Tennis

Roger Federer announced on Thursday that he had undergone surgery on his right knee and would miss a series of tournaments, including the French Open in May. The so-called Big Three of Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, who have dominated the sport, will be down to the Big Two for as long as it […] More

After nearly eight years away, Kim Clijsters, now a mother of three, returned to the tennis tour on Monday. She lost in straight sets in the opening round of the WTA event in Dubai, but her 6-2, 7-6 (6) defeat to Garbiñe Muguruza felt more like a triumph than a letdown. There were signs of […] More

MELBOURNE, Australia — Men’s and women’s tennis are in drastically different phases. The men have a triopoly that could quickly transform into a monopoly if Novak Djokovic stays fresh and focused. The women have something closer to mob rule with new winners emerging at a madcap clip. In the last 12 Grand Slam tournaments, the […] More

MELBOURNE, Australia — Novak Djokovic extended his record by winning his eighth Australian Open singles title on Sunday, defeating Dominic Thiem 6-4, 4-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4. The victory allowed Djokovic to reclaim the No. 1 ranking from Rafael Nadal and to reassert his dominance in Melbourne. Based on the evidence, the hardest task in men’s […] More

MELBOURNE, Australia — Sofia Kenin became the youngest Australian Open champion in 12 years on Saturday, beating Garbiñe Muguruza 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 to claim her first Grand Slam title. Kenin’s victory, in her first major final, represents a growing youth takeover in women’s tennis. At 21 years and 80 days of age, Kenin is 22 […] More

MELBOURNE — Margaret Court? Martina Navratilova had seen and heard enough. The outspoken tennis great had long opposed the fact that Court, a fellow legend who has become known more for her homophobic comments than her sterling game, had been honored at the Australian Open with a show court stadium bearing her name. Then, as […] More

MELBOURNE — Dominic Thiem will get another chance to win his first major championship after defeating Alexander Zverev, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (4), in a taut men’s semifinal at the Australian Open on Friday night. Thiem, a 26-year-old Austrian, will play Novak Djokovic in Sunday’s men’s final. It will be first time the two […] More

MELBOURNE, Australia — At age 21, Sofia Kenin has not arrived at her numerical goal in tennis. “I want to be No. 1,” she said recently in Melbourne, as she has been saying since she was 6 years old. But for now Kenin, a fiery and driven Floridian, is one match away from her first […] More