Tennis

11:58 AM ET Associated Press LONDON — A tennis umpire was banned for seven years and six months Friday after admitting to charges of match-fixing in Italy. Lorenzo Chiurazzi, an Italian national-level chair umpire and line judge, was also fined $50,000 — $33,500 of which is suspended — in a case investigated by the International

7:00 AM ET D’Arcy MaineESPN.com A farewell to Serena Williams, one of the sport’s most legendary players. The involuntary absence of Wimbledon champ Novak Djokovic. The return of last year’s debut major champions Emma Raducanu and Daniil Medvedev. The 2022 US Open truly has it all. After an unexpected, unpredictable and at times chaotic tennis

10:12 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — The tennis players’ association founded by Novak Djokovic and Vasek Pospisil two years ago appointed former NFL Players Inc. president Ahmad Nassar as its executive director and the CEO of a new for-profit affiliate to generate off-court commercial opportunities. The Professional Tennis Players Association — or PTPA

12:11 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — Serena Williams’ first opponent at what is expected to be the last tournament of her career, the US Open, will be Danka Kovinic. Win that, and Williams could face No. 2 seed Anett Kontaveit of Estonia in the second round. The brackets for the women’s and men’s

10:36 AM ET D’Arcy MaineESPN.com Novak Djokovic, the 21-time major champion and former world No. 1, has withdrawn from the US Open due to travel restrictions into the United States as a result of being unvaccinated against COVID-19. Djokovic made the announcement Thursday morning, shortly before the draw was to be revealed, tweeting, “Sadly, I

7:05 PM ET D’Arcy MaineESPN.com The United States Tennis Association on Wednesday addressed the use of different tennis balls for male and female players at the US Open, a week after reigning world No. 1 Iga Swiatek called the balls used at the year’s last major “horrible” and questioned why the disparity was necessary. “The

1:13 PM ET D’Arcy MaineESPN.com Victoria Azarenka, the two-time major champion from Belarus, will no longer be participating in Wednesday’s “Tennis Plays for Peace” exhibition at the Billie Jean King National Center in New York. The United States Tennis Association announced Azarenka’s removal from the event in a statement. “In the last 24 hours, after

8:33 AM ET D’Arcy MaineESPN.com Angelique Kerber, a three-time major champion, announced she will miss the upcoming US Open as well as the next several months on tour. Kerber announced her plans Wednesday in a social media post that included emojis of a baby, a bottle, heart hands and a heart. “I really wanted to

11:00 AM ET CINCINNATI — An hour into his second Masters 1000 match, 19-year-old Ben Shelton is a game away from beating 2022 French Open finalist Casper Ruud. That’s when he does something incredible. At the net, Shelton sees the lob coming, and takes off in the direction of the ball. When it plummets toward

3:40 PM ET Associated Press GAINESVILLE, Fla. — NCAA tennis champion Ben Shelton is leaving the University of Florida to turn pro and has received a wild-card invitation for the US Open. The 19-year-old Shelton, who was born in Atlanta, announced his decision Tuesday on Twitter. The US Open begins in New York on Monday.

7:06 AM ET Alyssa RoenigkESPN Close Alyssa Roenigk is a senior writer for ESPN whose assignments have taken her to six continents and caused her to commit countless acts of recklessness. (Follow @alyroe on Twitter). COCO GAUFF IS at a crossroads. She’s sitting in the passenger seat of her first car while her dad, Corey,

1:16 AM ET India’s Sania Mirza on Tuesday announced her withdrawal from the US Open because of a torn tendon, adding that the injury would lead to a change in her retirement plans. The 35-year-old tennis player, who in January announced she would be retiring at the end of the 2022 season, said she sustained

10:27 AM ET D’Arcy MaineESPN.com Alexander Zverev, the No. 2-ranked player in the world, has withdrawn from the US Open as he continues to recover from a right ankle injury and subsequent surgery. The 25-year-old German sustained ligament damage during his semifinal match against Rafael Nadal at the French Open in June, needing to be

7:23 PM ET ESPN News Services MASON, Ohio — Borna Coric continued his headlong rush up the men’s rankings, completing an improbable run to the Western & Southern Open championship with a 7-6 (0), 6-2 win over No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas. Coric, 25, is expected to be ranked 29th going into the US Open. He

4:51 PM ET ESPN News Services MASON, Ohio — Caroline Garcia generated momentum going into next week’s US Open, capturing the Western & Southern Open women’s tennis championship with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Petra Kvitova on Sunday. Garcia, already the first qualifier to reach the tournament final, clinched the victory when Kvitova sent a

11:19 PM ET ESPN News Services MASON, Ohio — Borna Coric made history Saturday after defeating No. 9 Cameron Norrie in straight sets 6-3, 6-4 to reach the Western & Southern Open final. Ranked No. 152 with a protected injury ranking, Coric is the lowest seed to ever reach the final in Cincinnati. The Croatian

9:22 PM ET ESPN News Services MASON, Ohio — Petra Kvitova outlasted Madison Keys 6-7 (6), 6-4, 6-3 on Saturday to reach the Western & Southern Open final. The 32-year-old Kvitova had never advanced to the semifinals in 10 prior appearances in the Cincinnati tournament. It is the Czech’s 40th career final, and she’ll face

6:46 PM ET Associated Press MASON, Ohio — Top-ranked Daniil Medvedev moved into the Western & Southern Open semifinals Friday as he prepares for his US Open title defense, beating 11th-seeded Taylor Fritz 7-6 (1), 6-3. Medvedev, the 26-year-old Russian banned from Wimbledon for his country’s invasion of Ukraine, won the 2019 Western & Southern