Today: September 21, 2024
Today: September 21, 2024

Latest From HOWARD FENDRICH

Sports

US Open finalist Coco Gauff is starting to believe. She faces Aryna Sabalenka for the title

Ever since Coco Gauff announced her arrival with a remarkable Grand Slam debut at age 15, she’s been in the spotlight. Just about everyone in tennis recognized her talent, her smarts, her drive, her ability to step up on big stages. Just about everyone, it seemed, was absolutely sure she belonged at the top of the game. Everyone, perhaps, except Gauff herself. Even as victories accumulated, including the two biggest titles of her career last month in the run-up to the U.S. Open, she would wonder whether she just happened to catch opponents on a bad

September 08, 2023
US Open finalist Coco Gauff is starting to believe. She faces Aryna Sabalenka for the title
Sports

Coco Gauff tops Karolina Muchova to reach the US Open final. The match was delayed by a protest

Coco Gauff never wavered. Not when a big lead in the first set evaporated. Not when match point after match point went by the wayside. And not, most distracting of all, when her U.S. Open semifinal against Karolina Muchova was interrupted for 50 minutes Thursday night by environmental activists — one of whom glued his bare feet to the concrete floor in the stands. It’s been rather obvious for quite some time that Gauff is no ordinary teenager. Now she is one win away from becoming a Grand Slam champion. Gauff, a 19-year-old from Florida, reached

September 08, 2023
Coco Gauff tops Karolina Muchova to reach the US Open final. The match was delayed by a protest
Sports

The mental and physical tolls of the tennis season weigh on players by the US Open

Novak Djokovic considers his mental state just as important as his physical condition when it comes to being prepared to play his best at age 36. “Mentally there is probably a lot more that I’m dealing with in my private life than was the case 10 years ago. But that’s the beauty of life. Things are evolving, moving on,” said Djokovic, who will try to take another step toward what would be a 24th Grand Slam title when he faces Ben Shelton in the U.S. Open semifinals Friday. “I just feel that there is always, I

September 07, 2023
The mental and physical tolls of the tennis season weigh on players by the US Open
Sports

Cancun, Mexico, will host the WTA Finals right before the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Spain

The women’s tennis tour will hold the WTA Finals in Cancun, Mexico, from Oct. 29 to Nov. 5, finally finding a site for the season-ending event that has shifted cities repeatedly. The tour has a one-year agreement with Cancun, the WTA announced Thursday, hours before the U.S. Open women’s semifinals were scheduled to be played in New York. There had been speculation in the tennis world that the tournament for the top eight singles players and top eight doubles teams could shift to Saudi Arabia, which has been pursuing opportunities in various sports, including tennis, and

September 07, 2023
Cancun, Mexico, will host the WTA Finals right before the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Spain
Sports

Carlos Alcaraz averts an early challenge from Alexander Zverev to return to the US Open semifinals

Carlos Alcaraz found himself in a hint of a predicament 35 minutes into his U.S. Open quarterfinal against Alexander Zverev on Wednesday night. At 3-all in the first set under the lights in Arthur Ashe Stadium, Zverev earned the first break points of the match. An opening. An opportunity to gain an early edge against the defending champion. And then — poof! — gone. Alcaraz dismissed those chances to hold, then gained a break himself in the next game by depositing an overhead that bounced into the stands. One more service hold arrived and, just like

September 07, 2023
Carlos Alcaraz averts an early challenge from Alexander Zverev to return to the US Open semifinals
Sports

It's so hot that the US Open adopted a new policy to partially close arena roofs

It got so hot and humid at the U.S. Open on Tuesday that the folks in charge adopted a new policy for the rest of this year’s tournament: They will partially shut the Arthur Ashe Stadium roof in extreme conditions to offer some extra shade. The temperature climbed above 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 Celsius) and the humidity topped 50% on Tuesday, making it the steamiest day of the two-week Grand Slam tournament in Flushing Meadows. The change to the roof policy was made during Coco Gauff’s 6-0, 6-2 victory over Jelena Ostapenko, when the conditions crossed

September 05, 2023
It's so hot that the US Open adopted a new policy to partially close arena roofs
Sports

Novak Djokovic beats Taylor Fritz at the US Open to reach his record 47th Grand Slam semifinal

Novak Djokovic reached his record 47th Grand Slam semifinal, breaking a tie with Roger Federer for the most by a man, by defeating Taylor Fritz 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 at the U.S. Open on a steamy Tuesday. Djokovic improved to 13-0 for his career in quarterfinals at Flushing Meadows — and to 8-0 against Fritz, an American who was seeded No. 9. The match was played with the Arthur Ashe Stadium retractable roof partially shut, which offered shade both for spectators and the two competitors on an afternoon when the temperature topped 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 Celsius)

September 05, 2023
Novak Djokovic beats Taylor Fritz at the US Open to reach his record 47th Grand Slam semifinal
Sports

Coco Gauff reaches her first US Open semifinal at age 19 by beating Jelena Ostapenko 6-0, 6-2

Coco Gauff dealt just fine with the heat, the humidity, her big-hitting opponent and the task of trying to reach the U.S. Open semifinals for the first time, defeating 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko 6-0, 6-2 on Tuesday. Gauff, a 19-year-old from Florida, is the first American teenager to reach the final four at Flushing Meadows since Serena Williams was the runner-up to her older sister, Venus, in 2001. This was the 16th victory in her past 17 matches for Gauff — a first-round exit at Wimbledon in July sure feels like ages ago. Her

September 05, 2023
Coco Gauff reaches her first US Open semifinal at age 19 by beating Jelena Ostapenko 6-0, 6-2
Sports

Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton are putting the 'US' in the US Open

Novak Djokovic gets why male tennis players from the United States are expected to win Grand Slam titles today, the way they did when Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors were around. And he gets — that’s not to say he agrees with — why anything less is not really acceptable to the country’s fans. “Of course, when you are used to champions and No. 1s in the world, Grand Slam winners, anything except that is not a success, right?” Djokovic said. “It’s a very high standard (and) criteria for these guys to

September 04, 2023
Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton are putting the 'US' in the US Open
Sports

Iga Swiatek's US Open title defense ends with a loss to Jelena Ostapenko in the fourth round

Iga Swiatek’s U.S. Open title defense ended with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 loss to Jelena Ostapenko in the fourth round on Sunday night. The loss also means Swiatek’s stay at No. 1 in the WTA rankings will end next week, when current No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka will rise to the top spot for the first time. Swiatek’s shots were off-target in Arthur Ashe Stadium and she had a difficult time handling the hard hitting from the 20th-seeded Ostapenko, who won the 2017 French Open. “I knew I have to play my game,” Ostapenko said after accumulating

September 04, 2023
Iga Swiatek's US Open title defense ends with a loss to Jelena Ostapenko in the fourth round
Sports

Carlos Alcaraz produces highlights and smiles during a US Open victory over Dan Evans

Even if Carlos Alcaraz was by no means perfect during a victory in the U.S. Open’s third round on Saturday — he dropped a set, after all — the defending champion produced enough bits of brilliance to keep himself smiling and prompt his opponent, Dan Evans, to chuck his racket a couple of times. Less than 12 hours after the man he’s expected to meet next weekend for the title, Novak Djokovic, needed to fashion a comeback from a two-set deficit to win, Alcaraz progressed to the fourth round at Flushing Meadows for the third consecutive

September 02, 2023
Carlos Alcaraz produces highlights and smiles during a US Open victory over Dan Evans
Sports

Novak Djokovic comes back after dropping the first 2 sets to beat Laslo Djere at the US Open

Novak Djokovic came all the way back from a two-set deficit to beat Laslo Djere 4-6, 4-6, 6-1, 6-1, 6-3 in the third round of the U.S. Open to avoid what would have been his earliest exit there since 2006. The match began under the lights in Arthur Ashe Stadium on Friday night and did not wrap up until more than 3 1/2 hours later, concluding just after 1:30 a.m. on Saturday. It was Djokovic’s eighth career victory after dropping the opening two sets of a match. He also improved to 38-11 in five-setters over his

September 02, 2023
Novak Djokovic comes back after dropping the first 2 sets to beat Laslo Djere at the US Open
Sports

US Open players differ on how to approach the stress of a match point. Swing away or stay safe?

One point from defeat against John Isner at the U.S. Open, Michael Mmoh faced a decision tennis players deal with all the time, whether on a public court or a Grand Slam stage: Swing away and go for broke? Or play it safe? Serving at 30-40 while trailing 5-4 in the fifth set Thursday, Mmoh chose to approach the moment as if it weren’t particularly special — even if losing that point would mean losing the second-round match. So he didn’t rear back and try to smack his biggest serve of the afternoon; he made sure

September 01, 2023
US Open players differ on how to approach the stress of a match point. Swing away or stay safe?
Sports

Caroline Wozniacki beats Petra Kvitova at the US Open shortly after coming out of retirement

When Caroline Wozniacki finished off the biggest victory of her still-fresh comeback following 3 1/2 years away from tennis, she sat in her U.S. Open sideline chair, leaned forward and covered her face with both hands. Then she leaned back, glanced over at her husband and her father in the stands, and smiled. Two gold chains dangled from her neck, each carrying a name written in cursive: Olivia, for her 2-year-old daughter, and James, for her 10-month-old son. Yes, Wozniacki clearly made the right choice to come out of retirement and try her hand at this

August 31, 2023
Caroline Wozniacki beats Petra Kvitova at the US Open shortly after coming out of retirement
Sports

Coco Gauff picks up her 13th win in 14 matches to stay on course to meet Iga Swiatek at the US Open

Coco Gauff used the phrase “when I was younger” after her second-round victory at the U.S. Open on Wednesday while discussing the perspective she’s gained at the ripe old age of 19. “I used to think,” she explained, “every match was life or death.” And now? Well, the American said after beating 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva of Russia 6-2, 6-3 in Arthur Ashe Stadium that losses are OK “as long as you learn from them.” Gauff is not getting much opportunity for that sort of learning lately — she’s won 13 of her past 14 contests, including

August 30, 2023
Coco Gauff picks up her 13th win in 14 matches to stay on course to meet Iga Swiatek at the US Open
Sports|Travel

Rafael Nadal's possible French Open farewell draws fans from all over the world

Rafael Nadal's fans have traveled from all over to be at Roland Garros for what might be his last French Open match this year

May 27, 2024
Rafael Nadal's possible French Open farewell draws fans from all over the world
Opinion|Sports

Can tennis, pickleball and padel co-exist? The folks in charge of the French Open think so

Let other folks fret about whether tennis might lose athletes and audiences to pickleball or padel

June 06, 2024
Can tennis, pickleball and padel co-exist? The folks in charge of the French Open think so
Opinion|Sports|Technology

Coco Gauff loses an argument with a French Open chair umpire and wants to see replays in tennis

Coco Gauff thinks it’s about time that tennis moved into the 21st century and relied on video replay technology at all events, the way many other sports do

June 06, 2024
Coco Gauff loses an argument with a French Open chair umpire and wants to see replays in tennis
News|Sports

American Peyton Stearns leads unseeded players pulling off upsets on a long day at the French Open

Unseeded American Peyton Stearns’ elimination of No. 10 Daria Kasatkina at the French Open was one of several losses for seeded women on a rainy day filled with matches

May 30, 2024
American Peyton Stearns leads unseeded players pulling off upsets on a long day at the French Open
News|Sports|World

Simona Halep tells the AP she was nervous about returning to tennis after her doping ban appeal

Two-time Grand Slam champion Simona Halep tells The Associated Press she was nervous while flying to her first tennis tournament in 1 1/2 years

April 10, 2024
Simona Halep tells the AP she was nervous about returning to tennis after her doping ban appeal
News|Sports|World

Saudi Arabia will host the women's tennis WTA Finals for the next three years

Saudi Arabia will host the WTA Finals as part of a three-year deal with the women’s professional tennis tour that will increase the prize money for this November’s season-ending championship to a record $15.25 million

April 03, 2024
Saudi Arabia will host the women's tennis WTA Finals for the next three years
Business|News|Sports|World

The four Grand Slams, the two tours and Saudi Arabia are all hoping to revamp tennis

Tennis could be on the verge of massive structural change if one of two separate proposals formulated by the four Grand Slam tournaments and the WTA and ATP professional tours ends up moving forward

March 20, 2024
The four Grand Slams, the two tours and Saudi Arabia are all hoping to revamp tennis
News|Sports|World

Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova urge women's tennis to stay out of Saudi Arabia

Hall of Famers Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova are calling on the women’s tennis tour to stay out of Saudi Arabia

January 25, 2024
Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova urge women's tennis to stay out of Saudi Arabia
News|Sports|World

OnlyFans has a new content creator: tennis player Nick Kyrgios

Tennis pro Nick Kyrgios is setting up a free-to-access OnlyFans page

December 07, 2023
OnlyFans has a new content creator: tennis player Nick Kyrgios
News|Sports|World

Rafael Nadal will reveal his comeback plans soon after missing nearly all of 2023

Rafael Nadal says he is sure he’ll be returning to competition after missing nearly all of 2023 with a hip injury that required surgery

November 16, 2023
Rafael Nadal will reveal his comeback plans soon after missing nearly all of 2023

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