Marketa Vondrousova came to the All England Club a year ago unable to play tennis at all. She had a cast on her surgically repaired left wrist, so her visit was limited to sightseeing around London with her sister and cheering for a friend who was competing at Wimbledon.

This trip was a lot more memorable: She is leaving as a Grand Slam champion.

Vondrousova became the first unseeded woman to win Wimbledon on Saturday, coming back in each set for a 6-4, 6-4 victory over 2022 runner-up Ons Jabeur in the final.

“When I was coming back, I didn’t know what’s going to happen, if I can play at that level again,” said Vondrousova, a 24-year-old left-hander from the Czech Republic who was the runner-up at the 2019 French Open on clay as a teenager and a silver medalist at the Tokyo Olympics on hard courts two years ago. “On grass, I didn’t play well before. I think it was the most impossible Grand Slam for me to win, so I didn’t even think of it. When we came, I was just like, ‘Try to win a couple of matches.’ Now this happened. It's crazy.”

After being sidelined from April to October, she finished last season ranked just 99th. She was 42nd when she arrived at Wimbledon and was the first unseeded woman to even reach the final at the All England Club in 60 years — the last, 1963 runner-up Billie Jean King, was seated in the front row of the Royal Box on Saturday alongside Kate, the Princess of Wales.

Following the match, King greeted Vondrousova with a hug and told her: “First unseeded ever. I love it.”

Centre Court's retractable roof was closed for the final, shielding everyone from the wind that topped 20 mph (30 kph) outside, and that allowed Vondrousova's smooth strokes to repeatedly find the intended mark. She also liked that she didn't have to worry about any gusts or the sun or anything else while playing — a reminder of days practicing at indoor courts during winters in Prague.

“I always play good indoors,” Vondrousova said. “I was like, ‘Yeah, maybe that’s going to help me.’”

On this afternoon, she trailed in each set but collected the last four games of the first, then the last three games of the second as Jabeur fell to 0-3 in major finals.

The 28-year-old from Tunisia is the only Arab woman and only North African woman to make it that far in singles at any Grand Slam tournament.

“You cannot force things," the sixth-seeded Jabeur said. "It wasn’t meant to be.”

She lost to Elena Rybakina 12 months ago at the All England Club and to No. 1 Iga Swiatek at the U.S. Open last September.

“I think this is the most painful loss of my career,” Jabeur said Saturday, pausing to wipe away tears.

Vondrousova’s surge to her Slam title was hard to envision at the start of this fortnight.

She was 1-4 in previous appearances on Wimbledon's grass, only once making it as far as the second round, before going 7-0 on a run that included wins against five seeded foes.

One key was that Jabeur, who acknowledged feeling tension and pressure, kept making mistakes: She finished with 31 unforced errors; Vondrousova made merely 13.

That helped Vondrousova overcome deficits of 4-2 in the first set and 3-1 and 4-3 in the second. One she went ahead in each, the crowd's support for the popular Jabeur, nicknamed the Minister of Happiness for her demeanor on and off the court, would only rise, applause and shouts ricocheting off the cover atop the arena.

Staying steady down the stretch, Vondrousova broke to lead 5-4 and served for the match. She was soon up 40-love — and that's when the enormity of the moment hit her.

“I couldn’t breathe,” Vondrousova said. “I just was thinking to myself: ‘Just be over.’”

When she ended the match by reaching to put away a volley, she tumbled to the grass, then laid on her back and put her hands over her visor and face, the happiest she’s ever been on the surface.

She climbed into the stands to share hugs with her husband, who had been home on cat-sitting duty until going to England to watch the final in person. Vondrousova joked that his tears of joy at match's end were the most emotion he's shown in the eight years they've been together; their first wedding anniversary is Sunday.

Vondrousova has other plans for her first full day as a major title winner, too: She and her coach agreed to get tattoos if she won the trophy.

A climate activist wearing a T-shirt with the message “We have 1028 days left” interrupted the French Open men's semifinal between Marin Cilic and Casper Ruud by attaching herself to the net and kneeling on the court.

Play was delayed for more than 10 minutes during a game with Ruud serving in the third set while leading 3-6, 6-4, 4-1, 15-all.

Tournament director Amelie Mauresmo looked on from near the entrance to the court and both players left while the protester was carried away by four security guards.

Eventually, Ruud and Cilic returned and were given three minutes to warm up before resuming their semifinal.

The winner of the match will face 13-time Roland Garros champion Rafael Nadal in Sunday's final.

There have been other episodes involving people interrupting matches at Court Philippe Chatrier over the years.

During the 2013 men's final, a topless man carrying a fiery flare jumped onto the court. At the 2009 final, a man went up to Roger Federer and tried to put a hat on his head. At the 2003 final, a male streaker hurdled the net.

On July 8, 2000, tennis great Venus Williams won at Wimbledon for the first time, defeating defending champion Lindsay Davenport.Williams is a champion women’s tennis player with seven Grand Slam singles titles, 16 Grand Slam doubles titles and four Olympic gold medals.Venus has teamed up with her sister, Serena Williams, another tennis legend, to win several doubles championships.Venus and Serena were raised in Compton, California, and were trained in the sport by their father, Richard Williams. Venus turned pro at the age of 14 in 1994.The same year after she won Wimbledon in 2000, she went on to win the U.S. Open and two gold medals at the 2000 Summer Olympic Games in Sydney.In 2011, Venus was diagnosed with Sjogren's syndrome, an incurable immune system disorder. Despite her diagnosis, Venus went on to win gold at the 2012 Summer Olympics and the women’s doubles title at Wimbledon.Venus and Serena Williams are considered two of the greatest tennis players of all time.

An adorable moment at a celebrity-filled U.S. Open happened when one fan on social media innocently mistook actress Laverne Cox with music superstar Beyoncé.

In a quick clip posted to Twitter and then posted by Cox on Instagram, the actress wrote, "Not me getting mistaken for Beyonce at the #USOpen tonight then trending on Twitter as the internet cackles over the mistaken identity. These tweets are funny ... Enjoy!!!"

Apparently, it all started when Choni Francis of "The Morning Show" posted a clip of Cox in the crowd wearing a mask and watching the match. The tweet indicated that they thought it was Beyonce in the crowd.

Twitter users started to quickly respond, saying that it was not Beyonce they were seeing and corrected Francis, pointing out that it was Cox of "Orange Is the New Black."

Francis responded too saying, "14 years of comedic creativity and one tweet, and this how the #BeyHive finally knows of my existence," he wrote. "I am one of you. accept me."

Jason Keatseangsilp’s journey to the U.S. Open is one full of twists and turns.

“I did not even think a Grand Slam was in question, but now, here we are. So, it really is a dream turned into reality,” tennis player Jason Keatseangsilp said.

We caught up with Keatseangsilp the week before he headed out to the U.S. Open.

“This is a lifetime opportunity,” he said.

He applied for the wild card spot, and days later he received a phone call.

“I got the call from the tournament director saying I got the spot,” he said.

How Keatseangsilp got to this point is its own journey. After playing competitive tennis for much of his teenage years, at 17, he was in an accident that led to a spinal cord injury.

“I was a senior in high school. I was practicing rappelling and I fell off the climbing pole. It was a 40-foot fall,” he explained.

The pain he developed months after put life on hold.

“It was like a sharp, stabbing, fiery, electrical sensation kind of pain,” Keatseangsilp said.

“When I first met him he could barely speak to me because he was constantly doubled over in pain,” Dr. Scott Falci, a neurosurgeon and the founder and director of the Falci Institute for Spinal Cord Injuries at Swedish Medical Center, said. “The spinal cord can progressively deteriorate over time.”

Dr. Falci, who specializes in surgeries on chronically injured spinal cords, was able to help Keatseangsilp with a specialized surgery.

“These processing nerve cells inside the spinal cord can go awry after a spinal cord injury. They can actually start firing spontaneously like a seizure. It's almost like epilepsy of the spinal cord,” Dr. Falci explained.

Doctors are able to record the electrical activity, see it, and destroy those areas with radiofrequency heat.

“As soon as I woke up, I knew I was almost completely pain-free,” Keatseangsilp said.

That was back in 2013. Now, Keatseangsilp is back on the court.

“Within the past year, I've played about 15 tournaments,” he said.

Next up is the U.S. Open wheelchair championships, which expanded this year.

“The 2022 year is very special for the U.S. Open because they increased the draw, the bracket size, from 8 men to 16 men,” Keatseangsilp said. “It really opens the door for more players to kind of have a tangible goal.”

“Wheelchair tennis, wheelchair golf, wheelchair rugby, basketball,” Dane Stair, an adaptive rehab specialist at NeuAbility, said. “There's more and more of it being broadcast nowadays because accessibility is being put more to the forefront of thought.”

Stair is an adaptive rehab specialist at NeuAbility, a rehabilitative wellness center and gym. He works with those who have spinal cord injuries and advocates for more exposure and education in this realm at the university level.

“Finding adaptive sports, adaptive gyms, adaptive anything that takes a group of individuals who have been disabled, brings them together and helps them focus on a formal goal, hopefully, sports, works great for everybody,” Stair said. “As the individual is trying to learn how to live again they have to find different ways to solidify their identity down.”

Keatseangsilp hopes his story and how he found his passion for tennis again after his accident will help inspire others as well.

“[Dr. Falci’s] surgery changed my entire life,” Keatseangsilp said. ”Once people know about wheelchair tennis and they see it in action they get excited to watch.”

CNN —

Tennis fans have become very accustomed to the sight of Novak Djokovic hoisting Wimbledon's iconic gold trophy at the end of the championships in southwest London.

This year looks likely to follow the same script again, as the Serb heads to the All England Club as the overwhelming favorite to win another title and take his grand slam tally to 24.

Should Djokovic triumph as most expect him to, the 36-year-old will match Roger Federer's record of five consecutive Wimbledon titles – held jointly with Björn Borg – and eight overall.

Djokovic has opted not to play in any ATP Tour events in preparation for Wimbledon, instead only playing in the swanky Hurlingham exhibition event in London.

Even in the twilight of his career, Djokovic continues to play some of the best tennis of his life.

Despite struggling for form in the lead up to the French Open, Djokovic found his A-game when it mattered most in Paris and looked largely unstoppable.

Spain's Carlos Alcaraz looked as though he would push Djokovic all the way in their semifinal at Roland-Garros, before suffering from cramps that ended the match as a contest.

Alcaraz has openly admitted that grass is his least specialized surface, but the youngster made huge strides this year by winning his first grass-court title at Queen's Club, the most prestigious Wimbledon warmup event in the calendar.

That win returned Alcaraz to the top of the world rankings, but the 20-year-old will have his work cut out to stop grass-court specialist Djokovic if the two face off in London.

The usual pretenders to Djokovic's throne – Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Casper Ruud and Holger Rune among them – have enjoyed no Wimbledon success of note and seem unlikely to threaten the defending champion's crown.

The USA's Francis Tiafoe, who has never been past the fourth round at Wimbledon, has also inserted himself into the outside contenders' bracket after winning the first grass court title of his career at the Stuttgart Open and breaking into the world's top 10 for the first time.

Chile's Nicolas Jarry, whose big serve and powerful groundstrokes are real weapons on the grass, could also make a splash in SW19 after a terrific season that has earned him two ATP titles and a rise from outside of the world's top 150 in January to the world No. 28 heading into Wimbledon.

Defending champ in danger?

In the women's draw, rising superstar Elena Rybakina has sparked concerns that she will be unable to defend her title after withdrawing from the Eastbourne International warmup event with the same virus that forced her to pull out of the French Open.

The 24-year-old returned to the court at the German Open last week but lost in straight sets in the second round to Donna Vekić and admitted afterwards that she still hadn't recovered fully.

Rybakina became the first player from Kazakhstan to win a grand slam title after beating Ons Jabeur in three sets in last year's Wimbledon final, catapulting her to stardom overnight.

The world No. 3 followed up that success by reaching another grand slam final at the Australian Open in January, this time losing in three sets to Aryna Sabalenka.

Belarussian Sabalenka and Poland's Iga Świątek are joint favorites to win the title alongside Rybakina, according to bookmakers.

Sabalenka has three titles to her name this year, including that maiden grand slam in Australia, and has matched her career-high of No. 2 in the world heading into Wimbledon.

Much like Rybakina, Sabalenka's powerful game is a daunting prospect to face on the fast grass surface. She has enjoyed success at Wimbledon, reaching the semifinals in 2021, but was excluded in 2022 by the tournament's blanket ban on Russian and Belarussian players.

So far, Sabalenka's only preparation on grass has been at the German Open, where she lost in straight sets in the second round to world No. 12 Veronika Kudermetova.

Świątek started her Wimbledon preparations with a hard-fought three-set win over world No. 58 Tatjana Mariana in the opening round of the Bad Homburg Open, Germany.

The Pole has won grand slam titles on the clay and hard court – three at the French Open and one at the US Open – but she has so far failed to make a real dent at Wimbledon, her best performance being a fourth-round appearance in 2021.

Grass remains the only surface Świątek hasn't won a senior title on, though she is starting to look more at home. Her career struggles on grass are curious, given she won the Junior Wimbledon title in 2018 for the only grand slam title of her junior career, but she will no doubt still be a serious threat at this year's tournament.

USA's Coco Gauff, currently ranked seventh in the world, is also looking to make it past the fourth round for the first time. However, her preparations got off to the world possible start after she was easily beaten 6-4 6-0 by Ekaterina Alexandrova at the German Open.

Gauff, whose game also has the potential to complement the fast grass courts, showed significant improvements in the 6-3 6-2 win over Bernarda Pera in the opening round of the Eastbourne International.

The 19-year-old went on to reach the semifinals before being beaten by fellow American player Madison Keys.

When is Wimbledon?

The Wimbledon main draw begins on Monday, July 3 and runs until Sunday, July 16.

How to watch

Coverage of the championships will be available on the BBC in the United Kingdom and on ESPN and the Tennis Channel in the US.

A full list of coverage around the world can be found here.

Martina Navratilova revealed on Monday that she has been diagnosed with throat and breast cancer.

Navratilova told tennis.com that doctors discovered she had an unrelated form of breast cancer during throat examinations.

“This double whammy is serious but still fixable, and I’m hoping for a favorable outcome,” Navratilova said in a statement to the website. “It’s going to stink for a while, but I’ll fight with all have I got.”

According to the WTA, Navratilova underwent testing after noticing an enlarged lymph node in her neck in November. The former world No. 1 will reportedly begin treatment this month.

The 66-year-old was previously diagnosed with breast cancer in 2010.

Navratilova is one of the most accomplished tennis players ever. She won 59 Grand Slam titles in a career that spanned over four decades.

Rafael Nadal will have an opportunity to become the first man to win 21 grand slam singles titles.

Nadal will take on Daniil Medvedev in the finals of the Australian Open on Sunday.

Nadal earned a shot at the title after beating Mateo Berrettini in the semifinals. Medvedev, who won the U.S. Open in September, beat Stefanos Tsitsipas in the other semifinal.

Nadal and Medvedev have played four times. Nadal won three of those matches. However, Medvedev won their last meeting in 2020.

Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer all currently own 20 grand slam championships.

Djokovic and Federer did not participate in this year's Australian Open.

Djokovic, who is the No. 1 tennis player in the world, was kicked out of Australia for not being vaccinated against COVID-19.

Federer is recovering from knee surgery.

The Australian Open reversed a policy that banned fans from wearing a shirt that says, "Where is Peng Shuai?"

The Chinese tennis player accused a former government official of sexual assault last year on social media. She has made few public appearances since making the accusations.

The WTA issued a statement in December that said there are concerns about whether Peng is free and safe.

During the Australian Open, fans were reportedly told to cover their "Where is Peng Shuai?" shirts after protesting.

Tennis Australia has a policy that bans "banners, signs or clothing that are commercial or political."

Facing backlash, however, Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that fans could wear the shirts.

"As long as they are not coming as a mob to be disruptive but are peaceful," he said.

The Australian Open is the first grand slam tennis tournament of the year.

It wraps up on Jan. 30.

MELBOURNE, Australia —

Novak Djokovic won his first legal round against Australian authorities who want to deport him. But the world tennis No. 1 now faces a formidable challenge on Sunday in his second round as he takes on what some describe as the God-like powers of the immigration minister on questions of visas and public interest.

Djokovic won his court appeal this week against a border official's decision to cancel his visa. He won over procedural errors related to Australia's confusing COVID-19 vaccination regulations.

Immigration Minister Alex Hawke's intervention on Friday to cancel the visa a second time for what Djokovic's lawyers describe as "radically different" reasons pits Djokovic against Australian politics and the law.

What are the minister's powers?

Hawke has a "personal power" to cancel Djokovic's visa under Section 133C of the Migration Act 1958.

Hawke needed to be satisfied that Djokovic's presence in Australia "maybe, or would or might be, a risk to the health, safety or good order of the Australian community."

The minister also needed to be satisfied that ordering Djokovic's deportation would be in the "public interest," a term which has no legal definition.

Unlike the decision of a government underling, the "rules of natural justice do not apply" to a minister's decision. That means the minister did not have to tell Djokovic he was planning to deport him.

Hawke could have canceled Djokovic's visa in secret and then notified the Serbian tennis star days later that he had to go. Had the Australian Border Force come to detain Djokovic, they would legally have had to reveal only then that he had no visa.

Under Section 133F of the Act, Djokovic could have then requested the minister reverse his decision, but the only realistic option would have been to appeal it in court.

How does the minister exercise his power?

In Djokovic' s case, Australian government lawyers warned him that the minister was planning to intervene on Monday when a judge reinstated his visa. The star athlete's high profile might have encouraged the government to appear even handed.

Djokovic's lawyers provided evidence for why he was entitled to keep his visa and be allowed to defend his Australian Open title in the days before the minister acted.

While Hawke has sweeping discretion to define public interest in canceling a visa, he must also be thoughtful and detailed in his reasoning.

"These decisions aren't straightforward. There is case law which compels a minister when exercising this power personally to have active intellectual engagement with the materials and with the decision," immigration lawyer Kian Bone said.

"It's not something that he (Hawke) can have a one-liner saying: 'Dear Mr. Djokovic, your visa is canceled.' He can't have a bureaucrat or a staffer write a decision for him, look at it for two minutes and sign off on it," Bone added.

How do you overturn a minister's decision?

Because the minister's power is so broad and discretionary, grounds for appeal are potentially fewer than they are for a decision of a public servant acting on a minister's authority. But courts have overturned ministers' decisions in the past.

The immigration minister's powers are among the broadest provided under Australian law, said Greg Barns, a lawyer experienced in visa cases.

"One of the criticisms of this particular power is that it is so broad and it's effectively allowing the minister to play God with someone's life," Barns said.

"It's inevitable that political considerations would form part of the decision because that concept of public interest is so broad that it allows a minister to effectively take into account political considerations, even though theoretically that ought not be done," Barnes added.

Political considerations are heightened for Prime Minister Scott Morrison's conservative coalition with an election due by May at the latest.

Although Australia has one of the highest rates of COVID-19 vaccination in the world, the government is concerned by Djokovic's popularity among those who are opposed to vaccine mandates or skeptical of the vaccines' efficacy.

Djokovic's lawyers don't accept that those sentiments are a legitimate reason to deny the sporting star an attempt at a record 21 Grand Slam titles.

"The minister only considers the potential for exciting anti-vax sentiment in the event that he's present" at the Australian Open, Djokovic's lawyer Nick Wood told a court on Friday.

Hawke's reasons do not take into account the potential impact on those attitudes if Djokovic is forcibly removed, Wood said.

"The minister gives no consideration whatsoever to what effect that may have on anti-vax sentiment and indeed on public order," Wood said. "That seems patently irrational."

BEIJING — Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai has denied saying she was sexually assaulted, despite a November social media post attributed to her that accused a former top Communist Party official of forcing her into sex.

The Lianhe Zaobao posted a video of Peng that the newspaper says was taken Sunday in Shanghai. In the video, Peng says she has been mainly staying at home in Beijing but was free to come and go as she chose.

“First of all, I want to emphasize something that is very important. I have never said that I wrote that anyone sexually assaulted me. I need to emphasize this point very clearly,” Peng told the newspaper’s reporter.

WTA chief executive Steve Simon questioned the emailed statement’s legitimacy while others said it only increased their concern about her safety. 

Peng dropped out of sight several weeks ago after alleging former vice-premier Zhang Gaoli sexually assaulted her. Soon after she levied the allegation on Chinese social media, it was removed from the platform.

Screenshots of the post were widely shared, drawing widespread concern about Peng's safety.

Peng's silence had alarmed the world's top tennis stars, including Serena Williams. Earlier this year, the Women's Tennis Association announced it would not hold tournaments in China next year over its concerns for Peng's safety and freedom.

"While we now know where Peng is, I have serious doubts that she is free, safe and not subject to censorship, coercion and intimidation," Simon said in a statement earlier this month.

The 2022 Australian Open will require tennis players to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

"All the playing group understands it," Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley said. "Our patrons will need to be vaccinated, all the staff working the Australian Open need to be vaccinated."

Australia reports that nearly 85% of its population is fully vaccinated.

The vaccination requirement raises questions about whether world No. 1 men's tennis player Novak Djokovic will participate in the first grand slam of the season.

Djokovic has not publicly revealed his vaccination status, saying it's a private matter.

"I hope we get to see Novak," Tiley said.

The Australian Open is Djokovic's most successful grand slam event. He has won a record-setting nine tournaments.

Tiley said most of the men's and women's players are vaccinated. He said he expects Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams and others to be at the tournament, which starts in January.

Naomi Osaka is raising awareness around the devastation in Haiti following a recent 7.2-magnitude earthquake.

The tennis star has pledged to donate any prize earnings from this week's Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati to support earthquake relief efforts in the Caribbean island country. Haiti declared a one-month state of emergency in response to an earthquake that struck near Haiti Saturday morning, which has left over 700 people dead and over 2,800 injured according to CNN.

Osaka, who is Haitian on her father's side, and Japanese on her mother's, announced her pledge on Twitter on Saturday. She wrote, "Really hurts to see all the devastation that’s going on in Haiti, and I feel like we really can’t catch a break. I’m about to play a tournament this week and I’ll give all the prize money to relief efforts for Haiti."

"I know our ancestors blood is strong we’ll keep rising," she wrote, ending the post with an emoji of the Haitian flag and a praying hands emoji.

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Really hurts to see all the devastation that’s going on in Haiti, and I feel like we really can’t catch a break. I’m about to play a tournament this week and I’ll give all the prize money to relief efforts for Haiti. I know our ancestors blood is strong we’ll keep rising

— NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@naomiosaka) August 14, 2021

According to Sports Illustrated, the Western & Southern Open begins Monday and is expected to award $255,220 to the women's singles winner, and $188,945 to the the runner-up.

The four-time Grand Slam champion has been outspoken about current events and social justice issues throughout her career.

During last year's U.S. Open, which took place amid nationwide police brutality protests, Osaka showed her support of the Black Lives Matter movement by wearing face masks printed with the names of Black people who have been killed by police. The 23-year-old also condemned anti-Asian hate crimes and called for support toward the AAPI community earlier this year.