Tennis

4:05 PM ET ESPN News Services ROME — World No. 1 Novak Djokovic was furious with the chair umpire for not suspending play as rain trickled down during his Italian Open second-round match against American Taylor Fritz on Tuesday. The 33-year-old Serb made his feelings clear after he was broken when serving for victory in

4:49 PM ET Associated Press ROME — Rafael Nadal joined the growing number of tennis players expressing doubts about competing in the Tokyo Olympics. Third-ranked Nadal, in Rome for the Italian Open, said Tuesday that his status for the Tokyo Games is uncertain. “I don’t know yet. Honestly, I can’t give you a clear answer

10:46 AM ET Associated Press ROME — Japanese tennis player Kei Nishikori has doubts about whether the IOC and local organizers are doing enough to plan for a worst-case scenario of “hundreds” or “thousands” of coronavirus cases at the Tokyo Olympics. Or whether it’s even still feasible to hold the games when a state of

7:44 PM ET Associated Press ROME — Seven months ago, Jannik Sinner twice had chances to accomplish something few tennis players have been capable of: taking a set from Rafael Nadal at the French Open. The Italian teenager served for the first set at 6-5 in the Roland Garros quarterfinals and was up a break

3:19 PM ET Rachel MarcusESPN Editor Close ESPN Editor Joined ESPN in 2013 Maryland native, Syracuse graduate Welcome back to the NFL, Tim Tebow. Nine years years after his final regular season game — and more than 300 minor league baseball games later — Tebow, 33, is expected to sign a one-year deal with the

11:24 AM ET Associated Press There are no American men in the ATP’s Top 30 for the first time in the nearly half-century of computerized tennis rankings. The highest-ranked man from the U.S., Taylor Fritz, slid one place to No. 31 on Monday after a first-round loss at last week’s Madrid Masters. Next is John

6:51 AM ET Former world No. 1 Andy Murray will play in next month’s Queen’s Club Championships in London, organisers said on Monday. The 33-year-old Murray, who has won the ATP 500 event five times, last played in March at the Rotterdam Open, where he was beaten by Russian Andrey Rublev in the round of

4:58 PM ET Associated Press MADRID — Alexander Zverev continued his impressive form going into the French Open by winning his second Madrid Open title on Sunday. After beating top-seeded Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals and fourth-ranked Dominic Thiem in the semifinals, Zverev rallied to defeat Matteo Berrettini 6-7 (8), 6-4, 6-3 for his second

9:58 AM ET Associated Press ROME — Naomi Osaka is conflicted over whether the Tokyo Olympics should be held amid the coronavirus pandemic. The second-ranked tennis player, who represents Japan, was asked about the games at the Italian Open on Sunday. “Of course I would say I want the Olympics to happen, because I’m an

3:47 PM ET ESPN News Services MADRID — Aryna Sabalenka is glad she changed her mind about playing at the Madrid Open. Two weeks after nearly withdrawing from the tournament because of a muscle injury, Sabalenka was standing on center court with the winner’s trophy in her hands on Saturday. Sabalenka defeated top-ranked Ash Barty

12:57 PM ET ESPN News Services MADRID — Alexander Zverev followed his triumph over Rafael Nadal with a win over Dominic Thiem to reach another Madrid Open final on Saturday. The No. 6-ranked Zverev defeated No. 4 Thiem 6-3, 6-4 to reach the final again after beating Thiem for the 2018 title. Zverev broke Thiem’s

4:09 PM ET Associated Press Sofia Kenin no longer will be coached by her father, announcing just weeks before the French Open she is “putting together a new technical team.” Kenin, the Australian Open champion and French Open runner-up in 2020, wrote about the switch on Instagram on Friday. The post included a photo of

12:01 PM ET Associated Press MADRID — Rafael Nadal‘s bid to reach a 75th semifinal at a Masters event ended Friday with a 6-4, 6-4 loss to Alexander Zverev. The sixth-ranked German beat Nadal for the first time on clay and for the third time in a row overall. Zverev broke Nadal’s serve twice in

4:45 PM ET Associated Press MADRID — Less than a month from his 35th birthday, Rafael Nadal says he is not thinking about retirement at all. Speaking by video conference Thursday after winning his fourth Laureus Award, the 20-time Grand Slam champion was asked how many more years he wants to play. “Well, thanks for

11:19 AM ET Associated Press MADRID — Rafael Nadal got through another young opponent and showed signs he was getting closer to his best form on clay as he defeated Alexei Popyrin 6-3, 6-3 to make it to the Madrid Open quarterfinals on Thursday. The women’s top-ranked player, Ashleigh Barty, meanwhile, cruised into the final

12:22 PM ET Associated Press MADRID — In a much-anticipated battle of generations, Rafael Nadal showed he is still clearly the man to beat in Spanish tennis, cruising to a 6-1, 6-2 win over teenage sensation Carlos Alcaraz in the second round of the Madrid Open on Wednesday. Nadal, seeking his sixth title in Madrid

7:15 PM ET Associated Press LONDON — The International Tennis Federation is seeking a new host city for the finals of the Billie Jean King Cup, formerly the Fed Cup, after Budapest backed out because of COVID-19 concerns. The Hungarian capital was due to host the 12-nation tournament but the event has twice been postponed

6:15 PM ET Associated Press MADRID — Looking fresh again after taking a few weeks off, U.S. Open champion Dominic Thiem cruised into the third round of the Madrid Open with a comfortable 6-1, 6-3 win over American Marcos Giron on Tuesday. Thiem was in control from the start at the “Magic Box” center court