Latest news with #StuttgartOpen
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Elena Rybakina thrashes Ostapenko to set up intriguing tussle with Iga Swiatek
Jelena Ostapenko has long been one of the most devastating shot-makers of her generation and every time she steps on to a court, she is there to decide her own destiny in victory or defeat. On Friday afternoon, however, Ostapenko experienced the rare sensation of not being in control as Elena Rybakina put on a devastating exhibition of her effortless, destructive ball-striking to reach the fourth round of the French Open with a 6-2, 6-2 demolition of the former champion. The most notable consequence of Rybakina's victory, of course, is that she will renew her rivalry with the four-time champion Iga Swiatek in what will be the most highly anticipated match in either singles draw. In the earlier match on Court Suzanne Lenglen, Swiatek closed out her 24th consecutive victory at the French Open by defeating Jaqueline Cristian 6-2, 7-5. Advertisement Related: French Open: Rybakina sets up Swiatek clash, Alcaraz to come on day six – live A week after winning her first title in more than a year in Strasbourg, this victory marks another positive step forward for Rybakina. Much of her past 12 months have been extremely difficult, with the Kazakh falling from her career high ranking of No 3 to her current spot at No 11. Not long ago, Rybakina had positioned herself as the top contender to Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka. In recent months, she has been her own biggest rival. Although Rybakina has been frequently sidelined with various illnesses over the past year, her issues have also been personal. In February, her previous longtime coach, Stefano Vukov, was suspended by the WTA tour for a year after the organisation concluded that Vukov had been verbally abusive to Rybakina, breaching the its code of conduct. Despite Rybakina objecting to the suspension, Vukov is banned from attaining accreditation at official WTA events and grand slam tournaments. On Wednesday, Rybakina noted that she continues to work with Vukov on court between tournaments. 'We usually practise together between the tournaments, not when the tournament is on,' she said. It has been eight years since Ostapenko shocked the tennis world by spectacularly winning the 2017 French Open, while Rybakina won her first grand slam title at Wimbledon in 2021. A battle between two major champions is always a significant event, but the prospect of a meeting with Swiatek, and their respective records against the four-time French Open champion, only added a level of significance to the tie. Advertisement At this point, the match-up between Ostapenko and Swiatek is the most notorious non-rivalry on the tour. After defeating Swiatek en route to winning the Stuttgart Open title last month, Ostapenko is now 6-0 versus the Pole, having defeated her on every surface. Ostapenko is a supreme ball-striker and, when she finds her rhythm, she times the ball more sweetly than almost any other player. Even so, a player as distinguished as Swiatek having such a difficult match-up against a lesser opponent is shocking. Although Swiatek avoided her greatest nemesis, facing Rybakina is hardly a positive outcome. Their head-to-head record is tied at 4-4 and Rybakina's game matches up well against the Pole, with her powerful first serve neutralising Swiatek's return and she takes time away with her clean, flat ball-striking. As Swiatek attempts to rebuild her confidence on her favourite court after a difficult few months, this will be an enormous test in her push for a fourth consecutive French Open title. Elsewhere, the top seed Aryna Sabalenka eased into the second week with a comfortable 6-2, 6-3 win over Olga Danilovic of Serbia. Afterwards, Sabalenka said that she is happy for Swiatek to carry the title of favourite, and the pressure that comes with it, in this tournament. 'It's tough to predict in women's tennis,' she said. 'Let's just leave it on Iga since she won it, what, three times in a row, really, right? I will just leave it for her.' Elsewhere, Amelie Mauresmo, the French Open tournament director, defended the decision not to schedule women's matches during the night sessions. 'For me, the message that I always said, and I will repeat, the conditions did not change from having one unique match in the evening,' said Mauresmo. 'For me, the message is not changing, and it has never been that the girls are not worthy to play at night. It's never been this. I will not accept that you carry this message. That's really clear to me.'
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.
India Today
5 days ago
- Sport
- India Today
French Open Day 4 Order of Play: Swiatek, Sabalenka, Alcaraz set for second round
World No.5 Iga Swiatek and US Open 2021 champion Emma Raducanu will face off in the biggest match of the day on Day 4 of the French Open 2025. The 23-year-old Swiatek has a 4-0 lead over Raducanu on the WTA tour, having last beaten her in the quarterfinals of the Stuttgart Open earlier this who is yet to win a title since the Roland Garros last year, beat Slovakia's Rebecca Sramkova in the opening round. World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka will be up against Switzerland's Jil Teichmann in the second round after her dominating win over Kamilla year's runner-up, Jasmine Paolini of Italy, will be up against Australia's Ajla Tomljanovic while 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina will lock horns with Iva Jovic of the United States of America (USA). In men's singles, defending champion Carlos Alcaraz will be in action when he faces Fabian Marozsan of Hungary. Casper Ruud, who won the Madrid Open, is set to face Portugal's Nuno Borges in the second 2 starts tomorrow, check out the full order of play Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 27, 2025Here's the Order of Play for Day 4 of French Open 2025Court Philippe Chatrier (play begins at 03:30 PM IST, 12 PM local time)4-Jasmine Paolini (Italy) v Ajla Tomljanovic (Australia)Fabian Marozsan (Hungary) v 2-Carlos Alcaraz (Spain)Emma Raducanu (Britain) v 5-Iga Swiatek (Poland)advertisementEmilio Nava (U.S.) v 10-Holger Rune (Denmark)Court Suzanne-Lenglen (play begins at 02:30 PMT, 11:00 AM)Emiliana Arango (Colombia) v 8-Zheng Qinwen7-Casper Ruud (Norway) v Nuno Borges (Portugal)31-Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard (France) v Damir Dzumhur (Bosnia and Herzegovina)1-Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus) v Jil Teichmann (Switzerland)Court Simonne-Mathieu (02:30 PMT, 11:00 AM)8-Lorenzo Musetti (Italy) v Daniel Elahi Galan (Colombia)Anna Bondar (Hungary) v 13-Elina Svitolina (Ukraine)Matteo Gigante (Italy) v 20-Stefanos Tsitsipas (Greece)12-Elena Rybakina (Kazakhstan) v Iva Jovic (U.S.)Trending Reel
India Today
03-05-2025
- Sport
- India Today
Iga Swiatek lost her grandfather before Madrid Open, confirms manager
World No. 2 Iga Swiatek competed in the 2025 Madrid Open while mourning the loss of her grandfather. The news was confirmed by her PR manager, Daria Sulgostowska, who acknowledged the 23-year-old's personal the Stuttgart Open, Swiatek mentioned in an interview with Canal+ that she might need to return to Poland before heading to Madrid. Earlier, journalist Benoit Maylin had shared news of her grandfather's passing on we write off Djokovic and witek after Novak's strange behavior and Iga's obvious nervousness, it should be noted that both are going through a complicated period. Several of Djokovic's close friends have health problems, and Iga lost her grandfather just before the tournament," he wrote. Swiatek's PR manager later confirmed that the tennis star had attended the funeral just before the start of the clay-court tournament in Madrid. She also requested that Swiatek's privacy be respected during this difficult Swiatek's team member & P.R. Manager Daria Sulgostowska has confirmed that Iga's grandfather passed attended his funeral before the the painful loss in her family, she competed admirably and reached the semifinals with a very heavy heart. The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) May 2, 2025advertisementIga Swiatek in danger of losing No.2 rankingLast year, Swiatek lost her No.1 ranking to Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka. The Pole is now in danger of losing her No.2 spot. Swiatek will drop to No.3 in the rankings if USA's Coco Gauff wins the Madrid Open title. On Saturday, Gauff will lock horns with Sabalenka in the grand finale of the WTA 1000 has had her challenges of late. In the round of 64, she rallied back from a set down to beat 19-year-old sensation Alexandra Eala from the Philippines. In the quarterfinal, reigning Australian Open champion Madison Keys blanked her in the opening set before Swiatek won 0-6, 6-3, Gauff, Swiatek looked completely out of sorts as she lost 1-6, 1-6 in the semis at Manolo Santana. It was her second-worst loss on the WTA Tour after former player Simona Halep beat her 6-1, 6-0 in the French Open Reel
