Latest news with #WTA125
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
World number 361 Boisson stuns third seed Pegula
French Open 2025 Dates: 25 May-8 June Venue: Roland Garros Coverage: Live radio commentaries across 5 Live Sport and BBC Sounds, plus live text commentaries on the BBC Sport website and app World number 361 Lois Boisson pulled off the biggest shock of this year's French Open with a stunning fourth-round victory against third seed Jessica Pegula. The French player, given a wildcard into the main draw after tearing an anterior cruciate ligament in her knee last year, came through 3-6 6-4 6-4 against the US Open runner-up. Advertisement Boisson is making her debut in the main draw of a Grand Slam and had never played an opponent ranked in the world's top 50 before this week. The 22-year-old had to stave off four break points as she served for the match at 5-4 in the third set before sealing victory with a thumping forehand winner. Boisson was serenaded by chants of "Lois!" from the packed crowd on Court Philippe Chatrier as the moment finally sank in. "I'm not sure what to say. Playing on this court, with this atmosphere, was amazing," Boisson said. "I gave my all and in the end I won, which is just incredible. I hope I'm going to win it all!" Advertisement She will play sixth seed Mirra Andreeva for a place in the Paris semi-finals. Boisson is the lowest-ranked player to reach the French Open fourth round since Serena Williams, who was then world number 451 and rarely playing on tour, in 2018. She is also the lowest-ranked player to reach a major quarter-final since world number 418 Kaia Kanepi at the 2017 US Open. Things looked very different for Boisson 12 months ago. After a successful series of performances at WTA 125 tournaments - the third rung of women's tennis - Boisson was given a wildcard for her home Grand Slam. However, a week before the clay-court tournament began, Boisson tore her ACL in her left knee. She was unable to bring herself to watch last year's French Open and subsequently missed nine months of the season. Advertisement A tattoo of the word 'resilience' on her right elbow is there to remind her that the hard work is worth it - and victory over Pegula is conclusive proof of that. She was undone by Pegula's consistency in the first set, the American using the drop shot to great effect, before finding her footing in the second. She went a break up on Pegula but immediately lost it, before the pressure told on Pegula at 4-4. Two easy misses and a scintillating backhand winner from Boisson allowed her to serve for the set, which she promptly did to love to force a decider. Buoyed by the crowd, Boisson went a break up straight away, but Pegula kept chipping away and levelled the set as the home favourite's nerves showed. Advertisement However, at 4-4 Pegula again blinked first. Boisson broke and served out the match by saving break points with a mix of deft touch and power. She let out a roar of celebration after securing victory and stood in the middle of the court with her arms aloft to soak in the atmosphere. Boisson is the first French woman to reach the Roland Garros last eight since Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic in 2017.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Brits rise and fall at French Open as Boulter bows out and Norrie battles on
Court Philippe-Chatrier is one of the broadest tennis courts in the world, meaning when things are going badly and the match is rapidly falling away, it makes for a painfully lonely place to be. A day after Emma Raducanu learned this during her heavy defeat by the defending champion Iga Swiatek, Katie Boulter endured a similarly miserable experience as she was comprehensively beaten 6-1, 6-3 by the Australian Open champion Madison Keys in the second round of the French Open. Related: Raducanu accepts French Open defeat by Swiatek shows gap to leading players Landing in the path of a recent grand slam champion is rarely good news but there were reasons for Boulter, the British No 1, to be hopeful before her match with Keys. Rather than potentially facing a tricky, cunning clay specialist who could make her extremely uncomfortable, the tactics were at least simple for both: attack first. Although both players attempt to play an uncompromising first-strike game, dictating opponents with their serve and forehands, Keys is simply a better player. Boulter's relative deficiencies were particularly clear on serve. The American has long established herself as one of the best servers in the world, her precise, destructive first delivery complemented by her tricky, consistent top-spin second effort. The British player is far more temperamental. On a good day, when she finds rhythm and is striking her ground strokes cleanly, Boulter can certainly perform at a high level and she possesses enough weapons to trouble the best players in the world. It was a poor day with ball in hand for Boulter, however, and it did not take long for her second serve to crumble under the pressure inflicted by Keys, who hunted it down without hesitation. The British No 1, ranked 38th in the world, struck nine double faults, including three times on break point to give away the first three breaks of the match. Her serving did not give her a realistic chance. Although the surface will always be a significant challenge for Boulter, her second clay court season has still represented a positive step forward. She won her first clay court title at any level in the WTA 125 event in Paris just before the French Open and her opening round win against Carole Monnet was her first main draw victory at the French Open. She will now head to the grass, her favourite surface, with higher expectations and greater opportunities. Related: French Open: Djokovic in action, Boulter out, Sinner and Norrie through – live Sonay Kartal, the British No 3, fell 6-1, 6-4 to Marie Bouzkova in the second round after an extremely physical, arduous battle. Having won her first French Open match on her debut, the 23-year-old from London continues to make positive, steady progress and she could break into the world's top 50 for the first time in her career after the tournament, depending on other results. In the men's draw, Cameron Norrie continued to gain momentum as he followed up his spectacular first-round win over Daniil Medvedev, the 11th seed, with an efficient 7-6 (7), 6-2, 6-1 victory over Federico Agustin Gomez of Argentina. After a tough opening set against Gomez, a lucky loser with a searing forehand who was competing in a grand slam tournament for the first time in his career, Norrie relaxed and cruised to victory:'I played a very steady kind of 6, 7 out of 10 for the whole time,' the world No 81 said. 'It showed in the score. I was very happy with the way I handled it. I felt I didn't play amazing, didn't play that badly. Didn't give him much. So it was a good day.' Norrie will next face a fellow British player in the third round after Jacob Fearnley advanced at the expense of 22nd seed Ugo Humbert, after the Frenchman retired with an injury. Fearnley won the first set 6-4 with the second level at 4-4 when the match was cut short. Arthur Fils, the 20-year-old French No 1, finally made his mark at his home grand slam tournament as he fought through injury to complete an incredible comeback victory against Jaume Munar of Spain, winning 7-6 (3), 7-6 (4), 2-6, 0-6, 6-4 after four hours and 25 minutes. The French youngster led by two sets but began to struggle with both a back injury and cramps, quickly losing the third and fourth. From a break down in the final set, at the urging of a deafening Court Suzanne-Lenglen crowd, he pulled off a spectacular recovery to reach the third round at Roland Garros for the first time. 'This is my best match of all time,' said Fils. 'I have had big matches before, but I have never had a match like this in five sets before.'
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Naomi Osaka advances in Rome as comeback continues
On the heels of collecting her first tournament title since becoming a mother, former world No. 1 Naomi Osaka rallied to victory Thursday in the third round of the Italian Open tennis tournament in Rome. Osaka dropped the first set to Switzerland's Viktorija Golubic, but came back for a 2-6, 7-5, 6-1 win. Last week in Saint-Malo, France, Osaka rode a wild-card entry in the WTA 125 tournament to her first title since the 2021 Australian Open – and did it on arguably her worst surface. "That's one of my favorite things about life though, there's always room to grow and evolve," she wrote in a post on X. Kinda ironic to win my first trophy back on the surface that I thought was my worst. That's one of my favorite things about life though, there's always room to grow and evolve. Thanks to everyone accompanying me on this journey, I know it's turbulent but it's also really fun and… — NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@naomiosaka) May 4, 2025 Osaka, 27, returned to playing competitively at the start of last year after giving birth to a daughter in July 2023. With the win, the four-time Grand Slam champion saw her world ranking jump to No. 48 in the May 5 update. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Naomi Osaka rallies to victory in Italian Open's third round
USA Today
08-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Naomi Osaka advances in Rome as comeback continues
Naomi Osaka advances in Rome as comeback continues On the heels of collecting her first tournament title since becoming a mother, former world No. 1 Naomi Osaka rallied to victory Thursday in the third round of the Italian Open tennis tournament in Rome. Osaka dropped the first set to Switzerland's Viktorija Golubic, but came back for a 2-6, 7-5, 6-1 win. Last week in Saint-Malo, France, Osaka rode a wild-card entry in the WTA 125 tournament to her first title since the 2021 Australian Open – and did it on arguably her worst surface. "That's one of my favorite things about life though, there's always room to grow and evolve," she wrote in a post on X. Osaka, 27, returned to playing competitively at the start of last year after giving birth to a daughter in July 2023. With the win, the four-time Grand Slam champion saw her world ranking jump to No. 48 in the May 5 update.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Emma Raducanu into second round of Italian Open after win over Maya Joint
Emma Raducanu celebrates winning a point during her victory over Maya Joint in Rome. Photograph:Emma Raducanu continued her clay-court education in the notoriously slow, heavy nighttime conditions at the Italian Open as she held off a spirited comeback from the Australian 19-year-old Maya Joint and quelled her own nerves to reach the second round with a gritty 7-5, 6-7 (1), 6-3 win. The victory is Raducanu's first in Rome in her second appearance at the event. In 2022, the only other time she had competed in this tournament, Raducanu was forced to retire in the first round against Bianca Andreescu. She will next tackle a familiar face in Ekaterina Alexandrova, the 21st seed, an opponent she has already battled twice this year. Related: 'I've been burnt a few times': Emma Raducanu on betrayal and A-levels Before the tournament, Raducanu had expressed her intention to play more offensive tennis on clay rather than falling into a passive mindset. Even though the playing conditions were further slowed in the cool evening air, she stepped on to the court determined to dictate terms from inside the baseline. Despite trailing by a break early in the opening set, Raducanu found her best level in the decisive moments. With the first set secured, Raducanu relaxed and produced her best stretch of tennis of the match to establish a 5-3 lead. A game away from victory, however, she played a tentative service game at 5-4 and was punished by her teenage opponent, who played her most impressive attacking tennis in the final stages of the set, particularly lasering her backhand down-the-line without hesitation. Although Raducanu held on for a tie-break, she could not halt the momentum as Joint rolled through to force a final set. Raducanu opted to take a bathroom break before the final set and she returned to the court energised, reestablishing her court position inside the baseline and shutting the youngster out as she dominated the final set to seal an essential win. Naomi Osaka continued her attempts to build confidence and momentum on clay as she defeated Sara Errani 6-2, 6-3 to reach the second round in Rome. Osaka has now won six consecutive matches on clay, her longest winning streak at any level on the surface, after winning the St Malo WTA 125 title last week. Osaka's presence in St Malo marked her first appearance at any lower-level tournament in nearly 10 years, when she was rising up the rankings for the first time as a teenager. 'I just wanted to focus on the tennis,' Osaka said. 'I wanted to rack up experience on clay. I didn't really have too much of an ego playing that tournament. I've always told people that I'm OK, like, playing on Court 16 if I have to anyways. The reason I came back wasn't to play on centre courts all the time, it's because I really enjoy the game. I just want to see what I can do.' After previously opting against competing on the WTA 125 circuit, the WTA's equivalent of the ATP Challenger circuit, Osaka made the decision to compete there after an opening round loss at the Madrid Open. Osaka departed the tournament frustrated and she spent days after her loss in Madrid unable to escape her own thoughts. 'I hate inconveniencing people,' said Osaka of her tendency to overthink when things aren't going well. 'I don't really like to talk to people if I have problems. I'd rather just solve it by myself. In that aspect, obviously with Patrick [Mouratoglou, her coach] we talk, but sometimes I don't tell him exactly what I'm thinking.' 'After Madrid, going into St Malo, we had a conversation about me telling him exactly how I feel before going into matches. Even today I told him that I was nervous obviously because I want to do well here coming off the win that I just had. So that definitely helped a lot. I think overall just being grateful for life, for I guess being healthy, has helped me out a lot. I think as a tennis player, as a tennis person, I care so much about winning that I don't see the full picture sometimes.' Elsewhere, Cameron Norrie took full advantage of his good fortune in Rome as he produced a solid performance to move into the second round with a 6-3, 6-2 win against Christopher O'Connell of Australia. Norrie, who is ranked No 91 in the world and trying to rebuild his form and ranking after a difficult 18 months on the tour, had fallen in the final round of the qualifying draw to Dusan Lajovic of Serbia in three sets. He eventually received a second chance, replacing an injured player in the main draw as a lucky loser. There was no such luck for Katie Boulter, the British No 2, whose struggles on her worst surface continued as she was defeated 6-3, 6-3 by the former French Open runner-up Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
