Tsurenko overcomes early Bia bagel
UNPREDICTABLE Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko showed the best and worst of her game in a three-set win over local hope Bianca Andreescu in Toronto’s National Bank Open. The world number 85 – who has the most match retirements or walkovers on Tour with 20 in the past three years – looked in danger early after losing […]
Linette, Andreeva lift titles set to face off in Paris
ON a day where the two WTA Tour finals featured players from the same nation in each respect, it was the higher ranked player in each case that got the chocolates. In Prague, Magda Linette crushed her Polish countrywoman Magdalena Frech 6-2 6-1, while in Iasi it was top seed Mirra Andreeva proving too strong […]
Noskova blasts into Prague semis
TOP seed Linda Noskova wasted no time in reaching the 2024 Prague Open semi-finals overnight, blasting her way to the final four in just 68 minutes on court. The 19-year-old beat fellow teenager, German Ella Seidel in a dominant 6-1 6-3 performance as her three other semi-finalists all spent more than two hours on the […]
Czech it out: Samson stuns Siniakova
CZECH wunderkind Laura Samson wasted no time announcing herself on the big stage against a quality opponent, shocking her far more experienced compatriot Katerina Siniakova in front of home fans at the Prague Open overnight. Samson – who turned 16 in March – is a former junior girls number one, and shortened her surname this […]
Raducanu rolls in Eastbourne second round
LOCAL young gun and US Open champion Emma Raducanu kick-started her Rothesay International campaign off with a convincing 6-4 6-0 domination of another US Open winner Sloane Stephens. Both players have had similar troubles since breaking out with a major win, with Raducanu’s unheard of race from qualifier to Grand Slam champion particularly a tough […]
Gracheva stuns Sakkari in Roland Garros boilover
FORMER Top 40 talent Varvara Gracheva has stunned the Roland Garros crowd by coming from behind to knock over sixth seed Maria Sakkari. The current world number 88 – who was playing her first Roland Garros under the French flag since changing allegiances from Russia – is yet to win a WTA Tour title, but […]
Indian Wells D4 wrap: Gael storms into Pole’s position
FRENCH veteran Gael Monfils has enjoyed a career resurgence in 2024, and that continued in the second round of Indian Wells when he stunned eighth seeded Pole, Hubert Hurkacz. The 37-year-old Monfils bagelled the unsuspecting Hurkacz in the first set, and after losing the second in a tiebreaker stepped back ip to the plate to […]
Swiatek’s swift surge to Doha title
WORLD number one Iga Swiatek made light work of the rest of the competition at Doha, claiming the WTA 500 title in just three hours. That was not the length of the final, but rather, the entire tournament, as Swiatek dropped just five games in three matches, as well as having a first round bye […]
Brilliant Bencic belts Kasatkina in Adelaide
SWISS star Belinda Bencic has dominated her way through the Adelaide International final en route to a WTA 500 title. Winning her first title in Australia, the number eight seed completely took Russian fifth seed Daria Kasatkina to the cleaners in the opening set before running out a 6-0 6-2 winner in just 67 minutes […]
Sakkari sets Greece up for great win
GREECE is on the board officially in the 2022 United Cup, with a double-up performance from Maria Sakkari helping secure a 4-1 win over Bulgaria and open the tournament with a win. After leading 2-0 from the opening day, Sakkari won her individual singles match, then came back and got the job done alongside fellow […]