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Tag: Women's tennis

  • Protest stops play during U.S. Open semi-final match between Gauff, Muchová

    Protest stops play during U.S. Open semi-final match between Gauff, Muchová

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    Karolina Muchova of Czech Republic and Coco Gauff of the United States walk to their benches during their Women’s Singles Semifinal match on Day Eleven of the 2023 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 07, 2023 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City.

    Elsa | Getty Images Sport | Getty Images

    Play between Coco Gauff and Karolína Muchová during a U.S. Open match was stopped Thursday after an environmental protester “glued his feet to the cement floor,” an announcer said.

    The match between Gauff, of the United States, and Muchová, of Czechia, was delayed for around 40 minutes.

    There were three environmental protesters in all in an upper area, Stacey Allaster, tournament director, said in an interview during coverage of the sporting event.

    Two of those protesters left quietly without incident, she said.

    “When security got there they found that one of the protesters had physically glued themselves in their bare feet to the cement floor,” Allaster said.

    Gauff and Muchová took a seat during the delay. An announcer described it as a protest in the “far reaches” of the stadium.

    The match between the two players was at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York, which has 24,000 seats.

    “NYPD are in the process of resolving a fan disturbance. Play will resume as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience,” U.S. Open Tennis tweeted.

    The protester was removed, and play has resumed.

    Police said the incident happened shortly after 8 p.m., and an investigation is ongoing. A person was taken into custody without incident, police said, but their name was not immediately released.

    “We know in these large events, environmental protesters use the platform,” Allaster said. “Certainly, security will be resuming, along with NYPD, to see what else we can do to prevent it in the future.”

    — This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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  • Wimbledon relaxes all-white clothing rule for women

    Wimbledon relaxes all-white clothing rule for women

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    LONDON — Wimbledon is relaxing its requirement for all-white clothing to allow female players to wear colored undershorts to be more comfortable on their periods.

    Wimbledon’s strict policy about all-white attire for players is one of the best-known features of the grass-court Grand Slam tournament, but the All England Club said it decided to update the rules after discussions “with the WTA, clothing manufacturers and medical teams on how best to support women and girls competing at the championships.”

    The new rules state that women can now “wear solid, mid/dark-colored undershorts provided they are no longer than their shorts or skirt.”

    All other requirements for clothing and accessories remain unchanged, including the stipulation that “competitors must be dressed in suitable tennis attire that is almost entirely white.”

    “We are committed to supporting the players and listening to their feedback as to how they can perform at their best,” said Sally Bolton, the chief executive of the All England Club. “It is our hope that this rule adjustment will help players focus purely on their performance by relieving a potential source of anxiety.”

    The All England Club also said Wimbledon recorded its second-highest ever profit of 47.1 million ($55.5 million) in 2022, which trailed behind only 2019. Of that, 90% will be distributed to the Lawn Tennis Association “for the benefit of British tennis.”

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    More AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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  • Sabalenka stuns Swiatek, faces Garcia for WTA Finals title

    Sabalenka stuns Swiatek, faces Garcia for WTA Finals title

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    FORT WORTH, Texas — Aryna Sabalenka stood stoically ever so briefly, before crouching for an emphatic fist pump to go with a scream.

    Yeah, the seventh-ranked woman in the eight-player WTA Finals couldn’t hide the emotion, because she knew exactly what she had done.

    Sabalenka ended world No. 1 Iga Swiatek’s 15-match winning streak against top-10 opponents, taking a 6-2, 2-6, 6-1 victory in the semifinals of the season-ending event Sunday night.

    The stunner puts Sabalenka in final Monday night against No. 6 Caroline Garcia, who streamrolled Maria Sakkari 6-3, 6-2 and can become just the second Frenchwoman to win WTA Finals after Amelie Mauresmo in 2005.

    Swiatek, the French Open and U.S. Open champion and runaway leader with eight tour victories, cruised through three round-robin victories, losing just 13 games to give her the longest winning run against top-10 opponents since Steffi Graf won 17 straight in 1987.

    Just like that, it was over when the 21-year-old from Poland lost the last five games against a player she had beaten in all four meetings this season.

    Sabalenka was No. 1 when she beat Swiatek in round-robin play at last year’s WTA Finals, but neither player made the semifinals.

    With that much out of the way for both, Sabalenka showed how comfortable she was on the temporary indoor hard court at Dickies Arena. Nine of her 10 career victories have come on hard courts.

    “I just want to make sure that every time she plays against me, she knows that she really has to work hard to get a win,” said Sabalenka, whose fourth loss this year to Swiatek was a three-setter in the U.S. Open semifinals. “Only because of this thinking, I was able to play at this amazing level tonight.”

    Swiatek fell behind one break in the final set with two wide forehands before another one put her down two breaks. Sabalenka gave herself a match point with her 12th and final ace, then hit another serve so good, Swiatek’s lunging return was wide and long.

    After a tour-best 67 victories and a 37-match unbeaten run from February to June that was the longest in women’s tennis in a quarter-century, this wasn’t quite the ending Swiatek had in mind.

    “In the third, I just started making mistakes from shots that I wouldn’t make mistakes usually,” Swiatek said. “At the beginning of the first set, I just wanted to be kind of focused. Maybe I didn’t realize soon enough that I should be more pepped up.”

    Garcia was playing just 24 hours after beating Daria Kasatkina in a tense 80-minute third set to secure the last spot in the semifinals, but needed just 74 minutes total for a career-best fourth victory over a top-five opponent this season.

    Garcia never trailed, dominating the fifth-ranked Sakkari in winners (21-8) and aces (6-0).

    “I don’t know,” Garcia said when asked where she found the energy to dominate after the quick turnaround. “Yesterday, I was a little bit tired, but it was nothing unusual after such a big match.”

    Garcia has advanced out of group play in both WTA Finals appearances. The 29-year-old lost in the semifinals in the eight-player event five years ago, which also was the most recent time a player older than Garcia reached the semis (Venus Williams).

    “I guess I’m five years older, maybe five years wiser,” said Garcia, who was No. 74 about this time last year. “You try to learn from everything. I’ve got a good team behind me, supporting me when I was a little bit doubting myself.”

    Sakkari also was among the five players who have reached the semis their first two times since the round-robin format was reintroduced in 2003. She lost in the semis last year.

    Garcia used a 120 mph ace to help erase a break chance for Sakkari and extend her lead to 4-0 in the second set.

    Garcia’s sixth and final ace answered a double fault that gave Sakkari another break point. Garcia closed out that game for a 5-1 lead on the way to a 3-0 career record against Sakkari.

    Sakkari had three straight-set victories in the tournament after coming in with just one win over a top-10 opponent this season.

    The 27-year-old from Greece never recovered after dropping her first set of the week, finishing with 11 more unforced errors (19) than winners.

    “Not taking away anything from her, I played a very average match from my side,” said Sakkari, who didn’t qualify for the WTA Finals until the final event of the regular season. “I wasn’t sharp. I wasn’t energized.”

    Defending doubles champs Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova advanced to the title match with a 7-6(5), 6-2 semifinal victory over Lyudmyla Kichenok and Jelena Ostapenko.

    The Czech duo will play Veronika Kudermetova and Elise Mertens, 6-1, 6-1 winners over Desirae Krawczyk and Demi Schuurs.

    The event was moved to Texas from China over concerns about the safety of Peng Shuai, a Grand Slam doubles champion who accused a former government official there of sexual assault. Coronavirus restrictions also played a part in the decision. It’s the first WTA Finals in the U.S. since 2005.

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    AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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  • Alexis Ohanian gets sports award, calls for reforms in NWSL

    Alexis Ohanian gets sports award, calls for reforms in NWSL

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    NEW YORK — Alexis Ohanian called out the need for a safe work environment in the National Women’s Soccer League while receiving the Champions for Equality Award at the annual Salute to Women in Sports event on Wednesday night.

    The former executive chairman of Reddit is a founding investor of the newest women’s professional soccer team, Angel City FC in Los Angeles. He was accompanied by his wife Serena Williams and daughter Olympia.

    “As a club owner, as a husband and as a father, I have been disgusted by what’s been brought to light as part of this ongoing investigation,” he said. “I’m hopeful it will lead to necessary reform.”

    He praised the players in the NWSL who are demanding accountability and changes after last week’s report from an independent investigation highlighted systemic sexual misconduct and emotional abuse. The investigation detailed administrative reporting failures in the sport, impacting several teams, coaches and executives in the league.

    “It’s to their strength, their bravery and their courage that we’re going to get a better NWSL,” Ohanian said to cheers at the Women’s Sports Foundation’s event in Manhattan.

    Five of the 10 head coaches in the NWSL either were fired or stepped down last season amid allegations of misconduct. Two owners have recently stepped away from their teams.

    Ohanian said he watched the U.S. women win the 2019 World Cup and mused about how Olympia might someday play in a World Cup: “Serena said, without missing a beat, ‘Not until they pay her what she’s worth.’”

    Ohanian is part of the majority-female Angel City FC ownership group that includes Williams, Natalie Portman, Mia Hamm, Abby Wambach, Julie Foudy, America Ferrera, Uzo Aduba, Candace Parker and Billie Jean King, among others.

    Foudy, a two-time U.S. World Cup champion, said rigorous guidelines are needed to combat sexual misconduct and it would “absolutely” help to have more female owners and female coaches in the NWSL.

    “The change of mindset in Angel City and that ownership group … is remarkable to see,” she said. “You don’t have to spend so much time expending energy about why you should support these women. They get it. The Angel City refrain I always get it is: ’What’s possible?’”

    Olympic gold medalists Sunisa Lee in gymnastics and Maggie Steffens in water polo were also honored as Sportswomen of the Year at the awards dinner, which commemorated the 50th anniversary of Title IX.

    South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley received the Billie Jean King Leadership Award. Staley not only led the U.S. women’s basketball team to the gold medal at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics but also guided South Carolina to its second NCAA title in five years in April. Staley is the first Black coach to win two NCAA Division I basketball championships.

    Bobsledder Elena Meyers Taylor, the most decorated Black athlete at the winter Olympics with five medals, was given the Wilma Rudolph Courage Award. She accepted the award with her young son, Nico, at her side. Meyers Taylor won her most recent medal despite having COVID-19 at the Beijing Olympics.

    “I’m inspired by this remarkable group of honorees, who are breaking records, eliminating barriers and blazing a path for a brighter future in and out of sports for girls and women,” said King, who in 1974 created the Women’s Sports Foundation, which provides community sports programs and training grants.

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    More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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