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2 days ago
- Entertainment
Venus Williams says she is engaged to Andrea Preti after her first singles win in 16 months
WASHINGTON -- WASHINGTON (AP) — Venus Williams' winning return to the professional tennis tour also came with a surprise announcement: She is engaged. After becoming the second-oldest woman to win a tour-level singles match, Williams gave thanks to her fiance, who was in the stands at the DC Open. He is Andrea Preti, who is a Danish-born Italian model and actor, according to the website IMDB. The 45-year-old Williams hadn't played in a tournament in 16 months until entering the event in Washington. She won a doubles match on Monday and a singles match on Tuesday, before losing in doubles on Wednesday. Williams, who has won seven Grand Slam singles titles, is scheduled to face Magdalena Frech in the second round on Thursday night. ___
CNN
2 days ago
- Sport
- CNN
Venus Williams receives a wild-card entry with Reilly Opelka to play mixed doubles at the US Open
Venus Williams' comeback is headed to the US Open next month, when she will enter the redesigned mixed doubles tournament with Reilly Opelka via a wild-card entry. The 45-year-old Williams, who returned to the tennis tour last week after more than a year away, and Opelka were among the 14 teams announced Tuesday by the US Tennis Association for its mixed doubles event on August 19-20. Eight of the pairings received direct entry into the field based on having the highest combined current singles rankings, and six were given wild cards by the USTA. The players with spots in the bracket include nine who have won at least one grand slam singles title and 14 who are ranked in the WTA or ATP top 10 for singles. The eight duos with direct entry are No. 11 Emma Navarro and No. 1 Jannik Sinner; No. 10 Paula Badosa and No. 5 Jack Draper; No. 3 Iga Swiatek and No. 13 Casper Ruud; No. 12 Elena Rybakina and No. 4 Taylor Fritz; No. 7 Amanda Anisimova and No. 9 Holger Rune; Belinda Bencic and No. 3 Alexander Zverev; No. 4 Jessica Pegula and No. 15 Tommy Paul; No. 5 Mirra Andreeva and No. 14 Daniil Medvedev. Badosa originally had sought a place in the field with Stefanos Tsitsipas, while Draper initially was going to play alongside Zheng Qinwen. In addition to Williams-Opelka, the wild-card entrants are Emma Raducanu and No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz; No. 8 Madison Keys and No. 12 Frances Tiafoe; Olga Danilovic and No. 6 Novak Djokovic; Taylor Townsend — who made her debut at No. 1 in women's doubles this week — and No. 7 Ben Shelton; and last year's US Open mixed doubles champions, Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori. It's a group of star players that stands in stark contrast to the sort of lesser-known players and doubles specialists usually found in the mixed doubles bracket at a grand slam tournament. Some players were critical of the planned changes when they were announced in February, and Errani and Vavassori called the new setup a 'pseudo-exhibition focused only on entertainment and show' that would shut out true doubles players. In a bid to attract some of the sport's biggest names, the USTA increased the prize money, switched mixed doubles from the same time as the singles and other doubles events to the week before the start of singles competition and reduced the format to first-to-four-game sets with no-ad scoring. A total of 16 duos will be competing for the $1 million top prize; the last two wild-card pairs will be announced by the USTA later. It is still possible that Williams will ask for, and receive, a wild-card entry for singles. Those are expected to be announced by the USTA the week of August 11. She won one match each in singles and doubles at the DC Open in Washington last week after not competing anywhere since the Miami Open in March 2024. Williams owns seven grand slam titles in singles, 14 in women's doubles — all won with her younger sister Serena — and two in mixed doubles. The 6-foot-11 Opelka is a 27-year-old American who used to be ranked in the top 20 and is now No. 74 after missing nearly two full seasons because of injuries. Among the partnerships the USTA had said were hoping to get into the tournament that were not on Tuesday's list: Katie Boulter and Alex de Minaur, who are engaged to be married; Jasmine Paolini and Lorenzo Musetti; Aryna Sabalenka and Grigor Dimitrov; Naomi Osaka and Nick Kyrgios; Karolina Muchova and Andrey Rublev; Iva Jovic and Jenson Brooksby; Gaby Dabrowski and Felix Auger-Aliassime; Demi Schuurs and Tallon Griekspoor; Katerina Siniakova and Marcelo Arevalo; Desirae Krawczyk and Evan King; and Su-Wei Hsieh and Jan Zielinski.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Sport
- Time of India
US Open 2025: Venus Williams gets US Open mixed doubles wild card spot
Venus Williams returned to competition after a lengthy period at the tournament in Washington. (AP) Venus Williams , who made a comeback last week after more than a year's hiatus from competitive tennis, will compete alongside Reilly Opelka in mixed doubles at the US Open. Williams, a seven-time Grand Slam singles champion who turned 45 last month, and US compatriot Opelka were among 14 teams named on Tuesday to the revamped August 19-20 event by the US Tennis Association. Williams won her opening singles and doubles match at the DC Open last week in her first WTA tournament since last year's Miami Open. She is also set to play as a wild card in next month's Cincinnati Open and could ask for a US Open singles wild card. Those are expected to be announced in about two weeks. The US Open winning mixed doubles team will receive $1 million. Eight teams received direct entry into the field by combined singles rankings, including top-ranked Jannik Sinner of Italy -- the reigning US Open, Wimbledon and Australian Open singles champion -- with American Emma Navarro. Other duos making the field on rankings included Britain's fifth-ranked Jack Draper and Spain's Paula Badosa, Germany's third-ranked Alexander Zverev and Swiss Belinda Bencic, fourth-ranked American Taylor Fritz and Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, Dane Holger Rune and American Amanda Anisimova, 2021 US Open winner Daniil Medvedev and fellow Russian Mirra Andreeva, Americans Jessica Pegula and Tommy Paul and Poland's Iga Swiatek and Norway's Casper Ruud. Other wild card entry teams include five-time Grand Slam singles champion and world number two Carlos Alcaraz of Spain with Britain's Emma Raducanu, Americans Madison Keys and Frances Tiafoe, world women's doubles number one Taylor Townsend and fellow American Ben Shelton, Italians Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori and Serbians Olga Danilovic and Novak Djokovic -- who has won a record 24 men's Grand Slam singles titles. Two other wild card teams will be announced later. US Open mixed doubles direct entries Emma Navarro and Jannik Sinner Paula Badosa and Jack Draper Iga Swiatek and Casper Ruud Elena Rybakina and Taylor Fritz Amanda Anisimova and Holger Rune Belinda Bencic and Alexander Zverev Jessica Pegula and Tommy Paul Mirra Andreeva and Daniil Medvedev US Open mixed doubles wild cards Emma Raducanu and Carlos Alcaraz Madison Keys and Frances Tiafoe Olga Danilovic and Novak Djokovic Taylor Townsend and Ben Shelton Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori Venus Williams and Reilly Opelka Catch Rani Rampal's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 4. Watch Here!
ABC News
2 days ago
- Sport
- ABC News
Maya Joint upsets hometown hero Leylah Fernandez at Canadian Open
Australian teenager Maya Joint has brought in-form local hope Leylah Fernandez crashing back down to Earth at the Canadian Open, where top seed Coco Gauff was given an almighty scare before advancing. Fernandez, a former US Open finalist now ranked 24th in the world, collected the biggest title of her career on Sunday when she won the DC Open in Washington, thrashing Anna Kalinskaya 6-1, 6-2 in the final. But her return home in triumph did not last long, with Joint beating the Quebec native 6-4, 6-1 in Montreal on Tuesday (local time). It was quick revenge for Joint, who lost 6-3, 6-3 to Fernandez in the first round in Washington. Fernandez later criticised the scheduling in Montreal, saying she had been hoping for extra rest before returning to the court in Canada. She said she had received "a lot of promises" that she would play during Tuesday's night session, giving her more time to recover between the two tournaments, but learned on Sunday while travelling that would not be the case. "That hurt me because I was very looking forward to be playing at night, but I guess it's a little bit political issues at that point," Fernandez said. Instead, top-seeded Gauff played fellow American Danielle Collins to open the night session. Montreal tournament director Valerie Tetreault said she promised Fernandez she would "fight so that she could have the time she wanted", but that ultimately the WTA Tour determined scheduling. The scheduling almost backfired, with Gauff being pushed to the brink before squeaking past Collins 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (7-2). On a much happier note, Joint, ranked 45th in the world and already a two-time WTA title winner this year, now meets American 28th seed McCartney Kessler. If she wins that match, next in line would be rising Russian Mirra Andreeva, who is yet to play in Montreal having received a bye, then a walkover after Bianca Andreescu withdrew. That would be in the round of 32, a stage another Aussie has already reached. Seeded 15, Daria Kasatkina was given a bye in the first round, and on Tuesday she beat Anna Blinkova 6-1, 6-4. Kasatkina next faces 24th seed Marta Kostyuk, of Ukraine. Elsewhere, seventh seed seed Jasmine Paoloini was surprised by Japan's Aoi Ito 2-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7-5), but eighth seed Emma Navarro progressed, as did ninth-seeded Elena Rybakina. AAP
News18
2 days ago
- Sport
- News18
Venus Williams To Partner-Up With Riley Opelka At US Open Mixed Doubles
The 45-year-old American Williams, who returned to competitive action following a 16-month hiatus at the DC Open last week, will team up with Opelka at the Flushing Meadows. The legendary Venus Williams was handed a wildcard entry into the mixed doubled event of the US Open as the American gears up to partner Riley Opelka at the Flushing Meadows in the final Grand Slam event of the year. Williams, who made a comeback to competitive tennis after a sixteen-month hiatus at the DC Open last week, could also request for a wildcard in the singles event of the hard court major. Williams triumphed over her compatriot Peyton Stearns 6-3, 6-4 in the opening round of the WTA event. This victory marked her 819th career WTA singles win for the seven-time Grand Slam champion, achieved in 97 minutes at the first US Open hardcourt tune-up event on home soil. It was her first WTA singles triumph in over 700 days, with her last victory occurring against Veronika Kudermetova in the first round at Cincinnati in August 2023. Williams became the oldest WTA match winner since Martina Navratilova, who was 47 at Wimbledon in 2004, and the oldest player to compete in a WTA tour-level match since Japan's Kimiko Date, who was 46 in Tokyo in 2017. However, her return was cut short as she was defeated by Magdalena Frech in the second round of the women's singles event with a score of 6-2, 6-2. Eight teams received direct entry into the field by combined singles rankings. These included top-ranked Jannik Sinner of Italy, the reigning US Open, Wimbledon, and Australian Open singles champion, paired with American Emma Navarro. Other duos making the field based on rankings included Britain's fifth-ranked Jack Draper and Spain's Paula Badosa, Germany's third-ranked Alexander Zverev and Swiss Belinda Bencic, fourth-ranked American Taylor Fritz and Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina, Dane Holger Rune and American Amanda Anisimova, 2021 US Open winner Daniil Medvedev and fellow Russian Mirra Andreeva, Americans Jessica Pegula and Tommy Paul, and Poland's Iga Swiatek and Norway's Casper Ruud. ALSO READ| German Legend Thomas Muller Set For MLS Switch With Vancouver Whitecaps Other wildcard entry teams include five-time Grand Slam singles champion and world number two Carlos Alcaraz of Spain with Britain's Emma Raducanu, Americans Madison Keys and Frances Tiafoe, world women's doubles number one Taylor Townsend and fellow American Ben Shelton, Italians Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori, and Serbians Olga Danilovic and Novak Djokovic, who has won a record 24 men's Grand Slam singles titles. view comments First Published: July 30, 2025, 08:37 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
