10:48 AM ET Associated Press MADRID — Two-time Madrid Open champion Simona Halep and second-ranked Paula Badosa will meet for the first time in the tournament’s second round after opening with victories on Thursday. Halep beat Zhang Shuai 6-2, 6-3; Badosa defeated Veronika Kudermetova 6-3, 6-0. Halep won consecutive Madrid titles in 2016 and 2017
Tennis
5:36 PM ET Associated Press MADRID — Former No. 1 Naomi Osaka enters the clay-court season with the goal of not being too hard on herself. Osaka, 24, made the final in Miami last month and will be playing as a wild-card entry when the Madrid Open begins on Thursday. “I’m trying to embrace my
5:42 PM ET Associated Press Fifth seed Frances Tiafoe overcame a resilient wildcard Nuno Borges 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 6-0 in the second round of the ATP 250 Millennium Estoril Open on Wednesday. A tie-break was required to decide the opening set, which the 25-year-old clinched 7-4, before home-favourite Borges fought back in the second to
4:40 PM ET Associated Press MUNICH — Danish teenager Holger Rune upset top-seeded Alexander Zverev 6-3, 6-2 Wednesday to reach the quarterfinals of the BMW Open tennis tournament. The 18-year-old broke Zverev’s first service game in each set to take control of the match on his way to his first career win over a player
7:44 AM ET Associated Press MADRID — Top-ranked Iga Swiatek withdrew from the Madrid Open on Wednesday because of a sore arm. Swiatek, who has won four straight titles, was going to be the top-seeded player in the women’s draw for this week’s clay-court tournament. “It’s time to take care of my arm that has
12:10 PM ET Associated Press MADRID — Rafael Nadal will play the Madrid Open after recovering from a rib injury that sidelined him for a month, he said Tuesday. Nadal had been recovering from a stress fracture he sustained while playing at Indian Wells in March. His loss to American Taylor Fritz in the final
10:59 AM ET Associated Press MADRID — Serbia and Spain will square off in the group stage of the Davis Cup finals, organizers said after holding a draw on Tuesday. That could mean a matchup of Novak Djokovic against Rafael Nadal when their nations play as part of Group B along with Canada and South
8:23 AM ET Novak Djokovic will be allowed to defend his Wimbledon title after organisers at the All England Club (AELTC) said that players will not need to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to compete at the tournament. Djokovic missed the Australian Open in January due to not being vaccinated, and AELTC CEO Sally
2:58 AM ET Emma Raducanu has split from her coach Torben Beltz after just five months. Raducanu began working with Beltz in November but she announced on Tuesday she will transition “to a new training model,” which ESPN understands will carry through to Roland Garros. 1 Related LTA coach Iain Bates will work with her
11:39 AM ET Associated Press LONDON — Carlos Alcaraz moved up to No. 9 in the ATP rankings on Monday, a little more than a month before he turns 19, making him the youngest man to break into the top 10 since Rafael Nadal did it exactly 17 years ago. Alcaraz rose two spots after