Schmied-over for Anna Karolina as Pole produces historic win
POLAND has its first Olympic medal in tennis after world number one Iga Swiatek overpowered Slovakia’s Anna Karolina Schmiedlova to win the bronze medal. Not even needing an hour to defeat Schmiedlova, Swiatek again proved why she has been so dominant on clay for so long, winning 6-2, 6-1. Swiatek dominanted the service winners 15 […]
Qinwen in seventh heaven, reaches Olympic final
AFTER half a dozen losses to Iga Swiatek, Chinese Top 10 talent Qinwen Zheng found the winning formula to defeat the world number one and reach the 2024 Paris Olympics Gold Medal Match. In a match that was riddled with errors and breaks of serve early, it was Zheng who kicked away in the second […]
Mixed doubles means more mixed up expectations
IF there is one thing to learn from the mixed doubles draw at the 2024 Olympics, it is that rankings are often nothing more than just a number. American third seeds Coco Gauff and Taylor Fritz learnt this the hard way, losing to their northern neighbours Gabriela Dabrowski and Felix Auger-Aliassime in three sets. The […]
Schmiedlova scorches Paolini to defy ranking
THE SURPRISES keep on coming in the women’s singles draw at the 2024 Paris Olympics, with fourth seed Jasmine Paolini the latest seed to fall. The Italian proved to be no match for Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, with the Slovak winning 7-5, 3-6, 7-5. It was a match littered with double faults, with Paolini serving seven […]
Rankings don’t mean much with surprises aplenty in mixed doubles
THE Mixed Doubles competition of the 2024 Olympics got underway at Roland Garros overnight, and right out of the gate the surprises came. German pair Laura Siegemund and Alexander Zverev found out the hard way that their number one ranking was merely a number after they succumbed to Czech pair Katerina Siniakova and Tomas Machac […]
Svitolina shocks Pegula but others have an easier time
NOT too many seeds have fallen yet in the women’s singles yet at these Olympics, but American Jessica Pegula added her name to that list after Elina Svitolina beat her 4-6, 6-1, 6-3. In a match that lasted an hour and 47 minutes, once Svitolina got going she progressively got through the sets at a […]
Raducanu returns to roll Renata
BRITISH wildcard Emma Raducanu has returned to the scene where he career exploded three years earlier, winning in straight set in the first round of Wimbledon. In front of a passionate home crowd, the nation’s talented young gun who rose to fame in 2021 after reaching a fourth round at the All-England club then remarkable […]
Paolini powers into first Grand Slam final
ITALIAN surprise packet Jasmine Paolini will enter the top 10 on Monday after reaching the 2024 Roland Garros women’s singles final. The 28-year-old by her own admission was a little late to finding her peak form, but now the Italian is one win away from becoming a Grand Slam champion. Overnight, Paolini stormed past giant-killing […]
Rybakina romps to Roland Garros rout
FOURTH seed Elena Rybakina was in no mood to waste time overnight at Roland Garros, kick-starting the claycourt Grand Slam with a dominant 6-2 6-3 victory over Belgian Greet Minnen. The Kazakh was unstoppable at times, and once she found her rhythm, her opponent had no answers. Despite the world number 85 being able to […]
Osaka eases into Madrid second round
JAPANESE Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka made it through to the second round of the 2024 Madrid Open overnight with a dominant 79-minute win over Belgian lucky loser, Greet Minnen. The former world number one is still returning to the WTA Tour, but gained her first clay court win in two years at the WTA […]
