Deadly Dane shocks Sabs in Dubai domination
FOR THE greatest current hard court player, world number one Aryna Sabalenka sure is making a habit of losing on hard courts of late. Since her run to the Australian Open final – and narrowly missing a three-peat – the Belarussian has won just one match – against qualifier Veronika Kudermetova – and lost three, […]
Analysis: Coco Gauff’s forehand woes return
FOR SUCH an incredibly talented young player, world number three Coco Gauff has two major weaknesses in her game. The first is her serve, which she deliberately targeted at the end of the 2024 WTA Tour season by hiring technical coach Matt Daly to improve her high number of double faults that were costing her […]
Penko powers past Swiatek to deny four-peat
OF COURSE it just had to be ‘Penko’. The only player in four years that could stop Iga Swiatek in Doha, Latvian hard-hitter Jelena Ostapenko not only beat the world number two in the event where she has won the past three titles, but completely humbled her in a one-sided contest. Ostapenko ran out a […]
2025 WTA Tour preview: Qatar Open
THE first of back-to-back WTA1000 tournaments kick off this week with the Qatar Open taking place in Doha. It follows on from the WTA500 event in Abu Dhabi, and concludes in Dubai the following week with a second WTA1000 event. We take a look at what to expect from the tournament. All eyes will be […]
Poise over power the Key-s to Madison’s first Slam triumph
MADISON Keys is the new Queen of Melbourne Park, after she defeated two time reigning champion Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 to win the Women’s Singles title at the 2025 Australian Open. The win was also her first ever Grand Slam title, achieving the goal on her second go in a Grand Slam singles final. […]
Expectations falter as one top seed wins but one does not
IN A year where many thought it would be the top two seeds making it through to the Women’s Singles Final at the Australian Open, that is certainly not what has happened as Aryna Sabalenka and Madison Keys were the ones to emerge victorious out of the Semi Finals. In the earlier of yesterday’s semi […]
Contrasting quarters creates intriguing semi
YESTERDAY’S two quarter final winners in the women’s singles of the Australian Open had two very contrasting days. 19th seed Madison Keys was on court for almost two hours, but ultimately came back from a set down to beat Elina Svitolina 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. Keys served double the number of aces that Svitolina did (six […]
Keys picks the lock to final eight once again
MADISON Keys’ strong start to the 2025 calendar year has continued, after the American upset Elena Rybakina to move through to the quarter finals for the fourth time at the Australian Open. The tournament’s 19th seed won the first set, had a dip in the second then came back hard in the third to win […]
Lys’ lucky loser ride continues into week two
ONE OF the most remarkable stories of this year’s Australian Open is that of German Eva Lys. From missing out on the final round of qualifying to becoming a lucky loser with five minutes notice, she is now into the second week of the Australian Open after defeating Jaqueline Cristian yesterday. In a hard fought, […]
Lower seeds reach greater heights in Adelaide
THERE was a common theme across both singles finals at the Adelaide International, with both winners being the player seeded lower out of the two combatants. In the women’s final, Madison Keys overcame an injury scare and good friend Jessica Pegula to win 6-3 4-6 6-1 and claim her ninth career singles title. Keys took […]
