Naomi Osaka

Tennis star Naomi Osaka has been selected by The Associated Press as the Female Athlete of the Year

After one errant forehand in the first set of the U.S. Open final, Naomi Osaka looked at her coach in the mostly empty Arthur Ashe Stadium stands with palms up, as if to say, “What the heck is happening?” In response to another wayward forehand against Victoria Azarenka seconds later, Osaka chucked her racket. It spun a bit and...

Naomi Osaka wore a mask bearing the name of police shooting victim Breonna Taylor before and after a first-round victory at the U.S. Open.

Fifteen-year-old American Coco Gauff pulled off a big upset at the Australian Open by eliminating defending champion Naomi Osaka in straight sets in the third round

Naomi Osaka had what she calls a near-death experience in the off-season. Which means, at the very least, she felt really out of her depth.

She also hired a new coach — Wim Fissette the latest to join her team — last month. So she may have a new perspective in 2020.

Bianca Andreescu knew this would happen, because she knows all about Serena Williams. Looked up to her. Dreamed of playing her. Andreescu knew Williams would not go quietly. Knew Williams would not make things easy. And so as a big lead in the U.S. Open final dwindled Saturday, as she stuffed fingers in her ears to drown out the decibels...

Naomi Osaka’s achy left knee didn’t let her serve without pain, so she didn’t practice that key part of her game leading into the U.S. Open. The knee also prevented her from covering the court and preparing for shots the way she’d like. Those weren’t the only reasons that the No. 1-seeded Osaka’s 10-match winning streak at the U.S. Open...

Serena Williams was in pain — “acceptable” pain, her coach called it — after rolling her right ankle during the second set of a U.S. Open victory. That was the bad news. On a day that defending men’s champion Novak Djokovic pulled out of his match because of a problematic left shoulder, the good news for Williams as she pursues...

First, the tears came from Coco Gauff, as the 15-year-old American’s U.S. Open came to an end against defending champion and No. 1 seed Naomi Osaka. Then it was Osaka’s turn to cry, moments after comforting Gauff with a hug and some words of encouragement Saturday night. Gauff has generated all sorts of attention already by becoming the youngest woman...

Coco Gauff is still not quite used to hearing her name shouted by thousands of U.S. Open spectators reveling in each booming serve, each “How did she do that?” shot and each victory by a 15-year-old American who is the youngest woman in the U.S. Open’s third round since 1996. Imagine what things might be like for what comes next:...

Serena Williams was not about to let Maria Sharapova make a match of this. So facing a break point early in the second set, Williams conjured up a backhand passing shot so good, so powerful, so precise, that Sharapova had no chance to reach it. Williams watched the ball land, and then raised a clenched left fist toward the night...

The year’s last Grand Slam tennis tournament gets started with quite a matchup: Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova are scheduled to face each other at the U.S. Open for the first time.

Twenty-three-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams has opened up about her experience competing in the 2018 U.S. Open final against Naomi Osaka in a column for Harper’s Bazaar. Nearly a year ago, Williams was contending for her 24th career Grand Slam title, a mark that would have tied her with Margaret Court for the most in the Open era.

Stephen Curry is already looking ahead to the next challenge in his basketball career, including the chance to represent the United States at next year’s Tokyo Olympics. Just over a week since his Golden State Warriors lost a grueling NBA Finals to the Toronto Raptors, Curry was in Tokyo on Sunday talking about the Olympics and the opportunity to face...

Ash Barty knew she needed a break from tennis, from the pressure and expectations, from the week-in, week-out grind. So she stepped away in 2014 and wound up trying her hand at cricket, joining a professional team at home in Australia. After almost two years away, Barty was pulled back to the tour. Good choice. Now she’s a Grand Slam...

Maybe it was the daunting deficit Serena Williams faced in the French Open’s third round. Maybe it was the way her 20-year-old American opponent, Sofia Kenin, was questioning line calls. Either way, as Williams attempted to start a comeback Saturday with a three-ace game, she followed those big serves with some serious staredowns. Whether it was meant to get herself...

So close to victory, Naomi Osaka suddenly was letting the Australian Open final slip away. Three championship points? Gone. A sizable lead? Soon all gone, too. She was playing poorly. She yelled at herself. Slammed a ball. Tugged at her visor’s pink brim. Trudged to the locker room between sets with a towel draped over her head. And then, after...

Four times, Serena Williams was only one point — a single point — from closing out a victory in the Australian Open quarterfinals. On the first such chance, at 5-1, 40-30 in the third set, she turned her left ankle awkwardly. The owner of the best serve in the sport would lose every point she served the rest of the...

Serena Williams talked about her fashion business and her family, but not tennis fouls during a Friday appearance before a business trade group in Las Vegas. The 23-time Grand Slam champion wasn’t asked about gender equality in sports or an argument she had last weekend with the chair umpire at her U.S. Open finals match in New York during about...

The chair umpire who penalized Serena Williams in the U.S. Open final is pleased to be getting back to work. Carlos Ramos is assigned to the Davis Cup semifinal between Croatia and the United States this weekend in Zadar. “I’m just focusing on this tie and working again. That’s all I can say,” Ramos told The Associated Press before the...