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
It can be tough for younger players to make it to the top of professional tennis. But it’s not impossible, if you look at the numbers.
The UK’s Andy Murray during a practice session at the Brisbane International Tennis Tournament in 2018.
AAP Image/Glenn Hunt
Some of today’s top tennis players are playing more games and at an earlier age than the court stars of yesteryear. And that can lead to injuries.
Russian tennis player Maria Sharapova has long been criticised for excessive ‘grunting’ during matches.
AAP/Dean Lewins
Grunting in tennis can be performance-enhancing for the grunter and performance-hindering for their opponent.
Aerial view of the Sydney Football Stadium, which is to be rebuilt, and Sydney Cricket Ground. Questions of stadium design to deal with extreme heat are becoming more urgent.
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The Australian Open tennis and the recent Ashes Test cricket series show why our sporting stadiums need to be “climate-proofed” to deal with extreme heat.
Tennis Australia recommends suspending play when the “wet bulb globe temperature”, which accounts for sun, air temperature and humidity, exceeds 34°C.
AAP/Lucas Koch
It seems obvious that a game should be suspended if it’s too hot to play, but it’s not as easy as implementing a maximum temperature.
Tennis is one of the most unequal professional sports.
AAP
Only a few professional tennis players make a stable income, let alone vast riches. Research suggests it’s this small chance of a huge payoff that drives players to play professionally
Jelena Dokic’s story draws attention to the disturbing problem of abuse and exploitation in elite child and adolescent sport.
Julian Smith/AAP
Former tennis star Jelena Dokic’s story of disturbing abuse suffered at the hands of her father raises alarm bells about children in elite sports.
Billie Jean.
PA
Sportswomen still struggle for attention and too many girls are discouraged from taking sport seriously.
EPA/Cristino
Having a baby could provide even more motivation.
Winning in 2014.
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After a doping ban, the famous sportswoman has been given an underserved break.
Konta is the first British woman to reach a Wimbledon semi-final since 1978.
Adam Davy/PA Wire
Tennis is as much a mental battle as a physical one.
EPA/Gerry Penny
You can tell quite a lot about whether your favourite player might win or lose from the primal noises they make.
Latvian Jelena Ostapenko won this year’s French Open at the age of just 20.
Reuters/Benoit Tessier
The unpredictability of women’s tennis in 2017 should make us strongly question the performance of the official rankings – and not simply the players’ performance.
Tennis player Andy Murray employs former great Ivan Lendl as his coach.
Reuters/Thomas Peter
Just because you were good at sport does not mean you can coach without furthering your qualifications and experiences.
Is Nick Kyrgios too difficult – and different – to become an Australian hero?
AAP Image/Joe Castro
Examining our sporting heroes reveals much about ideas of national identity and who is accepted.
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?
HKmPUA/Flickr
From Sharapova to the Brownlee brothers, 2016 has given us one step forward to one step back.
A very good year for Murray.
PA
The world number one has made some interesting appointments to help Team Murray to the top.