The Book Club returns as Kamakshi Tandon and I discuss James Blake's Breaking Back: How I lost everything and won back my life, co-written with Andrew Friedman. This is the final entry in this edition of the Club.

NEW YORK—Sports fans and sportswriters can never let a win just be a win. Whether it happens in the Super Bowl or the first round of the U.S. Open, there’s no result that doesn't immediately inspire a question. "Team X, you just won the World Series, but are you ready

A couple of reminders: (1) I don't grade everyone; if there's someone missing, feel free to make your own judgement about him or her. (2) Players don't get failing grades just for losing a tennis match. Tomas Berdych What looked like the start of a slump—the Czech lost in the

Tennis rolls on, into its fourth or fifth or sixth new mini-season of the year. Thankfully for some of us, the chatter that surrounds it continues to flow as well. The annual “bloodletting,” as Pete Bodo aptly called it, over the length of the schedule seems to be finished for

“The game is changing a little bit,” Rafael Nadal said after losing to Fernando Verdasco, 7-6 (6), 4-6, 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2, in four hours and 41 minutes, in the first round of the Australian Open on Tuesday. “Everybody now tries to hit all the balls. There is no balls

“I definitely didn’t think I would be here at the beginning of the week, or the beginning of the two weeks, but it feels pretty excellent.”—Serena Williams, after beating Maria Sharapova in straight sets to win the Australian Open in January. “Can’t say I thought I would win eight, especially

On This Day in Tennis History is an exhaustively informative 500-page book by Randy Walker that does exactly what it’s say it’s going to do: Tell you everything of note that happened in the history of tennis, from January 1 to December 31. And, yes, that includes the sometimes-day of

NEW YORK—After his second-round win at the U.S. Open two days ago, James Blake was asked how he would prepare for his next match, against Milos Raonic, a player 11 years his junior. “It’s crazy to me,” Blake said, in his customary rush of words, “because my career, it feels

Last year, previewing Indian Wells, I wrote that the event could prove to be the “first tournament of the future of men’s tennis.” What I meant—or at least what I think I meant—was that a win by Novak Djokovic would cement his rise after his Australian Open title of a

Tennis has officially slid across the pond to Europe, but if you’re a fan of the U.S. game, the one-week American clay season that just ended is worth a second look before its red-and-green dust has settled. That’s because on Sunday, Jack Sock won his maiden ATP singles title on

There’s dissension in the ranks of Robert Kendrick’s rooting section. “Come on, Robert, be scrappy!” one of them yells, to the dismay of the woman down the bench from him, who may or may not be his sister. “Uh . . . scrappy?” Whatever the merits of the word, it

PARIS—I sat in the press seats in Chatrier for the better part of an hour today rolling the opening line to this post around in my head. These are the days that make a tennis writer’s life worthwhile . . . There are legendary wins and memorable matches, but this

The Vatican is the all-star team of tourism. You’ve got St. Peter’s, the Sistine Chapel, and those scary clown guards with axes. The place is a 20-minute walk from my hotel, but I was uncertain at first. Is it cool for a man, a decidedly non-Catholic man, to visit the

MELBOURNE—It’s shaping up to be a banner weekend for Australian tennis here, as well as a possible changing of the men’s guard. Last night, a Friday night, the main square in front of Rod Laver Arena was filled with families and couples stretched out on blankets, drinking wine, having a

The best thing about the London Olympics, from a tennis-writer’s perspective, is that none of us should have to write any more articles about whether the sport belongs in the Games. After seeing the men’s singles medalists, Andy Murray, Roger Federer, and Juan Martin del Potro, all shed tears of

We're counting down the Top 10 matches of 2019 as part of Tennis Channel's Home for the Holidays. Click here to read each selection. When this year’s semifinal at Wimbledon between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal began, the match that was on everyone’s minds was their classic 2008 final on

NEW YORK (AP) — Three years ago, a reporter asked Sloane Stephens to point out a younger tennis player most fans might not have heard of yet, someone she thought could become a household name some day. Stephens paused to ponder, but not for long, before responding: Coco Gauff, then

PARIS (AP) — Rafael Nadal was locked in a tight, compelling and lengthy French Open semifinal Friday when his opponent, third-seeded Alexander Zverev, ran to to chase a shot and twisted his right ankle. Zverev crumpled to the ground, wailing in agony and clutching at his lower leg. His black

PARIS (AP)—She gingerly flexed her right wrist, pulled on her ponytail in frustration, argued with the umpire and left the court with remnants of a big, orange blob of clay pasted to the back of her soaking shirt. Yes, Maria Sharapova had to get down in the dirt for her

No matter how you feel about 30-year-old Serena Williams, chances are, you feel something. Good or bad, you have an opinion. And you’re entitled to that, the decorated, entertaining, any-adjective-but-boring Grand Slam winner said yesterday in Charleston, where she’s playing the Family Circle Cup. Tonight, in her first match, she’ll