Osaka books WTA Montreal title clash with Canadian teen Mboko
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Arab News
2 hours ago
- Arab News
Canadian teen Mboko outlasts Osaka to win WTA Montreal crown
MONTREAL: Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko conquered four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 on Thursday, capping a fairytale run at the WTA Canadian Open with her first WTA title. Mboko, 18 and playing in her first WTA final, denied Osaka her first tour-level title since the 2021 Australian Open, wearing down the Japanese star, 27, who has struggled to find consistency since returning from maternity leave early in 2024. Mboko, who was ranked outside the top 300 to start the season and had climbed to 85th entering the week, is now projected to rise to 34th in the world. Before an ecstatic center court crowd, she converted eight of her nine break points, seizing her fourth win of the week over a Grand Slam winner. She ousted former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin in the second round and toppled reigning French Open champion Coco Gauff in the fourth before saving a match point en route to a semifinal victory over former Wimbledon winner Elena Rybakina. Displaying vintage power and precision, Osaka gave her inexperienced opponent little room to maneuver in the first set, gaining an early break on the way to a 3-0 lead and pocketing the set when Mboko, who had 22 unforced errors in the set, mis-fired on two forehands to drop her serve a second time. Mboko turned the tide in a second set that featured seven total breaks of serve. Osaka looked bewildered as Mboko ramped up the pressure, the Canadian breaking her at love for a 5-2 lead. Serving for the set, however, Mboko coughed up three double faults and was broken. Osaka capitalized on the reprieve with a hold at love, but Mboko took the set in the next game when Osaka sailed a forehand long on set point. Osaka appeared demoralized as she was broken at love to open the third set. Mboko couldn't consolidate the break, but Osaka was on the ropes again in the third game, drawing a warning for batting a ball skyward in frustration after missing her first serve on break point — which she surrendered with another errant forehand. That launched a run of five straight games for Mboko. Winners were proving hard to come by for both players, and when the Canadian saved four break points to hold for a 3-1 lead, Osaka had a mountain to climb that finally proved too steep. When Osaka smacked a backhand into the net on match point, Mboko dropped to the court as the crowd roared out one more ovation. Osaka, who had appeared energized in Montreal after a coaching shakeup, posted her best performance in a WTA 1000 tournament since she reached the final at Miami in 2022.
Arab News
11 hours ago
- Arab News
LIV Golf unveils revamped format for 2025 Team Championship in Michigan
LONDON: LIV Golf has announced sweeping changes to the format of its season-ending Team Championship, in what organizers hope will provide a more action-packed spectacle when the event returns to Michigan later this month. For the latest updates, follow us @ArabNewsSport The 2025 edition, taking place Aug. 22–24 at The Cardinal at Saint John's Resort in Plymouth, will see all 48 players from the 12 remaining teams compete across three full days of play. The overhaul removes previous first-round byes and introduces a high-stakes play-in match on Wednesday, ensuring fans get more chances to watch the league's biggest stars in action throughout the entire week. In a significant shift, the two lowest-ranked teams entering the week, seeded 12th and 13th based on regular-season standings, will face off in a single-elimination play-in on Aug. 20. The winner progresses to the main draw, while the losing team is eliminated. Friday's quarterfinals will feature all 12 qualified teams in match play, with pairings selected by the highest-ranked team captains. The format, consisting of two singles matches and one alternate-shot (foursomes) match, will be repeated in Saturday's semifinals, where teams are divided into a Championship Bracket and a Rankings Bracket based on quarterfinal results. Each match carries a total of three points, with the first team to earn two progressing. The Championship culminates on Sunday with a shift to stroke play. All 48 players will compete, with each team's total score made up of all four individual player scores, a format that places equal importance on every shot from every player. Positions will be finalized across four tiers. The three finalists in the Championship Bracket will compete for the overall title, with other teams ranked based on their respective finishes in the Championship or Rankings brackets. One of the key tactical tweaks this year gives the higher-seeded team captain in each match the advantage of seeing the opponent's lineup before finalizing his own, a move that could prove decisive in closely fought contests. 'I think you'll see a few teams get knocked out that you maybe wouldn't expect,' said Cameron Smith, captain of reigning champions Ripper GC. Crushers GC captain Bryson DeChambeau added: 'More pressure. Each day matters more.' Ross Hallett, LIV Golf's executive vice president and head of events, said the updated format was designed with fans in mind. 'The new format reflects the league's goal to consistently enhance both our competition and fan experiences while producing an exciting and memorable event,' he said. 'These updates mean fans will get more golf from our top teams and put added pressure on players to perform from start to finish as we look to crown our global team champion. 'We're looking forward to putting on a fantastic championship event filled with high-stakes competition, world-class concerts and family-friendly activities to be enjoyed by fans of all ages,' he added.
Arab News
a day ago
- Arab News
Osaka books WTA Montreal title clash with Canadian teen Mboko
MONTREAL:Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka and Canadian teen sensation Victoria Mboko booked a championship showdown with gritty semifinal wins on Wednesday in the WTA Canadian Open in Montreal. For the latest updates, follow us @ArabNewsSport
