Tennis

Jan 22, 2023 MELBOURNE, Australia — A first-time Australian Open champion will lift the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup on Saturday, regardless of whether it’s Elena Rybakina or Aryna Sabalenka. Editor’s Picks It’s Rybakina’s second final appearance in the past three Slams, and she’s 6-0 in major matches against seeded opponents since the start of Wimbledon

2:37 AM ET Associated Press MELBOURNE, Australia — Of all his considerable talents, Novak Djokovic’s ability to cast aside whatever appears to stand in his way might be the most valuable. So forget about the potential distraction of his father’s decision to stay away from Rod Laver Arena for Djokovic’s semifinal against unseeded American Tommy

5:12 AM ET Britain’s Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid captured their 16th major title as they beat the Dutch pairing of Maikel Scheffers and Ruben Spaargaren in straight sets to win the Australian Open wheelchair men’s doubles title on Friday. Hewett and Reid were dominant in their display which saw them clinch their fourth successive

2:37 AM ET Associated Press MELBOURNE, Australia — Stefanos Tsitsipas had a harder time strictly following all of the rules than he did outplaying his opponent in the early going, then recovered after blowing two match points late in the third set, and eventually reached the final at the Australian Open for the first time

10:25 PM ET Associated Press MELBOURNE, Australia — The Brazilian pair of Luisa Stefani and Rafael Matos beat India’s Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna 7-6 (2), 6-2 on Friday to win the Australian Open mixed doubles title in Mirza’s last match at a Grand Slam tournament before she retires. Mirza, who has won six Grand

9:14 AM ET MELBOURNE, Australia — Tommy Paul is the first American man since Andy Roddick in 2009 to make the Australian Open semifinals. He is the lone American left in either singles draw. But he’s still managing to fly under the radar at this tournament. So low is Paul flying, that just minutes after

7:47 AM ET Self-proclaimed “obnoxious soccer mom” Victoria Azarenka was ordered to take off her Paris Saint-Germain shirt at the Australian Open on Thursday before bowing out of the Grand Slam with a straight-set defeat to Elena Rybakina in the semifinals. The 33-year-old two-time champion has worn shirts showing support for French Ligue 1 champions

5:52 AM ET Associated Press MELBOURNE, Australia — Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina reached her second final in the past three Grand Slam tournaments by beating Victoria Azarenka 7-6 (4), 6-3 at the Australian Open on Thursday. Rybakina added to what already was an impressive run through a string of top opponents. Azarenka, the champion at

5:19 AM ET Britain’s Alfie Hewett reached the finals of both the singles and doubles wheelchair draws at the Australian Open after winning his semifinals matches on Thursday. Hewett, men’s No. 1 in singles, beat Japan’s Takuya Miki 6-1, 6-1 to enter his 13th Grand Slam singles final and his third successive Australian Open final.

1:20 AM ET Red-hot Australian Open favourite Novak Djokovic’s father has posed with supporters of Russian president Vladimir Putin outside Melbourne Park. A group of fans, including a man holding a Russian flag with Putin’s face on it, gathered on stairs outside the grand slam complex on Wednesday. In a video posted to YouTube on

1:20 AM ET Local wildcards are through to the Australian Open men’s doubles final for the second straight year with Rinky Hijikata and Jason Kubler extending their stunning run at Melbourne Park. Hijikata and Kubler have a chance to emulate Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis‘ unlikely title triumph last year after downing eighth seeds Horacio

11:52 PM ET Associated Press MELBOURNE, Australia — Four people were kicked out of the Australian Open after displaying Russian flags — which have been banned from Melbourne Park — and threatening security guards, police and Tennis Australia said Thursday. A Victoria Police spokeswoman said the four have not been charged but were evicted from

6:30 PM ET Associated Press MADRID — Former Barcelona defender Gerard Piqué’s investment group Kosmos Tennis said Wednesday it has filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the International Tennis Federation for ending their partnership to organize the Davis Cup. Kosmos, which is chaired by Piqué, filed a suit at the Court of Arbitration for Sport blaming

8:30 AM ET Associated Press WIMBLEDON, England — The men’s doubles format at Wimbledon has been changed to best of three sets to bring it in line with the other three Grand Slam tournaments. The All England Club announced the switch from best of five sets Wednesday and said the reduction could attract more players

3:26 AM ET ESPN News Services MELBOURNE, Australia — Tommy Paul received a lot less attention than his younger, less-experienced, opponent, Ben Shelton, heading into their all-American quarterfinal at the Australian Open. Perhaps that was a product of the fascination with the out-of-nowhere Shelton: Just 20, and less than a year after winning an NCAA

9:14 PM ET ESPN News Services MELBOURNE, Australia — Two days after advancing to her first Grand Slam tournament quarterfinal, unseeded Magda Linette has gone one better and is into the Australian Open semifinals. The 30-year-old Linette beat Karolina Pliskova 6-3, 7-5 on Wednesday, adding the former No. 1 to the list of top players

11:16 AM ET Stefanos Tsitsipas is into the semifinals of the Australian Open and feeling confident. Following Tuesday’s match, he extended an invite to two-time Oscar nominee Margot Robbie to come along and watch one of his matches. Tsitsipas had just defeated Jiri Lehecka in straight sets (6-3, 7-6, 6-4) in a mere 2 hours,

5:52 AM ET Former World No. 1 Novak Djokovic has said he does not “need to prove anything to anyone” as he responded to people saying he is “faking” his injury at the Australian Open. Djokovic was dominant in a straight set win against Australian Alex de Minaur on Monday to extend his winning run