SARA ERRANI

Hardly half a day passed before politics, the pandemic and blistering heat impacted events across the Tokyo Olympics.

French Open finalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova grasped for an air tube during a medical timeout and grew frustrated at the lack of ice in a court-side container.

(AP Photo/Hamish Blair)Naomi Osaka's Australian Open championship moved her up one spot to No. 2 in the WTA rankings Monday, while men's finalist Daniil Medvedev rose to a career-best No. Aslan Karatsev's historic run from qualifying to the final four before losing to nine-time Australian Open champion Djokovic allowed him to vault 72 places from 114th to 42nd. Barty took nearly a full year off, for example, but still has her points from winning the 2019 French Open and reaching the semifinals at the 2020 Australian Open. Aryna Sabalenka now leads the WTA doubles rankings after pairing with Elise Mertens to win the Australian Open women's doubles title.

United States' Venus Williams reacts as she injures her leg during her second round match against Italy's Sara Errani at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021. (AP Photo/Hamish Blair)MELBOURNE – This was, in some ways, rather difficult to watch: 40-year-old Venus Williams gasped and groaned as she limped around the court at the Australian Open on an injured right ankle and left knee. The oldest woman in the field, she was playing in her 21st Australian Open and 88th Grand Slam tournament overall, a record for the professional era. Errani was in control of the match when Williams twisted her right ankle and landed awkwardly on her left leg, which already was bandaged with athletic tape and buckled. Action was halted, and a trainer treated Williams on the sideline, first taping the troubled ankle, then the knee.

Serbia's Novak Djokovic makes a forehand return to United States' Frances Tiafoe during their second round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021. 1, had never beaten anyone in the Top 5, and now he'd just won a tiebreaker against Novak Djokovic to level their second-round match at the Australian Open. But it wasn't quite enough to beat the eight-time Australian Open champion, who won the 3 1/2-hour afternoon match 6-3, 6-7 (3), 7-6 (2), 6-3. AdAnother U.S. Open champion, Naomi Osaka, needed only an hour to sweep Caroline Garcia 6-2, 6-3. 29 Ugo Humbert 5-7, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (2), 6-4 in a rollicking night cap full of turns and twists.

(AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)PARIS – The Latest from the French Open (all times local):___9:35 p.m.American teenager Coco Gauff’s French Open debut has ended in the second round after she double-faulted 19 times in a 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 loss to 159th-ranked qualifier Martina Trevisan. Stefano Travaglia beat the Japanese player 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (7), 4-6, 6-2 in the second round of the French Open after nearly four hours. 2-seeded Spaniard is looking to win his record-extending 13th French Open title and equal Roger Federer’s men’s record of 20 major titles overall. ___2:55 p.m.U.S. Open runner-up Victoria Azarenka is out of the French Open in the second round. They said it was "a fighter plane which has broken the sound barrier.”___12 p.m.Serena Williams is out of the French Open.

A view of the central court during Palermo Ladies Open tennis tournament in Palermo, Italy, Thursday, Aug. 6, 2020. Tour-level tennis resumed after a five-month enforced break and players at the Palermo Ladies Open had to handle their own towels and not shake hands of opponents. (Palermo Ladies Open via AP)ROME The only player who tested positive for the coronavirus was withdrawn from the tournament without ever setting foot at the venue. Local organizers and the WTA Tour have been vigilant about abiding by strict health protocols in order to hold this weeks Palermo Ladies Open, the first tour-level tennis tournament for men or women in five months. A large part of the players are coming from Palermo, Palma said.