Latest news with #PIFWTARankings
Qatar Tribune
a day ago
- Sport
- Qatar Tribune
After 26 aces combined, Osaka holds off Danilovic
WTA Homborg (Germany) In a battle of serving excellence at the Bad Homburg Open powered by Solarwatt on Monday, former World No. 1 Naomi Osaka came out on top. Osaka of Japan edged past Serbian qualifier Olga Danilovic 7-6(6), 7-6(4) in a gripping first-round showdown at the WTA 500 grass-court event. Currently ranked 57th in the PIF WTA Rankings, Osaka took 2 hours and 5 minutes to best World No. 37 Danilovic. This year's leader in percentage of first-serve points won, Osaka had 16 aces, although Danilovic was not too far behind with 10 aces of her own. 'It's my first grass-court win of the year, so I'm really excited about that,' Osaka said on court, after the match. 'I think I have potential [on grass], but everyone else is also really good,' the main-draw wild card continued. 'I can never take it for granted, the wins. Just super excited that I won today.' The victory halts Osaka's three-match losing streak. After a Round-of-16 loss to Peyton Stearns at Rome, Osaka fell to Top 20 players in her next two matches: Paula Badosa in the Roland Garros first round and Liudmila Samsonova last week in Berlin. With a win under her belt, Osaka now advances to a second-round meeting with No. 5 seed Emma Navarro of the United States. Navarro defeated Osaka in their only previous meeting, which was also on grass – a 6-4, 6-1 win for the American at Wimbledon last year. Meanwhile, another former World No. 1, Victoria Azarenka, also won her Bad Homburg first-round match on Monday. Two-time Australian Open champion Azarenka moved past wild card Laura Siegemund 6-2, 6-2. Azarenka will now face former World No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the second round.
Gulf Today
27-01-2025
- Sport
- Gulf Today
Australian Open champion Keys and Badosa return to top 10 rankings
Madison Keys' breakthrough at the 2025 Australian Open cemented her place among the sport's elite. With consecutive wins over World No.2 Iga Swiatek and World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka, she captured her first Grand Slam title. Her run sparked a surge in the PIF WTA Rankings, where she jumped seven spots from No.14 to No.7. It's her first time back in the Top 10 since January 2023, equaling the career-high she set in October 2016. Ahead of making crucial changes to her racquet and service motion, Keys was asked by husband and coach Bjorn Fratangelo whether she was content to be a 'No.11 to No.25' player. Despite over a decade of high-level accomplishments -- the Australian Open marked Keys' 10th career title, all but one at WTA 500 level or above, and her seventh major semi-final -- her ranking has rarely matched her peak form. Keys first cracked the top 10 in June 2016 and mostly remained there until April 2017. But between that month and this week, she spent just seven weeks in total inside the Top 10. Now, Keys is on a 12-match winning streak -- the longest of her career -- and has the opportunity to bolster those numbers over the coming months. Eight months ago, Paula Badosa was ranked No.140 and struggling to regain form following a back injury that sidelined her for the second half of 2023. But consistently strong performances earned her the Comeback Player of the Year award at the end of 2024, and after two previous quarterfinal losses, she reached her first Grand Slam semifinal last week at the Australian Open. The former No.2 climbs two places to No.10, returning to the Top 10 for the first time since October 2022. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova reached her first Grand Slam quarterfinal in 2011. Fourteen years later, she's still got it. The 33-year-old made her ninth major quarter-final, and fourth at the Australian Open, last week, and jumps nine places to No.23. Meanwhile, world number one Jannik Sinner will not defend his ATP 500 title in Rotterdam as the Italian's 'body needs time to rest' after winning the Australian Open, tournament organisers announced on Monday.
