Petra Kvitova is groggy. When she answers the phone at her home in Prostejov in the Czech Republic, she sounds as if she has been awakened from a deep slumber. “No, no,” she says with a slightly hazy chuckle. “I am just having a massage.” Then she laughs again, her

MELBOURNE—That wasn’t a bad effort from Andy Murray, right? He made his third straight Grand Slam final, and fourth straight at a major event. He beat Roger Federer for the first time at one of these things, in as convincing a five-setter as you’re likely to see. And, as the

• Jh by Pete Bodo* I don't think I'll ever hear the words, "double bagel" (a euphemism for a 6-0, 6-0 blowout) without thinking of Bud Collins. Coming up with the term may not be Bud's biggest contribution to tennis lore and legend and, let's face it, popularizing that expression

As we make our way toward the 2024 season—which begins Friday, December 29 with the United Cup—our writers and editors tackle the most important questions of the new year. Sixth question: Will Novak Djokovic finally get his long-sought Olympic gold medal at Roland Garros? Scroll down past this article to

Well, honestly, when I woke up today, I didn't feel fresh. First few steps, everything was in pain. But I think you kind of also get used to this kind of soreness. Elena Rybakina, following her win over Marta Kostyuk in the Stuttgart WTA 500 final. With all due respect

PARIS—The artist had just painted a portrait. The subject said thank you and asked how much it would cost. Said the artist: $10,000. What? But it took you less than 20 minutes. No, said the artist. It took me 40 years. Daria Kasatkina is only 20 years old. But she

So far we’ve discussed, among other things, the players, matches, points, disappointments, and train wrecks of the year on this web site. But what about its phrases? In the age of social media, the players' most memorable bursts, and outbursts, of words become a linguistic shorthand for fans. I mean,

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Agnieszka Radwanska have started to clobber the ball back and forth. The sound—or, more precisely, thump—of the ball on their oversize stringbeds echoes into the upper reaches of the main stadium at the BNP Paribas Open. It's not surprising: The loudest competing noise comes from the half-dozen

Have a good weekend? The Super Bowl was at least entertaining, in a muddy, what-the-heck’s-going-to-happen-next kind of way—and Urlacher lost, so all is well. As for me, I learned a competitive lesson these last couple days; it was on a squash court, but it pertains equally to tennis. On Saturday

NEW YORK—The things you miss when you’re at the U.S. Open. In 2005, it took me two days to find out about what Katrina had done to New Orleans. This morning I had a sinking sense of deja vu while reading that Isaac was “testing the levees” in N.O. as

WIMBLEDON, ENGLAND—The fans in Court 3 roared and whistled and clapped; it seemed possible, for a brief moment, that they might begin to stomp their feet, an almost unheard of event at the All England Club. What inspired this burst of English tennis hooliganism? Feliciano Lopez had reached 15-30 on

Pic by Pete Bodo Now and then, you get a great example for why something is—or isn't—a good idea. It's especially valuable when we get a little itchy and want to mess with the status quo. There's always someone out there who wants to revamp this or revise that, change

Dear Santa, We've been very good this year—honest. Here's what we'd really like to see under the tree: Steve Tignor, Senior Writer Gear: Yonex VCORE Tour 89 Racquet $179; link here. You know when a racquet just feels right? When you have no idea whether it’s heavy or light, stiff

NEW YORK—Now is the summer of Roger Federer’s discontent. Meanwhile, his longtime Swiss understudy, who’s lived all these years in Federer’s shadow, is suddenly having the time of his life. This afternoon found Stanislas Wawrinka frolicking in the mellow, autumnal light that bathed Arthur Ashe Stadium, happily raining down aces

by Pete Bodo One of the great things about a rivalry, trivalry, quadalry (Come on, Andy, get with the freakin' program!) is that it tends to boost the competitive metabolism of each player to such a degree that the overall level of play just gets ratcheted up, higher-and-higher, week-after-week. That's

When Kathy Rinaldi was seven years old, a second grader growing up in Stuart, Fla., she wrote these words for a school assignment: “If I can’t be a tennis player/I think I’ll just be me.” Rinaldi did become a tennis player. Over the course of nearly 20 years, between 1980

Tennis needs a good old-fashioned house cleaning because, when it comes to implementing solid rules, enforcing the ones that do exist, and keeping current with technology, the game is messier than the area around Frances Tiafoe’s chair late in a match on a hot day. Most of these proposed fixes

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—Once again, with the U.S. in a delicate Davis Cup situation, the cry went out: Bring in the Bryans! After all, twins Mike and Bob Bryan entered today’s doubles match against Switzerland tied with John McEnroe and Peter Fleming in career Davis Cup wins (14-2), with plenty of tennis

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — As in many sports, tennis has its share of well-known coaches. Unlike in other sports, tennis does not always allow them to coach. Indeed, at Wimbledon, Novak Djokovic can't get any sort of instructions from Goran Ivanisevic at Centre Court during the men’s semifinals on Friday.

WATCH: Iga Swiatek claimed her fourth Grand Slam title with a win over Karolina Muchova in Saturday's Roland Garros final.