Sport

Novak Djokovic was surprisingly disqualified from the US Open on Sunday for striking a female lines official in the throat with the tennis ball. The world number one hit the ball in disgust after he went 5-6 down against the Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta. It appeared Djokovic was looking away from the office when he struck the ball with considerable force. She could be heard gasping and coughing on the tennis court upon the impact of the ball on her throat.

The organisers of the French Open tennis tournament have confirmed that the tournament has been postponed for about four months because of the coronavirus pandemic. It will now be played in September as against the earlier schedule date in May. The French tennis federation announced the decision Tuesday.

Nigerian trio Olufunke Oshonaike, Olajide Omotayo and Edem Offiong has clinched tickets in table tennis for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

Five-time Grand Slam Champion, Maria Sharapova has on Wednesday announced her retirement from professional tennis, ending her 19-year-old career.

Novak Djokovic has returned to the top of the FedEx ATP Rankings for a fifth stint after replacing Rafael Nadal, who had overtaken him at No. 1 in November last year.

Following the emergence of the coronavirus in Wuhan, Hubei province of China late last year, some international sports events scheduled to hold in China and other Asian countries have been affected. The affected events include The International Tennis Federation (ITF) Fed Cup Asia/Oceania Group I set to hold from February 4-8 featuring China, Indonesia, Taiwan, South Korea and Uzbekistan.