Rafael Nadal overcame a freak injury scare when he accidentally hit himself with his own racquet to reach the US Open third round on Thursday.

The U.S. Open turned over Arthur Ashe Stadium to the Williams sisters on Thursday for a prime-time first round doubles match that could have been Serena's last after the pair fell 7-6 (5), 6-4 to the Czech duo of Lucie Hradecka and Linda Noskova.

World number one Daniil Medvedev maintained his strong start to his U.S. Open title defence on Wednesday, dispatching France's Arthur Rinderknech 6-2, 7-5, 6-3 in the Arthur Ashe Stadium to reach the third round.

Emma Raducanu's U.S. Open title defence ended at the first hurdle on Tuesday while Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina and twice U.S. Open winner Naomi Osaka were also ousted in the opening round.

Defending champion Emma Raducanu of Britain was sent crashing out of the US Open in the first round on Tuesday, losing in straight sets to France's Alize Cornet.

Four-time champion Rafael Nadal overcame dropping the first set to defeat Australian wildcard Rinky Hijikata at the US Open first round on Tuesday.

Serena Williams said she is "staying vague" over her expected retirement from tennis after reaching the US Open second round on Monday.

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.

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.

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.

World number one Daniil Medvedev, playing his first match in six weeks, beat Australian qualifier Rinky Hijikata 6-4, 6-3 on Wednesday at the ATP hard court tournament in Los Cabos, Mexico.

Jannik Sinner defeated Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz for the second time in four weeks on Sunday to take the Spaniard's Umag clay-court title.

Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz survived a worrying ankle injury scare to beat Giulio Zeppieri and set-up an Umag final showdown against Jannik Sinner, the man who ended his Wimbledon hopes.