Professional Tennis
Rafael Nadal has announced that he will play in the 2014 Australian Open and Miami’s Sony Open. In 2013, Nadal was sidelined in January and didn’t play the Australian Open, and opted to miss Miami in March because it came so soon after his title winning triumph at Indian Wells’ BNP Paribas Open. “I was very disappointed…
World number five Juan Martin del Potro will lead a field of 25 contenders at the Apia International Sydney 2014. Del Potro leads an outstanding men’s field that boasts a main draw entry cut-off inside the top 50, with world number 13 Nicolas Almagro of Spain and Italy's Fabio Fognini among the highest-ranked players entered. Tournament officials will allocate their first wild card…
Eighteen months ago, the tennis world was stunned when a 26-year old Czech player named Lukas Rosol, ranked 100 in the world at the time, defeated Rafael Nadal in a five-set battle on Centre Court at Wimbledon. It marked Rafa’s earliest Grand Slam loss in seven years. What we didn’t know was that it would…
The ATP has announced the appointment of Chris Kermode as ATP executive chairman and president. Kermode begins a three-year term at the helm of the ATP beginning Jan. 1, 2014, and will be based in the ATP’s London office. Kermode has been involved in tennis for more than 30 years, first as a player, and then most…
Four-time Grand Slam champ Maria Sharapova has hired Sven Groeneveld as her new coach for the 2014 season. Sharapova parted ways with her coach Jimmy Connors in August after just a one-month tenure. "I'm happy to announce my official partnership with Sven Groeneveld," Sharapova wrote on her Facebook page. "We've been working together since I got back on the…
The 2014 ATP World Tour will feature a tournament in Shenzhen, China, following the ATP Board of Directors’ approval of the relocation of the ATP World Tour 250 tournament previously held in Bangkok, Thailand. The tournament in Shenzhen will be played from Sept. 22-28 at the Shenzhen Longgang Sports Center, a state-of-the-art facility with more than…
Four of the top 20 men, including Roger Federer, will headline Brisbane International 2014, presented by Suncorp. Seventeen-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer will lead a men’s field, which will feature top 20 players Kei Nishikori, Gilles Simon and Kevin Anderson, alongside a crop of rising talent. Brisbane International 2013 runner-up Grigor Dimitrov returns to the field as well, looking to go one better in 2014, but will…
The USTA has announced that Victoria Duval, the 17-year-old breakout star of the 2013 U.S. Open with her first-round upset of 2011 U.S. Open champion Sam Stosur, will headline the women’s field for the 2013 USTA Australian Open Wild Card Playoffs, held Dec. 20-22 at Life Time Athletic at Peachtree Corners in Norcross, Ga. Duval, who has overcome extraordinary…
As the tennis year rolls on, I would like to bring up a point on the 40th anniversary of the most important and impactful tennis match in history. The year was 1973, and Billie Jean King beat Bobby Riggs in what was called "The Battle of the Sexes." It was a very important step in…
Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic defeated Dusan Lajovic 6-3, 6-1, 6-1 in a deciding fifth rubber on Sunday in Belgrade to retain the Davis Cup title for the Czechs. In 2012, Stepanek also held on against Nicolas Almagro in the fifth rubber to lift the Czechs to a 3-2 win over Spain to win the 2012 Davis Cup. The Czech Republic…