Sramk-ova for ‘Danimal’ as Slovakia stuns USA
DESPITE bringing a half-strength side to the Billie Jean King Cup, few would have predicted that super power tennis national the United States could not get past Slovakia in the first round of the knockout stage. However that was exactly the case with the world number fives suffering a shock 2-1 defeat to the 10th […]
2024 BJK Cup Finals preview
TWELVE teams remain in the hunt for the 2024 Billie Jean King Cup title, which kicks off overnight with the first of the knockout matches. While four nations – Canada, Australia, Czech Republic and Italy – have a first round bye, another eight are battling it out to reach the quarter finals. We take a […]
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 […]
Turkish qualifier upsets Pole in Tokyo
AN EARLY upset on day one saw Turkish qualifier Zeynep Sonmez take out seventh seed Magdalena Frech to reach the second round of the WTA 500 event in Tokyo. Sonmez – ranked 148th in the world – defeated Frech 1-6 6-4 6-3, coming back from the brink to post the victory in an hour and […]
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, […]
Tenacious Tomova fends off match points in Wuhan
BULGARIAN 29-year-old Viktoriya Tomova has snatched victory from the jaws of defeat after surving four match points against during a frantic second set tiebreaker to defeat young American Ashlyn Krueger in Wuhan overnight. The WTA Tour 1000 event’s second day saw the world number 48 come back from 3-6 down in the second set tiebreaker […]
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 […]
Sorribes Tormo survives four-hour marathon in Beijing
SPANIARD Sara Sorribes Tormo survived the fourth longest WTA Tour match in Open era history with a come-from-behind win over Chinese wildcard Gao Xinyu in an epic four-hour and 15-minute battle at the China Open in Beijing. In what can only be described as a battle of attrition, the 104th ranked Sorribes Tormo came back […]
Maya collects maiden major win
AUSTRALIAN teenager Maya Joint‘s breakthrough past 12 months rolled on at WTA Tour level by claiming her first senior Grand Slam main draw win in the first round of the US Open. The Aussie 18-year-old defeated German Laura Siegemund 6-4 7-5, and though almost squandering a 5-0 lead in the second set, recomposed herself to […]
