Tennis | DD News

February 2, 2026 8:25 PM

Career Slam winner Carlos Alcaraz tempers expectations on 2026 majors sweep

Australian Open champion Carlos Alcaraz said capturing all four Grand Slam titles at 22 had not diminished his desire and while plenty remains on his to‑do list, he will not pile pressure on himself to chase a clean sweep of the majors this year. Alcaraz celebrated becoming the youngest man to complete the career Grand Slam by overhauling Novak Djokovic 2-6 6-2 6-3 7-5 at a floodlit Rod Laver Arena on Sunday and will look to return to the finals of the other majors this year. The Spaniard be...

February 2, 2026 8:25 PM

Novak Djokovic vows to push on despite ‘bitter’ Australian Open final loss

Novak Djokovic took encouragement from his run to the Australian Open final and pledged to keep fighting at the Grand Slams after Carlos Alcaraz again denied his bid for a record 25th major title. Djokovic's 10-match unbeaten run in Melbourne Park finals was broken in the 11th on Sunday as Alcaraz claimed a 2-6 6-2 6-3 7-5 win at Rod Laver Arena. World number one Alcaraz has now stopped him from taking the outright Grand Slam record he shares with Margaret Court three times in major finals, fo...

February 2, 2026 8:51 PM

New Melbourne queen Elena Rybakina happy to find highest level again

Elena Rybakina said she was delighted to reach the level shown by rivals Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek again, having beaten the dominant duo of women's tennis on the way to claiming her second Grand Slam title at the Australian Open on Saturday. The 26-year-old Kazakh dismantled world number one Sabalenka 6‑4 4‑6 6-4 in the final on Rod Laver Arena to add another major trophy to her cabinet following her breakthrough Wimbledon triumph in 2022. It followed a fluent quarter-final victory o...

January 30, 2026 1:01 PM

Aryna Sabalenka primed for Elena Rybakina rematch with eyes on third Australian Open crown

Aryna Sabalenka will bid for a third Australian Open trophy in four years on Saturday when the Belarusian collides with fellow power-hitter Elena Rybakina in a heavyweight rematch of their title showdown three years ago. The dynamics have shifted since Sabalenka's breakthrough win in 2023, the 27-year-old now the clear favourite following three more Grand Slam triumphs and Rybakina yet to win another major after her 2022 Wimbledon success. The pair know each other well having met 14 times on t...

January 30, 2026 12:59 PM

WTA backs players calls for more off-court privacy at tournaments

The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) said that calls from players for more privacy away from the court at tournaments were entirely valid after broadcasts of Coco Gauff smashing her racket following her quarter-final defeat at the Australian Open sparked intense debate. Gauff looked for a place without cameras to channel her frustrations shortly after losing to Elina Svitolina on Tuesday and was unhappy to learn that video of her striking her racket repeatedly on the floor near the match call a...

January 30, 2026 12:57 PM

Australian Open: Elina Svitolina keeps sadness at bay after Sabalenka semi-final defeat

Elina Svitolina said she would not permit herself to be sad following her Australian Open semi-final loss to Aryna Sabalenka, adding that she was lucky to be playing tennis while people are suffering in her Ukraine homeland. Svitolina bowed out of her first semi-final at Melbourne Park with a 6-2 6-3 defeat to top-seeded Belarusian Sabalenka in a match overshadowed by geopolitical tensions. Russian and Belarusian players have been banned from representing their nations at Grand Slams and tour ...

January 30, 2026 12:18 PM

Serena Williams fuels comeback speculation with TV interview

Serena Williams has tennis players buzzing about a possible return after she playfully dodged questions about re-entering the sport's anti-doping testing pool during a television appearance that left more questions than answers. The 23-times Grand Slam champion raised eyebrows last December when she rejoined the tennis anti-doping testing pool, though she denied at the time that the move signaled a comeback to the sport she dominated for nearly two decades. But her coy responses during a Wedne...

January 30, 2026 11:24 AM

Emma Raducanu splits with coach Francisco Roig after six months

British number one Emma Raducanu has called time on working with coach Francisco Roig after six months, the 2021 U.S. Open champion said on Thursday. The split comes on the heels of Raducanu's second-round exit at the Australian Open, where the 23-year-old fell 7-6(3) 6-2 to unseeded Anastasia Potapova. Raducanu had appointed the Spaniard on a full-time basis in August, bringing in a coach with a strong Grand Slam pedigree. Roig served as a long-time member of Rafael Nadal's coaching team duri...

January 30, 2026 11:16 AM

Australian Open: Aryna Sabalenka says hindrance call against her helped in semi-final win

Aryna Sabalenka said losing a point for hindrance after grunting in a rally helped fire her up on the way to an emphatic Australian Open semi-final win over Elina Svitolina. World number one Sabalenka beat Svitolina 6-2 6-3 to reach her fourth successive Australian Open final but she was infuriated at 2-1 in the first set when Swede Louise Azemar Engzell awarded the point to Svitolina mid-rally. Remonstrating with Engzell, Sabalenka was told she had made two noises after a shot, with the secon...

January 30, 2026 11:12 AM

Australian Open: Jessica Pegula undone by evening conditions but has no doubts about calibre

Jessica Pegula said playing her first evening session match at this year's Australian Open had thrown her off her game early in her semi-final defeat by fifth seed Elena Rybakina. The 31-year-old American arrived for the clash on Rod Laver Arena having not lost a set throughout the tournament but wilted under the lights of the showcourt on Thursday before going down fighting 6-3 7-6(7). "I've been playing every match during the day. It's playing much hotter, much faster. Getting out there it w...