Author: lehang

World No. 1 Jannik Sinner was slapped with a three-month suspension.

Jannik Sinner is serving a three-month ban from tennis. (Image: Getty.)

Jannik Sinner reluctantly agreed to a three-month suspension after “tricky” conversations with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

The world No. 1, who lifted the Australian Open title last month, has been banned until May 4 after two positive drug tests in 2024.

He was found to have banned substance clostebol in his system in March, as WADA sought a two-year suspension, after the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) opted not to punish Sinner.

WADA had previously accepted that the three-time Major winner “did not intend to cheat and the drug did not provide any performance-enhancing benefit” but was still seeking to punish the 23-year-old Italian.

However, having reached an agreement with Sinner for a three-month suspension that expires before the French Open, an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) will no longer go ahead.

The decision was reached on Valentine’s Day (February 14) when Sinner’s lawyer was in a lengthy phone call with WADA’s most senior law representative.

“It all happened unbelievably quickly,” Singer told BBC Sport. “In a matter of a couple of days, really.”

Jannik Sinner won the first Grand Slam of 2025. (Image: Getty)

WADA had been seeking a resolution with Sinner for several months, having made two approaches that were promptly turned down by his team.

Sinner’s lawyer, Jamie Singer, admitted that it was “tricky” to convince his client to agree to a ban.

“When I was saying ‘well, look, maybe we should settle for three months’, he was saying ‘well, why would we do that if the first independent tribunal found it was no ban at all, why would I accept three months now?’” Singer said.

“My advice was ‘one never knows what’s going to happen at a hearing, we know that WADA are pushing for a year, if we don’t accept their offer then they will go to court looking for a year and who knows what those three judges could do’.

“So the possibility of three months, in my view, was a good possibility.”

Had the case been sent to CAS, the only outcomes were a year-plus suspension or Sinner being cleared.

And though WADA agreed that Sinner “was a million miles away from doping”, they were able to strike a 67th agreement despite the backlash that the player would not miss a single Grand Slam.

“This was a case that was a million miles away from doping,” WADA’s general counsel Ross Wanzel added.

“The scientific feedback that we received was that this could not be a case of intentional doping, including micro-dosing.

“I’m not sure that a sanction of 12 months in this case – if we’d have forced the tribunal into that position – or a case of ‘no fault’ would have been a good outcome.

“One would have compromised an important principle under the code. The other one, in our view, would have been an unduly harsh sanction.”

The teenager romped to victory in Dubai against Clara Tauson.

Mirra Andreeva won the Dubai Tennis Championships (Image: Sky Sports )

Mirra Andreeva became the youngest-ever WTA 1000 winner after storming to victory at the Dubai Tennis Championships.

The Russian-born ace has been making waves on Tour ever since bursting onto the scene in 2022.

She stunned the tennis world with a run to the French Open semi-finals last year, defeating Aryna Sabalenka en route to the last four.

And now, just two months into 2025, Andreeva has already bagged her first WTA 1000 title, beating Danish ace Clara Tauson 6-7 (1-6), 1-6 in the final.

A momentous achievement for the teenager, who speaking post-match said: “I’d set a goal for myself to be in top 10 by the end of the year. Now it’s the end of February and I’ve already made it, so this is something incredible for me.

“I’m just super happy with the way I was playing today. I was [very] nervous. I think you could see it during the match with all those double faults, some mistakes.

“I’m just really happy that I could manage and deal with the pressure. And now it just feels amazing. This is something I dreamt of and now my dream came true so I’m just speechless right now.

But it was her last line that had the crowd in stitches, with Andreeva saying: “Lastly, I want to thank me for never quitting and always believing in myself.”

Mirra Andreeva continues to take the tennis world by storm (Image: Getty)

There’s nothing quite like a bit of self-confidence!

The feeling within the tennis world is that the sky is the limit for Andreeva, who continues to perform way beyond her years.

Former professional-turned Sky Sports pundit Laura Robson reacted to Andreeva’s win by saying: “I’ve been very happy to see Joao Fonseca and Mirra Andreeva doing so well on tour recently.

“They were my two picks at the start of the year to have breakout seasons, so it’s going well for me so far – although we’re only in February.

“Andreeva is still only 17, but I feel like we have known her for a long time already. We’re just waiting for that super special Grand Slam result from her, and it feels like this is the year for it.

“I think clay is an incredible surface for her, it allows her to show off her movement and what a great athlete she is. Let’s see what happens in Paris!”

Andreeva will have the opportunity to show off her talents once more at Indian Wells, where she’ll enter as the ninth seed following the win in Dubai.

The main draw action from California begins on Sunday, 2 March.

The German icon might live to regret getting involved with the outspoken Aussie.

Nick Kyrgios and Boris Becker. (Image: Getty)

Boris Becker wouldn’t have been expecting such a blunt response from Nick Kyrgios when he weighed into a joke about the Australian on social media. The outspoken Kyrgios finally returned to Grand Slam action at the Australian Open last month, having been vociferous in the build-up to the tournament over the drugs scandal involving Jannik Sinner.

The Italian initially escaped a doping ban despite testing positive for clostebol last March, having successfully argued he had been unknowingly contaminated while receiving a physio massage.

That drew a furious response from Kyrgios, who regularly took aim at the world No.1 both in press conferences and on social media.

Sinner has since accepted a three-month ban after the World Anti Doping Agency appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and the brash Aussie was also left less than impressed with that development. And he made his feelings known in a rant on X.

“So WADA come out and say it would be a one or two year ban,” he wrote. “Obviously Sinner’s team have done everything in their power to just go ahead and take a three month ban, no titles lost, no prize money lost. Guilty or not? Sad day for tennis. Fairness in tennis does not exist.”

On Saturday, the Swish Tennis account appeared to poke fun at his recent outbursts, posting a mocked up picture of Kyrgios looking elderly in a hotel bed. And they pretended to quote the 29-year-old, implying he had gone on too much about the saga.

Kyrgios has been outspoke over Jannik Sinner’s ban. (Image: Getty)

“2084: ‘Did I tell you about the time Jannik Sinner failed two doping tests?’” read the caption. “The whole system is rigged! Why won’t the establishment do anything? This is why I never won a big title!’”

Becker opted to reply to the post by saying “lol.” Kyrgios clearly took exception to the German finding it funny, and hit back with: “What’s up criminal?”

The brutal jibe appeared to refer to Becker being charged in 2022 with illegally failing to hand over assets and trophies with a value of £2.5 million to help repay his debts after bankruptcy. In April that year, he was sentenced to 30 months’ imprisonment for the offences.

He was released after serving just eight months of his sentence, and has since returned to punditry work. Kyrgios though, has also had his own legal troubles after being summoned in 2022 to appear in court, in Australia, to face a charge of common assault.

The allegation was made by former girlfriend Chiara Passara. Kyrgios pleaded guilty to the assault charge but was not convicted, as Magistrate Beth Campbell stated the case was “at the lower end of the scale of common assault.”

One tennis star fell off the grid shortly after beating Serena Williams at Wimbledon.

Serena Williams was beaten in her final match at Wimbledon in 2022 (Image: Getty)

Toppling Serena Williams in her final Wimbledon match is no small feat in women’s tennis. But rather than providing the platform for greater things to come, it proved to be the peak for Harmony Tan.

In 2022, Williams had set her sights on dislodging Margaret Court as the most successful female tennis player in the Open era as she bid for a 24th Grand Slam.

Even at the age of 40 and after the birth of her daughter, Olympia, it was regarded as a realistic aim. After all, she had won 39 Majors in singles, doubles and mixed doubles throughout her incredible career.

For nigh on 20 years, Williams had dominated the grass court at SW19 and collected seven singles titles over the space of 14 years between 2002 and 2016. The only other woman to win multiple singles titles at Wimbledon this century is Petra Kvitova.

But the American saw her dreams dashed when she came up against Harmony Tan – 115th in the WTA rankings at the time – in the first round. Tan was a relatively-unknown French player outside of the tennis mainstream. She had never even made the main draw at Wimbledon prior to coming through the qualifiers in 2022.

However, Williams had spent a year out through injury and if there was ever a time to take advantage of that, it was Wimbledon. Tan got off to the best possible start, winning the first set after a tightly-contested opener.

But when Williams stormed back to take the second, losing just one game in the process, and many would’ve expected her to go on and claim victory. After three hours and 10 minutes of gruelling play in the London sun, Tan prevailed 7-5, 1-6, 7-6 (7) to stun Centre Court into silence.

Harmony Tan stunned Wimbledon with her three-hour victory over Serena Williams (Image: Getty)

Even Tan couldn’t believe what she had achieved as she heaped praise on Williams: “For my first Wimbledon it’s wow – just wow. It’s a dream because I saw Serena on the TV when I was young. She’s a legend.

“When you play her, I was scared. I mean, I was scared when I was on the court, but really happy to be there.”

The effort she gave was monumental, to the extent that she was forced to pull out of the women’s doubles at the eleventh hour – leading to a minor spat with her partner Tamara Korpatsch.

Tan would go on to beat Sara Sorribes Tormo in the second round and upset the home favourite Katie Boulter in the third. But her run came to an end against the 20th seed, Amanda Anisimova.

Harmony Tan is now ranked 257th in the world and plays ITF events (Image: Getty)

After that defeat, she would never win a match at a Grand Slam again. Her most recent encounter at a Major was her first-round defeat to Bianca Andreescu at the US Open back in 2022.

In one of the more mysterious declines, the 27-year-old dropped out of the top 100 and now plays at lower-profile ITF events, where she has won three titles. Now ranked 257th in the world, Tan doesn’t have the ranking points to prove herself again on the WTA Tour and celebrates the smaller victories.

But with Williams now retired at the age of 43, she may rue the day that she bumped into Tan on the court – and not many tennis players can say they’ve had that effect on the American before.

Jack Draper was beaten by Andrey Rublev in the final of the Qatar Open.

Jack Draper sent a classy message to Andrey Rublev after losing the Qatar Open final (Image: SKY SPORTS)

Jack Draper put his frustration to one side and kept it classy after losing at the hands of Andrey Rublev in the final of the Qatar Open.

The young Brit was seeking his first-ever victory over his Russian rival but was unable to deliver the goods, slipping to a 7-5 5-7 6-1 defeat.

The first two sets were closely contested, each going to a tiebreak with Rublev drawing first blood and Draper hitting back at the second time of asking.

He began to tire in the decisive third set, though, which allowed Rublev to gain the upper hand and power his way to victory.

Rublev pulled through when it mattered to extend his perfect record against Draper (Image: GETTY)

Draper was visibly disappointed at the trophy presentation, but he was quick to show maturity by congratulating Rublev and admitting that he was simply not strong enough when it mattered.

“It’s been an amazing week,” said Draper. “I want to say congratulations to Andrey, he was too good today and he outlasted me. In the third set he was a bit too strong. Congratulations to you.

“I hope you have a great rest of the season, you deserve it. All the best. Also just congratulations to his team, I know the hard work that gets put in at any ATP 500 event, it’s so difficult.”

Draper is set to reach a career-high ATP ranking of 12th despite losing to Rublev, having missed the opportunity to climb an additional place to 11th by winning the final.

“So much hard work gets put into this sport when you are playing,” he added. “Thank you to everyone who has been here this week, and also back home. There are too many people to name.

“It’s a lot of hard yards, day in and day out. It’s a lot of effort and it’s testament to my hard work, I suppose.”

Rublev, meanwhile, returned the favour with some kind words for Draper and his team before collecting the winner’s trophy.

“There were a lot of great battles and it feels great I was able to get through and somehow to win them,” he said. “Also I want to say bad luck and an amazing week for Jack and his team.

“I really like Jack as a person and I really like his game and I think he has a really, really great career in the future. He will win many great things. Just keep working man and you deserve everything.

“I’m really happy I’m able still to beat him today one more time, because I don’t know how many chances I still have left! I’ve been through some things that weren’t easy but I’m happy that somehow I was able to manage it and to perform really well this week.”

Mirra Andreeva secured the 2025 Dubai Tennis Championships title on Saturday, February 22, with a dominant 7-6(1), 6-1 victory over Clara Tauson in the final. This triumph marks her first title of the season and the maiden WTA 1000 title of her career.

Andreeva’s victory in Dubai earned her a hefty $597,000 from the WTA 1000 tournament’s $3,654,963 prize pool, while Tauson took home $351,801. Elena Rybakina and Karolina Muchova each received $181,400 after being eliminated in the semifinals.

Second seed Iga Swiatek, Sofia Kenin, Sorana Cirstea and Linda Noskova, each got $83,470 for a quarterfinal finish.

Meanwhile, players eliminated in the third round of the Dubai Tennis Championships— including top seed Aryna Sabalenka, fourth seed Jasmine Paolini, fifth seed Jessica Pegula, eighth seed Emma Navarro, ninth seed Paula Badosa, McCartney Kessler, Peyton Stearns, and Dayana Yastremska — each took home $41,600.

Third seed Coco Gauff, seventh seed Zheng Qinwen, 11th seed Diana Shnaider, Veronika Kudermetova, Elina Svitolina, Liudmila Samsonova, Emma Raducanu, Alycia Parks, Belinda Bencic, Moyuka Uchijima, Elise Mertens, Marta Kostyuk, Eva Lys, Marketa Vondrousova, Anastasia Potapova, and Victoria Azarenka, each bagged $23,500 for a second-round finish.

Those knocked out in the opening round of the tournament, including 10th seed Daria Kasatkina, 13th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia, 15th seed Anna Kalinskaya, 16th seed Donna Vekic, 2025 Qatar Open runner-up Jelena Ostapenko, Leylah Fernandez, Ons Jabeur and Caroline Garcia, each pocketed $16,900.

Edited by Pritha Ghosh

The retired tennis star wanted a different line of questioning at the Rio Open.

Juan Martin del Potro wanted new questions from the media. (Image: Getty.)

Juan Martin del Potro asked for “easier questions” at the Rio Open after being unhappy with those posed to him in Brazil.

The iconic Argentine called time on his career in December, playing a final farewell exhibition against Novak Djokovic, but jetted to Rio de Janeiro to be part of the festivities.

Del Potro will award the trophy to the ATP 500 Brazilian champion on Sunday and held a press conference, with reporters invited to ask about the tournament and the 36-year-old’s career.

However, the majority of the conversation was dominated by Jannik Sinner’s doping case, for which he received a three-month suspension, and Chile’s Davis Cup controversy.\

The draw for the Davis Cup play-offs was postponed to allow for an investigation to proceed into the ending of Chile’s tie with Belgium.

Chile’s Cristian Garin refused to continue playing after being hit to the floor by his opponent, who was on the verge of victory, before bruising Garin and injuring his eye. He refused to play and conceded, with the Chilean Tennis Federation denouncing the result and calling it an “injustice”.

Del Porto did not want to delve too deeply into either topic, jokingly telling South American journalists: “Ask me easier questions, guys.”

Juan Martin del Potro playing tennis while in retirement. (Image: Getty)

He did, however, concede that all those involved with Sinner’s case with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) have suffered a loss of credibility.

“I believe that everyone has lost a bit of credibility in this case,” Del Potro said. “The ATP, the anti-doping systems, Sinner’s image, and the fans. Nobody comes away with anything positive from this situation.”

He continued to reflect on his first few months of retirement, explaining: “After the farewell with Djokovic in December, I felt that I was no longer a professional player, that a new chapter had begun. Before that day, I had always had a slight hope of returning. Tennis was my life. At this moment, I try to understand that I am a former tennis player.

“What do I need to be completely happy? To fully heal my knee. As of today, I feel pain every day.”

Onto more positive topics, as requested by Del Potro, he spoke with an affinity for his time at the Brazilian tournament and their future star Joao Fonseca.

“Rio is a very special place for me,” he said. “I played the [Olympic] Games here in 2016, and I’m very happy to be here. That week was one of the happiest in my career. The first round against Djokovic, the semi-finals against Rafa [Nadal]… the medal.

“We broke the Argentina-Brazil rivalry. That football rivalry never happened to me. The people in Brazil like me a lot, just like Argentinians do with Joao Fonseca.

“It’s spectacular. He has a very powerful game, with a lot of potential. The speed, his evolution, the way he is improving… he needs emotional support. In Brazil, as in Argentina, people are quick to rate you as the best, but equally quick to say you are the worst. It’s very tough.”

Emma Raducanu was left visibly shaken during her match against Karolina Muchova.

Emma Raducanu was left visibly distressed after spotting the man in the crowd (Image: GETTY)

Emma Raducanu’s former coach Roman Kelecic has opened up on the frightening moment she noticed a ‘stalker’ in the crowd at the Dubai Tennis Championships.

The young Brit was visibly distressed during her second-round match against Karolina Muchova on Tuesday. She appeared to break down in tears and even took refuge behind the umpire’s chair as she sobbed.

It later transpired that a man who had approached Raducanu a day earlier was seated in the first few rows. The WTA said the man ‘exhibited fixated behaviour’ and was ejected from the match as well as being banned from future events.

Kelecic, who was in attendance in Dubai, has since claimed that pictures of the man were circulated to event organisers before the match.

Raducanu dropped the charges against the man after he was arrested by Dubai police (Image: GETTY)

“Three or four hours before the match we have a photo of that stalker,” he told i. “Not only us, the entire security at the tournament has his photo and everyone knows who he is.

“The first game, two points gone, 15-15, Emma is on the other side of the court and she’s showing us something. At that moment we didn’t know what it was. Emma loses the first game and runs to us, crying, shouting: ‘Here he is, here he is, here he is’.”

Express Sport has approached the WTA for comment.

After being ejected from the court, the man was arrested by police in Dubai but Raducanu dropped the charges after he ‘signed a formal undertaking to maintain distance from her’.

In a statement, the Government of Dubai Media Office explained: “Dubai authorities have taken swift action to address an incident involving British tennis star Emma Raducanu, in accordance with local legal protocols.

“Following Raducanu’s complaint, Dubai Police detained a tourist who approached her, left her a note, took her photograph, and engaged in behaviour that caused her distress during the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

“While Raducanu later chose to drop the charges, the individual signed a formal undertaking to maintain distance from her and has been banned from future tournaments.”

Raducanu addressed the incident on social media following her match against Muchova, thanking her opponent for ‘being a great sport’ and wishing her luck for the rest of the tournament.

On Instagram, she wrote: “Thank you for the messages of support. Difficult experience yesterday [Tuesday] but I’ll be okay and proud of how I came back and competed despite what happened at the start of the match.

“Thank you to Karolina for being a great sport and best of luck to her for the rest of the tournament.”

Jack Draper defeated Matteo Berrettini in his Qatar Open quarter-final.

Jack Draper is into the semi-finals of the Qatar Open (Image: Getty)

Jack Draper will leave the Qatar Open with a morale-boosting sweetener regardless of how his semi-final goes on Friday.

The Brit booked his spot in the last four with a spirited comeback win over Matteo Berrettini in Doha. Berrettini toppled Novak Djokovic earlier this week and he took the first set off Draper with an exhibition of big serving.

But the 23-year-old came roaring back to win 4-6 6-4 6-3 and set up a semi with Jiri Lehecka. Draper’s deep run guarantees that he will reach a career-high ATP ranking once the scores are settled.

Currently ranked 15th, he is projected to sit 14th if he crashes out in the semi-finals, 12th if he reaches the final and 11th with an overall victory. Draper continues to surge up the pecking order and threaten in big tournaments.

Jiri Lehecka will battle Jack Draper for a place in the Qatar Open final (Image: Getty)

He broke his duck last year by winning his first ATP Tour title at the Stuttgart Open in June. Four months later he added a second, upgrading to an ATP 500 accolade at the Vienna Open.

He is now only two wins away from another ATP 500 title, and he may fancy his chances given the way the tournament has panned out.

Heavyweight players have been dropping like flies all week. Top seed Carlos Alcaraz was the latest to fall, losing in three sets to Lehecka on the same Thursday that saw Daniil Medvedev retire and Alex de Minaur beaten.

As a result, Draper is the second-highest seed left in the competition behind Andrey Rublev. But the Briton refuses to take Lehecka lightly following his upset win over Alcaraz.

“Jiri is obviously having a great start to the season,” he said. “As incredible a champion as Carlos is, there are so many great players in this draw. Jiri being one of them.

“He’s confident. He’s playing well. Anything can happen at this level. The margins are so small. It’s going to be a great match tomorrow. Hopefully I can get through.”

Berrettini gave Draper his toughest test of the tournament after one-sided wins over Alexei Popyrin and Christopher O’Connell in the first two rounds. But there is no doubt the towering Londoner is on the charge after reaching the US Open semi-finals at the back end of last season and the Australian Open fourth round last month.

Novak Djokovic denied dealing with any injuries following his surprise Qatar Open loss but now he has been spotted limping at the Doha Airport.

During the Australian Open, the 37-year-old sustained a hamstring tear, which forced him to retire after only one set played in his semifinal against Alexander Zverev.

Last week, the Serb confirmed he was healthy and would return to action in Doha this week.

And Djokovic did make his comeback at the Qatar Open but it wasn’t impressive after Matteo Berrettini upset him 7-6 (4) 6-2 in the first round.

The former world No. 1 also played in doubles with Fernando Verdasco – they won their opening match before losing in the quarterfinal.

Now, Spanish publication AS posted a video in which the record 24-time Grand Slam champion can be seen leaving Qatar in limps.

Djokovic insisted he was physically fine

Going into the match, the Serb had four wins and zero losses against Berrettini.

But after not playing his best tennis and losing to the Italian, the 37-year-old shrugged off any injury concerns.

Instead, Djokovic said he simply didn’t play well and Berrettini made the most out of that.

“I didn’t have any pain or discomfort in that sense. I was outplayed by just a better player today,” the world No. 7 said after the loss.

“Yes, I wasn’t at my desired level, and it could be that I’m still not moving the way I want to move, but, I mean, I played without pain, so there is no excuse in that.

“He was just the better player. I think he played a masterclass match, to be honest, tactically, and served very well, so just a very deserved win from his side.”

Djokovic’s next scheduled tournament is the Indian Wells Masters, which starts on March 5th.