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Serena, Azarenka open with wins at season-finale World number one Serena Williams showed her determination to defend her WTA Championships title by sweeping to a 6-3 6-1 win over Angelique Kerber at the season-ending event on Tuesday. The 32-year-old American broke early in each set and was...

Armstrong 'will testify with 100 percent honesty' Disgraced former Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong has said he will testify with "100 percent transparency and honesty" at any independent enquiry into doping in cycling but wants assurances he will be treated fairly. The 42-year-old Texan...

Injured Tipsarevic withdraws after three games Janko Tipsarevic’s Valencia Open campaign was over almost as soon as it began in his first-round tie against Marcel Granollers. The Serb was leading 2-1 in the first set but a heel injury ended the match just 19 minutes in. World number 28...

Australia select new president to shake off image crisis Cycling Australia appointed Gerry Ryan as its new president on Monday, entrusting him with the job of restoring public faith in the governing body and the sport in the **** of high-profile doping scandals. Owner of the professional...

Federer gets back on track with win in Basel Roger Federer put his recent poor form behind him to beat Adrian Mannarino 6-4 6-2 in his home city of Basel. Federer, who used to ball boy at the tournament as a *****, raced into a 2-0 lead in the first set but then lost the next two games with a...

2015 Tour to start in Utrecht The 2015 Tour de France will start in Utrecht, Netherlands, organisers of the world's biggest cycling race said on Friday. It will be the sixth time that the "Grand Depart" is held in the Netherlands and the sixth time in nine years that the race starts outside of...

Armstrong: I was singled out for punishment Lance Armstrong believes he was treated unfairly and singled out for punishment by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) after being ****** for life for doping. Armstrong, who was stripped of his record seven Tour de France titles last year...

Serena warns Istanbul rivals she can still get better Serena Williams aims to claim her 11th tournament trophy to round off one of the best years of her career, and warned her opponents at this week's WTA season-ending championships that she can still improve. "It's definitely one of the best...

Success starved Bulgaria hails Dimitrov's maiden win Bulgaria, a nation with a proud female tennis tradition, hailed Grigor Dimitrov's maiden ATP tour title and praised the player for becoming an inspiration for young talent in the Balkan country. The three Maleeva sisters - Manuela, Katerina...

Armstrong: I was wrong to use cancer to boost image Disgraced Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong has said he was wrong to use the story of his fight against cancer to boost his image as he tried to fend off the doping accusations that eventually led to his downfall. "I'd love to change it...

The real reason Cavendish left Sky Mark Cavendish has revealed that an incident with a coffee machine was the tipping point that led him to leave Team Sky. British sprint star Cavendish, who with Sky became the best finisher in world cycling, quit the hugely successful British outfit last...

Dimitrov upsets Ferrer to win maiden tour title Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov won his first ATP tour title by fighting back to upset Spanish top seed David Ferrer 2-6 6-3 6-4 in the final of the Stockholm Open. Ferrer, bidding for his third title of the year, got off to a flying start by winning...

Sutton: We're taking our time on the road to Rio Shane Sutton believes that British Cycling needs to let their young track stars slow down and develop after an impressive performance at the World Cup in Manchester. The women’s pursuit team, comprised of Laura Trott, Dani King, Joanna Rowsell...

Haas shows no signs of slowing down as he trumps Haase Tommy Haas kept alive his slim chances of qualifying for next month's ATP World Tour Finals when he edged past near namesake Robin Haase 6-3 4-6 6-4 to lift his 15th career title at the Vienna Open on Sunday. The 35-year-old German won his...

Former dopers should come clean, says UCI boss Riders and managers who have been involved in past doping practices have been urged to come forward by International Cycling Union (UCI) president Brian Cookson so that the sport can draw a line under its troubled reputation. Reacting to former...

Gasquet boosts hopes of playing in London with Kremlin win Frenchman Richard Gasquet boosted his chances of playing in next month's season-ending ATP World Tour Finals after capturing the Kremlin Cup with a 4-6 6-4 6-4 victory over Kazakh qualifier Mikhail Kukushkin on Sunday. The top seed's...

Trott channels inner ***** for omnium World Cup win Laura Trott channelled her inner ***** and 'floored it' to come from behind and claim omnium gold at the season opening Track World Cup in Manchester. Trott started the day in sixth but a second-place finish in the individual pursuit followed...

Wozniacki beats Beck, Halep stuns Stosur Top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki beat Annika Beck 6-2 6-2 to secure her first WTA title of 2013 in Luxembourg. Wozniacki had to negotiate her way past this year's Wimbledon runner-up Sabine Lisicki in the semi-finals while a retirement from Swiss...

Brailsford: World Cup disappointment will be good for Kenny Sir David Brailsford believes Jason Kenny's World Cup disappointment will serve as a valuable ****-up call that nothing can be taken for granted. The Olympic and former world sprint champion failed to come through qualifying in...

Wozniacki to meet Beck in Luxembourg final Top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki will battle Annika Beck for the Luxembourg Open title on Sunday. Wozniacki saw off third seed Sabine Lisicki of Germany while a retirement from Swiss semi-finalist Stefanie Vogele put Beck, who was a set up, through. The...

Crampton: Manchester World Cup bigger than World Championships British cyclist Matthew Crampton believes the World Cup in Manchester is a bigger event than the World Championships for him after finishing fourth in the men's sprint. Triple Olympic Champion Jason Kenny failed to make it through...

Tsonga dumped out by Haase in Austria Top seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was upset in straight sets by world number 63 Robin Haase in the Erste Bank Open semi-finals. Frenchman Tsonga, hoping to secure a spot at the ATP World Tour Finals, failed to convert four set points in the opening set before...

Spectacular Trott on for omnium gold as Kenny's sprint hopes dashed Olympic omnium champion Laura Trott underlined her all-round quality in the six-race event with a sparkling performance at the season-opening Track World Cup to put herself in pole position for gold at the Manchester...

Tsonga avoids shock in Vienna Jo-Wilfried Tsonga edged a gripping quarter-final against Dominic Thiem to reach the Erste Bank Open semi-finals. The top-seeded Frenchman won the event in 2011 and looked on course for a comfortable passage when he took the first set. But Austrian Thiem fought...

Passenger Kenny says he needs to get with the times after keirin flop World keirin champion Jason Kenny said the speed generated in cycling's fastest discipline caught him cold at the season-opening Track World Cup as the three-times Olympic gold medallist left the Manchester velodrome...

Wozniacki reaches Luxembourg semis Caroline Wozniacki had to graft to book her place in the WTA Luxembourg semi-finals after a three-set win over Bojana Jovanovski. The top seed claimed the opening set before her Serbian opponent battled back to ***** a decider. Though at times she appeared to...

Golden Brits will have work cut out to repeat success at worlds, says Rowsell Olympic gold medallist and crowd favourite Joanna Rowsell has warned her teammates that Britain's track leaders face a stiff task to defend their titles at next year's world championships. Rowsell was again in...

Tired Nadal withdraws from Basel event World tennis number one Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from next week's Basel indoor tournament because of fatigue. The 27-year-old Spaniard, who has reclaimed top spot in the rankings after a superb year since returning from injury in February, announced...

British girls play catch me if you can in Manchester Joanna Rowsell followed up her world record-breaking form at the season-opening Track World Cup by qualifying quickest for the individual pursuit as Britain's women set the standard in Manchester. Rowsell, part of the team pursuit victory...

Johansson and Bjorkman mask fall of Swedish tennis Once a conveyor belt of tennis greats like Bjorn Borg, Mats Wilander and Stefan Edberg, Swedish tennis now finds itself in the doldrums but two old warriors have helped lift the mood at the Stockholm Open this week. Former world No.4 Jonas...

Watch out boys, girls are coming to get you says King Dani King says the world record-breaking British women's team pursuit want to be as fast as the men and on the evidence of the opening Track World Cup of the season her wish might just come true. King helped clock 4:19.604 minutes around...

Murray in dash to Palace after ***** test Wimbledon champion Andy Murray was held up on his way to receive an OBE at Buckingham Palace by a random ***** test on Thursday. The Scot, who was to receive the honour from Prince William, got an unexpected knock on the door just as he was sprucing...

Britain break team pursuit world record again to win gold Joanna Rowsell says the British women’s team pursuit speed machine will only get faster after they annihilated their own world record for a second time in one day to win gold at the UCI Track World Cup in Manchester. Olympic golden...

Becker: Federer can still win a big one Boris Becker believes that Roger Federer still has "the fire and motivation" to return to the top of the sport. The German star - a six-times Grand Slam champion - is convinced that Federer can still win major trophies, despite firing his coach Paul...

‘Our day will come’ says world champion James Double world champion Becky James says Britain’s time will come in the women’s team sprint after defeat to world and Olympic champions Germany at the UCI Track World Cup in Manchester. The British pair of James and Victoria Williamson, laughing and...

World No 808 stuns Tipsarevic in Moscow Teenage wildcard Karen Khachanov shocked third seed Janko Tipsarevic in straight sets to become the youngest quarter-finalist of the ATP Tour season at the Kremlin Cup in Moscow. Khachanov, 17, did not face a single break point as he picked apart the...

Reade: Racing in America will help hunt for Olympic gold Shanaze Reade is adamant her decision to cross the pond will only help her as she hunts for BMX gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Three-time world champion and two-time Olympian Reade will be strutting her stuff on BMX's professional tour...

Lisicki fights back to progress in Luxembourg Germany’s Sabine Lisicki battled back from a set down to see off the challenge of Croatia’s Donna Vekic and advance to the second round of the Luxembourg Open. Four double faults in the opening set did little to help the third seed as she was...

Kenny wants team sprint improvements at Manchester Three-time Olympic champion Jason Kenny has vowed to release some anger at the Track World Cup in Manchester after a disappointing European Championship campaign in Apeldoorn. Kenny, who won team and individual sprint gold at the London 2012...

Beaten Watson falls outside top 100, now British number three Heather Watson's latest defeat was compounded by the news that she has fallen outside the women's top 100 and is now British number three behind Johanna Konta. Last year Watson became Britain's first WTA Tour event winner since 1988...

Hesjedal admits to doping over a decade ago Canadian Ryder Hesjedal, winner of the 2012 Giro d'Italia, became the latest rider to admit to a troubled past when he said on Wednesday he had doped "more than 10 years ago". "I have loved and lived this sport but more than a decade ago I chose the...

Kerber defeats Ivanovic in Linz final German top-seed Angelique Kerber claimed her first title of 2013 with a 6-4 7-6 (6) victory over Ana Ivanovic at the Linz Open in Austria on Sunday. The world number 10, who sealed her spot at the WTA's season-ending championships in Istanbul later this...

Williamson to be at her best with James at Manchester World Cup Victoria Williamson wants her and double world champion Becky James' partnership to reach new heights as they get back together in the team sprint at the Track World Cup in Manchester. Williamson joined ****** with James at the...

Djokovic beats Del Potro in Shanghai thriller World number two Novak Djokovic produced a magical display to overcome the ferocious hitting of Argentine Juan Martin del Potro and successfully defend the Shanghai Masters title. The Serbian triumphed 6-1 3-6 7-6 (3) to complete a brilliant...

Spain moving to shed ****-cheat haven label For years considered a haven for **** cheats in sport, Spain is facing up to its chequered past and trying to clean its image with a beefed-up anti-doping law. Legislators in the Iberian nation, home of such decorated champions as tennis player Rafa...

Stosur rallies past Bouchard to claim Japan Open title Australia's Sam Stosur fought back from a set down to claim the Japan Open for a second time on Sunday and deny Canadian teenager Eugenie Bouchard her first WTA title. The former US Open champion beat her 19-year-old opponent 3-6 7-5 6-2...

Froome wins Velo d'Or award Tour de France champion Chris Froome has won the prestigious Velo d'Or award as the best rider of 2013. Froome prevailed in a poll of cycling journalists set up by French publication Velo Magazine, with Colombia's Nairo Quintana, the Tour runner-up as well as...

Federer splits with coach Annacone Roger Federer has split from his American coach Paul Annacone with the struggling Swiss former world number one saying on Saturday that it was the best time to make a change. "After a terrific 3-1/2 years working together, Paul and I have decided to move on...

UCI to audit its own anti-doping operations The International Cycling Union will audit its own anti-doping system as it tries to draw a line under recent scandals in the sport. "Measures agreed at today's UCI management committee include a full audit of the systems and controls currently...

Kerber and Ivanovic fly through semis in Austria Top seed Angelique Kerber thrashed Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro in straight sets to set up a final with Ana Ivanovic at the Linz Open in Austria. Despite losing the pair’s only previous meeting at the 2013 US Open the German ruthlessly set about...