Lea van der Zwalmen (photo accredited to Tim Edwards)

When I was at school, one of those prim, single-sex private ones, we were forbidden to kick a ball in the playground. “Girls mustn’t do that.” Oh, how I longed to kick that ball. It was the beginning of a lifelong battle against sexism, and not just in sport.

And then last week I witnessed the most spectacular sporting occasion of what is considered to be an extremely dangerous sport, one which girls wouldn’t have been allowed near when I was a kid: the Ladies’ Rackets World Championships, between 28-yr-old Lea van der Zwalmen and 33-yr-old Claire Fahey.

Iga Swiatek (photo: Hameltion)

That was excruciating. Poor Amanda Anisimova was thrashed 6-0, 6-0 by Iga Swiatek in the women’s Wimbledon singles final. You could feel the crowd willing her to get a game, but you could also sense that there wasn’t a great deal of conviction.

Jannik Sinner (photo: like tears in rain)
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Emma Raducanu (Photo: Nuță Lucian)

After the Wimbledon demise of our British male number one, Jack Draper, I didn’t hold out much hope for our female equivalent, Emma Raducanu, against first seed and world number one Aryna Sabalenka. I was just hoping it wouldn’t be a complete whitewash.

After our British male number one, Jack Draper, fell, neither did I have high hopes for our female equivalent, Emma Raducanu, against the top seed and world number one Aryna Sabalenka. I was just hoping it wouldn’t be a complete blowout. Read More

Tennis is perhaps the most Olympian of sports: its greatest players are more godlike than human. A potentially juicy second round match-up in Paris was Monday’s meeting between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. Incredibly, this was their 60th duel — and quite possibly their last at this level.

Ons Jabeur (photo: Peter Menzel)

What a cracking men’s final that was on Wimbledon Centre Court on Sunday. In comparison, the women’s final was a letdown.

The Tunisian favourite, Ons Jabeur, froze on the brink of realising her dream of lifting the Wimbledon trophy. This is the third Grand Slam final she has lost and it was her best chance. She had some fantastic scalps along the way, including getting her revenge against Elena Rybakina in a replay of last year’s final, but that’ll be of little consolation. The so-called “Minister of Happiness” looked pretty tortured on that final day against the unseeded Czech left-hander, Markéta Vondroušová, who won fairly comfortably in straight sets. It’s not so much the losing but the manner of losing. Jabeur basically blew it with nerves, playing well below her best. She will find it hard to forgive herself.

Mirra Andreeva (photo:©Katrina Allen)

This week, I went on one of my favourite summer outings: to the Wimbledon qualifying event at Roehampton, tucked down a leafy lane that leads to the National Tennis Centre. This event is a bargain at £15 per ticket. It’s quiet, has several small stadiums and hosts some amazing players. Take your deckchair and your picnic and you can camp right on top of your chosen court.  It’s all incredibly civilised, as though from a bygone era. There’s a food court with a large seating area and, incredibly, virtually no queues.

Rafael Nadal (photo: ©Katrina Allen)

We were coming up to the finale of the clay court swing at Roland Garros, the French Open.

The holder, Rafael Nadal, had won this tournament an extraordinary 14 times. Alas, the “King of Clay” was injured and couldn’t compete this year in 2023. Neither did Roger Federer, having retired from the game the previous September. It was the first time since 1998 that neither of these monumental players will be gracing the “red dirt” in Paris.

The European clay court season is now in full swing, leading up to the grand finale – the French Open fortnight in Paris, which kicks off on 28th May. Players are as divided on the subject of playing on the “red dirt” as they are about playing on the Wimbledon grass. Each of those surfaces has its specialists.

Today Novak Djokovic is once again world number one in men’s tennis, after he claimed a record 10th Australian Open singles title at the weekend. He overcame the Greek player, Stefanos Tsitsipas, in straight sets by 6-3, 7-6, 7-6.

At the end of the match, the Serbian player was a blubbering mess, shoulders shaking, sobbing into his towel and gasping for air. He later said it was the “biggest victory of my life”. There are a number of reasons why he might have expressed the sentiment.

Roger Federer (photo: John Togasaki)

Roger Federer played his final competitive match at the Laver Cup in London in front of a capacity crowd, many of whom were virtually in tears at seeing their hero for the final time. Despite it being more an exhibition event than a truly competitive one, tickets for this night session were rumoured to be selling at £50,000 apiece.

The Swiss maestro had had three knee operations, none of which have been successful enough to allow him to continue to compete at the highest level. He chose to play alongside his old adversary on the court and good friend off it, Rafael Nadal, in a doubles match against the Americans, Jack Sock and Frances Tiafoe.

One could see why he had opted out of playing singles – he was clearly too tentative to lunge for volleys or take quick sprints either forwards or sideways. This was a strange sight, since he has always been famed for his light and swift footwork.

Carlos Alcaraz (photo: limitrofe)

We have a new tennis world number one and US Open champion: the 19-year-old Spaniard, Carlos Alcaraz.

His win in four sets over the quietly understated Norwegian, Casper Ruud, was one hell of a feat — especially considering the number of playing hours the Spaniard had put in over the course of the tournament. He played no fewer than three consecutive five-set matches in the lead-up to the final. He may be just 19, but that is still some serious staying power. Ruud, meanwhile, moves into 2nd place in the rankings, also leapfrogging Nadal, Medvedev and Djokovic.

The Spaniard’s sensational quarter-final exhibition against the 21-year-old Italian Jannik Sinner, in which he saved a match point, had to be one of the most dramatic and high-level contests of the year. Slugging ground strokes, many reaching speeds of 100 plus mph, balls mostly landing millimetres inside the lines, along with near-impossible retrieving was a jaw-dropping spectacle. This is surely the start of an exciting future rivalry.