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TOKYO (AP) — Former world No. 4-ranked and 2014 U.S. Open finalist Kei Nishikori said Thursday on social media that he plans to retire at the end of this tennis season. The 36-year-old Nishikori missed the Australian Open in January with right shoulder pain and has been affected by injuries the last several years. He also missed last year's U.S. Open. Making his professional debut in 2007, Nishikori became the first Japanese player to advance to the final of a Grand Slam men's singles tournament at the 2014 Open in New York , which he lost in straight sets to Croatia’s Marin Cilic. Nishikori, who won a bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics after defeating Rafael Nadal in three sets, said in early April he was “barely hanging on,” referring to his physical condition. "Looking back on everything up to this point, I can proudly say I gave it my all,” Nishikori said on X. “ I am truly happy to have walked this path.” ___ AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis * This articl...

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. (AP) — Aryna Sabalenka credits her new puppy, Ash, with providing “mental health support” as she continues to rack up victories and maintain her standing as the top-ranked player in women's tennis. Sabalenka brought her Cavalier King Charles Spaniel to a post-match interview on the Tennis Channel following her round-of-16 victory over Naomi Osaka on Wednesday at the BNP Paribas Open. “I feel like I’m much more settled, calm, more in control,” Sabalenka, who has a history of emotional, on-court outbursts , said while Tennis Channel commentators held and petted her dog. “Whenever I feel like going crazy on my team, I just pet Ash and I feel better.” Sabalenka, who also recently announced her engagement to Brazilian businessman Georgios Frangulis, shared news of her puppy in a social media post last week, introducing Ash as a “new addition” to Team Tiger, her support team of coaches, trainers and other staff. She spoke more about Ash following her 6-2, 6-4 vict...

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Tennis Kenya acknowledged it erred in granting an Egyptian player entry to a professional tournament after video of her dismal performance that included 20 double faults circulated on social media. The 21-year-old player, Hajar Abdelkader, was given a wildcard entry and lost 6-0, 6-0 in 37 minutes in a first-round match that raised questions about her level of play. She struggled with serving and court positioning. Tennis Kenya, the governing body for the sport in the east African country, is hosting the International Tennis Federation’s W35 tournament this week. “In hindsight, Tennis Kenya acknowledges that this wildcard should not have been granted. The federation has taken note of this experience and will ensure that such an extremely rare occurrence never happens again," it said in a statement Thursday. The organization's statement said it was “aware of concerns” raised about Abdelkader's participation. “The slot became available following a short...

PERTH, Australia (AP) — Four-time Grand Slam singles champion Naomi Osaka is feeling under the weather at the United Cup. After losing her first match for Japan against Greece's Maria Sakkari on Friday, Osaka said she got "really sick” over the Christmas holiday period and wasn’t operating at 100% during the 6-4, 6-2 loss. Osaka was coughing at times during the match and appeared to lack energy. She said she likely caught an illness from her two-year-old daughter Shai. “I have been dealing with some health stuff, so I’m kind of just happy to be out here right now,” Osaka said. “It’s not serious but I’m not operating at the percent that I want to be operating at, which kind of sucks, because I had a really good offseason so I thought I was going to do really well here." Osaka, who advanced to the U.S. Open semifinals last year, said she thinks she's nearly finished with the illness. “I’m at the tail end of that but still not amazing,” she said. "I’m just trying t...

Three-time major winner Stan Wawrinka says 2026 will be his last year on tour. Since Wawrinka turned pro in 2002, the Swiss has won 16 tour singles titles. He beat the No. 1-ranked player in the finals of the 2014 Australian Open (Rafael Nadal), 2015 French Open (Novak Djokovic) and 2016 U.S. Open (Djokovic). “One last push,” Wawrinka wrote on social media on Friday. “Every book needs an ending. It's time to write the final chapter of my career as a professional tennis player. 2026 will be my last year on tour.” Wawrinka and Roger Federer won the 2008 Beijing Olympics doubles gold medal and helped Switzerland win its only Davis Cup in 2014. He is one of only three players to beat Nadal, Djokovic, Federer and Andy Murray at the Grand Slams. The 40-year-old claimed his last singles trophy in 2017. He starts his final season in Perth at the United Cup from Jan. 2. ___ AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis * This article was originally published here

The ATP Tour is adding a rule to address extreme heat during men's professional tennis matches that will allow for 10-minute breaks during best-of-three-sets singles matches starting next season and is similar to what was put in place on the women's circuit more than 30 years ago. The ATP Board's approval of the new policy, announced Monday, strengthens “protections for players competing in extreme conditions,” the tour said. During the Shanghai Masters in October, some players called for the ATP to introduce guidance to help them in cases of extreme heat and humidity. Defending champion Jannik Sinner stopped playing a match there because of severe leg cramps; 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic lamented the conditions after vomiting during a victory. “It’s brutal when you have over 80% humidity day after day," Djokovic said then, "particularly for the guys when they’re playing during the day with heat, with sun." An Associated Press analysis in 2023...

LONDON (AP) — Vicky Mboko , Janice Tjen, Lilli Tagger, Arnaud Bailly and Luka Mikrut were selected by a panel as the International Tennis Federation's Class of 2025, a group considered “promising and breakthrough” talents of the sport. The five players were revealed this week, based on their seasons on the ITF World Tennis Tour. Mboko, a 19-year-old Canadian, won four consecutive ITF World Tennis Tour titles early in the year and went on to win a WTA 1000 tournament in Montreal and reach the third round at the French Open. Tjen, 23, claimed five ITF World Tennis Tour titles in a row, including a 27-match winning streak, and at the U.S. Open became the first Indonesian player to compete in a Grand Slam main draw since 2004, defeating No. 24 seed Veronika Kudermetova. Tjen collected her first WTA Tour trophy in November. Tagger, a 17-year-old Austrian, was the youngest WTA Tour-level finalist this season, making it that far at Jiujiang, China, in October as a wild-card entry. Baill...

ROME (AP) — Hundreds of people paid their final respects to Nicola Pietrangeli days after the tennis great died aged 92. A public viewing of Pietrangeli’s body and a brief memorial service were held Wednesday at the tennis court that was named after him. A private funeral took place later in Rome. In 2006, the statue-lined Pallacorda court at the Foro Italico — considered one of the most picturesque stadiums on the circuit — was renamed Stadio Pietrangeli. Two tennis rackets and the Davis Cup won by Italy in 1976 under Pietrangeli’s captaincy were placed next to the coffin, which was decorated in blue and white flowers. A large screen displayed images of Pietrangeli’s career accompanied by the music of Charles Aznavour, one of his favorite singers. “My Way,” by Frank Sinatra, played at the end of the memorial service, before the coffin was moved from the court to the church for the funeral. “Everything just as he wanted, the place and the music,” said his son Marco. Prominent figures ...

LONDON (AP) — Andy Murray says he was “disappointed” with Novak Djokovic’s results during his time coaching his former rival. Murray joined Djokovic’s coaching team in November 2024 just three months after the 38-year-old Scot ended his own playing career at the Paris Olympics. But it proved a short six-month partnership as the pair was together for only the Australian Open and five other tournaments this year. “I look back on it and I'm glad that I did it,” Murray told The Tennis Podcast. "It's an amazing experience that I've had. It didn’t last long but I put everything into it. I was disappointed. Probably didn’t get the results I would have liked for him. “It was a good opportunity because I felt I wanted to coach at some stage and if I didn't take it I might look back and think it would have been really interesting, I could have learned a lot, or potentially regretted it.” Djokovic overcame Carlos Alcaraz to reach the semifinals at the Australian Open but in ...

Carlos Alcaraz recently wrapped up his 2025 official schedule with the ATP's year-end No. 1 ranking, tour-highs of 71 match wins and eight trophies and a pair of Grand Slam titles that lifted his career total to six. Yes, his season is done — but his year isn't. That's because the 22-year-old Alcaraz, who skipped representing Spain in last week's Davis Cup Final 8 because of pain in his right hamstring , is signed up for a pair of upcoming exhibition events that include singles matches against two-time U.S. Open semifinalist Frances Tiafoe in Newark, New Jersey, on Dec. 7, and against João Fonseca , a 19-year-old Brazilian ranked 24th, in Miami on Dec. 8. Alcaraz is one of many tennis players critical of his sport's calendar , saying it runs too long, asks too much of the athletes and provides too short of an offseason. Does he get why some fans might wonder why he would add these unofficial outings? “First of all, it’s normal that people think that way and they ...

BOLOGNA, Italy (AP) — Spain reached the Davis Cup final thanks to doubles pair Marcel Granollers and Pedro Martínez, who defeated Germany’s Tim Pütz and Kevin Krawietz 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 Saturday for a 2-1 win in their semifinal. Alexander Zverev had kept the Germans’ hopes alive with a 7-6 (2), 7-6 (5) win over Jaume Munar after Pablo Carreño Busta got Spain off to a winning start against Jan-Lennard Struff. Carreño Busta saved five consecutive set points in the tiebreaker before beating the German veteran 6-4, 7-6 (6). But Granollers and Martínez shocked Pütz and Krawietz by dealing them just their second Davis Cup loss. It sent the Spanish team, which was without injured No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz, back into the final for the first time in six years. Spain will face two-time defending champion Italy, which defeated Belgium on Friday. ___ AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis * This article was originally published here

BASEL, Switzerland (AP) — Joao Fonseca's family arrived just in time to watch the Brazilian teenager win the biggest title of his career at the Swiss Indoors on Sunday. Fonseca beat Spain's Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-3, 6-4 in the final and will rise to a career-high No. 28 in the world rankings on Monday. “My parents have just arrived from Brazil. They were going to Paris (for the Paris Masters), but they changed their flights and arrived an hour before the match with my uncles," the 19-year-old Fonseca said. “It’s incredible to have them here for the most important title of my career.” It was his first title at ATP 500 level. ___ AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis * This article was originally published here

BEIJING (AP) — Defending champion Coco Gauff is loving her interaction with fans at the China Open but wouldn't mind a new nickname — something ferocious if possible. French Open champion Gauff started her title defense in Beijing with a 6-4, 6-0 win over Kamilla Rakhimova on Friday and will next face Leylah Fernandez in the WTA 1000-series tournament. Gauff has received a number of gifts this week and has been affectionally given two nicknames by the Chinese fans: “Fruit Salad Queen,” a reference to her signature fruit salad, which she often snacks on for an energy boost. The other is “Ambassador of Beijing” because of her frequent praise of the Chinese capital and its attractions. The 21-year-old American said she approves of both, but wouldn't mind one inspired by an animal which reflects her tenacity on court. “I guess I have a challenge for the Chinese fans,” Gauff said in comments on the WTA Tour's website. “I would like to know what animal resonates with me. I mean,...

NEW YORK (AP) — The postmatch back-and-forth between Taylor Townsend and Jelena Ostapenko remained a topic of conversation at the U.S. Open 24 hours later on Thursday — but not for Ostapenko, who skipped speaking at a news conference, citing “medical reasons.” Both Townsend, an American who is ranked No. 1 in doubles, and Ostapenko, a Latvian who won the 2017 French Open in singles, were back on court in separate doubles matches on Thursday. On Wednesday, they had an extended argument after shaking hands following Townsend's victory over Ostapenko in singles — and Townsend, who is Black, said Ostapenko called her “uneducated.” “Obviously, it’s one of the worst things you can say to a Black tennis player in a majority white sport,” said Naomi Osaka, a four-time Grand Slam champion whose father is from Haiti and mother is from Japan. “And granted, I know Taylor, and I know how hard she’s worked, and I know how smart she is, so she’s the furthest thing from uneducated or anything li...

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. Open opponents Taylor Townsend and Jelena Ostapenko got into a face-to-face argument on the Court 11 sideline right after their second-round match ended Wednesday. “She told me I have no class, no education, and to see what happens when we get outside the U.S.,” Townsend, who is from Chicago, said after her 7-5, 6-1 victory over 2017 French Open champion Ostapenko, who is from Latvia. After the two players met at the net for a postmatch handshake, they stayed near each other instead of going their separate ways, as players usually do. The 25th-seeded Ostapenko wagged a finger at Townsend as they spoke. “I mean, it’s competition,” Townsend said. “People get upset when they lose.” Added Townsend: “When she was playing well, I didn't say anything. That just shows class.” When they finally stopped talking to each other, Townsend went over to the stands and egged on the partisan crowd, waving her arm overhead and the noise from spectators only grew louder. After th...

NEW YORK (AP) — Venus Williams has started her first Grand Slam match in two years on Monday night at the U.S. Open , facing 2023 French Open runner-up Karolina Muchova in Arthur Ashe Stadium. At age 45, Williams is the oldest singles player at the hard-court tournament since Renee Richards was 47 in 1981. She wasn't exactly easing into things Monday: Muchova, a 29-year-old from the Czech Republic, was seeded 11th in New York and made it to the semifinals there in both 2023 — when she lost to eventual champion Coco Gauff in a match interrupted by a climate protest — and 2024. Williams won two of her seven major singles championships at Flushing Meadows in 2000 and 2001. The other five came at Wimbledon. Since making her professional debut in 1994 , she's also collected 14 Grand Slam trophies in women's doubles alongside her younger sister, Serena , plus two in mixed doubles, earned a record five Olympic tennis medals and reached No. 1 in the WTA rankings. Through the y...

NEWPORT, R.I. (AP) — Maria Sharapova had one more surprise for her fans as she entered the International Tennis Hall of Fame, choosing Serena Williams to introduce her at the induction ceremony on Saturday night. Williams drew gasps from the crowd when she emerged from the Newport shrine, and then gave a speech in honor of her “former rival, former fan and forever friend.” “There are only a few players in my career who challenged me to be the very best, every single time we stepped out on the court,” said Williams, who will be eligible for her own induction in 2027. “Maria Sharapova was one of them. Whenever I saw her name next to mine in the draw, I made sure I practiced harder.” The first Russian woman ever to reach No. 1 in the rankings and one of 10 women to complete the career Grand Slam, Sharapova was joined in the Class of 2025 by dominating doubles brothers Mike and Bob Bryan. Hall of Famers Martina Navratilova, Jim Courier, Stan Smith and Andy Roddick were among those in the c...

CINCINNATI (AP) — Third-round play was suspended at the Cincinnati Open for a little more than an hour on Monday due to a power outage.  The delay came at 5:25 p.m. after Taylor Fritz won the opening set on center court 7-6(4) against Lorenzo Sonego. Stefanos Tsitsipas led Benjamin Bonzi 7-6(4), 2-5 on Court 3. Play resumed shortly before 6:40 p.m. Defending champion Jannik Sinner was scheduled to play later Monday night against Canadian Gabriel Diallo.  ___ More AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis * This article was originally published here

The coach of 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina has been cleared by the WTA Tour to return from his suspension for a potential breach of its code of conduct. Stefano Vukov was provisionally suspended in January while the tour conducted an investigation. It announced in February that had been completed and that the ban remained in place , without saying how long it would last. The organization said Friday that Vukov would again be permitted to receive credentials allowing him access to player areas and practice courts at its events. “The WTA is fully committed to providing a safe and respectful environment for all athletes and other participants, as set out in our WTA Code of Conduct and Safeguarding Code,” the tour said in a statement. “Any sanctions issued following a breach of these safeguarding rules are carefully considered and are subject to appeal before an independent tribunal. While case details remain confidential, we can confirm that Mr. Vukov is eligible to receive cred...

BRISTOL, Conn. (AP) — Jannik Sinner's victory over Carlos Alcaraz was the most-viewed Wimbledon men's final since Novak Djokovic edged Roger Federer in a five-set thriller in 2019. ESPN said Sunday's match averaged 2.9 million viewers, a 31% increase over last year's final and its best performance since about 3.8 million watched Djokovic win a fifth-set tiebreaker in a match between two of tennis' greatest champions. The network also said Tuesday that ratings were up for the both the men's and women's semifinals. The women's semis, which included American Amanda Anisimova upsetting No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka , averaged 897,000 viewers, the most since 2015, when Serena Williams was part of the final four. The men's average of 1.31 million was the highest since 2019. ___ AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis * This article was originally published here