(Tennis news) Serena Williams has withdrawn from the semifinals of Eastbourne after her doubles partner Ons Jabeur suffered a right knee injury. This means that the duo are automatically knocked out of the tournament and Williams will now shift her attention to Wimbledon, where she has received a wildcard entry. Despite the numerous reports about her retirement, the 40 year old has made an impressive comeback in professional tennis and will look to secure her 24th Grand Slam title. 

Speaking after Wednesday's match, Williams said: "I feel good, as good as one can feel after having such a long time off. I was telling Ons, this was a really good match and the second set in particular, they played really well, but we were able to just play under different circumstances. It was actually good match play and match practice, which is exactly what I needed and what I wanted to do coming here, so I couldn't have asked for more."

The pair made it to the semifinals after a narrow win over Maria Bouzkova and Sara Sorribes Tormo and a convincing victory over Shuko Aoyama and Chan Hao-ching. Jabeur, who is ranked third in the Women’s Singles category is doubtful about her participation at Wimbledon while Williams, who is unseeded, will find out her first opponent after the draw is made on Friday morning (today). There has also been speculation amongst the finals that the withdrawal was intentional due to Wimbledon beginning on Monday, 27th July and that the ‘injury’ is just an excuse to recover in time for the Grand Slam event. Irrespective, it remains to be seen how the pair will perform at the prestigious grass court event after an impressive run in Eastbourne.

Also read: Serena Williams and Ons Jabeur reach Eastbourne semi-finals

(Tennis news) Serena Williams made her long awaited comeback in professional tennis by partnering up with Ons Jabeur and defeating Marie Bouzkova and Sara Sorribes Tormo 2-6 6-3 13-11 in the Rothesay International Eastbourne. It had been a year since the 23 time Grand Slam winner made her previous appearance, retiring in the first round of Wimbledon due to a right leg injury. Despite being somewhat rusty, Williams showed glimpses of her old self as the new doubles duo reached the last 16 at Eastbourne.

Speaking to the BBC, Serena Williams said “It was so fun to play with Ons. We had fun. Our opponents played amazing and we were just trying to stay in there.” When asked if she will partner with Ons Jabeur at Wimbledon, Williams replied “We're taking this show on the road! No, we're just taking it one day at a time.” 

In other results, British No 4 Katie Boulter made a stunning comeback to defeat last year’s Wimbledon finalist Karolina Pliskova 1-6 6-4 6-4 in the second round of the Rothesay International Eastbourne. Having trailed 5-0 in the first half an hour to the World Number 7, Boulter made a brilliant recovery in what was a dramatic second and third set. The 25 year old managed to take 19 break-point opportunities to secure this memorable win and maintained her fantastic form, having already defeated Alison Riske in Birmingham last week.

Also read: Naomi Osaka withdraws from Wimbledon due to achilles injury

(Tennis news) Emma Raducanu displayed a sublime performance to defeat Marta Kostyuk 6-2 6-1 to progress into the third round of the Madrid Open. It was perhaps her best performance since winning the US Open and the 19 year old looks to be in good form, having won 11 out of the last 12 games to defeat Tereza Martincova in the opening round despite a poor start and then defeating fellow teenager Kostyuk.

Speaking after the match, Raducanu said “I'm definitely very happy with my performance today. Marta is a great opponent, we played several times in the juniors and then once last year. I knew it was always going to be a really tough battle so I went out there trying to be really aggressive and it definitely paid off." The pair are almost the same age but Kostyuk has been in the professional tennis circuit since she was 15 years old while Raducanu has been a full-time professional for less than a year.

The pair faced each other last year with Kostyuk winning with an identical scoreline although Raducanu was unwell but the British tennis star made amends this time around, starting on the frontfoot and the 19 year old on her own delivery during the match. The ninth seed will face another Ukrainian in Anhelina Kalinina who defeated Garbine Muguruza convincingly. Meanwhile, Naomi Osaka lost 6-3 6-1 to Sara Sorribes Tormo, who will now face Daria Kasatkina.

In other results, unseeded Bianca Andreescu overcame Danielle Collins 6-1 6-1 and will now face Jessica Pegula who defeated Kaia Kanepi. After the match, Andreescu said “I did not expect for it to go like that at all, but I stuck to my game plan and it worked so I'm very happy.” Jack Draper also defeated World Number 27 Lorenzo Sonego 6-4 6-3 and will face Andrey Rublev in the next match. Having lost six of his last seven matches, Dan Evans enjoyed a morale boosting 6-3 6-4 win over Argentina’s Federico Delbonis. 

Also read: Emma Raducanu progresses to the second round of the Madrid Open

(Tennis news) Ashleigh Barty will step into the 2022 season as world number one for the third consecutive time, she will be looking for a maiden title here and her third overall when she plays the 2022 Australian Open.

Barty had started this season with a title win at home in Yarra Valley Classic where she defeated Garbine Muguruza in the final. At the Australian Open, the world number one had a surprise exit at the quarterfinal as she was knocked out by Karolina Muchova. She faced another early exit at Adelaide International losing to Danielle Collins in the opening match.

The Australian won the first WTA of the year at Miami, defeating three top ten on her way to the title. Barty then lost to Paula Badosa at the Credit One Charleston Open in the quarterfinal stage but came back to win the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix by defeating Aryna Sabalenka in the final.

The two time Grand Slam winner was looking in control on clay as she reached the final in Madrid taking revenge on Badosa for a place in the final, Sabalenka then avenged her loss in the previous event by beating Barty for the title. Barty then had to retire midway in her event match against Cori Gauff due to an arm injury and again retired hurt at Roland Garros because of a recurring hip injury. She only had two weeks to recover before Wimbledon and it was all she needed as Barty won her second major defeating newly crowned Roland Garros champion Barbora Krejcikova in the fourth round.

The 25 year old came into the Tokyo Olympics with full confidence but the hopes were torn to dust in the first match by Spaniard Sara Sorribes Tormo who knocked out the top seed in straight sets. It did not break her hopes completely and proved it by winning in Cincinnati which was her second WTA 1000 of the season. In the final Grand Slam of the year, Barty faced an early exit when Shelby Rogers scripted one of the most inspiring comebacks of the year. Rogers was down 2-5 in the final set but rallied as the crowds were in full support each time she won a game and then secured the win in the tie break. Barty had won all her previous five matches against Shelby and four of them had come this year.

Barty had withdrawn from the WTA finals Guadalajara saying that she needs rest and needs time to get ready for the 2022 Australian Open. The hip injury had hampered her chances at Roland Garros, though she ended the season in November; the former Big Bash cricketer played 50 matches and won 42 of them. Her best performance at home has been the semifinal finish in 2020, whereas two years later she reached the quarterfinals and next year will be off the blocks to become the first Australian women in three decades to take the singles title.

Also read: Dominic Thiem adds more woes with withdrawal from 2022 Australian Open

(Tennis news) Karolina Muchova has become the latest player to announce her non participation in the 2022 Australian Open. The 25 year old last played at the US Open where she was knocked out on the first round by Sara Sorribes Tormo, Muchova had announced on September 30 that her season is over. Muchova then declared yesterday that she won’t be playing in Australia.

"I'm sad to announce that my 2022 season will not start in Australia. I'm doing all I can to get back on the court as soon as I'm able," Muchova wrote on Twitter.

The world number 32 had played 28 matches this year and won 19 of them, she reached the semifinals for the first time at this year’s Australian Open. Muchova defeated Karolina Pliskova in the third round and then went on to defeat Elise Mertens in the next match as both her victories were in straight sets. In the quarterfinals, she upset world number one Ashleigh Barty after losing the first set 1-6 to reach the last four where she lost to Jennifer Brady in three sets.

Muchova entered Roland Garros with a career high ranking of 19 but lost in the third round to Sloane Stephens after which her ranking dropped. The Czech player then reached the Quarter Final stage at Wimbledon beating Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Paula Badosa on the way. Muchova lost to Angelique Kerber as she could only manage to win five games in the match. She had reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon two years ago where she defeated Anett Kontaveit and Pliskova but lost to Elina Svitolina.

Muchova had suffered from an abdominal injury in August while playing at Cincinnati WTA 1000, she had beaten Johanna Konta in the first match and then beat 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu in the third round. She faced Belinda Bencic who won the singles Gold and doubles Silver at Tokyo Olympics, Muchova was trailing 3-5 in the first set when she dug through to make it 5 all. Bencic although won the set and in the second set the pain was too much to handle as Muchova retired midway to end the match.

Muchova has an attacking type of play and comes to the net to finish the points. She does not stay in the baseline as her powerful serve and groundstrokes enable her to take control over rallies against her opponent. Although she has not said when she will be back on tour, Muchova will aim to enter the top ten of the rankings in the 2022 season.

Also read: Stefanos Tsitsipas to comeback strong for 2022 season after injury recovery

(Tennis News): In Men’s Singles, Novak Djokovic is now only two wins away from winning the Calendar Grand Slam. Djokovic has now beaten Matteo Berrettini thrice this year, all of them coming in the Grand Slams. Berrettini took advantage of Djokovic’s slow start to take the first set but that was it as Djokovic delivered a masterclass to take the three sets to set up a semifinal clash against Alexander Zverev. Djokovic defeated Berrettini 5-7, 6-2, 6-2, 6-3.

Alexander Zverev put an end to Lloyd Harris’s fairytale run at the US Open. Harris had earlier beaten Reilly Opelka, Denis Shapovalov and Karen Khachanov on his way to the quarterfinals. Zverev was in no way threatened by Harris although in the first set Zverev had to bring out his top game. Zverev also came to the net and effectively used the volley to win points even at crucial stages. Zverev defeated Harris 7-6(8-6), 6-3, 6-4.

In Women’s Singles, Emma Raducanu is making sure she spends more time at the US Open as she beat Belinda Bencic in the quarterfinal. Emma has become the first Qualifier in the open era to make the semifinals at the US Open. Emma was down 1-3 in the first set as Belinda kept showering blows to take an early lead but then Emma came back with an inspiring performance as she took the next five games to take the set. Emma kept hitting better and better as the match went on and Belinda waved goodbye to the crowd. Emma defeated Belinda 6-3, 6-4

Aryna Sabalenka was on her usual attacking form when she beat Barbora Krejcikova in the Quarterfinals. Sablenka had reached the semifinals in Wimbledon this year and looks to win the Championship to reach closer to the number 1 ranking which she has been chasing for some time now. Barbora could not withstand her opponent’s shots in the first set and in the second set made a brief comeback but it was not enough as Sabalenka will play against Leylah Annie Fernandez in the semifinal. Sabalenka defeated Barbora 6-1, 6-4.

Maria Sakkari’s backhand was too powerful and accurate as it played a major role in her quarterfinal match against Karolína Plíšková. The rallies were short as tournament’s ace leader Pliskova could not match Maria’s serve and groundstrokes. Maria is the first Greek player to ever reach a US Open semifinal; she had reached the semifinal at the French Open earlier this year. Maria defeated Pliskova 6-4, 6-4.

Semifinals

Leylah Annie Fernandez versus Aryna Sabalenka

Leylah Annie Fernandez is the second youngest in the last four. The 19 year old produced a huge upset as she knocked out defending champion Naomi Osaka in the third round. She also defeated 2016 champion Angelique Kerber in the fourth round, her powerful strokes and athleticism has served her well in the hardcourts.

Aryna Sabalenka is the world number two and has plenty of experience by her side. She is 6ft tall and uses that for her powerful serves and groundstrokes to beat the opponent. Aryna is also very ruthless and can hit winners from any side of the court; she has dropped only one set in the tournament. She won the doubles title here in 2019 and the Australian Open doubles this year and can use the serve and volley combination to beat the teenager. Aryna will also have the mental strength over her young opponent.

Emma Raducanu versus Maria Sakkari

Emma is having the time of her life as she is into the last four in her second Grand Slam. She has not dropped a set in the tournament and even in the qualifiers did not lose a set. She has grown physically stronger and has not been challenged so far in the tournament. She is the youngest player left in this tournament and in the third round was almost close to a double bagel against Sara Sorribes Tormo. Although she has less experience she certainly looks the favourite given her form in the past few days

Maria Sakkari is a strong server and has powerful groundstrokes to accompany her all-court style of play. She will look to use her experience against the 18 year old and put her under pressure, Maria will also look to use her backhand which was particularly useful against Pliskova. This will be Maria’s second career semifinal after reaching the semifinal at the French Open.

Emma Raducanu is the youngest of the four as she is only 18 years old and Maria Sakkari is the oldest as she is 26 years old. Of the four semi finalists, none of them have ever reached a Grand Slam final and we will be looking at a first Grand Slam winner at this year’s US Open.

Also read: Canadians Felix Auger Aliassime and Leylah Fernandez into the semifinals at the US Open

(Tennis news): Emma Raducanu is playing in her second Grand Slam tournament and is into the quarterfinals of the US Open where she will face Tokyo Olympics Singles champion Belinda Bencic. Emma is only 18 years old and has been playing professional tennis since 2018 and played her first main draw tour level match at the 2021 Nottingham Open.

Emma was ranked 338 in the world when she got the wildcard for the Nottingham Open in June, she lost her first match against Harriet Dart in straight sets. Emma also earned a wild card in Wimbledon defeating Russian qualifier Vitalia Anatolyevna Diatchenko in the first round. She had a tough first set but bageled her opponent in the second one. In the second round she defeated 2019 French Open runner up Markéta Vondroušová and Emma didn’t stop there. In the third round she defeated Sorana Cîrstea to become the youngest British woman to reach the last 16 in the open era. She lost in the fourth round to Ajla Tomljanović as Emma had to retire in the second set due to breathlessness. The level of physical fitness of Emma was questioned as she seemed to struggle in the match.

Emma’s efforts were a boon to her rankings as she rose to a career best 179 in the world. She again gained a wild card to the Silicon Valley Classic tournament which was her first entry into a 500 event. She lost in the first round to Zhang Shuai in straight sets, Emma then reached the final of the WTA 125 tournament in Chicago which propelled her to a career best ranking of 150.

Emma’s Meteoric rise on the tour has been exceptional. The sport has seen many different champions in the past twenty years, in the Grand Slam stages there have been different winners as only Serena Williams, Venus Williams and Maria Sharapova have made it multiple times. Serena of course is on a different pedestal but now these young players are slowly rising. Emma played well in Wimbledon, where she reached the fourth round in just her Grand Slam debut. Players of this generation are used to huge crowds and have advanced technologies to analyse their opponents matches. They are well equipped, but the amount of dedication and hardwork will always be the same to be a top ranked player on tour.

The top players have always started out young, some have found success at a very young age like Serena, Rafael Nadal in the recent past and a handful of the players can play for a long time. This US open was a painful reminder to the fans and the audience that the older generation players cannot compete continuously like the younger ones. The youngsters gave the fans and audience a happy reminder that there are more records to come, even though it will take some time. Players like Emma who were not even in the top 300 at the start of the year but now are in the top 150 can be the future superstars of the game.

Emma came in the US Open as a qualifier, where she played three matches and did not drop a set. In the main draw she was expected to have tough challenges but so far has not been facing trouble. Emma upset Shuai Zhang, a player ranked 100 places above her in the second round and in the next round caused a bigger upset as she defeated Sara Sorribes Tormo also bageled her in the second set. Sara had defeated Ashleigh Barty in the Tokyo Olympics and is having a good tour this season, Emma took the first 11 games of the match. In the next round was the biggest upset by Emma yet as she defeated Shelby Rogers. Rogers again had defeated Barty in the earlier round and reached the quarterfinals last year.

It is interesting to see that Emma has not dropped a set yet in the US Open, she has not conceded more than four games in a set against her opponents. In her eight Grand Slam matches so far, she has lost one to Ajla Tomljanović in Wimbledon other than she has won all her matches in straight sets. Emma also recorded a bagel in her very first Grand Slam match, she seems to be very promising and will look to be at her best against Belinda Bencic.

Emma is a right hander who plays a two handed backhand, she has powerful groundstrokes which has been a nuclear weapon in the US Open. She has a total of 92 winners in four matches and so far has quickly closed out the matches. Emma’s physical fitness has improved ever since her Wimbledon retirement, she is now used to the game of the top players. Emma hopefully won’t fall prey to the heavy expectations as every upcoming young player faces this stern task of facing the audience in times of defeat. She will need every bit of strength in the coming matches and the crowd so far has been super supportive of the players. Emma looks to be the flag bearer of the latest generation.

Also read: Emma Raducanu breezes past Shelby Rogers at the US Open, Matteo Berrettini seeks Wimbeldon revenge against Novak Djokovic

(Tennis news): In Men’s Singles, Grigor Dimitrov has had a rough year as he retired midway in the second round match against Alexei Popyrin. Dimitrov suffered a foot injury in the third set forcing him to retire from the match, he also had retired in the 1st round of the French Open due to back problems. Popyrin was leading the match as he won the first two sets which were stretched till tiebreaks. The final scoreline read 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-4), 4-0.

Stefanos Tsitsipas has spent over 7 hours in the first two matches at the US Open this year which has also resulted in a total of 120 winners. Tsitsipas had to dig deep against Adrian Mannarino who overcame a two set deficit to take the third set but was outplayed in the fourth set. Tsitsipas finished the match with a bagel and the scoreboard read 6-3, 6-4, 6-7 (4-7), 6-0.

In Women’s Singles, 17 year old prodigy and world number 23 Cori Gauff lost to former champion Sloane Stephens in the second round of an all american clash. Stephens started off the blocks well and did not let Gauff to have any mid match comeback, Stephens is looking her old back self as in form Gauff ended her campaign in the final slam of the year. The scorecard after an hour read 6-4, 6-2.

Simona Halep was on song as she trounced past Kristina Kucova to advance to the third round. Halep looks to be on form and had reached the semifinals in the US Open 6 years ago, Kucova put up a decent fight in the first set but in the second set was not able to hold on for long as Halep secured the win. The final score read 6-3, 6-1.

Sara Sorribes Tormo seems to be having a breakthrough year as she upset Karolína Muchová in her opening match. Sara played a defensive game as Muchová kept attacking throughout the match, Muchova paid her price as she played an error stricken game and ran out of steam in the second set tie break. The scoreboard read 6-2, 7-6 (7-3).

In Men’s Doubles, Máximo González and Simone Bolelli defeated the pair of Cameron Norrie and Jan-Lennard Struff in straight sets. Máximo González and Simone Bolelli only lost 6 points on 1st serve as they scored a 7-6 (7-5) , 6-3 victory.

In Women’s Doubles, Ankita Raina and Kateryna Bondarenko were crushed by seasoned and in form pair of Andreja Klepač and Darija Jurak in their opening match. Ankita Raina and Kateryna Bondarenko could only manage to win two games in the match. The final score was 6-1, 6-1.

Play had to be stopped in between on Louis Armstrong Stadium because the rain was coming in sideways in the openings under the roof. As a result many doubles matches were also affected and were delayed. Only two doubles matches have been completed so far and the mixed doubles is scheduled to start tomorrow.

Also read: Novak Djokovoc hits few minor bumps against Debutant in the US Open, Maxime Cressy upsets Pablo Carreño Busta

(Tennis news): Ashleigh Barty will be looking for a third Grand Slam victory at this year’s US Open. She won the French Open two years ago and this year’s Wimbledon. Next, she will try to capture a Grand Slam in the hardcourt too. Barty was at her best in Cincinnati Open as she didn’t lose a set on the way to capturing the title, defeating Victoria Azarenka, Barbora Krejcikova, Angelique Kerber. In the final she overcame Jil Teichmann who upset Naomi Osaka, Belinda Bencic and Karolina Pliskova. It was supposed to be a tight contest between Barty and Teichmann but Barty proved to be too good.

Barty is a top contender for the US Open as her style is suited for hardcourts as she has won 9 of them out of thirteen career titles in hardcourt. She will also look to improve her previous best in the US Open which is a fourth round finish in 2018 and 2019. Barty won the 2018 US Open doubles title with Coco Vandeweghe thus showing that she is an all round player capable of playing any style. She also has a strong serve and uses efficient volleys as she has also found success in doubles. Barty is leading in aces this year with 297 and has won 74.9 percent of her first serve proving that it will be tough to find a way across her. Barty also has a strong forehand which comes to use while playing cross court or creating sharp angles and her backhand slice can disturb the speed and rhythm of the rally. She has won titles on hardcourt, grass, clay this year which shows she can adapt to any surface

Barty has won five Singles titles this year, she won in Yarra Valley Classic, Miami Open, Stuttgart Open, Wimbledon and the last one coming in Cincinnati. She also won the doubles in Stuttgart partnering with Jennifier Brady. Although she was knocked out in the first round of Tokyo Olympics by Sara Sorribes Tormo from Spain, Barty found success in the mixed doubles as she won the bronze with John Peers. She has the most titles with 5 and most victories with 40 in this WTA Singles season.

Also read: Alexander Zverev waiting to halt Novak Djokovic from a historic Grand Slam victory

Barty did not participate last year due to the pandemic and would try to add the two Slams she hasn’t won yet that includes the Australian Open. She has progressed beyond the quarterfinals in all the Slams except the US Open, this year she looks to be the player to watchout for. Barty will face tough competition from two time champion Naomi Osaka, Bianca Andreescu who also won here in 2019 defeating Serena Williams in the final. Belinda Bencic will also prove to be a tough one to beat as she won the Singles Gold in the Tokyo Olympics and Karolina Pliskova who lost to Barty in the Wimbledon final.

This year’s US open will miss a lot of players due to the injuries, Barty will look to dominate from the start like she did in Cincinnati sending a warning to the other players. She has played over 19 tournaments this year and has a healthy lead over world number 2 Aryna Sabalenka. She has been the World number since 2019 and will look to end the year as number 1 for a third consecutive time. Barty suffered injuries earlier in the year that caused her to miss the French Open and the run up events to Wimbledon but she came back strong by capturing the title on grass. Barty will look to finish the year with a first US Open title and will be waiting to get back on court.

(Tennis sport news) Olympic 2021 Live Update: Team India in Women’s doubles lost to the
Ukraninan team of Nadiia Kichenok and Lyudmyla Kichenok in the First Round at the Tokyo Olympics. Sania Mirza and Ankita Raina got off to a flying start as they bageled their opponents in 21 mins in the first set, in the second set they had the lead 5-2 and were ready to close the match. The twins fought back, making it to the tiebreak and winning it in almost an hour.

Also read: Manu Bhaker India’s medal hopeful does not qualify for the finals

In the final set they continued their fightback by winning 8 points on the trot and looked for a comfortable victory. The Indians fought valiantly and made it 8-8 but couldn’t hold off the last two points as they lost the match in 1 and half hours.

In Women’s singles Wimbledon Champion and world number 1 Ashleigh Barty was knocked out by Spaniard Sara Sorribes Tormo in two sets in the first Round of Tennis. Pulling off a major upset, Sara is definitely looking for more in the upcoming rounds.