The women’s professional tennis tour (WTA) has forced its players to choose between silence in the face of oppression or risk heavy-handed police state sanction in Saudi Arabia, according to a leading human rights group. The WTA last week announced a deal worth more than £40m over three years to hold its biggest event – … Read more
Tennis insiders have called for a shake-up of the sport’s anti-doping system after former world No 1 Simona Halep was cleared to play. Halep’s four-year suspension after testing positive for a banned substance was this week reduced by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), who ruled she had not deliberately ingested the substance. The … Read more
ROD LAVER ARENA — Jannik Sinner said he was just glad not to be at home. It’s pretty cold this time of year in South Tyrol, the Alpine region of northern Italy where Sinner grew up and his parents Johann and Siglinde still live. Instead, he got his day in the sun, winning a maiden … Read more
MELBOURNE — Iga Swiatek has already had, by anyone’s measure, a successful career. She has won four grand slams, a figure only bettered by 12 woman in the Open era, 13 other WTA titles, more than $25m in prize money and spent 86 weeks at No 1. Swiatek is definitely in the top 20, and … Read more
MELBOURNE — Mirra Andreeva was a “surprise” winner over No 6 seed Ons Jabeur at the Australian Open, although anyone who had been paying attention would have known that the 16-year-old was actually the favourite. Andreeva enjoyed an impressive first season of grand slam tennis last year, stepping up to seniors at Roland Garros to … Read more
