James Hansen

Tennis goes back to clay before the Olympics, with Nadal back in a final and the Hall of Fame Open becoming a mixed event

Rafael Nadal could play his first US Open in two years this August. The four-time champion has entered the men’s singles draw using his protected injury ranking of world No 9, after missing last year’s tournament through injury. His current world ranking is No 261. Although his protected ranking is inside the top 32, players are not allowed to use the system to gain a seeding, so Nadal could still be drawn against one of the top 32 in the world at the time of the tournament. At the French Open, this dynamic led him to face then-world No 4 Alexander Zverev in the first round, in...

The Athletic's tennis team reflect on Wimbledon 2024, picking the players, matches, and moments of the tournament

Catherine, Princess of Wales will attend the Wimbledon men’s final on Sunday July 14 in her role as patron of the All England Club but will miss Saturday’s women’s final. Kensington Palace has confirmed that Kate Middleton will be present for Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic’s meeting, after the All England Club issued a statement regarding the women’s final between Jasmine Paolini and Barbora Krejcikova. “At the request of Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales, Patron of The All England Lawn Tennis Club, the trophies will be presented on court by...

WIMBLEDON — Daniil Medvedev narrowly escaped being defaulted from his Wimbledon semi-final against Carlos Alcaraz after aiming abuse at umpire Eva Asderaki-Moore on Centre Court. With the Russian No 5 seed serving at 5-3, 30-40, Alcaraz aimed a short forehand drop-shot cross-court, which Medvedev scrambled to reach. As he scooped his racket at the ball, Asderaki-Moore called “not up,” meaning that she believed that the ball had bounced twice. (Alcaraz hit a forehand pass which Medvedev, out of position, could only deflect well wide anyway.) After staring at his box, Medvedev then...

Carlos Alcaraz reached his second consecutive Wimbledon final, after beating Daniil Medvedev 6-7, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 on Centre Court on Friday. After dropping the first set for the third time in the tournament, Alcaraz imposed himself on the match and wrenched it from Medvedev’s grasp. Medvedev, who played some stunning shots and benefitted from a little luck to win the tiebreak resoundingly, 7-1, came close to being defaulted from the match in the first set, after losing serve on a ball that bounced twice just before he hit it. He appeared to say “f*** you” three times in the...

Jasmine Paolini beat Donna Vekic 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(8) to reach her first Wimbledon final, coming through a 10-point match tiebreak that decided one of the most compelling and tense matches of the Championships so far. Vekic breezed through the first set like it was a first-round match, not her first Grand Slam semifinal in 43 attempts. She won 91 per cent of points behind her first serve without facing a single break point, and broke Paolini twice. Vekic arguably played even better tennis in the second set, winning more points on Paolini’s first serve, but she failed to continue her attack...

Alex de Minaur has withdrawn from his Wimbledon quarterfinal against Novak Djokovic with a hip injury. The Australian woke up Wednesday hoping for a miracle after pulling up at the end of his previous match. He went out to the Aorangi practice courts to test himself, and then ran into Djokovic’s manager following his practice. That was when he told him he would be withdrawing. De Minaur appeared to get injured on match point of his round-of-16 match against Arthur Fils of France, but the injury actually occurred earlier in the final game, at 30-40. He then called a press conference on...

As Wimbledon's quarterfinals begin, The Athletic's tennis team take stock of the women's singles draw

Jannik Sinner's tweener against Ben Shelton wasn't just a trickshot — it was an incredible feat of decision-making and execution

This story has been updated to reflect Elina Svitolina’s comments in her post-match press conference at Wimbledon. WIMBLEDON — Elina Svitolina wore a black ribbon during her Wimbledon last-16 match against Wang Xinyu, after Russian missile strikes killed and injured more than 100 Ukrainians across the country this morning. In her press conference following a 6-2, 6-1 win to reach her second consecutive Wimbledon quarterfinal, she said that she would “prefer” the tournament’s policy of 2022 to be in place, when Russian and Belarusian athletes were banned from...

Emma Raducanu’s Wimbledon is over after losing to New Zealand qualifier Lulu Sun on Centre Court on Sunday. Sun triumphed 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 in a dominant performance, hitting 52 winners to Raducanu’s 18 and taking control of the match with a mixture of fearless baseline play and deft, considered variety in the front half of the court. Sun broke Raducanu twice in the first set, with the Briton — who pulled out of her mixed doubles match with Andy Murray due to stiffness in her wrist — looking at a loss with how to deal with what was coming from the other end of the court. Sun...

The American No. 12 seed was 5-2 up and heading for the last eight, before injury scuppered her chances

Andy Murray and Emma Raducanu will play fourth on Court One at Wimbledon on Saturday. The match could be the two-time champion at the All England Club’s final one at the tournament as he nears retirement. Murray lost in the men’s doubles alongside brother Jamie on Thursday before an emotional farewell on Centre Court. The British duo will face Marcelo Arevalo and Zhang Shuai and follow Ben Shelton and Denis Shapovalov’s resumed singles match which is opening up play. Iga Swiatek and Yulia Putintseva and Elena Rybakina and Caroline Wozniacki will then be in women’s...

The racket smash is a staple of tennis, but at Wimbledon, players can't hit the grass. What creativity emerges from destruction?