Latest news with #Townsend
New York Times
8 hours ago
- Sport
- New York Times
U.S. Open announces mixed doubles direct entries, wild cards include Alcaraz and Raducanu
Now the U.S. Open mixed doubles fun can really begin. Heavy on glitz and singles stars, the 16-team tournament will be lighter on doubles players who have honed their skills on that tour. With registration closed, the United States Tennis Association (USTA) has announced 14 of the 16 teams, eight of them direct entries and six of them wild cards. Advertisement Last week, the USTA announced 25 high-profile teams as entries, but fewer than a third had a shot of making it straight into the new tournament, which will be held Aug. 19 and 20 at the Billie Jean King Tennis Center in New York City. It will conclude four days before the singles main draws begin. Teams with players who have the eight lowest combined singles rankings gain automatic entry. There are automatic places for defending men's singles champion Jannik Sinner, Wimbledon champion Iga Świątek and last year's U.S. Open finalist Taylor Fritz, but Carlos Alcaraz's partnership with Emma Raducanu, and 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic and compatriot Olga Danilović, both required wild cards. It's tough getting into a mixed doubles Grand Slam these days — well, this one, at least, Kateřina Siniaková and Marcelo Arévalo, two of the best doubles players in the world, are on the outside looking in. *Belinda Bencic entered with a special ranking of world No. 15. She is currently world No. 20. The first six wild card entries are as follows: The decision on the remaining two wild cards will be a test of the U.S. Open's less-than-unspoken priorities for a mixed doubles event designed to pack two stadiums over two days and draw eyeballs to the ESPN coverage of the event. That means getting the most famous stars to play, with $1 million for the winning team, eschewing any concerns about who is actually the best at the discipline. Townsend being the new world No. 1 in doubles, and Siniaková being the person she overtook to get there, is already secondary to the stardom factor. Townsend and Shelton getting a wild card has more to do with their pairing, bringing together the hot new thing of American men's tennis and a three-time Grand Slam semifinalist with a legitimate doubles star. They may actually be a good pick to win the thing. They played mixed in New York together before, reaching the semifinals in 2023, and Shelton played doubles this year with Rohan Bopanna, a former men's world No. 1. Advertisement The Alcaraz and Raducanu partnership is gold dust, and both have endorsement deals with Evian, which is a U.S. Open sponsor. Williams, the seven-time Grand Slam champion and 45-year-old Washington Open wild card who thrilled crowds in D.C., is an easy pick. She beat the world No. 35 Peyton Stearns in singles and won a doubles match with Hailey Baptiste. If a Williams sister is offering up her services to a tournament, she usually gets in. One player missing is Aryna Sabalenka, whose proposed partner, Grigor Dimitrov, withdrew with the pectoral muscle injury he sustained at Wimbledon. One of the most compelling athletes in the sport, Sabalenka has been on something of a reputation-enhancement campaign since her implosion in the French Open final and during the ensuing news conference, when she said Coco Gauff didn't win as much as she lost. It was raw, honest and poor form all at once, and it garnered a lot of online attention, most of it negative. She would be in line for a wild card if she entered, but with whom? What to do with Osaka and Kyrgios, who have not been setting the scoreboards alight for some time but had signed up for the tournament? When it comes to recognition in the wider sporting world, there is no argument against their inclusion. But Kyrgios has barely played professional tennis this year. Doubles players have criticized the USTA for devaluing a Grand Slam trophy. USTA executives have responded that not enough people were watching or even thinking about mixed doubles. Nothing, they argue, devalues an event more than that. So out went the 32-team tournament played alongside the singles events. In came first-to-four-games sets, with no-ad scoring and a match tiebreak at a set apiece. The business will get done well ahead of the singles, giving players a competitive warm-up and the broader tournament a huge promotional boost. The start of the U.S. Open proper on Aug. 24 should not take anyone by surprise. Advertisement The big surprise might be if all the players who have raised their hands to play actually play. The biggest complication might be the singles finals of the Cincinnati Open, which will take place on Monday, Aug. 18, the day before the mixed doubles start. Two years ago, Alcaraz and Djokovic slugged it out for nearly four hours in the men's final, in the intense Ohio summer heat. Would they have gotten on a plane and flown in for mixed doubles the next morning? Action is supposed to get underway beginning at 11 a.m. Tuesday the 19th. Theoretically, the USTA will have a few teams on reserve as injuries and scheduling conflicts arise. Who's going to agree to that? Maybe the actual doubles players of renown, people such as Siniaková and Arévalo, or Desirae Krawczyk and Evan King, or Hsieh Su-wei and Jan Zieliński. $1 million is $1 million after all — and the actual doubles players think they have a built-in advantage. Olympic results from last year go some distance toward proving that point. With two wild cards not to be announced until later — and considering no one asked for this input — here's who seems most likely to gain entry. And then:
Sydney Morning Herald
13 hours ago
- Sport
- Sydney Morning Herald
Coaching may be next as Townsend bids farewell to 15-year career
'To be honest, there were aspects of it where it was hard and not hard,' he said. 'I feel like when you know, you know, and I feel like that my time is now. 'I've given this game everything I've had for the last 15 years, and I feel like I don't want to play any more next season, and that's a really comforting thought for me. 'I got told by an ex-teammate of mine that when you know, you know, and I'm very grateful that I'm in that position that I know.' Townsend said his plan is 'definitely to stay involved in the game', either in the media or as a coach. He had many fond memories and career highlights, but winning a premiership with the Sharks was the pinnacle. 'I grew up in the Shire,' he said. 'I was a Sharks fan. I had my Sharks flag on the hill. I got a photo of ET [Sharks legend Andrew Ettingshausen] signing a shirt of mine in the sheds.' Fonua-Blake had given up on Origin. Now there's a glimmer of hope He resigned himself long ago to never being able to play State of Origin, but if the goalposts were to shift suddenly, Addin Fonua-Blake would love to have a shot. Fonua-Blake, the Cronulla and Tongan international front-rower, is one of a handful of players likely to be impacted by a landmark ARL Commission proposal to change Origin eligibility rules. ARLC chairman Peter V'landys confirmed last week that he was considering an overhaul of Origin qualification criteria, specifically so that NSW and Queensland players have an opportunity to represent tier-one nations other than Australia. Under the current rules, players such as Jarome Luai, Stephen Crichton and Brian To'o are able to represent their states as well as playing internationally for a tier-two nation, in their case Samoa. Players are not permitted to play Origin if they align themselves with tier-one nations New Zealand and England. Fonua-Blake, who was born in Sydney and played his junior football with Mascot Jets, cost himself any chance of Origin selection when he accepted a position in New Zealand's 2017 World Cup squad, playing one game off the bench in a 74-6 hammering of Scotland. He has since changed his allegiance from the Kiwis to tier-two Tonga, whom he captained at the Pacific Championships last year. And while Fonua-Blake insists he has no regrets about the momentous decision he made as a 21-year-old, he would be open to the prospect of pulling on a sky-blue jersey. 'Oh look, at the moment if the opportunity comes along and I'm good enough to make the team, then yeah, obviously I'd welcome the idea,' he said. 'But right now, I'm just focused on the Sharks. Either way, if they keep the rules, change the rules, they'll do as they see fit. All that is outside my control.' Fonua-Blake is at peace with his Origin exclusion, saying: 'That ship sailed a long time ago for me, and I'm happy representing Tonga and playing for the Sharks.' But he admitted to being 'a bit jealous' every year when the interstate series kicked off. 'They're probably the biggest games on the calendar and you'd love to be a part of it,' he said. 'So yeah, like I said, if the opportunity came along, I wouldn't mind having to go in that arena and see how I go. We'll see what happens, I guess.' Loading Meanwhile, Fonua-Blake was confident an Achilles issue that hindered him during Cronulla's 14-12 win against South Sydney on Saturday was nothing to worry about. He still managed to carry the ball 162 metres and make 20 tackles in his 47 minutes on the field, helping Cronulla to post their third consecutive victory. 'It was an ugly win, but sometimes you've got to win ugly,' Fonua-Blake said. Dragons boss locked in for three more years as recruitment guru arrives Dan Walsh, Michael Chammas Dragons chairman Andrew Lancaster will continue in the role for another three years following changes to the St George Illawarra constitution aimed at providing further off-field stability at the joint-venture club. Lancaster's lengthy extension comes at a critical juncture for the club given last Friday's gallant loss to North Queensland has coach Shane Flanagan staring down a second successive bottom-eight finish, which would extend the Dragons' finals drought to seven seasons. Daniel Anderson starts as recruitment manager at St George Illawarra this week, having been lured from the Roosters, while chief executive Tim Watsford took charge of the club only in June. Lancaster's current three-year tenure was due to expire at the end of this season under terms agreed to following WIN Corporation's purchase of the Steelers' 50 per cent share in the club in 2018. The initial privatisation agreement stipulated a new chair every 12 months on a rotational basis. Between 2018 and 2022, Andrew Gordon, Brian Johnston, Craig Young and Lancaster served in the role, before club policy was changed to guarantee a minimum three-year term for each chair. A similar agreement has now been signed off by the St George Illawarra board. As a result, Lancaster – a member of the board at Nine Entertainment, publisher of this masthead, and WIN chief executive – is now set to remain at the Dragons helm until at least the end of 2028. On the field, Friday's defeat to the Cowboys was St George Illawarra's ninth by eight points or less this season. Had the Red V won half of those tight losses, they would be among the five-team log jam scrambling for a finals spot. Anderson will lead a revamped recruitment department at the club from Monday, with the Dragons in the market for star power up front and in the halves to complement a promising batch of emerging local juniors. NRL is Live and Free on Channel 9 & 9Now
Winnipeg Free Press
4 days ago
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Fernandez advances to Citi Open semifinals with win over former doubles partner
WASHINGTON – Canada's Leylah Fernandez advanced to her first semifinal of the season with a 6-4, 7-6 (4) win over American qualifier and former doubles partner Taylor Townsend on Friday at the Citi Open hardcourt tennis tournament. Fernandez played an aggressive return game against Townsend and had 23 break-point chances, converting five. Still, Fernandez only finished the game one break ahead after defending just three of the seven break-point chances she faced. Fernandez, who advanced to the quarterfinals with a win Thursday over top-seed Jessica Pegula, appeared to be battling cramps in the second set, but held on to win the second set tiebreak. The 22-year-old from Laval, Que., will next face the winner of a match later Friday between third-seed Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan or fifth-seed Magdalena Frech on Poland. The Canadian is rounding into form at the right time, with the main draw of the women's National Bank Open kicking off Sunday in Montreal. Fernandez joins Britain's Emma Raducanu in the semifinals in Washington. It's the first time they have been in the final four of a tournament since they met in the final of the 2021 U.S. Open, which Raducanu won in straight sets. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. Fernandez and Townsend had success as a doubles tandem during the 2023 season. While they did not win a title, they made it to the final of the French Open and the WTA 1000 Miami Open, as well as the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 25, 2025.
Sydney Morning Herald
7 days ago
- Sport
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘Didn't work out': Fifth halves pairing's a charm as Roosters reveal Radley blow
Trent Robinson concedes his surprise Chad Townsend experiment 'didn't work out how we wanted' as he backed Sandon Smith and his fifth halves pairing of 2025 to keep the Roosters finals hopes alive. Smith will partner Sam Walker against Melbourne after an error-strewn loss to Cronulla dropped the Roosters to 10th on the NRL ladder and cost Townsend the No.6 jersey following his first game since April. Robinson also revealed enforcer Victor Radley is expected to miss up to a month with an ongoing shoulder issue despite the back-rower telling reporters on Tuesday that he was not anticipating missing more than a week. Storm coach Craig Bellamy remains unsure of Ryan Papenhuyzen's return from a month-long calf injury, while Melbourne will be without Cameron Munster as he attends his father's funeral and Nelson Asofa-Solomona (suspension). At the Roosters scrum base, Hugo Savala will be sidelined for another week with wrist ligament damage, prompting Smith's recall after he was initially dropped when Walker made his injury comeback. Robinson said before the Sharks clash that Smith was dropped to reserve grade because 'he can play better ', while Townsend had impressed in NSW Cup. Smith was then withdrawn from reserve grade after Townsend's four mistakes against Cronulla and recalled to first grade based on his training in recent weeks. 'It didn't work out how we wanted last week, but I've also been really clear about what I'd like from [Smith] and his improvement,' Robinson said.
The Age
7 days ago
- Sport
- The Age
‘Didn't work out': Fifth halves pairing's a charm as Roosters reveal Radley blow
Trent Robinson concedes his surprise Chad Townsend experiment 'didn't work out how we wanted' as he backed Sandon Smith and his fifth halves pairing of 2025 to keep the Roosters finals hopes alive. Smith will partner Sam Walker against Melbourne after an error-strewn loss to Cronulla dropped the Roosters to 10th on the NRL ladder and cost Townsend the No.6 jersey following his first game since April. Robinson also revealed enforcer Victor Radley is expected to miss up to a month with an ongoing shoulder issue despite the back-rower telling reporters on Tuesday that he was not anticipating missing more than a week. Storm coach Craig Bellamy remains unsure of Ryan Papenhuyzen's return from a month-long calf injury, while Melbourne will be without Cameron Munster as he attends his father's funeral and Nelson Asofa-Solomona (suspension). At the Roosters scrum base, Hugo Savala will be sidelined for another week with wrist ligament damage, prompting Smith's recall after he was initially dropped when Walker made his injury comeback. Robinson said before the Sharks clash that Smith was dropped to reserve grade because 'he can play better ', while Townsend had impressed in NSW Cup. Smith was then withdrawn from reserve grade after Townsend's four mistakes against Cronulla and recalled to first grade based on his training in recent weeks. 'It didn't work out how we wanted last week, but I've also been really clear about what I'd like from [Smith] and his improvement,' Robinson said.
