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24-05-2025
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Elena Rybakina wins first title in over 12 months, thanks banned coach Stefano Vukov
By her standards, it's been a while since Elena Rybakina has been a serious threat to win a tournament. The last time she made a final was 13 months ago in Stuttgart, Germany, which was also the last time she won a tournament. Rybakina ended that drought in Strasbourg, France on the eve of the French Open, defeating Ludmila Samsonova, a longtime nemesis, 6-1, 6-7(2), 6-1. Advertisement Fittingly, the big-serving Rybakina finished Samsonova with an ace on a second serve. She went into the final with a 1-4 record against the Russian and earns 500 ranking points from her triumph, sending the former world No. 3 back up to No. 11. The win should give the native Russian-turned-Kazakh a healthy boost of confidence heading into the French Open. She didn't beat a player ranked higher than 19th on the way to the title, but she's been losing to players ranked far lower than that this season. 'Davide, you're here alone, but I have a good and big team,' she said at the trophy ceremony, referring to her current coach Davide Sanguinetti. 'Thank you to my fitness coach, physio, Stefano and of course thank you to my family and all the sponsors for your support,' Rybakina said. Advertisement Stefano is Stefano Vukov, Rybakina's coach of the past six years, who is serving a one-year suspension from the WTA Tour for violating its code of conduct. The WTA suspended him in February, after conducting an investigation into reports that he had been verbally abusive to Rybakina and had pursued her at her New York hotel after she sacked him before the U.S. Open last year. In a letter sent to Vukov at the conclusion of the investigation, WTA Tour chief executive Portia Archer wrote that Vukov's violations of the code of conduct included: 'Engaging in abuse of authority and abusive conduct towards the WTA Player, including compromising or attempting to compromise the psychological, physical or emotional well-being of the Player.' Vukov has denied any wrongdoing, and Rybakina has repeatedly maintained that he 'never mistreated' her. Within weeks of her firing Vukov, Rybakina had decided she wanted him back on her team. But by then the WTA had opened its investigation into his behavior, provisionally suspending him pending the outcome. Last November, she hired Goran Ivanisevic, Novak Djokovic's former coach, but Vukov continued to coach her behind the scenes without Ivanisevic knowing. Advertisement Vukov, who was in Melbourne during the Australian Open, was barred from accessing Melbourne Park on a credential and unable to enter practice courts or Rybakina's box. After Rybakina exited the tournament, Ivanisevic resigned as her coach. Rybakina will face Julia Riera of Argentina in the first round of the French Open. Riera replaced Belinda Bencic of Switzerland, who pulled out with an injury, in the main draw. This article originally appeared in The Athletic. Tennis, Women's Tennis 2025 The Athletic Media Company
Yahoo
23-05-2025
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Belinda Bencic withdraws from French Open, scratching first-round match with Elena Rybakina
Belinda Bencic has withdrawn from the French Open with an arm injury, scratching one of the most interesting first-round matchups of the tournament. Bencic, the world No. 39 who has been in strong form since at the end of last year returning from the birth of her first child, had been drawn against 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina. 'I will, unfortunately, miss Roland Garros this year. Just two days ago during a morning practice, I re-aggravated the arm injury that forced me to retire in Rome,' Bencic wrote in a statement announcing her withdrawal. The Swiss was last week forced out of her Italian Open match against Greek world No. 92 Maria Sakkari, having dropped the first set 6-2. Advertisement Bencic returned to the WTA Tour in October 2024, after giving birth to her daughter, Bella, in April that year. She opted to play on the third and second rungs of women's tennis to start her comeback, instead of returning directly to the top level, and profited from the experience of winning — and losing — when she lifted the Abu Dhabi Open title in February. She also defeated Grand Slam champions Jelena Ostapenko and Naomi Osaka at January's Australian Open, before losing to Coco Gauff; Bencic then beat Gauff at Indian Wells, Calif., on the way to the quarterfinals of the BNP Paribas Open. Rybakina will now play a lucky loser in her first-round match, while Bencic said that she hopes two weeks of rest will allow her to return to the court for the start of grass season. This article originally appeared in The Athletic. Tennis, Women's Tennis 2025 The Athletic Media Company
Yahoo
04-05-2025
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Katie Ledecky breaks her own nine-year-old world record in 800-meter freestyle
The world record in the women's 800-meter freestyle has been untouchable for nearly nine years since Katie Ledecky swam it in 8:04.79 at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. No one had come within two seconds of that time since. That all changed Saturday. And Ledecky, naturally, was the one to do it. Advertisement The American swimming legend broke her own record in the event at the TYR Pro Series in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., finishing in 8:04.12 to beat her previous unmatchable time by over a half-second. Ledecky, who has won gold in the 800-meter freestyle in four straight Olympics, now owns the 10 fastest times ever in the event. The win comes two days after Ledecky bested rival Summer McIntosh in a thrilling 400-meter race, an event Ledecky has lost ground in since winning gold in Rio. The 28-year-old Ledecky has nine career Olympic golds and 14 total medals to go along with 21 world championship golds. She has said she's eyeing competing at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Advertisement 'I'll take it year by year and give it everything I've got for as long as I have left in me,' Ledecky said when asked about continuing her career following her final race in Paris last summer. American Gretchen Walsh also reset her own world record on Saturday in the 100-meter butterfly — twice. She swam 55.09 in the prelims to lower her previous record of 55.18, then topped it with a 54.60 in the final. This article originally appeared in The Athletic. Olympics, Global Sports, Women's Olympics 2025 The Athletic Media Company
Yahoo
21-04-2025
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Jelena Ostapenko stuns Aryna Sabalenka to win Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart
Jelena Ostapenko powered past world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka Monday to win the Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany. In a contest between two of the best linear ballstrikers on the WTA Tour, Ostapenko outmaneuvered Sabalenka as well as outhitting her, squeaking through a tight first set before steaming away with the second in a 6-4, 6-1 triumph. Ostapenko, who beat world No. 2 Iga Świątek for the sixth time in six meetings in the quarterfinals, decided the match with a run of 14 points in 17 in the middle part of the second set, as Sabalenka lost her range on her first serve. Ostapenko broke the world No. 1 four times in the second set, and ultimately won 20 of the last 24 points in the match. Advertisement Sabalenka, who has evolved her tennis since last year's clay-court swing with a focus on drop shots and feel in the forecourt, found some success in bringing her opponent forward. But Ostapenko won the defensive battle from the baseline, using squash shots and eking out slices when stretched more effectively than Sabalenka. She won over 80 percent of points on her first serve, giving Sabalenka very few moments of vulnerability to exploit aside from one loose game in the second set in which Sabalenka broke to love. Ostapenko responded with that extraordinary run of points to take the match back out of Sabalenka's grasp. 'You were just a better player than me today,' Sabalenka said of Ostapenko during the trophy ceremony. The Latvian, who rises to world No. 18 with the title, her first since the 2024 Linz Open in Austria, said that she just loves to play in Stuttgart. Her wins over Sabalenka and Świątek made her the first WTA player in 13 years to beat the world No. 1 and world No. 2 en route to a clay-court title. 'I'm waiting to come here the whole time,' Ostapenko said of the event in her winner's speech. Advertisement For Sabalenka, her run to the final extends her lead over Świątek at the top of the WTA rankings, but she has now lost three of the five finals she has played this year. She has only ever lost five times in Stuttgart — but four of those five defeats have come in finals. Sabalenka and Ostapenko will move on to the Madrid Open, where the WTA main draw begins April 22. This article originally appeared in The Athletic. Tennis, Women's Tennis 2025 The Athletic Media Company
Yahoo
09-04-2025
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IOC approves more women's teams, new swimming events in adds to L.A. Olympics
IOC approves more women's teams, new swimming events in adds to L.A. Olympics IOC approves more women's teams, new swimming events in adds to L.A. Olympics The International Olympic Committee on Wednesday approved several adds to the Olympic program for the 2028 Los Angeles Games, including more women's teams in soccer and water polo and new events in swimming and other sports. Advertisement The women's soccer tournament will expand from 12 teams to 16, making it larger than the men's tournament for the first time in Olympic history. The men's tournament — which is for players under 23 years old, with three exceptions per team — will stay at 12 teams. Women's water polo will also expand from 10 teams to 12, pulling even with the number of teams in the men's draw. In swimming, the Olympic 'splash and dash' won't just be for freestylers anymore. The IOC is adding 50-meter events for both men and women in the backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly. After debuting at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, 3X3 basketball will also expand from eight teams to 12 for both men and women. Advertisement Other additions include: In boxing, a new women's weight category was added to reach gender parity; In rowing, women's solo, men's solo and mixed doubles sculls will add a 'coastal beach sprint' event; In sport climbing, boulder and lead climbing will be separate events, rather than combined together as in its previous two Olympic appearances; Several sports are adding mixed team events, including archery, track (a 4X100-meter relay), golf, gymnastics, rowing and table tennis. The IOC said its effort to achieve gender equality was a key consideration for the adds. There are now 161 women's events, 165 men's events and 25 men's events on the L.A. program. Advertisement The L.A. Olympics are also introducing four sports new to the Olympic program — cricket, flag football, lacrosse and squash — as well as bringing back baseball and softball, which featured in Tokyo in 2021 but not in Paris. This article originally appeared in The Athletic. Golf, NWSL, Olympics 2025 The Athletic Media Company
