WTA roundup: Linda Noskova upsets Paula Badosa in Abu Dhabi
February 5 - Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic rolled to a 6-4, 6-1 victory over second-seeded Paula Badosa of Spain in the second round of the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open on Wednesday.
Noskova converted 6 of 9 break points while winning in 67 minutes against the Australian Open semifinalist. Noskova next faces Poland's Magda Linette, who advanced when sixth-seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia retired in the second set.
Top-seeded Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan rallied for a 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory over Katie Volynets, while Ashlyn Krueger delivered a 1-6, 7-5, 6-4 victory over No. 3 seed Daria Kasatkina of Russia. Czech Marketa Vondrousova knocked off No. 4 Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan 6-2, 6-3.
No. 8 seed Leyla Fernandez of Canada posted a 6-0, 6-3 victory over Lulu Sun of New Zealand and Tunisia's Ons Jabeur was a 6-3, 6-3 winner over Wakana Sonobe of Japan.
Transylvania Open
Viktoriya Tomova of Bulgaria saved 3 of 5 break points while notching a 7-5, 7-5 victory over second-seeded Olga Danilovic of Serbia in the second round in Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
Tomova won 75 percent of her first-seven points (30 of 40) while outdueling Danilovic to reach the quarterfinals. No. 4 seed Anhelina Kalinini of Ukraine rallied for a 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory over Suzan Lamens of the Netherlands.
No. 5 seed Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic outlasted Great Britain's Francesca Jones 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-4, while Germany's Ella Seidel rolled to a 6-4, 6-2 victory over No. 8 Jaqueline Cristian of Romania. Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus was a 6-3, 7-5 winner over Canada's Marina Stakusic.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South Wales Guardian
9 hours ago
- South Wales Guardian
5 things we learned from the 2025 French Open following two epic finals
Here, the PA news agency looks at what we learned from Roland Garros 2025. The dawn of a new era in men's tennis finally arrived, and in some style. Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have dominated the sport for two years but, like a pair of heavyweight boxers ducking one another, they had never met in a grand slam final. Roland Garros set the stage and the best players on the planet delivered a stone-cold classic, with Alcaraz saving three championship points before winning the longest final in French Open history, a five-set, five-hour 29-minute epic. It was the first major final between two men born in this century and on this evidence, there will be plenty more. Just one thing. Lose the rugby shirts, guys. It is hard to believe Gauff is still only 21, having burst on to the scene six years ago at Wimbledon. The charismatic American's victory over Aryna Sabalenka for a second grand slam title showed such maturity, as did her comments afterwards about trying to be a beacon of hope for 'Americans who look like me' amid a period of political turmoil in her homeland. She became the first American idol of Roland Garros since Serena Williams a decade earlier and has time on her side to collect many more titles. Sabalenka remains the best player on the planet – the runaway world number one – and will head to Wimbledon as a big favourite for the title. The Belarusian has made huge strides to exorcise the demons that used to dog her in big matches and has three grand slam titles to show for it. But she has lost the last two major finals, including a surprise defeat to Madison Keys in Australia, and the mental fragility seemed to return against Gauff with 70 unforced errors telling their own story. A reset is required if the 27-year-old is to add a Wimbledon crown to her US and Australian Open titles. Novak. Djokovic.#RolandGarros — Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 6, 2025 Novak Djokovic admitted he may have played his last match at Roland Garros after going down in three tight sets to Sinner in the semi-finals. He proved once again he can still mix it with the elite, especially after a superb four-set dismantling of Alexander Zverev in the last eight. But at 38, he knows he is running out of time. Will he hold his retirement party at next January's Australian Open, a tournament he has won 10 times and which he feels is his best chance to land that elusive record 25th grand slam title? Jack Draper led the British challenge and, as predicted, got the furthest. Yet he was probably the biggest disappointment. Seeded fifth and drawn to meet Sinner in the quarter-finals, he fell in the fourth round to world number 62 Alexander Bublik. Still, he got his first Roland Garros wins under his belt, as did Jacob Fearnley, Katie Boulter and Sonay Kartal, while Cameron Norrie enjoyed a much-needed run to the third round following a tough 18 months. Then there was Hannah Klugman, at 16 a first British junior finalist in almost 50 years. It was all a vast improvement on last year's first-round wipe-out.
Rhyl Journal
9 hours ago
- Rhyl Journal
5 things we learned from the 2025 French Open following two epic finals
Here, the PA news agency looks at what we learned from Roland Garros 2025. The dawn of a new era in men's tennis finally arrived, and in some style. Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have dominated the sport for two years but, like a pair of heavyweight boxers ducking one another, they had never met in a grand slam final. Roland Garros set the stage and the best players on the planet delivered a stone-cold classic, with Alcaraz saving three championship points before winning the longest final in French Open history, a five-set, five-hour 29-minute epic. It was the first major final between two men born in this century and on this evidence, there will be plenty more. Just one thing. Lose the rugby shirts, guys. It is hard to believe Gauff is still only 21, having burst on to the scene six years ago at Wimbledon. The charismatic American's victory over Aryna Sabalenka for a second grand slam title showed such maturity, as did her comments afterwards about trying to be a beacon of hope for 'Americans who look like me' amid a period of political turmoil in her homeland. She became the first American idol of Roland Garros since Serena Williams a decade earlier and has time on her side to collect many more titles. Sabalenka remains the best player on the planet – the runaway world number one – and will head to Wimbledon as a big favourite for the title. The Belarusian has made huge strides to exorcise the demons that used to dog her in big matches and has three grand slam titles to show for it. But she has lost the last two major finals, including a surprise defeat to Madison Keys in Australia, and the mental fragility seemed to return against Gauff with 70 unforced errors telling their own story. A reset is required if the 27-year-old is to add a Wimbledon crown to her US and Australian Open titles. Novak. Djokovic.#RolandGarros — Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 6, 2025 Novak Djokovic admitted he may have played his last match at Roland Garros after going down in three tight sets to Sinner in the semi-finals. He proved once again he can still mix it with the elite, especially after a superb four-set dismantling of Alexander Zverev in the last eight. But at 38, he knows he is running out of time. Will he hold his retirement party at next January's Australian Open, a tournament he has won 10 times and which he feels is his best chance to land that elusive record 25th grand slam title? Jack Draper led the British challenge and, as predicted, got the furthest. Yet he was probably the biggest disappointment. Seeded fifth and drawn to meet Sinner in the quarter-finals, he fell in the fourth round to world number 62 Alexander Bublik. Still, he got his first Roland Garros wins under his belt, as did Jacob Fearnley, Katie Boulter and Sonay Kartal, while Cameron Norrie enjoyed a much-needed run to the third round following a tough 18 months. Then there was Hannah Klugman, at 16 a first British junior finalist in almost 50 years. It was all a vast improvement on last year's first-round wipe-out.
Wales Online
10 hours ago
- Wales Online
Emma Raducanu holds hands up in ‘jealous' admission after her plea is answered
Emma Raducanu holds hands up in 'jealous' admission after her plea is answered The WTA Tour's Queen's Tournament is back in London for the first time since 1973 this week, and Emma Raducanu is just one of the talented players taking part Emma Raducanu has spoken about playing at the Queen's Club (Image: Robert Prange, Getty Images ) Emma Raducanu has said she was always a little jealous that the ATP Tour got to play at the Queen's Club while the WTA didn't. The WTA Tour has returned to London for the first time since 1973, with female tennis stars gracing the courts at the esteemed club this week. The West Kensington venue is already home to a successful men's event, which consistently bags the award for best ATP 500, and women have long yearned for their own chance to compete here. Their desires have finally been fulfilled, with British prodigy Raducanu, Australian Open victor Madison Keys and Olympic gold winner Qinwen Zheng among those showcasing their skills on the grass courts at Queen's, after years of feeling "jealous" of the ATP crop. For Keys, participating in the WTA 500 at Queen's was an easy decision. Her close friend and ex-player Laura Robson, is the tournament director. She said: "Obviously, when Laura asked for me to play the tournament, it was a pretty quick yes. "I'm happy to be here, and I've always loved the grass swing, so to start here for the first time in many, many years is really fun. I've always heard amazing things about the tournament and I've always been pretty jealous because the guys just rave about how great it is here and they love playing here. So, I'm really looking forward to being able to play here." Despite being a Grand Slam finalist and an Olympic gold medallist, Zheng has admitted that she's inexperienced on grass, having never reached a quarter-final on the surface. The world No. 5, however, is thrilled to participate in the WTA Tour's return to Queen's. Article continues below The Chinese star said: "I watched the men's event Queens and I'm really happy. The first time for the women, in my generation, that we can play in Queen's in such a special club. Australian Open champion Madison Keys immediately said yes to playing at Queen's (Image: Getty ) "It's amazing for us that we can start first and we have the experience to play on such beautiful grass. I think it's a very classic, old, traditional place, and it's a special club because you have all the neighbourhood around, which is an amazing design from a long, long time ago." Donna Vekic, a grass court enthusiast who reached Wimbledon's semi-finals last year, has always dreamt of the opportunity for the women to showcase their talents at the iconic venue. She said: "It's very historical and this club, when I watch the men's tournament, it's always amazing and I always wished that we had a chance to play and now we do, so I'm very excited to be playing here." UK players are possibly the most elated as they've grown up beholding the ATP event and, for the first time, have the chance to compete there in the presence of a home audience. Raducanu, with a smile, admitted when asked of feelings of jealousy: "A little bit, healthy. But it was great seeing the guys play here, of course. Zheng Qinwen is elated to be playing at the Queen's Club (Image: Andy Cheung, Getty Images ) Article continues below "When I was young, I came here with my dad. I was like hunting the brownies on the ground and not so interested in the tennis. But now to be back here and competing is a different feel for sure. "It's kind of interesting how it feels because you're at home, you don't necessarily feel like you're playing a tournament or a match tomorrow. But I think it is also really good to switch off and just to have comforts everywhere." Meanwhile, British No. 1 Katie Boulter shared her long-held desire to play at the club. She said: "I've actually always said to myself, I wish there was a women's event here, I wish I got the chance to play on this court, because you can feel the history and you can feel how incredible it is."
