Tennis - Page 3

Zhang Gaoli, the former head of the Beijing Winter Olympics steering group who missing tennis star Peng Shuai accused of raping her, received a front-row seat and a coveted Party “elder” position at this week’s Chinese Communist Party Congress, his first public appearance since Peng’s public accusations last year.

Roger Federer is retiring from professional tennis at age 41 after a series of knee operations, closing a career in which he won 20 Grand Slam titles, finished five seasons ranked No. 1 and helped create a golden era of men’s tennis with rivals Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

CINCINNATI (AP) – Novak Djokovic pulled out of next week’s hard-court tournament in Cincinnati on Friday because he has not gotten any COVID-19 vaccine shots and so is not allowed to travel to the United States.

Serena Williams lamented that she would not be retiring from tennis to give more time to building a family if she “were a guy.” 

Outspoken tennis great John McEnroe is blasting autocratic politicians for denying unvaxed tennis star Novak Djokovic’s entry into the USA.

Wimbledon has reportedly told supporters of Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai that they are not welcome to wear t-shirts, hold signs, or talk to the media about the player who vanished from sight after accusing a high Chinese official of rape.

Australian tennis sensation Nick Kyrgios admits that he spit in the direction of a fan at Wimbledon on Tuesday, but he says the fan was taunting him.

Russian doubles tennis player Natela Dzalamidze found a simple solution to widespread bans against Russian players in international sports after the invasion of Ukraine: she changed her nationality to Georgian and will therefore be allowed to play at Wimbledon with her Serbian doubles partner, Aleksandra Krunic.

French Open tournament director Amelie Mauresmo apologized Thursday for saying that men’s tennis had more “appeal” than women’s tennis.

Wimbledon announced that it has dropped the “Miss” or “Mrs” that used to appear ahead of a champion’s name on its women’s honor board.

Venus Williams has a new crusade for equal pay with male players. But her sudden concern for equal pay conflicts with her own past experienes.

Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) CEO Steve Simon said on Sunday that tournaments will remain suspended in China until 2023. The WTA canceled all tournaments in China in December 2021 to protest China’s treatment of women’s tennis champion Peng Shuai after she accused former Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli of sexual assault.

The world’s top-ranked male tennis player, Novak Djokovic, condemned Wimbledon organizers on Thursday for banning Russian and Belarussian players from participating in the tournament, calling the move “crazy.”

A brawl broke out after a tennis match in Ghana when a top teen tennis player slapped his opponent after a losing game. Video of the incident shows top-seeded French tennis player Michael Kouame, 15, slapping his opponent, Ghana’s Raphael

World number one Ashleigh Barty announced her immediate retirement from tennis Wednesday. The Australian champion is just 25. The first home-grown winner of the Australian Open in 44 years made the surprise announcement just months after she joined elite ranks

Serbian tennis pro Novak Djokovic has been given the green light to play at the French Open despite being unvaccinated for the coronavirus.

The neo-McCarthyism against Russian civilians marches on with the news that tennis player Daniil Medvedev will be blacklisted from Wimbledon unless he denounces Vladimir Putin.

Tennis star Naomi Osaka became visibly upset and emotional on Saturday after a heckler in the stands shouted, “Naomi, you suck!” during a match.

Ira Shostakovich, an 11-year Ukrainian training to be an elite tennis player, fled her war-torn homeland and found supporters in California.

Novak Djokovic withdrew from the BNP Paribas Open because the U.S. is still requiring foreign visitors to have a coronavirus vaccination.

Ukrainian tennis star Sergiy Stakhovsky has set aside his tennis racket to pick up a gun and join Ukraine’s military to fight Russia.

Ukrainian tennis star Elina Svitolina announced Tuesday that she does not intend to play against Russian or Belarussian players.

Russian tennis star Andrey Rublev turned to a news camera and wrote “No war please” on its wide glass faceplate.

Top-ranked tennis champion Novak Djokovic broke his silence after his detention and deportation from Australia in an interview published by the BBC on Tuesday, defining himself as not against vaccinations generally but unconvinced that currently available Chinese coronavirus vaccine products are right for him.

Serbian pro tennis player Novak Djokovic is reportedly doing a 180 on vaccinations and is considering taking the jab.

Fans at the Australian Open were asked to remove tee shirts with the slogan “Where is Peng Shuai?” an allusion to the continuing mystery surrounding the whereabouts of a Chinese tennis star who accused that country’s vice president of rape.

Tennis Australia officials expressed deep “regret” Tuesday about the saga surrounding Novak Djokovic’s entry and ultimate deportation from the country.

Top-ranked tennis player Novak Djokovic returned to his native Serbia on Monday, receiving a hero’s welcome from a throng of fans after the Australian government blocked him from participating in the Australian Open and deported him over a coronavirus vaccination dispute.

Australia’s federal treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, confirmed in an interview on Monday that tennis star Novak Djokovic received a valid Australian visa when he entered the country in early January, but claimed a “computer” was responsible for the error.

A “disappointed” Novak Djokovic said Sunday he accepts a court has dismissed his deportation challenge and acknowledged his hopes of playing at the Australian Open are over.

Novak Djokovic will be deported from Australia. The decision came Sunday after Federal Court judges upheld Canberra’s decision to cancel the unvaccinated Serbian player’s visa.

Australia returned Novak Djokovic to detention on Saturday, saying the tennis star’s opposition to vaccination could cause “civil unrest”.

Australia’s Immigration Minister Alex Hawke used his personal power Friday to cancel Novak Djokovic’s visa, sparking the Serbian tennis star to file an immediate injunction against the decision ahead of his return to enforced detention.

The German newspaper Der Spiegel reported on Tuesday that it had found evidence suggesting that someone had tampered with PCR test results showing tennis star Novak Djokovic had tested positive for Chinese coronavirus on December 16.

Novak Djokovic released a statement Wednesday in which he admitted to knowingly attending a media interview last month after testing positive for coronavirus.

Organizers of the Australian Open on Tuesday officially granted Novak Djokovic the top seed at the tournament, which begins next Monday, even as the country’s Immigration Ministry threatens to abruptly deport him for not consuming a Chinese coronavirus vaccine product.