Serena Williams held strong views on tennis, society as well as her rivals.

Rafael Nadal targets a fifth US Open and 23rd Grand Slam title in New York from next week with his path to the title no longer blocked by Novak Djokovic, whose refusal to get vaccinated has ruled him out of a second major this year.

Roger Federer has not played competitive tennis in more than a year and, like his legion of fans, Rafa Nadal also cannot wait for the Swiss great to return to action next month.

Rafa Nadal said it was sad news that his great rival Novak Djokovic will be missing from the U.S. Open, adding that the absence of a player of the Serbian's calibre was an important miss for the hardcourt Grand Slam.

Top seed Daniil Medvedev will open his U.S. Open title defence onMonday against American Stefan Kozlov but faces major hurdles on the path to a second Grand Slam title at Flushing Meadows, including in-form Australian Nick Kyrgios.

Former tennis world number one Novak Djokovic said on Thursday that he will not be able to travel to New York to compete at the U.S. Open, the last Grand Slam of the year that begins next week.

Former women's world number one Angelique Kerber announced on Wednesday that she is pregnant and has withdrawn from next week's US Open joking "two against one just isn't a fair competition."

Serena Williams may have planned retirement her way but the American must be prepared to accept the goodbyes as well as the losses and exit the stage with grace, tennis great Martina Navratilova has told Reuters.

Top-ranked Daniil Medvedev committed 11 double-faults in falling to Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6 (8/6), 3-6, 6-3 in Sunday's semi-finals of the ATP and WTA Cincinnati Masters.

A local breakfast staple will be on the menu when Emma Raducanu returns to New York next week to begin preparations for defending her US Open title.

Rafa Nadal was not too downhearted by defeat at the Cincinnati Open on Wednesday after the Spaniard lost 7-6(9), 4-6, 6-3 to Borna Coric on his return from a six-week injury layoff.

Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios will skip the Davis Cup next month, Tennis Australia said on Tuesday, scotching speculation about his return to the team competition.

Nick Kyrgios confessed that he had little more to give physically as his nine-match win streak came to an end in the quarter-finals of the ATP Montreal Masters on Friday.

Australian Nick Kyrgios produced another extraordinary performance to demolish compatriot Alex de Minaur 6-2 6-3 at the Canadian Masters on Thursday, a day after stunning world number one Daniil Medvedev.

Following are reactions to Serena Williams announcing on Tuesday that she plans to retire from the sport following the U.S. Open:

Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka retired from her opening match on Tuesday at the WTA Toronto Masters with lower back pain, raising injury concerns with the US Open looming.

Serena Williams said on Tuesday she was "evolving away from tennis" and planned to retire from the sport she dominated with 23 Grand Slam titles following the U.S. Open tournament, which begins later this month.

Serena Williams stepped onto a hardcourt for the first time in a year and a half on Monday and fought through for a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Spain's Nuria Parrizas Diaz.

Daniil Medvedev said he tried to use the extra time away from the court to his advantage after Wimbledon banned Russian and Belarusian players from the grass court major in light of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Daria Kasatkina was rewarded for her victory in San Jose at the weekend with a return to the top 10 for the first time since 2019, when the WTA rankings were released on Monday.