Venus Williams loses at Indian Wells in her first match since last year’s US Open

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — Venus Williams played a match on tour for the first time in about six months on Thursday, and the 43-year-old owner of seven Grand Slam titles gave away the lead and the last 10 games in a 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 loss to qualifier Nao Hibino at the BNP Paribas Open. Williams … Read more

Sinner rallies from 2 sets down to win the Australian Open final from Medvedev, clinches 1st major

MELBOURNE, Australia — Jannik Sinner rallied from two sets down to take the Australian Open final from Daniil Medvedev 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 on Sunday and clinch his first Grand Slam title. The 22-year-old Sinner was playing in a major final for the first time and got there by ending Novak Djokovic’s long domination … Read more

US Open winner Gauff to play Australian Open titleholder Sabalenka in semifinals

MELBOURNE, Australia — Coco Gauff hopes she’s got her “bad” match out of the way at the Australian Open before meeting defending champion Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals. It’ll be a rematch of the U.S. Open final, which the 19-year-old Gauff won in three sets for her first major title. Gauff is on a 12-match … Read more

Former US Open champion Sloane Stephens ends 5-year victory drought at the Australian Open

MELBOURNE, Australia — Sloane Stephens picked up her first win at the Australian Open since 2019 when she beat wild-card entry Olivia Gadecki 6-3, 6-1 on Tuesday to reach the second round. The 30-year-old American, who won the U.S. Open in 2017, won five straight games from 2-0 down in the opening set and eased … Read more

Osaka’s Grand Slam comeback ends in 1st-round loss to Garcia, Gauff advances at Australian Open

MELBOURNE, Australia — MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Naomi Osaka waved to the crowd and walked back up the players’ tunnel past the images of former champions after her Grand Slam comeback ended in a first-round loss at the Australian Open to 16th-seeded Caroline Garcia. It was too soon into her comeback for the former two-time … Read more

Pack your jerseys. The era of ‘sports tourism’ is here

Start your engines. From Formula One races to the Summer Olympic Games, traveling to attend major sporting events is on the rise. Sports tourism, as it’s called, is one of the fastest-growing sectors in the travel industry, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization.   The market is massive, and only stands to grow, … Read more