Latest news with #AlexBolt
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Ben Shelton cruises through Round 1 of Wimbledon
Ben Shelton opened up his 2025 Wimbledon with a straight-set victory over Australian Alex Bolt, 6-4, 7-6, 7-6, on the No. 2 Court. Shelton played off his power serve, which is even faster than normal on the grass surface. He had an average serve speed of 190 km/h (118 mph) and a fastest serve speed of 236 km/h (147 mph), good for a share of the third-fastest serve of the tournament through two days. Shelton served up 15 aces to Bolt's seven and only double-faulted six times. He won 78% of his first serves and saved one of just two break points faced. Ben Shelton's Round 2 Matchup at Wimbledon Moving through the first round with relative ease is what's expected of a top-10 talent in the world, and Shelton looks fairly sharp despite having to play two tiebreakers against Bolt. Next up is another Australian, World No. 87 Rinky Hijikata, on the No. 2 Court. Advertisement While there is no specified time for the match, it is the final of five matches on that court on Thursday, the second of which is already in progress and through two sets. The third match is scheduled not before 1:30 p.m. ET, which puts Shelton playing around 6-8 p.m., barring any delays. The only meeting between the two at an ATP event was a 6-4, 6-0 win by Shelton last year in Mallorca on grass. They also played twice in 2022 at a pair of Challenger Tour events. Hijikata won the first-ever encounter in Orlando, 6-3, 7-6(8), on the outdoor hard court, and Shelton won 6-3, 6-4 in Indianapolis on an indoor hard court. An AI assistant powered by IBM on the Wimbledon official page gives Shelton 69% odds to beat Hijikata. Nice. Shelton's road to a Grand Slam title After making it to the semifinals of the Australian Open and Round 4 of the French Open, Shelton has proven that he's at his best while playing Grand Slam events. He keeps running into one of two buzz saws in World No. 1 Jannik Sinner and World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz, but that's the final hurdle to clear before reaching the mountaintop. Advertisement If Shelton is going to become the next truly great American, and not just another top-10, top-25 name that can't finish off big wins, he's going to have to learn to beat either giant of the sports. Neither is a potential opponent for Shelton until the quarterfinals, assuming Sinner makes it there. Looking ahead to Round 3, Shelton would face either World No. 48 Gael Monfils or No. 105 Marton Fucsovics should he beat Hijikata. Shelton's history at Wimbledon Despite debuting on the ATP circuit in 2021, it took a couple of years for Shelton to work himself up to competing in every major. He played the only domestic Grand Slam on the circuit, the US Open, in 2021 and 2022, but 2023 was his first year playing all four majors. He made an early exit in the Round of 64, losing to Laslo Djere in four sets, after winning a five-set battle against Taro Daniel in the first round. Advertisement Shelton made it to the Round of 16 in 2024, winning three five-set matches along the way. He took down Mattia Bellucci first, then Lloyd Harris and finally Denis Shapovalov. He ran into a buzzsaw in the fourth round, losing to World No. 1 Jannik Sinner in straight sets. Performing well at Grand Slam events is a major reason Shelton has climbed the ATP rankings this year. He made his second career Grand Slam semifinal in January at the Australian Open, losing in straight sets to Sinner once again, and made a career-best Round of 16 appearance at Roland Garros last month. World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz needed four sets to defeat the American. Shelton is nearing the point of only losing to top-10 talent on the biggest of stages. It's always brought out the best in him, and grass might be the most complementary surface to his left-handed power serve. Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions. This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Ben Shelton defeats Alex Bolt in straight sets at Wimbledon Round 1
Scottish Sun
01-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Wimbledon star quit tennis at 23 for gruelling work as a fencer before returning to sport and finding love with Brit ace
He likely wouldn't have met his girlfriend without returning to tennis ON THE FENCE Wimbledon star quit tennis at 23 for gruelling work as a fencer before returning to sport and finding love with Brit ace WHEN Alex Bolt quit tennis aged just 23, he would never have imagined making four appearances at Wimbledon. Within days of hanging up his racquet, the Aussie, now 32, joined his brother-in-law's fencing business and began hard graft in the sweltering Southern Australian heat. Advertisement 7 Alex Bolt quit tennis aged just 23 to work as a fencer in March 2016 Credit: EPA 7 Bolt with British tennis ace girlfriend Katie Swan in London Credit: INSTAGRAM After a flurry of defeats against lower-ranked players, Bolt decided to call it quits after "hating his time on the court" in March 2016. Hours after an emotional farewell chat with his then-coach Simon Rea, Bolt joined the family business and set his alarm clock for 5:30am to make a 45-minute drive to his new fencing job. In 2020, he told ATP Tour: "Let me tell you, that was work. Putting up retaining walls. Digging holes. Sticking posts in the ground. Cementing. I didn't know much of anything about what I was doing, but I was doing it. "Those were long, hot days. It can get pretty hot out on a tennis court, but this was rough. I was drained to say the least. Those 5:30 wake-up calls? My excitement was gone after Day 2. That was not fun at all." Advertisement READ MORE TENNIS NEWS FRENCH FANCY Djokovic set to face OnlyFans star and 'sexiest player in tennis' at Wimbledon Just to rub salt in the wounds, one of his first jobs was around basketball and tennis courts at a primary school. After grinding out his new job for a few months, Bolt was persuaded to buy a pair of boots and play in a local Aussie Rules team called the Mypolonga Tigers, which he says "helped him regain his happiness". He said: "It was probably a couple months after that when I started missing tennis. I didn't think I'd ever pick up a racquet. But I wasn't totally out of touch. I'd made some great mates with the Aussie boys, and was still in group chats with them." Bolt then thought 'that could've been me' when he saw his mate Jordan Thompson crack the Top 100 and win four ATP Challenger Tour events later in 2016. Advertisement CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS After hesitating for a while, Bolt got a random call from tennis coach Todd Langman, who was working with his best pal Thanasi Kokkinakis. Todd saw a picture Bolt posted on Facebook at the end of the Aussie Rules season and gave him a call - and Bolt didn't need much persuading. British world No719 qualifies for Wimbledon but is BANNED from claiming £66,000 prize money 7 Bolt found happiness again while playing Aussie Rules with his pals during his break from tennis Advertisement After nine months away from the court, Bolt's first day back was the 2016 AFL Grand Final. He was massively out of shape and was told to start from scratch. Todd even made Bolt play against young kids, telling him to not back down and "to give everything he had". He made his official return to action at a Challenger in Adelaide at the start of 2017, with his Aussie Rules pals coming out to cheer him on while he made the main draw and lost in the second round. Bolt, who is now dating British tennis ace Katie Swan, was then given a wild card into Australian Open qualies in 2017. Advertisement He said: "It was all such a blur. Before I knew it, I was beating Julien Benneteau in the final round to reach the main draw of a Slam for the first time." Despite losing to Yoshihito Nishioka in the first round, Bolt finished the year with a singles ranking of No. 192 - an improvement of almost 400 places from the end of 2016. 7 British star Swan is dating Bolt 7 The Aussie qualified for Wimbledon 2025 Advertisement He also had a handy year on the doubles circuit, making five Challenger finals with three victories to finish the season ranked No. 86, a career high doubles ranking. Before his best singles result in a third round at the Australian Open in 2019, Bolt booked his first Wimbledon main draw debut in 2018 after beating best friend Kokkinakis. Fast forward seven years and Bolt, currently No.194 in the world, has beaten 19-year-old Spaniard Martin Landaluce in the final round of qualifying to reach the main draw of Wimbledon for the fourth time. He takes on 10th seed Ben Shelton today in the first round. Advertisement Meanwhile, girlfriend Swan's dream of returning to Wimbledon was crushed in the first qualifying round in a tight defeat to Leyre Romero Gormaz 7-6(2), 7-6(6). 7 Bolt beat teenager Martin Landaluce at Roehampton to reach the Wimbledon main draw this week It was only as recently as 2023 that Swan was going toe-to-toe with Katie Boulter for the British No.1 ranking, before Emma Raducanu won it back last month. Amazingly, Swan, 26, is not the only British tennis player called Katie in a relationship with an Aussie called Alex, with Boulter dating world No.11 Alex De Minaur. Advertisement As well as representing Australia in Davis Cup, Bolt has been ranked as high as world No.125 in singles and peaked at world No.81 in doubles. Elbow surgery in 2022 provided a slight setback, forcing Bolt out of competition for six months. In 2024, Bolt won back-to-back singles titles at the Swan Hill Tennis International, an ITF 25 grass-court event. 7 Bolt and Swan have been an item since 2022 Credit: INSTAGRAM
The Sun
01-07-2025
- Sport
- The Sun
Wimbledon star quit tennis at 23 for gruelling work as a fencer before returning to sport and finding love with Brit ace
WHEN Alex Bolt quit tennis aged just 23, he would never have imagined making four appearances at Wimbledon. Within days of hanging up his racquet, the Aussie, now 32, joined his brother-in-law's fencing business and began hard graft in the sweltering Southern Australian heat. 7 After a flurry of defeats against lower-ranked players, Bolt decided to call it quits after "hating his time on the court" in March 2016. Hours after an emotional farewell chat with his then-coach Simon Rea, Bolt joined the family business and set his alarm clock for 5:30am to make a 45-minute drive to his new fencing job. In 2020, he told ATP Tour: "Let me tell you, that was work. Putting up retaining walls. Digging holes. Sticking posts in the ground. Cementing. I didn't know much of anything about what I was doing, but I was doing it. "Those were long, hot days. It can get pretty hot out on a tennis court, but this was rough. I was drained to say the least. Those 5:30 wake-up calls? My excitement was gone after Day 2. That was not fun at all." Just to rub salt in the wounds, one of his first jobs was around basketball and tennis courts at a primary school. After grinding out his new job for a few months, Bolt was persuaded to buy a pair of boots and play in a local Aussie Rules team called the Mypolonga Tigers, which he says "helped him regain his happiness". He said: "It was probably a couple months after that when I started missing tennis. I didn't think I'd ever pick up a racquet. But I wasn't totally out of touch. I'd made some great mates with the Aussie boys, and was still in group chats with them." Bolt then thought 'that could've been me' when he saw his mate Jordan Thompson crack the Top 100 and win four ATP Challenger Tour events later in 2016. After hesitating for a while, Bolt got a random call from tennis coach Todd Langman, who was working with his best pal Thanasi Kokkinakis. Todd saw a picture Bolt posted on Facebook at the end of the Aussie Rules season and gave him a call - and Bolt didn't need much persuading. British world No719 qualifies for Wimbledon but is BANNED from claiming £66,000 prize money 7 After nine months away from the court, Bolt's first day back was the 2016 AFL Grand Final. He was massively out of shape and was told to start from scratch. Todd even made Bolt play against young kids, telling him to not back down and "to give everything he had". He made his official return to action at a Challenger in Adelaide at the start of 2017, with his Aussie Rules pals coming out to cheer him on while he made the main draw and lost in the second round. Bolt, who is now dating British tennis ace Katie Swan, was then given a wild card into Australian Open qualies in 2017. He said: "It was all such a blur. Before I knew it, I was beating Julien Benneteau in the final round to reach the main draw of a Slam for the first time." Despite losing to Yoshihito Nishioka in the first round, Bolt finished the year with a singles ranking of No. 192 - an improvement of almost 400 places from the end of 2016. 7 7 He also had a handy year on the doubles circuit, making five Challenger finals with three victories to finish the season ranked No. 86, a career high doubles ranking. Before his best singles result in a third round at the Australian Open in 2019, Bolt booked his first Wimbledon main draw debut in 2018 after beating best friend Kokkinakis. Fast forward seven years and Bolt, currently No.194 in the world, has beaten 19-year-old Spaniard Martin Landaluce in the final round of qualifying to reach the main draw of Wimbledon for the fourth time. He takes on 10th seed Ben Shelton today in the first round. Meanwhile, girlfriend Swan's dream of returning to Wimbledon was crushed in the first qualifying round in a tight defeat to Leyre Romero Gormaz 7-6(2), 7-6(6). It was only as recently as 2023 that Swan was going toe-to-toe with Katie Boulter for the British No.1 ranking, before Emma Raducanu won it back last month. Amazingly, Swan, 26, is not the only British tennis player called Katie in a relationship with an Aussie called Alex, with Boulter dating world No.11 Alex De Minaur. As well as representing Australia in Davis Cup, Bolt has been ranked as high as world No.125 in singles and peaked at world No.81 in doubles. Elbow surgery in 2022 provided a slight setback, forcing Bolt out of competition for six months. In 2024, Bolt won back-to-back singles titles at the Swan Hill Tennis International, an ITF 25 grass-court event.
The Irish Sun
01-07-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Wimbledon star quit tennis at 23 for gruelling work as a fencer before returning to sport and finding love with Brit ace
WHEN Alex Bolt quit tennis aged just 23, he would never have imagined making four appearances at Wimbledon. Within days of hanging up his racquet, the Aussie, now 32, joined his brother-in-law's fencing business and began hard graft in the sweltering Southern Australian heat. 7 Alex Bolt quit tennis aged just 23 to work as a fencer in March 2016 Credit: EPA 7 Bolt with British tennis ace girlfriend Katie Swan in London Credit: INSTAGRAM After a flurry of defeats against lower-ranked players, Bolt decided to call it quits after "hating his time on the court" in March 2016. Hours after an emotional farewell chat with his then-coach Simon Rea, Bolt joined the family business and set his alarm clock for 5:30am to make a 45-minute drive to his new fencing job. In 2020, he told "Those were long, hot days. It can get pretty hot out on a tennis court , but this was rough. I was drained to say the least. Those 5:30 wake-up calls? My excitement was gone after Day 2. That was not fun at all." READ MORE TENNIS NEWS Just to rub salt in the wounds, one of his first jobs was around basketball and tennis courts at a primary school. After grinding out his new job for a few months, Bolt was persuaded to buy a pair of boots and play in a local Aussie Rules team called the Mypolonga Tigers, which he says "helped him regain his happiness". He said: "It was probably a couple months after that when I started missing tennis . I didn't think I'd ever pick up a racquet. But I wasn't totally out of touch. I'd made some great mates with the Aussie boys, and was still in group chats with them." Bolt then thought 'that could've been me' when he saw his mate Jordan Thompson crack the Top 100 and win four ATP Challenger Tour events later in 2016. Most read in Sport CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS After hesitating for a while, Bolt got a random call from tennis coach Todd Langman, who was working with his best pal Thanasi Kokkinakis . Todd saw a picture Bolt posted on Facebook at the end of the Aussie Rules season and gave him a call - and Bolt didn't need much persuading. British world No719 qualifies for Wimbledon but is BANNED from claiming £66,000 prize money 7 Bolt found happiness again while playing Aussie Rules with his pals during his break from tennis After nine months away from the court, Bolt's first day back was the 2016 AFL Grand Final. He was massively out of shape and was told to start from scratch. Todd even made Bolt play against young kids, telling him to not back down and "to give everything he had". He made his official return to action at a Challenger in Adelaide at the start of 2017, with his Aussie Rules pals coming out to cheer him on while he made the main draw and lost in the second round. Bolt, who is now dating British tennis ace a wild card into Australian Open qualies in 2017. He said: "It was all such a blur . Before I knew it, I was beating Julien Benneteau in the final round to reach the main draw of a Slam for the first time. " Despite losing to Yoshihito Nishioka in the first round, Bolt finished the year with a singles ranking of No. 192 - an improvement of almost 400 places from the end of 2016. 7 British star Swan is dating Bolt 7 The Aussie qualified for Wimbledon 2025 He also had a handy year on the doubles circuit, making five Challenger finals with three victories to finish the season ranked No. 86, a career high doubles ranking. Before his best singles result in a third round at the Australian Open in 2019, Bolt booked his first Wimbledon main draw debut in 2018 after beating best friend Kokkinakis. Fast forward seven years and Bolt, currently No.194 in the world, has beaten 19-year-old Spaniard Martin Landaluce in the final round of qualifying to reach the main draw of Wimbledon for the fourth time. He takes on 10th seed Ben Shelton today in the first round. Meanwhile, girlfriend Swan's dream of returning to Wimbledon was crushed in the first qualifying round in a tight defeat to Leyre Romero Gormaz 7-6(2), 7-6(6). 7 Bolt beat teenager Martin Landaluce at Roehampton to reach the Wimbledon main draw this week It was only as recently as 2023 that Swan was going toe-to-toe with Amazingly, Swan, 26, is not the only British tennis player called Katie in a relationship with an Aussie called Alex, As well as representing Elbow surgery in 2022 provided a slight setback, forcing Bolt out of competition for six months. In 2024, Bolt won back-to-back singles titles at the Swan Hill Tennis International, an ITF 25 grass-court event. 7 Bolt and Swan have been an item since 2022 Credit: INSTAGRAM
The Guardian
27-06-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Australia to send strongest contingent for 30 years to Wimbledon
Four more of Australians have qualified for Wimbledon, meaning 17 players will feature in the main draw at next week's championships – the biggest Aussie contingent for 30 years. While Priscilla Hon and Talia Gibson both saved match points in final qualifying to earn their dream Wimbledon dates and Alex Bolt and James McCabe also booked their spots at windy Roehampton, teenage star Maya Joint sealed the stellar day by reaching the Eastbourne International semi-final. The only anti-climax was 16-year-old Emerson Jones missing out in her bold bid to become the youngest Australian player since Ash Barty to make the singles main draw at Wimbledon as she succumbed in her final-round qualifier. The results ensured there will be seven women and 10 men in Friday's draw, matching the 17 Australians at the 1995 championships. The evergreen Bolt, a bit of a grass-court specialist having learned to play on the courts at his Murray Bridge home in South Australia, started the fun by beating the rain and one of the game's rising young stars, Spaniard Martin Landaluce, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4. It ensured he reached back-to-back main draws at Wimbledon and a fourth in all. 'It's massive. I guess there's no secret that I'm closer to the end of my career than the start and as long as I'm fit and healthy, I feel like I can keep going,' he said. At the other end of the age scale, 21-year-old Gibson found herself 3-5, 30-40 down in the final set against Argentine 10th qualifying seed Solana Sierra before saving the match point and reeling off the next four games to prevail 6-4, 3-6, 7-5. That was as nothing, though, compared to Brisbane stalwart Hon, who had to save five match points on her serve at a set and 5-6 down against another of the game's new stars, Canadian Victoria Mboko, before she escaped to win the tiebreak and then powered past the deflated youngster in the decider. It was Hon's seventh time trying to qualify for Wimbledon and the 27-year-old was rewarded for her nous, staying more patient than her frustrated opponent as the wind swirled. The multi-talented 21-year-old McCabe, a former top junior swimmer and accomplished flautist, joined Hon and Gibson as Wimbledon debutants with his doughty 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (9-7) victory over Chile's Marcelo Tomas Barrios Vera. But the 16-year-old Gold Coast star Jones, the world's No 1 junior, couldn't join the party, beaten by Frenchwoman Diane Parry 6-2, 6-2, while Li Tu also missed out on the men's main draw, losing to crafty French veteran Adrian Mannarino 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4. Sign up to Australia Sport Get a daily roundup of the latest sports news, features and comment from our Australian sports desk after newsletter promotion Jones, who was seeking to become the youngest Australian since former Wimbledon champion Barty made it back in 2012, could not adapt to the blustery conditions as well as her much more experienced opponent Parry, a 22-year-old who reached the third round at SW19 in 2022 as a teen. But she still has the chance to shoot for the junior title at Wimbledon where she reached the final last year. Meanwhile, in the big final Wimbledon warm-up at the Eastbourne International, 19-year-old Joint continued her rise with a tough 6-4, 7-5 quarter-final victory over experienced Russian Anna Blinkova, reaching her third semi of her rookie season, all on different surfaces. A grass-court novice, she is the first Australian to get this far in the traditional Wimbledon curtain-raiser for 14 years since Sam Stosur and she will face former French Open finalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the last four. Elsewhere, at the Boodles event at Stoke Park, north of London, Australia's top two men's players sharpened up by taking on each other in the invitation event, with Alex de Minaur earning the bragging rights over Alexei Popyrin with a 6-3, 6-4 win.
