Tennis

American tennis legend Billie Jean King says the upcoming ‘Battle of the Sexes’ match between Aryna Sabalenka and Nick Kyrgios is “not the same” as her 1973 victory over Bobby Riggs, which she says was about “social change”. READ MORE: ‘Mine was for social change, this is not’ – King …

Billie Jean King, who won 39 Grand Slam titles and is founder of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), believes the organisation’s billion-dollar deal with Mercedes-Benz shows that the tour “continues to lead the way” in women’s sport. READ MORE: WTA signs with Mercedes in ‘most significant deal in our history’ …

Critics have questioned Kyrgios’ suitability as the male protagonist, given he admitted assaulting an ex-girlfriend in 2021 and has made a series of comments which have been considered misogynistic. Last year Kyrgios shared a post from controversial influencer Andrew Tate before later distancing himself from the self-proclaimed misogynist. Asked if …

Former British number one Katie Boulter has missed out on a place in the main draw for the Australian Open. There are 104 players who have received direct entry into the Melbourne draw, including those with protected rankings, with Boulter currently ranked 106. The 29-year-old will now have to go …

Celebrity friends join Mary Berry on the coast to create delicious Christmas gifts. BBC News

Anastasia Potapova has switched nationality from Russian to Austrian after her application for citizenship was accepted. Russia has been banned from competing in team competitions since the invasion of Ukraine, prohibiting Potapova from playing in the Billie Jean Cup. The 24-year-old, who represented Russia in that tournament in 2018 and …

The Farooqi family have a chaotic Christmas in Lapland after a surprise bonus for Dad. BBC News

Raducanu shot to worldwide fame when she won the US Open as an 18-year-old in 2021. She has previously been the victim of a stalker, with another man given a five-year restraining order in 2022 after he walked 23 miles to her home. The Englishwoman had increased security with her …

Emma Raducanu is hoping to develop a better base level in 2026 so she can dictate matches more frequently and worry less about the strengths of her opponent. The British number one has just begun a month of pre-season training with coach Francisco Roig in Barcelona. Work in London in …

There is only one thing Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool have not been able to align on this year. In their first full season together, the British duo have claimed the Wimbledon men’s doubles title and secured the year-end world number one ranking. Their post-season diaries, however, are another matter. …

Both Italy and Spain reached the final despite missing key players, with the absence of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner denying fans a seventh meeting of 2025 between the world’s dominant men’s players. But, with Italian number two Lorenzo Musetti also absent, Cobolli and Berrettini owned their moments in the …

Both Spain and Germany’s doubles pairings had already experienced high-stakes matches this week, although it was Krawietz and Puetz who prevailed in more dramatic circumstances as they saved three match points to complete Germany’s comeback against Argentina shortly after 1am local time. Granollers and Martinez were dominant in the opening …

Sinner, a key member of the Italian team which triumphed at the past two editions, elected to maximise his recovery during the sport’s brief six-week off-season after triumphing at last week’s ATP Finals. The presence of just one of the top 10 men’s players at this year’s event has prompted …

This year has been a challenging one for Boulter. She won only 14 Tour-level main-draw matches and recently split with coach Biljana Veselinovic after a three-year partnership in which she won three WTA titles. “Biljana is an incredible coach, and an extremely good human as well, which makes things very …

“When I play for my country I just think about trying to win the next point, trying to fight really hard for my team-mates, for everybody who is here and everyone who is watching from home,” said Berrettini. “That’s the biggest privilege. If I win it’s better, but I try …

Roger Federer will become the first member of the ‘Big Three’ of tennis to be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Federer, 44, retired in 2022 having won 103 ATP-level titles, second only to Jimmy Connors (109) during the Open era. The Swiss great was the first man …

Both Alcaraz and Sinner have suggested they would be in favour of making the Davis Cup a biennial event. International Tennis Federation (ITF) chief executive Ross Hutchins told BBC Sport he will consult the sport’s top players to explore what the tournament can do to encourage their participation in the …

Carlos Alcaraz says he is “heartbroken” after withdrawing from Spain’s Davis Cup Finals team because of injury. World number one Alcaraz, 22, who was beaten by Jannik Sinner at the ATP Finals on Sunday, says he has been advised not to compete because of swelling in his right hamstring. Spain …

The Davis Cup is a team tournament played over the course of a year, affectionately known as the ‘World Cup of tennis’. It is the largest annual international team competition in world sport and was founded in 1900 by Dwight Davis. Winning nations from the qualifiers, which take place throughout …

Osaka, 28, is a four-time Slam winner, while Raducanu, who recently turned 23, stunned the sporting world in 2021 when she triumphed at the US Open as a qualifier. It was long past high time for a meeting of the pair when they finally went head to head at the …