Latest news with #WTA

Yahoo
an hour ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Aryna Sabalenka withdraws from Canadian Open citing fatigue
World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka has withdrawn from the WTA 1,000 Canadian Open, which begins July 27 in Montreal. Sabalenka cited fatigue following her semifinal run at Wimbledon as her reason for pulling out of the tournament, which is one rung below the Grand Slams. 'I'm looking forward to kicking off the North American hard-court swing, but to give myself the best chance for success this season, I've decided it's in my best interest to skip Montreal,' Sabalenka said in a statement announcing her withdrawal. Sabalenka played the tournament last year, after missing the 2024 Paris Olympic tennis event which directly preceded it. She reached the quarterfinals, losing in three sets to Amanda Anisimova of the U.S. — the player who beat her in this year's Wimbledon semifinals. That defeat took her Grand Slam record for 2025 to two finals and one semifinal, but no titles, having lost the Australian Open final to Madison Keys and the French Open final to Coco Gauff. She has reached seven finals in 2025, playing 56 matches in the year to date and winning three titles. Anisimova, who lost 6-0, 6-0 to Iga Świątek in the Wimbledon final but rose to world No. 7 in the process, has herself withdrawn from the D.C. Open in Washington, D.C., which begins July 21. Defending champion Paula Badosa has also withdrawn due to a persistent injury to her lower back, so the world No. 10 will drop 500 points from her ranking. Olympic gold medalist Zheng Qinwen, who had received a wild card into the main draw, has also been removed from the player list. This article originally appeared in The Athletic. Tennis, Women's Tennis 2025 The Athletic Media Company


Gulf Today
2 hours ago
- Sport
- Gulf Today
Tunisia's Jabeur announces break from tennis to ‘rediscover the joy of living'
Three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur is taking a break from competitive tennis, the 30-year-old said in a social media post on Thursday. Tunisia's Jabeur, the first Arab woman to reach a Grand Slam final, has struggled with her form in recent months, failing to get past the third round of a major this year. The two-time Wimbledon finalist's campaign came to a disappointing end at the All England Club last month as she retired from her first-round clash against Viktoriya Tomova, unable to continue after a long medical timeout. The former world number two suffers from asthma and experienced breathing difficulties at this year's Australian Open. Jabeur, often called the 'minister of happiness' for her cheerful personality, said she was not feeling truly happy on the court. 'For the past two years, I've been pushing myself so hard, fighting through injuries and facing many other challenges. But deep down, I haven't truly felt happy on the court for some time now,' she said in a statement. 'Tennis is such a beautiful sport. But right now, I feel it's time to take a step back and finally put myself first: to breathe, to heal, and to rediscover the joy of simply living.' Jabeur, married to former fencer Karim Kamoun, has also been open about her wish to start a family. 'Thank you to all my fans for understanding. Your support and love mean the world to me. I carry it with me always,' she added. Sabalenka, Badosa pull out of Montreal event: World number one Aryna Sabalenka has withdrawn from the WTA Canadian Open tournament in Montreal due to fatigue, Tennis Canada announced on Wednesday. The 27-year-old from Belarus, runner-up at the Australian and French Opens, comes off semi-final runs at Wimbledon and Berlin and titles at Madrid and Miami. 'I'm looking forward to kicking off the North American hard-court swing, but to give myself the best chance for success this season, I've decided it's in my best interest to skip Montreal,' Sabalenka said. Missing the July 27-Aug. 7 event leaves the reigning US Open champion only one major tuneup, at Cincinnati in August, before she tries to defend her crown on the Flushing Meadows hardcourts. 'I'll miss my amazing Canadian fans, but I'm already looking forward to seeing you all next year,' Sabalenka said. 'Thanks for your understanding and support — it means the world to me.' Sabalenka was upset in the Wimbledon semi-finals by American Amanda Anisimova. 'We're obviously disappointed that Aryna won't be with us this year,' tournament director Valerie Tetreault said. World number 10 Paula Badosa of Spain withdrew from the event due to injury. The two departures opened spots in the main draw for American Caty McNally and Japan's Moyuka Uchijima. Canada's Eugenie Bouchard announced on Wednesday that she will retire from professional tennis after the WTA event in Montreal, her hometown. Agencies

The Hindu
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
Ons Jabeur announces break from tennis ‘to rediscover joy of living'
Ons Jabeur is taking a hiatus from the women's tennis tour, with the three-time major runner-up saying on Thursday (July 17, 2025) she wants to 'rediscover the joy of simply living.' Once ranked No. 2 on the WTA Tour, Jabeur has battled injuries in recent years and has fallen to her current No. 71. The 30-year-old from Tunisia retired because of difficulty breathing during her first-round match at Wimbledon, where she reached the final in 2022 and 2023, and won't be playing as the hard-court swing begins. 'For the past two years, I've been pushing myself so hard, fighting through injuries and facing many other challenges,' Jabeur wrote on Instagram. "But deep down, I haven't felt truly happy on the court for some time now. 'Tennis is such a beautiful sport. But right now, I feel it's time to take a step back and finally put myself first: to breathe, to heal, and to rediscover the joy of simply living.' Jabeur also was the U.S. Open runner-up in 2022, becoming the first woman since Serena Williams in 2019 to reach the final at Wimbledon and Flushing Meadows in the same year. She fell short of becoming the first African or Arab woman to win a Grand Slam title in the professional era, but she climbed to No. 2 in the WTA rankings the next week. She is 15-15 this year after her 2024 season was cut short by a shoulder injury, as she played just once after Wimbledon. Jabeur, popular with other players and fans, thanked the fans in her post. 'Even while I'm away from the court, I'll continue to stay close and connected in different ways, and share this journey with you all," she wrote.


Independent Singapore
4 hours ago
- Sport
- Independent Singapore
'I'll miss my amazing Canadian fans' — Aryna Sabalenka skips Montreal Open after Wimbledon heartbreak, citing fatigue
Photo: Instagram/arynasabalenka According to a statement by Tennis Canada, World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka withdrew from the WTA Canadian Open, citing fatigue. This season, the 27-year-old top-ranked athlete claimed the championship titles in Madrid and Miami. She also reached the semifinals at Wimbledon and Berlin and was runner-up at both the Australian Open and French Open. With this news, Sabalenka admitted: 'I'm looking forward to kicking off the North American hard-court swing, but to give myself the best chance for success this season, I've decided it's in my best interest to skip Montreal.' She added: 'I'll miss my amazing Canadian fans, but I'm already looking forward to seeing you all next year… Thanks for your understanding and support. It means the world to me.' Tournament director Valerie Tetreault said they were disappointed that Aryna Sabalenka would not be participating in this year's event. Other than Sabalenka, Paula Badosa of Spain, who is ranked 10th in the world, also pulled out of the tournament due to injury. The athletes' withdrawal gave opportunities for Caty McNally from the United States and Moyuka Uchijima from Japan to enter the main draw. Meanwhile, Canadian player Eugenie Bouchard announced she will retire from professional tennis after playing at the WTA event in Montreal–her hometown. The 31-year-old athlete once ranked World No. 5. Her best playing year was 2014, when she had best results at each of the Grand Slam tournaments–she reached the Wimbledon final and made it to the semifinals at both the Australian Open and the French Open. She advanced to the fourth round of the US Open as well. Sabalenka's 2025 Wimbledon loss At the recently concluded Wimbledon tournament, Aryna Sabalenka admitted that she was disappointed after being defeated 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 by Amanda Anisimova in the semifinals. Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam where the top-ranked athlete hasn't reached the final. In the past five years, she has lost in the semifinals three times. With this, Sabalenka stated that losing feels like she ' doesn't want to exist any more. ' The athlete said: ' Losing sucks… You always feel like you want to die, you don't want to exist any more, and this is the end of your life… Every time you compete at that tournament, and you get to the last stages, you think you're getting close to your dream. Then you lose the match, and you feel like, 'okay, this is the end.'' Read more about Aryna Sabalenka's 2025 Wimbledon defeat here. () => { const trigger = if ('IntersectionObserver' in window && trigger) { const observer = new IntersectionObserver((entries, observer) => { => { if ( { lazyLoader(); // You should define lazyLoader() elsewhere or inline here // Run once } }); }, { rootMargin: '800px', threshold: 0.1 }); } else { // Fallback setTimeout(lazyLoader, 3000); } });

Kuwait Times
5 hours ago
- Sport
- Kuwait Times
World No.1 Sabalenka pulls out of WTA Montreal event
WIMBLEDON: Belarus's Aryna Sabalenka uses a bag of ice to cool down during a break in a match at the 2025 Wimbledon Championships in Wimbledon, southwest London, on July 10, 2025. - AFP MONTREAL: World number one Aryna Sabalenka has withdrawn from the WTA Canadian Open tournament in Montreal due to fatigue, Tennis Canada announced on Wednesday. The 27-year-old from Belarus, runner-up at the Australian and French Opens, comes off semi-final runs at Wimbledon and Berlin and titles at Madrid and Miami. 'I'm looking forward to kicking off the North American hard-court swing, but to give myself the best chance for success this season, I've decided it's in my best interest to skip Montreal,' Sabalenka said. Missing the July 27-August 7 event leaves the reigning US Open champion only one major tuneup, at Cincinnati in August, before she tries to defend her crown on the Flushing Meadows hardcourts. 'I'll miss my amazing Canadian fans, but I'm already looking forward to seeing you all next year,' Sabalenka said. 'Thanks for your understanding and support -- it means the world to me.' Sabalenka was upset in the Wimbledon semi-finals by American Amanda Anisimova. 'We're obviously disappointed that Aryna won't be with us this year,' tournament director Valerie Tetreault said. World number 10 Paula Badosa of Spain withdrew from the event due to injury. The two departures opened spots in the main draw for American Caty McNally and Japan's Moyuka Uchijima. Canada's Eugenie Bouchard announced on Wednesday that she will retire from professional tennis after the WTA event in Montreal, her hometown. Bouchard, 31, rose as high as fifth in the world rankings and enjoyed her best career season in 2014 when she reached her only Grand Slam singles final at Wimbledon. She also made semi-final runs that year at the Australian and French Opens and reached the fourth round at the US Open, her best career showings in each of the Grand Slam tournaments. — AFP