9:34 PM ET Associated Press SYDNEY — No. 1-ranked Simona Halep returns to competitive tennis this week at the Sydney International unsure if her back injury has fully healed. It will be the first time Halep has played since the French Open champion ended her season in October due to a herniated disk in her
Tennis
1:42 PM ET Associated Press DOHA, Qatar — Roberto Bautista Agut didn’t waste his win over Novak Djokovic as he won the Qatar Open by beating Tomas Berdych 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in the final on Saturday. Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut reacts after winning against Czech Republic’s Tomas Berdych during the ATP Qatar Open final. Photo by
6:28 AM ET Associated Press SHENZHEN, China — Aryna Sabalenka got a confidence boost for the upcoming Australian Open after beating Alison Riske 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-3 in the Shenzhen Open final on Saturday. “To start the season with a title, it gives you more belief in yourself, and hopefully I can do well at
11:39 PM ET World No.27 Lesia Tsurenko has recorded a convincing upset victory over an out-of-sorts Naomi Osaka to reach the Brisbane International final. Japanese second seed Osaka, the US Open champion, suffered the 6-2 6-4 loss at Pat Rafter Arena on Saturday. Ukranian Tsurenko will play former champion Karolina Pliskova or 34th ranked Donna
7:45 AM ET World No. 34 Donna Vekic has steamrolled 2018 runner-up Aliaksandra Sasnovich to reach the Brisbane International semifinals. The 22-year-old Croatian won 6-2 6-0 on Friday at Pat Rafter Arena, accounting for top seed Elina Svitolina’s second-round conqueror in less than an hour. Vekic started strongly in taking a 4-0 lead in the
1:45 AM ET Tennis legend Ken Rosewall fears an underdone Nick Kyrgios looms as Australian Open fodder if the mercury rises as usual for the summer grand slam in Melbourne. Kyrgios barely picked up a racquet last month, preferring to spend his off-season playing basketball before a Christmas-time spider bite further restricted his court time
10:42 AM ET Associated Press Facebook Twitter Facebook Messenger Pinterest Email print SHENZHEN, China — Rain disrupted play at the Shenzhen Open on Thursday, with two quarterfinal matches suspended. Qualifier Veronika Kudermetova was leading Vera Zvonareva 6-4, and Sorana Cirstea was leading Alison Riske 2-0 when play was stopped. The matches will resume Friday. In
1:38 AM ET He may have missed a chance to play Rafael Nadal at the Brisbane International. But France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga says he is now looking forward to facing a player who reminds him of a “more aggressive” Lleyton Hewitt – Australian No.1 Alex de Minaur. Former Australian Open finalist Tsonga booked a Brisbane quarter-final
6:12 AM ET Top seed Caroline Wozniacki is out of the ASB Classic in Auckland after suffering a surprise second round defeat to Canadian teenager Bianca Andreescu. World No. 143 Andreescu saved 10 of the 12 break points she faced in a resolute display, managing to break through herself twice in each set on the
9:39 AM ET Top seed Caroline Wozniacki cruised into the second round of the ASB Classic in Auckland with victory over Germany’s Laura Siegemund. World No. 3 Wozniacki was impressive as she wrapped up a 6-3, 6-2 victory in an hour and 20 minutes in her first match of 2019. The Dane lost in last