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New York Times
4 hours ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Coco Gauff overcomes serve struggles to beat Danielle Collins at Canadian Open
It's not often that the world No. 2 goes two months without winning a match, but that's the reality Coco Gauff was facing late Tuesday night in Montreal, on the cusp of a third consecutive loss, this time in her opening duel at the Canadian Open. Gauff somehow won the battle of fiercely competitive Floridians, beating Danielle Collins 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(2). For Gauff, this win was a maddening relief on a night when she served 23 double faults, nearly a full set given away in just under three hours. It's the most served in a match on the WTA Tour since 2019, when Jelena Ostapenko hit 25 against Karolína Plíšková in a win at the China Open in Beijing. Gauff last won a match in the final of the French Open, where she showed off all of her strongest traits — her stamina, her steel, her wheels and her ability to stay in control and keep putting balls back into the court — to upset Aryna Sabalenka. Gauff was on top of the world. Instead of staying in Europe, as she often does after Roland Garros, she jetted home for a whirlwind few days of media appearances, then headed back to Europe for the grass-court season. She has not been the same since. She lost to Wang Xinyu in Berlin in straight sets. Then she lost to Dayana Yastremska in the first round of Wimbledon in straight sets as well. That was July 1. She spent the rest of the month resting and preparing for the North American hard-court swing that will culminate with the U.S. Open. Advertisement Judging from her win over Collins, Gauff has a lot more work to do, especially on her serve. It's tough to beat anyone on the WTA Tour serving that poorly. It's nearly impossible against Collins, a big hitter who knows how to take advantage of a tentative foe struggling with the one shot no one can hide from. Collins kept reeling in Gauff all night. Gauff was up 5-2 in the first set before Collins drew even, only to let Gauff edge her out down the stretch. Then Gauff broke Collins early in the second and third sets, only for Collins to storm back each time, using her power to rush Gauff into errors. Gauff was up 4-2 in the third set, within shouting distance of the finish line. Double fault. Forehand error. Backhand error. Backhand error. And Collins was back in business. Gauff was supposed to have begun putting her serve issues in the rearview mirror last year when she hired Matt Daly, a grip specialist, who tweaked the way she held the racket. The double faults went down for a few months, only to creep back into her game and come out at some seriously inopportune moments. Still, Gauff was able to stage an extraordinary clay season, making two finals and winning her second Grand Slam. But that was on clay, where she could find an extra split second to catch up with returns on the slow red dirt. Hard courts are a different story. She needs to serve effectively to win, like just about everyone else. Even with all the troubles, Gauff was 2 points from the win with Collins serving at 4-5 in the third set, but Collins came up with enough power to induce the misses from Gauff. Collins got what looked like the decisive break with plenty of help from Gauff, who started the next game with two double faults, then plunked in soft balls on the next 3 points to allow Collins to hammer returns through the court. Advertisement Gauff, who never stops competing, even when her serve tells her she probably should, evened the match a final time on her fourth break-point chance of the game, rolling a short backhand through the court. Then came the deciding tiebreak. Gauff was 10-2 in deciding tiebreaks. Collins was 3-6 and played like it, sending a short backhand long and double-faulting to give Gauff a 4-2 lead. And then, somehow, Gauff finished the business in the most surprising way. She hammered a serve to get to 6-2 and smacked an ace to end it. She let out a scream. 'Making serves in the court was the toughest challenge,' she said. 'Maybe if I had cut that in half, it could have been a quicker match.' Quicker and cleaner. A win is a win, though.
Hans India
7 hours ago
- Sport
- Hans India
Satwik-Chirag return to top 10 in BWF rankings
New Delhi: India's dynamic men's doubles duo Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty returned to the top 10 of the BWF rankings, climbing three spots to reclaim the ninth spot. The Indian duo, who had previously held the No. 1 ranking, rose up the ladder following their semifinal finish at the China Open, the season's last Super 1000 badminton tournament. This was their fourth semifinal appearance of the 2025 season, having earlier reached the last four at the Malaysia Open, India Open and Singapore Open. In men's singles, Lakshya Sen climbed two places to move up to world No. 17 with 54,442 points. Veteran shuttler HS Prannoy also gained ground, improving his ranking to No. 33. In the women's singles, 17-year-old Unnati Hooda, who stunned two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu at the China Open, attained the career best ranking as she jumped four spots to be placed 31. Despite the loss to the younger compatriot, Sindhu retained her No. 15 spot and remains the highest-ranked Indian in the women's singles. In women's doubles, India's leading pair Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand remained firm at No. 11, while Tanisha Crasto and Ashwini Ponnappa rose two positions to 45th.
New Straits Times
12 hours ago
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Malaysian shuttlers eye historic double world titles in Paris
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia could be in for a bumper outing at next month's Badminton World Championships in Paris — with not one but two world titles within reach, based on current form and World Tour stats. In men's doubles, world No. 2 Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik are leading the charge. The 2022 world champions have consistently delivered at major events since their Olympic bronze in Tokyo, and remain Malaysia's best hope of striking gold again. But there's excitement brewing on the women's front too. Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah, the new world No. 2 pair, have been gathering serious momentum. The Thailand Open champions — who also finished runners-up in Indonesia and Japan, and made the China Open semis — are now poised to break China's long-standing grip on the women's doubles crown. Should they succeed, Pearly-Thinaah will carve their names in history as Malaysia's first women's doubles world champions. It won't be a solo mission in the men's doubles either. Malaysia also boast depth, with world No. 4 Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin and world No. 7 Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun adding firepower. Between the three pairs, they've already shared six titles this season — Aaron-Wooi Yik with three, Wei Chong-Kai Wun two, and Sze Fei-Izzuddin one. All three pairings have reached at least one final in each of their last seven tournaments — a testament to their consistency and hunger. Their biggest obstacle? The in-form world No. 1 Kim Won Ho-Seo Seung Jae of South Korea, who have bagged five titles this year. But with no strong second pair in sight, the pressure could mount for the Koreans in the French capital. Malaysia, on the other hand, hold an ace — coaching maestro Herry IP. Dubbed the "Magician", the legendary Indonesian has produced multiple world champions and now heads Malaysia's doubles project at BAM. Still, there are questions after Aaron-Wooi Yik's shock loss to scratch Indonesian duo Fajar Alfian-Shohibul Fikri in Sunday's China Open final. But it's not unusual for top pairs to ease off slightly before a major. A win in China may have only added pressure ahead of Paris. As it stands, mind games are in full swing, and Aaron-Wooi Yik will lean on Herry's calming influence and his famed "no lifting" mantra to stay grounded. In women's doubles, Pearly-Thinaah are flying under the radar — and that may work to their advantage. They'll head to Paris as second seeds, avoiding a clash with world No. 1 Liu Sheng Shu-Tan Ning until the final. But the odds aren't all in their favour — they trail Sheng Shu-Tan Ning 9-3 in past meetings, and also have a 4-1 deficit against world No. 6 Jia Yi Fan-Zhang Shu Xian. Still, with the right mindset and peak fitness, Pearly-Thinaah could whip up a storm in Paris and lead Malaysia to a historic breakthrough on the women's front.
The Star
14 hours ago
- Sport
- The Star
Yew Sin-Ee Yi suffer early exit in Macau
PETALING JAYA: Men's doubles shuttlers Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi's recent run of good results came to a halt after the pair crashed out of the Macau Open. Yew Sin-Ee Yi were hoping to continue their encouraging form after making it into the semi-finals and quarter-finals of the Japan Open and China Open respectively over the past two weeks but were left disappointed after narrowly going down 15-21, 21-16, 21-23 to Indonesia's Rahmat Hidayat-Yeremia Rambitan in the first round at the Macau East Asian Games Dome yesterday. It was also heartbreak for world junior champions Aaron Tai-Kang Khai Xing after the duo lost 17-21, 16-21 to another Indonesian pair and top seeds Sabar Gutama-Moh Reza. There were better fortunes though for Yap Roy King-Wan Arif Wan Junaidi when they defeated China's Ren Xiangyu-Sun Wenjun 21-15, 21-16. Meanwhile, in the women's doubles, Teoh Mei Xing-Go Pei Kee easily overcame India's Apoorva Gahlawat-Sakshi Gahlawat 21-8, 21-11 and will take on the winners of the all-Taiwanese clash between Lin Chih-chun-Lin Wan-ching and Chen Yu-hsuen-Liu Chiao-yun next. Ong Xin Yee-Carmen Ting, though, suffered an early exit after losing 13-21, 11-21 to Americans Lauren Lam-Allison Lee. Promising youngsters Dania Sofea Zaidi-Low Zi Yu also made a good start in their World Tour debut by making it into the main draw after beating Taiwan's Chou Yun-an-Huang Le Xin 21-17, 21-17 in the qualifying round. Dania-Zi Yu showed great resilience by bouncing back quickly after their disappointing quarter-final exit in the recent Asian Junior Championships in Solo, Indonesia. 'We are very excited to compete in our first World Tour competition,' said Dania. 'We never expected to qualify for this tournament as our rankings are still quite low. So, we are looking forward to playing against higher ranked pairs in the main draw.' Dania-Zi Yu are currently ranked 211th in the world and have a tougher task in the first round against Japan's world No. 63 Kaho Osawa-Mai Tanabe. Joining them in the main draw are Cheng Su Hui-Tan Zhing Yi, who had to dig deep to come away with a 21-14, 15-21, 21-15 win over Japan's Ririna Hiramoto-Kokona Ishikawa. Su Hui-Zhing Yi will next face Taiwan's Chen Su-yu-Hsieh Yi-en for a place in the quarter-finals. In the mixed doubles, Wee Yee Hern-Chan Wen Tse set-up an all-Malaysian first round clash against Loo Bing Kun-Pei Kee after coming out on top over Taiwan's Cheng Kai-wen-Liu Chiao-yun 21-8, 17-21, 21-17 in the qualifying round. RESULTS ( Malaysians Only ) Qualifying round Women's doubles: Dania Sofea Zaidi-Low Zi Yu bt Chou Yun-anHuang (Tpe) Le Xin 21-17, 21-17; Cheng Su Hui-Tan Zhing Yi bt Ririna Hiramoto-Kokona Ishikawa (Jpn) 21-14, 15-21, 21-15. Mixed doubles: Wee Yee Hern-Chan Wen Tse bt Cheng Kai-wen-Liu Chiao-yun (Tpe) 21-8, 17-21, 21-17. First round Men's doubles: Yap Roy King-Wan Arif Wan Junaidi bt Ren XiangyuSun Wenjun (Chn) 21-15, 21-16; Rahmat Hidayat-Yeremia Rambitan (Ina) bt Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi 21-15, 16-21, 23-21, Sabar Gutama-Moh Reza (Ina) bt Aaron Tai-Kang Khai Xing 21-17, 21-16. Women's doubles: Teoh Mei Xing-Go Pei Kee bt Apoorva Gahlawat-Sakshi Gahlawat (Ind) 21-8, 21-11; Lauren Lam-Allison Lee (US) bt Ong Xin Yee-Carmen Ting 21-13, 21-11
The Star
14 hours ago
- Sport
- The Star
Pearly-Thinaah target more feats after reaching world No. 2
PETALING JAYA: Women's doubles shuttlers Pearly Tan - are eyeing more milestones together after rising to a career high No. 2 in the latest world rankings. Pearly-Thinaah officially moved up one rung from No. 3 after their semi-final finish in the China Open in Changzhou last week and are now hungry for more achievements. The pair are the first Malaysians in the women's doubles to break into the world's top two since Chin Eei Hui-Wong Pei Tty, who reached No. 1 in the world in 2009. 'Slowly but surely. Another milestone and to breaking more barriers together,' said Thinaah via Instagram yesterday. Reaching the top two in the world is a well deserved achievement for Pearly-Thinaah as the pair have been in fine form this year. The duo captured the Thailand Open and finished runners-up in the Indonesian Open and Masters and Japan Open. Pearly-Thinaah progressed into the last four and final of a World Tour Super 1000 event for the first time in the Indonesian Open and also made it into their first Super 750 title match in Japan since capturing the French Open in 2022 Pearly-Thinaah, though, have some way to go to overtake current world No. 1 Liu Shengshu-Tan Ning from China. The formidable Chinese pair have opened up a significant gap at the top after amassing 111,634 ranking points while the Malaysians have 89,416 points. Shengshu-Tan Ning have been among Pearly-Thinaah's toughest opponents this year, notably denying them in the finals in Indonesia and Japan. Pearly-Thinaah do have an opportunity, though, to end the country's medal drought in the women's doubles in the World Championships from Aug 25-31 in Paris. The pair's No. 2 ranking will give them a better seeding in the showpiece event and they will avoid Shengshu-Tan Ning until the final. The official seedings will be released on Aug 8 while the draw for the tournament will be out on Aug 13. Pearly-Thinaah came closest to ending their wait for a medal in the last world meet in 2023 but narrowly lost to China's Zhang Shuxian-Zheng Yu in the quarter-finals in Copenhagen. They are now primed to go further and break down another barrier.
