Tennis star Novak Djokovic has lost his last-ditch court bid to stay in Australia and is set to be deported. Judges rejected his appeal after the government cancelled the unvaccinated player’s visa for a second time this month on public health grounds. The decision has ended the 34-year-old’s hopes of defending his Australian Open title and winning a record 21st Read More
Tennis star Novak Djokovic faces deportation yet again after the Australian government revoked his visa for a second time. The men’s world number one on Monday won a legal battle against Australia’s decision to cancel his visa and deport him. Early on Friday, Immigration minister Alex Hawke announced he would be using his personal power under a different section of Read More
Novak Djokovic has revealed he has a medical exemption to compete in the Australian Open despite refusing to reveal if he is vaccinated for coronavirus. The Serbian world No 1 posted an image of him with his bags packed at the airport before his flight to Australia on Tuesday as he looks to claimed a record-breaking 21st Grand Slam title in Melbourne. A vaccination against Read More
Win or lose in Saturday’s US Open final, teen sensations Emma Raducanu and Leylah Fernandez have already cemented their star power after announcing themselves on the big stage at Flushing Meadows. The two unseeded players were virtually unknown quantities this year but Fernandez — who turned 19 this week — beat three top-five seeds along the way while Raducanu became Read More
Naomi Osaka’s US Open defence ended in tears as she suffered a stunning defeat to Leylah Fernandez, before announcing she plans to take an indefinite break from the sport. The defending champion served for the match in the second set, but she capitulated and allowed the 18-year-old to storm to an impressive 5-7 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 on a stunned Arthur Read More
Table tennis sensation Aruna Quadri will lead Team Nigeria to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan, while Lucy Ejike will lead the Paralympics Team. According to the Director Federation of Elite Athletes Department (FEAD), Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, Dr. Simeon Ebhojiaye, the African Number one who became the first African to reach the quarterfinal round of the Read More
Novak Djokovic has become the first man in the Open era to win each Grand Slam singles title twice after defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final of 2021 French Open on Sunday. Details loading…
The federal ministry of youth and sports development has debunked report that the sum of N4 billion was approved for the ongoing 20th National Sports Festival (NSF) in Benin, Edo state capital. Reacting to the report, an official of the ministry said in line with the trust of the present administration, monies approved for the competition would be judiciously used. Read More
Team Kaduna departed Kaduna on Saturday for the Edo 2020 National Sports Festival (NSF) with 400 athletes and officials, as the state government charged the team to be good ambassadors of the state. Team Kaduna will participate in 27 individual and team sports at the Edo 2020 Festival scheduled to hold from April 2 to 14, 2021 in Benin City, Read More
US Open runner-up Alexander Zverev clinched the Cologne ATP title on Sunday beating Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-3, 6-3. The German world No 7 claimed his third ATP Tour win on home soil as third seed Auger-Aliassime lost his sixth successive final. “I had a very tough final in New York and the next final I played here I wanted to come Read More
French prosecutors said on Tuesday they have opened an investigation into alleged match-fixing in a French Open women’s doubles encounter. The probe concerns the first-round match on 30 September between Romanian pair Andreea Mitu and Patricia Maria Tig and Yana Sizikova of Russia playing with US player Madison Brengle, according to French sports daily L’Equipe and German newspaper Die Welt. Read More
Serena Williams began her pursuit of a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam singles title with a dominant 7-5 6-3 win over fellow American Kristie Ahn. The 38-year-old went a break down in both sets but recovered to win in an hour and a half as she chased Margaret Court’s Grand Slam tally. Williams gathered momentum late on, winning four straight games Read More
World number one Novak Djokovic has declared he is “very glad” the US Open is going ahead, and also expressed his excitement for Roland-Garros. In discussion with Tennis Legends presenter Mats Wilander and Eurosport expert Alex Corretja, Djokovic said he was very happy about the return of the ATP Tour with the US Open the first Grand Slam back. With Read More
Petra Kvitova has 27 career titles but winning an all-Czech exhibition tournament last week was a different experience for her and it felt “weird” to play in the absence of fans, the two-time Wimbledon champion told Reuters. The Prague tournament was one of the few global exhibition events held after professional tennis was suspended in early March as countries went Read More
Japan’s Naomi Osaka has surpassed Serena Williams as the world’s highest-paid female athlete, raking in $37.4m (£30.7m) in prize money and endorsements over the last year, according to Forbes. The 22-year-old twice Grand Slam champion’s total is the most ever earned by a female athlete in a 12-month period, Skysports reports. She earned $1.4m (£1.15m) more than American great Williams Read More
China have been forced to pull out of next month’s Davis Cup playoff with Romania due to the ongoing deadly coronavirus outbreak, the International Tennis Federation announced (ITF) on Tuesday. They were due to travel to the Romanian city of Piatra Nemat for qualifying matches in the second-tier competition in March. “The Davis Cup Committee has accepted the withdrawal of Read More
Serena Williams has been sensationally knocked out of the Australian Open in the third round by China’s Wang Qiang this Friday (Jan 24), torpedoing her bid for a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam tennis crown. The 38-year-old former world No. 1 was the bookies’ favourite to win an eighth title at Melbourne Park but she came unstuck against a determined Wang, Read More
The Kaduna State Ministry of Sports Development has constituted a six-man committee to organize the maiden edition of the U-16 clay court tennis tournament. A press release signed by the state information officer, Jummai Nuhu and made available to sports reporters in Kaduna on Saturday said the event, which is aimed at reviving tennis in the state, will run from Read More
Andy Murray will miss the Australian Open as a precautionary measure after suffering an injury setback. Murray feared his career may be over when he underwent surgery to repair a long-term hip injury. The three-time grand slam champion played at the Australian Open last January and made his comeback from the operation only five months later. Murray won the European Open in October and was Read More
Novak Djokovic reached the Paris Masters final for the sixth time when he downed Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov 7-6(5) 6-4 with an impressive performance on Saturday. The world number one, who will be supplanted by Rafael Nadal at top of the ATP rankings on Monday, prevailed in a high-octane first-set tiebreak before wearing Dimitrov down in the second. The Serb will Read More
Apart from the defending champion, Alex Adewale the three Nigerians that played in the early hours of yesterday lost out in first round of the 2nd edition of Puma Engineering Wheelchair tennis Open going on at the National Stadium Tennis Centre. But defending champion, Adewale wasted no time in cruising into the second round after a handsome 2-0 victory over Read More
World number three Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from the WTA Finals in Shenzhen because of a shoulder injury. Japan’s Osaka, 22, beat Petra Kvitova in three sets in her opening match on Sunday and was due to play world number one Ashleigh Barty on Tuesday. The Australian Open champion will be replaced in the Red Group by alternate Kiki Bertens, the world Read More
The 2nd PUMA Engineering Wheelchair Tennis Championship has served off Tuesday at the National Tennis Centre, Abuja with Nigerians billed to dominate the main draws. More than 25 Nigerians have registered for the singles events which is round of 16 for men’s and women’s singles. Nigeria swept the titles in the inaugural edition with Alex Adewale and Kafayat Omishore clinching Read More
Belgian sixth seed Elise Mertens beat Maria Sakkari 6-2 3-6 6-1 in their round-robin match on Wednesday to end the Greek’s hopes of making the WTA Elite Trophy semi-finals in Zhuhai, China. Although Mertens was let down by her serve on several occasions with eight double faults, she converted seven break points. Her final round-robin clash with Aryna Sabalenka is Read More
Copyright © 2021 | Blueprint Newspapers Limited | About Us | Online team | Contact us | Our mission | Advert rate | Editorial Board