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ESPN is giving tennis players competing in the U.S. Open access to live streams of the tournament’s matches as a carriage dispute between Disney and Charter Communications continues to leave Spectrum customers in the dark.

An individual familiar with the matter confirmed to TheWrap that the live streams are being offered on a case by case basis to athletes and the sports network’s on-air talent who need it.

Daniil Medvedev can’t watch the US Open because his hotel has Spectrum:

“A lot of hotels have Spectrum. So I can’t watch on TV anymore. I don’t know if it’s illegal, but I have to find a way. Probably pirate websites.. I have no other choice” pic.twitter.com/UUQ6b5FLmI

— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) September 5, 2023

The move comes after Daniil Medvedev, the No. 3 player and winner of the 2021 U.S. Open, revealed...

In addition to disrupting tennis fans’ viewing experience, the ongoing carriage dispute between Disney and Charter Communications, which saw Disney linear networks, including ESPN, go dark on Charter’s Spectrum cable systems last Thursday, is wreaking havoc on players’ preparation for matches at the year’s final Grand Slam.

Superstars Coco Gauff and Daniil Medvedev shared their frustration over not being able to watch tournament matches at their hotel, with the latter admitting that he had to resort to bootlegged online feeds.

Even ESPN’s own John McEnroe, in his return to the commentators’ booth on Labor Day, referenced the fact that he didn’t watch as much coverage of the tournament as he would’ve liked while sidelined with Covid because of the Disney-Charter carriage dispute.

According to sources, ESPN, the network that carries U.S. Open with an assist from sibling ABC, has remedied the issue for about 15-20 athletes,...

New York, Sep 4 (Ians) The Wta on Monday announced that Aryna Sabalenka will become the new women’s singles World No.1 when the rankings are released on September 11 following the completion of the US Open.

The 25-year-old will be the 29th woman to capture the Wta World No.1 ranking, and just the eighth player to have held both the singles and doubles No.1 spots during their career, having also ascended to the top of the doubles rankings in February 2021.

“Reaching the Wta World No.1 singles ranking is something I have dreamed of ever since I was a little girl when I started playing tennis,” Sabalenka was quoted by Wta website.

“2023 has been such an incredible year for me and my team and this is the perfect reward for all our hard work. It’s an unbelievable feeling to join the amazing list of other Wta players to achieve this and...

New York, Sep 4 (Ians) Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko maintained her clean sheet against Iga Swiatek, ending the World No.1’s US Open title defense with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 victory in the fourth round.

Swiatek’s loss on Sunday means World No.2 Aryna Sabalenka will overtake the Pole and ascend to the No.1 ranking after the US Open. Swiatek will have held the top spot for 75 consecutive weeks, the third-longest first-time streak in Wta Tour history.

Into her first US Open quarterfinal, Ostapenko will next face No.6 Coco Gauff. The two have split their two prior meetings, with Ostapenko knocking the American out of the Australian Open in January.

After taking the first set handily, a listless Swiatek found herself down 1-4 against Ostapenko. It was a deficit she could not overcome, thanks to Ostapenko’s solid service games, and the No. 20 seed assertively tucked away the set to force a decisive third.

New York, Sep 1 (Ians) World No.1 and defending champion Iga Swiatek dropped just one game as she stormed past qualifier Kaja Juvan into the women’s singles pre-quarterfinals at the US Open in New York on Friday.

Swiatek eased past one of her best friends in Louis Armstrong Stadium on Friday, beating qualifier Kaja Juvan 6-0, 6-1 to reach the Round of 16 at the 2023 US Open.

The pair have been close for nearly a decade, since their days in juniors. But defending champion Swiatek of Poland was still unwavering in collecting her third straight win over Slovenia’s Juvan, polishing off the victory after just 49 minutes of play.

This is Swiatek’s 10th straight win at the Usta Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City, as she aims to defend a title for the fourth time in her career.

She will next face the winner of the...

Cincinnati (USA), Aug 20 (Ians) American young sensation Coco Gauff advanced to her first Wta 1000 final after upsetting world No.1 Iga Swiatek 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-4 in a thrilling three-set semifinal at Cincinnati Masters.

Saturday’s win was Gauff’s first over Swiatek, having lost their seven prior meetings. Their last meeting came at Roland Garros, where Gauff played one of her best matches against the World No.1 only to lose 6-4, 6-2 in the quarterfinals.

The American become the seventh teenager to make a Wta 1000 final, joining Victoria Azarenka, Caroline Wozniacki, Belinda Bencic, Jelena Ostapenko, Bianca Andreescu and Swiatek.

In Sunday’s final, Gauff will face French Open finalist Czech player Karolina Muchova, who came from behind to upset No.2 seed Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals.

In a rematch of the pair’s Roland Garros semifinal, which Muchova saved match points to win in June after trailing 5-2 in the third set,...

Cincinnati (US), Aug 17 (Ians) In a showdown between former Grand Slam champions, No.4 seed Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan held off Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko 6-7(6), 6-2, 6-4 on Wednesday to make the Round of 16 at the Cincinnati Masters.

Last year’s Wimbledon champion Rybakina took 2 hours and 17 minutes to pull off the come-from-behind victory on Wednesday night and edge ahead 3-2 in her head-to-head with 2017 Roland Garros titlist Ostapenko.

Rybakina will face Italian qualifier Jasmine Paolini on Thursday for a quarterfinal spot. Paolini defeated fellow qualifier Cristina Bucsa of Spain 6-1, 6-3 earlier on Wednesday.

On the other hand, World No.2 Aryna Sabalenka was also pushed to three sets in her opener, holding off No.192 Ann Li 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 to advance in 2 hours and 3 minutes.

A semifinalist last year, Sabalenka struggled against Li’s all-court game before steeling herself in the third set to wrench back control of the match and get the win.

Montreal (Canada), Aug 8 (Ians) Madison Keys defeated Venus Williams 6-2, 7-5 in the first round of the Canadian Open, here.

In the sixth career meeting between the two Americans, Keys secured her fourth win over Williams with a steady performance from the baseline. Seeded 13th in Montreal, Keys has been in resurgent form since the start of the grass season. She has made the quarterfinals or better in her last three tournaments, including last week at the Mubadala Citi DC Open.

Keys kept Williams at bay for most of the match, going unbroken until she stepped to the line to serve out the win at 6-2, 5-4. Williams played her best game of the match, digging in to save seven match points before breaking Keys for the first time.

Keys responded immediately, breaking Williams for a fourth time in the match before closing out the 1-hour and 52-minute win on...

London, July 2 (Ians) Wimbledon 2023, the third Grand Slam of the season, is drawing near: the grass courts are freshly-cut, the all-white kits are ready to be donned, and more importantly, some new tennis records are waiting to be hit.

Novak Djokovic, at the age of 36, has made his intentions clear — playing for the record books.

The Serbian legend has Roger Federer’s record of eight Wimbledon titles as well as a 24th major in his sights as he closes in on a first calendar Grand Slam in 54 years.

Djokovic won his 23rd Grand Slam earlier last month at Roland Garros. A 24th would help him tie the record with Margaret Court, reports Xinhua.

The second seed and defending champion will open his campaign against Argentina’s Pedro Cachin, with the first dangerous obstacle in his path possibly coming in the fourth round against former semifinalist and No.17 seed Hubert Hurkacz or Italian No.

Eastbourne (England), June 27 (Ians) Ons Jabeur of Tunisia picked up her first grass-court win of this season after defeating Italy’s Jasmine Paolini 6-3, 6-2 in the opening round of the Eastbourne International, here on Tuesday.

Jabeur picked up her second win in two meetings with 42nd-ranked Paolini, and she moved into the Eastbourne second round for the third time in her career.

The Tunisian started her 2023 grass season last week in Berlin, where she suffered an opening-round loss to Jule Niemeier as the defending champion.

Last year’s Wimbledon finalist Jabeur is seeking her third career grass-court singles title. Her first Wta singles title came on grass, at 2021 Birmingham, and she added a second grass-court title to her resume last year in Berlin.

Last week’s Birmingham champion Jelena Ostapenko is a possible quarterfinal opponent for Jabeur. Latvia’s Ostapenko kept her winning streak going with a 6-4, 6-...

Eastbourne (England), June 27 (Ians) Defending champion Petra Kvitova and No.10 seed Barbora Krejcikova withdrawn from the Eastbourne International citing fatigue, the tournament announced on Tuesday.

Two-time Wimbledon champion Kvitova won her 31st Wta Tour title last week in Berlin. She had been scheduled to play Jelena Ostapenko in the first round in a rematch of the 2022 final.

Ostapenko, who won her sixth career title last week in Birmingham, will instead play lucky loser Czech player Barbora Strycova.

“I’m very sad that I have to withdraw from the tournament in Eastbourne and not have the chance to defend my title. It’s one of my favourite stops on tour and I wish everyone a great week,” Kvitova said in a statement.

Krejcikova returned to the Top 10 of the Wta singles rankings for the first time in over a year on Monday, after her finalist showing last week in Birmingham. Her...

Birmingham (UK), June 24 (Ians) No.2 seed Jelena Ostapenko on Saturday overcame Anastasia Potapova 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 to set up a final clash with top seed Barbora Krejcikova in the Birmingham Classic tennis tournament, here .

Latvia’s Ostapenko leads the head-to-head with Krejcikova 4-2. Ostapenko won their most recent meeting in straight sets on the clay of Rome earlier this year.

The 2017 Roland Garros champion Ostapenko needed 2 hours and 7 minutes to come back from a set down against Potapova in their first meeting, and reach her first Hologic Wta Tour final of the season.

World No.17 Ostapenko and No.21 Potapova had won all of their preceding matches this week in three sets, and Saturday’s semifinal continued that pattern. Ultimately, it was Ostapenko who prevailed with five breaks of serve to Potapova’s three.

Ostapenko saved three set points at 5-4 in the first set, but Potapova took the opener two...

New Delhi, April 25 (Ians) World No.4 Ons Jabeur, who won her first career Wta 1000 title at the Madrid Open last year, won’t be able to defend her title this season as she has pulled out from the tournament because of a left calf injury.

Tunisia’s Jabeur made it to the final four of last week’s Stuttgart Open, but she retired from her semifinal match against World No.1 Iga Swiatek while trailing 3-0 due to her ailing left calf.

Two-time Grand Slam finalist took to twitter to give an update on her injury.

“Further to many medical exams done, it shows that I have a small tear in my calf and I will need more time to recover. I am sad to announce that I won’t be able to compete and defend my title this year,” Jabeur said in a statement.

It is the second injury to affect Jabeur’s season.

Stuttgart (Germany), April 19 (Ians) Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, who won the French Open back in 2017, secured a dominant 6-2 6-1 victory over former US Open champion Emma Raducanu in the opening round of the Stuttgart Open, which kicked off the European clay-court swing this week.

Ostapenko needed only 58 minutes to overpower Raducanu, who made the quarterfinals in Stuttgart last year. Behind 19 forehand winners, Ostapenko dominated play from the baseline to give Raducanu no inroads in the match.

“I knew against her the main thing was to step in the court. Of course, I missed some balls but I tried to be aggressive all the time when it was possible. Just try to take the ball early, don’t give her many chances. And finally, I’m back on clay, my favorite surface,” Ostapenko said after the win.

Ostapenko will next face World No.4 and Charleston champion Ons Jabeur on Wednesday.

New Delhi, Jan 30 (Ians) Aryna Sabalenka attained her career-high ranking of World No. 2 after winning the Australian Open women’s singles title while runner-up Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan marked her top-10 debut in the latest Wta Rankings released on Monday.

Sabalenka came back from a set down to defeat Rybakina 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the final to win her first Grand Slam title on Saturday. The triumph saw her improve her ranking by 3 spots to number two with 6100 ranking points.

Having paved her way to her second major final with wins over World No.1 Iga Swiatek, Jelena Ostapenko, and Victoria Azarenka, reigning Wimbledon champion Rybakina took a giant leap of 15 places to sit in tenth place.

Poland’s Swiatek, however, retained her No. 1 spot with 10485 pimts, which is 4385 ranking points ahead of Sabalenka. With her quarterfinal run, Latvia’s Ostapenko jumped five places to 12th while Azarenka climbed eight places...

Melbourne, Jan 26 (Ians) Reigning Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina advanced to her second major final on Thursday, defeating former No.1 Victoria Azarenka 7-6(4), 6-3 in the Australian Open semifinals, here.

Rybakina, seeded 22nd, will face the winner of the last semifinal match between No.5 Aryna Sabalenka and Poland’s Magda Linette in Saturday’s final.

Playing in her first Australian Open semifinal, Rybakina had a tough task of facing a major champion for the third straight match.The 23-year-old paved her way to the biggest hard-court final of her career by notching wins over last year’s finalist, Danielle Collins, World No.1 Iga Swiatek, 2019 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko, and two-time Australian Open champion Azarenka.

In a high-quality one-hour opening set, Rybakina and Azarenka exchanged blows from the baseline before the former No.1 broke first for a 3-1 lead, breaking on an entertaining cat-and-mouse point at the net. But the Wimbledon...

Melbourne, Jan 24 (Ians) Two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka is back in the semifinals after a 10-year gap, defeating No.3 seed American Jessica Pegula 6-4, 6-1 in 1 hour and 37 minutes on Tuesday.

Azarenka will contest her first semifinal in Melbourne since her 2013 title run, her first Grand Slam semifinal since the 2020 U.S. Open and ninth overall.

Standing in her path in the last four is Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, who beat Jelena Ostapenko in straight sets earlier in the day.

Tuesday’s result is Azarenka’s first Top 5 win at a major since defeating Maria Sharapova in the 2012 US Open semifinals. Moreover, she moved on to 47 main draw victories at the Australian Open, equalling Steffi Graf in sixth place for the most wins in women’s singles in the Open era.

“Her stability and consistency throughout, I wouldn’t only say last year, I would say the years before that.

Melbourne, Jan 24 (Ians) Ace Indians Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna on Tuesday marched through to the mixed doubles semifinals of the Australian Open after receiving a walkover in the quarterfinals from the Latvian-Spanish pair Jelena Ostapenko & David Vega Hernandez.

The Rio Olympic semifinalists on Monday defeated Japan’s Makoto Ninomiya and Uruguay’s Ariel Behar 6-4, 7-6(11-9) in their second-round match to set up a quarterfinal clash with Ostapenko and Hernandez. The Indian duo had earlier beaten Australia’s Jaimee Fourlis and Luke Saville in the first round.

Sania is playing her last major as the six-time Grand Slam champion and earlier this month announced that she will retire from professional tennis at Dubai Tennis Championships, a Wta 1000 event, which begins on February 19.

Sania has six major titles in doubles discipline– three in women’s doubles and as many as in mixed doubles — with her maiden triumph coming in...

Melbourne, Jan 24 (Ians) Reigning Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina kept her hopes for a second Grand Slam title alive by cruising into the Australian Open semifinals for the first time after triumphing in a battle of former major champions on Tuesday.

The 22nd seed overpowered the 2017 Roland Garros champion Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-2, 6-4 in the one hour and 19 minutes encounter here at Rod Laver Arena, becoming the first woman representing Kazakhstan to reach the final four at Melbourne Park.

Ostapenko had dominated her head-to-head with the Kazakh player in the past. But on Tuesday, it was Rybakina who maintained her momentum from her upset of World No.1 Iga Swiatek two days ago.

Rybakina secured a break in the opening game and dropped just one point in her first two service games. Her return game was deadly against Ostapenko, and with a cool demeanour, she punished the Latvian’s laggardly second serves.

Melbourne, Jan 23 (Ians) Ace Indian tennis players Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna sailed into the mixed doubles quarterfinals of the Australian Open here on Monday.

The Indian pair defeated Japan’s Makoto Ninomiya and Uruguay’s Ariel Behar 6-4, 7-6(11-9) in their second-round match to set up a quarterfinal clash with Latvian-Spanish duo Jelena Ostapenko and David Vega Hernandez.

Sania and Bopanna, the Rio Olympic semifinalists, had earlier beaten Australia’s Jaimee Fourlis and Luke Saville in the first round.

The Indian pair drew first blood and broke the Uruguay-Latvian pair in the third game but the Ninomiya-Behar responded immediately to level the score. But the Indians then make it 4-3 and quickly raced to a set lead.

Both the pairs went toe-to-toe in the second as the hard-fought set ended with the Indian pair triumphing 11-9 in the tie-breaker, keeping the Indian challenge alive at the year’s first Grand Slam.

Melbourne, Jan 22 (Ians) No.17 seed Jelena Ostapenko shocked seventh seed American Coco Gauff 7-5, 6-3 to sail through to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open for the first time in her career on Sunday.

Ostapenko, competing in her first Round 4 at the Australian Open, leveled her career head-to-head against Gauff to 1-1 with a 93-minute triumph in Margaret Court Arena, her first over a Top 10 player at a Grand Slam in three years, and the first Grand Slam quarterfinal appearance since 2018.

“My life changed a lot (after winning 2017 Roland Garros), so I needed a few years to really get used to what happened because I was really young. I was 19 and then turned 20,” Ostapenko said. “I always knew and believed in my game. If I play well, I can beat almost anyone. I was trying to work more on my consistency, especially in the preseason. Yeah, just to step on...

Melbourne, Jan 22 (Ians) World No.1 Iga Swiatek’s hopes of a second straight hard-court major are over following a crushing defeat to Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina in the Australian Open fourth round.

Round of 16 showdowns did not come any bigger than two reigning Grand Slam champions at this stage, reports AusOpen.

After the Pole’s benchmark-setting feats of 2022, the 23-year-old Rybakina served a reminder she is in the box seat to further shake up the top order this season with her 6-4 6-4 triumph.

The two women shared the major spoils since Australian Open champion Ash Barty’s retirement last year and on Sunday, they met for just the second time, following Swiatek’s straight-sets victory indoors in Ostrava in 2021.

Neither placed too much weight on that previous encounter, given the heights both have scaled since.

A runaway world No.1 last season, thanks largely to her Roland Garros and US Open successes,...

Melbourne, Jan 20 (Ians) The No.3 seed American Jessica Pegula on Friday reached the fourth round of the Australian Open for the third straight year. Her fellow American Coco Gauff and world No.1 Iga Swiatek of Poland followed her with a win in their respective third-round matches.

Pegula outplayed Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk 6-0, 6-2 in the third round. In three matches so far, the No.3 seed has lost just 11 games in six sets.

The 65-minute third-round contest at the Margaret Court Arena was a tighter match than the scoreline suggested. Four of the six games in the first set all extended to multiple deuces, and Pegula saved five break points in the game she eventually held to lead 4-0.

The second set was more of the same. Pegula raced out to a 4-1 lead before Kostyuk got a break back. The Ukrainian later missed a forehand volley on game point...

Melbourne, Dec 21 (Ians) World No.1 Iga Swiatek leads the entry list for next year’s Australian Open, which is based on the Wta rankings of the week beginning December 5.

Reigning Roland Garros and US Open champion Swiatek is one of 13 current or former Grand Slam winners who have entered the first major of 2023, which begins on January 16. The Pole, who reached her first Australian Open semifinal this year, will be bidding to add a fourth Grand Slam title to her haul so far.

Three former Australian Open champions are in the line-up — Victoria Azarenka (2012-13), Naomi Osaka and Sofia Kenin (2020) — as well as three former Australian Open runners-up, Petra Kvitova (2019), Garbiñe Muguruza (2020) and Danielle Collins (2022). This year’s champion, Ashleigh Barty, retired from professional tennis in March and will not defend her title.

Alongside Swiatek, Azarenka, Osaka, Kenin, Kvitova and Muguruza, the remaining roster of Grand Slam champions with direct entry comprises Jelena Ostapenko,...

Melbourne, Dec 8 (Ians) World No.1 Iga Swiatek leads the entry list for next year’s Australian Open, which is based on the Wta rankings of the week beginning December 5.

Reigning Roland Garros and US Open champion Swiatek is one of 12 current or former Grand Slam winners who have entered the first major of 2023, which begins on January 16 in Melbourne. The Pole, who reached her first Australian Open semifinal this year, will be bidding to add a fourth Grand Slam title to her haul so far.

Three former Australian Open champions are in the line-up — Victoria Azarenka (2012-13), Naomi Osaka and Sofia Kenin (2020) — as well as three former Australian Open runners-up, Petra Kvitova (2019), Garbiñe Muguruza (2020) and Danielle Collins (2022).

This year’s champion, Ashleigh Barty, retired from professional tennis in March and will not defend her title.

Alongside Swiatek, Azarenka, Osaka, Kenin, Kvitova and Muguruza, the remaining roster of Grand Slam champions...

St Petersburg (USA), Oct 20 (Ians) The team of Desirae Krawczyk and Demi Schuurs has qualified for the 2022 Wta Finals, becoming the seventh doubles team to secure their place for the season-ending finale in Fort Worth, Texas, the Wta announced on Thursday.

The American-Dutch pairing will join reigning champions Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova, Gabriela Dabrowski and Giuliana Olmos, Lyudmyla Kichenok and Jelena Ostapenko, Veronika Kudermetova and Elise Mertens, Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula, and Xu Yifan and Yang Zhaoxuan at the Wta Finals, which is being held at the Dickies Arena from October 31 to November 7.

The 2022 Wta Finals will mark Schuurs’ fourth consecutive appearance at the tour’s crown jewel event. They secured qualification in 2018, 2019 and 2021, while Krawczyk enjoyed her first run at the tournament in 2021.

This season will be their debut as a team and Krawczyk is the third American to qualify this year, joining Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula.

St. Petersburg (Florida), Oct 19 (Ians) The Wta on Wednesday announced the doubles team of Yang Zhaoxuan and Xu Yifan have qualified for the 2022 Wta Finals, becoming the sixth doubles team to secure their place for the season-ending finale in Fort Worth, Texas.

The Chinese pairing will join reigning champions Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova, along with Gabriela Dabrowski and Giuliana Olmos, Lyudmyla Kichenok and Jelena Ostapenko, Veronika Kudermetova and Elise Mertens, and Americans Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula at the Wta Finals, which is being held at the Dickies Arena from October 31 to November 7.

Yang Zhaoxuan and Xu Yifan and will be making their debut as a team at the Wta Finals, however, Xu is no stranger to the season-ending finale. She appeared three times before with Gabriela Dabrowski in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

Yang and Xu have won two titles this season, both coming on American soil, at the Wta 1000 Paribas Open...

Ostrava (Czech Republic), Oct 1 (Ians) World No.1 Iga Swiatek leads a strong draw at the Ostrava Open 2022, a Wta 500-level indoor hard-court tournament.

Along with the reigning U.S Open champion, Ostrava features four of the Wta Tour Top 10 and a total of seven major champions, including Elena Rybakina, Emma Raducanu, and Jelena Ostapenko.

Coming off a semifinal run in Seoul, Raducanu will face No.5 seed Daria Kasatkina in the first round. Ostrava will be Kasatkina’s first tournament since the US Open. The winner will face either Seoul champion Ekaterina Alexandrova or Victoria Azarenka in the second round.

Swiatek tops the draw, with No.3 Paula Badosa, defending champion and No.4 Anett Kontaveit, and No.7 Maria Sakkari rounding out the Top 4 seeds. All four have byes into the second round.

In her opening match, Swiatek will face either Tokyo semifinalist Zhang Shuai or a qualifier. No.2 seed Badosa will face...

New Delhi, Sep 29 (Ians) Wimbledon and U.S runner-up Ons Jabeur will take on 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu at the World Tennis Championship exhibition in Abu Dhabi on December 16.

The pair have yet to meet in a professional match. Raducanu had been due to play Belinda Bencic in the 2021 edition of the exhibition but was forced to withdraw due to contracting Covid-19. Jabeur, her replacement, defeated Bencic 4-6, 6-3, 10-8.

Tunisia’s Jabeur has continued to scale new heights in 2022, rising from No 10 at the end of 2021 to her current No 2.

The 28-year-old’s year has been highlighted by her first two major finals, her first Wta 1000 title in Madrid and the Wta 500 trophy in Berlin.

After winning the US Open as a qualifier last year, Raducanu’s first full pro season has been one of adjustment. The 19-year-old Briton has scored notable wins over Serena Williams, Victoria Azarenka and Sloane Stephens,...

Seoul (South Korea), Sep 25 (Ians) No 2 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova clinched Korea Open 2022 title and her third overall, after defeating No 1 seed Jelena Ostapenko 7-6(4), 6-0 in the final, here on Sunday.

The final was the second this year to pit the top two seeds against each other and, just as in St Petersburg in February, where Anett Kontaveit defeated Maria Sakkari, it was the No.2 seed who triumphed. Alexandrova came from a break down three times in the first set and saved a set point serving at 5-6, but posted her sixth bagel of 2022 in the second set.

The 27-year-old had previously lifted the trophies at Shenzhen 2020 and ‘s-Hertogenbosch 2022 and improved to 3-2 in tour-level finals overall. The 27-year-old also extended her head-to-head lead over Ostapenko to 5-2.

One of those victories, and the only previous match in the series on outdoor hard courts, also took place in Seoul. In...

Seoul (South Korea), Sep 24 (Ians) Top seed Jelena Ostapenko advanced to the final of the Korea Open 2022 after injured Emma Raducanu was forced to retire down 4-6, 6-3, 3-0 in the semifinals, here on Saturday.

A champion in 2017, Ostapenko will face No 24 Ekaterina Alexandrova for the title on Sunday.

The official reason for Raducanu’s retirement was a left glute injury. The unfortunate injury ended a confidence-boosting run for the 19-year-old, who won three consecutive matches for the first time since winning the 2021 US Open.

In their first meeting on tour, Ostapenko and Raducanu opened the match with blistering intensity from the baseline. Ostapenko saved three break points in the opening game to keep Raducanu at bay and then broke for a 2-0 lead. But the lead was short-lived.

Raducanu broke back immediately to put the set back on serve and her early return pressure would tell the tale for the remainder of the set.

Ostrava (Czech Republic), Sep 8 (Ians) World No 1 and two-time Roland Garros titlist Iga Swiatek is leading the entry list featuring six Grand Slam champions for the Agel Open, a Wta 500 tournament in Ostrava, starting on October 3.

Swiatek will be joined by freshly crowned Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, as well as two-time Australian Open winner Victoria Azarenka, 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu and former Roland Garros winners Jelena Ostapenko and Barbora Krejcikova.

Krejcikova and two-time major finalist Karolina Pliskova will lead the home contingent at the biggest Czech tournament of the season.

Four more Top 10 players: defending champion Anett Kontaveit, last year’s runner-up Maria Sakkari, Roland Garros semifinalist Daria Kasatkina and Paula Badosa, will be also in the mix.

In 2021, Kontaveit captured her first Wta 500 title in Ostrava, the start of a still-active 20-match winning streak on indoor hard courts that saw the Estonian vault to her current World No 2. Last autumn,...

New York, Sep 1 (Ians) America’s Coco Gauff defeated Romania’s Elena-Gabriela Ruse 6-2, 7-6 (4) in a second-round match in the U.S. Open here on Wednesday.

At the age of 18, the No.12-seeded Gauff is the second-youngest player left in the women’s draw — and yet, she’s widely viewed as one of the favourites to win the US Open title, along with top-ranked Iga Swiatek.

Reaching the final at Roland Garros has accelerated the expectations surrounding this teenager — perhaps most importantly in her own mind.

“Getting to a final, I think people expect you to get over that final hurdle, and that’s something I expect of myself too because I know I feel it in me that I can repeat it and do it again,” Gauff was quoted as saying by Wta.

“I didn’t expect myself to be so nervous before the final. Now that I know what to expect,...

New York, Aug 26 (Ians) In what is set to be her final tournament, 23-time major champion Serena Williams will face Montenegro’s Danka Kovinic in the first round of the U.S Open, the organisers announced on Thursday.

Earlier this month, Williams announced her impending retirement after the U.S Open. A champion in New York six times, she will face No.80 Kovinic for the first time.

The 27-year-old Montenegrin reached a career-high ranking of No.46 in 2016 and became the first woman from her country to win a Wta Tour title last year at Charleston.

In January, Kovinic broke new ground for Montenegro at the Australian Open after defeating Emma Raducanu to become the first woman from her country to reach the third round of a Slam.

The winner of that opener will face either No.2 Anett Kontaveit or Romania’s Jaqueline Cristian.

World No.1 Iga Swiatek tops the draw...

Cincinnati (USA), Aug 21 (Ians) Continuing the stellar season, Lyudmyla Kichenok and Jelena Ostapenko clinched the women’s doubles title at the Western & Southern Open after beating Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Ellen Perez 7-6(5), 6-3 in 1 hour and 24 minutes, here.

It is the second team title of the year for Kichenok and Ostapenko, having also taken the trophy at Wta 250 Birmingham on grass.

“It’s my biggest title and I’m very happy. It’s hard to describe, it’s amazing. I just can’t find the words. I’m still a bit shaky after the match, it’s very exciting,” Kichenok said after the match on Saturday night.

Kichenok and Ostapenko were No 5 on the Race to the Finals Leaderboard coming into Cincinnati, and are projected to rise even further after posting another superb 2022 result.

Along with their Birmingham title, they reached additional finals at Dubai and Eastbourne this year. The...

Cincinnati, Aug 17 (Ians) England’s Emma Raducanu collected a memorable win in the opening round of the Western & Southern Open, defeating Serena Williams 6-4, 6-0 in the pair’s first ever meeting.

In what could end up being the second-last tournament of Williams’ career, after confirming she will retire after the U.S. Open beginning later this month, the 40-year-old showed fight early on against the 19-year-old world number 11 on Tuesday, reports Dpa.

After getting broken to love in the very first game of the match, Williams found her footing, and even secured a break of her own in the opening set, but a second for Raducanu saw her comfortably serve out the opening frame.

The second set was domination, as Williams was only able to win 35 per cent (seven-of-20) of her service points, and 20 per cent (three-of-15) while returning.

Venus Williams, 42, was also eliminated in her opening match, going...

London, July 3 (Ians) Tatjana Maria continued her trailblazing run at Wimbledon, stunning former French Open champion and No 12 seed Jelena Ostapenko in three sets in a thrilling encounter to reach her maiden Grand Slam quarterfinal here on Sunday. Maria, the 103-ranked mother-of-two, came back from 1-4 down in the second set and saved […]...

London, July 1 (Ians) British star Heather Watson and Tunisian Ons Jabeur reached the fourth round at Wimbledon while former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko survived a scare but made it to the second week of a Grand Slam for the first time in four years. Watson, who made her Wimbledon debut 12 years ago […]...

Eastbourne, June 25 (Ians) Petra Kvitova charged past defending champion and No 8 seed Jelena Ostapenko 6-3, 6-2 to clinch the Rothesay International championship and 29th Wta singles title of her career, here on Saturday. With this win, Kvitova, the Wimbledon champion in 2011 and 2014, is now 5-1 in grass-court finals. The Czech’s only […]...

Miami, March 26 (Ians) Coco Gauff of the United States exacted sweet revenge against China’s Wang Qiang while another American player, Shelby Rogers stunned Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia in the opening round matches at the Miami Open here. Gauff and Ostapenko opened their campaigns in Miami on Friday against opponents to whom they had lost […]...

Dubai, Feb 20 (Ians) Latvian former French Open singles champion Jelena Ostapenko stormed to the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships title, dispatching Veronika Kudermetova of Russia 6-0, 6-4 for her fifth career crown. The world No. 31 Ostapenko, who was ranked as high as No.5 in March 2018 following a string of superb performances including […]...

Dubai, Feb 18 (Ians) Jelena Ostapenko’s remarkable week of comebacks at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships continued with a 2-6, 7-6(0), 6-0 victory over Simona Halep in the semifinals. She will play Veronika Kudermetova, who advanced after qualifier Marketa Vondrousova withdrew due to an injury, in the final. Ostapenko has beaten a Grand Slam […]...

Dubai, Feb 16 (Ians) Former French Open winner Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, Jil Teichmann of Switzerland and Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine dealt out a trio of upsets on Day 3 of the Dubai Duty-Free Tennis Championships. Ostapenko triumphed in an extraordinary battle over another former French Open champion and No.6 seed Iga Swiatek of Poland […]...

Melbourne, Jan 21 (Ians) Top-10 seeds Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic and Maria Sakkari of Greece advanced to the Australian Open fourth round in contrasting styles, defeating Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova, respectively here on Friday. Trailing by a set and a break, Krejcikova, the 2021 French Open singles and doubles champion, […]...

Paris, June 12 (Ians) Unseeded Barbora Krejcikova on Saturday became the first Czech Republic woman in 40 years to win the French Open title as she defeated No.31 seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 in the final match.

Barbora, the world No. 33, needed one hour and 58 minutes to beat 29-year-old Anastasia, who too was in her maiden Grand Slam final.

Hana Mandlikova was the last Czech Republic player to win the French Open title, in 1981.

Barbora, who received the trophy from Czech-born legend Martina Navratilova, is the third unseeded player in the last five years win the Roland Garros title, after Latvian Jelena Ostapenko in 2017 and Poland's Iga Swiatek, who clinched it last year.

The 25-year-old Barbora, who has won two Grand Slam women's doubles and three mixed doubles titles and was ranked the No.1 doubles player in 2018, had an easy first set. She dropped serve in the opening game...

Rome, May 15 (Ians) In a battle between the two best-ranked teenagers on the Wta singles rankings, No.15 seed Iga Swiatek of Poland ousted No. 35 Coco Gauff of the USA, 7-6(3), 6-3, to book a spot in the Italian Open final.

Iga will take on Czech Republic's Karolina Pliskova in the final. The world's ninth-ranked player and 2019 champion moved into her third straight Rome final after overcoming world No.25 Petra Martic of Croatia 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 in the other semi-final match.

Iga, 19, started Saturday with a challenging task ahead of her. Her quarter-final match, against Ukraine's Elina Svitolina, which was postponed due to rain on Friday, had not yet started, and the prospect of a semi-final clash -- had she won -- loomed large in the evening.

The reigning French Open champion, however, passed both tests with flying colours, eliminating two-time champion Elina 6-2, 7-5 in the morning before coming...

Melbourne, Feb 3 (Ians) Naomi Osaka on Wednesday entered the quarter-finals at the Gippsland Trophy after securing a 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 win over Great Britain's Katie Boulter, thus stretching her unbeaten run to 13 matches.

"After I lost the first set... I wanted to fight as hard as I can. She was playing really amazing, so I thought that if I lost at the end of the day, it's okay, but I just wanted to give my best effort," the Wta website quoted Osaka as saying on-court after the match.

"I like playing long matches because I feel like I can gauge the condition of the court and that my fitness gets better. I played a short match yesterday, so maybe subconsciously, I felt like I needed to play a long match today," she added.

Third seed Elina Svitolina also reached the last eight after overcoming former French Open champion and No.

Cute as a button!

On Saturday, Serena Williams shared an adorable picture of her 4-month-old daughter Alexis Olympia as the mother-daughter duo enjoyed spending some time together.

“Welcome home momma,” Williams, 36, captioned the sweet snap of her daughter sitting on a tiny couch while wearing a crocheted yellow dress.

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Related Video: Serena Williams Shares Sweet Snap of Alexis Olympia Days After Withdrawing from Australian Open

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Serena Williams is ready to compete again!

For the first time in more than a year, Williams will be returning to competitive tennis for the Fed Cup, the U.S. Tennis Association announced on Tuesday.

The February tournament will be her first official game since welcoming daughter Alexis Olympia on Sept. 1.

The 23-time Grand Slam champion will play in the first-round matches against the Netherlands in Asheville, North Carolina, on Feb. 10-11.

Helping her defend the country’s Fed Cup championship is her sister Venus Williams. It will be the first time in two years that either Williams sister has been on the team.

During the 2017 Australian Open, Serena Williams was pregnant with her daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr. Almost a year later, the tennis superstar announced that she will not be defending her title. Via Snapchat, Serena said, "After performing in my first match after giving birth I realized that although I am super close, I'm not where I personally want to be," she wrote. "My coach and team always said 'Only go to tournaments when you are prepared to go all the way.' With that being said I am disappointed to say I've decided not to compete in the Australian Open this year." Serena made her return to the tennis court at the World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi on Dec. 30, 2017 but lost to Jelena Ostapenko. "However, the memory of last year's Open is one that I will carry with me and Olympia and I look forward to coming back again.