Latest news with #StrasbourgOpen
The Star
3 days ago
- Sport
- The Star
Tennis-Rybakina through to French Open fourth round as Ostapenko derails
Tennis - French Open - Roland Garros, Paris, France - May 30, 2025 Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina celebrates winning her third round match against Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes PARIS (Reuters) -Kazakh Elena Rybakina's claycourt form showed no sign of dipping as she brushed aside former champion Jelena Ostapenko 6-2 6-2 in a duel of heavy hitters to reach the fourth round of the French Open on Friday. The 12th-seeded Rybakina, who came to Roland Garros fresh from her Strasbourg Open run to the title, was not impressed by Ostapenko's flurry of missiles as she prevailed with a forehand winner down the line on the first match point. "The fast conditions make it difficult to control the ball but it definitely helps for the serve," said Rybakina. "I had some ups and downs but happy with the way it went today." Latvia's Ostapenko, who also had shown good form on clay this season, beating Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka to win the Stuttgart Open last month, played her usual roll-the-dice tennis but did not get lucky. The 2017 Roland Garros winner served three aces but eight double faults while her 14 winners could not make up for a staggering 22 unforced errors. Rybakina, who also peppered the court with a high number of unforced errors, will next face four-time champion Iga Swiatek of Poland. (Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
Straits Times
3 days ago
- Sport
- Straits Times
Rybakina through to French Open fourth round as Ostapenko derails
Tennis - French Open - Roland Garros, Paris, France - May 30, 2025 Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina celebrates winning her third round match against Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes Tennis - French Open - Roland Garros, Paris, France - May 30, 2025 Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko in action during her third round match against Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes Tennis - French Open - Roland Garros, Paris, France - May 30, 2025 Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina in action during her third round match against Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes Tennis - French Open - Roland Garros, Paris, France - May 30, 2025 Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina celebrates winning her third round match against Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes PARIS - Kazakh Elena Rybakina's claycourt form showed no sign of dipping as she brushed aside former champion Jelena Ostapenko 6-2 6-2 in a duel of heavy hitters to reach the fourth round of the French Open on Friday. The 12th-seeded Rybakina, who came to Roland Garros fresh from her Strasbourg Open run to the title, was not impressed by Ostapenko's flurry of missiles as she prevailed with a forehand winner down the line on the first match point. "The fast conditions make it difficult to control the ball but it definitely helps for the serve," said Rybakina. "I had some ups and downs but happy with the way it went today." Latvia's Ostapenko, who also had shown good form on clay this season, beating Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka to win the Stuttgart Open last month, played her usual roll-the-dice tennis but did not get lucky. The 2017 Roland Garros winner served three aces but eight double faults while her 14 winners could not make up for a staggering 22 unforced errors. Rybakina, who also peppered the court with a high number of unforced errors, will next face four-time champion Iga Swiatek of Poland. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Emma Raducanu to face Swiatek after French Open win over Wang Xinyu
Emma Raducanu will face one of the toughest challenges in tennis after setting up a French Open second‑round match against the four-time champion Iga Swiatek. Despite arriving in Paris preoccupied by her recovery from the back spasms she had experienced days earlier, Raducanu demonstrated her mental toughness in a gritty 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 win against Wang Xinyu of China, the world No 43. Swiatek, who is attempting to win an open era‑record fourth consecutive women's singles championship at Roland Garros, began her title defence with a 6-3, 6-3 win against Rebecca Sramkova. Related: French Open: US shocks as top-10 seeds Fritz and Navarro lose in first round 'I think it's a match for me where I can really test and challenge myself,' Raducanu said. 'I think exposure to the top players is great for where I'm at for my development. I think especially on clay, it's her preferred tournament probably [and] surface. She's won it four times. 'It's a match where I can go out and test really just myself and go for my shots, because I know if I just push the ball, I'm probably going to get eaten. I need to hit the ball. I'm looking forward to that challenge.' One year after a dire French Open for British tennis players when they failed to win a single match, the group enjoyed an excellent start to the 2025 edition with three victories. Jacob Fearnley, who has enjoyed a stellar rise after transitioning to the professional circuit from college 11 months ago, marked his French Open debut with a confident 7-6 (6), 6-3, 6-2 win against the 2015 champion, Stan Wawrinka. Katie Boulter, the British No 1, then ended the day with a 6-7 (4), 6-1, 6-1 win against the qualifier Carole Monnet, which was also her first main draw win at the French Open. Jodie Burrage was the only British player to lose, beaten 7-6 (1), 6-4 by Danielle Collins. Raducanu was unsure how her body would hold up after her back flared up during her defeat against Collins at the Strasbourg Open last Wednesday. Although the British No 2 looked strong early on against Wang, it soon became clear that she was feeling ill. At 6-5 she called for the physio and doctor. She spent much of her medical timeout dabbing ice around her face while having her blood pressure and heart rate checked. Despite holding to secure the first set, the match had shifted and she quickly found herself down 1-5 in the second set. But Raducanu pulled herself together, playing excellent attacking tennis to close out the match. 'I'm actually really proud of today's match, more so than I think a lot of the matches that I played recently or in general, because I woke up and I felt really sick, to be honest,' Raducanu said. 'I felt bad from the morning. I was just trying and fighting through that.' In the past few months there has been a significant shift in Raducanu's approach to the sport. Off the court, she has tried to find more balance and enjoyment in her life as opposed to the more regimented schedules that other players follow. On court, she has come closer to finding her identity by pairing her offensive mentality with greater variation. Her forehand, in particular, has improved and she is looking to run around her trusty backhand and dictate with it. Against Wang, Raducanu struggled with her backhand in the first half of the match but she struck her forehand superbly. Perhaps the most satisfying aspect of the British players' performances on Monday is that they reflect their positive clay court seasons. Until last month, Fearnley had not stepped on clay for eight years but he has performed extremely well with minimal experience on the surface, beating numerous top‑100 players, including his first career top‑20 win against Tomas Machac at the Madrid Open. Fearnley was favoured to defeat Wawrinka, who is now 40 years old, ranked No 138 and 10 years removed from his incredible triumph in Paris. Managing his nerves before an adversarial French crowd, however, made this an even greater challenge for Fearnley. Related: French Open 2025: Raducanu digs deep to beat Wang; Alcaraz and Ruud in action – live 'I knew it was going to be a tough match,' Fearnley said. 'It's difficult, for sure, playing in front of the crowd always screaming his name. Yeah, it's not easy. I really enjoyed it, to be honest. 'I think part of the battle was just not letting that kind of get to my head and not letting his name and his calibre of tennis get into my head. Just focus on myself really.' Boulter, meanwhile, celebrated her first career title on clay a week before Roland Garros, winning the WTA 125 event in Paris. Although this will never be her best surface, she continues to grow more comfortable on the red dirt with every victory.
Wales Online
26-05-2025
- Health
- Wales Online
Emma Raducanu suffers health scare on court as medics rush to help her
Emma Raducanu suffers health scare on court as medics rush to help her The 22-year-old needed medical assistance during the opening set of her match against Wang Xinyu Raducanu needed medical assistance on court (Image: TNT Sports ) Emma Raducanu suffered a medical scare while on court at the French Open as she had her blood pressure taken by medics during her match against Wang Xinyu. The 22-year-old was leading by six games to five in the opening set at Roland Garros when she returned to her chair and called for medical assistance from the physio. Two medics then rushed to Raducanu's aid and took her blood pressure, while she was also seen rubbing blocks of ice around her eyes. Having been given three minutes to return to court, the former US Open Champion looked frustrated and was seen shaking her head as she answered questions from one of the medics and tried to regain her composure. She was also seen dropping something into her water bottle before taking a few sips and returning to the court, where she served out the set in the next game. While the exact nature of the scare remains unclear, it looks to have been the latest health setback for Raducanu, who has struggled with injury ever since she shot to stardom in 2021. Most recently, it was a back injury that caused the British star issues at the Strasbourg Open last week, while she has also undergone multiple wrist and ankle surgeries over the course of her short career. Article continues below While it apppears that the issue that led to the medical timeout in Paris on Monday was entirely unrelated, however, Raducanu opened up about her injury struggles before her clash with Wang. "It is not feeling 100 per cent," she said of her back injury. "I had a spasm in Strasbourg and just been trying to manage it as best I can doing treatment. "I've been on the practice court last night and this morning. Yeah, it felt okay, but obviously it's different playing a match. I'm trying to do everything to get up to speed as fast as possible. "It is similar to the problem I had in Australia, I would say the one before Australia was worse. "I feel like this one I kind of caught before it fully locked up. So I think the treatment is a lot of it with the physios, a lot of it with heat. "At the start of the year I was so scared of needles. It was my biggest phobia. That was the only way I was going to be able to play Australia." Article continues below Raducanu will be keen to shake off her injury struggles soon, with the French Open to contest and Wimbledon starting in just over a month. Despite her setbacks, she has enjoyed a positive season on clay so far, reaching the fourth round of the Italian Open earlier this month before losing to eventual finalist Coco Gauff. She was knocked out by Danielle Collins in the second round in Strasbourg, but impressed against Daria Kasatkina in her opening match.
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Emma Raducanu: British No2 out of Strasbourg Open after suffering injury scare ahead of Roland Garros
Emma Raducanu suffered an injury scare ahead of the French Open as she went out of the Strasbourg Open. The 22-year-old left the court during the second set of her second-round clash with American Danielle Collins for treatment on a back problem, though appeared to recover. Having won the first set, Raducanu was 5-0 down when she called a medical timeout before returning to the court 10 minutes later. Although she was able to finish the match, she went down to a 4-6 6-1 6-3 defeat to Collins. With the French Open starting on Sunday, Raducanu will now have the problem fully assessed before travelling to Paris, though the way she competed hard in a tight third set could suggest it was not too serious. She took a wild card to enter the final warm-up tournament for Roland Garros in eastern France - not something she has usually done in the build-up to a grand slam. The British number two, who is chasing Katie Boulter as the highest-ranked Briton, started off well by winning the first set against the world number 46. But her level immediately dropped and after walking through the fifth game, where she went 5-0 down, she left the court for lengthy treatment. Collins quickly wrapped up the second set and there was a fear she could also run away with the decider. But to her credit, Raducanu fought hard and was primed to take a 3-1 lead but could not convert four break points. It was tightly poised at 3-3 after an exchange of breaks, but Collins put her foot down to win the final three games as Raducanu fell away.
