logo
WTA chairman Simon to retire in December

WTA chairman Simon to retire in December

Straits Times15-05-2025
FILE PHOTO: Tennis - Opening Ceremony of WTA finals in Saudi Arabia - Core Social Wellness Club, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - June 26, 2024 WTA Chief Executive Officere Steve Simon during the launch REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
Women's Tennis Association (WTA) chairman Steve Simon will step down from his role in December after 10 years with the organisation, the governing body of women's tennis said on Thursday.
Simon joined the WTA in 2015 as chief executive and was replaced in that role by Portia Archer in July.
"Since day one, I have worked to deliver positive change and growth for women's tennis... and to promote dialogue and collaboration between players, tournaments and partners across the game," Simon said in a WTA statement.
"I am proud of what we have accomplished and look forward to watching the continued rise of women's tennis in years to come."
Simon had come under fire from players over the decision to hold the 2023 WTA Finals outdoors in the Mexican resort of Cancun. They were later moved to Saudi Arabia in another decision that was widely criticised. REUTERS
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

'I was a total mess' — Iga Swiatek speaks up about her failed doping test
'I was a total mess' — Iga Swiatek speaks up about her failed doping test

Independent Singapore

time41 minutes ago

  • Independent Singapore

'I was a total mess' — Iga Swiatek speaks up about her failed doping test

Photo: Swiatek Iga Swiatek admitted that failing a doping test was a terrible and confusing experience. In November 2024, the athlete got an email stating that she had tested positive for a banned substance called trimetazidine. Swiatek then accepted a one-month suspension from the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) and clarified that the positive test was from a contaminated batch of her non-prescription melatonin, which she took to help her with jet lag and her sleep condition. Eventually, the ITIA determined that the violation was unintentional, following interviews from Swiatek and her team, as well as investigations and analysis of samples in accredited laboratories. With this unfortunate event, Swiatek missed three tournaments, including the WTA 1000 events in Beijing and Wuhan. In a podcast, Swiatek shared her experience when she first got the news: 'It was pretty terrible… I was in a photoshoot with my sponsor in Warsaw, and I was in the middle of it. We were just kind of changing locations. I went on my email and I saw that I got an email from this portal, and I thought it was just a reminder of my whereabouts or something. I didn't even read it because I started crying, and my agents, who were at my shoot, thought that someone died. I gave my manager the phone and she read everything. They were also pretty confused because obviously, no one knows what to do in a situation like that.' The experience really took a toll on Swiatek, but she faced the results even when she was confused and was being a 'mess'. She stated: 'We met in the evening with the whole team, with my doctor, and we first called with a lawyer. I hired him over the phone basically. It was all very confusing… Honestly, I was a total mess. I was basically joking, was being sarcastic, because I just had to do something to keep it together. When everything came out, I was basically crying for two weeks, couldn't practice, because I felt that tennis did this to me and that I'm in this place because of tennis.' She continued: 'I felt like I was losing my integrity, like no one is going to believe me that I didn't do anything wrong and that the whole world would turn their backs on me and that every accomplishment that I had would start to disappear.' Despite this major setback, Swiatek redeemed herself by winning this year's Wimbledon title and became the first Polish athlete to win a singles title at Wimbledon. Furthermore, she is the first woman to win her first six Grand Slam finals since Monica Seles in 1992. At Wimbledon, Swiatek defeated Amanda Anisimova with a final scoreline of 6-0, 6-0 in under an hour. With her win, she declared: 'Being Wimbledon champion sounds amazing and pretty surreal. I'm appreciating every minute. I'm proud of myself because who would have expected that?' Read more about Iga Swiatek's 2025 Wimbledon win here. () => { const trigger = if ('IntersectionObserver' in window && trigger) { const observer = new IntersectionObserver((entries, observer) => { => { if ( { lazyLoader(); // You should define lazyLoader() elsewhere or inline here // Run once } }); }, { rootMargin: '800px', threshold: 0.1 }); } else { // Fallback setTimeout(lazyLoader, 3000); } });

Ferrari extend Vasseur's contract as F1 team boss
Ferrari extend Vasseur's contract as F1 team boss

Straits Times

time2 hours ago

  • Straits Times

Ferrari extend Vasseur's contract as F1 team boss

Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox FILE PHOTO: Formula One F1 - Australian Grand Prix - Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne, Australia - March 13, 2025 Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur at the Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit ahead of the Australian Grand Prix REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo BUDAPEST - Ferrari announced a multi-year contract extension with Formula One team boss Fred Vasseur on Thursday, ending immediate speculation about the Frenchman's future. Vasseur has been in the post since the beginning of 2023 and was a key element in seven times world champion Lewis Hamilton joining from Mercedes this season. "Today we want to recognize what has been built and commit to what still needs to be achieved," said Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna in a statement released ahead of this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix. "It reflects our trust in Fred's leadership, a trust rooted in shared ambition, mutual expectations and clear responsibility." REUTERS

Rickie Fowler climbing FedExCup points list, but he seeks more
Rickie Fowler climbing FedExCup points list, but he seeks more

Straits Times

time2 hours ago

  • Straits Times

Rickie Fowler climbing FedExCup points list, but he seeks more

Rickie Fowler of the United States looks over his putt on the second tee prior to the Wyndham Championship. LOS ANGELES – While professional golf's four Majors have come and gone, there is still lots of money and prestige to be earned over the next month. The PGA Tour's Wyndham Championship, which began on July 31 at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, North Carolina, is the final tournament before the US$100 million FedExCup Playoffs. That means it is the final chance for golfers to collect FedExCup points and claim one of the 70 invites to next week's US$20 million FedEx St. Jude Championship. Rickie Fowler entered this week's play ranked No. 52 on the points list, so he is guaranteed a chance to play in Memphis. But only the top 50 players earn a shot to play the following week in the BMW Championship, and only the top 30 get to compete for US$60 million at the Tour Championship. So there is plenty of motivation to excel at Sedgefield. 'Yeah, I definitely believe there's some good golf coming up (for me) and it wouldn't be a bad thing if it happened to be in the next few weeks,' Fowler said before this week's tournament. The 36-year-old has been steadily climbing the points list since he shared 15th place at the Truist Classic in mid-May. He shared 16th place at the Charles Schwab Challenge, tied for seventh at the Memorial, split 18th at the John Deere and snagged a share of 14th at the Open Championship with a final-round 65. What does the California native credit for his recent surge? As happens with so many athletes, he has not been bothered as much by injuries of late. 'Just working on getting the body feeling better,' he said. '(I've) struggled with a few things. Yeah, just been in a better spot and been able to go out and play as much pain-free as we can. But that's probably been one of the biggest thing(s), just allow myself to go play. 'Definitely nice to see some trending in the right direction, some good solid finishes. Yeah, looking forward to hopefully putting together a good little run and finish up the season.' Fowler finished 101st in last year's FedExCup points standings and did not get to play in either the Masters or the US Open this year, so getting back into the top 70 is a notable achievement. But finishing among the top 50 would be that much more impressive because, in addition to the current FedExCup opportunities, it would unlock invitations to all eight signature events next year. Each event featured a US$20 million purse this year. REUTERS

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store