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7NEWS
8 hours ago
- 7NEWS
Nick Kyrgios and Naomi Osaka, Alex de Minaur and Katie Boulter omitted from new US Open mixed doubles draw
A mixed doubles pairing featuring Nick Kyrgios and Naomi Osaka looks like box office, and the love-doubles of Alex de Minaur and Katie Boulter is another to catch the eye. Neither duo, however, has been accepted by US Open organisers for their revamped mixed doubles format. Venus Williams, however, is in, the 45-year-old fresh from last week's comeback after a year off the circuit, along with a pairing sure to reignite gossip in the British tabloids: Emma Raducanu and Carlos Alcaraz. The remodelled 16-team mixed doubles is designed to attract attention of fans, sponsors, television and social media. Taking place in the Fan Week ahead of the main US Open it has a short format and prize money lifted to a $US 1 million ($A1.5m). Eight pairs qualify on the strength of their combined singles rankings, the other eight are given wildcards by the US Tennis Association. The qualifiers and six of the wildcards were announced on Tuesday. Which means two slots remain open — offering hope to Kyrgios, de Minaur and their partners. One could actually be on hold for Kyrgios to confirm his fitness. After his comeback playing doubles with Gael Monfils at the DC Open in Washington last week he posted on social media his knee was 'cooked', but he did complete the match. Another may be being kept open for women's world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka, who was partnered with Grigor Dimitrov - but the Bulgarian sustained a pectoral muscle injury while leading eventual winner Jannik Sinner by two sets to love at Wimbledon. Other contenders are Italian duo Jasmine Paolini (nine) and Lorenzo Musetti (10), who were the odd pair out of the three whose combined ranking was 19; Katerina Siniakova and Marcelo Arevalo, who were the women's and men's doubles No.1s until this week when Tayor Townsend usurped Siniakova; or Canadian Olympic bronze medallists Gaby Dabrowski and Felix Auger-Aliassime. DC Open singles winner De MInaur (eight) is the highest ranked man not in the event. Last year's US Open mixed doubles champions, Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori, who dismissed the new format as a 'pseudo-exhibition focused only on entertainment and show' that would shut out true doubles players, have been given a wildcard. So has Novak Djokovic partnering Olga Danilovic. Briton Jack Draper, who was going to play alongside Zheng Qinwen, now partners Paula Badosa, who was going to play with her boyfriend Stefanos Tsitsipas. However, Zheng is injured while Badosa has broken up with Tsitsipas. They qualify on ranking, Badosa/Tsitsipas would have needed a wildcard. Williams, who will play with fellow American Reilly Opelka, won one match each in singles and doubles in Washington after not competing anywhere since the Miami Open in March 2024. She has won 16 doubles grand slam titles, 14 in women's doubles with her younger sister Serena, two in mixed doubles. US Open mixed doubles pairings Qualified (singles ranking in brackets) Emma Navarro (11) & Jannik Sinner (1) Paula Badosa (10) & Jack Draper (5) Iga Swiatek (3) & Casper Ruud (13) Elena Rybakina (12) & Taylor Fritz (4) Amanda Anisimova (7) & Holger Rune (9) Belinda Bencic (15*) & Alexander Zverev (3) Jessica Pegula (4) & Tommy Paul (15) Mirra Andreeva (5) & Daniil Medvedev (14) *protected ranking Wildcards Venus Williams & Reilly Opelka Emma Raducanu & Carlos Alcaraz Madison Keys & Frances Tiafoe Olga Danilovic & Novak Djokovic Taylor Townsend & Ben Shelton Sara Errani & Andrea Vavassori.
Perth Now
11 hours ago
- Perth Now
US Open omits Kyrgios-Osaka, de Minaur-Boulter duos
A mixed doubles pairing featuring Nick Kyrgios and Naomi Osaka looks like box office, and the love-doubles of Alex de Minaur and Katie Boulter is another to catch the eye. Neither duo, however, has been accepted by US Open organisers for their revamped mixed doubles format. Venus Williams, however, is in, the 45-year-old fresh from last week's comeback after a year off the circuit, along with a pairing sure to reignite gossip in the British tabloids: Emma Raducanu and Carlos Alcaraz. The remodelled 16-team mixed doubles is designed to attract attention of fans, sponsors, television and social media. Taking place in the Fan Week ahead of the main US Open it has a short format and prize money lifted to a $US 1 million ($A1.5m). Eight pairs qualify on the strength of their combined singles rankings, the other eight are given wildcards by the US Tennis Association. The qualifiers and six of the wildcards were announced on Tuesday. Which means two slots remain open - offering hope to Kyrgios, de Minaur and their partners. One could actually be on hold for Kyrgios to confirm his fitness. After his comeback playing doubles with Gael Monfils at the DC Open in Washington last week he posted on social media his knee was "cooked", but he did complete the match. Another may be being kept open for women's world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka, who was partnered with Grigor Dimitrov - but the Bulgarian sustained a pectoral muscle injury while leading eventual winner Jannik Sinner by two sets to love at Wimbledon. Other contenders are Italian duo Jasmine Paolini (9) and Lorenzo Musetti (10), who were the odd pair out of the three whose combined ranking was 19; Katerina Siniakova and Marcelo Arevalo, who were the women's and men's doubles No.1s until this week when Tayor Townsend usurped Siniakova; or Canadian Olympic bronze medallists Gaby Dabrowski and Felix Auger-Aliassime. DC Open singles winner De MInaur (8) is the highest ranked man not in the event. Last year's US Open mixed doubles champions, Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori, who dismissed the new format as a "pseudo-exhibition focused only on entertainment and show" that would shut out true doubles players, have been given a wildcard. So has Novak Djokovic partnering Olga Danilovic. Briton Jack Draper, who was going to play alongside Zheng Qinwen, now partners Paula Badosa, who was going to play with her boyfriend Stefanos Tsitsipas. However, Zheng is injured while Badosa has broken up with Tsitsipas. They qualify on ranking, Badosa/Tsitsipas would have needed a wildcard. Williams, who will play with fellow American Reilly Opelka, won one match each in singles and doubles in Washington after not competing anywhere since the Miami Open in March 2024. She has won 16 doubles grand slam titles, 14 in women's doubles with her younger sister Serena, two in mixed doubles. US OPEN MIXED DOUBLES PAIRINGS Qualified (singles ranking in brackets) Emma Navarro (11) & Jannik Sinner (1) Paula Badosa (10) & Jack Draper (5) Iga Swiatek (3) & Casper Ruud (13) Elena Rybakina (12) & Taylor Fritz (4) Amanda Anisimova (7) & Holger Rune (9) Belinda Bencic (15*) & Alexander Zverev (3) Jessica Pegula (4) & Tommy Paul (15) Mirra Andreeva (5) & Daniil Medvedev (14) *protected ranking Wildcards Venus Williams & Reilly Opelka Emma Raducanu & Carlos Alcaraz Madison Keys & Frances Tiafoe Olga Danilovic & Novak Djokovic Taylor Townsend & Ben Shelton Sara Errani & Andrea Vavassori. with AP
The Australian
2 days ago
- The Australian
Wimbledon Day 5 live: Jordan Thompson, Carlos Alcaraz, latest match results
Carlos Alcaraz survived another erratic performance on Friday, battling to a 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff to stay on track for a third straight Wimbledon crown. Alcaraz made 28 unforced errors in an inconsistent display on Centre Court but conjured enough moments of magic to eventually subdue the world number 125 and book his place in the last 16. The world number two had been pushed to the brink in a five-set win over 38-year-old Italian Fabio Fognini in the first round and looked below his best again in a second-round victory over British amateur Oliver Tarvet. After grinding out his latest underwhelming win, the Spaniard has plenty of room for improvement. In contrast to Alcaraz's laboured efforts, world number one Jannik Sinner -- his main rival at the All England Club -- has dropped just 12 games in his first two matches. Carlos Alcaraz hugs Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff at the end of their third round match HENRY NICHOLLS / AFP It is hardly time for Alcaraz to panic, however. He has won his past 21 matches since losing to Holger Rune in the Barcelona final in April, a streak that has brought him titles at the Rome Masters, the French Open and Queen's Club. The 22-year-old, who fought back from two sets down to beat Sinner on clay in an epic final at Roland Garros last month, has won 32 of his 35 Tour-level matches on grass. The five-time Grand Slam winner's last defeat at Wimbledon came against Sinner in the fourth round in 2022. Having vanquished Novak Djokovic in the past two Wimbledon finals, Alcaraz is looking to join an elite group of Wimbledon icons. He hopes to become the fifth man in the Open Era to win at least three consecutive Wimbledon titles after Bjorn Borg, Roger Federer, Pete Sampras and seven-time champion Djokovic. Osaka blows chance to end fourth-round hoodoo Naomi Osaka blew a golden opportunity to reach the Wimbledon fourth round for the first time as the Japanese star was beaten by Russian world number 50 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova on Friday. Osaka was in a strong position after taking the first set on Court Two, but her bid to finally make the last 16 imploded as Pavlyuchenkova battled back to clinch a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory. The 27-year-old is a four-time Grand Slam champion, but she has not won a major since 2021. Osaka's four previous appearances at Wimbledon ended in two third-round defeats and losses in the first and second round. Once again she fell short at the grass-court Grand Slam. Since her triumph at the Australian Open four years ago, she is on a dismal run of 12 successive Grand Slam appearances without reaching the fourth round. Osaka, 27, gave birth to a daughter in July 2023, returning from a 15-month sabbatical for the start of the 2024 season. Naomi Osaka was unable to break through with a fourth-round appearance. The former world number one, now down to 53rd in the WTA rankings, has always struggled on grass. Earlier this week, Osaka admitted she had feared playing on the surface for much of her career. 'I don't know, with age fear kind of crept along and, I guess, paralysed me in a way,' she said. 'Now I'm kind of just getting over that and trying to spread my wings on grass.' Osaka's wings were clipped by Pavlyuchenkova in a rollercoaster clash. The Japanese star quickly raced into a 4-1 lead and clinched the first set with an ace. Pavlyuchenkova levelled the match with a blistering forehand on set point in the second set. Osaka left the court to compose herself before the final set, but she was broken in the second game and fell 3-0 down. Faced with elimination, Osaka battled back, winning three consecutive games, only to crumble as Pavlyuchenkova pounced when the pressure mounted. 'I felt like I was behind for the majority of the match, so I played point-by-point. I'm incredibly happy because I was mentally tough in the three matches that I have won,' said the Russian. 'I'm usually not so good on grass. The majority of you were cheering for Naomi today but it's OK. As I said, I'm mentally tough.' Alcaraz works on service conundrum Carlos Alcaraz knows he must finetune his serve to keep his Wimbledon title defence on course. The Spaniard has been unimpressed by his serve during wins over Fabio Fognini and Oliver Tarvet in the first and second round, respectively. After winning Wimbledon for the last two years, as well as taking the title in the warm-up event at Queen's Club in June, second seed Alcaraz knows better than most that a deadly delivery is the secret to success on grass. Second seed Carlos Alcaraz. 'I think here in Wimbledon, I'm struggling a little bit with the serve. I'm feeling really different between Queen's and here with the balls, with the speed,' the five-time Grand Slam champion said ahead of a Centre Court clash with German world number 125 Struff. 'On grass the serve is probably the most important shot. At Queen's I started to serve unbelievable. But after the first round here, I left the court not happy at all with the serve. 'I'm going to pay much attention on the serve. Let's see if in the third round I'll be better.' Raducanu ready to rock Sabalenka Raducanu believes she can add to the growing list of Wimbledon upsets in her Centre Court blockbuster showdown with top seed Sabalenka. The British star produced one of her best performances at the All England Club to defeat former Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova in the second round on Wednesday. Now Raducanu, who won the US Open as a teenager in 2021, is gearing up for her first Grand Slam meeting with a world number one. Emma Raducanu is eyeing a Wimbledon boilover. Although she is yet to hit top form at SW19 this year, Belarusian star Sabalenka is the only top-five seed still standing with Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, Jasmine Paolini and Zheng Qinwen all out. Three-time major winner Sabalenka is chasing a maiden Wimbledon title, having missed last year's Championships because of a shoulder injury. Raducanu has endured a difficult time since her stunning breakthrough triumph in New York four years ago, but after back problems plagued her at the start of 2025, the world number 40 is back in the groove. 'I think having won against Marketa, she's also a really top opponent, so that gives me confidence. I feel amazing,' the 22-year-old said. 'Of course, Aryna is number one in the world, she's been so dominant in the women's game. I know it's going to be a massive challenge.' Read related topics: Wimbledon
