On the eve of his team’s biggest match of the year, USC Head Tennis Coach Peter Smith received an important phone call. It was from his boss, Athletic Director Pat Haden. “Pat called to wish me luck. We talked for a few minutes, and then he mentioned that the Trojan

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Ash Barty was the crowd favorite at Melbourne Park long before she ended a 42-year drought by reaching the Australian Open final. Danielle Collins said it'll be "spectacular" to take on the women's No. 1-ranked player in the final of her home Grand Slam event on

WATCH: Roger Federer's speech after Team Europe's loss to Team World

WATCH: Giron didn't drop a set en route to his first ATP final at the San Diego Open.

What happened 20 years ago on the opening night of the 2003 US Open once again revealed the wide range of dimensions that made Pete Sampras one of tennis’ most remarkable champions. Sampras was 32 years old that evening, one year removed from a dazzling four-set win over his most

At some point, Novak Djokovic’s right ear is going to start to hurt, isn’t it? We know the world’s best tennis player loves to reach up and bend it when he wants some love from the crowd. But he took it to a new level over the past week at

NEW YORK—“For American tennis, there’s no question marks,” Sloane Stephens said with a grin on Thursday night at the US Open. For the first time in a long time, the statement was indisputable. Stephens, 24, had just finished beating Venus Williams in the evening’s first semifinal. An hour or so

NEW YORK—It was 9:55 a.m. this morning when Coco Gauff entered Arthur Ashe Stadium, keen to hit balls on the biggest court in tennis for the first time in her life. Rafael Nadal had begun the last five minutes of his practice session. As Gauff dropped her racquet bag on

Just over a decade ago, four French men’s tennis players were dubbed the “New Musketeers.” Their names were Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Richard Gasquet, Gilles Simon, Gael Monfils. Dare it possible for this quartet to rival the achievements of their fabled predecessors, Rene Lacoste, Henri Cochet, Jean Borotra and Toto Brugnon, who’d

At the age of 13, he tagged a serve at 130 m.p.h. under the eye of a radar gun at the prestigious European junior tournament, Les Petits As. He won Orange Bowl championships in two youth divisions (12 and 14), battling the likes of friends that included Frances Tiafoe and

Madison Keys didn’t have the opportunity to defend her Volvo Car Open crown in April, but in honor of being the current Charleston champion, she was granted the first power move for next week’s Credit One Bank Invitational. As one of two team captains for the 16-player women’s event, held

UPDATE: On Tuesday, it was officially announced that the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games will be postponed until 2021. From the Associated Press: The International Olympic Committee along with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and local organizers have decided that the Tokyo Games cannot go ahead as scheduled this year because

WATCH: Coco Gauff surges into her first Grand Slam quarterfinal in straight sets over Ons Jabeur.

MELBOURNE—The year is 2049. Rafael Nadal is 63 years old. Novak Djokovic is 62. They encounter one another at an idyllic spot along the Mediterranean. “This is heaven,” says Djokovic. “Heaven, yes,” says Nadal, “but if you have heaven, you must also have hell.” Djokovic gives a slight grimace. “Hell?”

“You find something new each time.” This is a phrase that’s used—not very often—to describe a favorite movie or book or record or painting or TV series. At first glance, the work in question seems simple and straightforward. It’s only later, when you think back on it or revisit it,

The first match I watched from this week’s Shanghai Masters was the opening-rounder between Tommy Haas and Nicolas Almagro. This was, at least on paper, about as entertaining as early tournament contests get. You had two guys with stylish one-handed backhands and Top 10 talent. You had the unlikely story

When it comes to surfaces, I’m a player in exile. I grew up on the often-cracked hard courts of Central Pennsylvania, where the ball tends to get to you in a hurry, and sliding more than a few centimeters will earn you a quick ticket to the emergency room. Those

There are two ways to talk about American tennis these days. The first is to lament its decline from the heights of the Pete and Andre and Jim and Michael era, and wonder when the country’s next generation of stars is going to man up and do some winning. The

Is there a sport other than tennis that contains so many different versions of itself, so many different worlds, within its small universe? These worlds are created, literally, at the surface level: Clay, grass, and hard courts each come with their own playing styles, their own champions and specialists, their

You wait for the Queen; the Queen does not wait for you. If you had forgotten this cold, hard fact of life, you’ve likely been reminded of it while watching the Australian Open. This week a camera stationed near the locker rooms in Rod Laver Arena—call it Tunnel-Eye—has caught each