Tag Archives: tennis

In our new series, ‘Showcase your Sport’, in association with the Irish Federation of Sport, we will be giving you a thorough insight into some of the most fascinating sports we have in Ireland. This week, we’re focusing on tennis and to learn more about the day-to-day life of an Irish tennis player, we’ve put our questions to pro player, …

An imperious Novak Djokovic won a record magnificent seventh Australian Open title by routing Rafael Nadal 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 Sunday with a display of flawless tennis. The Serbian world number one dominated the Spanish second seed to win his 15th Grand Slam title in just 2hr 4min on Rod Laver Arena. It put Djokovic, 31, out on his own ahead …

Brave Petra Kvitova admitted that it had been “a long journey” to make the Australian Open final after a knife-wielding burglar slashed her racquet hand in an attack that left her traumatised and scared to be alone. The 28-year-old feared she may never play tennis again after the 33-year-old man broke into her apartment in the eastern Czech town of …

Andy Murray has revealed that he will not contest the Marseille Open next month as he ponders whether or not to undergo surgery on his prevailing hip injury. The 31-year-old may have played his last professional game of tennis after he exited the Australian Open last Monday following a dramatic five-set battle with Roberto Bautista Agut. As well as Marseille, Murray was …

Roger Federer admitted he was shocked that tennis was to lose “legend” Andy Murray this year while long-time friend Novak Djokovic said the bombshell news had “hurt” him. Both paid tribute to the former world number one on the eve of the year’s first Grand Slam with Federer adding that the Scot should be “incredibly proud” of what he had …

A tearful Andy Murray announced he would likely retire this year due to severe pain from a hip injury, saying next week’s Australian Open could be the last tournament of a glittering career. The former world number one and three-time Grand Slam winner broke down at a press conference in Melbourne as he said the pain had become almost unbearable. …

Spanish police have dismantled a gang that allegedly fixed professional tennis competitions, detaining 15 people and probing 68 others including tennis players, one of whom played in the last US Open, they said Thursday. In a statement, the Civil Guard police force said the organisation bribed tennis players to fix matches in ITF Futures and Challenger tournaments, the lower levels …

The Hopman Cup might have saved its best for last as excitement builds for the most anticipated tennis match involving a man and woman since the “Battle of the Sexes” in the 1970s. Roger Federer and Serena Williams, two of the greatest players in history, will face off across the net for the first time on Tuesday when United States …

Tennis royalty Roger Federer and Serena Williams have been pounding balls across the net for more than 20 years and they are back for yet another season, starting in Perth at the mixed teams Hopman Cup from Saturday. Both 37 years old and with 43 Grand Slam singles titles between them, Federer is now a father and Williams a mother but …

Serena Williams has described the new changes to the ‘Special Ranking’ rule introduced by the WTA for 2019 as “great” and believes the move will encourage more players to take a break from the tour to have children then come back to resume their careers. Under the new rules, returning mothers who have a special ranking that would earn them …

A series of rule changes making it easier for women to return after pregnancy or injury was ratified on Monday by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA). Players making their way back to competition after being out for 52 weeks or longer will be able to use their previous ranking to enter 12 tournaments over a three-year period. Serena Williams was …

Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios says he is talking to psychologists and “trying to get on top” of his mental health after another roller-coaster season where he was criticised for his on-court antics. Kyrgios finished his season early in October after an elbow injury forced him out of the Kremlin Cup in Moscow. The fiery 23-year-old lost his status as …

Former British Number 1, Heather Watson has said that she takes her responsibility as a role model for young women in sport very seriously, having been inspired by the Williams sisters as a child. The 26-year-old, who is the ambassador for Always Platinum was involved in many different sports as a child but ultimately, decided to commit to tennis after …

Serena Williams has been fined $17,000 by the US Tennis Association in the wake her outburst during a controversial US Open final loss to Japan’s Naomi Osaka. The American star was fined for coaching, racquet abuse and for verbal abuse when she accused umpire Carlos Ramos of being “a thief” during Saturday’s stormy final. Williams was incensed at the coaching …

Naomi Osaka became the first Japanese to win a Grand Slam singles title on Saturday as her idol Serena Williams angrily imploded, calling the chair umpire in the US Open final “a thief”. Osaka, 20, triumphed 6-2, 6-4 in the match marred by Williams’s second set outburst, the American enraged by umpire Carlos Ramos’s warning for receiving coaching from her …

Anastasija Sevastova ended Sloane Stephens’s US Open title defence on Tuesday, toppling the world number three 6-2, 6-3 to reach a first Grand Slam semi-final. Stephens refused to blame the punishing heat and humidity on Arthur Ashe Stadium, where her inability to convert any of seven break chances in the opening set paved the way for her defeat. “When you …