Latest news with #DariaKasatkina
The Sun
09-07-2025
- Sport
- The Sun
Who is Liudmila Samsonova's boyfriend and tennis coach Alessandro Dumitrache?
LIUDMILA SAMSONOVA has hit new heights at the All England Club reaching the quarter-finals for the first time. Her impressive Wimbledon 2025 performance has also brought attention to her coach and romantic partner Alessandro Dumitrache - here we get to know him. 6 Samsonova has qualified for the quarter-finals of Wimbledon for the first time after beating Spaniard Jessica Bouzas in straight sets. The Russian also defeated world number 16 Daria Kasatkina en route to reaching the final eight at the tournament. The 26-year-old now faces tennis legend Iga Swiatek on Court 1 on July 9, 2025. She has risen as high as world number 12 under her coach Dumitrache and ahead of the biggest game of her career thus far - here is everything we know about him. Who is Alessandro Dumitrache? 6 Alessandro Dumitrache was born on January 1, 1992 in Italy. He played briefly on the ITF circuit before transitioning into coaching. The Italian reportedly began coaching Samsonova in 2020 and has overseen her rise in the sport. Samsonova won the 2021 Berlin Open as well as titles in Washington, Cleveland and Tokyo while being coached by Dumitrache. She also reached the fourth round of the 2025 French Open just prior to impressing further this year in SW19. 6 In this time it appears the pair have entered a romantic relationship with Instagram posts of the two dating back to 2020. Much of the relationship remains a mystery with neither confirming that they are dating. However, a series of Instagram posts on Alessandro's account seem to suggest that the pair might be. One post features the pair kissing while holding champagne glasses with the caption, 'Best wishes my love'. The 33-year-old also has a connection with the sportswear brand Asics stating in his Instagram bio that he is an ambassador for the company. 6 Liudmila has said very little about her Italian coach in a romantic or professional manner but has stated her gratitude for another member of her coaching team. Danilo Pizzorno began working with Samsonova in 2019 and the Russian credits a large part of her game to him. She said: 'I think [Danilo] is a genius, a tactical genius. Seriously. It's not because he's working with me. I think in the WTA there is no one with the experience and the level of coaching as him. 6 'It was five years ago when I started working with him. I was working with him at the Piatti Academy and then when I split with Piatti, I contacted him and we started working again. 'All the technical, the shots, my forehand, my backhand, my serves, it's because of him. He built me.'
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Wimbledon recap: Pride in London brings few rainbows to All England Club
Welcome to the Wimbledon briefing, where will explain the stories behind the stories on each day of the tournament. On day six, it was Pride Day in London, a tennis star's patience was rewarded, and the Americans made the most of July 4th weekend. Advertisement Pride Day at Wimbledon, with few rainbows More than 30,000 people took part in London's annual Pride parade Saturday afternoon in the city center. Thousands more lined the streets in celebration of the capital's biggest LGBTQ+ event. The scene at Wimbledon, which takes in views of central London from the top of 'Henman Hill,' was a little different. There is no organized Pride celebration at the All England Club, as a spokesperson confirmed in a statement sent to The Athletic. It was instead 'Sporting Saturday' — an annual celebration of sports people on the middle Saturday of the month. The Royal Box had LGBTQ+ sportspeople like Billie Jean King and Dame Kelly Holmes as guests, but there were no Pride flags, and people had to look hard to find any rainbows. Advertisement The Australian Open has hosted five Pride Days; the U.S. Open will host its fifth this year, and the French Open has held two, making Wimbledon the only major to have not yet formally dedicated a tournament day to Pride celebrations. On No. 3 Court, Daria Kasatkina, the No. 16 seed, who came out publicly as gay in 2022, was wearing a bracelet with rainbows on it during her 6-2, 6-3 defeat to No. 19 seed Liudmila Samsonova in the third round. Kasatkina defected to Australia from Russia earlier this year and has spoken out against her former homeland and anti-LGBTQ+ politics in the past. 'I know that, for example, in Australia, they're very active in this case. They are very vocal and supportive,' the 28-year-old, who announced her engagement to figure skater girlfriend Natalia Zabiiako last month, told The Athletic. 'I think that Wimbledon is, in general, a little bit different,' Kasatkina added. Advertisement 'The colors they use, it's white, green, and purple, and that's pretty much it. But I must say that around the city of London, I can feel the support, and I like how this city… I mean, we see the rainbow flags everywhere. So that's nice. We have to accept that Wimbledon is different. They've got their traditions and they follow them. And I don't think there is any sign of disrespect. 'We just got the approval for black shorts (in 2023 to take the stress off women and girls during their periods). It's not much of a place for this kind of thing. They're just very traditional, and we have to accept that, but overall, walking around London, I can feel a lot of the support from everywhere, so that's the most important. 'I don't feel that they [the AELTC] don't want to support. It's just this place, it's only about tennis and strawberries.' In 2019, there was a Pride panel at the All England Club, with King speaking to young people about her experience of coming out. It was hosted by tennis reporter Nick McCarvel and was one of the first Pride events on site. Advertisement 'That was an important first step for Wimbledon,' McCarvel said in an interview. 'Pride's evolving, and the tennis space is a space that maybe could be catching up a little quicker. But I think we also look at the women who have led the way in tennis. Billie Jean is certainly one of them. Daria Kasatkina continues to be one of them.' Within the men's game, it is different. In December last year, Joao Lucas Reis da Silva became the first active male professional tennis player to come out as gay when he posted a selfie on Instagram with his partner. Bill Tilden, the American star who dominated tennis in the 1920s, never publicly discussed his sexuality outside of his 1948 book, 'My Story: A Champion's Memoirs.' Brian Vahaly, who played in the 2000s and reached a career-high of world No. 57, and Bobby Blair, on tour in the 1980s, came out after they had retired from professional tennis. 'Sports haven't traditionally been a place where people have felt like they can be their full queer selves,' McCarvel said. 'I think of central London and the scenes in Soho and the Pride flags and the fact that it's not reflected today visually here at Wimbledon.' Advertisement Lesbian couple Jo Smith and Amelia Pamplin, two tennis fans from Brighton, said it feels like a safe and accepting place here, even without a day to recognise and celebrate the importance of Pride. 'It doesn't feel like there's been any animosity at all at any point,' Pamplin said. 'We've been sitting on the hill, and that was fine. I gave her a kiss. Everything was fine and normal.' 'When I think about it, and that it's London Pride, then I suppose it would be nice to have something like that around here,' Smith said. Belinda Bencic's patience continues to be rewarded Coming back to tennis after giving birth is one of the toughest things to do in sport, but Belinda Bencic continues to thrive back on the WTA Tour. Advertisement She is through to the Wimbledon fourth round after a tight three-set win over Jessica Pegula's conqueror, Elisabetta Cocciaretto. It continues a great season for Bencic, on top of winning the Abu Dhabi Open title and reaching the fourth round of the Australian Open, too. When the rankings next update, she'll be back in the world's top 30 at a minimum; she could go even higher if she can beat No. 18 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova on Monday to reach the quarterfinals. Bencic returned to tennis in October, ranked No. 1213, having given birth to her daughter, Bella, six months earlier. She did so at an ITF W75 event in Hamburg, Germany, on the lowest rung of professional tennis. She played a couple more such events before the year was out, reaching the final in Angers, France. 'I'm really confident about getting back to where I was and even better,' she said during a video interview in December after playing those events. Bencic has made good on that self-belief, reaching the fourth round at two majors and then winning a 500-level title. She missed the French Open with injury, but she attributes her success at the sport's premier events this year to the hard yards she put in at the back end of 2024. Advertisement 'This is the way I like to go because I feel like I have to build up,' she said in a news conference Saturday. 'I cannot just go straight into it. I gain more confidence with playing more matches. 'I don't see the point of coming back and losing your first three rounds, and then you're not able to get match play. [It's important] to have that match play and then feel more confident, going step by step up to the level that you've been. This is the way for me, and I don't care if people are surprised or not. This is just our plan.' She insisted that managing this kind of comeback is very personal, but insofar as making one of the hardest things in tennis look miraculously straightforward, Bencic's lower-tier tournament strategy may be a replicable one. Stripes more than stars for U.S. players? Perhaps it's fitting that America found some success on July 4th weekend. Advertisement As Grand Slams go, this Wimbledon hasn't been great for those representing the stars and stripes. Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula, the No. 2 and 3 women's seeds, left in the first round. Tommy Paul and Frances Tiafoe were out in the second. Madison Keys, Sofia Kenin, Danielle Collins and Brandon Nakashima lost in the third. Saturday, Nakashima, the No. 29 seed, won the first set and held leads in the second and third against Italy's Lorenzo Sonego, but ultimately lost a five-hour match in a tiebreak. Iga Świątek dispatched Collins in a ruthlessly patient 6-2, 6-3 win. Just two of the eight American women who were seeded remain. Six American men were seeded, and two of them have made it too. Navarro came back from a set down to beat Krejčíková, the defending champion. Amanda Anisimova is by far the highest seed in her quarter and has the most fearsome backhand on the planet. Advertisement Taylor Fritz has shown why he is top five in the world: He is a competitor. That's how, two points away from defeat in the first round, he made it through against the biggest server in the game, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard. Ben Shelton is still figuring out consistency from week to week, but give him the bright lights of a Grand Slam, and he shows up. He will face Sonego in the last 16. He came back from 2-1 down in sets against the Italian at the French Open in May. Fritz faces Jordan Thompson, a dangerous Australian who has somehow won three matches with a balky back. Anisimova might have her hands full with Linda Nosková, another big hitter in a match that could turn on who handles their nerves better. Advertisement Navarro is the only one of the four who won't be the favorite in her fourth-round match against Mirra Andreeva, the world No. 7. 'I'm super pumped to be where I'm at,' she said after beating Krejčíková. These are the days and the moments that you have to appreciate and enjoy because they are fleeting. It's not going to be like this forever.' Other notable results on day six Jannik Sinner (1) continued his breeze through the opening rounds. He has lost 17 games in his first three matches, breaking Roger Federer's Wimbledon record of 19. Today, he beat Pedro Martinez 6-1, 6-3, 6-1. Mirra Andreeva (7) took out Hailey Baptiste of the U.S. 6-1, 6-3 to reach the second week for the second time. Advertisement Ben Shelton (10) eased past Márton Fucsovics 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-2 Shot of the day Novak Djokovic has been looking ominous as he eases into this tournament. But what about spectacular and ominous? Day seven matches you should actually watch 🎾 Men's singles, 12 p.m. ET on ESPN/ESPN+ Andrey Rublev (14) vs. Carlos Alcaraz (2) Alcaraz has mostly survived, rather than thrived at Wimbledon 2025. For Andrey Rublev, his second-week run is redemptive, after a first-round meltdown here last year that took him to a dark place. 🎾 Women's singles, 11 a.m. ET on ESPN/ESPN+ Women's singles: Linda Nosková (30) vs. Amanda Anisimova (13) Two of the purest ball-strikers on the WTA Tour face each other on a fast court. This should, simply put, be cinema. Advertisement Wimbledon men's draw 2025 Wimbledon women's draw 2025 Tell us what you noticed on the sixth day… This article originally appeared in The Athletic. Culture, Tennis, Women's Tennis 2025 The Athletic Media Company
New York Post
06-07-2025
- Sport
- New York Post
Daria Kasatkina suffers ‘unfortunate' wardrobe malfunction in Wimbledon loss
Daria Kasatkina's third-round loss to Liudmila Samsonova at Wimbledon took a bizarre turn Saturday when she lost a point due to an earring malfunction. The curious scene unfolded when the 16th-seeded Kasatkina lobbed a forehand return to No. 19 seed Samsonova, with the piece of jewelry becoming attached to her shirt during the series. When Samsonova, 26, fired back, Kasatkina, 28, could not respond in time. Advertisement 4 An earring became attached to Daria Kasatkina's shirt during her third-round loss at Wimbledon. BBC 4 She lost a point amid the wardrobe mishap. BBC 'That's not something you see very often,' a BBC commentator said of the incident, according to Metro UK. 'That's so unfortunate, especially as she was within touching distance in the game.' Advertisement Samsonova ultimately punched her ticket to the Round of 16 with the 6-2, 6-3 victory. She last advanced to the fourth round of Wimbledon in 2021, when she fell to eventual finalist Karolína Plíšková. Plíšková lost to Ashleigh Barty in the women's singles final that year. 4 Daria Kasatkina during her third-round match at Wimbledon on July 5, 2025. Getty Images Kasatkina, a 2018 Wimbledon quarterfinalist, knew the challenge she was up against in Samsonova. Advertisement 'I knew that it's going to be very tough… she's in great shape, winning a lot, especially on grass, and her game… It's very good on this surface,' she said of Samsonova, as covered by The First Serve. 'Of course, I think I could do better on my side, but I also have to give her credit. She played a very, very good match. 4 Liudmila Samsonova (l.) greeted Daria Kasatkina following the 6-2, 6-3 victory. AP 'Her serve is one of the most dangerous ones on tour. A few times, I looked [at] the speed, it was about 170 miles per hour… We all know her game is super aggressive… I didn't feel like she was giving me any gifts today.' Advertisement Samsonova will next face Jessica Bouzas Maneiro on Monday. Wimbledon runs through next Sunday, with the women's singles final set for Saturday.
Daily Mail
06-07-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Aussie star suffers bizarre wardrobe malfunction during nightmare Wimbledon performance
Daria Kasatkina lost a point during her defeat by Liudmila Samsonova because one of her earrings got stuck in her tee shirt. The bizarre incident summed up a tough afternoon for the Aussie No 16 seed, who was swept away by Samsonova, the 19th seed, 6-2 6-3. The incident came after Kasatkina, 28, had belted a forehand towards her Russian opponent. But in the process of hitting her shot, the Aussie raised her shoulder to her ear, with the piece of jewellery catching her Adidas shirt. Samsonova then responded by hitting a backhand back towards the Aussie, who was unable to respond as she attempted to untangle the earring from her clothing. Despite that, Kasatkina got off to a solid start in the match, holding against Samsonova's booming serve to take the first set to 2-2. But it was here that her Russian opponent turned up the heat, winning back-to-back breaks to win the first set. Rain began to fall on SW19, and officials would subsequently call two rain delays, with umpire Nico Helwerth humerously being wheeled off the court while sat in the umpire's chair. Kasatkina battled hard in the second set, trading breaks with her opponent to take the game to 3-3. However, Samsonova proved too powerful for the Aussie, beating her on her own service late in the set to seal the match 6-3. Samsonova has impressively not conceded more than three games during the Championships, with Kasatkina admitting she had been weary of what to expect from her opponent prior to the match. 'I knew that it was going to be very tough…' Kasatkina explained. 'She's in great shape, winning a lot, especially on grass, and her game… It's very good on this surface. 'Of course, I think I could do better on my side, but I also have to give her credit. She played a very, very good match. 'Her serve is one of the most dangerous ones on tour. A few times, I looked [at] the speed, it was about 170 miles per hour… We all know her game is super aggressive… I didn't feel like she was giving me any gifts today.' Kasatkina had explained after her opening-round win against Emiliana Arango that she had thrown up on the side of the court, in front of multiple patrons, because she was so nervous. The Russian-born tennis star explained her nerves had grown after she had been knocked out of the first round in each of the three tournaments she had played in the build-up to Wimbledon. In April, Kasatkina revealed that she had gained permanent residency in Australia and said she would be flying back home in the next few days. 'Now I'm just managing the flights, and when it's like in the next couple of days, I'm going to fly, yes, to Australia. I know that it's winter there, so I think for the first time in my life, I'm going to experience Australian winter, not the summer,' said Kasatkina. 'It's my home now, so I have to accept it. I mean, this place accepted me.'
News.com.au
06-07-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Wardrobe malfunction ruins Aussie's hopes at Wimbledon
Wimbledon star Daria Kasatkina lost a point during her clash with Liudmila Samsonova after her earring got stuck in her shirt. The 16th seed was taking on the 19th seed when the unfortunate wardrobe malfunction occurred, The Sun reports. After striking a forehand return, Kasatkina's earring caught her Adidas polo. The Aussie was unable to free her ear in time to respond to Samsonova's next ball. Not quite believing her luck, Russian star Samsonova watched her routine backhand trundle beyond the helpless Kasatkina. This incident rather summed up Kasatkina's outing on the No.3 Court. The former quarter-finalist here in SW19 was blitzed early on by Samsonova. Kasatkina trailed 6-2 2-0 40-40 before both players were forced to go off by a rain delay. At this point umpire Nico Helwerth was wheeled off the court, much to the amusement of fans. And any thoughts that the break would do Kasatkina some good following her poor start were quickly dispelled. When play resumed around two hours later, it was much of the same for the 28-year-old. Kasatkina went on to be beaten 6-2 6-3 by her in-form opponent. Samsonova will next face Jessica Bouzas Maneiro. The Spaniard defeated Coco Gauff's conqueror Dayana Yastremska 6-1 2-6 6-3 on Court 16.
