5:53 AM ET Andy Murray admitted he wasn’t sure how much longer his tennis career will last as he made a successful return to the court with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over local favourite James Duckworth at the Brisbane International on Tuesday. The former world No.1 ended his season early last year after suffering pain

12:22 AM ET Former U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens has been bundled out of the Brisbane International in the first round by Briton Johanna Konta. A 2016 Australian Open semi-finalist, world No. 37 Konta upset third-seeded American Stephens 6-4 6-3 in under two hours to book a second round clash with Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic. World

10:52 AM ET Associated Press SHENZHEN, China — Maria Sharapova returned to competitive tennis with a 6-2, 7-6 (3) win against Timea Bacsinszky in the first round of Shenzhen Open on Monday. Sharapova cut her campaign short in September to recover from a shoulder injury. The fifth-seeded Russian, a semifinalist here last year, hit 23

12:34 PM ET AAP / ESPN Ashleigh Barty and Matthew Ebden both won their singles matches against France to give Australia a winning start to their Hopman Cup campaign. Barty opened proceedings in the evening at RAC Arena in Perth with a straight sets win over Alize Cornet. Ashleigh Barty celebrates after her win over

7:30 AM ET It took them a while to realise but Greece’s Hopman Cup title hopes are hanging by a thread. World No.15 Stefanos Tsitsipas and world No.41 Maria Sakkari were expected to ease past unheralded Great Britain duo Cameron Norrie and Katie Boulter at RAC Arena on Saturday. Stefanos Tsitsipas in action at the

6:38 AM ET Extreme heat is likely to remain a source of discontent at the Australian Open despite tournament organisers introducing changes aimed at improving conditions for players. Officials have scrapped the use of wet bulb globe temperature readings for the season-opening grand slam, starting on January 14. Novak Djokovic and Gael Monfils at the

8:14 AM ET Tennis Australia’s decision to go with the 10-point tiebreaker at the Australian Open starting in 2019 is innovative, but it exacerbates an already spectacular lack of consistency among the Grand Slam tournaments. It also makes a scoring system that is already baffling even more confusing for casual fans. The 10-point version —

3:01 AM ET Andy Murray is still feeling the effects of a hip injury that forced a premature end to his 2018 activity, but the Briton hopes the pain will ease as he plays more matches in the lead-up to next month’s Australian Open. The former world No.1 returned to the ATP tour in June

1:25 PM ET Associated Press ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — Serena Williams has welcomed the extra protection given to new mothers when they return to the women’s tennis tour. Serena Williams, who returned to tennis after a health scare following childbirth, was voted The Associated Press’ top female athlete, finishing ahead of gymnast Simone

9:56 AM ET Associated Press ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — Rafael Nadal is confident he can be fit for the Australian Open as he chases an 18th Grand Slam title. A right knee injury forced Nadal to retire from his US Open semifinal in early September — his last competitive match — and the