World Tennis News | Tennis at the Tokyo Olympics 2021

After a lack of tournaments last year, tennis fans are getting a bonus this year with the Tokyo Olympics tennis competition. The opening ceremony took place earlier today with four-time Grand Slam player Naomi Osaka carrying the torch to light the Olympic flame which will burn throughout the event that ends on 8th August. This Olympics, delayed for a year due to the global pandemic, is not without controversy as the virus still rages on, some competitors have been forced to withdraw and there are no spectators.

Some competitions have already began and tomorrow Team GB kickoff their bid for tennis medals. Hopes are high with former World and British number one Andy Murray previously winning two gold and one silver medals and becoming the first player to win back-to-back Olympic singles titles at London 2012 and in Rio 2016. This year Murray will defend his singles title as well as competing in the men’s doubles event with partner Joe Salisbury.

In the singles, Murray will face Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime who is seeded ninth. Also competing is Liam Broady who faces Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo and Heather Watson will play in the woman’s singles against Anna-Lena Friedsam from Germany.

Murray and Salisbury have a tough first draw against French second seeds Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut. Big brother James and his partner Neal Skupski are drawn against Andres Molteni and Horacio Zeballos from Argentina. The British team has faced some covid related issues with their highest-ranked players Dan Evans and Johanna Konta being forced to withdraw from travelling to Japan after testing positive.

Away from the British team, fresh from his Wimbledon win world number one Novak Djokovic is on a mission to win the Golden Slam, to win Olympic gold and all four Grand Slams in one year. He already has this year’s Australian Open and French Open alongside his Wimbledon Championship title under his belt. Woman’s world number one Ash Barty is also in action tomorrow.

The Olympic tennis tournament starts tomorrow (Saturday 24th July) at 3am (UK time) with Wimbledon champions Djokovic and Barty first on court.

Follow all the tennis news olympics.com/en/sports/tennis/

Image used with courtesy of BBC Sport.

Tennis Talk | Battle of the Brits Team Tennis Starts Today

Some of Britains leading players will compete in the St James Place Battle of the Brits Team Tennis event that starts today at the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton.

Event organiser Jamie Murray and his brother, three-time Grand Slam champion, Andy will play in the Union Jacks team captained by their mother Judy and former British number one Greg Rusedski. Playing alongside the Murray brothers will be British number one Dan Evans (winner of last month’s Schroders Battle of the Brits) and former British number one Heather Watson.

Three-time Grand Slam semi-finalist and current world number 14, Johanna Konta will play in the British Bulldogs along with former world number 14 Kyle Edmund and British number three Cameron Norrie. The Bulldogs will be captained by Leon Smith and Anne Keothavong.

The two teams will collect points for their respective teams by competing in singles, doubles and mixed doubles matches. The event, which runs until Sunday 2nd August, will feature eight matches a day and points awarded on an increasing scale as the week progresses. Prize money and donations will be made to charity.

Jamie Murray, who organised the inaugural Battle of the Brits event last month told BBC Sport, “We’ve got team benches on each of the two match courts. The idea is to pack those out as best we can and get a lot of interaction between the players who are competing and those who are supporting.” he added, “The captain element should make it good fun as well.”

How to watch – Follow all the action on the BBC Sport website, watch the live action on BBC iPlayer daily from 11:50am ( BST). Tune in for radio commentary on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra. You can also keep-up-to-date with all the latest news on the LTA’s Youtube and Facebook channels.

Information and photos used with courtesy of www.lta.org.uk and www.bbc.com/sport/tennis/

Tennis Talk | Schroders Battle of the Brits Draws Announced

The stage is set and the now the draws have taken place for ‘Schroders Battle of the Brits‘ tournament that’s taking place later this month at The National Tennis Centre in Roehampton, London. The event will not only bring much-missed live tennis to fans but also aims to raise a minimum of £100,000 for NHS Charities Together.

The event has been organised by seven-times Grand Slam doubles and mixed doubles champion Jamie Murray, alongside Schroders and Amazon Prime Video. The eight male singles players will compete in two groups that have been named after British tennis legends, Tim Henman and Greg Rusedki.

Former British and world number one Andy Murray will face Kyle Edmund in the Henman Group on his return to competitive tennis after seven months. Liam Broady and James Ward will also compete in this group while current British number one Dan Evans, Cameron Norrie, Jay Clarke and Jack Draper will all play in the Rusedski Group.

Competing in the Paul Hutchins doubles group are Liam Broady & Cam Norrie, Dan Evans & Lloyd Glasspool and Jamie Murray & Neal Skupski. Kyle Edmund & Jack Draper, Dom Inglot & Jay Clarke, and Joe Salisbury & Jonny O’Mara will play in the Cathie Sabin group.

Tune into watch the tournament, which will take place behind closed doors at the NTC from 23rd – 28th June, on Amazon Prime for UK and Ireland viewers and Eurosport and Tennis Channel from the US – click HERE for more details.

Read more in previous post MARK YOUR CALENDAR | TENNIS WILL BE BACK ON TV FROM 23RD-28TH JUNE

Keep up-to-date on all future tournaments and news from the LTA on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram

Information and photos sourced and used with courtesy of the www.lta.org.uk and www.bbc.com/sport/tennis/

Mark Your Calendar | Tennis Will be Back on TV from 23rd-28th June

Are you missing the tennis summer season? The French Open, Wimbledon Championships and the grass court season may have been cancelled but you can still get your tennis fix on Amazon Prime Video watching ‘Schroders Battle of the Brits‘ taking place behind closed doors from 23rd – 28th June.

The six-day event, organised by seven-times Grand Slam doubles and mixed doubles champion, Jamie Murray, will be held at the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton, London to raise money for NHS Charities Together. The mens only fixture will have singles and doubles events and feature top players such as former British and World number one Andy Murray (Jamie’s brother for those who are not aware) alongside other top British players such as Kyle Edmund, Cameron Norrie and Dan Evans.

Jamie told BBC Sport “The last few months have been incredibly challenging times for everyone and we see this event as our way of giving back,” he added, “A lot of work has gone in to make sure this could happen and we are excited to be able to bring an action-packed week of tennis, while raising valuable funds for NHS heroes to say thank you for the amazing work they have done.”

In conclusion, “I’m really excited to be, for the first time, bringing together the current generation of British male players to compete against one another while raising significant funds for charity.” It is hoped the event will raise at least £100,000 for the NHS charities.

Andy Murray has not played since the Davis Cup Finals last November due to a bruised pelvic bone so this event will be testing out his hip in preparation for the start of the professional tennis season whenever that may be.

This will be the first competitive domestic tournament since coronavirus stopped play and will see the top eight British male players battle against each other.  In the singles, two groups of four players will compete for a place in the semi-finals and ultimately to be crowned the singles champions. The doubles competition will see six pairs compete to become the overall doubles winners.

The tournament will be followed by four new British Tour events that will take place over consecutive weeks from 3rd-26th July at the LTA’s National Tennis Centre in Roehampton. The venue has been approved as an elite training venue and the LTA has been working with the Government to undertake the necessary preparations and risk assessments to enable these events to happen.

Scott Lloyd, LTA Chief Executive, said: “The LTA is looking forward to bringing tennis back into people’s lives this summer, and are excited about events like this inspiring fans to get involved in our sport and pick up a racket.

Watch the live action exclusively on Amazon Prime Video in the UK and Ireland and on Eurosport and Tennis Channel in the US.

If you are not already an Amazon Prime member click HERE to find out more information. Keep up-to-date on all future tournaments and news from the LTA on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram

Information and photos sourced and used with courtesy of the www.lta.org.uk and www.bbc.com/sport/tennis/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

April in Pictures | 2020

At Home with The Hignetts – a series of fun games and challenges to keep active at home from our very own performance players and coaches Liam & Isla Hignett (see full series on Facebook and Instagram)

The viral toilet roll challenge (see video in full on Facebook)

 

Liam & Isla completed Andy Murray’s 100 Volley Challenge demonstrated by him and his wife Kim in their garden

Coach Dom tried out Roger Federer’s volley drill against the wall

Some of our performance players put together a fun TikTok (see video in full on Facebook)

Our team starred in fun Easter video (see full video on Facebook)

Another day, another challenge with Head Coach James (see full video on Facebook)

Andy Murray and Kiki Bertens swapped their rackets for playstation controllers and won the ‘virtual’ Madrid Open titles from and then donated their winnings to charity

World Tennis News | Andy Murray (Virtually) Wins Madrid Open

With the professional tennis tour currently suspended due the coronavirus pandemic, the world’s top ATP and WTA players are swapping their rackets for Playstation controllers to compete in virtual tournaments. Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal were two of thirty-two players who competed online in the Madrid Open Virtual Pro event.

Part of the Tennis World Tour video series, the Madrid Open took place yesterday in the digital version of the Manolo Santana Stadium. Both the men’s and women’s events had prize money with each champion deciding on how to distribute their winnings into relief funds.

Two time Madrid Open champion Murray won his third title without leaving his sofa. Murray, who competed in Group 1 alongside five time winner Nadal, defeated Belgian’s David Goffin in the final 7-6 (5) to win the event and claim the prize money. He shared his winnings between the NHS and the tennis player relief fund, a charity for lower-ranked players who are unable to earn  money during the pandemic.

Murray announced on his Instagram, “I’ll be donating half of the 45 thousand dollars prize money to the NHS and the other half to the tennis player relief fund.”

World number seven Kiki Bertens from Holland won the title after beating France’s Fiona Ferro in the final. Also competing was British number one Johanna Konta, Victoria Azarenka and Caroline Wozniacki among others.

The event, which was streamed live on the Madrid Open’s Facebook page and the platform’s new gaming app, was the first virtual tennis tournament solely contested by professional tour players.

Information sourced from www.bbc.com/sport/tennis/

World Tennis News | What Are The Professional Players Doing During Self-Isolation?

The current COVID-19 pandemic has impacted so many people across the globe in both their health and professional life. While most people are luckily enough to be able to work from home, professional tennis players, like most people involved in sport, have seen all their tournaments either cancelled or postponed until further notice.

In the tennis, the three remaining Grand Slam tournaments of 2020 have been disrupted, the French Open has currently been re-scheduled to September, the Wimbledon Championships have been cancelled (the first time since World War Two) and the US Open maybe re-scheduled for later in the year. This summer’s grass-court season has also been cancelled and there will be no professional tournaments happening elsewhere in the world as both the men’s and women’s professional tours are suspended until at least mid-July.

So what are the professional players doing to keep active during self-isolation ? Former British and World number one Andy Murray challenged fellow professionals and tennis fans to try his 100 volley challenge. Murray took to his Instagram with wife Kim to complete the challenge in his back garden – Totally Tennis performance players Liam and Isla Hignett rose to the  challenge, see their video on our Facebook and Instagram

Tonight (17th February) Murray and current world number one Novak Djokovic will be live on Instagram (6pm BST) to answer any questions. Got a question? Comment on Murray’s Instagram post for a chance to be featured. Djokovic himself challenged his fans to try some acro yoga with a partner, he demonstrated the move with is wife Jelena on his Instagram page and they also completed Murray’s volley challenge.

Meanwhile another former World Number One and 20-time singles champion Roger Federer gave his fans a social media tennis lesson. Federer took to Twitter and Instagram to offer his followers a solo drill to improve their volley skills, he tested his reflexes hitting the ball more than 200 times – the video has already been viewed over 3 million times. Federer asked his fans to video themselves in a hat and recreate his drill with the hashtag #tennisathome and then he shared a selection on his feed. Fellow champion Serena Williams took up Federer’s challenge posting her volley video to her page.

The ATP Tour has been forced to suspend the 2020 Tour so the rankings have been frozen until it’s resumed, Djokovic still sits in the No. 1 spot but the frozen weeks will not count towards his reign.

If you need some inspiration to keep you occupied while in self-isolation check out the #AtHomeWithTheHignetts series with some challenges and fun games demonstrated by Liam and Isla Hignett – click HERE to see more.

 

Tennis Talk | Wimbledon Championships 2019

Tomorrow sees the start of this year’s Wimbledon Championships and a return to the famous grass courts of the All England Club of former British number one and two-time singles champion Andy Murray.

Murray, 32 will return to Wimbledon to play in the doubles (men’s and maybe mixed) after missing the 2018  Championships with an ongoing hip injury.  The Scot, who announced that he may have to retire after this years event, is now playing pain free after having a hip resurfacing operation five months ago.

Other British hopes lie with British number one Johanna Konta and Kyle Edmund, who followed Murray as British number one last year, is seeded 30th seed at Wimbledon this year. British wildcards include Jay Clarke, James Ward and Paul Jubb in the men’s draw and Heather Watson, Harriet Dart and Katie Swan in the ladies event.

Defending champion and top seed Novak Djokovic will kick things off tomorrow on Centre Court at 1:00pm against Philipp Kohlschreiber from Germany.  Tuesday will see the start of the women’s competition with last year’s winner Angelique Kerber on Centre at 1:00pm. French Open winner Rafael Nadal will be looking for his 19th Grand Slam title, Roger Federer is playing for his 21st title and Djokovic will be on sixteen titles if he wins this years Wimbledon crown. Collectively the top trio have won an impressive fifty-three of the past sixty-four major titles.

The women’s tournament is more unpredictable. Top seed is American Ashleigh Barty and fellow American is eleventh seed Serena Williams who will be bidding for her eighth Wimbledon title. An ongoing knee injury may scupper her chances to achieve an all-time record of twenty-four Grand Slam titles.

The 133rd Wimbledon Championships will take place from 1st – 14th July 2019 on the grass courts at SW19 – Visit www.wimbledon.com for all the news and up-to-date information.

Information used with courtesy of BBC Sport – www.bbc.com/sport/tennis/

 

 

 

World Tennis News | Djokovic Wins Seventh Australian Open Title

Naomi Osaka and Novak Djokovic have taken the first Grand Slam titles of the 2019 season at the Australian Open in Melbourne.

Djokovic won his 15th major and seventh Australian Open title defeating Rafael Nadal in the final 6-3, 6-2, 6-3. It was a second Grand Slam title for twenty-one year old Osaka who now also becomes world number one after she defeated Petra Kvitova in the final 7-6 (7-2), 5-7, 6-4. Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert won the men’s doubles final 6-4, 7-6(1) and Samantha Stosur and Shuai Zhang claimed the women’s doubles title 6-3, 6-4.

In sad news for British Tennis former number one Andy Murray announced before the start of the tournament that he plans to retire after Wimbledon in the summer after a year of injuries if he makes it that far. The three-time Grand Slam champion, who is still struggling to recover from his hip surgery of twelve months ago, lost his first-round match against Roberto Bautista Agut 6-4, 6-4, 7-6, 7-6, 6-2.

Information and photos used with courtesy of www.bbc.com/sport/tennis/

 

Tennis Talk: The Championships, Wimbledon 2018

The Championships, Wimbledon 2018 starts tomorrow (2nd July), the most anticipated two weeks in the tennis calender will culminate on Sunday 15th July with the Men’s finals.

The famous grass courts located in SW19, home of The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, will see hundreds of people come through the turnstiles to be part of the action. However, British tennis fans received disappointedly news today as former number one and two-time champion Andy Murray announced his withdrawal from this year’s event due to his ongoing recovery from hip surgery.

Defending champion Roger Federer will begin his campaign for his ninth Wimbledon men’s singles title when he opens play tomorrow afternoon on Centre Court. Last year’s women’s singles champion Garbiñe Muguruza from Spain is third seed in this year’s tournament and opens play on Centre Court on Tuesday against Brit Naomi Broady.

Seven-time champion Serena Williams will back in action at Wimbledon for the first time since giving birth to her daughter and also plays her first match tomorrow. British hopes lie with current number ones Kyle Edmund and Johanna Konta who kick start their Wimbledon journey on Tuesday will both be looking for their first Grand Slam title. Jamie Murray and his partner Bruno Soares are fifth seeds and ones to watch in the Men’s Doubles.

To follow all the action and find out the latest news throughout the Wimbledon fortnight visit www.wimbledon.com/

Information and photos sourced from www.wimbledon.com/