They may call it the tennis tournament in the desert, but Indian Wells is a special event featuring the biggest galleries outside of the four major tournaments. With $4.5 million in prize money and loads of live television coverage, players can gain prestige, riches and exposure at the 2010 BNP Paribas Open from March 10th – 21st. What more could an aspiring tour player want?

Marin Cilic and Andy Murray are putting their demons behind them. Two young guns in the world of men’s tennis finally showed a readiness to seize one of the biggest prizes in their sport. Tuesday at the Melbourne Park tennis complex, Cilic and Murray punched tickets in a semifinal showdown. The 14th-seeded Croatian and the [...]

There will be a time and place to celebrate the winners of the first two men’s singles quarterfinals at the 2010 Australian Open. (In the next post, actually!) But one can’t comment on two riveting spectacles at Melbourne Park without addressing the acute agony of the valiant competitors who lost on Tuesday. Andy Roddick and [...]

As the tragic news of professional tennis player Mathieu Montcourt’s death circulates, his as of yet unexplained death unearths a certain shameful side to the modern world of tennis. Montcourt’s body was found in his Paris apartment on Monday by his girlfriend and an autopsy is expected to be carried out as soon as possible. [...]

The first day of the 2009 Wimbledon Championships witnessed a number of matches in which dangerous players flirted with disaster. For Spain’s Feliciano Lopez, a dance with danger turned out to be deadly. Lopez, who reached the quarterfinals of Wimbledon last year (before losing to Marat Safin) and has typically performed well on the lawns [...]

While Wimbledon begins and tennis fans rivet their eyes on the world’s most storied patch of white-lined rectangles, one man won’t be at SW19 to soak up the adulation a defending champion deserves. Indeed, while the crown jewel of tennis unfolds in England, Rafael Nadal will be resting and reflecting on a career that has [...]

Dinara Safina must be ruing the day her brother talked compatriot Svetlana Kuznetsova out of quitting tennis. Newly crowed queen of Roland Garros Kuznetsova has revealed how Marat Safin, brother of beaten finalist Safina, talked her out of quitting tennis after she became disillusioned with the sport. Former women’s number one Safin helped talk Kuznetsova [...]

After another flat and forgettable French Open final, the sport of women’s tennis needs a boost on the lawns of suburban London. But just in case you think that a summer revival shouldn’t be expected at the 2009 Wimbledon Championships, the history of this most prestigious tournament suggests otherwise. Time stands still at Wimbledon, the [...]

Five years ago, Svetlana Kuznetsova had nothing to lose when she captured her first and only Grand Slam title. Today, the woman who has been hounded by frail nerves and stage-fright fiascoes finally grew up as a tennis player. Kuznetsova–one of the most talented yet unimposing performers on the WTA Tour–registered what should be viewed [...]

Less than three years ago, the career arc of Jelena Jankovic appeared to be headed for the highest heavens. After a miserable Monday in Paris, a struggling Serbian finds herself at a crossroads, her plans for Roland Garros reduced to rubble. Jankovic, the No. 5 seed at the French Open, lost her women’s singles fourth-round [...]