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Yahoo
2 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Vicki Duval continues tennis dream as Cincinnati Open heads into Week 2
If you were watching last week's Canadian Open on Tennis Channel, you may have faintly recognized a high-pitched chirpy voice that sounds as if it belongs to a teenager make astute observations about the use of the slice and the way a player moves around the court. Hmm, was a thought. Haven't heard her before. She's good. She's very good. She should do more TV. This girl knows tennis. Well, of course she does. A little later, if you are like me, you paid more attention and heard who that knowledgeable voice belonged to. Vicki Duval, still only 29, was once a promising young American whose tennis career was cruelly ended when she was 17 and felt a bump on her clavicle during a February tournament in Acapulco. 'I mean, who does that,' Duval said Saturday from Santa Monica, Calif., where she works as a law clerk when she isn't trying to make broadcasting tennis her full-time job. 'I mean, who touches their clavicle?' Well, you do if you feel a mysterious lump, pea-sized according to Duval. Her mom, Nadine, a pediatrician, kept an eye on it and by the time the grass court season had arrived that pea had become a quarter and while in Birmingham, England, Nadine took Duval to have an emergency biopsy when Vicky suddenly couldn't lift her arm over her head. Duval is the daughter of two native Haitian doctors – her dad, Jean-Maurice, is an OB-Gyn. Luckily Nadine was with her daughter in Birmingham. Tests were done. Result were had. A diagnosis came. Hodgkin's lymphoma, a type of blood cancer. A 17-year-old, even the daughter of doctors, doesn't quite understand the implications of that diagnosis. A 17-year-old gets through qualifying and upsets the 29th seed, Sorana Cirstea (who is still playing on the tour) in the Wimbledon main draw and loses, barely, in the second round to Belinda Bencic (who is still playing), the Swiss who made it to the Wimbledon semifinals this year. At that time, a player who pulled out of qualifying was fined $5,000, but a 17-year-old feels invincible, is not interested in paying a fine and says, 'I'm going to keep playing.' After the biopsy results, Nadine told her daughter to keep the information private and, Duval said, 'That was hard. No, I don't want to go home, but my friends didn't know that I was keeping this in my heart so I was running on adrenaline. There was a rain delay before my Bencic match and I was scared and just balling before I went on court and cried during the whole match. 'I kept thinking how much further I could have gone if I wasn't crying so much but I was just in survival mode.' Duval's game was delicate and creative. She had all the shots that make tennis fun, her future seemed unlimited and suddenly she was having chemo and surgeries (seven of them). That's a lot for a youngster. It's a lot for an adult. She said it was three years before she started feeling safe with her health and still has tests every six months. She still reflexively touches her clavicle. She tried to come back to tennis but, she said, 'physically, I was never the same. There was physical pain and mental pain. I came back after two years and made the finals of two (lower-level) ITF tournaments but physically I just couldn't keep up. And there was mental pain too, feeling like I might have more in the tank one week but then run out of gas the next week. 'One day I went to the gym for some sprints, felt a pop in my ankle, snapped my tendon. I'm standing there thinking, 'I can't even run on a treadmill.' No matter what I do, I can't come back.' Duval still ached to be around the game and talked to some broadcasters − she gives Tennis Channel's Lindsay Davenport and Tracy Austin particular credit − and got herself an interview with Tennis Channel. She stuck her toe into broadcasting at the Billie Jean Cup in 2018. 'It's not that I'm camera-shy,' she said, 'but sometimes I worry how to get my thoughts together. My thoughts can race pretty quickly in my head.' After every broadcast she would ask producers what she could do better. Last year she got a text from Davenport that said, 'Great job,' and Duval suddenly felt she has a path to a new career in the sport she will always love. Besides broadcasting – she will be on Tennis Channel Tuesday commentating on Women's Day at the Cincinnati Open – she is starting to do some coaching around Santa Monica where she lives. Were she fully healthy, Duval thinks she might still be able to play. For a minute. 'I think I was good at building points by doing all the little things but now it is so physical. Even college tennis is physical. The game is grueling. You get so little recovery time.' Duval hopes to get more TV assignments − she mentioned TNT that broadcast the French Open this year and seemed to have a cast of thousands of former players − and amp up her coaching. 'I feel like I still have so much to give back to tennis. I want to share my knowledge with as many people as possible.' So next Tuesday if you hear the voice of someone who still sounds as if she is a teenager, it is Duval, almost 30 but with a lifetime of living and almost dying and with a head full of tennis knowledge she'd like to share with you. Give her a listen. You'll learn something and enjoy doing so. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Vicki Duval tennis broadcast Cincinnati Open
Al Jazeera
10-07-2025
- Sport
- Al Jazeera
Amanda Anisimova stuns world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka to reach Wimbledon final
An inspired Amanda Anisimova has torn up the script and soared into her maiden Wimbledon final by outclassing world number one Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 with a display of fierce determination and fearless shot-making. Anisimova's victory on Thursday extended her win-loss record over her equally big-hitting rival to 6-3 and kept alive American hopes of a third women's Grand Slam champion this year after Madison Keys won the Australian Open and Coco Gauff the French Open. 'This doesn't feel real right now, honestly,' a beaming Anisimova said in an on-court interview. 'Aryna is such a tough competitor, and I was absolutely dying out there. Yeah, I don't know how I pulled it off. I mean, she's such an incredible competitor, and she's an inspiration to me and I'm sure so many other people. 'We've had so many tough battles. To come out on top today and be in the final of Wimbledon is so incredibly special. The atmosphere was incredible. I know she's the number one, but a lot of people were cheering for me. Huge thanks to everyone.' On a Centre Court where the temperature climbed to 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit), Sabalenka twice rushed to the aid of ill fans by supplying bottles of cold water and an ice pack before she cracked under pressure from her opponent in the 10th game. The 23-year-old Anisimova, playing in her first major semifinal since her 2019 French Open run as a gifted teenager, made her opponent sweat for every point and wrapped up the opening set when Sabalenka produced a double fault. With her back against the wall, Sabalenka roared back like a tiger, the animal that has become her totem, and broke for a 4-3 lead en route to levelling up the match at one set apiece after some sloppy errors from 13th-seeded Anisimova. Having matched each other's decibel levels in a cacophony of grunting, the duo swapped breaks at the start of the decider, but Anisimova pounced again when Sabalenka sent a shot long and went on to book the final with either Iga Swiatek or Belinda Bencic. Anisimova, who took a mental health break in 2023, expressed disbelief in making the final of a Grand Slam for the first time at Wimbledon. 'It's been a year turnaround since coming back and to be in this spot, … I mean, it's not easy, and so many people dream of competing on this incredible court,' Anisimova added. 'It's been such a privilege to compete here, and to be in the final is just indescribable.' Watching Thursday's second semifinal, which will determine her next opponent, was very much on Anisimova's mind despite her nearly three-hour battle in testing conditions. 'It's going to be an incredible match, and whoever comes out on top, it's going to be a battle in the final,' she said. Sabalenka, who was beaten in the title match of the Australian Open and French Open, was left to lick her wounds after missing the chance to become the first woman since Serena Williams in 2014-2015 to reach four straight major finals.
Fox News
10-07-2025
- Sport
- Fox News
American tennis star Amanda Anisimova upsets world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka to advance to Wimbledon final
American tennis star Amanda Anisimova upset world No. 1-ranked Aryna Sabalenka in three sets to advance to the Wimbledon women's final on Thursday at the All England Club. Anisimova, 23, won 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in a grueling three-set match. The victory for Anisimova sends her to a Grand Slam tournament final for the first time in her career. The only other time she had played in a Grand Slam semifinal prior to her win over Sabalenka was at the 2019 French Open, when she lost as a 17-year-old. The loss for Sabalenka was the third loss she has sustained in the Wimbledon semifinal in her career, with the other two coming in 2021 and 2023. Sabalenka had been outstanding at rallying back after dropping the first set in major tournaments as the world No. 1 ranked player was 11-2 in major tournaments when losing the first set going into this match. Prior to this match, Sabalenka had only lost one set in the entire tournament. Anisimova now owns a 6-3 record against Sabalenka in her career. This is a breaking news story. Please return for updates.
New York Times
10-07-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Amanda Anisimova beats Wimbledon favorite Aryna Sabalenka to reach first Grand Slam final
THE ALL ENGLAND CLUB, LONDON — Amanda Anisimova has arrived. The former teen sensation, who spent several years in the tennis wilderness following the sudden death of her father and coach when she was 17, upset the world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 under a broiling sun on Centre Court Thursday to make her first Grand Slam final at Wimbledon. Advertisement In a duel of power, periods of inconsistency and tight games at important times, Anisimova kept her nerve when the match was on the line to keep Sabalenka from making the only major final she has never played. For Sabalenka, it was another tough upset loss at the hands of an American seizing an opportunity in the final stages of a Grand Slam. She has played three Grand Slams since becoming the world No. 1 for a second time last fall, having spent two months at the top of the sport in 2023. She lost to Madison Keys in the Australian Open final, and to Coco Gauff last month in the French Open final. She looked across the net Thursday and saw another talented American woman — there are loads of them these days. Sabaleka came up just short once more. For Anisimova, the win was the next high-water mark in a remarkable journey during the past year. Last June, as she muddled through her comeback from nearly a year of battling injuries and struggling with her mental health, Anisimova fell in the final round of Wimbledon qualifying. During the next year, each time she achieved an encouraging result, playing deep into tournaments in Washington, D.C. and Canada and even winning in Doha in February for her first WTA 1,000 title, just below the level of a Grand Slam, her body would abandon her. She struggled with injuries to her back and hip that prevented her from practicing, training and competing as much as she liked. In April, she hire a physiotherapist named Shadi Soleymani to take charge of her health and fitness, and she has been on the upswing ever since. For a few minutes there, it appeared that Sabalenka had turned the match. She drew even as Anisimova finally faltered on serve at 3-3 in the second set, missing two forehands and double-faulting to give Sabalenka her first service break of the afternoon. Anisimova made a gallant effort to get back in the set as Sabalenka tried to serve it out. But Sabalenka snuffed out those efforts with a couple of massive serves, the last one clanking off Anisimova's strings and frame. Advertisement On to a third set they went, with Sabalenka starting it just as she had finished the last, breaking a faltering Anisimova at love. And then, seemingly out of nowhere, Sabalenka went off the boil, her forehands going wide and long at the absolute worst time. One let Anisimova break right back. With a sitter at the net, she pounded another just long and all of a sudden Anisimova had a 3-1 lead The American had kept her opponent's variety out of the contest for most of the match, with Sabalenka playing just nine points at the net through three sets when it was done. But the world No. 1 brought it to the party at the end, trying to bring Anisimova to the net as she had done in Paris at the last major. Then, she fileted Anisimova in the front of the court. Here, Anisimova responded in kind, hitting drop shots of her own, refusing to let Sabalenka draw her into a battle she thought she would win easily. From there, destiny seemed to take over. As Anisimova tried to survive a tight game at 4-2, she cracked a forehand down the line that might have missed. It ticked the net and dropped into the front of the court for the game. She pumped her fist, foregoing the usual apology for good luck. It was that kind of match, with Sabalenka having complained about an early celebration from Anisimova on a winner. On her first match point, Anisimova missed on her vaunted backhand on a ball right in her slot. She missed again to on the same shot to allow Sabalenka a last chance to do what she has done all year and retrieve a seemingly lost position. Instead, the world No. 1 gave her three opportunities to win, one earned by a stunning Anisimova short slice — the kind Sabalenka would so normally put into play. Sabalenka played two without fear, but Anisimova returned the favor on the third, blasting a forehand to the postage stamp on the most high-stakes point of her career to date. She turned to her box with a look of disbelief, though really, this is where she was supposed to be all along
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Congratulations Are Pouring In For Ben Shelton On Monday
Congratulations Are Pouring In For Ben Shelton On Monday originally appeared on The Spun. Tennis fans were hyped for 22-year-old Ben Shelton on Monday. With his defeat of Lorenzo Sonego in four sets at Wimbledon, the 10th-seeded Shelton become the second American man to advance to the tournament's quarterfinals— marking the first time he's done so in his young career. Fans were hyped for him across social media. Advertisement "His time is now," Wimbledon's X account said. "THE SHELTON SCREAM RETURNS," the tournament followed-up. "After his third round win, Ben Shelton called on his elder sister Emma's employer to give her more PTO, as she'd been his 'lucky charm' this Wimbledon. The employer, Morgan Stanley, accepted. Emma was back in the stands today as Ben won his fourth round. Brother of the year 🙌" Bastien Fachan replied. "ROAR-ter Finals 🗣️" Tennis TV exclaimed. "BEN SHELTON IS MOVING ON TO THE FINAL EIGHT! 🇺🇸👏" ESPNBET shared. "Ben Shelton becomes the youngest American man to reach the Wimbledon singles quarterfinals since Andy Roddick in 2004. 22 years old. Huge achievement for him & American tennis. 🇺🇸" The Tennis Letter posted. Advertisement "i'll always love ben shelton man, he's so cool on and off the court. so much fire, so much love for the game, so much flair. so talented, such a hard worker, he's going to achieve greatness in his career," a fan commented. USA's Ben Shelton reacts while facing USA's Tommy Paul during the US Open tennis tournament men's singles round of 16 match at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City, on September 3, 2023. (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP) (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images)TIMOTHY A. CLARY/Getty Images Shelton will look to take it even further in his next match as he eyes a potential Wimbledon title. What chance do you give the young American of riding this momentum all the way as the tournament advances? Related: Ben Shelton's Girlfriend Turns Heads At Wimbledon Monday Congratulations Are Pouring In For Ben Shelton On Monday first appeared on The Spun on Jul 7, 2025 This story was originally reported by The Spun on Jul 7, 2025, where it first appeared.
