Page 3 - Us Open

US Open peers say Venus Williams' greatness matters more than her age

It's a given that much of the coverage and attention devoted to Venus Williams' return to the U.S. Open, where play begins Sunday, has focused and will focus on how old she is. The American is, after all, 45, an age at which no one has competed in singles in New York since 1981. That, in and of itself, is noteworthy. And yet there is plenty more that is significant about her first appearance at a Grand Slam tournament in two full years, regardless of how Williams plays in Arthur Ashe Stadium on Monday night when meets Karolina Muchova, the 2023 French Open runner-up and a two-time semifinalist in New York. All of this is happening shortly after Williams made it back to the tour at all, 16 months after playing an official match anywhere and less than a year after she had surgery for uterine fibroids. Venus Williams is at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in 2 years. It's just really, I would say, inspiring, said Naomi Osaka, 27, a four-time Grand Slam champion. My only th

US women dominate Grand Slams; can an American man win the 2025 US Open?

If there's such a thing as momentum from tournament to tournament in tennis, the American men have some right now. Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton, Frances Tiafoe and Tommy Paul certainly are getting within reach of ending the country's unprecedented Grand Slam men's title drought, so maybe they're finally ready to win one of those trophies if anyone other than Jannik Sinner or Carlos Alcaraz is ever going to again, that is at the US Open, which gets going on Sunday. "We have a really strong group. We're closer; the closest we've been in a long time," said Fritz, a 27-year-old from California who is seeded No. 4 in New York and was the the runner-up to Sinner there a year ago. "We have several players who are at the caliber it takes to win a Grand Slam title. We're very close. But that last little bit is obviously the hardest part of it." It's been 22 years since an American man won a Grand Slam title ======================================== Fritz's appearance in the 2024 US Open fin

Sabalenka faces US Open test to end 2025 without a Grand Slam title

The US Open has been good to Sabalenka, last year she lifted her maiden title here, and now she returns with the crown to defend.

Janice Tjen enters US Open singles main draw, first Indonesian in 21 years

Indonesia will have its first player in a Grand Slam singles main draw since 2004. Janice Tjen booked her spot in the US Open field Friday morning, after successfully making it through three rounds of qualifying matches this week. It will be her Grand Slam debut. "It means a lot to me," Tjen said about the milestone for Indonesian players. "I try not to think too much about that ... and just try to give my best and be where it's going to take me. But to be able to it again (after) over 20 years, it's amazing." The last Indonesian player in a Grand Slam singles main draw was Angelique Widjaja, who played in the 2004 US Open and exited in the first round. Tjen cited Widjaja as one of her inspirations as she was coming up as a player. The 23-year-old comes off a successful collegiate career at Pepperdine, where she was the NCAA doubles runner-up in 2024. She graduated from college last spring. "(College tennis) helped me grow as a player and as a person," she said. "Especially ment

US Open 2025 draw: Full list of R1 match-ups of men's and women's singles

Top seed Jannik Sinner will open his campaign against Czech qualifier V. Kopriva, while Australian Alex Popyrin faces Finland's E. Ruusuvuori in a battle of aggressive baseliners

US Open draw: Alcaraz, Djokovic set for early tests, Venus plays Muchova

Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic will face potential difficult American opponents when they begin their quest for another U.S. Open title. Venus Williams, meanwhile, returns to the event at age 45 against No. 11 seed Karolina Muchova, a past French Open finalist who has reached the semifinals in New York the past two years. That was one of the early highlight matches after the draws were conducted Thursday for the men's and women's singles tournaments. Those begin Sunday, a day earlier than in the past, and a pair of recent U.S. Open champions could be tested early. Alcaraz, the No. 2 seed, starts against Reilly Opelka. Opelka, a former top-20 player before injuries, is 6-foot-11 with a powerful serve that he rode to the fourth round in New York in 2021. Alcaraz won his lone U.S. Open title the following year and has gone on to add four more Grand Slam titles. Djokovic owns a men's record 24 of them, including four at the U.S. Open. Seeded seventh, he will face Learner Tien, a .

US Open 2025 mixed doubles: Errani, Vavassori retain title under new format

Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori defended their U.S. Open mixed doubles title, keeping a traditional team on top of a revamped event filled with singles stars. The Italians beat No. 3 seeds Iga Swiatek and Casper Ruud 6-3, 5-7 (10-6), winning four matches over two days to earn $1 million a huge raise over their earnings in New York last year in a format that looked nothing like this one. Errani and Vavassori were among the many critics of the changes to the event that shut out every other traditional doubles pairing, but had nothing but smiles and plenty of hugs after building a quick lead in the match tiebreaker and holding on in front of a large crowd inside Arthur Ashe Stadium. I think it was amazing to play in this court with so many people and I have to say thanks from the bottom of my heart for the atmosphere, Vavassori said before receiving the trophy. It was one rarely enjoyed by doubles players and what U.S. Open organizers sought when they overhauled their tournament, .

US Open 2025: $1 mn prize, star line-ups make mixed doubles a top draw

The mixed doubles event of the US Open 2025 saw an increase of $800,000 from its preceding edition

$1M prize, star players at 2025 US Open mixed doubles; But some are upset

Grand Slam singles champions such as Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Iga Swiatek and Madison Keys will be playing for a little extra money OK, a lot of extra money, by any standard: $1 million to the winning duo and trying to get their hands on a trophy in the U.S. Open's overhauled mixed doubles tournament. The best of the best at doubles, meanwhile, are not so excited about what one of last year's mixed champions in New York, Sara Errani, labeled sad and "nonsense in an interview with The Associated Press. She and Andrea Vavassori, who'll be defending their title, are the only true doubles team competing Tuesday and Wednesday at Flushing Meadows. A year ago, only two highly ranked singles players participated. It would be like if, at the Olympics, they didn't let the actual high jumpers participate, and instead had basketball players compete in the high jump because it's more interesting.' If you want to do that, I guess you can, but you can't award them medals," Errani said. "Yo

US Open 2025: Top 5 Men's and Women's singles players to watch out for

From defending champions to rising stars and returning legends, here are the top five male and female contenders who are expected to light up the courts in New York.

Alcaraz-Raducanu to face top seeds in US Open mixed doubles opener

Jannik Sinner has a new partner for the U.S. Open mixed doubles tournament, where Emma Raducanu and Carlos Alcaraz will face the No. 1-seeded team in the first round. The remainder of the 16-team field was completed Sunday and the draw was conducted ahead of the two-day event that begins Tuesday and pays $1 million to the winning team. The top-ranked Sinner will now play with 10-time women's doubles major champion Katerina Siniakova. He had been scheduled to team with Emma Navarro, before she withdrew to play in the women's tournament in Monterrey, Mexico, next week. The other teams added to the event Sunday are two-time U.S. Open women's champion Naomi Osaka and Gael Monfils, Karolina Muchova and Andrey Rublev, and Caty McNally and Lorenzo Musetti. Musetti had been scheduled to play with fellow Italian Jasmine Paolini, but she is playing Iga Swiatek in the Cincinnati final Monday and withdrew. Swiatek remains in the field with partner Casper Ruud. Sinner and the second-ranked Alc

Paula Badosa pulls out of US Open after missing action since Wimbledon

Former top-10 player Paula Badosa pulled out of the U.S. Open on Friday after dealing with a back injury that has sidelined her since a first-round loss at Wimbledon on June 30. The U.S. Tennis Association announced Badosa's withdrawal and said Jil Teichmann would replace her in the field. Aliz Cornet, who retired from tennis last year but returned to action this year, is the next woman in line to get a berth in the draw at Flushing Meadows if someone else pulls out. Play is scheduled to begin on Aug. 24 in the singles brackets at the year's last Grand Slam tournament. Badosa, a 27-year-old from Spain, reached a career-best ranking of No. 2 in 2022 and is currently No. 12. She reached the semifinals at the Australian Open this January. Her best showing at the U.S. Open was a run to the quarterfinals last year.

US Open 2025 prize money up by 20%; singles champ to get record $5 million

The US Open 2025 will reward its singles champions with a record $5 million each, up 39% from the $3.6 million awarded last year

JioStar bags exclusive US Open broadcast rights in India till 2030

A JioStar representative noted that this acquisition reflects the company's aim to be the one-stop destination for elite sporting events

Carlos Alcaraz-Emma Raducanu to enter US Open 2025 as mixed doubles pair

Joining Alcaraz and Raducanu in the star pairs list are Novak Djokovic with Olga Danilovic, Naomi Osaka alongside Nick Kyrgios, and Iga Swiatek paired with Casper Ruud

Max Purcell, US Open doubles champion, suspended for doping violation

Two-time Grand Slam winning doubles player Max Purcell has entered a voluntary provisional suspension under tennis' anti-doping rules. The International Tennis Integrity Agency announced the sanction in a statement on Monday after the 26-year-old Australian admitted to violating Article 2.2 of the Tennis Anti-Doping Program relating to the use of a Prohibited Method. The ITIA said the suspension came into effect on 12 Dec., and time served under provisional suspension will be credited against any future sanction. The length of time of the voluntary suspension was not specified by the ITIA. During the provisional suspension, Purcell is prohibited from playing in, coaching at, or attending any tennis event authorized or sanctioned by the members of the ITIA (ATP, ITF, WTA, Tennis Australia, Fdration Franaise de Tennis, Wimbledon and USTA) or any national association," the ITIA statement read. Purcell, with compatriot Jordan Thompson, won the U.S. Open in September and won Wimbledon w

US Open's first female tournament director will step down in 2025

Stacey Allaster, the US Open's first female tournament director, will step down from that post after the 2025 edition of the Grand Slam event and shift from her job as the US Tennis Association's chief executive of professional tennis to an advisory role with the organisation. The USTA announced Allaster's job changes Wednesday and said she will help pick her successor as tournament director after the US Open ends next September. Allaster became the US Open tournament director in 2020, the first woman to hold that position in the history of a tournament first held in 1881. She has worked at the USTA since 2016 and before that was the chairman and CEO of the WTA women's professional tennis tour. "It's hard to put into words the impact Stacey has made on our sport," seven-time Grand Slam singles champion Venus Williams posted on social media. "She's been a true champion for the game, and has paved the way for more women in leadership. We're all inspired by you and grateful to call y

Jannik Sinner is already world number 1 and has 2 Grand Slams at 23

New US Open champion Jannik Sinner is making big strides in a short amount of time. And that, he figures, bodes well for what's to come. Just 23, Sinner already reached No. 1 in the ATP rankings a few months ago and, on Sunday, collected the second Grand Slam trophy of his career and of the year by defeating Taylor Fritz 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 in the final at Flushing Meadows. Add that to his Australian Open in January, and Sinner is the first man since Guillermo Vilas all the way back in 1977 to pick up major titles No. 1 and No. 2 within the same season. I've gone through a lot things quickly, said Sinner, Italy's second US Open singles title winner, joining 2015 women's champ Flavia Pennetta. I'm still young. That gives me confidence I still can get better, because at 23, you haven't perfected everything. So my team and I know we have to improve. In what ways? He pointed to the match against Fritz. Today, I played well from the back court. I felt good there, said Sinner, who was ...

Navarro reaches career high no 8 in ATP rankings, Fritz back in top 10

US Open men's runner-up Taylor Fritz returned to the top 10 in the ATP rankings at No. 7 on Monday, and women's runner-up Jessica Pegula rose to No. 3 in the WTA list, while semi-finalist Emma Navarro climbed to a career-best No. 8. Men's champion Jannik Sinner nearly doubled his lead as the ATP's No. 1 a spot he's held since June a day after defeating Fritz 6-3, 6-4, 7-5, and women's champion Aryna Sabalenka stayed at No. 2 in the WTA behind Iga Swiatek, who lost to Pegula in the quarter-finals. I mean, I'm not trying to focus on ranking, to be honest. Not like I'm checking where I'm going to be after the tournament, Sabalenka said Saturday after her 7-5, 7-5 victory over Pegula in the final. I'm just trying to focus on myself, and I know that if (at) each tournament I'll be able to play my best tennis ... I'll be able to become world No. 1 again. So, my focus is on myself, on improving myself as a player and as a person. Hopefully, one day, I'll see myself (back) on the top of t

The deadline date to challenge ITIA doping verdict against Sinner nears

Time is running out for appeals to be filed in the case that exonerated freshly-crowned US Open champion Jannik Sinner from doping. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and Nado Italia, Italy's anti-doping agency, likely have only one more day to challenge the decision announced by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) on August 20. There is a 21-day window to appeal that started when the parties received the decision. Any appeal would be filed to the Switzerland-based Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Sinner tested positive twice for an anabolic steroid in March but was not suspended because the ITIA determined the banned performance-enhancer entered his system unintentionally through a massage from his physiotherapist. The doping case was kept secret until last month's announcement and the top-ranked Sinner went on to beat Taylor Fritz in the U.S. Open final on Sunday. An appeal could jeopardize his US Open title but Sinner and his legal team have provided detailed