Category: Tennis

• Heat and humidity force Italian out in third set

• Amanda Anisimova wins China Open in Beijing

Jannik Sinner was forced to retire from his third-round match at the Shanghai Masters against Tallon Griekspoor, the 27th seed, after ­suffering from cramps in humid ­conditions while trailing the Dutchman 6-7 (3), 7-5, 3-2.

In the final weeks of a long, arduous season for all, the conditions in Shanghai have been severe this past week, particularly on Sunday as ­players tried to compete in 90% humidity. Many struggled badly.

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• American trounces compatriot 6-1, 6-2 in semi-final

• Zverev: organisers are favouring Alcaraz and Sinner

Amanda Anisimova continued a stellar season in which she has finished as runner-up at Wimbledon and the US Open by advancing to her second WTA 1000 final of the year, outclassing Coco Gauff, the defending champion, 6-1, 6-2 in the semi-finals of the China Open.

Seeded third in Beijing, the 24-year-old American now has a 2-1 edge in her head-to-head record against her compatriot Gauff.

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• Briton overwhelmed 6-3, 6-4 by the Czech world No 27

• Kartal leapfrogs Boulter as GB No 2 after tournament

Sonay Kartal’s impressive breakthrough run in Beijing came to a difficult end as she was overpowered by Linda Noskova, who eviscerated every last ball and played a stellar match to reach the semi-final of the China Open with a comfortable 6-3, 6-4 win.

The defeat ends the most significant tournament of Kartal’s career to date as the 23-year-old Briton showed, with a series of excellent performances in one of the biggest events in the world, that she has the game to trouble the best players in the world, reaching her first WTA 1000 quarter-final with a superb three-set win over Mirra Andreeva, ranked No 5, for her first victory against a top-10 player.

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• Victory in Beijing sees Briton reach quarter-finals

• Jannik Sinner clinches his third title of 2025

Sonay Kartal put together the best performance of her burgeoning career to outlast the world No 5 Mirra Andreeva across three gruelling sets, winning 7-5, 2-6, 7-5 after two hours and 25 minutes to reach her first WTA 1000 quarter-final at the China Open.

The victory in Beijing marks Kartal’s first defeat of a top 10 opponent, a statement result as she rises up the rankings. Standing at just 5ft 4in (163cm) in a sport dominated by strong, imposing athletes, one of the most common questions surrounding Kartal’s career has been whether her game is too underpowered to trouble the elite. The Briton’s efforts on Wednesday provided a convincing answer to those questions.

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• Sublime Spaniard beats world No 4 in straight sets

• But he pulls out of Shanghai Masters to ‘rest and recover’

After consoling his opponent and embracing his team at the end of another successful week on the tour, Carlos Alcaraz had just one thought on his mind. He immediately sought out a pair of scissors to finally remove the extensive bandage wrapped tightly around his left ankle.

Having started his week in Tokyo by rolling his ankle and being unsure about whether he would continue, Alcaraz ended it with his eighth title of the season as he overcame a spirited fight from a physically hampered Taylor Fritz to triumph at the Japan Open with a 6-4, 6-4 win.

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• Briton loses 3-6, 7-6 (9), 6-0 to American world No 7

• Defeat echoes loss against Krejcikova in Seoul

For the better part of two hours on court at the China Open against one of the toughest possible opponents, Emma Raducanu’s varied, steadily improving game was in full flow. She seemed to be moving confidently towards one of the most impressive wins of her career.

When it was time to close out victory against the world No 7 Jessica Pegula, however, Raducanu simply crumbled under pressure. After her positive start, Raducanu’s time in Beijing ended in a catastrophic loss as she failed to convert three match points before losing 3-6, 7-6 (9), 6-0 to Pegula in the third round.

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• Italy claim 2-0 victory against 18-time champions

• Win takes Italy’s tally to six titles in women’s competition

An inspired Italy successfully defended their Billie Jean King Cup with a 2-0 victory over record 18-time champions the United States on Sunday, taking their own tally in the premier women’s team competition to six titles.

Elisabetta Cocciaretto and Jasmine Paolini both won their singles matches to help their country triumph in Shenzhen and prolonged the American wait for another title after their previous success in 2017.

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• Keothavong’s team suffer 2-0 defeat by United States

• ‘I feel like my motivation’s back and it’s there every day’

Great Britain’s wait to get their hands on the Billie Jean King Cup will continue after they exited the tournament with a semi-final loss to the United States.

Sonay Kartal was first to step on court in Shenzhen, China, facing Emma Navarro and going a set up early on with a 6-3 success, but losing the next two sets 6-4, 6-3 to leave Great Britain 1-0 down.

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The sporting superstar walked away from success and adulation at 26 – much to everyone’s bemusement. He opens up about his secret life and the depression, cocaine, overdoses and aggressive cancer that almost killed him

‘I’m a person who doesn’t say very much,” Björn Borg says with a wry smile. Which may be the understatement of the century. Borg, the greatest tennis player of his day, has spent 42 years saying nothing since he announced his retirement at the age of 26.

When he broke that news in 1983, it was one of the biggest shocks in the history of sport. Not simply because he was at his peak, but also because he was the rock star tennis player – beautiful, mysterious and followed by a flock of teenybopper fans. When Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz triumphed in the US Open earlier this month, aged 22, he became the second youngest player to have won six major tournaments. Borg beat him by four months.

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• Tennis legend told diagnosis was ‘really, really bad’

• Borg also recalls drug use after early retirement

Björn Borg, the five-time Wimbledon tennis champion, has said he is taking life “day by day, year by year” after his “extremely aggressive” prostate cancer diagnosis.

The former world no1, who won 11 grand slam titles before retiring aged 25, revealed the diagnosis in the final chapter of his autobiography, which will be published this week in the UK and next week in the US. The Swede is in remission, having had an operation in 2024, but described the diagnosis as “difficult psychologically”.

Read Bjorn Borg’s interview with Simon Hattenstone on theguardian.com from 4pm UK time on Thursday

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• British No 1 beats Jaqueline Cristian 6-3, 6-4 amid delays

• Captain Keothavong called BJK absence disappointing

Emma Raducanu overcame the frustration of lengthy weather-related delays to beat Jaqueline Cristian in the opening round of the Korea Open.

The contest had been scheduled for Tuesday but was postponed because of rain, and more wet weather then caused another substantial delay on Wednesday. But Raducanu and Cristian were finally able to take to the court and it was the British No 1 who came out on top 6-3, 6-4 after a tussle lasting two hours and two minutes.

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• Aleksandar Vukic loses final decider against Raphael Collignon 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 6-3

• Earlier De Minaur defeated Zizou Bergs and Rinky Hijikata and Jordan Thompson won doubles

Australia’s men’s tennis stars have suffered Davis Cup despair, falling a set short of completing one of the greatest comebacks in the history of the 125-year-old competition.

A day after overcoming severe cramping to defy Alex de Minaur, unfancied world No 91 Raphael Collignon wore down late stand-in Aleksandar Vukic 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 6-3 in the deciding rubber to lead Belgium to a pulsating 3-2 second-round qualifying triumph in Sydney.

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• Norrie beats Olaf Pieczkowski as GB see off Poland

• Germany, France and Argentina reach final eight

Cameron Norrie defeated Olaf Pieczkowski of Poland 6-4, 6-4 to secure Great Britain’s place in next year’s Davis Cup qualifiers. Norrie’s assured victory over the world No 484 established an unassailable 3-1 lead for Great Britain after they were forced to recover from the setback of starting the day with an unexpected defeat.

Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool, the Wimbledon doubles champions, were upset 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (8) by Karol Drzewiecki and Jan Zielinski to present Norrie with the task of overcoming Pieczkowski to avoid a decider on the final day.

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• World No 8 and Jordan Thompson suffer singles losses in Sydney

• Belgium take 2-0 lead over Australia in second-round qualifying tie

Tennis officials have been branded “barbaric” as Australia slumped to a shock 2-0 deficit in a dramatic start to their second-round Davis Cup qualifying tie against Belgium in Sydney.

Lowly ranked Raphael Collignon overcame severe cramping to upset world No 8 Alex de Minaur 7-5 3-6 6-3 in a three-hour, 12-minute epic before Zizou Bergs beat Jordan Thompson 7-6 (4) 6-4 in Saturday’s second singles rubber.

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