Latest news with #ArynaSabalenka
Times
a day ago
- Sport
- Times
Emma Raducanu steps up bid for US Open seeding by outclassing world No27
Emma Raducanu won her first singles match after Wimbledon, beating Marta Kostyuk 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 at the Mubadala Citi DC Open in Washington. After the 22-year-old's run at SW19 ended with a third-round defeat by Aryna Sabalenka, Raducanu returned to action in the doubles on Monday as she continues preparations for next month's US Open and the Billie Jean King Cup in September, and added to that with an impressive outing against the world No27 from Ukraine. A fierce battle required a tie-break to decide the first set. Raducanu took a 4-0 lead and the advantage appeared to be hers, only for Kostyuk to win the next four points. Raducanu refocused to take it after more than 70 minutes on court. The Ukrainian looked frustrated and was broken quickly in the second set. Despite her lofty ranking, Kostyuk has struggled for recent form, losing her previous five matches, including every outing she had on grass. Two of those defeats were by qualifiers outside the world's top 170 at grand-slam events. At 4-1 down, Kostyuk fought her way back into the contest with a superb backhand drop shot en route to holding serve and then broke back before levelling the scores. However, Raducanu secured the second set in 44 minutes to confirm her progression. 'Extremely good win,' Raducanu said. 'Playing Marta first round is extremely difficult. She's a top, top opponent and I've known her since we were under-12s playing winter, summer cups. We've always had some tough matches. I played her in Madrid earlier this year and she got the better of me. But today I'm happy with the way I fought through the first set and the second, I stayed tough when I needed to. 'It's really difficult and extremely important to keep composure and it's such a fine balance in these conditions, where it's so hot, between conserving energy in the heat but also not getting too flat — and that was a fine line I was dipping in and out of.' Raducanu reached the quarter-finals in Washington last year, her only outing between that summer's Wimbledon and the US Open. She is due to play at the WTA 1000 events in Montreal and Cincinnati this summer before returning to the site of her historic grand-slam triumph of 2021. In a partnership she has dubbed 'ER squared', Raducanu teamed up with Elena Rybakina on Monday, winning 2-6, 7-6 (7-4), 11-9 against Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls, with Giuliana Olmos and Aldila Sutjiadi up next. Doubles is increasingly an area of focus for Raducanu — she joined up with fellow Briton Katie Boulter at the Queen's Club — before the Billie Jean King Cup and her new partnership with Carlos Alcaraz in the revamped US Open mixed competition. The event at Flushing Meadows will take place in the week before the singles starts, from August 19-20, to attract the world's biggest names. Some of the pairings include Emma Navarro with Jannik Sinner, Iga Swiatek partnering Casper Ruud, Sabalenka alongside Grigor Dimitrov, Naomi Osaka with Nick Kyrgios, Boulter and Alex de Minaur, and Venus Williams competing alongside Reilly Opelka. After the US Open, Raducanu will join Boulter and Sonay Kartal, her compatriots just inside the world's top 50, and Jodie Burrage in Great Britain's squad for the Billie Jean King Cup finals. Boulter lost in the Washington singles on Monday, in straight sets against Maria Sakkari. Britain beat Germany and the Netherlands on clay in April to book their finals place in Shenzhen, China, on hard indoor courts, in September. Their quarter-final is against Japan, led by Osaka, on September 18, followed by a potential semi-final against the United States or Kazakhstan. Coco Gauff has been left out of the US squad, but they can still count on Jessica Pegula, Madison Keys and Navarro. Meanwhile, Cameron Norrie backed up his victory over Billy Harris with an impressive 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 win over Lorenzo Musetti, the world No7. Norrie's run to the quarter-finals at Wimbledon and continued success in Washington have lifted him to a projected No38 in the world rankings, having threatened to drop out of the top 100 during the clay-court swing. He will face Brandon Nakashima, the American who turns 24 next week, in the third round.
Montreal Gazette
a day ago
- Sport
- Montreal Gazette
World No. 1 Sabalenka, top-10 player Badosa withdraw from National Bank Open
Tennis World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and 10th-ranked Paula Badosa have withdrawn from the upcoming National Bank Open. The 27-year-old Sabalenka, who advanced to the semifinals at Wimbledon last week before being upset by Amanda Anisimova, cited fatigue for her reason not to compete in the WTA 1000 event. Sabalenka said skipping Montreal gives her the best chance of success in the upcoming hard-court season. 'I'll miss my amazing Canadian fans, but I'm already looking forward to seeing you all next year,' Sabalenka said. 'Thanks for your understanding and support — it means the world to me.' Badosa said after a first-round loss to Katie Boulter at Wimbledon that she sustained a back injury that will keep her out of action for a few weeks. Caty McNally of the United States and Japan's Moyuka Uchijima were given main-draw berths into the tournament in a corresponding move. The National Bank Open starts July 26 at IGA Stadium. This story was originally published July 16, 2025 at 5:58 PM.
France 24
a day ago
- Sport
- France 24
French Open sensation Boisson withdraws injured from Montreal
"I (did) an echography this morning following the pain that I had on my left adductor during the tournament in Hamburg and it appears that I need a little bit more time to rest and heal it properly," world number 44 Boisson posted on social media. "I am very disappointed to miss the @obnmontreal... It was not an easy decision but I always put my health as a priority." The injury blow comes days after the 22-year-old backed up her performances at last month's French Open by winning her first tour-level event on the clay in Hamburg and breaking into the world's top 50. Ranked 361st in the world before Roland Garros, Boisson created a sensation by reaching the semi-finals of the Grand Slam tournament, beating top 10 players Jessica Pegula and Mirra Andreeva in the process. The Canadian Open has already seen a raft of big names withdraw from the women's and men's draws. Aryna Sabalenka and Zheng Qinwen will both miss the WTA event in Montreal, while Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic will not be in ATP action in Toronto. The Montreal tournament runs from July 27-August 7, and is one of the principal warm-up events ahead of the US Open on the hard courts of New York at the end of the summer.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Tennis fans call out sad US Open change as De Minaur and Boulter drop doubles update
Alex de Minaur and Katie Boulter are hoping to once again reunite on court have joined the best tennis players in the world entering the US Open mixed doubles tournament as backlash to the format continues. De Minaur and Boulter last officially teamed-up on the court at Wimbledon in 2023. While they have come up against each other in mixed doubles since, in the United Cup, the engaged couple have hinted they would be open to playing on the same team again. And the change of format at the US Open has granted them an opportunity to stand on the same side of the net against some of the best players in the sport. In an attempt to shine more attention on mixed doubles, the competition will now take place during the fan week (one week before the tournament proper) and each match will be shortened. The matches will remain best of three sets, but only played to four games instead of six. The third set will be a super tiebreak. In a huge incentive for the singles players to enter the 2025 winners will pocket $1 million ($A1.6m) in a huge boost. But controversially the draw will now feature 16 pairs, which is half that of 2024. Eight pairs will earn direct entry via their combined singles ranking, while the other eight will be wildcard entries. Th US Open wants to draw in higher-ranked singles players to compete in the tournament. And this is exactly what has taken place. Not only have the likes of de Minaur and Boulter entered, but World No.1s Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic and Venus Williams have all entered in their own separate pairs. Last month, Boulter hinted herself and de Minaur needed to talk about entering the revamped US Open competition. The duo have joined a list of superstars in the competition, which has delighted many fans in what will certainly grab the attention of tennis supporters a week earlier than expected. This is a huge win for the US Open. Backlash to US Open mixed doubles format Although the move has drawn plenty of criticism from fans and former players. Last year's winners Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori have been included in the list. However, 25 teams have entered. The top eight teams with their combined rankings will have automatic selection. De Minaur and Boulter have a combined ranking of 53. This will see them miss out on automatic entry. Some other big names of the sport will also miss out on selection in the eight wildcard entries, but it also hasn't been confirmed 2024 winners Errani and Vavassori will be included in the 16. And while fans are hoping de Minaur and Boulter are selected, they will be battling it out against the likes of Naomi Osaka and Nick Kyrgios for one of eight places in the wildcard draw. Although not everyone feels the new format is good for tennis. The rule changes have been criticised with dedicated doubles and mixed doubles players no longer having another avenue of playing in a grand slam and earning money. Many of the lower ranked players were getting by on the tour thanks to entering mixed doubles competitions and earning money. Grand slams are the highest paying tournaments for these players. The US Open halving the number of pairs and favouring singles rankings has all but ended any chance of lower ranked tennis players earning money at Flushing Meadows. This has seen the tournament face backlash to their decision, which goes against tennis tradition. It is not looking good for the doubles specialists. By my count, there's 15 spots accounted for already and there's gonna be one available wild card. The teams I put down as locks for wild cards are teams I just can't imagine the US Open turning away bc they want singles stars. — Owen (@kostekcanu) July 21, 2025 A shame for the top doubles specialists that aren't it because the top singles players are — John (@bhrjnq) July 21, 2025 So a doubles tournament with entries determined entirely by singles rankings-so what is the point of players working hard to get a doubles ranking - this makes it completely worthless . This is just an exhibition event funding the singles players again. @realitytennis — TeamApples (@TeamApples99) July 21, 2025 I find it odd that players and understandably so are complaining about the schedule and not having rest and then they sign up for a 4-match exhibition that counts as a real tournament with the US Open Mixed Doubles. — SoCon Hoops Central (@hoops83657) July 21, 2025 Still appalled by what US Open decided to do with mixed doubles this year, tbh. You can see how much this means to these players and their families. — Maria (@tennislols) July 10, 2025 Ellen Perez blasts US Open rule change Another player who was left dumbfounded at the announcement earlier this year is Aussie mixed doubles player Ellen Perez. The Aussie is World No.17 in doubles, but currently unranked in singles. The 29-year-old joined the chorus of players unleashing on the rule changes having suggested the US Open has disrespected the tradition of tennis. As it stands, Perez will not play the US Open mixed tournament because of change in format. Tell us that you think doubles players are trash, that tradition is overrated and job opportunity is a thing of the past without actually saying it. 🤡👏 — Ellen Perez (@EllenPerez95) February 11, 2025
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
American Anisimova to face Swiatek in Wimbledon final
Saturday's women's final is set, with five-time grand slam champion Iga Swiatek booking her place to her first ever final at Wimbledon. She will face American Amanda Anisimova, who upset World #1 Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals. Tennis writer Christopher Clarey joins World Sport's Patrick Snell for more.
