Tennis Page 26 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
Aryna Sabalenka clinches semifinal spot at WTA Finals Riyadh
World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus defeated No. 4 seed Jasmine Paolini of Italy 6-3, 7-5 on Monday to improve to 2-0 at the WTA Finals Riyadh and guarantee herself a spot in the semifinals in Saudi Arabia.,Sabalenka opened the tournament Saturday with a straight-sets victory over China's Qinwen ...
WTA roundup: Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek win openers in Riyadh
World No. 3 Coco Gauff and No. 2 Iga Swiatek of Poland won their respective opening matches of the Orange Group at the WTA Finals Riyadh in Saudi Arabia. ,Gauff posted a 6-3, 6-2 victory over No. 6 Jessica Pegula, while Swiatek rallied from a first-set misstep to notch a 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 victory over W...
WTA roundup: Viktorija Golubic wins first title in 8 years in China
The long wait is over for Viktorija Golubic.,The Swiss player came from a break down in the second set to earn her first win in eight years and second overall WTA Tour championship by defeating No.2 seed Rebecca Sramkova 6-3, 7-5 in the Jiangxi Open on Sunday in Jiujiang, China. ,Golubic, 32, won in...
WTA roundup: Aryna Sabalenka opens WTA Finals with sweep
No. 1 seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus had little trouble getting past China's Qinwen Zheng in a group-stage match at the WTA Finals on Saturday, prevailing 6-3, 6-4 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. ,Sabalenka finished with just three aces to Zheng's eight, but she won 31 of 33 first-serve points and rallied...
WTA roundup: Top seeds to face off for Hong Kong title
No. 2 seed Katie Boulter of Great Britain moved to her third final of the year after defeating No. 6 seed Yuan Yue of China 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 at the Hong Kong Tennis Open on Saturday.,She won earlier this season at San Diego and Nottingham and will face top-seeded Diana Shnaider of Russia on Sunday for ...
Elena Rybakina hires Novak Djokovic's former coach
World No. 5 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan announced the hiring Friday of Novak Djokovic's former coach, Goran Ivanisevic, for the 2025 season.,Rybakina, 25, split with longtime coach Stefano Vukov this summer. The 2022 Wimbledon champion is an eight-time winner on the WTA Tour, including three titles...
WTA roundup: Top 3 seeds reach Hong Kong semifinals
No. 1 seed Diana Shnaider outlasted Suzan Lamens 6-0, 6-7 (4), 6-2 on Friday to advance to the semifinals of the Hong Kong Tennis Open.,Russia's Shnaider converted nine of 11 break points against her Dutch opponent in the 1-hour, 52-minute victory, setting up a meeting with No. 3 Leylah Fernandez of...
WTA roundup: Leylah Fernandez reaches Hong Kong quarters
No. 3 seed Leylah Fernandez of Canada reached the quarterfinals with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Australia's Kimberly Birrell on Thursday at the Hong Kong Tennis Open.,The defending champion saved all three break points in the 80-minute victory and will face ninth-seeded Bernarda Pera in the round of eight....
WTA roundup: Top seeds Diana Shnaider, Marie Bouzkova head into quarters
Top-seeded Diana Shnaider breezed past Australia's Priscilla Hon 6-4, 6-1 to reach the quarterfinal round at the Hong Kong Tennis Open on Wednesday. ,The Russian needed just 72 minutes to advance to her eighth WTA quarterfinal of the season. Shnaider was aided by converting five of six break opportu...
WTA roundup: Diana Shnaider wins opener in Hong Kong
Top-seeded Diana Shnaider recorded a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Kyoka Okamura on Tuesday in the first round of the Hong Kong Open.,Shnaider, of Russia, fired three aces and won 26 of 32 points on her first serve to dispatch the Japanese native in 77 minutes.,No. 3 seed Leylah Fernandez of Canada took adv...
WTA roundup: Yuan Yue rallies to win in Hong Kong
No. 6 seed Yuan Yue came back from down 3-0 in the second set to win the last six games of the match and defeat former world No. 1 Simona Halep on Monday in the opening round of the Hong Kong Open. ,Yue fired 22 winners and committed 12 unforced errors to beat Halep 6-3, 6-3.,The home court was also...
WTA roundup: Qinwen Zheng KOs Sofia Kenin, wins Pan Pacific Open
Top-seeded Qinwen Zheng outlasted wild card Sofia Kenin 7-6 (5), 6-3 to win the final of the Pan Pacific Open on Sunday in Tokyo.,Zheng, of China, fired 16 aces to dispatch Kenin in one hour, 52 minutes and claim her third WTA Tour singles title of the year and fifth of her career. She also won the ...
WTA roundup: Sofia Kenin reaches Tokyo finals, seeks first win since 2020
Sofia Kenin qualified for her first singles final of 2024, defeating Katie Boulter of Great Britain 6-4, 6-4 on Saturday to set up a finals showdown with top seed Qinwen Zheng at the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo.,Kenin, who won the 2020 Australian Open and reached No. 4 in the world that season, has be...
WTA roundup: Sofia Kenin upsets Daria Kasatkina in Tokyo
Sofia Kenin advanced to the Toray Pan Pacific Open semifinals with a 6-3, 6-4 upset of No. 3 seed Daria Kasatkina on Friday in Tokyo.,Kenin converted six of 10 break points and eliminated her Russian opponent in 78 minutes. She will meet ninth-seeded Katie Boulter of Great Britain, a 6-2, 6-1 winner...
WTA roundup: Top seed Qinwen Zheng reaches Tokyo quarters
No. 1 seed Qinwen Zheng of China swept the last nine games against Japan's Moyuka Uchijima on Thursday to move into the Toray Pan Pacific Open quarterfinals in Tokyo.,Trailing 5-4 in the first set, Zheng rolled to a 7-5, 6-0 victory in 77 minutes. The reigning Olympic gold medalist will next face No...
WTA roundup: Canadians take center stage in Tokyo quarterfinals
Canada's Bianca Andreescu moved to the quarterfinals of the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo on Wednesday after a back injury forced No. 2 seed Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil to retire.,Andreescu was up 3-0 when the match ended with Haddad Maia in clear pain. After several setbacks and much time off d...
WTA roundup: Sofia Kenin collects upset in Tokyo
Sofia Kenin knocked out 10th-seeded Xinyu Wang of China 6-1, 6-4 in the first round of the Toray Pan Pacific Open on Tuesday in Tokyo.,Kenin saved the only break point she faced in the 78-minute win and advanced to face Denmark's Clara Tauson, a 6-2, 6-3 winner against Japan's Nao Hibino.,No. 9 Kati...
WTA roundup: Leylah Fernandez, Bianca Andreescu win in Tokyo
Eighth-seeded Leylah Fernandez of Canada survived a first-round challenge from Aliaksandra Sasnovich at the Toray Pan Pacific Open on Monday in Tokyo.,Fernandez was ahead 5-7, 6-2, 5-2 when her Russian opponent was forced to retire due to difficulty breathing after a 2-hour, 44-minute battle in the ...
Aryna Sabalenka supplants Iga Swiatek at World No. 1
Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka returned to World No. 1 in the latest WTA rankings, dropping Polish star Iga Swiatek to No. 2.,Sabalenka, a three-time Grand Slam champion, including this year's U.S. Open, spent eight weeks at No. 1 last year. Swiatek had been No. 1 for the past 11 months.,Although neithe...
WTA roundup: Daria Kasatkina wins all-Russian final in China
No. 5 seed Daria Kasatkina jumped out to an early lead, then had to rally to defeat fellow Russian Mirra Andreeva 6-0, 4-6, 6-4 at the Ningbo Open in China on Sunday.,Kasatkina cruised through the first set, capitalizing on four Andreeva double faults and breaking her serve three times. And while An...