Tennis

Iga Swiatek is unhappy with the U.S. Open's decision to have the men and women use different balls for this year's tournament.

Speaking to reporters during the Western & Southern Open this week, Swiatek called the balls "horrible" and questioned why there needs to be a difference between them at all anymore:

"I don't know, like 15 years ago probably women had some elbow injuries because the balls were heavier and they changed them to women's balls, but right now we are so physically well prepared that I don't think it would happen. Plus we can't get those balls in Europe, or actually, when we buy them at store, they are totally different than the tournament balls, so when I'm practicing with US Open balls at home [in Poland], I'm practicing with men's ones..."

The world's top-ranked player went on to say she finds it "really hard to control" the women's balls.

The U.S. Open is the only Grand Slam event that uses a different ball for men's and women's matches.

In 2012, the United States Tennis Association (h/t Joseph Hall and Wendy Gillis of the Toronto Star) said in a statement the men's and women's balls are the same "in terms of size, pressure and design."

According to the USTA, the only difference is the men use an extra-felt-duty ball and the women use a regular-duty felt ball.

Bob Bryan, a 23-time Grand Slam doubles champion, told John Jeansonne of Newsday in 2012 the less-felted ball could add "probably five, six miles" per hour on each hit and "it flies a lot more; you can shape it a lot more."

In January, shortly after her victory at the Australian Open, Ashleigh Barty's coach, Craig Tyzzer, told reporters she would probably never win the U.S. Open to complete the career Grand Slam because of the balls. Barty announced her retirement from tennis in March.

Amy Binder, the WTA's senior vice president of global communications, told ESPN's D'Arcy Maine the organization will explore the matter in the wake of players voicing their concerns.

Swiatek, 21, became the fourth-youngest player ever to win multiple French Open titles with her victory over Coco Gauff in the final at Roland Garros in June. She will be competing in the U.S. Open for the fourth time. The Poland native hasn't advanced past the fourth round in her previous three appearances.

The 2022 U.S. Open will begin on Aug. 29 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York.

There will be plenty of money at stake when players take the court at the 2022 U.S. Open.

According to the Associated Press, the singles champions at tennis' final Grand Slam tournament of the year will take home $2.6 million. The total purse is a record $60.1 million, surpassing last year's mark of $57.5 million.

A major reason for the expanded purse is the further allocation of prize money to those who are eliminated in the earlier rounds.

The AP explained that the men's and women's tour player councils provided feedback that led to such changes, meaning players will receive $80,000 if they make the main draw and $121,000 if they reach the second round.

Those who are eliminated in the quarterfinals will take home $445,000, those who lose in the semifinals will make $705,000 and the runner-up will receive $1.3 million.

There is no shortage of storylines at the tournament every year, but the biggest one in 2022 is the impending retirement of the legendary Serena Williams. Earlier this month, the widely accepted greatest of all time announced she will step away from the game following the U.S. Open:

A must read. https://t.co/NSWDGHzsXK

— Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) August 9, 2022

"It's the hardest thing that I could ever imagine," she wrote. "I don't want it to be over, but at the same time I'm ready for what's next."

Williams is a 23-time Grand Slam champion, six of which came at the U.S. Open. She won the event in 1999, 2002, 2008, 2012, 2013 and 2014. While she sat out the 2021 event because of injury, she reached the semifinals in her most recent appearance in 2020 after losing in the final in 2018 and 2019.

The American is always a fan favorite at the New York tournament, and she will surely be celebrated even more this time around as she attempts to close her historic career with one more Grand Slam title.

Main draw play at the 2022 U.S. Open starts Aug. 29.

The 2022 U.S. Open will be the final tennis tournament featuring both Williams sisters.

Venus Williams gained entry to Flushing Meadows as a wild card, according to the United States Tennis Association in an announcement Wednesday, allowing her to play in her sister Serena's retirement event.

Serena Williams announced her plans to retire from tennis following this year's U.S. Open in a Vogue article this month.

Venus Williams is a two-time U.S. Open champion, winning the event in 2000 and 2001. She also lost to Serena in the 2002 final, which was the last time she reached a final in the New York-based hardcourt major.

While she ranks among the most decorated players of her generation, Venus Williams' wild-card selection is one based far more on reputation than recent performance.

The 42-year-old has not won a singles match since her first-round match at Wimbledon last year. She has struggled with injuries and poor performance in recent years; she did not play a competitive singles match from August 2021 until her return this month.

Since getting back on the court, Williams has been handily defeated in both of her singles matches this year.

Despite her struggles, it would not have felt right if Venus was not in the field during Serena's final tournament. Serena has also not looked like herself since her own return to tennis in June, posting a 1-2 record.

The 23-time singles Grand Slam winner said in the Vogue article she plans on expanding her family and business ventures in retirement. The 40-year-old gave birth to a daughter, Olympia, in 2017.

Serena Williams suffered a straight-sets loss (6-4, 6-0) to reigning U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu in the first round of the Western & Southern Open on Tuesday night.

"We all should honor Serena and her amazing career," Raducanu told reporters. "I'm so grateful for the experience to have been able to play her and for our careers to have crossed over. Everything she's achieved is so inspirational. It was a true honor to share the court with her."

Williams, who's expected to wrap up her legendary career at this year's U.S. Open beginning Aug. 29, didn't speak with the media following the loss.

The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion announced in Vogue earlier this month she would be "evolving away from tennis," noting she didn't like the word retirement.

Williams didn't formally state in the piece that the U.S. Open would mark the final event of her career, but the timing suggested that will be the case, and it would be fitting to wrap up her Hall of Fame run in the event where she won her first Grand Slam title in 1999.

"But I'm not looking for some ceremonial, final on-court moment," Williams said. "I'm terrible at goodbyes, the world's worst. But please know that I am more grateful for you than I can ever express in words. You have carried me to so many wins and so many trophies. I'm going to miss that version of me, that girl who played tennis. And I'm going to miss you."

Her 23 major titles in singles ranks second in women's tennis history behind only Margaret Court (24). She's also captured 16 Grand Slam doubles titles (14 women's and two mixed) and four Olympic gold medals (three doubles and one singles).

The loss to Raducanu dropped her singles record to 1-3 since her return from injury at the 2022 Wimbledon tournament.

It leaves an uncertain outlook heading into the U.S. Open. Her power game still gives her a distinct advantage over a majority of the WTA Tour players when healthy, but she's yet to showcase top form for an extended stretch in these past few months.

The lopsided result against Raducanu shows how much work there is to do in a limited amount of time if she wants to make a deep run in New York, but there's also plenty of motivation with the end of her career on the horizon and Court's record still within reach.

Regardless of how Williams' playing days come to an end, she'll go down as one of the greatest tennis players in history and perhaps the most dominant when at the peak of her powers.

That said, one more magical run in a Grand Slam would be a fitting way to walk away from the sport.

One day after announcing her intentions to retire from tennis, Serena Williams was defeated by Belinda Bencic in the second round of the National Bank Open on Wednesday night. Bencic won in straight sets 6-2, 6-4.

.@BelindaBencic makes in 2-0 against @serenawilliams in Toronto.

She joins the @nationalbank Winner's Circle with a repeat performance of the 2015 semi-final. 👏

#️NBO22 pic.twitter.com/xr8DloeiIG

— National Bank Open (@NBOtoronto) August 11, 2022

Williams took the first point in the first set but quickly lost momentum as Bencic won the next three points. Bencic managed to break Williams twice in the set to take the victory.

In the second set, Williams once again opened strong and took a 3-2 lead. But Bencic rattled off three straight points to take the advantage. Williams managed to hold serve on the next point, but Bencic did the same to take match point. After the match, Williams was honored on the court for her last tournament in Toronto:

An emotional Serena Williams wipes a tear from her face as she gets a standing ovation after her final match in #toronto. #NBO22 #SerenaWilliams pic.twitter.com/4WrUehdGxv

— Lindsay Dunn (@LindsayDunnTV) August 11, 2022

On Tuesday, Williams wrote in a personal essay for Vogue that she plans on ending her legendary career after the 2022 U.S. Open, which will begin Aug. 29.

"I have never liked the word retirement," Williams stated. "It doesn't feel like a modern word to me. I've been thinking of this as a transition, but I want to be sensitive about how I use that word, which means something very specific and important to a community of people. Maybe the best word to describe what I'm up to is evolution. I'm here to tell you that I'm evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me."

Williams' win in the first round Tuesday over Nuria Parrizas-Diaz was her first victory since the 2021 French Open. The National Bank Open is just her second tournament of the season after she returned to competition a little over a month ago at Wimbledon, where she was defeated in the first round by Harmony Tan.

Bencic will face Garbiñe Muguruza in the third round Thursday.

Serena Williams sent shockwaves through the tennis world on Tuesday when she announced her intention to retire after the 2022 U.S. Open.

Unsurprisingly, there is massive intrigue for the legendary athlete's last run, and Williams' announcement has led to a spike in ticket sales for the event set to begin on Aug. 29.

Sports Illustrated's Jon Wertheim reports that 13,000 tickets have been sold since the news, including a near sell-out for opening night:

Hearing from @usopen folks: "Since the Serena news this morning, 13k tix were sold, including 4.5k for opening night which makes it a near sell-out."

— Jon Wertheim (@jon_wertheim) August 9, 2022

"I have never liked the word retirement," Williams wrote for Vogue. "It doesn’t feel like a modern word to me. I’ve been thinking of this as a transition, but I want to be sensitive about how I use that word, which means something very specific and important to a community of people. Maybe the best word to describe what I’m up to is evolution. I’m here to tell you that I’m evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me."

The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion is one of the most successful athletes across any sport. She also has 14 doubles titles and four Olympic gold medals.

Four-time Grand Slam singles champion Naomi Osaka retired from her first-round match against Kaia Kanepi at the National Bank Open in Toronto on Tuesday because of a back injury.

Osaka spoke afterward:

Naomi Osaka after retiring with back injury: “I felt my back from the start of the match, and despite trying my best to push through it I just wasn’t able to today. I’d like to pay credit to Kaia for playing well and want to wish her all the best for the rest of the tournament.”

— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) August 9, 2022

Kanepi won 7-6 (4), 3-0 following the walkover.

Osaka called for a medical timeout down 4-3 and a break in the first set. She rallied back to earn a tiebreaker but fell to Kanepi, who will now face Garbine Muguruza in the second round.

Osaka has suffered numerous injuries in 2022 that have forced her off the court.

An abdominal injury led to a withdrawal from the Melbourne Summer Set.

She also withdrew from the Italian Open after suffering a left Achilles injury during a first-round win at the Madrid Open two weeks earlier.

Osaka ended up playing through the injury at the French Open but lost in the first round. She announced in June that her Achilles wasn't in good enough shape for her to play in Wimbledon.

my Achilles still isn’t right so I’ll see you next time 🥹🌱👋🏾 pic.twitter.com/mryWdKnitN

— NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@naomiosaka) June 18, 2022

Osaka is a two-time Australian Open champion and two-time U.S. Open winner who served 25 weeks as the World No. 1 in 2019. She finished third in the year-end WTA rankings in 2018 and 2019. Osaka won at Indian Wells in 2018 and the China Open in 2019.

Tennis legend Serena Williams announced her farewell to tennis in an essay for Vogue, creating a significant reaction around the sports world.

A must read. https://t.co/NSWDGHzsXK

— Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) August 9, 2022

"I have never liked the word retirement," Williams said. "It doesn’t feel like a modern word to me. I’ve been thinking of this as a transition, but I want to be sensitive about how I use that word, which means something very specific and important to a community of people. Maybe the best word to describe what I’m up to is evolution. I’m here to tell you that I’m evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me. "

Many fans offered her support following the announcement:

The greatest to ever do it! Thank you for inspiring multiple generations...and bringing the sport to new audiences...forever the GOAT🤎🤎🤎🤎

— Mel (@Melyorkie) August 9, 2022

The mark she will leaves on Tennis is insurmountable. Love ya Queen! Let's make some more memories in these last few weeks 😍 #RenasArmy

— HayTrouble (@HayTr0bl3) August 9, 2022

I’m sooo torn up over this. I’ve watched Serena since she turned pro. Not seeing her in a major tournament will be hard. Yet I know Serena has nothing left to prove. She has best the best of her generation. Her legacy is sealed. Cheering her on no matter what she evolves to.

— Chung Seto 司徒仲菁🌻💙 (@setochungster) August 9, 2022

Reading all the tea leave told us all it was coming but it still hurts 🥹🥹😭. Thank you Serena Williams for allowing us to witness your extraordinary career.

— Daniel (@Oracle_Dan23) August 9, 2022

She will forever be a legend & GOAT.

— Ava42 Princess of Brazen Hussy (@Ava42) August 9, 2022

Thank you @serenawilliams for inspiring so many! GOAT!🎾 pic.twitter.com/6m6B4NKM97

— Tasha ☀️ (@Tasha_A84) August 9, 2022

Greatest athlete of ANY sport!

— Bussy 🐝🦅 (@AlaskanBussy) August 9, 2022

Serena and her sister, Venus, have done more for the world of tennis than any sports figure, politician or world leader, by opening once firmly locked doors to communities of color around the globe. What an inspiration to us all! Best of luck, Serena!https://t.co/45jOq1GVUu

— Y. Rodriguez (@Yrdefender1909) August 9, 2022

What a phenomenal career you had Serena. An inspiration to millions! There will never be another like you… G.O.A.T! ❤️ 👑 🙌🏼 @serenawilliams

— Selina Bhairon (@SelinaBhairon) August 9, 2022

I love Serena for so many things, including her brutal honesty that the thought of retirement and crossroads and life changes is not easy. #legend #inspiration #rockstar https://t.co/amjxhy54r2

— Dana O'Neil (@DanaONeilWriter) August 9, 2022

Serena Williams will give it a go at the US Open before ‘evolving’ away from tennis. The absolute 🐐 - she will be greatly missed on the court. https://t.co/eBMfVyCQqm

— Seth Wells (@SethWellsTV) August 9, 2022

Serena Williams won the Australian Open while two months pregnant. The GOAT conversation was over the moment she did that.

— Charlotte Clymer 🇺🇦 (@cmclymer) August 9, 2022

https://twitter.com/ktrain_11/status/1556986017747533824

I can’t imagine the decision was anywhere near easy. Been a fan since we were shorties & I’ll continue to root for her in future ventures outside of sport too. Hell, she was why I played tennis in HS. Thank you for being an inspiration, Serena. The sport is better bc of you. https://t.co/13UG93B48e

— 🏜️🦅 In the Backseat (@_nicolefalls) August 9, 2022

A BIG announcement from the G.O.A.T … Serena Williams says she will "evolve away from tennis" after this year's US Open.

A spectacular career & unmatched competitor … wishing Serena all the best on & off the court! 🙌🏽👏🏽💪🏽🏆🌟 https://t.co/QF6lFavpsA

— Judi Gatson (@JudiGatson) August 9, 2022

https://twitter.com/tariqpanja/status/1556998179131985921

Williams has been one of the most successful athletes in any sport during her era, winning 23 Grand Slam singles titles with 14 doubles titles, adding four Olympic gold medals.

Serena Williams is arguably the greatest tennis player of all time, but before Monday she hadn't won a match since the 2021 French Open because of injuries.

She got back to her winning ways at the National Bank Open, however, beating Nuria Parrizas Diaz 6-3, 6-4 in opening round play.

"It's just one win, you know, it takes a lot. But I was happy, like I said, to have a win," Williams told reporters after the match. "It's been a very long time. I forgot what it felt like."

Williams last played at Wimbledon in June, losing her only match at the All-England Club to Harmony Tan.

"Mentally I feel I'm getting there. I'm not where I normally am and I'm not where I want to be," Williams said Monday. "Physically I feel much better in practice, it's just like getting that to the court. But literally I'm the kind of person who it just takes one or two things and then it clicks. So I'm just waiting on that to click."

The 40-year-old has dominated the women's game for the past two decades, winning 23 Grand Slam titles, just one behind Margaret Court's record-setting 24. When Williams won the Australian Open in 2017, her last Grand Slam conquest, it seemed a foregone conclusion that she would not only surpass Court, but shatter that mark.

But a combination of injuries and health issues, a natural decline that comes with age and a pregnancy hiatus kept her regularly on and off the court in the years to follow.

When asked about how much longer she would continue to play, Williams remained cagey.

"I guess there's just a light at the end of the tunnel," she told reporters, laughing. "I don't know, I'm getting closer to the light, so... Lately that's been it for me. I can't wait to get to that light."

"Freedom," she continued when asked what the light she referenced represented. "I love playing though, so it's like amazing. But, you know, I can't do this forever. So it's just like sometimes you just want to try your best to enjoy the moments and do the best that you can."

Perhaps Williams still has Court in her sights. For now, picking up a win after a long drought is a start.

Rafael Nadal is withdrawing from the upcoming National Bank Open in Montreal as he continues to deal with an abdominal injury.

Nadal said in a statement via Tennis Canada (h/t ATP Tour):

“I have been practicing for a while now without serving and started with serves four days ago. Everything has been going well. However yesterday, after my normal practice, I felt a slight bother on my abdominal and today it was still there.

“After speaking with my doctor, we prefer to take things in a conservative way and give a few more days before starting to compete. I would like to thank Eugene, the Tournament Director, and all his team for understanding and supporting me and this decision.

“I am very sad not to finally travel to Montréal. It’s a tournament that I have won 5 times and I love to play there. I seriously hope I can come back there to play in front of the amazing crowds up there.”

Spanish newspaper Marca (h/t ESPN's Simon Cambers) reported in July during Wimbledon that Nadal had a 7-millimeter tear in one of his abdominal muscles.

The World No. 3 reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals, where he defeated Taylor Fritz 3-6, 7-5, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (10-4). However, he was unable to compete in a scheduled semifinal clash with Australian Nick Kyrgios due to the abdominal injury.

Nadal has not competed since withdrawing from the Wimbledon semifinals.

The Spaniard has claimed five titles in Canada. He has won three events in Montreal and two in Toronto over his legendary career, with his last victory in the country coming in the 2019 Canadian Open.

Despite the abdominal injury and missing all of April with a stress fracture in his rib suffered in a match against countryman Carlos Alcaraz at Indian Wells in March, Nadal has still enjoyed an impressive 2022 campaign.

The 36-year-old is 35-3 and won the Australian Open in Melbourne and French Open at Roland Garros to capture sole possession of the most Grand Slam titles in men's history with 22.

In addition to Nadal, Novak Djokovic also withdrew from the National Bank Open. He remains unvaccinated against COVID-19 and isn't eligible to enter Canada without being fully vaccinated.

Alcaraz, Kyrgios, Casper Ruud, Stefanos Tsitsipas and world No. 1 Daniil Medvedev will be the players to watch in Montreal with Nadal and Djokovic out of the tournament.

The next major event in the tennis circuit comes later this month at the U.S. Open. Nadal's status for the tournament, which he last won in 2019, remains unclear.