WIMBLEDON, England—Serena Williams began—and ended—her comeback at Wimbledon after 364 days out of singles competition looking very much like someone who hadn’t competed in just that long. She missed shots, shook her head, rolled her eyes. In between, there were moments where Williams played very much like someone whose strokes and will have carried her…

LONDON—Rafael Nadal made a stuttering but rousing return to the grass on Tuesday, beating 41st-ranked Argentine Francisco Cerundolo 6–4 6–3 3–6 6–4 in Wimbledon’s first round to begin his campaign for a third Grand Slam title of the year. The 36-year-old second seed, who has not played at Wimbledon since 2019 and stayed away from…

PARIS—Rafael Nadal would probably not have played any Grand Slam other than the French Open with the chronic foot injury that needed numbing injections in Paris, the 14-time Roland Garros champion said on Monday. The Spaniard’s record-extending triumph on the Paris clay earned him an all-time best 22nd men’s singles major with a 6–3 6–3…

Commentary Rafael Nadal won his 14th Roland Garros tennis crown on June 5. It was also his 22nd Grand Slam victory, which sets him apart from Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, who each have 20 Grand Slams trophies. The Roland Garros singles final featured Rafael Nadal and Casper Ruud; a 23-year-old Norwegian player ranked 8th…

One of the greatest tennis players of all time is Rafael Nadal. The Spanish tennis player has transformed the sport and created some record-breaking tennis statistics and some top rivalries in tennis. Here are five things you might not know about Rafael Nadal. 1. Grand Slam Record Nadal is the winner of 21 Grand Slam titles…

PARIS—Rafael Nadal was locked in a tight, compelling, and lengthy French Open semifinal Friday when his opponent, third-seeded Alexander Zverev, ran to to chase a shot and twisted his right ankle. Zverev crumpled to the ground, wailing in agony and clutching at his lower leg. His black outfit, arms and legs caked with rust-colored clay,…

PARIS—By the end of only the third five-setter Rafael Nadal has played in 112 career matches at Roland Garros, as the sun and temperature descended and the chants of “Ra-fa! Ra-fa!” filled the evening air, the man known as the King of Clay showed precisely what this meant to him. With every sprint-slide-and-stretch to reach…

ROME—Once is enough when it comes to beating Rafael Nadal on a clay court. Throughout his career, Nadal has never lost consecutive matches on his favorite surface and the Spaniard extended that perfect record on Wednesday by beating John Isner 6–3, 6–1 to reach the third round of the Italian Open. Nadal was coming off…

MADRID—Rafael Nadal one day. Novak Djokovic the other. The list of victims of Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz keeps growing. And so does the hype over tennis’ newest sensation. After defeating his idol Nadal in the quarterfinals on Friday, the 19-year-old Alcaraz rallied to beat top-ranked Djokovic 6-7 (5), 7-5, 7-6 (5) after more than 3…

Australian Open champion Rafael Nadal has labeled the ban on Russian and Belarusian players from this year’s Wimbledon over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine as unfair, saying they are not responsible for the war. The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) has barred the two countries’ players from competing at this year’s grasscourt major in response…