Category: Tennis

• Serb victorious after De Minaur retires injured

• Alcaraz beats Lehecka for first title since February

Novak Djokovic capped an outstanding week at the China Open with his first title for nearly a year. The 39-year-old profited from the retirement of his final opponent, Alex de Minaur, after only one game of the second set to win a seventh title in Beijing and maintain his record of never having lost at the tournament.

The 7-6, 0-1 victory means Djokovic has won at least one title in each of the past 21 years, while he now has 102 tour level trophies overall. Both men reached the final without having to complete their matches on Monday – Djokovic thanks to the much-publicised disqualification of Daniil Medvedev, while De Minaur’s opponent Hubert Hurkacz pulled the plug because of injury.

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• American stopped rally after being distracted in match

• Home youngster Sun Xinran distraught after defeat

Coco Gauff said she received an “insane” amount of racist comments on social media following a controversial point in her China Open match against home player Sun Xinran.

Gauff stopped a rally after electronic advertising boards lining the court flickered during a point late in the first set of her 7-5, 6-1 third-round victory over Sun, a 16-year-old who recently won the US Open junior title.

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• Player struck rebounding ball into Beijing crowd

• Djokovic advances to final against De Minaur

Daniil Medvedev was disqualified from his China Open semi-final with Novak Djokovic on Monday after hitting a rebounding ball into the crowd that struck a ​spectator in the eye.

The Russian world ‌No 5 was ‌trailing 7-5, 5-3 and had lost a point ‌when, in frustration, he struck a ball that had come off the back wall. The spectator, sitting in the first row, clutched his left eye and appeared in pain as he left the gallery, assisted by the stadium’s ‌staff.

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• WTA announces ‘major milestone’ in fight for equality

• Combined WTA 1000 events to award equal prize money

All combined WTA 1000 tournaments will award women equal prize ⁠money to the men from 2027, the Women’s Tennis Association has announced, ⁠with the Italian ⁠Open ​and other major events joining the rest of the category in offering the ⁠same payouts.

Billie Jean King has often said that she was moved to form the women’s professional tennis circuit after earning $600 for her 1970 Italian Open title while Ilie Nastase took home $3,500 for winning the men’s tournament the same year.

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Our photographer, Tom Jenkins, was at the O2 in London where some of the world’s best players produced an entertaining battle

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The Ryder Cup-style event has struggled financially since its legendary founder, Roger Federer, retired but still offers a spectacle unlike any other in tennis

The sight of a tennis player marching to the bathroom between sets has become increasingly common in modern tennis but Alexander Zverev’s journey back to the locker room in Prague nine years ago remains particularly remarkable. On this occasion, Zverev happened to be sandwiched between two of the greatest male players of all time. Neither legend was happy.

To his right, an incensed Roger Federer spent their walk back to the locker room brutally laying down the law: “I want a fist pump or a ‘Let’s go!’ every fucking point you win,” he said. “And every point you lose, you fucking take it like a man. Because the problem is, when you don’t have the [result] you want, it’s like: ‘Ah, I knew it. Fuck, shit.’ I don’t want … honestly!”

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• Defeats for Kartal and Boulter condemn Britain to loss

• Men will play Germany in quarter-finals of Davis Cup

Great Britain’s stay at the Billie Jean King Cup finals lasted only one match as they lost against Czechia in the quarter-finals in Shenzhen. Anne Keothavong’s side were bidding to reach the last four for the fourth time in five years but were considerable underdogs and defeats for Sonay Kartal and Katie Boulter sealed their fate.

Led by the Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova, the entire Czech team is ranked higher than any of Britain’s players, and it was Noskova who sealed victory with a 6-2, 7-6 (3) win against Boulter. That followed a lengthy struggle between Marie Bouzkova and Kartal lasting a minute short of three hours, which the Czech eventually won 7-6 (2), 4-6, 6-4.

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• World No 9 returns to form in 6-3, 6-3 win against Kamil Majchrzak

• Max Purcell and Rinky Hijikata click in doubles as Australia progress

Alex de Minaur has returned to form to seal Australia’s Davis Cup progression, with the hosts beating Poland 3-1 in Brisbane also thanks to some earlier doubles brilliance.

The world No 9 found top gear on Sunday at Pat Rafter Arena, beating Kamil Majchrzak 6-3, 6-3 to clinch a 3-1 result that sends Australia into the Cup’s penultimate round next year.

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• World No 9 beats Maks Kasnikowski 6-3, 6-0 in World Group I tie

• James Duckworth loses to Kamil Majchrzak 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 in Brisbane

Alex de Minaur has taken his frustrations out in a Davis Cup thumping to put Australia up 1-0 in their must-win Brisbane tie against Poland, before Kamil Majchrzak edged James Duckworth in a tense two-hour affair.

The world No 9, keen to rediscover his mojo after a disappointing second-round US Open loss, lit up Pat Rafter Arena on Saturday afternoon with a dominant 6-3 6-0 defeat of world No 231 Maks Kasnikowski.

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Despite the drama on the court, the poor condition of Arthur Ashe Stadium was just one problem among many

At the end of another comically late night and early morning in Flushing Meadows, when the remaining spectators were departing, a familiar scene was unfolding on the US Open tournament grounds. A handful of workers had congregated directly beneath a hole in the ceiling inside one of the tournament shops as they tried to stop water from flowing out of a broken pipe and ruining thousands of pounds worth of merchandise below.

This was not a surprising sight. Upon entering Arthur Ashe Stadium this year, fans were greeted by some ominous signs: “Pardon our appearance while we write the next chapter of Arthur Ashe Stadium.” The tournament’s appearance, it must be said, was hideous. Inside the corridors and rooms at one of the biggest sporting events in the world, it felt like its main building was falling apart.

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We take a look at some of our favourite snapshots from New York as Elena Rybakina and Alexander Zverev both triumphed in the final grand slam of the year

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• Dual grand slam doubles champion named after tennis suspension

• Alex de Minaur leads Australia team to face Poland in tie in Brisbane

Max Purcell, the grand slam doubles champion left shattered when having to serve a ban for an anti-doping breach, is back in the Australian tennis fold, selected as part of Lleyton Hewitt’s Davis Cup team to face Poland.

The 28-year-old Purcell, who received widespread sympathy throughout tennis from those who felt the 18-month ban was unfair and smacked of double standards, could play his first Davis Cup rubber for two years next week.

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Will influencers and weed smokers bring down US Open?
Send your thoughts to Daniel via email

I can’t lie, part of me wondered if Andreeva would ever win a slam. Not because I doubted her talent, but because I feared that at some point in every major, she’d be out-hit by an opponent with a bigger but not necessarily better game. In the event, though, her preternatural grasp of the game is worth more than a few mph, the question no longer how but how many.

Word up and welcome to the US Open 2026 – day nine!

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• The latest fourth-round updates from Flushing Meadows

• You can mail Daniel and follow us on TikTok and Bluesky

We’re 4-4 in the doubles and knocking up on Ashe. Thinking more about the match, I’d expect Townsend to use top spin to hit cross at Sabalenka’s backhand, taking her outside the lines if possible. She’ll also try and slow the game down, I think, and frustrate the champ, who doesn’t enjoy the wind-ups.

Townsend comes out wearing a coat that wouldn’t be out of place in the Night’s Watch, photo to follow but, in the meantime:

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• Australian wildcard loses 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 to Luciano Darderi

• Sweeney frustrated by loss but says he had ‘an amazing week’

Dane Sweeny’s gallant and “career-changing” US Open campaign has come to a frustrating end with a tough third-round loss to seeded Italian Luciano Darderi.

Sweeny complained of a hip injury during the 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 defeat to the world No 22 that left Australia without a second-week singles hope in New York for the first time in five years.

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