Li By Pete Bodo PARIS—Li Na wasn't thinking only about the big, southpaw serve of Petra Kvitova after she lost the first set to the rapidly improving Czech on Court Phillip Chatrier today. She was also thinking about the kids in China. It may sound sappy, but that's exactly what

In her career, she had beaten former world No. 1s such as Venus Williams, Kim Clijsters, Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic. But after conquering a much tougher opponent, Alisa Kleybanova was working on her next task: Battling a player ranked 1,149th. It was May 2013, and Kleybanova, a 24-year-old from

WATCH: Rublev kicked off his 2023 Australian Open campaign against former world No. 3 Dominic Thiem in the first round.

EASTBOURNE, England (AP) Dominika Cibulkova won her second title of the year when she defeated Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic 7-5, 6-3 Saturday in the Eastbourne International final. The match was closely contested throughout, with neither player gaining an early advantage as six of the first eight games went

WATCH: Novak Djokovic's press conference following his third-round win

Novak Djokovic arrived at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in position to capture a near-mythic Calendar Year Golden Slam, something last accomplished by Steffi Graf in 1988. Though the achievement would undoubtedly set himself apart from rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, the world No. 1 shut down attempts to reignite

SINGAPORE (AP) — Caroline Wozniacki advanced to the semifinals at the WTA Finals by beating top-ranked Simona Halep 6-0, 6-2 Wednesday. The former No. 1 from Denmark, who made only seven unforced errors in the match, took advantage of the slow court, using the time to set up her shots

If you are a low-ranked pro player struggling to find your form, rock-solid Roberto Bautista Agut is not your desired opponent. On Saturday night at the inaugural ATP Cup, the Spaniard showed no mercy to Georgia’s Aleksandre Metreveli, serving the world No. 679 the rare double bagel. “It was a

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) Stan Wawrinka won the battle of the 30-year-olds by defeating Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus 6-4, 7-6 (13) to win the Dubai Tennis Championships title Saturday. Wawrinka, the second-seed who came to Dubai as a solo act without his coach, had been two points from defeat

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) Lleyton Hewitt pulled off one of the most spectacular shots of his long tennis career at Wimbledon on Thursday, and he didn't even get to see it. Robin Soderling looked certain to win the point when he smashed a midcourt backhand deep into the corner. Hewitt sprinted

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Nick Kyrgios handed over a racket as a sympathetic gift for accidentally hitting a young fan and the umpire left her chair to check on the boy's condition. And that was all in the opening few games of the latest version of tennis played in a

PARIS—The Grand Slam Grounds Pass tradition will, provided my alarm continues to work, return each morning from Roland Garros. As play begins, I’ll try to mix news stories, observations from the courts, and a look at the day ahead. For now, since the only thing that’s really happened here so

MELBOURNE—Serena Williams took her time making her way into Rod Laver Arena on Sunday afternoon. This wasn't unusual; no tennis player has perfected the you’re-not-going-to-rush-me walk of authority the way Serena has. The local Australian television commentators wondered, jokingly, if she wanted to spend a little extra time showing off

DOHA, Qatar (AP)—Sam Stosur of Australia upset the No. 1-ranked Caroline Wozniacki Wednesday at the WTA Championships 6-4, 6-3, keeping alive the race for the top ranking for at least one more day. Stosur, a runner-up at the French Open who knocked off then- No. 1 Serena Williams in that

TORONTO (AP)—Two straight nights, two grueling, seesaw battles. Serena Williams took another step on her comeback injury and illness Friday, fighting off another determined opponent at the Rogers Cup. The 29-year-old American booked her spot in the semifinals with a hard-fought 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory over Lucie Safarova of the

NEW YORK—Ten years ago at what was then called the Nasdaq-100 Open, an 18-year-old Spaniard named Rafael Nadal made his debut to the U.S. tennis viewing audience. This was a time before networks like Tennis Channel and websites like ESPN3 made nearly every tournament, no matter how obscure or far

NEW YORK—In what might someday be remembered by those who witnessed it as “The Game,” the two warriors in short pants stood in the late afternoon sunshine as wave after wave of adulatory noise cascaded over them in Arthur Ashe Stadium. They were blanketed in sound as dense and rich

MELBOURNE, Australia(AP) The Australian Open venue will be upgraded and expanded with a third covered arena, improved players' facilities and a large outdoor gathering area under a $3.3 million proposal unveiled Monday. Victoria (state) Premier John Brumby said he hoped the investment would ensure that the Australian Open would remain

NEW YORK (AP) After trailing for much of the third set, Venus Williams suddenly was right back in the thick of her U.S. Open semifinal against Kim Clijsters, serving at 4-all, 30-all. At that moment Friday night, it didn't appear to matter that the 30-year-old Williams was bidding to become

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) Serena Williams has been known to say she isn't satisfied with this or that aspect of her game, even after easily winning a match, say, 6-3, 6-2. So it was somehow refreshing to hear Williams actually praise herself after a victory by that very score over 26th-seeded