Category: Tennis

All-time greats have questions to answer in SW19 while Raducanu and Draper have to show they can stay fit

Serena Williams left it until the last minute to take the final available singles wildcard at Wimbledon and dramatically escalate her comeback from retirement. It is hard to imagine this was all part of her master plan. If she knew she was ready to compete against the best in the world from the beginning of the grass court season, Williams would have surely tested the waters at Queen’s Club or in Berlin, rather than playing doubles. But here she is, unable to resist the pull of Wimbledon, where she has won seven times in singles. Williams’s career has been filled with so many magical moments and at 44 years old, after four years of retirement, she is back at SW19 attempting to create a few more magical moments.

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• 23-year-old spotted in protective boot on Wednesday

• Raducanu’s last match was HSBC Championships final

Emma Raducanu faces a race to be at full fitness for Wimbledon after her preparations for the tournament were disrupted by injury.

On Wednesday evening Raducanu was seen by Clay magazine leaving the All England Club wearing a protective boot on her right foot after not practising that day. She had been scheduled to train at midday on Thursday but did not practise for a second straight day.

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It is the stroke that looks easy but can be a nightmare for some of the world’s top players – even Novak Djokovic has the Djokosmash

Elite players are often at their most comfortable when speaking about the fine technical details of their game, but last month at the French Open, a straightforward question about the overhead smash initially drew little more than a regretful shake of the head from Novak Djokovic. “You’re talking to the wrong person,” he said, laughing.

One of the pillars of Djokovic’s legendary career is his complete game. In a sport where most players have a weak point, the 24-time grand slam champion has mastered nearly every stroke.

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• Australian veteran says four-year ban is a ‘disgrace’

• ITIA says strong testing means unpredictable timing

Ajla Tomljanovic has described the lengthy doping ban administered to Marketa Vondrousova, the 2023 Wimbledon singles champion, as a disgrace and has accused the ­tennis anti-doping authorities of being out to get players even when they have done nothing wrong.

The International Tennis ­Integrity Agency announced on Monday that Vondrousova had been handed a four‑year suspension by an independent tribunal after the Czech player had refused to provide a sample to a doping control officer at her home last December at around 8pm.

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• ‘No compelling justification’ for not submitting a sample

• ‘Unpredictable testing is essential to protect clean sport’

Marketa Vondrousova, the 2023 Wimbledon singles champion, has been banned from professional sport for four years after she refused an anti-doping test.

According to an independent tribunal, Vondrousova provided “no compelling justification” for declining to provide a sample after being notified at her home by a doping control officer in December. The 26-year-old is suspended from all professional events until 21 June 2030.

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• Seven-time champion, now 44, continues on-court return

• She will also compete in doubles with sister Venus

Serena Williams will make a stunning return to singles competition at Wimbledon after being announced as the tournament’s final wildcard on Sunday.

Wimbledon will mark Williams’s first singles appearance in nearly four years after retiring from the sport at the 2022 US Open and it marks a dramatic escalation in her comeback.

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• 28-year-old is first US player to win at Halle since 1993

• Tiafoe will climb to No 19 as Wimbledon nears

Frances Tiafoe beat fellow American Taylor Fritz 6-4 6-4 to win the ⁠Halle Open on Sunday, sealing the biggest title of his career and becoming the first American since 1993 to lift the ATP ⁠500 grass-court trophy.

Tiafoe ⁠set the ​tone early, breaking serve in the opening set and remaining composed on his own delivery to keep Fritz from settling. He carried ⁠that momentum into the second set, again striking early and dictating from the baseline to wrap up the win and snap a seven-match losing streak ⁠against Fritz since his first victory in 2016.

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Serena Williams’ appearance plus Raducanu and Boulter doing so well put the men’s event in the shade this year

One of the more amusing sights at the Queen’s Club tournament each year comes before even entering the grounds. On the first day of play on Monday, a deluge of spectators invariably descend on Barons Court station, just 150 metres from the entrance.

So many people passing through a tiny London Underground station naturally means long queues at the barriers. That congestion is not helped by many of them comically pausing in front of the gates to frantically search for their debit cards or desperately try to unlock their phones.

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Former world No 4 backs best man at his wedding to reignite Raducanu and hopes to entice Jannik Sinner to join Team Europe at the O2

“Tennis is in a good place, but I think it could be better,” says Tim Henman when asked about the state of the sport that has consumed most of his life. He will soon outline ways tennis could be improved but, first, it helps to remember that the 51-year-old played in six grand slam semi-finals, including four at Wimbledon, won an Olympic silver medal and became No 4 in the world despite constant gripes from part-time tennis supporters who wrongly said he lacked the grit of an elite player.

Yet grit filters through Henman’s memories and explains why he loves tennis while always striving to reach a better place. We meet at the Queen’s Club and the elegance of the venue provides a stark contrast to the series of cheap B&Bs where Henman lived, down the road in Earl’s Court, for two years at the outset of his career. Money was tight then and sometimes four young players could share a single room.

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• Former British No 1 is axed after 23 years at the mic

• ‘I am lucky to have the best gig in sports broadcasting’

Andrew Castle has confirmed that Wimbledon this year will be his last at the commentator’s mic, the former British No 1 leaving the “best gig in sports broadcasting” after more than two decades as the BBC makes changes to its coverage.

The 62-year-old, who will remain in post as the All England Championships get under way on Monday, told the Times: “It’s been a hell of a journey. I can’t say I have enjoyed every minute because there have been moments of pressure and controversy, but it has been a huge privilege.

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• Williams sisters have won six doubles titles at SW19

• French Open finalist Chwalinksa awarded wildcard

Serena and Venus Williams will rekindle their doubles partnership at Wimbledon this month after receiving a wildcard into the women’s doubles draw. The All England Club announced the recipients on Tuesday morning in one of the most highly anticipated wildcard announcements in recent memory considering Serena’s return this month after four years of retirement.

Serena, a seven-times singles champion, did not request a singles wildcard and the 44-year-old has remained coy about whether she plans to return for singles. Venus, a five-time singles champion, has also not received a singles wildcard. Venus has competed on the tour since her debut in 1994, only stopping due to health-related issues. She turns 46 on Wednesday.

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• Representatives say increase is ‘a signal of intent’

• Tennis stars had boycotted media at French Open

Wimbledon will avoid the threat of player protests after representatives of the world’s top players welcomed the significant prize‑money increase offered by the All England Club.

“Leading players from the ATP and WTA Tours welcome Wimbledon’s 2026 prize money announcement as a genuine and significant step forward – the 20% increase is the largest single-year uplift in the tournament’s history and a meaningful signal of intent,” the player group said in a statement.

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• Mboko forced out with knee injury after heavy fall

• Williams’ focus now shifts to Berlin wildcard spot

Serena Williams’s first tournament since coming out of retirement has ended prematurely after her partner Victoria Mboko was forced to withdraw from the Queen’s Club tournament after injuring her knee when slipping on the grass in her singles match on Wednesday.

Williams made a sensational return to competition at 44 after a four-year absence on Tuesday alongside Mboko as the pair defeated the third seeds Nicole Melichar Martinez and Erin Routliffe 7-6(2), 6-2. The pair were scheduled to face Leylah Fernandez and Laura Siegemund on Thursday afternoon.

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