Bia’s back allows Bibi boost into Tokyo quarters
THERE was a sense of empathy coming from one side of the net to the other when injury-prone Bianca Andreescu shook hands with second seed Beatriz Haddad Maia after just three games. Haddad Maia suffered a left back injury and had to retire at 0-3 down in the opening set of the pair’s Pan Pacific […]
Katie Boults into Tokyo second round
BRITISH ninth seed Katie Boulter wasted no time in dismissing Australian qualifier Priscilla Hon to race into the Round of 16 at the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo overnight. The sole seed in action, and only match that did not contain a local Japanese hope, Boulter needed just 77 minutes to get past Hon 6-1 […]
Around the Tour: Upstaged in Antwerp; upsets galore
THERE was no shortage of upsets across multiple ATP and WTA Tour events overnight, but the major results came in Antwerp where three of the lower ranked players took out the top three seeds. In what was a dismantling day, number one seed Alex de Minaur, number two seed Stefanos Tsitsipas and number three seed […]
Around the Tour: Saito strikes in Osaka
PROMISING Japanese teenager Sara Saito is through to the quarter finals on WTA debut in her home tournament. The 18-year-old and former junior world number two upset talented fifth seed Elina Avanesyan to book her place in the last eight of the WTA Tour Japan Open. Saito had to work hard early, saving two set […]
Around the Tour: Mirra magic as Kenin curbed
IN THE wake of the respective WTA and ATP Tour 1000 events in Wuhan and Shanghai that were won by tournament top seeds Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner respectively, a lot of the lower ranked players headed to tournaments across the globe. In today’s Around the Tour, we take a look at the sole 500 […]
Experienced Erika wins battle of the Andreevas
DESPITE being ranked 51 spots lower in the world and only reaching the main draw of the Wuhan Open due to a lucky loser spot, Erika Andreeva crushed younger sister Mirra in the pair’s first ever professional match against one another. Three years her senior, Erika had won 33 of 57 matches coming into Wuhan, […]
Local hopes triumph in Wuhan
CHINESE duo Xinyu Wang and Yue Yuan both secured their spots in the second round of the Wuhan Open after first-up victories against opponents on Centre Court. The Chinese duo ranked 51st and 41st respectively were able to knock off American Caroline Dolehide and Frenchwoman Clara Burel in vastly different circumstances. While Wang was able […]
Osaka cruises towards Coco in Beijing
TWO Grand Slam winners will face off in the fourth round of the China Open after former world number one Naomi Osaka raced through to the Round of 16 following a 6-3 6-2 triumph over American Katie Volynets. The Japanese star will now set her sights on Coco Gauff in what promises to be a […]
Best local hope breezes into Beijing third round
WORLD number seven Qinwen Zheng wasted no time asserting her authority on the second round match at her home WTA 1000 tournament, defeating Russian lucky loser Kamilla Rakhimova in an hour and 15 minutes, dropping just two games along the way. It was Zheng’s first career win at the event with plenty of support cheering […]
Brilliant Bia produces memorable title win
COMING back from a disappointing first set, Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia produced a Korea Open final to remember. The South American who is ranked 17th in the world was seeded three at the WTA Tour event in Seoul, and overcame an early challenge from top seeded Russian Daria Kasatkina to win 1-6 6-4 6-1. In […]
