All posts tagged: grass court

Who is 18 year-old Indian Arnav Paparkar, who stunned World no.3 at Wimbledon?

Who is 18 year-old Indian Arnav Paparkar, who stunned World no.3 at Wimbledon?

Published by Webster

3 min readUpdated: Jul 8, 2026 07:39 PM IST ITF Junior World No. 19 Arnav Paparkar on Wednesday became the first Indian in 36 years to reach the quarterfinal of the Wimbledon Juniors Boys’ Singles with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Japan’s Ryo Tabata. The 18-year-old has joined some elite company in Indian tennis history with the last player from the country to reach this stage being Leander Paes in 1990. Earlier, Paparkar had raised eyebrows with a stunning 6-2, 6-3 win over junior World No.3, Keaton Hance, of the United States. Standing just over six feet tall, Paparkar had told the Indian Tennis Daily earlier this year that he sees his first serve as his primary weapon. His strengths came good for him against Hance, as he had another strong showing, serving six aces, saving all the breakpoints he faced while conceding only 18 points on serve. This monstrous performance helped him record the biggest win of his career so far. A trainee at Hemant Bendrey Tennis Academy under the guidance of coach Prosonjit …

5 hours 15 mins! Djokovic beats Auger-Aliassime in longest Wimbledon quarterfinal

5 hours 15 mins! Djokovic beats Auger-Aliassime in longest Wimbledon quarterfinal

Published by Webster

2 min readUpdated: Jul 8, 2026 04:04 AM IST Novak Djokovic turned back the clock yet again on the Wimbledon Centre Court as he outlasted third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime after an epic marathon to reach his eighth successive semi-final at the grass-court Slam on Tuesday evening. The 39-year-old emerged victorious in the longest-ever men’s quarter-final played at Wimbledon, eclipsing the Canadian in 7-6 (10), 3-6, 6-3, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (4) after five hours and 15 minutes on the court, eclipsing the 2008 singles quarter-final clash between Rainer Schüttler and Arnauld Clement (5h 12 min). The victory also concluded as Djokovic’s second-longest match ever at SW19, just behind his 2018 semi-final triumph over Rafael Nadal in five hours and 17 minutes. A double fault from Djokovic ​gifted Auger-Aliassime a break to go up 5-3 in the ​next set, and the Canadian held his nerve and serve in the next game to draw level in the contest, before the Centre ​Court roof was closed at around 7.40 p.m. local ​time. The move prompted complaints from Djokovic, but …

Serena Williams is returning to pro tennis at age 44 after nearly 4 years away from the sport

Serena Williams is returning to pro tennis at age 44 after nearly 4 years away from the sport

Published by Webster

Serena Williams is returning to professional tennis at age 44 after nearly four years away from the sport. The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion has accepted a wild card invitation to play doubles at the upcoming Queen’s Club grass-court tournament in London, the WTA Tour announced Monday. Williams also made a post on social media with the caption, “Guess everybody heard the news.” The post had a video with her phone ringing, during which she said, “I gotta change my number.” The Queen’s Club tournament starts next Monday and the WTA said Williams will play “with a partner to be announced in due course.” A return on grass will raise speculation that Williams also plans to compete at Wimbledon, which starts June 28. She’s won seven singles titles at the All England Club. Williams has not competed since bidding farewell at the 2022 U.S. Open. At the time, Williams said she didn’t want to use the word “retiring” and instead declared that she was “evolving” away from tennis. “Serena brought the game to another level …