tennis – Artifex.News

Dominic Thiem To Retire At The End Of 2024 Season Due To A Wrist Injury

admin — Fri, 10 May 2024 18:33:57 +0000

File photo of Dominic Thiem.© AFP

Former US Open champion Dominic Thiem of Austria announced on Friday that he will retire from international tennis at the end of the 2024 season because of a wrist injury. Thiem is aged 30 and turned professional in 2011, winning 17 titles overall in a career spanning more than a decade. He made his announcement on social media on Friday that the 2024 season will be his last in international tennis. “Hello everybody. I have to tell you a very important, very sad, but very beautiful message that the season 2024 is going to be my last one,” Thiem said in a video posted on Instagram. “I am going to finish my career at the end of the season.

“There are some reasons behind it. Firstly, my wrist is not exactly the way it should be, and it is not exactly the way how I want it and the second reason is my inner feeling.

“I was thinking about this decision. I was thinking about this decision for a very long time. I was thinking very carefully about it. I was thinking about the whole journey as a tennis player which was incredible,” Thiem said in the video message.

“I have had success; I have won trophies I never dreamt of. The journey was incredible, all the ups and downs. It was an incredible experience which I was so thankful for and in the end, I came to the conclusion that this decision to end my career by the end of the season is the only right one. I am very happy with it and I am super excited for everything that is coming next. For a lot more information and all the talks with my family and all the talks about my career and my past, check out my vlog which is coming out tomorrow,” he said.

Thiem has lifted 17 tour-level titles during his career, holding a current 348-210 win-loss record.

The Austrian won his only major trophy at the US Open in 2020, while he clinched his one ATP Masters 1000 crown in Indian Wells in 2019, beating Roger Federer in the final. He captured his maiden tour-level title on clay in Nice in 2015, with 10 of his 17 trophies coming on that surface.

Topics mentioned in this article

Source link

Former World Number One And Two-Time Major Winner Garbine Muguruza Retires

admin — Sat, 20 Apr 2024 17:21:28 +0000

File photo of Garbine Muguruza.© AFP

Former world number one and two-time Grand Slam winner Garbine Muguruza announced her retirement from tennis on Saturday after more than a year without playing. “The time has come to say goodbye, it has been a long and beautiful career, but I feel the time has come to retire,” Muguruza, 30, told a press conference at the Laureus Awards. “It’s a decision that I’ve been taking little by little.” Muguruza had not competed since January 2023 when she played her last official match at the Lyon Open before taking a break from the sport.

“When I stopped competing, I returned home and I welcomed the break with open arms,” said Muguruza who ends her career with 10 singles titles.

“Every day that went by I felt better and I didn’t miss the discipline and the difficulty of the life I had before, so it has been a progressive thing.”

Muguruza made her WTA main-draw debut in 2012, and reached her first Grand Slam final in 2015 where she was defeated by Serena Williams at Wimbledon.

However she beat the American to claim her first Grand Slam at the French Open in 2016, and then beat Venus Williams in 2017 to win Wimbledon.

Her Paris win made Muguruza the first Spanish woman to lift a Grand Slam trophy since Arantxa Sanchez Vicario triumphed in the French capital in 1998.

When she added Wimbledon to her title collection the following year she became the first Spanish female to triumph at the All England Club since Conchita Martinez in 1994.

Fittingly, it was Martinez who coached her to the title and two months later Muguruza rose to number one in the world.

Topics mentioned in this article

Source link

Novak Djokovic Splits From Goran Ivanisevic With Bitter Sweet Message

admin — Wed, 27 Mar 2024 12:40:37 +0000

Novak Djokovic and Goran Ivanisevic are to go their separate ways, the tennis world number one announced on Wednesday, ending a five-year association which yielded 12 Grand Slams. Djokovic brought Croatia’s 2001 Wimbledon champion on board as a member of the coaching team ahead of the grass court Grand Slam in 2019 and although the Serbian admitted their “on-court chemistry had its ups and downs”, it also resulted in huge success. However, Djokovic has had by his high standards a poor start to the year, losing to eventual champion Jannik Sinner of Italy in the Australian Open semi-finals.

The 36-year-old Serbian then lost to Sinner’s unheralded compatriot Luca Nardi in the third round at Indian Wells, prompting him to withdraw from the Miami tournament for what he claimed were scheduling reasons.

“Goran and I decided to stop working together a few days ago,” Djokovic posted on Instagram.

“Our on court chemistry had its ups and downs, but our friendship was always rock solid.

“In fact, I am proud to say (not sure he is) that apart from winning tournaments together, we also had a side battle in Parchisi going on… for many years,” he said, referring to the online game.

“And — that tournament never stops for us. Sefinjo, thanks for everything my friend. Love you.”

Djokovic said the volatile and charismatic Ivanisevic had brought more than just his tennis acumen to the partnership, which was exactly what he and his then head coach Marian Vajda had been looking for.

“I remember clearly the moment I invited Goran to be part of my team,” said Djokovic.

“It was back in 2018, and Marian (Vajda) and I were looking to innovate and bring some serve magic to our duo.

“In fact, not only we brought serve, but also lots of laughter, fun, year end no1 rankings, record breaking achievements and 12 more Grand Slams (and a few finals) to the count since then.”

Topics mentioned in this article

Source link

Carlos Alcaraz Stung On Forehead As Bee Invasion Hits Tennis Match – Video Goes Viral

admin — Fri, 15 Mar 2024 14:43:28 +0000

Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz fought off swarming bees and Alexander Zverev on Thursday to set up a semi-final clash with Jannik Sinner at Indian Wells. World number two Alcaraz was stung on the forehead and temporarily forced from the court as a “bee invasion” halted his quarter-final against Germany’s Zverev with just two games completed. He looked none the worse for wear when play resumed after a delay of almost two hours, polishing off a 6-3, 6-1 victory and avenging a quarter-final loss to Zverev at the Australian Open. Sinner powered into the semi-finals with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Czech Jiri Lehecka pushing his match win streak to 19. Sinner’s run stretches back through last year’s Davis Cup finals and includes a perfect 16-0 record in 2024.

In Saturday’s semi-finals he’ll be out to turn the tables on Alcaraz, who beat him at the same stage last year on the way to the title in the California desert.

Alcaraz said he never imagined his title defense would find him ducking for cover amid a swarm of bees.

He and Zverev were just two games into their match when the bees overwhelmed proceedings, Alcaraz swatting and swiping at the insects after being stung on the forehead.

The bees swarmed the remote-controlled “spider cam” and Alcaraz and Zverev had already run for cover when chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani announced “Ladies and gentlemen, play is suspended due to bee invasion.”

Swarm of Bees Suspends Carlos Alcaraz’s match at Indian Wellspic.twitter.com/DRwOBeuVAI

— Levandov (@Levandov_2) March 15, 2024

For sure the most unusual match I have ever played in my career,” he said, recalling that he noticed the bees after winning a point on serve in the third game.

“I thought it was just a few of them, not too many,” he said. “But I saw the sky and there was thousands, thousands flying, stuck in my hair, going to me. It was crazy.

“I tried to stay away from them, but it was impossible.”

A bee expert was summoned and removed the bees clustered on the aerial camera with a live-capture vacuum.

The players were brought back on court to warm up, although Alcaraz insisted beekeeper Lance Davis get rid of some stragglers around the player chairs and equipment.

“I’m not going to lie,” Alcaraz said “I’m a little bit afraid of bees.”

But he had no more trouble — with the bees or Zverev.

He said he was pleased with how he managed to stay focused during the delay, as well as with his superb return game against the big-serving Zverev.

Alcaraz said he played “probably one of my best return matches that I’ve done in my tennis career.

“I put every return in,” said Alcaraz, who has gone from strength to strength as he chases his first title since he vanquished Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon last July.

He can expect a tough challenge against Sinner, who captured his first Grand Slam title in Melbourne and has since lifted the trophy in Rotterdam.

In breezy conditions on court two, Sinner was in firm control, breaking Lehecka early in each set and saving the only break point he faced in the match.

“Today was for sure a different situation,” Sinner said. “In the beginning was windy, but I handled it very well.”

Fourth-ranked Daniil Medvedev, runner-up to Alcaraz last year, booked a return trip to the semi-finals with a 7-5, 6-4 victory over seventh-ranked Holger Rune of Denmark.

Medvedev will play American Tommy Paul, who turned the tables on Casper Ruud with a 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 victory over the ninth-ranked Norwegian.

Paul belted 35 winners, saving two break points when serving for the match before clinching it on his second match point.

“It’s awesome,” said Paul, who had dropped four of his five prior meetings with Ruud. “I’m really pumped with how I’m playing.”

Topics mentioned in this article

Source link

Rafael Nadal’s Withdrawal Hands Main Draw Slot To Sumit Nagal In Indian Wells

admin — Thu, 07 Mar 2024 11:02:03 +0000

Indian tennis star Sumit Nagal has advanced to the main draw of the BNP Paribas Open as a ‘lucky loser’ after Spanish superstar Rafael Nadal withdrew from the event citing lack of readiness to play at the highest level. The 26-year-old Nagal had lost in the second round of the qualifying tournament but got the big break as he was the highest ranked player in that draw. He is currently placed 101st in the ATP rankings and was entitled to go through in case of a last-minute main draw withdrawal.

The Indian will take on Canada’s Milos Raonic, a 2016 Wimbledon finalist who is on protected rankings, early on Friday. Players injured for a minimum of six months can seek a protected ranking, which is an average of their ranking during the first three months of injury.

“Excited for my ATP Masters 1000 debut in Indian Wells,” Nagal posted on X.

Excited for my ATP Masters 1000 debut in Indian Wells pic.twitter.com/DmjeX7zvW9

— Sumit Nagal (@nagalsumit) March 7, 2024

Earlier, Nadal, 37, announced his withdrawal in a statement. The Spaniard has been battling injury issues and was forced to undergo a hip surgery last season.

“It is with great sadness that I have to withdraw from this amazing tournament. Everyone knows how much I love this place and how much I love to play here at Indian Wells,” he said.

“I have been working hard and practising and you all know I took a test this weekend but I don’t find myself ready to play at the highest level at such an important event.

“It is not an easy decision, it’s a tough one as a matter of fact but I can’t lie to myself and lie to the thousands of fans. I will miss you all and I am sure the tournament will be a great success,” he added.

I have been working hard and practicing and you all know I took a test this weekend but I don’t find myself ready to play at the highest level at such an important event.
It is not an easy decision, it’s a tough one as a matter of fact but I can’t lie to myself and lie to the… pic.twitter.com/JslDFANMW8

— Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) March 7, 2024

Tournament director Tommy Haas expressed his disappointment at Nadal’s withdrawal.

“We are disappointed that Rafa is unable to play in the BNP Paribas Open, but we wish him continued healing and hope he can be back in action again soon,” Haas said.

Nagal broke into the ATP top-100 last month on the back of his title win in the Chennai Challenger event. He, however, dropped out soon after owing to underwhelming results in the ensuing tournaments.

Topics mentioned in this article

Source link

“Long Overdue”: Sania Mirza Calls For Introspection On Value Of Women’s Success

admin — Sat, 02 Mar 2024 03:39:05 +0000

Former India tennis ace Sania Mirza has called for introspection on how women’s success is perceived in the society. The ex-India player, who got divorced from former Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik a few months back, reflected on the gender discrimination she feels is still prevalent in the society. Sania opened up while reacting to an advertisement that showed how a society devalues a woman’s success. The ad also portrayed the feelings of an independent woman during the struggle she has to go through due to the social stigma.

“In 2005, I was the first Indian woman to win a WTA title. Big deal, right? When I was world no. 1 in doubles, people were keen to know when I’d settle down. Winning six grand slams isn’t settled enough for society,” said Mirza on X while reacting to the advertisement.

“I’m grateful for the support I’ve received along the way, but can’t help and think why a woman’s achievements invite conversation about gender ‘expectations’ and appearances, instead of her skill and the work itself,” she added.

While admitting that a “real conversation” about society is “difficult”, Sania said that an introspection on the issue is required.

In 2005, I was the first Indian woman to win a WTA title. Big deal, right? When I was world no. 1 in doubles, people were keen to know when I’d settle down. Winning six grand slams isn’t settled enough for society. I’m grateful for the support I’ve received along the way, but… https://t.co/PGfSvAMgFd

— Sania Mirza (@MirzaSania) March 1, 2024

Sania’s personal life became a trending topic on social media in January this year after Shoaib shared his wedding pictures with Sana Javed on social media. There were rumours about the separation of Sania from Shoaib, and the former Pakistan player’s new wedding post confirmed it.

Later, Sania’s family broke the silence on the matter.

In the statement, Sania’s team and her family wrote: “Sania has always kept her personal life away from the public eye. However, today the need has arisen for her to share that Shoaib and she have been divorced for a few months now. She wishes Shoaib well for his new journey ahead!

At this sensitive period of her life, we would like to request all fans and well-wishers to refrain from indulging in any speculation and to respect her need for privacy.”

Topics mentioned in this article

Source link

Yuki Bhambri Makes His First ATP 500 Semifinals In Men’s Doubles

admin — Thu, 29 Feb 2024 16:11:29 +0000

File photo of Yuki Bhambri.© AFP

India’s Yuki Bhambri made his first men’s doubles semifinals of the ATP 500 tour after he and his partner Robin Hasse upset third seeds Jamie Murray and Michael Venus in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships in Dubai on Thursday. Bhambri and his Dutch partner Hasse, who came through the qualifying round to earn a spot in the main draw, took one hour and 22 minutes to produce a remarkable performance to beat Britain’s Murray and New Zealand’s Venus 6-4, 7-6(1).

In the semifinal to be played on Friday, Bhambri and Hasse will face the second-seeded pairing of Ivan Dodig (Croatia) and Austin Krajicek (USA).

However, there was disappointment in store for the Australian Open men’s doubles winning pair of India’s Rohan Bopanna and Australia’s Matthew Ebden, who lost in the quarterfinals.

The top-seeded pair of Bopanna and Ebden began well but their opponents, Uruguay’s Ariel Behar and Czech Republic’s Adam Pavlasek came from behind to emerge winners by 3-6, 6-3, 10-8 in a match lasting one hour and 11 minutes.

Behar and Pavlasek made a late rally to win the final four points of their clash against the much-fancied duo of Bopanna and Ebden.

Topics mentioned in this article

Source link

Asian Games 2023 September 30 Schedule: Indians In Action, Events And Timing

admin — Fri, 29 Sep 2023 17:48:37 +0000

India’s stars like weightlifter Mirabai Chanu, boxer Lovlina Borgohain, mixed doubles pair of Rohan Bopanna and Rutuja Bhosale will be in action on September 30 at the Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou. It won’t be a medal match but an India vs Pakistan contest is always among the big games, the two teams will be facing each other in a Pool A match in men’s hockey on Saturday. Meanwhile, athletes like huddler Jyothi Yarraji, long jumpers Murali Sreeshankar and Jeswin Aldrin will also be in action during the qualifying events.

(Asian Games 2023 Medals Tally | Asian Games 2023 Full Schedule)

Asian Games 2023 September 30 (Saturday) Full Schedule:

3×3 basketball

Men’s qualification to quarter-finals: India vs Iran – 10:55 AM
Women’s qualification to quarter-finals: India vs Malaysia – 1:00 PM
Men’s quarter-finals (if qualified) – 3:30 PM onwards
Women’s quarter-finals (if qualified) – 3:30 PM onwards

Athletics

Women’s heptathlon events (Swapna Barman, Nandini Agasara) – 6:30 AM onwards
Men’s long jump qualifying Groups A and B (Murali Sreeshankar, Jeswin Aldrin) – 6:35 AM
Women’s 100m hurdles heats (Jyothi Yarraji, Nithya Ramraj) – 6:30 AM
Men’s 1500m round 1 heats (Ajay Kumar Saroj, Jinson Johnson) – 7:05 AM
Women’s 400m final (Aishwarya Kailash Mishra) – 5:30 PM
Men’s 400m final (Muhammed Ajmal) – 5:40 PM
Men’s 10,000m final (Karthik Kumar, Gulveer Singh) – 5:50 PM

Badminton

Men’s team semi-finals (HS Prannoy, Kidambi Srikanth, Lakshya Sen, Mithun Manjunath, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty, Dhruv Kapila/MR Arjun): India vs the Republic of Korea – 2:30 PM onwards

Boxing

Women’s 54kg quarter-finals: Preeti (IND) vs Zhaina Shekerbekova (KAZ) – 11:30 AM
Women’s 75kg quarter-finals: Lovlina Borgohain (IND) vs Suyeon Seong (KOR) – 12:15 PM
Men’s 57kg round of 16: Sachin Siwach (IND) vs Abuquthailah Turki (KUW) – 1:00 PM
Men’s +92kg quarter-final: Narender (IND) vs Ramezanpourdelavar Iman (IRI) – 2:15 PM
Men’s 71kg quarter-finals: Nishant Dev (IND) vs Okazawa Sewonrets Quincy Mensah (JAP) – 6:30 PM

Bridge

Men’s, women’s and mixed team round robin 2 (Indian teams) – 6:30 AM onwards

Canoeing

Multiple sprint races heats and semi-finals (multiple athletes) – 7:00 AM onwards

Chess

Men’s team round 2 (Gukesh D, Vidit Gujrathi, Arjun Erigaisi, Pentala Harikrishna, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa) – 12:30 PM onwards
Women’s team round 2 (Koneru Humpy, Harika Dronavalli, Vaishali Rameshbabu, Vantika Agrawal, Savitha Shri B) – 12:30 PM onwards

Diving

Men’s synchronised 3m springboard final (London Singh Hemam, Siddharth Bajrang Pardeshi) – 5:00 PM

Equestrian

Eventing team and individual (Apurva Kishor Dabhade, Vikas Kumar, Ashish Vivek Limaye) – 5:30 AM onwards

Golf

Men’s individual and team round 3 (Anirban Lahiri, Shubhankar Sharma, SSP Chawrasia, Khalin Joshi) – 4:00 AM onwards
Women’s individual and team round 3 (Aditi Ashok, Avani Prashanth, Pranavi Urs) – 4:00 AM onwards

Handball

Women’s preliminary round Group B: India vs Nepal – 11:30 AM

Hockey

Preliminary men’s Pool A: India vs Pakistan – 6:15 PM

Kurash

Medal event: Men’s -66kg (Keshav) – 7:00 AM onwards (medal rounds start from 11:30 AM)
Medal event: Women’s -52kg (Pincky Balhara, Suchika Tariyal) – 7:00 AM onwards (medal rounds start from 11:30 AM)

Roller skating

Medal event: Women’s speed skating 10000m point-elimination race final (Heeral Sadhu, Aarthy Kasturi Raj) – 6:30 AM
Medal event: Men’s speed skating 10000m point-elimination race final (Anandkumar Velkumar, Siddhant Rahul Kamble) – 7:05 AM

Shooting

Medal event: 10m air pistol mixed team qualification round and medal matches (Divya TS, Sarabjot Singh) – 6:30 AM onwards
Men’s trap qualification individual and team phase 1 (Kynan Chenai, Prithviraj Toindaman, Zoravar Singh Sandhu) – 6:30 AM onwards
Women’s trap qualification individual and team phase 1 (Rajeshwari Kumari, Manisha Keer, Preeti Rajak) – 6:30 AM onwards

Squash

Men’s team gold medal match: India vs Pakistan – 1:00 PM

Table tennis

Men’s doubles quarter-finals (Manush Shah/Manav Thakkar) – 9:30 AM onwards
Women’s singles quarter-finals (Manika Batra) – 9:30 AM onwards
Women’s doubles quarter-finals (Sreeja Akula/Diya Chitale and Sutirtha/Ayhika Mukherjee) – 1:30 PM onwards

Tennis

Mixed doubles semi-finals: Rohan Bopanna/Rutuja Bhosale (IND) vs En-shuo Liang/Tsung-hao Huang (TPE) – after 9:30 AM

Volleyball

Women’s preliminary round Pool A: India vs DPR Korea – 8:00 AM

Weightlifting

Women’s 49kg (Mirabai Chanu) – 6:30 AM onwards (final group starts at 12:30 PM)
Women’s 55kg (Bindyarani Devi) – 6:30 AM onwards (final group starts at 4:30 PM)

Topics mentioned in this article

Source link

Tennis Ramkumar-Myneni Pair One Win Away From Men’s Doubles Gold

admin — Thu, 28 Sep 2023 15:02:30 +0000

File image of Ramkumar Ramanathan and Saketh Myneni© Twitter

The Indian tennis camp had something to cheer on Thursday with Ramkumar Ramanathan and Saketh Myneni reaching the men’s doubles gold medal round and the mixed doubles pair of Rohan Bopanna and Rutuja Bhosale assuring itself of a medal. The second-seeded team of Ramkumar and Myneni downed the gutsy Korean pair of Seongchan Hong and Soonwoo Kwon 6-1 6-7(8) 10-0 to move to the title clash. Myneni will now gun for his second Asian Games gold, having won a mixed doubles yellow metal with Sania Mirza in the 2014 edition.

It will be a maiden Games medal for Ramkumar.

The Koreans fought back after losing the opening set in a rather sedate manner but Myneni and Ramkumar held their nerves to outplay their rivals in the Super Tie break.

The Indian team will now take on Chinese Taipei, that ousted Thailand, in the gold medal match on Friday.

India had won the men’s doubles title in the last edition in Indonesia with Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan emerging victorious in the final.

The second-seeded Bopanna-Bhosale pair moved to the mixed doubles semifinals with a fluent 7-5 6-3 win over Kazakhstan’s Zhibek Kulambayeva and Grigoriy Lomakin.

The first set seemed going into a tie-break as Kulambayeva was serving at 40-0 in the 12th game but she lost her serve from that strong position.

There was hardly any fight in the second set. Bopanna, who is playing his last Asian Games at 43, will not go without a medal.

He has already been ousted from the men’s doubles with partner Yuki Bhambri. (Asian Games 2023 Medals Tally | Asian Games 2023 Full Schedule)

Topics mentioned in this article

Source link

Asian Games 2023: Rohan Bopanna-Rutuja Bhosale Move To Next Round

admin — Mon, 25 Sep 2023 13:55:59 +0000

India’s star tennis player Rohan Bopanna playing along with Rutuja Bhosale entered into the next round with a win over Uzbekistan’s duo Maksim Shin-Agkul Amanmuradova in mixed doubles Round 2 match at the Hangzhou Asian Games on Monday. The Indian duo won the match in straight sets 6-2, 6-4 in just 1:04 minutes at the HOC Tennis Centre. However, in the men’s double, Rohan Bopanna and Yuki Bhambri made a shocking exit in the round 2 match at the Asian Games 2023 on Monday. Rohan Bopanna’s loss in the round 2 match came as a surprise to many as he was the reigning champion in the event.

(Asian Games 2023 medals tally | Asian Games 2023 Full Schedule)

Other than that, it was a great day for the Indian players in the tennis doubles event at the Asian Games in Hangzhou as the duo of Saketh Myneni-Ramkumar Ramanathan and Rutuja Sampatrao Bhosale-Karman Kaur Thandi clinched a win on Monday.

In the Men’s doubles round 2 match, the Indian duo defeated Indonesia’s Ignatius Anthony Susanto and David Agung Susanto in just two sets. In the first set, Saketh-Ramkumar won by 3-6, and in the last one, they won by 2-6.

In the Women’s doubles round 1 match, the Bhosale-Thandi duo beat Kazakhstan’s Zhanel Rustemova and Aruzhan Sagandykova. The Indian shuttlers won the match in just two sets, the first set ended at 6-4, and the last one at 6-2.

Earlier in the day, the Indian players also shined in the singles tennis event as Ankita Raina, Rutruja Bhosale, and Ramkumar Ramanathan reached the pre-quarterfinals stage in the Asian Games 2023 on Monday.

Ankita defeated Uzbekistan’s Sabrina Olimjonova in the round of 32 match by 6-0, 6-0 in two straight sets of 51 minutes.

Meanwhile, Bhosale beat Kazakhstan’s Aruzhan Sagandykova by 7-6 (2), 6-2. The first set saw a tiebreaker and the second set ended in 45 minutes.

On the other hand, Ramkumar was given a walkover by his opponent Sunatullo Isroilov of Tajikistan as he was unable to compete.

In the history of the Asian Games, India has clinched 32 medals in tennis, nine gold medals, six silver medals, and 17 bronze medals.

India have so far won 10 medal at these Asian Games including one Gold won in the men’s 10m Air Rifle Team event.

Topics mentioned in this article

Source link