Latest news with #ArinaRodionova
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Aussie tennis star Daria Kasatkina announces engagement to partner Natalia Zabiiako after whirlwind three months
Aussie tennis star Daria Kasatkina has capped off an exciting few months by getting engaged to her long-term partner, former Olympic skater Natalia Zabiiako. The world No.17 switched her sporting allegiance to Australia earlier this year after being granted permanent residency following her claims that it was unsafe to return to Russia, due to both her sexuality and her opposition to the war. The couple shared the delightful news on social media, marking an incredible year for the 28-year-old. Kasatkina posted a photo of a dazzling diamond ring on Zabiiako's finger alongside the caption: 'And just like that.' Many of the couple's tennis star friends took to the comment section to offer their well-wishes. 'Ahh congrats,' posted Katie Boulter. 'I will be at the wedding regardless if you want it or not,' joked Arina Rodionova. 'Congrats Dasha and Natalia!!!' posted Jennifer Brady. Kasatkina bowed out at Roland Garros on Monday, beaten by the 18-year-old phenom and her fellow Russian-born friend Mirra Andreeva 6-3 7-5 after what the victorious teenager rightly called a 'hell of a match' in the fourth round at Roland Garros. Their 94-minute duel on Court Suzanne Lenglen ended with Kasatkina chucking her wristband jokingly at her conqueror at the net, while Andreeva informed the crowd tongue-in-cheek that she only practised with the Aussie because she hated her. Just months since being granted permanent residency, Kasatkina's hopes of becoming the first Australian woman to reach the quarter-finals since Ash Barty's triumphant year of 2019 may have fallen short, but the 28-year-old, who enjoyed being the 'last Aussie standing', smiled: 'It's been a good start. 'First of all it's been a good result but also, I felt super good to step on the court as an Australian player,' said the 17th seed. 'To feel the support from the stands so many times. I don't know if everyone who was screaming, 'Aussie', were from Australia, but I felt this support. Also, on social media I'm getting a lot of support from the Australians that they are so happy to welcome me, and they're happy for me. 'So this is the kind of support which I honestly didn't have before, it feels like it's something new to me -- but it feels so nice.' When asked if everyone was now allowed to call her 'an Aussie battler' after she had given the sixth seed a real scare with her second-set counter-attack when she even earned a set point, Kasatkina offered a wry smile and replied: 'If you want to...' The 28-year-old rose as high as No.8 in the world and has won eight WTA titles - her best grand slam result coming at the French Open where she reached the semi-finals in 2022. Kasatkina has followed the likes of Daria Saville, Ajla Tomljanovic and Arina Rodionova in making eligibility switches. She is Australia's new women's No.1 and the country's highest-ranked player since Ash Barty retired.
Daily Mail
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Why the French Open has the most hostile atmosphere in tennis: 'Totally disrespectful' and 'feral' fans, ear-splitting boos, and one player SPAT ON by someone in the crowd
Coming off court after an draining five-set, three-and-a-half-hour slog in the first-round of last year's French Open, David Goffin had enough energy for one last attack. 'It's becoming like football, soon there will be smoke bombs, hooligans, and there will be fights in the stands,' Goffin told the media. To the casual ear, it would be hard to believe the Belgian player was talking about a tennis match. But Goffin had the misfortune to have been drawn against a Frenchman, big-serving 20-year-old prospect Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, and the double misfortune to have beaten him. Doing so had come against the backdrop of a chorus of boos, jeers, and singing of the French national anthem. Even winning failed to silence the crowd, with Goffin even accusing one spectator of spitting their chewing gum at him as the curdled atmosphere spilled over onto the court. At Roland-Garros however, this is no one-off event; instead, the tournament has earned the dubious distinction of being the rowdiest, and possibly most unpleasant stop on the tour. Goffin dubbed the crowd 'totally disrespectful'. Doubles star Arina Rodionova described them as 'especially feral'. Even a French player, Alize Cornet, called out 'a handful of idiots' after she was booed for retiring through injury in 2022. It's clear that over the next two weeks, no one is safe. There are few players who are unaware of the reputation that the tournament's fans bring with them. Former champion Mats Wilander, now a pundit for TNT Sport, put it most politely when he said in 2023 that the crowd was 'a bit more involved here than if you play a Brit at Wimbledon, or an American at the US Open, or an Aussie at the Australian'. Of the few certainties you can cling to in Paris, one is fervent home support. Woe betide a player drawn against a home favourite, and worse still if they're anywhere close to winning the match. Taylor Fritz represents the most extreme example of a player that has wrestled with partisan home support - and still carries the legacy of the fracas with him when he steps onto court in Paris today. Drawn against Arthur Rinderknech, the American number one had the unpleasant fate of despatching the last Frenchman in the bracket, doing so under a hail of unprompted boos and whistles, and a round of 'La Marseillaise' to further rouse their compatriot. Fritz had lost the first set but found his level - much higher than Rinderknech's - thereafter, and on the last point, finally responded to his critics by placing his finger over his mouth in a 'shush' gesture. That turned the volume to 11. Rather an hurrying off court, Fritz stood open-stanced in the centre of the court and yelled: 'Come on! I want to hear it'. The boos and jeers were so loud during his post-match on-court interview with Marion Bartoli, the former player kept on pausing to ensure she could be heard. But this was put to the test by her interviewee, who let off another round of 'sshs' even as the stadium announcer begged the crowd to quieten down. Si Rinderknech bat Hurkacz à Genève on pourrait avoir un 🇺🇸 Fritz ⚡️ Rinderknech 🇫🇷 Quel souvenir de Taylor vs le public Roland Garros 2023 — TennisTemple (@tennistemple) May 21, 2025 'I came out and the crowd was so great, honestly,' Fritz said, sarcastically and barely audibly. 'Like, the crowd was just so great. 'They cheered so well for me, I wanted to make sure that I won. Thanks, guys.' Daniil Medvedev struggled similarly with the crowd that year and went as far as telling that to 'shut up' as he toiled against 172nd-ranked Thiago Seyboth Wild during an unusual testing five-set first-round upset. The Russian star shushed the crowd as they provided a soundtrack to his conversation with the umpire over a wide ball mark, in an echo of his stand-off with fans at the 2019 US Open. Later on that year, Medvedev would raise his middle finger to the French crowd at the Paris Masters - but he managed to show admirable restraint in May. Discussions with umpires, or any resistance to the natural rhythms of a match are often touch paper for fan revolt, with Novak Djokovic falling foul of this a number of times over the course of his career. Never the most coolheaded of players, the Serbian serial champion was heckled in 2023 after loudly criticising the court supervisor for the slipperiness of clay underfoot. That Djokovic was dusting himself off after taking an almighty tumble was irrelevant. Djokovic was also called up a year later after he took understandable objection to being heckled by a supporter in the crowd. Once booed at a tournament, jeers can follow a player from match to match, with Djokovic admitting that it's 'never easy' stepping out in the French capital. Players will instead try and make overtures to the spectators during their media appearances. Coco Gauff has spoken often about how much she enjoys the crowd, and Cam Norrie has previously called upon French fans to 'support him' after he knocked out their countryman Lucas Pouille two years ago. But while the crowd can often be found firmly on the side of the establishment, two instances in 2023 showed how the crowd are unafraid of setting their own standards they feel players must adhere to. Ukrainian player Marta Kostyuk and Russian-born Daria Kasatkina both fell victim to a hostile crowd after opting not to shake hands after their matches with Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka and Kostyuk's compatriot Elina Svitolina respectively. Ukrainian stars had been refusing to shake hands with their Russian and Belarusian peers since the start of Russian aggression in their country in February 2022. Most players, like Kasatkina, who has been vocal about her support for Ukraine and peace in the region, have respected this and not sought the customary handshake. But in both instances, the crowd cared not a jot for the gesture, directing their ire at the players after assuming they had instigated the frosty end to the match. Kasatkina voiced her distress that the crowd had not recognised her gesture on social media, saying that she had left the tournament with a 'very bitter feeling'. Kostyuk gave a highly charged press conference after her match insisting that those who booed should be 'honestly embarrassed'. But there is unlikely to be any shame felt by a crowd committed to controlling the tempo of the atmosphere. That many of these incidents have taken place in recent years is likely no coincidence, with Mail Sport reporting in 2023 that post-Covid there seemed to be greater societal freedom for fans to express their opinions, not matter how how ugly or distracting for the players they can be. It still lingers. Instead of expecting the supporters to calm down, the French Open organisers banned alcohol in the stands in 2024, extending it through this year in a bid to limit bad behaviour. Whether it will spark a shift in the perception of French Open fans long-term remains to be seen. For now, the boos continue to ring round the grounds.
The Guardian
06-02-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
The high price of sport: how fans in Australia can watch in 2025 and at what cost
The cost of watching sport in 2025 is imposing for fans in Australia, and even the wallets of those with just a passing interest are not immune to pain. Kayo – once seen by sports fans as Foxtel without the fat – will increase its pricing for its 4K offering in March to $40 per month, and subscribers to even the most basic package on the country's seven main sports-focused streaming services face an annual bill of $1,668. That's without stumping up for 4K, multiple devices or ad-free tiers, let alone broad-appeal platforms such as Netflix and Apple TV where sporting documentaries and dramas like Drive to Survive and Ted Lasso have become popular. Then there are league-specific services like NBA League Pass or Tennis TV, and YouTube Premium for ad-free highlights and fan content. Some athletes like Australian tennis player Arina Rodionova are even on OnlyFans, commodifying their private lives. Add up all the platforms and products, skews and subs targeting the most committed sporting audience, and the yearly cost easily exceeds $2,000. There are signs the streaming fragmentation will be eased by consolidation. Recent months have delivered a takeover announcement of Foxtel by Saudi Arabia-backed DAZN, and a tie-up between Optus Sport and beIN Sports for pubs and clubs. On the other hand, Australians have been mostly immune from the trends overseas to split packages of major rights across multiple legacy and streaming partners. As local TV networks' advertising revenue declines, Australian sporting executives will be tempted to go the same way. Ultimately, those meta-forces matter little to someone just trying to work out how to follow their team or favourite athlete. 2025 delivers a major change in Australian sports broadcasting, brought on by a new rights deal for the AFL and AFLW. The partners are the same – Seven/7plus and Foxtel/Kayo – but Channel Seven's director of network sport Chris Jones said the network is preparing for a 'new era of footy', including more Thursday and Sunday night matches, which he believes will mean more can access the sport without additional outlays. 'The big change for the viewers at home, you can stream all the traditional broadcast matches that Seven has shown, any match that we're producing will also be able to be streamed on 7plus for free,' Jones said. As Australians move away from aerials towards digital consumption, Seven is also expanding its AFL slate from two programs last year to 10 in 2025, promising new content every night of the week on 7plus. 'What we're trying to do is very much create that daily behaviour that all of our footy fans know – that for free they can jump onto Seven or 7plus, and each day they're going to be served with new, fresh content related to footy,' Jones said. Despite Seven's growing push into streaming, Kayo retains live coverage of every match apart from the grand final. Fans of individual clubs are taking advantage of an offer where a $350 AFL digital membership also includes a Kayo subscription. The NRL's existing rights deal doesn't expire until the end of 2027, but ARLC chair Peter V'landys has flagged negotiations on the next deal are to take place this year. 2025 programming largely replicates that of last year. Fans can access a handful of matches each week on Channel Nine/9Now, while Foxtel/Kayo has access to every match live except State of Origin and the grand final. Live Women's State of Origin also remains exclusive to Channel Nine, in the second year of the newly-expanded three-match series. NRLW fans can watch every match live on Nine as well as Kayo. Kayo is also available for free for NRL digital members. Huge audiences on Channel Seven/7plus and Foxtel/Kayo for the Australia v India men's Test series over the summer are expected to be topped by the Ashes, starting in November. Sign up to Australia Sport Get a daily roundup of the latest sports news, features and comment from our Australian sports desk after newsletter promotion Before that blockbuster series there is this month's ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan, shown exclusively on Amazon Prime Video. June's World Test Championship (WTC) final in England against South Africa is also set to be broadcast on Amazon. Coverage of the three-Test tour of the West Indies in June/July is to be confirmed. Australia's women's team's defence of their ODI World Cup title in October is another to be shown on Amazon. Seven has sub-licensed Amazon programming in the past, including the 2023 WTC final, but Jones said his network showing any cricket before next summer was 'a TBC'. While Seven would love more cricket content, Amazon are becoming an increasingly influential competitor in the sports sector. The web shopping giant – which bundles its video subscription with its premium delivery membership – has recently expanded its sports portfolio with a deal with the NBA. Unless the federal government adds the WTC final – Test cricket's most prestigious fixture – to the anti-siphoning list, which would give first option to a free-to-air provider in Australia, cricket fans are looking at an additional subscription. Nowhere is fragmentation more evident than in football. Channel Ten and its streaming partner Paramount Plus have rights to show Matildas and Socceroos matches, though – like was seen last year when Socceroos fans could only watch the World Cup qualifier against Japan behind a paywall – the national teams won't always be on free-to-air. The A-Leagues are available on Paramount Plus, with some games on Channel 10, making that subscription a necessity for local football fans. But the rest of world football is splintered across five services. Paramount Plus has cup football in Italy and Scotland. Stan Sport has the men's Uefa Champions League, Europa League and Conference League. DAZN has the Fifa Club World Cup and women's Uefa Champions League, along with women's football from Spain and Italy. BeIN Sports offers men's football in Spain, Italy, Germany and England – but not the Premier League, which is exclusive to Optus Sport. One piece of relief for Australia's impoverished football fans is that the Uefa Champions League final will be available for free on Channel Nine. And there may be consolidation on the way following reports Optus Sport – and the Premier League rights – could be sold to another streamer such as Stan. Channel Nine and its streaming subsidiary Stan are close to extending their deal with rugby union, covering the 2027 men's World Cup in Australia and the lead-up. The current deal operating this year sees Wallabies home matches on free-to-air, along with the Wallaroos and one Super Rugby game per week. Other matches on this year's British and Irish Lions tour will be broadcast on Stan, in addition to Six Nations Tests, Super W, Shute Shield and the rest of Super Rugby. Rights for some sports are held by a single service, such as netball and Formula One on Kayo. Others like tennis are split across multiple services, though in some cases they are free services. Cycling's Australian season is on Seven, and the European grand tours are on SBS. Local athletics events are also on Seven, the world championships in September are on SBS and Diamond League meets are broadcast for free on YouTube. Fans of basketball can watch every NBL game live on Kayo, and one game per week is on Channel 10. The WNBL is also on Kayo, while the free-to-air partner is Channel Nine. Kayo also screens some NBA and WNBA games, and from later this year Amazon holds some NBA rights too. Those wanting to follow specific teams or Australian players like Dyson Daniels or Alanna Smith will need to take out league pass subscriptions. These are still available through the league apps and websites although Amazon has now been named the NBA's 'strategic partner and third-party global channels store destination'.
