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Doubles players condemn ATP Tour’s plan to cut prize money and tournament sizes

LONDON: Doubles players fear for their tennis future after being told by the ATP Tour that prize money and tournament sizes will decrease significantly starting in 2028. A group of leading doubles players issued a statement Friday saying they are not “a carnival sideshow”, and that it will be impossible for anyone outside the top 30 in the ATP doubles rankings to make a living if the new proposals are adopted. The statement comes after doubles players met with ATP officials at Wimbledon this week to discuss the future of a format that is struggling to draw an audience. “The ATP is proposing to slash doubles draws, gut doubles prize money, and hand Challenger entry to singles players ahead of specialists who have built their careers in this discipline,” the players’ statement said. They said the proposal would give doubles players just 10 percent of the prize money at ATP tournaments — down from 20 percent — while halving the size of the doubles fields. At the premier Masters tournaments, that would cut the doubles draw to 16 teams, while at the smaller ATP 500 and 250 events it would consist of just eight teams. “Do the math on what that means for anyone outside the top 30: it will be impossible to make a living,” the statement added. “This is not a minor adjustment.

Serena Williams begins Wimbledon comeback on Center Court in her return to singles

LONDON: Serena Williams is back on Wimbledon’s Center Court for her first singles match in nearly four years. The 44-year-old Williams was given a standing ovation Tuesday as she walked onto the grass court where she won seven of her 23 Grand Slam singles titles. Several supporters held up signs with messages like “Welcome Back” and one wore a T-shirt with the text “Unstoppable Queen.” Williams’ two daughters, her husband Alexis Ohanian and sister Venus were all in attendance. After a brief warmup under the closed roof, Williams began her first-round match against Maya Joint by returning in the opening game.

Players at Wimbledon end protest over prize money and will not limit media appearances

LONDON: Top tennis players at Wimbledon have decided to end their protest over prize money and will no longer be limiting their media appearances during the first week of the Grand Slam tournament. A statement Monday from the advisory firm representing the players said the decision follows “constructive meetings” with the All England Club over the weekend. Sally Bolton, the chief executive at the All England Club, said she was “really pleased” with the players’ decision. “I think it’s great news that we and they can now just concentrate on the championships and on the tennis,” Bolton said. “We’ve had some really fruitful conversations over the weekend.

Sinner begins Wimbledon defense, Sabalenka seeks first title

LONDON: Wimbledon begins on Monday, with defending champion Jannik Sinner ‌chasing a fifth Grand Slam title and women’s top seed Aryna Sabalenka chasing her first major of the year. In the absence of rival and two-time Wimbledon winner Carlos Alcaraz, Sinner is the clear favorite this year, but the Italian may have to contend with the hot weather and his own lack of preparation as he seeks to defend his title. After his second-round defeat at the French Open from a near-winning position when he cramped up in sizzling conditions, the 24-year-old skipped the warm-up tournaments ahead of the grasscourt slam. He said this could work to his benefit, however, ahead of his opening clash with Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic on Monday. “If you play a tournament before here, maybe it’s not ‌going the way ‌you would like to, you come here with some doubts,” ‌he ⁠told reporters on ⁠Saturday. “If you don’t play any tournament, you don’t have these doubts, you just go and play.” Sabalenka has been at the top of the WTA rankings since late 2024, but the Belarusian has only won one Grand Slam title in the past 18 months, despite reaching four finals.

Serena Williams commands spotlight ahead of her Wimbledon return

LONDON: Iga Swiatek is the defending champion. Aryna Sabalenka is the No.

Sinner ready for Wimbledon defense despite lack of time on grass

LONDON: Jannik Sinner insists he is ready to defend his Wimbledon title despite going into the tournament with a lack of action on grass courts. Sinner hasn’t played since suffering a shock defeat against Juan Manuel Cerundolo in the second round of the French Open in May. The world number one blew a two-set lead as he wilted in stifling heat on the clay courts of Roland Garros. Instead of maximizing his time on grass ahead of Wimbledon, which starts on Monday, the Italian has opted to rest before stepping up his practice schedule after arriving in London. It is the first time he has stayed away from the Wimbledon warm-up events prior to playing in the grass-court Grand Slam. “I feel good. I think grass is very different surface obviously. If you play a tournament before here, maybe it’s not going the way you would like to, you come here with some doubts.

Line calling system glitch halts play at Wimbledon qualifying

LONDON: Play was suspended briefly on all courts at the Wimbledon qualifying tournament on Wednesday because of a problem with the automated line calling ‌system. Britain’s Dan Evans ‌had just ‌lost ⁠the first set ⁠of his match against Australian Tristan Schoolkate on a baking hot day at Roehampton ⁠when the problem ‌arose. Line ‌judges were abolished last ‌year at Wimbledon ‌for the first time in the tournament’s history in favor ‌of the electronic system. It is not the ⁠first ⁠time this week that the system has caused problems, with play also impacted on Monday.

Serena and Venus Williams to play doubles together at Wimbledon with a combined age of 90

Even at a combined age of 90, opponents should still be wary of facing the Williams sisters at Wimbledon. Serena and Venus Williams won a combined 21 titles on the storied grass of the All England Club in their singles and doubles careers and now they’re going for one more. A doubles wild card invitation for the sisters was announced on Tuesday by organizers of Wimbledon, which starts in less than two weeks. The move comes after 44-year-old Serena recently returned to competition after nearly four years away from professional tennis. Venus, who has still been competing sporadically, turns 46 on Wednesday. The sisters have won 14 Grand Slam titles together in doubles, including six at Wimbledon — the first of them in 2000 and the last in 2016. Their first two doubles titles at Wimbledon, in 2000 and 2002, came as wild cards. In all, their records at the All England Club look like this: Seven singles titles for Serena and five singles titles for Venus at Wimbledon; those six Wimbledon doubles titles together; a mixed doubles title for Serena with Max Mirnyi at Wimbledon in 1998; plus a singles gold medal for Serena at the 2012 London Olympics and a doubles gold for the sisters at the same Games.

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Wimbledon Sport News

Doubles players condemn ATP Tour’s plan to cut prize money and tournament sizes

Serena Williams begins Wimbledon comeback on Center Court in her return to singles

Players at Wimbledon end protest over prize money and will not limit media appearances

Sinner begins Wimbledon defense, Sabalenka seeks first title

Serena Williams commands spotlight ahead of her Wimbledon return

Sinner ready for Wimbledon defense despite lack of time on grass

Line calling system glitch halts play at Wimbledon qualifying

Serena and Venus Williams to play doubles together at Wimbledon with a combined age of 90