Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka have all the makings of a first-rate rivalry—two Grand Slam champions with forceful games and eagerness to compete. What assets do each of these top-tier players bring? What potential weaknesses? How does one go about beating the other? And who, if they’re each playing their

Current Ranking: 8 W/L: 40-14 Titles: 1 (Wimbledon) Grand Slam Record: 14-4 WTA Finals Appearance: Debut Best Result: NA If you’re going to win one title all year, might as well make it Wimbledon. That was Marketa Vondrousova’s philosophy this season. The 24 year-old became the first unseeded woman ever

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — When Novak Djokovic complained to the chair umpire about wasting "30, 40, 50 seconds" because of spectators moving after every game during his first-round match, it was obvious rules had been relaxed at the Australian Open. Two days later, players were still complaining. Tournament organizers were

The serve is arguably the most important shot in tennis, and the toss is without question the most important part of it. Now, before you fault yourself for a failing serve, ask yourself: when in day-to-day living do you throw something up in the air with one arm, and hit

NEW YORK (AP) — Venus Williams gave a scouting report on her warmup partner that sounded the same as always. Serena Williams is back, and her game hasn't left. "She's got power, depth. She knows how to play," Venus said. "Yeah, awesome game." The Williams sisters were the headliners Monday

Babolat Pure Aero ($259) If you’re part of the “spin to win” crowd, there’s arguably no racquet better-suited to the task than the Pure Aero. Throw in a healthy power supply and it’s one of the game’s premiere options for baseline aggression. For this latest installment in the popular franchise,

When most players think about playing the net, the image of striking comfortable volleys comes to mind. In fact, many players try to improve their net games by working only on above-the-net volleys. This is a mistake. Such volleys are just a small component of an actual match, and a

It's not always easy being a young player in the Big Four era, but at least today's up-and-comers haven't lacked for idols to inspire them. Between Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, the ATP's 'Next Gen' have grown up watching the giants of the game. But ask

Growing up near the birthplace of pickleball, in Washington state, Chuck Taylor always had a love for the game. First discovering the sport in high school, Taylor was obsessed. At 41 years old, he’s still competing at the top of his game on the PPA Tour. Unlike the majority of

From Mario Tennis to Virtua Tennis, a wide variety of video games over time have sought to satiate the sport's fans who double as joystick/controller enthusiasts. Now a new entry in that canon is at hand: AO International Tennis. The game is set to show off "the most comprehensive feature

They are some of the top up-and-comers in men's tennis, but younger players like Denis Shapovalov, Dominic Thiem, Frances Tiafoe, and Alexander Zverev couldn't help being starstruck as they opened play at the Laver Cup. Though they were the ones on court, some of the game's biggest legends, including Roger

The third match on the third day of PPA The Masters saw Eugenie Bouchard pulling off her second consecutive three-game comeback of the women’s singles bracket. After losing the first game in 11 minutes to No. 2 seed and former collegiate tennis player Brooke Buckner, Bouchard was able to level

Racquet franchises aren’t always easily classified, but Dunlop has simplified the identities of its lines with the core elements of the game in mind. Players looking for heightened control over their shots will focus on the CX series. If extreme spin is the objective, the SX family is designed for

There’s an old locker room adage that once players have success with a particular racquet and shoes they should never switch. Iga Swiatek clearly has other ideas. At the end of last season she changed her footwear from Asics to On, and she started 2024 with a new Tecnifibre frame.

Racquet: Head Extreme MP 2024 ($259) The Extreme is all about easy spin and power. The frame’s well-spread 16x19 string pattern and wide spin grommets promote lots of string movement to create tons of work on the ball. This latest version has undergone some subtle tweaks to improve the racquet’s

Sixteen years after Li Na narrowly missed out on an Olympic medal in Beijing, Zheng Qinwen made history at the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, defeating Donna Vekic, 6-2, 6-3 to become the first Chinese player to win a gold medal in singles. "The last point, I'm really nervous.

It started with natural gut. Back in 1875, when tennis was in its infancy, Babolat was a specialist in turning the raw material into such things as surgical thread and musical instruments. The Lyon-based family business decided to apply that expertise to racquet sports, creating the game’s first strings. It

There are eight indoor hard courts at the National Tennis Center in Melbourne, Australia. At the very end of the bank sits Court 8, one of only three courts in the world outside of professional tournaments that is outfitted with Hawk-Eye. The ball-tracking technology is most known for its line-calling

These lyrics, from Fatboy Slim's 1998 hit song Praise You, could be the theme song of the 2020 tennis season. Amidst such somberness, the game and the moving components that surround it have managed to shine bright. Because of the deep love for the sport from tennis' governing bodies, tournament

Current Ranking: 6 W/L: 51-22 Titles: 1 (Los Cabos) Grand Slam Record: 14-4 ATP Finals Appearance: 5 Best Result: W (2019) 2023 started strongly for Stefanos Tsitsipas. He went undefeated in singles play at the United Cup before reaching his second career Grand Slam final in Melbourne, losing to Novak