Clear and simple calendars like NFL, not tennis, should be applauded in sport January 23, 2025 The NFL, unlike tennis, should be applauded for its clear and simple sport calendar that sees athletes thrive, writes Ed Warner. Naomi Osaka, Gael Monfils, Jack Draper. Each retired from the Australian Open mid-match. No substitutes bench in tennis, so the ultimate anticlimax for spectators. Injuries are an occupational hazard, but across sport the sheer [...]
Iga Swiatek: Wada decision clears Pole to continue Australian Open bid January 20, 2025 No2 seed Iga Swiatek has been cleared to continue her quest for a first Australian Open title after the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) ruled out pushing for a longer ban. Swiatek, 23, served a one-month ban last year after the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) accepted that her positive test for trimetazidine was a result [...]
Novak Djokovic: Australian TV presenter apologises for mockery January 20, 2025 Ten-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic has received a public apology from Channel 9 presenter Tony Jones after he mocked the Serbian and his supporters on live TV. Djokovic refused to take part in an on-court interview after his fourth-round win over Jiri Lehecka in protest at disparaging remarks made by Jones on the official [...]
Tennis star Taylor Fritz donates Australian Open prize money to LA fire relief January 16, 2025 California-born tennis star Taylor Fritz has pledged to donate some of his Australian Open prize money to help victims of the fires that have swept through LA. The American men’s No1 is giving his first-round winnings of A$132,000 (£67,000) to relief efforts as the wildfires continue to wreak devastation on the city. “I just want [...]
Australian Open NFTs tank in value on non-fungible token marketplace January 14, 2025 NFTs sold by Tennis Australia for nearly £1.5m have tanked in value amid reports the organisation has walked away from its non-fungible token project. More than 9,000 of the NFTs, which are digital images of tennis balls, have shed up to 90 per cent of their value since the launch in 2022 by Tennis Australia. [...]
Anthony Joshua joins padel craze by investing in Murray’s Hexagon Cup team January 13, 2025 Boxer Anthony Joshua has teamed up with fellow British sporting great Andy Murray by becoming a co-owner of his Hexagon Cup-winning padel team. Joshua has joined Murray, tennis coach Dani Vallverdu and businessman Arran Yentob in the ownership group of Team AD/vantage as the British entrant bids to retain its crown this month. They will [...]
Brit Fearnley stuns Kyrgios at Australian Open to bank £100,000 prize money January 13, 2025 British tennis prospect Jacob Fearnley achieved the biggest prize money payout of his burgeoning career by beating Nick Kyrgios in the first round of the Australian Open on Monday. Fearnley, 23, only turned professional last year after impressing on the US college circuit and quickly broke into the men’s top 100 after winning four titles [...]
Sport in 2025: A rallying cry to London, Mayor Khan and Londoners January 2, 2025 For at least the past five years it has felt as if London was disappearing off the global sporting stage. The capital may boast the Home of Cricket, 17 professional football clubs and five stadiums with a capacity of over 50,000 but huge sporting events have sought refuge in the likes of Saudi Arabia, the [...]
Djokovic and Kyrgios win doubles opener as Murray era begins December 30, 2024 Novak Djokovic and Nick Kyrgios teamed up to beat Andreas Mies and Alexander Erler at the Brisbane International. The doubles tournament is the season opener Down Under before the singles begins next week and the Australian Open gets underway on 12 January. It is Djokovic’s first tournament with former rival Andy Murray on his coaching [...]
Ed Warner: Why the anti-doping fight desperately needs a shot in the arm December 19, 2024 Confirmation that Mykhailo Mudryk has failed a routine anti-doping test must rightly trigger the usual essential caveats. Chelsea’s Ukrainian winger has only been provisionally suspended. This is simply the start of a process with the facts to be established and the outcome far from certain. What is clear is that Mudryk’s case will be another [...]