Margaret Court has used her platform in the sport to vilify LGBT+ people and many fans believe her name should be stripped from the arena at the Australian Open grounds.
Dave Hunt/AAP
Tennis Australia has faced criticism for its decision to celebrate Court’s career next week. But at the same time, it’s boosting its efforts at inclusivity with events like this year’s Glam Slam.
Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are still the top three players in the men’s game, despite the fact they have a combined age of 104.8 years.
AAP Images
Since 2003, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have combined to win 55 of the 68 Grand Slams that have been played. Is this the year for a new player to break through?
Wozniacki struggled with unexplained symptoms before being diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in 2018.
Wu Hong/AAP
At this year’s Australian Open you’ll see players moving sideways on the Plexicushion surface – which is specially designed to allow players to slide. It’s safer for the players and fun to watch.
To serve at your best, you have to throw your racket in a way that projects the ball at a high speed – but add some spin. It’s simple physics.
from www.shutterstock.com
The speeds at which top players deliver tennis serves are theoretically impossible. So how do they do it? The answer involves Isaac Newton, ping pong and a little bit of ‘cheating’.
Edmund during the Australian Open 2018 semi-final.
EPA-EFE
Wrist injuries forced some of the top players to miss out on this year’s Australian Open. It’s an ongoing problem and such injuries are partly to blame on how players grip their racquet.
Two of the greatest: Switzerland’s Roger Federer (right) celebrates his win in the Men’s Singles Final against Spain’s Rafael Nadal (left) at the 2017 Australian Open.
AAP Image/Julian Smith
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are two of the greatest tennis players in recent years at the Australian Open. So what makes them stand out from the rest?
Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov celebrates his Round 4 win against Australia’s Nick Kyrgios during the Australian Open.
AAP Image/Lukas Coch
Australian sport will never have the commercial clout to bring the economy out of recession or solve a regional unemployment problem. But it is more than a fringe player in the economic game.
Young Australian tennis player Oliver Anderson has been charged with match-fixing over a game in 2016.
AAP/Lukas Coch
The problem of corruption in tennis is likely to be an ongoing threat. So, it is important that the Tennis Integrity Unit develop into a trusted and convincing anti-corruption team.
The Fast4 match format was used for this year’s Hopman Cup mixed doubles events.
AAP/Tony McDonough
Could the broader adoption of the Fast4 tennis format at the professional level prevent the rising trends in match durations, and make the sport more unpredictable?
The cluster of marathon men’s matches in the opening rounds of this year’s Australian Open attests to a broader trend.
AAP/Joe Castro
Extreme match durations are more common today than at any other time in the modern tennis era. This poses a threat to the sport’s standard of excellence.
The current controversy over match-fixing in tennis has some ironic elements. Anyone watching the Australian Open on free-to-air TV will notice the proliferation of sports betting ads.
Tennis is a sport very suitable for corruption in this hyper-commercialised era.
AAP/Tracey Nearmy