Tennis

Dubai: World No 5 Elena Rybakina will headline a stellar field featuring Grand Slam champions, Olympic medallists and the game’s rising stars as the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open returns this season as a WTA 500 event at the International Tennis Centre, Zayed Sports City from January 31 to February 7. The 2024 Abu Dhabi champion has polished her game in a golden era of women’s tennis after historic Wimbledon success in 2022 set the Kazakh on her path to greatness. Rybakina has subsequently made it

The ATP on Thursday announced the establishment of a new Masters 1000 tournament to be held each year in Saudi Arabia from as early as 2028. It will be played on hard courts and held "at the start of the season" in a city to be determined, and will last "one week", ATP chairman Andrea Gaudenzi said at a press conference in Paris. The long-expected move will be the first ever expansion of the top-tier category of men's tennis since its creation in

Jannik Sinner will be making his return to the court after a controversial doping suspension, and everyone will be excited to see him at his home tournament in Italy: the Rome Open. Having been dormant since agreeing a WADA (World Anti Doping Agency) suspension in February, Sinners is ramping back into action. He conducted a training session in front of thousands of fans on the center court at the Foro Italico. He is so popular that Sky Sport broadcast his practice match with

If the broadcasters of tennis were hoping for a success of tears streaming down the face of teenager Alexandra Eala after she pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the WTA season, they were left with the opposite. Yet, that last point when she broke world no 2 Iga Swiatek for the eighth time told us much more about the Filipina tennis player than any tears would. It all hit Eala as she was doing a post-match interview after which she quivered and was

Participants experienced both laughter and action-packed play throughout the second People of Determination Day during the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. The event aimed to promote sports inclusivity allowed participants from across the emirate to enjoy an active morning of tennis before meeting Indian doubles player Yuki Bhambri. The Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium hosted more than 130 participants from eight schools and vocational training centres who received support from qualified coaches along with dedicated volunteers. The young enthusiasts experienced firsthand the unifying

Entering centre court at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships as a considerable underdog with only one WTA trophy on her record Peyton Stearns faced Ons Jabeur who broke new ground as the first Arab player to reach a Grand Slam final on Monday evening.The 23-year-old American stepped up with fearless tennis to defeat the Tunisian 7-6 (8/6) 6-4 which advanced her to the next round. The world number 46 emerged victoriously from a first set tie-break won by a narrow margin to

The Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships' 33rd edition will start in about ten days with four past champions returning to compete in the emirate. The defending champion Ugo Humbert will compete alongside winners from the previous three years Daniil Medvedev from 2023, Andrey Rublev from 2022 and Aslan Karatsev from 2021. On-court play for the Championships will start February 16 at Dubai’s 25th WTA 1000 tournament followed by the ATP 500 event which starts February 24. The Championships promise great potential through two

Tunisia's Ons Jabeur reached the quarter-finals of the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open by defeating 17-year-old Wakana Sonobe in straight sets 6-3 6-3 which sets up her against reigning champion Elena Rybakina who defeated Katie Volynets after trailing behind. USA’s Ashlyn Krueger delivered arguably the day's best performance with her stunning comeback victory over former runner-up Daria Kasatkina while Belinda Bencic and Leylah Fernandez advanced to the quarter-finals after defeating Veronika Kudermetova and Lulu Sun respectively. Jabeur reached the last 16 through an impressive

Soon after they landed in the capital, three of the players taking part in the ongoing third edition of the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open at the International Tennis Centre, were given a tour of Louvre Abu Dhabi. In pictures taken before the tournament kicked off, the Novi Sad and Belinda Bencic, the first winner of the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open in 2023, Daria Kasatkina, who finished second last year, and Leylah Fernandez, a finalist for the Grand Slam, were photographed in front of the iconic

The Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open lineup now includes Caroline Garcia, Marketa Vondrousova, Ashlyn Krueger, and Wakana Sonobe for the event at the International Tennis Centre in Zayed Sports City from February 1-8.  The third edition of the all-female WTA 500 event builds anticipation while its strong field gains strength from four additional players who have received wildcards with Garcia, Vondrousova and Krueger entering the main draw and Sonobe entering the qualifiers.  At 31 years old French player Garcia has claimed 11 WTA Tour

The Rod Laver Arena witnessed Jannik Sinner claim consecutive Australian Open victories when he defeated Alexander Zverev in the final match for men’s singles in Melbourne on Sunday. Sinner won the match convincingly with score results of 6-3, 7-6, 6-3.  Jannik Sinner maintained his title by defeating Nicolas Jarry, Tristan Schoolkate, Marcos Giron, Holger Rune, Alex de Minaur in his successful defense campaign. He secured victory over Ben Shelton during the semi-final match with straight sets wins.  When is Jannik Sinner's CAS hearing?  

Novak Djokovic pulled out of his match against Alex Zverev after losing the first set 7-6(5) on Friday which allowed the German to advance to his first Australian Open final.  The Serb heavily taped his upper left leg again due to an injury he sustained during the quarter-finals.  Zverev advances to face the victor between Jannik Sinner and Ben Shelton in Sunday's final match while pursuing his debut Grand Slam title.  Djokovic still needs a record 25th major title after his semi-final defeat

On Wednesday at Melbourne Park Iga Swiatek won her second Australian Open semifinal with a dominant 6-1 6-2 victory over Emma Navarro.  The match turned controversial when Swiatek got lucky with her drop shot pick-up in the fifth game of the second set because it appeared to bounce twice before she could grasp it.  The final points of Swiatek's victory under the sun at Rod Laver Arena led to an American matchup with Madison Keys who defeated Elina Svitolina 3-6 6-3 6-4 before

Wearing the blue shirt and green stripe of his country on court, the 21-year-old Spaniard has been quietly yet assertively going about his business through the first week at Melbourne as, meanwhile, seeds have fallen to teenagers, Jannik Sinner has advanced his title defence and Novak Djokovic his pursuit of a 25th major crown. Third seed Carlos Alcaraz lost his first set of the tournament but nevertheless safely made it through to the fourth round of the Australian Open with a 6-2 6-4 6-7(3) 6-3

Iga Swiatek raced into the third round at the Australian Open on a hot and sunny Thursday before the fellow Grand Slam winner Emma Raducanu set up an intriguing match against the second seed with a convincing win.  Swiatek’s Polish colleague Hubert Hurkacz had his days, though, with the 18th seed losing in straight sets to Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic while Ons Jabeur progressed with a clear illness.  Back-to-back champion Jannik Sinner will open the evening session after that, while fellow Italians Jasmine Paolini

Jannik Sinner opened his Australian Open title defence with a 7-6(2) 7-6(5) 6-1 win over Nicolas Jarry on Monday, contrasting doping cases in the two players.  World number one Sinner, who survived suspension despite two drug tests in March, was well-served at Rod Laver Arena on a blazing Rod Laver Arena by the large-serving Chilean who spent 11 months in 2020 behind bars for doping.  Jarry had written in the build-up to the match to the Chilean newspaper La Tercera that he hoped

Jannik Sinner begins defence of his Australian Open title against Nicolas Jarry and women’s champion Aryna Sabalenka faces 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens as the draw for the year’s first Grand Slam was made at Melbourne Park on Thursday.  Novak Djokovic goes to the wire for his second Australian Open title in record time and 25th Grand Slam title against the US wildcard Nishesh Basavareddy, but he isn’t going to make it to the Melbourne Park final easily.  Third round: Djokovic may

World No1 Aryna Sabalenka is also in for a nasty shock as she tries to become the first woman since Martina Hingis to rack up an AO hat-trick in 26 years.  Sabalenka plays Sloane Stephens (last major champion) and a scheduled quarterfinal against No.5 Zheng Qinwen (replay of last year’s Australian Open final).  Then she might square up to Coco Gauff in an explosive semifinal, the same round where the two champs clashed here 12 months ago.  Sabalenka came into Brisbane as the

Elena Rybakina, reigning champion, is set to defend her title in the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open which will take place from February 1st to February 8th at the International Tennis Centre, Zayed Sports City. She is now fit to play after battling injuries in the previous season.  Belinda Bencic, Daria Kasatkina, and Elena Rybakina look to be rivaling for the title this season. Rybakina, who is a 25 year old Kazakh strong player, is going up against fierce competition including Bencic, who gave

Novak Djokovic has already confessed to still getting anxious upon landing in Melbourne airport three years after he was deported from Australia.  The 24-time Grand Slam winner lost his visa before the 2022 Australian Open amid days of over Australia’s Covid entry policy and his unvaccinated status.  ‘I have to be very open,’ Djokovic told Melbourne’s Herald Sun newspaper.  ‘The two times I had landed in Australia the last couple of times, to pass through passport control and immigration – I had some