TORONTO: Naomi Osaka’s recent struggles continued Tuesday with an early exit at the National Bank Open. The four-time Grand Slam champion retired from her first-round match with a back injury. She was trailing 7-6 (4), 3-0 against Estonia’s Kaia Kanepi when she withdrew from the contest. “I felt my back from the start of the match, and despite trying to push through it, I just
WIMBLEDON, England: She headed the ball. She flicked it up with her feet. Ons Jabeur is having fun, and she’s winning. The Tunisian, who at No. 3 is the highest-remaining women’s seed, advanced to her second straight Wimbledon quarterfinal with a 7-6 (9), 6-4 victory over Elize Mertens on No. 1 Court on Sunday. “It’s my kind of thing to express a little bit my stress during
PARIS: Ukraine’s national tennis team say they are existing “in two different realities” as they prepare for a Billie Jean King Cup clash in the United States this weekend while war rages at home. The Ukraine squad are in the South Carolina city of Asheville to tackle the record 18-time champions with a place in the finals at stake. However, the brutal fighting 5,000 miles
MELBOURNE: Serena Williams continued her impressive Australian Open preparations with a straight-sets thrashing of Tsvetana Pironkova Wednesday, as world number three Naomi Osaka and top-ranked Ashleigh Barty struggled.
Williams, 39, has been in belligerent form at the Yarra Valley Classic and overpowered the Bulgarian with a 6-1, 6-4 victory in 74 minutes.
“So far, so good. It’s special to play here with what’s going on in the world,” said Williams, who only lost four games against Daria Gavrilova in her opener on Monday.
Williams, aiming for a record-equaling 24th Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, broke Pironkova first up and kept her foot on the gas with 25 winners and six aces.