The US Open
Sabalenka storms through with new No. 1 status
Aryna Sabalenka won her debut match since clinching the No. 1 WTA ranking for the first time hours earlier, reaching the US Open quarter-finals 6-1, 6-3 over Daria Kasatkina on Monday.
The second seed ascended to the top spot on the Tour as Iga Swiatek lost in the fourth round here, ending 75 weeks atop the table.
The new top player said she had hoped to face off with her rival in the final with everything at stake.
“I thought Iga would make it to the final, I just hoped that I could also,” she said.,
“I wanted to have a battle and decide it all on court. I’m sad that she lost.
“I was pushing myself so hard today, I really wanted to reach this goal (No. 1)
“It means a lot to me, my family… it’s something crazy and I still can’t believe it.”
Sabalenka wasted no time in imposing her will on Kasatkina, sweeping the opening set and exchanging breaks with her opponent to start the second as her juggernaut gained momentum.
The reigning Australian Open titleholder, who followed up with semi-finals in Roland Garros and Wimbledon, ended a run of three breaks of serve as she claimed a 2-1 lead in the second set.
Sabalenka clinched a double break in the second set, leading 5-2 but threw in some unforced errors to lose serve as she tried to serve out the win.
But a game later Kasatkina sent a return into the top of the net to yield a Sabalenka match point, which the seed pounced on for victory, her 48th of the season against 10 losses.
“It’s always tough matches with Daria,” saba;enka said after winning her fifth from seven meetings.
“I’m happy with the performance. I put her under pressure.”
Sabalenka will face off next against China’s Zheng Quiwen, who shocked 2022 runner-up Ons Jabeur 6-2, 6-4.
The loss by the Tunisian – finalist at three Slams over the past two seasons – came 18 hours after last year’s champion Iga Swiatek was also ushered to the exits in a loss to Jelena Ostapenko.
Jabeur had been suffering here with a virus which seriously impacted her game.
The fifth seed was unable to make an impression in the fourth-round match, taking the loss on Zheng’s fourth match point.
The 20-year-old winner will be playing in her first major quarter-final after defeating a Top 10 player for the fourth time.
“I feel just super-happy and excited to play in the big stadium,” the winner said after victory on the Armstrong court.
“Ons is a fantastic player with a lot of variation in her game – this was an impressive win for me today.
Zheng was successful 10 of the 13 times she went to the net as she followed her game plan in the 81-minute victory with 21 winners and 17 unforced errors.
“I know my game has to be aggressive. A couple of times in the match was was too defensive, she got her chance and broke me.
“I have to take the match on my own. This is an amazing win for me, I want to enjoy it a bit more.”
A disappointed Jabeur explained what went wrong for her.
“It was a tough match, probably she played a good game.
“It was not my day today, being in the fourth round, just a bonus. I wasn’t expecting to even play at the beginning, so.
“We’ll get back to work and hopefully we’ll improve more for sure.”
The Australian Open
Wimbledon goes modern with electronic reviews
Wimbledon will bow to the high-tech future by introducing limited electronic reviews of line calls on major courts at the Championships, the club revealed on Saturday.
The All England Club will allow the technology on showcourts including Centre Court, No. 1 and four others. During controversial moments, competitors will be allowed to ask the chair umpire for a review of the point in question.
The wizardry is coming late to Wimbledon having been used at the US Open since 2023 and later adapted by the Australian Open. Roland Garros relies on marks in its clay surface to determine line calls.
Under the rules, players can ask for the review any number of times, with electronic line-calling now in effect at the grass-court major for a second year after the 2025 elimination of human line judges.
ATP
Sinner claims full house with Indian Wells win
World No. 2 Jannik Sinner became the youngest man to complete the full set of hard-court victories by beating Daniil Medvedev 7-6 (8) 7-6 (7) in the searing heat of Indian Wells.
The 24 year old Italian, didn’t face a break point during the final nor did he drop a set on his way to claiming his first title of the year and his 25th overall.
Sinner has won both hard court Grand Slams, with victories at the Australian Open in 2024 and 2025 and at the US Open in 2024.
In addition he has lifted all six Masters 1000 series hard court titles – adding the Indian Wells title to victories in Miami, Toronto, Cincinnati, Shanghai and Paris plus the season-ending ATP Finals.
Only Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer have achieved the same feat.
Main photo:- Jannik Sinner lifts Indian Wells Trophy – by ATPTour.com
Indian wells
Her way or the highway for Raducanu on court
Emma Raducanu remained defiant at the start of the Indian Wells Masters that if she does hire a new coach, it might not be to try and shape her game.
The Brit who won the 2021 US Open as a qualifier and then suffered a four-year drop in form due to injury, is in the market for a mentor – but only if he or she conforms to her vision for her tennis.
“Right now, it’s more about bringing my instincts back out, getting back in touch with myself,” the 23-year-old told the BBC. “I have had a lot of people telling me what to do, how to play, and it hasn’t necessarily fit.
“So I want to come back to my natural way of playing. That takes time to relearn because that’s something that has been coached out of me a little bit.
“I don’t necessarily want to have one coach in the role because anyone I bring in is straight away going to be scrutinised – even if it’s a trial.
“I might feel the pressure to stick with them, even if it’s not necessarily the right decision.
“I would love to have a coach that works well, but I don’t think it’s necessarily going to be easy to find one person and they are going to check every box.”
Raducanu reached a WTA fiak in early February after exiting in the Australian Open second round. She lost both matches she played last month in the Gulf, at Doha and Dubai.
She is entering the first Masters of the season with former coach Mark Petchey filling in ad hoc in between his TV broadcast commentating duties.
But that solution is temporary. “With Mark I knew he’d be in Indian Wells so I asked him to come out a few days earlier just to do some stuff with me on the court and try to feel back in a better way with my game,” the No. 24 said.
“At the start of the year I didn’t feel too good but the last few days I’ve been feeling better.
“It’s not something that has really been organised going forward but I knew he would be here and it’s been great, I always love being on court with him.”
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