1:23 AM ET MUMBAI — The 2021 Australian Open could be moved to later in the year due to COVID-19 but tournament director Craig Tiley told Reuters that organisers are confident of hosting the Grand Slam tennis event in its usual January slot with full prize money and fans in the stands. Melbourne is in

4:27 PM ET Serena Williams said on Tuesday that she has become a student of the Bible during the long lockdown triggered by the coronavirus pandemic and believes that the book holds the key to achieving racial justice. “A lot of my time off, I’ve been studying the Bible,’ Williams said in a Zoom call

10:25 PM ET Associated Press LEXINGTON, Ky. — Marie Bouzkova expected some adjustment to her first tennis tournament in nearly six months. First was the matter of shedding rust from the layoff caused by the coronavirus shutdown. The Czech Republic player also had to get her mind around the inaugural Top Seed Open and a

12:58 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — Svetlana Kuznetsova, the 2004 U.S. Open champion, added her name to the growing group of players withdrawing from the Grand Slam tournament because of the coronavirus pandemic. Kuznetsova wrote Monday on Instagram that she was pulling out of the U.S. Open and the tournament preceding it at

9:19 AM ET D’Arcy MaineESPN.com After seven years away from the sport, Kim Clijsters announced her much-hyped return to professional tennis in September. It hasn’t exactly been the comeback year she envisioned. Yet despite the unprecedented and unpredictable circumstances of the 2020 season, she somehow has already has won a title. Following three grueling weeks

6:24 AM ET American tennis player Coco Gauff has said she has finally found the right words to speak out against social and racial injustice after appearing at a Black Lives Matter protest rally. Outspoken on social media, Gauff has released videos protesting against killings of Black people in the U.S. amid widespread outrage following

4:10 PM ET Associated Press PALERMO, Sicily — Fiona Ferro of France upset fourth-seeded Anett Kontaveit of Estonia in the Palermo Ladies Open final on Sunday to win the first tour-level tennis title in five months. Ferro, who is ranked 53rd in the world, won 6-2, 7-5. She had lost just one set on her

1:33 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — Alexei Popyrin withdrew from the US Open on Sunday, allowing 2012 champion Andy Murray to move into the main draw. That means Murray can relinquish the wild-card invitation he received from the U.S. Tennis Association, which now will be given to American Mitchell Krueger. Popyrin is a

4:47 PM ET Associated Press LEXINGTON, Ky. — Serena Williams flexed and then kissed a sinewy right biceps to show downtime well spent in training even without bench pressing. “This is God-given, thank you very much,” the 23-time Grand Slam champion said as she thanked her mother, Oracene. Williams now looks to flex her muscles

3:33 PM ET Associated Press PALERMO, Sicily — Fourth-seeded Anett Kontaveit will play 53rd-ranked Fiona Ferro on Sunday for the first tour-level tennis title in five months at the Palermo Ladies Open. Kontaveit beat top-seeded Petra Martic 6-2, 6-4, and Ferro rallied past Camila Giorgi of Italy 2-6, 6-2, 7-5, in the semifinals Saturday. It’s