Little more than 12 months ago,Aryna Sabalenka was officially the fifth-best women’s player in the world,a star of the game boasting awe-inspiring power,but one for which questions surrounded her consistency and composure.
World No.1 Novak Djokovic is the warm-up act for Australian Alex de Minaur on Rod Laver Arena,with Coco Gauff,Aryna Sabalenka,and Stefanos Tsitsipas all in action on day eight.
Iga Swiatek’s woes at the Australian Open have continued,with the world No.1 eliminated by a Czech teenager in the star Pole’s earliest exit in five years.
She’s drawn comparisons to Martina Hingis,and Andy Murray has given her his stamp of approval. Siberian-born Mirra Andreeva has the tennis world on notice.
Dual Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka has survived the Jelena Ostapenko experience for the second time this year to move into the fourth round at Melbourne Park for the 10th time.
Ukrainian tennis player Lesia Tsurenko sprayed the tennis world for its ambivalence toward the Russia-Ukraine war as she exited the Australian Open on Friday,lamenting that people have lost interest in her country’s plight.
Twenty-one local hopes,headlined by Alex de Minaur,will contest this year’s Australian Open,after three managed to scrap their way through the qualifying rounds on Friday.
The science of tennis balls has again entered the mainstream after Thanasi Kokkinakis said the balls at the Adelaide International were “lemons”.
Even with Jude Law watching on,the defending Australian Open champion issued an ominous warning. But as she plots a title defence,a leading Aussie was dealt a harsh blow.
While her comeback didn’t play out as planned in Brisbane,Naomi Osaka is still optimistic about her Australian Open prospects.
It’s easy to be confused about the huge changes to our summer. Then there’s the speculation of further upheaval caused by the Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund which has turned golf on its head,and which will undoubtedly affect tennis.