Daria Kasatkina - players.bio

Russian tennis player Daria Kasatkina comes out as gay

Russian tennis player Daria Kasatkina announced on Monday that she is gay and found "living in the closet" impossible.

Novak Djokovic Brings Curtain Up On Wimbledon 2022

Novak Djokovic begins his bid to match Pete Sampras as a seven-time Wimbledon champion on Monday, with British Grand Slam title winners Andy Murray and Emma Raducanu also on Centre Court's opening day agenda. In the absence of the banned Daniil Medvedev and injured Alexander Zverev, 20-time major winner Djokovic takes top seeding. The 35-year-old defending champion starts his title bid against South Korea's Kwon Soon-woo, the world number 81. Djokovic has extra motivation this year as Wimbledon will be his last Slam of 2022.

Wimbledon loses its usual fervour to war ban, injuries

Shorn of big names and points, Djoko, Nadal, Swiatek and Serena will look to bring spark back to the ChampionshipsLONDON: The weather forecast for the championships is cloudy; it's also a reflection of things on the ground. Wimbledon 2022 kicks off on Monday without Russian and Belarussian players and sans the currency of ranking points. The men's top-10 - world No. 1 Daniil Medvedev and compatriot Andrey Rublev are paying the prize for nationality and No. 2 Alexander Zverev is injured - looks significantly tapered. The women's heft will be without last year's semifinalist No. 6 Aryna Sabalenka, French Open semifinalist Daria Kasatkina and No. 20 Victoria Azarenka, all for reasons of flag and country. Roger Federer, the eight-time champion, will miss the tournament for the first time since he debuted here 23 summers ago. The 40-yearold is pushing an ageing frame to get match fit after an injury enforced break of 12-months and counting. Naomi Osaka, a former No. 1, whose burgeoning business interests contrasts with her appearances on the tennis court. The Japanese will sit out of what she called an 'exhibition' because of her Achilles. The All England Lawn Tennis Club took a stand on the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and the ATP and WTA Tours hit back with the sharpest shot in the gunroom - the prize of points. While the target was the grass-court major, it is the players who've been hit the hardest - some more than others, unable even to defend their gains from 2021.