Don't tell me who I am playing next, says Lys after winning start to French Open
FILE PHOTO: Tennis - WTA 500 - Stuttgart Tennis Grand Prix - Porsche Arena, Stuttgart, Germany - April 15, 2025 Germany's Eva Lys in action during her round of 32 match against Italy's Jasmine Paolini REUTERS/Angelika Warmuth/File Photo
Don't tell me who I am playing next, says Lys after winning start to French Open
PARIS - If there is one thing 23-year-old Eva Lys does not want to know it is who she is playing next at the French Open, the German said after making a winning start at the tournament on Sunday.
Lys, ranked 59th in the world, advanced easily to the second round with a 6-0 6-3 win over American Peyton Stearns.
For Lys, who reached the fourth round at the Australian Open this year, it was her first ever main-draw win at the French Open.
But asked at a press conference later about her opponent in the next round, Lys urged reporters not to reveal the name.
"Usually I find out somehow," Lys said. "Someone texts me. Obviously if someone came in and told me, I wouldn't be too mad about it. Now I'm trying to enjoy the win I had, especially today."
For the record, Lys will face Canadian Victoria Mboko on Wednesday.
"Today when I'm back in practice, I'll have my coach, my mom. My little sister is probably going to tell me who I'm playing so I can prepare and practise," she said.
"For today I'm just trying to enjoy what I have." REUTERS
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
44 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Aryna Sabalenka expecting another ‘great battle' with Iga Swiatek at French Open
PARIS – World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka said on June 3 she was expecting another 'great battle' with Iga Swiatek when the rivals meet in the semi-finals at Roland Garros. Top seed Sabalenka dispatched Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 in the quarter-finals in Paris and next plays three-time defending champion Swiatek for a place in the final. Swiatek, the fifth seed, got past 13th-seeded Ukrainian Elina Svitolina 6-1, 7-5 to set up the mouthwatering match-up on June 5. The semi-final will be one between two players who know each other well, the pair having faced each other across the net 12 times with Swiatek leading the series 8-4. On clay, the Polish player has won five of their six meetings – most recently in the 2024 finals in Rome and Madrid. Sabalenka's only win on clay was in the final in Madrid in 2023, when she edged Swiatek in three sets. And the Belarusian won their most recent clash – a straight-sets win on hard court in Cincinnati last October. The 27-year-old says she enjoys the rivalry with 24-year-old Swiatek, and the pair who have shared the world No. 1 ranking between them for over three years have become closer of late. 'Yeah, I mean, before it wasn't any communication, any practices with her, but now we are getting better,' said Sabalenka. 'We get along better, and we practise more often, and we know each other quite well. We've had a lot of great battles in the past. 'If it's going to be Iga, I'm super excited, and it's high-level matches. Yeah, I'm super excited to go out there and to fight and to do everything I need to get the win.' Meanwhile, Swiatek revealed she has been practising with Sabalenka in the past two weeks since Rome. 'It's great always to practice with Aryna. She gives a great rhythm, and the practice will have quality, you know, so it was great,' she said. 'I feel like we both know how we play, so it's not like you're going to find something extraordinary there.' On June 3, Sabalenka fought back after struggling in the first set against Zheng, who had beaten her in the last eight on clay in Rome in May. She then converted her first match point on a poorly-controlled drop-shot from the Chinese to advance to her 11th Grand Slam semi-final overall, and her second in Paris following her run in 2023. A three-time Grand Slam winner – at the Australian Open in 2023 and 2024 and the reigning US Open champion – Sabalenka is chasing her sixth Major final berth. Zheng – on a 10-match winning run since her Olympic gold in Paris – blamed nervousness for her errors in her first Paris quarter-finals. 'In the first set I made a lot of, you know, easy mistakes. I give her the chance so easy,' she said. 'I (was) really tight because I have so much hunger in (the) French Open, and then I think this can make my performance not (the) best. I don't even perform at 60, 70 per cent.' AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
LA 2028: Venue plan unveiled for largest-ever Paralympics
The planned wheelchair basketball venue for the Los Angeles 2028 Paralympic Games is seen in a digital artist's rendering released June 3. PHOTO: REUTERS LOS ANGELES – Events for the 2028 Los Angeles Paralympic Games will be held in downtown LA, Exposition Park, Venice Beach, Long Beach, Carson and Arcadia under the venue plan released by Games organisers LA28 on June 3. Like the LA Olympics, the Paralympics will seek to take advantage of the city's vast network of existing sports venues when it hosts the event for the first time. Downtown LA will be a major hub of activity with wheelchair fencing, para judo, para taekwondo, boccia and para table tennis all held at the Convention Center. 'By hosting multiple competitions side by side, the events will encourage constant movement, shared fan engagement and a festival-like environment that highlights the diversity of athletic performance,' LA28 said in a release. Wheelchair basketball will be held at Arena, home of the NBA's LA Lakers, with the US men's team looking to capture a fourth consecutive gold medal. Goalball, a sport designed exclusively for people with visual impairments that requires total silence from the crowd, will take place at the nearby Peacock Theater in an acoustically optimised setting. LA Memorial Coliseum will host para athletics and the Paralympics closing ceremony, while the opening ceremony will be held at Inglewood's SoFi Stadium, home of the NFL's Rams and Chargers. Galen Center will host para badminton and wheelchair rugby, Carson will stage para archery, wheelchair tennis and para cycling, while Arcadia's Santa Anita Park will be the site of para equestrian. On the west side of the city, Venice Beach will host para triathlon and mark the starting point of the para athletics marathon, while Long Beach will host seven events including para swimming, blind football and para climbing's debut. The most gender-balanced Paralympics yet will award the most medals in its history and feature 4,480 athletes across 23 sports. With every competition taking place within a 35-mile radius, the venue plan seeks to minimise travel times for athletes staying in the Paralympic Village. 'The Paralympic Games showcases the highest level of athleticism, skill and endurance and it is important for LA28 to deliver a plan that not only elevates Paralympic sport but brings it to the next level,' said LA28 CEO Reynold Hoover. LA Mayor Karen Bass said the Games would provide an opportunity for LA to improve inclusive accessibility citywide. 'The legacy of these Games will be imprinted on our city forever – proliferating beyond the boundaries of these venues to better all of Los Angeles,' she said. The Paralympics will be held from Aug 15-27 in 2028. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
Ashes tickets sell at record rate
FILE PHOTO: Cricket - Ashes - Fifth Test - England v Australia - The Oval, London, Britain - July 31, 2023 Australia's Pat Cummins and teammates pose with the urn and trophies after drawing the series and retaining the Ashes Action Images via Reuters/Paul Childs/File Photo REUTERS SYDNEY - Tickets for the Ashes series were snapped up at a record rate when they went on sale on Tuesday with the allocations for the first three days of the Brisbane and Sydney tests as well as day one of the Melbourne test all exhausted. Cricket Australia said a total of 311,066 tickets were purchased on Tuesday for international matches in the home 2025-26 season, when the hosts will defend the urn against England in a five-test series. The previous record for a single day's sale was 111,741 tickets ahead of the 2017-18 Ashes series, CA said. "The record demand for tickets shows the excitement fans are feeling about the fantastic international season to come," said Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg. Australia won both the 2017-18 series and following home series in 2021–22 4-0 before drawing 2-2 in England in 2023 to retain the urn. England last triumphed in Australia in 2010-11, which is also the last time the tourists won a test Down Under. This year's series begins in Perth in late November before a day-night match in Brisbane, the third test in Adelaide and the traditional Melbourne and Sydney tests in December and January. More tranches of tickets will be made available for those fans who signed up for pre-allocation at a later date, while the general public will be able to make purchases from June 13. Australia also host both South Africa and India in Twenty20 and one-day series before the Ashes, while the women's team will play India in all three formats in February and March. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
