4:57 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — A rise in tennis participation around the United States over the past three years has been boosted by increases among Hispanic, Black and Asian players, the U.S. Tennis Association said Thursday. Citing information from the Physical Activity Council Study on Sports and Physical Activity administered by Sports
1:56 PM ET Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Top-ranked Novak Djokovic stayed unbeaten this season by defeating Hubert Hurkacz 6-3, 7-5 to advance to the semifinals at the Dubai Championships on Thursday. The five-time Dubai champion’s 20th straight victory sets up a possible last-four match against former No. 1 Daniil Medvedev, who was
3:58 AM ET Ed DoveSpecial to ESPN Close Ed Dove is a writer and scout who has a deep and enduring passion for African sport, politics and literature. Instagram: @EddyDove22, Facebook: @EddyDoveAfrica Editor’s note: This story contains descriptions of violence. Ghana’s wheelchair tennis team have criticised the country’s government, saying they have not received adequate
11:47 PM ET Associated Press ACAPULCO, Mexico — Fourth-ranked Casper Ruud lost to qualifier Taro Daniel 7-5, 2-6, 7-6 (5) in a round-of-16 match at the Mexico Open on Wednesday. For Daniel, the victory was his first against a top-10 player and propelled him into the quarterfinals. The 30-year-old Daniel, ranked 125 in the ATP,
8:06 PM ET Associated Press Facebook Twitter Facebook Messenger Pinterest Email print SANTIAGO, Chile — Jaume Munar of Spain upset top-seeded Lorenzo Musetti 6-4, 6-4 to advance to the quarterfinals at the clay-court Chile Open on Wednesday. Musetti, an Italian who is ranked No. 18, slipped to 1-3 on his stops in South America this
7:08 PM ET Associated Press AUSTIN, Texas — Katie Volynets saved a match point and grabbed the last seven games to come back and beat third-seeded Anastasia Potapova 5-7, 6-2, 7-5 at the ATX Open on Wednesday to reach her first WTA quarterfinal. Volynets, a 21-year-old born in California who is ranked 92nd, was just
5:16 PM ET Associated Press LAS VEGAS — An exhibition tennis match that originally was supposed to pit Rafael Nadal against Carlos Alcaraz and was scheduled for Sunday in Last Vegas has been canceled and ticket purchases can be refunded. Organizers announced Wednesday that the event is being scrapped because Alcaraz hurt his right hamstring.
1:11 PM ET Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Top-ranked Novak Djokovic eased into the quarterfinals at the Dubai Championships by beating Tallon Griekspoor 6-2, 6-3 on Wednesday. Djokovic extended his winning streak to 19 matches in tidy fashion a day after being pushed to a third-set tiebreaker by 130th-ranked Tomas Machac. The 35-year-old
11:06 AM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — Former chair umpire Jake Garner will be the new tournament referee for the US Open as of this year’s tournament, responsible for making the draws, preparing the daily match schedule and overseeing all officiating. The U.S. Tennis Association announced Garner’s promotion Wednesday. Garner was a chair umpire
10:15 PM ET Associated Press ACAPULCO, Mexico — Matteo Berrettini won the seven games he played on Tuesday before Alex Molcan retired with a wrist injury in the second round of the Mexican Open. The 26-year-old Italian, playing his first match since he lost to Andy Murray in the first round of the Australian Open
11:16 PM ET Associated Press AUSTIN, Texas — Top-seeded Magda Linette was eliminated from the ATX Open in the first round with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 loss to 88th-ranked Varvara Gracheva on Tuesday. Linette, ranked a career-high 21st this week, has lost three of her past five matches. That follows a five-match winning streak that
9:16 PM ET Associated Press SANTIAGO, Chile — Former No. 3-ranked and 2020 US Open champion Dominic Thiem has continued to struggle on clay courts in South America as he works his way back from right wrist and abdominal injuries. Thiem, a 29-year-old Austrian, lost to Cristian Garin on Tuesday in the first round of
5:49 PM ET Top seed Carlos Alcaraz has pulled out of this week’s ATP 500 event in Acapulco with a strained hamstring, the U.S. Open champion said on Tuesday. The Spanish world number two, who was scheduled to play his opening match later on Tuesday, picked up the injury during his loss to Cameron Norrie
12:52 PM ET ESPN News Services Rafael Nadal pulled out of upcoming hard-court tournaments in Indian Wells, California, and Miami because of the left hip flexor injury that has sidelined him since the Australian Open. The 22-time Grand Slam champion announced Tuesday on Twitter that he would not be competing in the two U.S. events.
10:55 PM ET Associated Press Andrey Rublev began his Dubai Championships title defense by spoiling Filip Krajinovic’s birthday when he won 7-5, 6-2 on Monday. Krajinovic, who turned 31, raced 5-2 ahead. The second-seeded Rublev then reeled off 11 of the next 13 games. Rublev next faces Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, who beat Malek Jaziri in
7:15 PM ET Associated Press AUSTIN, Texas — Women’s professional tennis made its WTA tournament debut in the capital of Texas on Monday, and Katie Volynets beat Alison Riske-Amritraj 6-3, 3-6, 6-0 in an all-American matchup to reach the second round of the ATX Open. The 21-year-old Volynets, ranked a career-high 92nd this week, was
11:33 AM ET ESPN News Services Novak Djokovic is atop the men’s tennis rankings for the 378th week, breaking Steffi Graf’s record for most weeks as world No. 1. “It’s surreal to be that many weeks No. 1, to match Graf — one of the all-time greats,” Djokovic said Sunday. “Just being amongst these legendary
8:01 PM ET Associated Press RIO DE JANEIRO — Cameron Norrie waited a week for his revenge against top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz, rallying from a set and 3-0 down to beat the Spanish teenager in the Rio Open final on Sunday for his first title of the year. Second-seeded Norrie won 5-7, 6-4, 7-5 for the
10:44 PM ET M.A. VoepelESPN.com Close M.A. Voepel covers the WNBA, women’s college basketball, and other college sports for espnW. Voepel began covering women’s basketball in 1984, and has been with ESPN since 1996. Tennis superstar Serena Williams received the Jackie Robinson Sports Award, and Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner was recognized at Saturday’s NAACP
6:53 PM ET Associated Press RIO DE JANEIRO — Second-seeded Cameron Norrie advanced to the final of the Rio Open after beating Bernabe Zapata Miralles 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (3) on Saturday. Norrie’s third final of the year on Sunday will be against defending champion Carlos Alcaraz or Nicolas Jarry. Norrie lost to Alcaraz in the