The WTA announced on Thursday that it has reduced the number of tournaments that top-ranked players are required to play in 2027. The measure comes in response to recurring criticism about tennis' overloaded schedule. Under the current system, the world's top 50-ranked players are obligated to play the four Grand Slam tournaments, 10 WTA 1000 events and six 500 events each year. In 2027, they will be required to play only four WTA 500 tournaments instead of six, the women's tour announced in a statement released on Thursday. In addition, they will be able to substitute points earned at a WTA 1000 tournament with those earned at a WTA 500 or WTA 250 tournament. In other words, a player who chooses not to compete in a mandatory WTA 1000 event could still include the points earned at a less prestigious tournament in her ranking – whereas she currently risks earning zero points. The WTA will assess the impact of these measures to decide whether or not to extend them into 2028. In January, the ATP announced a similar measure, reducing the number of mandatory 500-level tournaments for the world's top 30 players from five to four, starting this season. The WTA press release issued on Thursday also announced that, for the first time, the prize money for "combined" WTA 1000 tournaments will be identical to that of the corresponding men's ATP events. While the WTA and Masters 1000 tournaments in Indian Wells, Miami and Madrid already offered equal prize money, this was not yet the case for the tournaments in Rome, Canada and Cincinnati. Edited by Cecil Wong

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Jurgen Klopp celebrated his first win as Germany manager on Thursday as his side eased to a 2-0 win against Serbia in the third fixture of their Uefa Nations League campaign. Liverpool's Florian Wirtz and Bayern Munich's Tom Bischof both found the net as a youthful Germany made short work of a lacklustre Serbia team in Munich. It was a win that lifted the pressure on the new national team boss, after he began his tenure with a 1-1 draw against the Netherlands and a shock 1-0 defeat to Greece last weekend. Another loss, or a draw, would have made Klopp the first Germany coach in history not to win any of his first three games in charge. Instead, victory marked a cautious sense of optimism for the four-time world champions, as they look to return to the international elite under Klopp. "The mix of football and attitude was top level today. I told the boys that this has to be our benchmark," Klopp told public broadcaster ZDF. His players sang his praises in return. "Jurgen is a coach that pulls people along with him. We saw that today and I hope it continues into the future," said Bischof. Having nominated a bumper squad of 44 players for his first round of games, Klopp fielded an entirely new starting 11 against Serbia, including three debutants. Bayern Munich goalkeeper Jonas Urbig, Freiburg forward Derry Scherhant and Brentford midfielder Vitaly Janelt all made their national team debuts, while Celtic's Mika Baur became the 1,000th player ever to represent Germany when he came on as a 77th minute substitute. The young team showed a marked improvement on the turgid performance against Greece last Sunday, albeit against underwhelming opposition. Aleksandar Pavlovic, Serge Gnabry and Bischof all had chances in the first half hour, while Serbia mustered only one dangerous counter-attack through Filip Kostic. The hosts finally broke through shortly before half-time thanks to some elegant footwork from Wirtz. Wirtz danced through a maze of legs in the box and hit the post, before an unmarked Bischof smashed the ball in on the rebound. The game continued in the same vein after the break, as Germany continued to pin Serbia back into their own final third. Juventus' Nick Woltemade should have doubled the lead on 59 minutes but skied the ball high over the bar from a metre in front of goal. Wirtz spared his teammate's blushes a moment later, making space for himself in the box with a brilliant first touch and slotting the ball into the bottom corner. Klopp reserved special praise for the Liverpool player, who has faced criticism in England for his club form recently. "The rhythm has to be: easy, easy, easy, Flo, Flo, Flo, Wirtz, Wirtz, Wirtz," said the Germany coach. "A performance like that helps us, but it also helps him. "If he was out of form, we wouldn't just let him play anyway. But he's in form and he showed that in training and today." The second goal put the win beyond doubt, prompting a Mexican wave to roll around the Munich arena. (AFP) Edited by Cecil Wong