Category: Tennis

• Reviews allowed for double bounces and double hits

• Players not able to challenge electronic line calls

Wimbledon will introduce video review technology this year that will allow players to challenge judgment calls made by the chair umpire, the tournament’s organisers have announced.

Players will not be able to challenge the decisions of the electronic line calling (ELC) system that was introduced at Wimbledon last year, but video reviews will be available to check other scenarios, like whether a ball has bounced twice or touched a player’s racket or body.

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• All England Club wants 38 new courts and new stadium

• Campaign group SWP says it will ‘fight on’

Wimbledon has received a major boost to its expansion plans. The All England Club’s proposals to almost triple the size of the current site are not prohibited by restrictions on how the land earmarked for development can be used, a high court judge has ruled.

The plans, approved by the Greater London Authority (GLA) in 2024, could mean the construction of 38 tennis courts and an 8,000-seat stadium on the site of the former Wimbledon Park Golf Club, enabling the club to host qualifying matches for the tournament.

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• 40-year-old committed five anti-doping rule violations

• Matosevic, now a coach, critical of ITIA’s investigative practices

Six weeks after branding the International Tennis Integrity Agency “corrupt”, one-time Australian No 1 Marinko Matosevic has been handed a four-year ban for multiple doping offences.

An independent tribunal determined that Matosevic committed five anti-doping rule violations between 2018 and 2020, including use of a prohibited method through blood doping and facilitating another player to blood dope, providing advice to others on how to avoid positive tests, and use and possession of the prohibited substance clenbuterol.

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The most startling performances of recent months have involved revitalised tennis from Medvedev and Djokovic

In the uncertain early stages of his Indian Wells semi-final contest with Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev swiftly made his intentions clear. Having established a 3-1 lead, he chased down a trademark Alcaraz drop shot, then a lob, before slamming the door shut on the point by firing an ultra-flat inside-out backhand winner on to the edge of the line.

This was a statement point and it formed part of the most startling performance of the year so far. Few gave Medvedev a serious chance against Alcaraz, who had won their four previous meetings, conceding just one set. It took one of the best matches of Medvedev’s distinguished career to turn the tables on Alcaraz in only two sets.

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• Italian world No 2 clinches 7-6 (6), 7-6 (4) win in Californian desert

• Women’s No 1 Aryna Sabalenka snaps her losing streak in final

Jannik Sinner claimed his first title of the year with victory over Daniil Medvedev in Indian Wells, while Aryna Sabalenka snapped her losing streak against Elena Rybakina in a thrilling women’s final.

Four-time grand slam champion Sinner had had a slightly underwhelming start to the season by his stratospheric standards but he was peerless in the Californian desert, not dropping a set through the fortnight.

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• Spanish world No 1 falls to first defeat of tennis season

• Medvedev wins 6-3, 7-6(3) to set up final against Jannik Sinner

Carlos Alcaraz said he was finding it tough to constantly have a target on his back and was surprised by the level of performance from Daniil Medvedev after the Russian handed him his first defeat of the season at Indian Wells.

Medvedev’s 6-3, 7-6(3) victory over the world No 1 in the semi-finals ended the Spaniard’s 16-match winning run to start the season. World No 11 Medvedev will play Jannik Sinner in the final on Sunday.

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• British No 1’s title defence ends with 6-1, 7-5 loss in quarters

• Carlos Alcaraz beats Cameron Norrie 6-3, 6-4 to reach last four

Jack Draper was controversially ruled to have caused a hindrance to opponent Daniil Medvedev as his Indian Wells title defence ended in the quarter-finals. The 24-year-old Briton, looking understandably weary from his exploits in beating Novak Djokovic less than 24 hours earlier, went down 6-1, 6-4 to the former world No 1.

The decisive moment came at 5-5 and 0-15 in the second set when umpire Aurelie Torte decided to award Medvedev a point following a video review after Draper had raised his arms at a disputed line call and was deemed to have distracted his opponent, with Medvedev going on to seal a crucial break.

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• British No 1 comes from behind in 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5) win

• Hard-fought win keeps Draper’s title defence on track

Jack Draper was “overwhelmed” after beating Novak Djokovic for the first time to reach the quarter-finals in Indian Wells and keep his title defence on track.

Playing only the second ATP tournament of his comeback after eight months out with an arm injury, Draper came through a gripping battle lasting more than two-and-a-half hours in a deciding tie-break to win 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5).

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• World No 1 wins 6-2, 6-4 against Japanese

• Australian qualifier Talia Gibson stuns Paolini

Aryna Sabalenka eased past Naomi Osaka 6-2, 6-4 to reach the Indian Wells quarter-finals while the fourth seed, Alexander Zverev, progressed to the last eight in the men’s event.

Sabalenka and Osaka, both four-time grand slam title winners, were meeting for the first time since 2018, when the Japanese won at the US Open en route to her maiden major title, but the world No 1’s power proved too much for one of her predecessors.

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• Russian loses to Katerina Siniakova in three sets

• Teenager throws racket on several occasions

Mirra Andreeva’s Indian Wells title defense met a bad-tempered end on Monday as Katerina Siniakova stunned the Russian teenager 4-6, 7-6, 6-3.

The 18-year-old opened her bid to retain her crown with a dominant 6-0, 6-0 demolition of Solana Sierra. But she was in trouble early and often against Siniakova, the world No 44, in a rollercoaster contest that ended with a shot from the Czech that hit the net cord and dribbled over in one last frustrating moment.

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• Draper defeats Argentine 6-1, 7-5 in third round

• Cameron Norrie sees off Alex de Minaur 6-4, 6-4

Jack Draper continued his impressive comeback from an arm injury by beating Francisco Cerundolo to set up a last-16 clash with Novak Djokovic at Indian Wells.

Draper rode his luck at the end of the second set to clinch a 6-1, 7-5 win and set up his first meeting with Djokovic since he took the first set off the defending champion on his Wimbledon debut in 2021.

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• American wins 6-1, 6-1

• Aryna Sabalenka sets up Naomi Osaka meeting

Emma Raducanu suffered a heavy defeat in just 52 minutes to Amanda Anisimova in the third round at Indian Wells. The British No 1 was well below par in a 6-1 6-1 loss to the American world No 6.

Raducanu, seeded 25, may have been struggling with a fitness issue as she repeatedly refused to chase down drop shots. The 23-year-old’s first serve misfired badly and she hit just two winners to her opponent’s 21.

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• Kartal beats No 20 seed Emma Navarro 6-1, 3-6, 7-6

• British men’s No 1 defeats Bautista Agut 3-6, 6-3, 6-2

Jack Draper came from behind to beat Roberto Bautista Agut 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 to start his title defence in Indian Wells, and his success was followed by a superb performance in the women’s event from Sonay Kartal, as the British No 2 twice broke back to stay in the match and beat the No 20 seed, Emma Navarro, 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (2).

Kartal, the world No 54, raced through the first set but needed a medical time out and Navarro levelled the match in the second. The Briton was serving first in the final set but failed to put her opponent under much pressure and was broken in the ninth game by the American. The defiant Kartal broke back but could not hold her serve next up, meaning the world No 25 would serve for the match again at 6-5. Kartal refused to go down without a fight, saved a match point, broke back and then dropped just two points in the tie-break.

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• British No 1 snaps losing streak with 6-1, 6-3 victory

• Former coach Mark Petchey returns to her corner

Emma Raducanu enjoyed a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Anastasia Zakharova to reach the last 32 in Indian Wells.

Raducanu arrived at the WTA 1000 tournament on a three-match losing streak and eager to rediscover form after her January split from coach Francisco Roig.

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