Roland Garros facts and figures Red dirt The French Open is played on clay, which owes its red color to the crushed brick which forms the upper layer of the surface. There are three layers in all—one of limestone, one of clinker and one of stone—as well as drainage pipes. Clay is the slowest of…
Two major upsets highlighted the first round of the Strasbourg International on Tuesday, as top-seeded American Sloane Stephens and sixth-seeded Bojana Jovanovski were bounced from the tournament in France. Stephens came into the tournament as the number one seed, hoping to improve her seed and draw at the French Open. She drew the German Julia…
Kei Nishikori, one of the fastest-rising stars in the tennis world, cracked into the top 10 after beating Feliciano Lopez in the quarterfinals of the Madrid Open a few weeks ago. He then parlayed that into a semifinal victory over David Ferrer, and a chance to play Rafael Nadal in the tournament’s final. “It was…
Victoria Azarenka, who has been out of action for more than two months due to a left foot injury, has been forced to withdraw from next week’s 2014 French Open at Roland Garros. This marks the first time she has had to pull of a Grand Slam, having last played on the WTA Tour at…
Serena Williams captured her 60th WTA title on Sunday, cruising past Italy’s Sara Errani 6-3, 6-0 in the Internazionali BDL d’Italia championship in Rome. The world number one kept the hometown crowd out of play, jumping out to an early lead in the first set to take control of the match. After Williams took a…
In his first tournament since coming back from a wrist injury, Novak Djokovic captured the Internazionali BNL d’Italia title in Rome, Italy on Sunday. The Serbian used a comeback to defeat Spain’s Rafael Nadal 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 to win the third Rome tournament of his career. “It’s been a great week considering where I’ve been…
Two of the tour’s youngest players moved into the semifinals of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome on Friday. Canadian Milos Raonic and Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, both 23-years old, advanced to the final four of the event and could potentially meet in the final. Raonic beat Jeremy Chardy, who knocked off Roger Federer earlier in…
Maria Sharapova saw her Internazionali BDL d’Italia tournament come to an end on Thursday morning, losing to Ana Ivanovic in straight sets. Ivanovic snapped a seven-game losing streak to Sharapova, defeating the Russian 6-1, 6-4 to advance in Rome. The Serbian Ivanovic cruised to a 6-1 victory in the first set that took just 31…
Tommy Haas picked up his first Top 10 win in over a year on Thursday, stunning Stanislas Wawrinka 5-7, 6-2, 6-3 to reach the quarterfinals of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome. The German Haas broke Wawrinka’s serve in the eighth game of the final set to secure the victory. The Australian Open champion Wawrinka…
The USTA has announced its plans to create the new home for American tennis, a state-of-the-art facility at Lake Nona area in Orlando, Fla., that will enhance the sport at every level. The 100-plus court tennis center, which will house the USTA’s Community Tennis and Player Development divisions, will be divided into dedicated areas that will…