
Canada's Mboko closes in on main draw berth at Italian Open tennis tournament
The 18-year-old from Toronto fired seven aces on the clay courts in Rome and broke Bucsa five times on 10 chances to wrap up the win in one hour 14 minutes.
Mboko will next face ninth seed Kamilla Rakhimova of Russia for the chance to advance to her second career 1000-level main draw. She advanced to the second round of the Miami Open in March.
Mboko, the world No. 158, has a 31-3 record this season, largely playing on the lower-tier ITF World Tour, where she has won five titles.
In other qualifying action Monday, Marina Stakusic of Mississauga, Ont., fell 6-4, 6-4 to 10th-seed Emiliana Arango of Colombia.
Both players struggled to hold serve, with Arango converting nine break points to Stakusic's seven.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 5, 2025.

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Venus Williams 'up to fight' after first tennis win in two years
1 of 5 | Venus Williams (pictured) will face Magdalena Frech in the Round of 16 at the 2025 DC Open on Thursday in Washington. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo July 23 (UPI) -- Venus Williams says she is "up to fight" after winning her first match in two years and becoming the oldest woman to win on the tour level since 2004. The 45-year-old needed 97 minutes to dispatch of No. 35 Peyton Stearns (23) of the United States 6-3, 6-4 on Tuesday at the DC Open in Washington. The former world No. 1 -- who is currently unranked -- edged her foe 9-3 in aces and converted 6 of 14 break point opportunities, compared to Stearns' 4 of 6 clip. "I think there were times where I was just trigger-happy," Williams told reporters. "Going crazy really fast, and I sort of convinced myself to play those points, be patient, slow down. "I think it was a big win for me. Like I said, it's not easy. It won't be easy. It's not easy for anyone out here. So I know I'll have to fight for every match, but I'm up for that." Williams' win was her first of the tour-level variety since she beat Russian Veronika Kudermetova on Aug. 14, 2023, at the Cincinnati Open. "It is not easy to come off after all that time and play the perfect match," Williams said. "All the players on the WTA are playing amazing. Peyton played so well. I was trying to slow myself down." Williams is the oldest woman to win a tour-level match in singles play since Martina Navratilova won at Wimbledon 2004 at 47. Her last match entering Tuesday ocucrred at the 2024 Miami Open. She lost that March 19, 2024, meeting with Diana Shnaider in straight sets. She missed significant time over the last several years due to multiple injuries. She also underwent surgery last year to remove uterine fibroids before staging her comeback. "It's so rewarding to come back after a layoff and injuries and also i didn't have to come back to play," Williams said. "I'm back here because of encouragement from my team. They wanted me to come back and play again." Williams will take on No. 24 Magdalena Frech (27) of Poland in the Round of 16. The winner will battle No. 12 Elena Rybakina (26) of Kazakhstan or No. 88 Victoria Mboko (18) of Canada in the quarterfinals.


Hamilton Spectator
a day ago
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Germany's Zverev, United States' Gauff named top seeds for National Bank Open
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a day ago
Venus Williams wins a doubles match at Washington in her first tournament in more than a year
WASHINGTON -- Competing at a tournament for the first time in more than a year, and in doubles for the first time in nearly three, Venus Williams hit a big serve on her initial delivery at the DC Open on Monday and, curiously, it was wiped out by a foot-fault call. The 45-year-old Williams, an owner of 21 Grand Slam titles across singles and doubles, smiled incredulously, as did the other three players involved in the match in front of a full crowd that eventually included NBA star Kevin Durant. And then Williams carried on, displaying her trademark power on some strokes while teaming with Hailey Baptiste for a 6-3, 6-1 victory against 2014 Wimbledon runner-up Eugenie Bouchard and Clervie Ngounoue. 'It's just nice to be able to play. Where I am at this year is so much different where I was at last year. It's night and day, being able to be here and prepare for the tournament as opposed to preparing for surgery a year ago,' said Williams, who spoke in an interview with NBC earlier this month about having a procedure to remove fibroids from her uterus. 'At the end of the day, it doesn't really matter if your health is not there. So it definitely put it in perspective for me and maybe made it easier to make the decision to maybe come back out here and maybe play even freer.' Her most recent match had been at the Miami Open in March 2024, and she said Sunday she had two goals in Washington: to have fun and to win. She did both — winning, yes, and contributing plenty to the cause, but also having a good time, high-fiving or fist-bumping Baptiste after some of their best points, laughing after others and waving to an appreciative group of fans that roared over and over for Williams. She and Baptiste hugged when it ended. 'The crowd was insane. From the moment we stepped out of the players area, you could kind of feel the buzz. Walking onto the court, just felt all the love for the both of us,' said Baptiste, a 23-year-old from Washington. 'I was obviously very nervous to play with her. I didn't want to let her down, first match back and everything." It was full at 3,000-seat John Harris Court, where Durant showed up late in the first set, while across the way at the 7,500-capacity main stadium, only a few dozen spectators were scattered in the stands for an all-American singles match in which Reilly Opelka defeated Murphy Cassone. Asked to comment about the court assignments, tournament director Daniel Vallverdú said: 'The tournament works to balance full singles and doubles ATP and WTA schedules, while coordinating with broadcaster requests for court assignments.' When Williams, wearing a white visor as she so often has, was introduced before participating in doubles for the first time since the 2022 U.S. Open — when her partner was younger sister Serena — the stadium announcer mentioned that Venus has 'one of the best serves in the history of the game,' that she 'turned pro in the last century' and 'has won everything.' That includes seven major singles trophies — five at Wimbledon, two at the U.S. Open — and an additional 14 in doubles with Serena, plus four Olympic gold medals. 'She's 14 years older than me and still plugging away,' said Bouchard, 31, a former top-five player who announced that next week's tournament in Montreal will be the last of her career. 'I have nothing but respect for her. She's such a legend. That was a pretty cool crowd for a doubles match.' They sure were into it Monday, standing with phone cameras raised high when Venus first appeared at the court — and again when it ended. There will be other opportunities to see her this week: In singles, Williams was scheduled to play Tuesday night against Peyton Stearns, a 23-year-old American currently ranked No. 35 who won NCAA singles and team championships at the University of Texas.