Tennis Page 52 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Remember when Novak Djokovic called out Naomi Osaka for not following the rules?
I’m as sick of Novak Djokovic as you are, and as my colleague Grace McDermott wrote yesterday, we’d stop writing about him if he’d stop making us. ...

What did Novak know, and when did he know it?
We’d stop writing about the guy if he stopped giving us fresh crap to write about....

The Djokovics are making steamed hams
Perhaps in the social media age, or just our vindictive society, being the best ever at something is going to cause a mass amount of idiocy around you. Then again, when you’re the author of that idiocy, maybe we have to admit that to be the best ever to play any sport, it takes such a singular focus...

Let me breakdown this Djokovic-Aussie mess
Let’s just begin by talking about Novak Djokovic’s skills. He is very, very good at hitting fuzzy, yellow, bouncy tennis balls. He can hit them very hard, and yet he can also hit them very softly. He makes people clap with delight with how he hits tennis balls. He wins very large trophies. Hitting f...
![Novak Djokovic denied entry into Australia over visa issue [Updated]](https://images.deadspin.com/tr:w-900/b66888400ab4c7e638ff0fb6a8e5618c.jpg)
Novak Djokovic denied entry into Australia over visa issue [Updated]
The Australian Open might have given the controversial OK to unvaccinated tennis star Novak Djokovic, but the Victorian State Government in Australia has not proved quite as accommodating....

Aussie Open rules don’t apply to Novak Djokovic
Yet again, the major sports set out to prove that the rules don’t apply to the moneymakers — even when the rules are in the interest of public health and ending an ongoing pandemic. Twenty-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic will be allowed to play in the Australian Open after receiving a medical ...

The WTA stood up to China, thank goodness somebody did
The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) decided that enough was enough and it could not continue its business relationship with China, but the right decision could come with a significant financial cost. WTA Chairman and CEO Steve Simon released a statement that the organization will be suspending all ...

The WTA stood up to China, thank goodness somebody did
The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) decided that enough was enough and it could not continue its business relationship with China, but the right decision could come with a significant financial cost. WTA Chairman and CEO Steve Simon released a statement that the organization will be suspending all ...

Sorry, I just don’t trust the IOC
The IOC continues to happily eat whatever the Chinese government is willing to shovel to it. Yesterday IOC President Thomas Bach allegedly had a 30-minute video confab with Peng Shuai, in the hopes that would quell all the questions and fears about her whereabouts and well-being after she went off t...

Serena Williams is still bothered by what happened at Indian Wells 20 years ago — the tournament should be renamed in her honor
Your apology should be louder than your disrespect....

Tennis player Peng Shuai is missing after accusing a Chinese official of sexual assault
A top-ranked tennis player has not been heard from for days since detailing sexual abuse allegations against former Chinese official Zhang Gaoli. Like the social media post that was quickly taken down, Peng Shuai has also vanished....

Emma Raducanu pulls off the other type of unrepeatable triumph
It’s funny, if not remarkable: during a tournament that was mostly about a once-in-a-lifetime achievement before it began, another type of a once-in-a-lifetime achievement has stolen the headlines. While Novak Djokovic goes for the first calendar grand slam in decades later today, and tries to take ...

It’s a Canadian invasion
The main story of the U.S. Open, other than the plethora of five-set matches, or three-set matches for the women, has been the surprising runs of a few teenagers in both the women’s and men’s side of the draw. The longest run so far is by a young Canadian named Leylah Fernandez, who has kneecapped a...

If Naomi Osaka doesn’t love tennis anymore, good on her for taking a break
Naomi Osaka’s title defense at the U.S. Open is over, and it’s not really clear right now what else might be. ...

It’s getting biblical out there, folks, so what are we going to do about it?
I do my best to not get into the doom-scrolling or doomsaying mode, though yesterday in America truly felt like some of the foundation simply melting courtesy of New York City flooding, and coming to a halt, and Texas making every citizen the arbiter of any woman’s body....

We’ve got tennis beef at the U.S. Open
Andy Murray and Stefanos Tsitsipas had a first-round doozy on Monday, that saw Murray take a 1-0 and 2-1 sets lead on the Greek star, but Tsitsipas fought back in the fourth and fifth sets to save his blushes from a first-round exit and move on. It was after that fourth set that things got spicy. ...

The icons of tennis are about to leave the stage, and the US Open will be our first taste of life without them in decades
With Serena Williams withdrawing from US Open, and Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal out, we’re about to get a peek at tennis without its icons...

Naomi Osaka’s issues with (some) in ‘the media’ are legit
Asking questions is an important part of this job. How you ask those questions are even more significant, as tone and context are essential. There’s a difference between asking a question to get an answer, and asking one to get a quote....

Big tennis doesn’t want players to be polite to each other
Everybody loves rivalries, trash-talking, and lighthearted ribbing in sports. Nobody wants to see it go too far, but competition and mutual respect that lead to heated confrontations on the field are pure entertainment. Big egos and confidence are a big factor in several athletes’ mindsets, and that...

Naomi Osaka lights up Megyn Kelly, follows with Twitter block heard around the world
As though Naomi Osaka couldn’t demonstrate any more grace in the face of aggressive trolls, she somehow did it again in the form of a simple block on social media....