(Getty/Dan Istitene) World No.3 Alexander Zverev felt the need to clarify his comments about Jannik Sinner and the rest of the field. The German star, who is seeded second at Roland Garros due to the withdrawal of Carlos Alcaraz, took care of Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi in straight sets without too much difficulty in his opening round in Paris. Listen to The First Serve Live every Monday at 8pm AEST in its 18th year on the SEN Network/App, Australia's only dedicated weekly tenni

(Getty/Mark Metcalfe) After months of searching for the right candidate to succeed Craig Tiley, Tennis Australia has confirmed the appointment of Andrew Abdo as the new CEO. In the early hours of Monday morning, news broke regarding Abdo's resignation as NRL CEO after six years in the job. Abdo's tenure as NRL chief executive delivered great success, achieving record crowd figures and TV ratings and leading the way on expansion projects in Perth and Papua New Guinea. "Andrew

(Getty Images) Thirteen Australians will line up in the second major of 2026, as the French Open gets underway Sunday Night Australian time. The Grand Slam stage is where players clearly want to excel, but the clay courts of Roland Garros have not historically produced Australia's best major results, so the challenge has been set once again. Ash Barty, our last female champion in 2019, while on the men’s side, Rod Laver in 1969. That, combined with the first five months of

(Getty/Julian Finney) According to a report from The New York Times, a range of players will follow through on a media protest at the upcoming French Open, as a settlement over prize money has yet to be reached. It comes after players such as Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff hinted that players could potentially boycott future Grand Slam events. "I think at some point we will boycott it, yeah," said world No.1 Sabalenka during her pre-tournament press conference at the Italian

Alexander Bogatyrev, Getty Images The Kooyong Classic is proud to announce a new two-year broadcast partnership with SBS, reaffirming the network’s commitment to bringing world-class tennis to Australian audiences free-to-air. Under the renewed agreement, SBS will continue as the official Australian broadcast partner of the Kooyong Classic for the 2027 and 2028 tournaments, with coverage available nationally on SBS and SBS On Demand. The partnership represents a significant e

(Adam Davy/PA Images via Getty Images) The All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club, which stages The Championships, Wimbledon, has announced that Sally Bolton OBE will step down as Chief Executive after The Championships 2026, following six years in the role. Appointed in 2020, Bolton has led the Club through a period of significant change and challenge. She oversaw Wimbledon's return following the global pandemic, ensuring the successful and safe resumption of The Champio

Final interviews to replace Craig Tiley as Tennis Australia CEO have been completed, as a decision looms within the next month, The First Serve understands. Current Western Bulldogs president and Tennis Australia board member Kylie Watson-Wheeler had been mentioned to The First Serve as a potential candidate, but Tennis Australia have since confirmed that she was never in the process. The favourite to take over the coveted CEO position is Tom Larner, who is currently the Chie

(Getty/Julian Finney) World No.50 Jack Draper has parted company with coach Jamie Delgado, opening the door for Andy Murray to join his coaching team for the grass season. Murray, a former world No.1 and three-time major champion, will tackle his first coaching role since his short stint with Novak Djokovic last year. "I am very grateful for everything Jamie Delgado has done for me over these past six months. He is a world-class coach and a great man," said former world No.4

Tim Jolley (Tennis Australia) First appointed by Tennis Australia in 2020, chief strategy and performance officer Tim Jolley has spoken publicly about the state of Australian tennis and addressed concerns from those within. Tennis Australia is going through a massive transition period, with Craig Tiley currently in the process of helping narrow down a suitable candidate to replace him as CEO and Australian Open tournament director, as the 65-year-old was announced as the USTA

(Getty/Alex Nicodim) By far the most outspoken player on tour when it comes to the ongoing war in Ukraine, Oleksandra Oliynykova has taken another swipe at the WTA for threats made against her. In an Instagram post sent out at the end of April, Olyniykova revealed shocking allegations regarding the professional women's tour, saying that she has been "threatened with fines of tens of thousands of dollars" and "disqualification" by the WTA. In the same post, she alleged that fo

(Julian Finney/Getty Images) World No.1 Jannik Sinner has joined other top players in voicing his disappointment at the recently announced French Open prize money. He has asked Grand Slam tournaments to show tennis players respect in the row over prize money, but didn't go as far as saying to boycott the sport's major events. Last year, almost all the leading players signed two letters to the four Grand Slam bosses demanding an increase in prize money, payments into a player

(Getty Images) Following on from a joint letter from ATP/WTA players about dissatisfaction with the upcoming French Open’s tournament’s prize money, big-name female players Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek have put their voice to the letter while in Rome this week for the latest 1000 tournament. Sabalenka has gone as far as to suggest a player boycott to fight for a higher revenue share. "I think at some point we will boycott it, yeah. I feel like that's going to be the on

(Getty/Ben Whitely) Top 20 players from the men's and women's tours, including Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner, Aryna Sabalenka, and Coco Gauff, have penned a joint letter expressing their dissatisfaction with the upcoming French Open's tournament prize money. In March last year, the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) filed a 163-page lawsuit against the top tennis governing bodies, accusing the ATP and WTA of acting as a "cartel" that tries to gain "monopolistic co

(Catalonia Open) Daria Kasatkina has claimed her first title since becoming an Aussie after winning a WTA 125 category event as the seventh seed. The former world No.8, who will rise to 66th in the world when the new rankings are officially released at the start of this week, saved two match points in her opening round match against Emiliana Arango, before fighting back from a set down in the final to defeat Germany's Tamara Korpatsch 2-6, 6-3, 7-5, in a match that saw a comb

(Getty/Oscar J. Barroso) A whirlwind past fortnight has made the tennis world stand up and take notice of Anastasia Potapova after she reached her first-ever WTA 1000 semi-final. The 25-year-old lost in the second round of qualifying in Madrid, but was awarded a spot in the main draw as a 'Lucky Loser', where she has grabbed the opportunity with both hands by becoming the first Lucky Loser to make the last four of a WTA 1000 tournament. Having already defeated two Grand Slam

(Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images) It would be fair to say that it has been lean pickings for Australian tennis players in the week leading up to the main draw of the French Open. With the second major of the year fast approaching, qualifying lists for Roland Garros have been released, with the cut-off determined by the latest weekly rankings released on Monday. From an Aussie perspective, on the men's side, Tristan Schoolkate, Adam Walton, Dane Sweeny, Chris O'Connell, Al

(Getty Images - Aaron Foster) It was first reported by the Sydney Morning Herald on November 1 last year, "Code Violation? Tennis Australia under fire from ousted officials" by Chris Barrett. A detailed account of the termination of four elected directors of Tennis Officials Australia, who also worked as tennis officials for Tennis Australia, following confidential communications to members raising concerns about officiating conditions and governance matters. The affected di

Former Arkansas tennis coach, Robert Cox. (Caleb Grieger/NWA Democrat-Gazette) The University of Arkansas' controversial call to scrap tennis at the end of the 2026 spring season has caused widespread uproar. On Saturday, the shocking news was made public. "After considerable reflection and thoughtful discussion, we have made the very difficult decision to discontinue our men's and women's tennis programs," Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Hunter Yurachek said. "We

(Getty/AI Bello) Former world No.26 Camila Giorgi has confirmed to fans that she is ready to come out of retirement in 2027, two years after her sudden absence from the tour. In May 2024, the then 32-year-old walked away from the sport without saying a word, reportedly due to being chased by a taxman in Florence for unpaid taxes. She also wanted to pursue a career in lingerie modelling, which she did in the United States. However, she has always denied those rumours of tax ev

Patrick McEnroe. (Getty/Roy Rochlin) Former Grand Slam doubles champion Patrick McEnroe has exposed the lack of American youth in the national college tennis system. Patrick, the brother of seven-time major singles winner John, was watching an SEC men's tennis championship match when he noticed a worrying sign. "Just re checked the numbers—ACC + SEC men's team finals: 24 singles players… 3 Americans…HELLO??!!" McEnroe posted on X. "That's a system that's lost its balance. Co