Dominika Cibulkova hurled herself into a forehand with such force that her blond braid bounced off her back and was draped over her forehead by the time she finished her follow through. Pouring passion and every bit of power from her 5'3" frame into each point, a fearless Cibulkova toppled

DELRAY BEACH, Fla. -- Venus Williams needed eight match points in the final game to beat Johanna Larsson 6-3, 7-5 and give the U.S. an insurmountable 3-1 lead against Sweden in the Fed Cup World Group Playoff. It marked the first time that the 21st ranked Venus Williams, a former

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. Tennis Association says shot-clock technology will be tested beginning this month at the U.S. Open. The technology tracks the time taken by the server between points. Stacey Allaster, head of pro tennis at the USTA, tells USA TODAY that it will be tested during

It has become an opening-week ritual at the Grand Slams. At some point, typically on Thursday or Friday, we’re informed that this was the “first time in 50 years that an American male hasn’t reached the third round of a major.” Or that “no U.S. women are in the quarters

Trailing by one set and one point, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova fired a forehand, and the ball found the net. Then, trailing two-time defending Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka 6-2, 30-0, it appeared that Pavlyuchenkova’s frame might connect with the court. Instead of an explosive racquet smash, though, the 27th seed ever

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Defending champion Victoria Azarenka has advanced to the Australian Open final with a 6-1, 6-4 win over 19-year-old American Sloane Stephens. Azarenka wasted five match points in the ninth game of the second set, then took a medical time out for what appeared to be a back

HAMBURG, Germany (AP) — Leonardo Mayer of Argentina reached the German Championships final for the third time in five years after saving a match point on Saturday. Nikoloz Basilashvili of Georgia will face Mayer in his first ATP final after winning a semifinal lasting nearly four hours. Mayer beat Slovak

Whether you’re a beginner or seasoned tennis player, a regular lesson has probably been a part of your life at some point, and it likely will be again. Given the time and expense lessons entail, not to mention the long-term effect our relationships with teaching pros have on our tennis

LINZ, Austria(AP) Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic defeated Andrea Petkovic of Germany 6-1, 6-4 Monday in the first round of the Generali Ladies. Kvitova broke Petkovic three times in the opening set and converted her first match point in the second to win the indoor match at the Intersport

LONDON (AP) The Latest from Wimbledon (all times local): 9:23 p.m. Tomas Berdych's fourth-round match against Jiri Vesely at Wimbledon was suspended by darkness at two sets each. Berdych, the 2010 runner-up at Wimbledon, had five match points in the fourth set, but Vesely forced the tiebreaker and evened the

Simona Halep woke up on Sunday morning just five points short of overtaking Karolina Pliskova’s spot atop the WTA Rankings. All the Romanian needed to become No. 1 in the world for the first time was a win over Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza. But in just 56 minutes, Muguruza dashed

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) One year after escaping from his first-round match at Wimbledon with a five-set victory, Roger Federer and his commanding serve were in no mood for a repeat performance. The six-time Wimbledon champion won 68 of the 80 points on his serve against Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan and

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) Roger Federer gave Prince Charles a bow, then gave Fabio Fognini a royal thumping. With the Prince of Wales visiting Wimbledon for the first time since 1970, Federer was at his best Wednesday and beat Fognini 6-1, 6-3, 6-2. Six-time champion Federer won 37 of 41 points

NEW YORK—When Rafael Nadal and Lucas Pouille turned into the homestretch of their five-set epic at the U.S. Open on Sunday, everything—stats, talent, experience, logic—should have pointed to a Rafa victory. He was the 14-time Grand Slam champion, and a man who had reached No. 1 in the world by

MUNICH (AP) -- Federico Delbonis of Argentina beat two-time champion Nikolay Davydenko 6-2, 7-6 (4) Monday to reach the second round of the BMW Open. The 44th-ranked Delbonis never faced a break point and broke the Russian twice in the first set to take control of the match. German wild-card

LONDON (AP) -- In her first three appearances at Wimbledon, CoCo Vandeweghe lost every time. In her fourth try, she needed 13 match points to finally get a victory at the All England Club. The 22-year-old American continued her strong recent play on grass by reaching the second round Monday,

MUNICH(AP) Nicolas Almagro of Spain has advanced to the second round of the BMW Open by beating Jan Hernych of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-4. Almagro broke Hernych four times and saved two of the three break points he faced. It was the clay-court tournament's only match on Sunday. Earlier,

The Mannequin Challenge craze has struck again, this time in Honolulu at the Hawaii Open $125,000. Participants were American players Nicole Gibbs, Asia Muhammad, Samantha Crawford, CiCi Bellis, Jamie Loeb and Sachia Vickery. Extra points go to Crawford for staying in that mid-fall position for so long. The Hawaii competitors'

An overhead should end the point every time, especially at higher levels. Start with a Continental grip, just like the one you use for your volleys. React to the lob as soon as the ball is off your opponent’s racquet and move back farther than you think you should. Then

Marion Bartoli says that reaching the final of Wimbledon is not good enough this time around. The 28-year-old also reached the 2007 final, falling to Venus Williams. Bartoli will face Sabine Lisicki in the final tomorrow. “Honestly, I'm not at the point saying: ‘It's amazing I'm in the final of