between Nadal and Medvedev will be shown live in the UK on Eurosport. The final will also be live streamed via discovery+.

Nadal vs. Medvedev: head-to-head

This will be the fourth career meeting between the duo, with Nadal leading the head-to-head 3-1. They have met once before in a final of a grand slam. At the 2019 US Open final Nadal beat Medvedev 7-5, 6-3, 5-7, 4-6, 6-4. They last met at the 2020 ATP Finals where Medvedev won in three sets.

Predictions and odds: who will win?

Nadal may be the “sentimental favourite” to win the Australian Open, but the bookies strongly favour Medvedev to claim his second grand slam title on Sunday, said Sportsnaut. According to Oddschecker, Medvedev is 4/7 to win in Melbourne while Nadal is priced at 7/4.

It could be the “most exciting match” we have had all throughout the tournament, though it will “not be straight forward for either player”, said TennisSection. Expect a “five-setter” with both players “leaving it all out on the court”. However, at the end of the day, Nadal “will make history and cement himself” as the champion.

This is a “clash of two eras”, said Lakshya Chopra on firstsportz.com. It will surely be a “mouth-watering” encounter so “expect a thriller” on Sunday as both men look for glory. “Given his big match temperament and momentum, Nadal could very well topple Medvedev and script history in Melbourne. Prediction: Nadal to win in five sets.”

Barney Corkhill, editor of SportsMole, is backing Medvedev to win in five sets and claim back-to-back grand slam titles. This would be a “major achievement in this golden era” and Medvedev is on the brink to doing something that no-one outside the big three has done for more than two decades.

Sunday’s final will probably be decided by “whoever executes better on the day”, said Jim Smith on Last Word on Sports. “There isn’t a great deal in it on paper and both are certainly good enough to win.” That said, Medvedev has to be favourite as his game looks “better-suited to this surface” than the great Spaniard’s. “It may well be close, but expect Medvedev to have just about enough. Prediction: Medvedev in 4.”

Following the withdrawal of world No.1 Novak Djokovic, Medvedev has so far “lived up to the billing” of being the favourite to win the tournament, said Neelabhra Roy on SportsKeeda. However, he will face arguably his toughest test yet in the shape of Nadal, “who has been in terrific form”. The match could well turn out to be “one of the finest grand slam finals in recent years”, with Nadal “just about edging out” Medvedev to become the first man to win 21 majors.

Ashleigh Barty, the world No.1 women’s tennis player, has become the first Australian in 42 years to reach the women’s singles final of the Australian Open grand slam. In the semi-final, the 25-year-old was too strong for Madison Keys, winning 6-1, 6-3 in straight sets, and will now face 27th seed Danielle Collins in the showpiece Melbourne match.

Top seed Barty, a two-time grand slam champion, is just “one win away from becoming the first Australian – man or woman – to win the singles since Christine O’Neil won the title in 1978”, the BBC said. This year so far she has “looked unstoppable and unburdened by the weight of Australian expectation”.

Barty picked up her 14th career title and third on home soil in Adelaide three weeks ago and is now on a ten-match winning streak, the WTA said. After her 62-minute victory on Rod Laver Arena, the Queenslander said: “It’s just unreal – as an Aussie we are spoiled that we are a Grand Slam nation, and now we have a chance to play for a title.”

Cricket ‘set things right’

Barty’s rise to the top of women’s tennis is an “incredible story”, said the Daily Mail. After picking up a racquet at the age of four, her talent “was obvious” and she quickly competed against older children. However, after going overseas to play international competitions when she was 14, the schedule “became too much and the teenager found herself overwhelmed”.

In 2014 she “walked away from a promising tennis career”, Fox Sports said. Barty revealed she got “twisted” and quit tennis to be with the people who loved her. “I think I just needed to find myself a little bit,” she said. “I felt like I got twisted and maybe a little bit lost along the way in the first part of my career, just within myself mentally and what I wanted to do.”

Turning her attention to cricket, Barty earned a contract with the Brisbane Heat in the Women’s Big Bash League. After all the “media attention, pressure and depression” as a ​​dazzling tennis prodigy, the stint playing cricket “set things right”, The Guardian said.

Barty’s positive impact

Returning to tennis in 2016, Barty has gone on to win the French Open and WTA Finals in 2019 and is the reigning Wimbledon champion. On Saturday, she will have the whole of Australia supporting her bid for more grand slam glory.

Former British No.1 Tim Henman believes the support from the home crowd has acted as a catalyst to fuel her run to the final, SportsKeeda reported. “Ashleigh Barty is so popular [here in Australia],” Henman said on Eurosport. “I also think it is great that we had some negative stories before this event started. Now we’ve got so many positive stories at the end and I think it has been led by Barty.”

One Australian who will definitely be watching – and supporting Barty – is tennis legend Laver. On Twitter, the 11-time grand slam winner praised his fellow Australian and backed her to beat Collins on the centre court that bears his name. “Congratulations on another outstanding performance @AshBarty,” he tweeted. “I know you can go all the way.”

What a dramatic collision of sport and politics the Novak Djokovic saga has been, said Mary Dejevsky in The Independent. The world’s No. 1 male tennis player set off for Melbourne at the start of this month in the hope of defending his Australian Open title and securing the record 21st Grand Slam victory that would establish him as the most successful men’s player of all time.

Although the Serbian hadn’t been vaccinated against Covid, a key entry requirement, he apparently believed that he’d been granted a medical exemption, on the grounds that he’d already had the virus. But his hopes were dashed. After a protracted legal wrangle – during which he was held in a quarantine hotel, then released, then taken back into custody again – Djokovic was this week deported from Australia, a process that comes with an automatic three-year ban on re-entry.

The reaction to his deportation has been “predictably polarised”, said Oliver Brown in The Daily Telegraph. Among his supporters there is “cold fury”, but most Australians are pleased: in a poll, 83% said they wanted him removed. Djokovic brought much of this trouble on himself. The revelation that he broke isolation rules last month by attending a photo shoot in Belgrade while knowingly Covid-positive didn’t help his cause in Melbourne, and nor did the news that his agent had entered false details on his travel declaration.

But the Australian authorities don’t emerge well from this saga either. His removal was a “transparently political move”, justified on the spurious grounds that “his mere presence could inflame anti-vaccination sentiment”. The reality, of course, is that Djokovic’s presence posed no risk to Australia at all.

He clearly wasn’t about to foment “revolution among the unvaccinated masses”, said Martin Samuel in the Daily Mail. Yet as a high-profile vaccine dissenter, he does have a symbolic power – one that doesn’t help foster the “collective effort” required for tackling Covid.

Djokovic “may wish to reflect on his choice not to get vaccinated”, said Stuart Fraser in The Times, because his stance means he’s now in danger of missing other tournaments and losing his No. 1 ranking. The US competitions in Indian Wells and Miami in March will probably be off-limits.

He’s still likely to finish his career statistically as the greatest-ever male player: currently he’s level with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal on 20 Gram Slam titles and, at 34, younger than both. “But his legacy has undoubtedly been tarnished by this affair, and he will certainly not be winning the subjective popularity contest between the ‘big three’.”

Game, set, match to the Australian immigration authorities – or is it? Just three days before the start of the opening grand slam of the year, the Novak Djokovic saga took another twist today when the Australian Open defending champion had his visa re-cancelled by Alex Hawke, the country’s immigration minister.

When the men’s world No.1 tennis player arrived at Tullamarine Airport in Melbourne nine days ago he was barred from entering the country after the Australian Border Force stated that he had “failed to provide appropriate evidence” to receive a vaccine exemption and his visa was subsequently cancelled.

Described by The New York Times’s Lindsay Crouse as an “anti-vaccine star athlete”, the Serb spent five days in detention before winning a courtroom battle after a judge said the decision to revoke his visa was unreasonable.

However, immigration minister Hawke today exercised his power under Australia’s Migration Act to cancel the visa on “health and good order grounds”, and on the basis that it was “in the public interest to do so”.

Challenging reality

Djokovic’s quest for a record 21st grand slam win “looks to be over now”, said Tennis.com. But his legal team are pursuing his available legal options heading into the weekend.

Unless he successfully appeals for a second time, Djokovic faces an “even more challenging reality” – the possibility of a three-year ban on receiving a visa to enter Australia, meaning he would be unable to play in the major again until 2025.

Djokovic’s lawyers continue to fight the decision with the “same stubbornness that the Serb brings to a baseline rally”, said The Guardian. A court hearing that took place late on Friday evening in Australia was adjourned after the parties made their submissions.

Following the urgent hearing, Djokovic’s counsel Nicholas Wood confirmed that the player is not in detention and is due to attend an interview with immigration officials on Saturday morning.

Today’s hearing was more “procedural” and the main hearing will be Sunday, said The Guardian’s Paul Karp. “So we’ve got at least a couple more days of this to look forward to.”

Karp reported that Djokovic’s weekend “diary” starts with an 8am interview with Border Force tomorrow, then detention, including 10am-2pm at his lawyers’s offices. From 9am on Sunday, also at his lawyers’s offices, this time for the hearing.

Murray: ‘Not great for the tennis’

Wood attacked the Australian government’s decision-making process. He claims the visa was cancelled not because Djokovic was unvaccinated, but because it might “excite the anti-vaccination movement in Australia”, the BBC said. His player’s legal team are also “very concerned about time”.

The nine-time Australian Open champion, who will be detained tomorrow, remains in the draw for the tournament. He is scheduled to play in the first round against fellow Serb Miomir Kecmanovic on Monday.

Should Djokovic win a second appeal, and be allowed to play in the slam, he would be on the same side of the draw as Rafael Nadal. The duo, both 20-time grand slam winners, could possibly face each other in the semi-finals.

For now though, British player Andy Murray just wants the Djokovic saga to get resolved. It’s “not great for the tennis, not great for the Australian Open, not great for Novak”, the three-time major winner said.

This is “such a mess” on the eve of the Australian Open, said Tom Parmenter on Sky News. It is one of the “most extraordinary spectacles in sport, off the tennis court”. There’s been bitterness from both sides, and it has polarised the anti-vaccination debate. “It has really become much bigger than that now.”

Novak Djokovic has finally made his way to a tennis court in Australia. This morning the men’s world No.1 had his visa cancellation overturned after winning a courtroom battle.

The Serbian, 34, was refused entry to the country on Thursday and spent four nights in a detention hotel. Djokovic, who has not publicly revealed his vaccine status, flew Down Under after he was granted a medical “exemption permission”. However, Australian Border Force officials said he had failed to provide evidence to meet the entry requirements and his visa was subsequently cancelled.

This morning Judge Anthony Kelly of the Federal Circuit Court “quashed” the visa cancellation and ordered the Australian government to pay legal costs and release the player from detention within half an hour, The Guardian reported.

The player’s lawyers said a Covid-19 infection last month meant he was legally allowed to enter the country. According to a transcript of an interview revealed in court, he had told border officials he was unvaccinated and had been infected with Covid twice. Judge Kelly stated that the decision to cancel the visa was “unreasonable”.

After winning his appeal, the 20-time grand slam champion returned to the practice court and issued a statement on social media saying he wanted to stay in Melbourne, where he is aiming to win the Australian Open for a tenth time.

“I’m pleased and grateful that the judge overturned my visa cancellation,” Djokovic said. “Despite all that has happened, I want to stay and try to compete @AustralianOpen I remain focused on that. I flew here to play at one of the most important events we have in front of the amazing fans.”

‘Ongoing process’

Djokovic may want to focus on the tennis, but he may still be deported from Australia. Immigration Minister Alex Hawke is still considering revoking Djokovic’s visa and could overrule the decision. The MP is able to act using broad discretionary powers granted him by Australia’s Migration Act, the BBC reported.

A spokesperson said the minister is “currently considering the matter and the process remains ongoing”.

Should Hawke use this power, Djokovic “could be banned from re-entering Australia for three years”, the Daily Mail said. “But a three-year entry ban could be waived even if Mr Hawke does cancel the player’s visa.”

Former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd used Twitter to “lambast” current PM Scott Morrison over the Djokovic case. Rudd tweeted: “Morrison just lost his case against #Djokovic. Total incompetence! Like on everything else.”

‘Biggest victory’

As Djokovic was getting some practice in on the court at Melbourne Park, his family held a press conference in Belgrade, the Serbian capital city.

Dijana Djokovic, his mother, said the decision to overturn his visa cancellation was the “biggest victory” of her son’s career. She also claimed he had been “subject to torture and harassment”. Djordje Djokovic said his brother was in Australia to “set another record”. He added: “Novak has always advocated freedom of choice, nothing more.”

Just 48 hours ago Novak Djokovic was getting ready to board a plane to Melbourne to defend his title at the Australian Open. The men’s tennis world No.1, a nine-time champion Down Under, had revealed he had been granted a medical “exemption permission” to play in the first grand slam of 2022.

Two days later, though, Djokovic’s hopes of winning a tenth Australian Open – and a record 21st career grand slam title – look in tatters. After arriving at Tullamarine Airport on Wednesday the 34-year-old had his visa to enter the country “dramatically revoked”, the BBC said. He was then held at the airport for “several hours” before border officials confirmed he had failed to meet Covid vaccine-entry requirements.

Instead of a “conquering champion’s return”, Djokovic “never made it past border control”, news agency AFP said. He is currently being held at an immigration detention facility in Melbourne and faces deportation.

The Australian Border Force (ABF) said Djokovic failed to provide evidence to meet the entry requirements and his visa was subsequently cancelled. “Non-citizens who do not hold a valid visa on entry or who have had their visa cancelled will be detained and removed from Australia,” a statement said. “The ABF can confirm Mr Djokovic had access to his phone.​”

His appeal against the visa cancellation has now been adjourned until Monday and he will stay in a quarantine hotel until then, Sky Sports reported.

‘Hostile’ reaction to exemption

The lead-up to the slam has been overshadowed by Djokovic’s vaccination status. The “vaccine-sceptic Serb” has refused to reveal his status publicly but has previously “voiced opposition to being jabbed”, AFP said.

Public reaction in Australia to Djokovic’s exemption was “overwhelmingly hostile” and caused “outrage”, The Guardian reported. Describing the decision as “appalling”, Stephen Parnis, a former vice-president of the Australian Medical Association, tweeted: “I don’t care how good a tennis player he is. If he’s refusing to get vaccinated, he shouldn’t be allowed in. If this exemption is true, it sends an appalling message to millions seeking to reduce #COVID19Aus risk to themselves & others. #Vaccination shows respect, Novak.”

While Djokovic was airborne, Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the tennis star would be on the “next plane home” if he could not provide “acceptable proof” that his exemption is legitimate.

Following the visa cancellation Morrison tweeted that “rules are rules, especially when it comes to our borders”. He added: “No one is above these rules. Our strong border policies have been critical to Australia having one of the lowest death rates in the world from Covid, we are continuing to be vigilant.”

‘Serbia will fight for Novak’

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic delivered a “fiercely worded” diplomatic rebuke in reaction to Djokovic’s visa cancellation. Vucic said Serbia will “fight for Novak Djokovic, justice and truth” and his country’s authorities are “undertaking all measures in order that maltreatment of the world’s best tennis player ends as soon as possible”.

Rafael Nadal, who is also a 20-time grand slam champion, said he felt sorry for Djokovic but his rival “knew the conditions months ago”. “Of course what’s happening is not good for Novak, in my opinion,” the Spaniard added. “[But] if you are vaccinated, you can play in the Australian Open.”

Chinese tennis champion Peng Shuai wrote a 1,600-word post on social media in early November, accusing a former high-ranking Chinese official of forcing her to have sex with him. China's censors quickly scrubbed the post from China's internet, and Peng disappeared from view for weeks, sparking concerns for her safety. On Monday, Chinese-language Singaporean newspaper Lianhe Zaobao posted a video from Beijing in which Peng says there was "a lot of misunderstandings" about the post.

"I have never said or written that anyone sexually assaulted me," Peng told Lianhe Zaobao, evidently on the sidelines of a Beijing Winter Olympics promotional event Sunday. "This point must be emphasized very clearly." She also said she personally wrote the Chinese version of an email to the Women's Tennis Association retracting her accusation against former Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli and assuring the WTA that everything is fine. Peng said the English translation is accurate and claimed she is not under surveillance.

The WTA said it welcomed Peng's appearance "in a public setting," but the video does not "alleviate or address" their "concerns about her wellbeing and ability to communicate without censorship or coercion." The WTA also reiterated its "call for a full, fair and transparent investigation" into Peng's "allegation of sexual assault, which is the issue that gave rise to our initial concern."

The WTA has suspended all events in China until it is convinced that Peng is safe and her accusation investigated, but the International Olympic Committee says it is convinced from two video chats with Peng that she is doing fine. "Zhang, 75, was a member of the party's all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee until 2018 and a top lieutenant to president and party leader Xi Jinping," The Associated Press reports. "He has not appeared in public or commented on Peng's accusation."

So, farewell Johanna Konta, said Molly McElwee in The Daily Telegraph. The former British No. 1 has retired from tennis at the relatively young age of 30, citing a long-standing knee problem. Hers was a “slow-burn” career: she laboured for many years on the ITF tour, before breaking through to the game’s higher echelons in her mid-20s.

British fans never truly warmed to her as they did to Tim Henman and Andy Murray. Yet her impact on British tennis should not be underestimated: Konta’s rise signalled the emergence of the women’s game from a long period of stagnation. In recent years, she has given British fans a “real contender to cheer for on the women’s tour”.

Before Konta came along, the last British woman to reach a grand slam semi-final had been Jo Durie, back in 1983, said Tumaini Carayol in The Guardian. Konta managed the feat three times – including once at Wimbledon, in 2017. Her success has “offered a reference point” for other, younger players beyond her – including, one suspects, Emma Raducanu.

One of the tour’s hardest workers, Konta “maximised her game”, and won’t end her career, as some athletes do, with lingering regrets and “nagging frustrations”. Instead, she “will sleep soundly in the knowledge that every step of her career was imbued with maximum effort, focus and professionalism”.

The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) has announced the “immediate suspension” of all its tournaments in China in support of Peng Shuai, the tennis star who disappeared from public view for three weeks after making sexual assault allegations against a retired senior Chinese minister.

In a video call last month with International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach, the 35-year-old explained that she was “safe and well, living at her home in Beijing, but would like to have her privacy respected at this time”.

However, in a lengthy statement issued last night, WTA chairman and CEO Steve Simon said he had “serious doubts that she is free, safe and not subject to censorship, coercion and intimidation”. The governing body recognised that Peng Shuai’s message “had to be listened to and taken seriously” and the players of the WTA, “not to mention” women around the world, “deserve nothing less”.

The WTA has repeatedly called for a full investigation into Peng’s claims, the BBC reported.

Simon explained that he doesn’t see “how I can ask our athletes to compete there” when Peng Shuai is not allowed to “communicate freely and has seemingly been pressured to contradict her allegation of sexual assault”. He added: “Given the current state of affairs, I am also greatly concerned about the risks that all of our players and staff could face if we were to hold events in China in 2022.”

A ‘bold’ and ‘brave’ move

The WTA’s decision, which also includes suspending tournaments in Hong Kong, has been hailed by major figures in the tennis world. Billie Jean King, founder of the WTA and a 12-time grand slam singles champion, applauded the association for taking a “strong stand” on defending human rights in China and around the world. “The WTA is on the right side of history in supporting our players,” she said on Twitter. “This is another reason why women’s tennis is the leader in women’s sports.”

Current men’s world No.1 Novak Djokovic called the decision “very bold and very courageous” and fully supports the WTA’s stance “because we don’t have enough information about Peng Shuai and her well-being”.

Martina Navratilova, the 18-time grand slam champion, applauded the “brave stance” by Simon and the WTA for putting “principle above $” and for standing up for “women everywhere”. She also called out the IOC. “So far I can barely hear you!!!”, she tweeted.

‘Bigger than the business’

In its decision to pull events out of China, the WTA has made an “unprecedented statement” in support of Peng Shuai and women’s rights, said Henry Bushnell on Yahoo! Sports. This is in part “because it could cost the association and its players hundreds of millions of dollars”.

Lucrative tournaments in China are the source of “tens of millions of dollars annually” for the WTA, Yahoo reported. And just three years ago, it announced a “landmark deal” to bring its banner event – the WTA Finals – to Shenzhen. In 2019, tournaments in China accounted for more than $30m in prize money. There have been no WTA events in China for the past two years because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Simon told BBC Sport that while there is concern about the financial implications of not playing in China, Peng’s case is “bigger than the business”. “It is just something that we cannot let happen and we cannot walk away from that,” he said. “Our position is about what is best for the WTA and women’s athletes.”

The Week Unwrapped podcast: #MeToo in China

Alexander Zverev has been one of tennis’s “star performers” in the second half of the year, claiming gold at the Tokyo Olympics and winning 31 of 35 matches, said Stuart Fraser in The Times. And on Sunday, the world No. 3 brought his season to a triumphant close by beating world No. 2 Daniil Medvedev to win the ATP finals in Turin.

Having lost to Medvedev in the tournament’s group stages, Zverev turned the tables on the Russian when they met again in the final, said BBC Sport. Serving superbly, he did not face a single break point in running out a comfortable 6-4, 6-4 winner.

The victory means that the 24-year-old German – who so far in his career has never won a Grand Slam – will head to the Australian Open early next year in a confident mood. And his prospects Down Under could receive a further boost if Novak Djokovic (whom Zverev beat in the semi-finals in Turin) decides not to take part, said Mike Dickson in the Daily Mail. The Melbourne tournament recently confirmed that all players must be fully vaccinated against Covid-19.

The world No. 1 has never revealed his vaccination status, but is known to oppose jabs being made mandatory. When asked in Turin about his prospects of playing, the 20-time Grand Slam champion told reporters: “We’ll have to wait and see.”

Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic fulfilled a dream this summer, the latest in a record-breaking career that stretches back more than 20 years. Just eight months after making history with his seventh ATP Finals victory, he scooped his first Olympic gold at the Paris Games. The win means Djokovic is finally an Olympic champion like rival Rafael Nadal, who won a singles gold in Beijing in 2008 and a doubles gold at Rio 2016.

The Paris win is a career highlight of 2024, which followed AFP had called an "incredible" 2023, in which Djokovic won three Grand Slam titles, including the Australian Open, for a men's record of 24 and also finished "on top of the year-end world rankings for the eighth time". But while he reached eight finals in 2023, this year has seen him struggle. His form "has dramatically dropped off", Sky Sports reported, with the ace failing to reach any final before this year's Wimbledon – even then he was "fortunate" with the draw. In the end, he lost 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 to Spain's Carlos Alcaraz.

But Djokovic got his revenge in the French capital a few weeks later, turning the tables to beat the Spaniard 7-6, 7-6 and win the coveted gold. It was, he said "arguably the biggest success I ever had", while former Wimbledon champion John McEnroe told Eurosport the victory showed you could never "count him out".

However, speaking on ESPN, McEnroe noted that 2024 has been the first year since 2002 that no Grand Slam titles were won by Nadal, Djokovic or Roger Federer, a moment he called a "changing of the guard" in highest echelon of men's tennis, said the Daily Mail.

Grand slam wins and big titles

Tennis fans will argue for hours debating the following question: who is the "goat" in men's tennis? Icons such as McEnroe, Björn Borg, Pete Sampras and Jimmy Connors get a special mention in the greatest of all time discussion, but for many people it's a choice of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer.

After winning the 2023 US Open, Djokovic has 24 grand slam titles – two more than Nadal – while his Olympic triumph gives him a career "Golden Slam". Following his retirement in September 2022, Federer finished his career with 20 majors.

Djokovic has dominated on Melbourne's hard courts with 10 of his 24 slams coming in Australia. Nadal is the all-time "king of clay" with 14 French Open victories out of his 22. Eight of Federer's 20 wins came on grass at Wimbledon.

Most grand slam men’s singles titles (all-time)

• Novak Djokovic: 24
• Rafael Nadal: 22
• Roger Federer: 20
• Pete Sampras: 14
• Roy Emerson: 12

Big titles won (records since 1990)

In terms of big titles – a trophy at a grand slam championship, the ATP Finals, an ATP Masters 1000 tournament or an Olympic singles gold medal – Djokovic leads the way with 72 after his Olympic gold at Paris. Nadal has 59 while Federer won 54.

Novak Djokovic: 72

• Grand slams: 24
• Nitto ATP Finals: 7
• ATP Masters 1000: 40
• Olympic singles gold medals: 1 (Paris 2024)

Rafael Nadal: 59

• Grand slams: 22
• ATP Masters 1000: 36
• Olympic singles gold medals: 1 (Beijing 2008)

Roger Federer: 54

• Grand slams: 20
• Nitto ATP Finals: 6
• ATP Masters 1000: 28

Novak Djokovic

• Nationality: Serbian
• Age: 37
• World ranking: 4
• Career titles: 98
• Grand slam titles: 24
  - Australian Open (10): 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2023
  - French Open (3): 2016, 2021, 2023
  - Wimbledon (7): 2011, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022
  - US Open (4): 2011, 2015, 2018, 2023
• Big titles: 72
  - 24 grand slams and one Olympics gold medal
  - 7 ATP finals
  - 40 ATP Masters 1000 titles
• Olympic medals: singles bronze at Beijing 2008; gold at Paris 2024

Rafael Nadal

• Nationality: Spanish
• Age: 38
• World ranking: 154
• Career titles: 92
• Grand slam titles: 22
  - Australian Open (2): 2009, 2022
  - French Open (14): 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022
  - Wimbledon (2): 2008, 2010
  - US Open (4): 2010, 2013, 2017, 2019
• Big titles: 59
  - 22 grand slams
  - 36 ATP Masters 1000 titles
  - 1 Olympics singles
• Olympic medals: singles gold at Beijing 2008; men’s doubles gold at Rio 2016

2024 grand slam champions

Australian Open

• When: 14-28 January 2024
• Where: Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia
• 2024 women's singles champion: Aryna Sabalenka
• 2024 men's singles champion: Jannik Sinner

French Open

• When: 26 May-9 June 2024
• Where: Stade Roland-Garros, Paris, France
• 2024 women's singles champion: Iga Świątek
• 2024 men's singles champion: Carlos Alcaraz

The Championships Wimbledon

• When: 1-14 July 2024
• Where: All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club, London, England
• 2024 women's singles champion: Barbora Krejčíková
• 2024 men's singles champion: Carlos Alcaraz

US Open

• When: 26 August-8 September 2024
• Where: USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, New York, US
• 2024 women's singles champion: Aryna Sabalenka
• 2024 men's singles champion: Jannik Sinner

Djokovic vs. Nadal: the rivalry and head-to-head record

Nadal and Djokovic have battled more times in their rivalry than any players in history, ATPTour.com said. The duo have faced each other 18 times at a grand slam: three times at Wimbledon, three times at the US Open, twice at the Australian Open and ten times at the French Open. Djokovic leads the overall head-to-head 30-29, but Nadal has an 11-7 lead in grand slam matches against his rival.

Head-to-head

• Career matches played: 59
• Wins: Djokovic 30, Nadal 29
• Wins on clay: Nadal 20, Djokovic 9
• Wins at grand slams: Nadal 11, Djokovic 7

Previous matches at Wimbledon

• 2018 semi-final: Djokovic won 6-4, 3-6, 7-6, 3-6, 10-8
• 2011 final: Djokovic won 6-4, 6-1, 1-6, 6-3
• 2007 semi-final: Nadal won 3-6, 6-1, 4-1 (Djokovic retired)

Previous matches at the US Open

• 2013 final: Nadal won 6-2, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1
• 2011 final: Djokovic won 6-2, 6-4, 6-7, 6-1
• 2010 final: Nadal won 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2

Previous matches at the Australian Open

• 2019 final: Djokovic won 6-3, 6-2, 6-3
• 2012 final: Djokovic won 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7, 7-5

Previous matches at Roland-Garros

• Wins at Roland-Garros: Nadal 8, Djokovic 2
• 2022 quarter-final: Nadal won 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (4)
• 2021 semi-final: Djokovic won 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-2
• 2020 final: Nadal won 6-0, 6-2, 7-5
• 2015 quarter-final: Djokovic won 7-5, 6-3, 6-1
• 2014 final: Nadal won 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-4
• 2013 semi-final: Nadal won 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-7(3), 9-7
• 2012 final: Nadal won 6-4, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5
• 2008 semi-final: Nadal won 6-4, 6-2, 7-6(3)
• 2007 semi-final: Nadal won 7-5, 6-4, 6-2
• 2006 quarter-final: Nadal won 6-4, 6-4 (Djokovic retired)

Roger Federer's career statistics

• Nationality: Swiss
• Career titles: 103
• Grand slam titles: 20
  - Australian Open (6): 2004, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2017, 2018
  - French Open (1): 2009
  - Wimbledon (8): 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2017
  - US Open (5): 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
• Big titles: 54
  - 20 grand slams
  - 6 ATP Finals
  - 28 ATP Masters 1000 titles
• Olympic medals: singles silver at London 2012; men’s doubles gold at Beijing 2008

Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai, who disappeared after accusing a high-ranking Chinese Communist Party official of sexual misconduct on Nov. 2, is staying at home willingly and will appear in public "soon," according to Chinese state media.

Chinese censors quickly deleted the social media post in which Peng made her accusation against former Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli and banned all online discussion of it.

Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of the CCP publication The Global Times, has shared purportedly current pictures of Peng, but Reuters reports that the authenticity of these pictures has not yet been verified. International athletic bodies, including the International Olympic Committee and Women's Tennis Association, have floated the idea of pursuing sanctions against China if Peng suffers harm or disappears completely.

Journalist Jeff Blehar of National Review posted a Tweet contrasting China's authoritarian response to Peng's allegation with the American reaction when Larry Nassar's abuses came to light. Nassar, a medical doctor who preyed on members of the U.S. women's national gymnastics team, pleaded guilty in 2017 to 10 counts of sexually assaulting minors and is serving 175 years in prison.

What a year this is proving for British tennis, said Mike Dickson in the Daily Mail. Five weeks after Emma Raducanu’s triumph in New York, Cameron Norrie produced “another glorious tale of the unexpected” to become the first British winner of the tournament widely regarded as tennis’s “fifth Grand Slam”.

In the final of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, the 26-year-old left-hander prevailed 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 against the world No. 36 Nikoloz Basilashvili. The slow conditions in the Californian desert produced an intriguing match of “contrasting styles”, said Tumaini Carayol in The Guardian. Whereas Norrie thrives in attritional rallies, the Georgian is one of the game’s “most destructive shotmakers” – the only player on tour who averages over 80mph off both wings. And for the first half of the match, his “considerable weapons” threatened to be decisive, as he reeled off five straight games to take the first set before breaking early in the second.

Yet the hallmarks of Norrie’s game this season – which has seen his ranking climb from 71 to its current position of 16 – have been his “dogged determination and relentless athleticism”, said Stuart Fraser in The Times. With his grip on the title faltering, both these qualities came to the fore: always seeking to lengthen the rallies, and scampering tirelessly all over the court, he began drawing errors from the Basilashvili racket. After breaking back, and with the Georgian serving at 4-5, he then produced two points of stunning brilliance – one a “lob and drop volley combination”, the other a spectacular running backhand pass – to “steal the set”. And in the decider Norrie was rarely troubled by his visibly tiring opponent.

Norrie’s composure in this match was all the more impressive given the footwear-related crisis he suffered in its build-up, said Simon Briggs in The Daily Telegraph. In an “unexpected echo” of the story ten days ago about Andy Murray losing his tennis shoes – to which the former British No. 1 had attached his wedding ring – it emerged that all three pairs of Norrie’s shoes had mysteriously vanished from the locker room, forcing him to find a last-minute replacement. “I don’t know what the people have against the Brits with stealing shoes,” he joked afterwards.

Norrie’s victory, for which he earned £880,000, confirms him as one of the most improved players of the season, said Mike Dickson. With his ranking climbing precipitously, he is very much in contention to be one of the eight players to feature at next month’s year-end ATP Finals in Turin. Nobody familiar with this somewhat below-the-radar figure, who approaches everything with the same attitude of “cheerful resilience”, can be “anything other than delighted” by his success.