Simona Halep is allowed to resume her tennis career whenever she wants, now that a four-year doping suspension was reduced by the Court of Arbitration for Sport to nine months — and the two-time Grand Slam champion already has missed more time than that. "I cannot wait to return to

“The journey is what matters, they say.” That’s what I wrote near the end of the entry for Martina Navratilova in our 50 Greatest Players of the Open era countdown. No player of the last five decades traveled farther, as an athlete or a person, during the course of her

Roger Federer and Guillermo Cañas should get together every week. They're good drama. I thought Federer played better yesterday than he did in Indian Wells, but he looked a little flat-footed and unsure of his positioning, especially in the first set—both of those are signs of nerves. Credit the Argentine

Have you ever stood and listened to a tennis match? I tried it for a few minutes yesterday. You can’t do it with just anyone; you need a pair of opponents with special talents to make it entertaining. The distinctive thud and thwack that Marat Safin and Richard Gasquet make

LONDON—The schedule is wild and thick at Wimbledon today. Looking at it, I imagine wading through a forest of matches at the club just down the road from me. Every court is filled up to its edge and, with rain possible, ready to flood its borders. You might not see

One angry comment poster the other day said he wished I would stop wasting my time (not to mention his) by writing about Kim Clijsters and figure skating when there were so many great stories out there, like Maria Sharapova’s debut this week as a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model (pics

Few will forget Novak Djokovic officially committing 100 unforced errors against counterpuncher Gilles Simon at the Australian Open in 2016—a contest that the all-conquering Serb actually won in five sets. “Honestly, I didn't expect to make this many unforced errors,” said Djokovic afterwards. “In terms of a level that I've

ROME (AP) Serena Williams withdrew from the Italian Open with a lower back injury shortly before she was scheduled to meet French Open champion Li Na in the semifinals on Saturday. Williams said the problem also affected her earlier this week. `It was feeling a little stiff and I don't

PARIS(AP) A French tennis player facing a five-week ban and $12,000 fine for betting on other matches complained Sunday at the French Open that the punishment is too harsh. ``There was no rule. I mean, there was a rule, but it was on the rulebook - page 136 in English

NEW YORK (AP)—Ana Ivanovic will play in the Billie Jean King Cup in New York on March 1 as a replacement for Serena Williams. Ivanovic, the 2008 French Open champion, also played in the one-night exhibition event last year at Madison Square Garden. “I feel honored to have the opportunity

At the start of the 2023 Australian Open, Lacoste unveiled Daniil Medvedev’s personal logo. The design incorporated the 2021 US Open champion’s love for gaming by integrating his initials along with signature double “i” in his first name to create an old-school video game controller. “The logo for this collection

On Sunday, two-time Mutua Madrid Open champion Aryna Sabalenka takes on teenager Robin Montgomery. While this might seem like a match that should be straightforward for Sabalenka, I think she might have some trouble with the American. Montgomery is only 19 years old, but she has some serious game. She

Justine Henin's next event will likely be at Indian Wells in March. "I just need a few more days to take my decisions and really make a plan and talk with [coach] Carlos [Rodriguez] about that. But that should be the most appropriate option," she said after the Australian Open

Speaking on a conference call for Tennis Channel, Martina Navratilova has said she is "cancer free" after undergoing surgery six weeks ago. "I’m doing well," she said. "I just started radiation last week."

I'm sorry folks, but somehow a key early paragraph in the Tongue of Fire post got misplaced to the bottom of the post, which might have caused you all some confusion. It's fixed now, and while I have no idea of how or when that happened, my apologies to all

On Friday, wild card Bethanie Mattek-Sands will face Serena Williams. Can the 101st-ranked player in the world upend the tournament? It would make for a great story. But does the wild-card system work fairly for all players? I discuss the subject with U.K. freelance writer Leigh Walsh, who offers a

Naomi Osaka is the first to admit it: She didn't live up to expectations on the on the clay and grass in 2019. Despite some deep runs, she hasn't reached a final since the Australian Open, and she most recently suffered a first-round loss at Wimbledon. "I don't wanna say

BEIJING (AP)—Maria Sharapova beat Tsvetana Pironkova 6-4, 7-6 (5) on Sunday to advance to the second round of the China Open. The 12th-seeded Sharapova bounced back after losing in the first round of the Pan Pacific Open last Monday. “I faced a tough opponent today,” Sharapova said. “At the end

The first pictures of Shia LaBeouf playing a young John McEnroe have only just surfaced, but the upcoming film, titled Borg vs. McEnroe, already has its biggest critic. “I don’t know if they are planning on doing the whole movie without input or any type of arrangement from me or

Howdy. Rolled in from Montana last night, lugging the most unusual piece of carry-on baggage I’ve handled: The leg bone of a dinosaur (probably a Duckbill, I was told, which was smaller than T. Rex) that is thought to be a mere 25 million years old. That, and a mason