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 […]
Zheng zips into Wuhan quarters
PROVIDING a local chance in the final four, fifth seed Qinwen Zheng overcame Leylah Fernandez for the first time in three meetings. The Chinese hope has reached the last eight in her past three tournaments, being the US Open, China Open and now Wuhan Open, the latest coming from a huge 5-7 6-3 6-0 triumph […]
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 […]
2024 US Open preview: Women’s singles
LAST year’s US Open threw up plenty of surprises for the women’s singles, with American young gun Coco Gauff riding a wave of support to claim her first Grand Slam title in a come-from-behind victory. Can she go back-to-back or will another top star stand up and lift the trophy aloft? Top eight seeds Gauff […]
Czechia claims top gong in historic mixed doubles win
CZECHIA is the toast of mixed doubles tennis at the Paris Olympics, after Katerina Siniakova and Tomas Machac proved too strong for China’s Xinyu Wang and Zhizhen Zhang in the gold medal match. In a match that lasted about an hour and a quarter, the Czach duo ultimately prevailed in the third set tie breaker […]
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 […]
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 […]
Barbora battles valiant Tormo but ultimately prevails
NINTH seed Barbora Krejcikova was certainly made to work for her first round win at Roland Garros, but ultimately prevailed 4-6, 6-0, 7-6(3) over Spaniard Sara Sorribes Tormo to progress to the second round. In a match that lasted just under three hours, the Spaniard defied her world ranking of in the 80s for much […]
Svitolina sails through despite adversity
ELINA Svitolina has given a dominating performance in the fourth round of Wimbledon despite horrific news back home, downing China’s Xinyu Wang 6-2, 6-1. It was a classy performance from the 21st seed, who comfortably won all the key stats, including aces, double faults, winners and first serve in percentage. This result came off the […]
