Page 31 - Tennis

As Serena leaves, Nadal loses, Federer and Djokovic absent, is era over?

Serena Williams, you might have heard, played what's expected to be her last match at the U.S. Open. Rafael Nadal lost in the fourth round. Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer (more on them later) weren't even in the tournament. Those four players dominated, and were the main draws, in tennis for decades, collecting a total of 86 Grand Slam singles titles, each with at least 20. And so, as the quarterfinals began at Flushing Meadows on Tuesday without any member of that quartet present, it made sense to ask: Is this the end of an era? The 36-year-old Nadal sounded a philosophical note about the topic after he was bounced by 24-year-old American Frances Tiafoe 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 on Monday. "Some depart, others come and the world keeps going. It's a natural cycle," said Nadal, who noted that his wife is pregnant with their first child and so he isn't sure when he will play next. "It's always the same. The same one have been up there several years; others are coming and we will be leavin

Caroline Garcia beats Coco Gauff to reach US Open Grand Slam semifinals

Caroline Garcia knows how it can feel to be a teen in tennis getting a ton of attention and outsized expectations, the way Coco Gauff does now. One big difference: Garcia, now 28, became an overnight sensation more than a decade ago thanks to one particularly noteworthy performance on a big stage and long before she achieved the sorts of things Gauff has at 18. On Tuesday night at the U.S. Open, Garcia took charge and never really let Gauff or the crowd get fully involved. From the get-go, Garcia played high-stakes tennis and put strokes where she wanted, sometimes right at Gauff's feet, sometimes well out of reach, and reached the first Grand Slam semifinal of her career with a 6-3, 6-4 victory at Arthur Ashe Stadium. "It kind of got away from me," said the 12th-seeded Gauff, an American who reached the French Open final in June. "It was all her. ... I was striking the ball really clean. You're playing someone, off the bat, they're standing on top of the baseline and ripping ...

Karolina Pliskova outlasts Victoria Azarenka to enter US Open quarterfinals

In a battle between former World No.1 players, No. 22 seed Karolina Pliskova outlasted No. 26 Victoria Azarenka to reach the US Open quarterfinals

Frances Tiafoe stuns No 2 seed Rafael Nadal, enters US Open quarterfinals

Frances Tiafoe of America stunned four-time champion Rafael Nadal on Monday at the US Open to reach his second Grand Slam quarterfinals

Coco Gauff beats China's Zhang Shuai to reach US Open quarterfinals

Coco Gauff raised a fist, then wagged her right index finger, responding to, and riling up even more, a loud-louder-loudest Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd that was standing and screaming. Gauff's US Open opponent, Zhang Shuai, covered both ears with her hands to shield them from what she described later as a "Boom!" of sound. Gauff and her fans were reacting excitedly to quite a point, one in which the 18-year-old Floridian raced to her right for a defensive forehand, then changed directions to sprint and slide into a backhand that drew a netted volley from Zhang. Just four points later, Gauff was a quarterfinalist at Flushing Meadows for the first time. Gauff, the French Open runner-up in June, came back in each set to beat China's Zhang 7-5 7-5 on Sunday to become the youngest American to make it this far at the US Open since Melanie Oudin was 17 in 2009. "Here, I can't hear myself scream. Makes me want to do it more. I think I'm feeding off the momentum a lot. I enjoy it," said No. 1

Tennis star Serena Williams forever changed how brands see female athletes

Williams lost to Australia's Ajla Tomljanovic in three sets at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York on Friday

Serena, Venus Williams lose to Czech pair in 1st round of US Open doubles

Serena and Venus Williams traded fist bumps or palm slaps and chatted between points. They smiled while conversing in their seats at changeovers. When their first doubles match together in 4 1/2 years ended with a loss at the U.S Open on Thursday night, the siblings hugged each other, then left the court to a standing ovation. The Williams sisters were eliminated by the Czech pair of Lucie Hradecka and Linda Noskova 7-6 (5), 6-4 at Flushing Meadows. "I was speechless when I found out I'm going to face these two. I mean, they're legends. And I was always such a big fan of them, especially Serena. She has been my idol since ever, probably," said Noskova, a 17-year-old making her Grand Slam debut in doubles. "So I was really happy, excited, but kind of scared, to face them." Arthur Ashe Stadium had never hosted a first-round doubles match for women or men, during the night or day until this one featuring two members of one family who have combined to claim 14 Grand Slam titles in .

Victoria Azarenka beats Marta Kostyuk to reach the third round of US Open

Two-time Grand Slam winner Victoria Azarenka, who's reached three finals at the US Open, eased into Round 3 at the Flushing Meadows with a straight sets victory over Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk

Serena Williams beats No. 2 seed Kontaveit at US Open to reach 3rd round

Serena Williams can call it evolving or retiring or whatever she wants. And she can be coy about whether or not this U.S. Open will actually mark the end of her playing days. Those 23 Grand Slam titles earned that right. If she keeps playing like this, who knows how long this farewell will last? No matter what happens once her trip to Flushing Meadows is over, here is what is important to know after Wednesday night: The 40-year-old Williams is still around, she's still capable of terrific tennis, she's still winning and, like the adoring spectators whose roars filled Arthur Ashe Stadium again she's ready for more. Williams eliminated No. 2 seed Anett Kontaveit 7-6 (4), 2-6, 6-2 in the U.S. Open's second round to ensure that she will play at least one more singles match at what she's hinted will be the last tournament of her illustrious career. There's still a little left in me, Williams said with a smile during her on-court interview, then acknowledged during her post-match news

World No. 3 Maria Sakkari, 2021 finalist Leylah Fernandez ousted at US Open

The last two women's champions were already out of the U.S. Open and now the 2021 runner-up and another semifinalist are gone. Top players are falling fast in Flushing Meadows, and Serena Williams took care of another one Wednesday night. Hours before Williams beat No. 2 seed Anett Kontaveit, third-seeded Maria Sakkari was ousted 3-6, 7-5, 7-5 by Wang Xiyu of China in the second round. Then, minutes after Williams' victory, No. 14 Leylah Fernandez was knocked off 6-3, 7-6 (3) by Liudmila Samsonova, a year after the Canadian lost to Emma Raducanu in the final. Fernandez only recently returned to action after missing much of the summer with a stress fracture in her right foot. She would have played Williams if both reached the fourth round but knew that would be difficult, estimating her game was only about 30%. It's hard to get to the highest level, but it's so easy to get back down and that's what happening right now, Fernandez said. It's not just happening to her. Raducanu and

Venus Williams, Emma Raducanu, Naomi Osaka all out in US Open 1st round

The welcome and support for Venus Williams in Arthur Ashe Stadium on Tuesday afternoon were not the same as they were for her sister, Serena, a night earlier. Nor was the result. Venus, who turned 42 in June, has not made any pronouncements about her future in tennis, unlike her younger sibling, and while she has been successful and influential, too a seven-time Grand Slam champion; a Black woman in a predominantly white sport the fanfare and attention are not the same. Playing in front of thousands of empty blue seats in an arena quite silent at the start, although growing louder later, Venus bowed out in the first round of the U.S. Open for the second consecutive appearance, losing 6-1, 7-6 (5) to Alison Van Uytvanck. She means so much to female tennis. Tennis, in general, Van Uytvanck said. She's a legend. This was the 23rd trip to Flushing Meadows for Venus, who made it to the final in 1997 as a teen then won the trophy in 2000 and 2001, and her record 91st time participating

4-time Slam champ Naomi Osaka loses to Danielle Collins at US Open

Naomi Osaka walked off the court, headed toward the locker room and layed down, draping a towel over her face. Out-hit in Arthur Ashe Stadium by another big hitter, Danielle Collins, two-time U.S. Open champion Osaka was left to contemplate a second consecutive first-round loss at a Grand Slam tournament. Collins reached her first major final at the Australian Open in January and displayed that same sort of hard-court talent with a 7-6 (5), 6-3 victory over Osaka in a shotmaking showdown that ended after Tuesday turned to Wednesday at Flushing Meadows. I'm the type of person that thinks a lot, to the point where I overthink. Sometimes when I play matches, I have to tell myself to stop thinking, just go more on instinct, said Osaka, who's been bothered by a bad back lately. I feel like I just have to chill a little bit, because there's a lot of like random chaos in my head right now. Last season, Osaka took two extended mental health breaks, including after her third-round exit in Ne

US Open: Dimitrov beats Johnson, takes revenge for Wimbledon ouster

The Bulgarian started and finished with a flourish and was barely troubled by the American to start Day 2 at the US Open

Serena Williams not done yet; wins 1st round match of her last US Open

They came from far and wide for Serena no last name required, befitting someone as much an icon as superstar athlete to see her practice and play and, it turned out, win a match at the U.S. Open, turning out in record numbers to fill Arthur Ashe Stadium and shout and applaud and pump their fists right along with her. Serena Williams is not ready to say goodbye just yet. Nor, clearly, are her fans. And she heard them, loud and clear. In her first match at what is expected to be the last U.S. Open and last tournament of her remarkable playing career, even if she insists that she won't quite say so, Williams overcame a shaky start to overpower Danka Kovinic 6-3, 6-3 amid an atmosphere more akin to a festival than a farewell. What memory will stick with her the most from the evening? When I walked out, the reception was really overwhelming. It was loud and I could feel it in my chest. It was a really good feeling, said the owner of six U.S. Open championships and 23 Grand Slam titl

US Open: Caroline Garcia opens with a win; Maria Sakkari registers victory

No.17 seed Caroline Garcia opened her 2022 US Open campaign with a 6-2, 6-4 scoreline while Maria Sakkari survived a scare as she advanced with a three sets victory in early women's singles

US Open: Unseeded Murray advances; Wolf beats Bautista Agut in first upset

Starting as an unseeded contender, British multiple-time Grand Slam winner Andy Murray advanced to the second round at the US Open, beating No. 24-seed Francisco Cerundolo in a first clash

Serena Williams' example: Tennis icon's impact felt in Black America

In 2016, responding to the fatal police shootings of two Black men just a day apart, Serena Williams joined a small chorus of top Black athletes in speaking out. I won't be silent! she vowed. Have we not gone through enough, opened so many doors, impacted billions of lives? Williams asked in a Facebook post in the wake of the back-to-back killings of Philando Castile just outside St. Paul, Minnesota, and Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I realized we must stride on for it's not how far we have come but how much further still we have to go, she wrote. That wasn't the only time Williams would wade into the politically thorny topic. It's an outspokenness for which other Black athletes, from Muhammad Ali to Colin Kaepernick, have paid a steep professional price. After nearly three decades in the public eye, few can match Williams' array of accomplishments, medals and awards. Through it all, the 23-time Grand Slam title winner hasn't let the public forget that she's a Black ..

Retiring Serena Williams believes she will always be involved in tennis

Retiring legend Serena Williams has indicated she "will always have some sort of involvement" in tennis as she prepares for the US Open, in what will be the final Grand Slam of her career

Injured Sania Mirza pulls out of US Open, puts retirement plans on hold

ania had declared that 2022 would be her last season in professional tennis but the six-time Grand Slam champion hinted that the latest developments may change her plans to retire

Djokovic will not play in US Open, indicates his official website

World no. 1 tennis player Novak Djokovic will miss the US Open, scheduled to be played from August 29, according to his official website