Latest news with #grasscourts
Al Arabiya
2 days ago
- Sport
- Al Arabiya
Iga Swiatek owns 5 Grand Slam titles and finally can try to add to that at Wimbledon
More comfortable on grass courts than ever, Iga Swiatek played as well as she ever has on the slick surface–well, better than ever, actually–to reach her first Wimbledon final by defeating Belinda Bencic 6-2, 6-0 at Centre Court on Thursday. Swiatek will face Amanda Anisimova for the trophy on Saturday. Whoever wins will be the eighth consecutive first-time women's champion at the All England Club. 'I never even dreamt that it's going to be possible for me to play in the final,' said Swiatek, who has won five Grand Slam titles elsewhere and spent most of 2022, 2023, and 2024 at No. 1 in the WTA rankings. Good as she is on clay courts, especially, and hard courts, too, Swiatek only once had been as far as the quarterfinals at Wimbledon until this week. 'I'm just super excited and just proud of myself,' the 24-year-old from Poland said after wrapping up the victory over Bencic in just 71 minutes. 'Tennis keeps surprising me. I thought I lived through everything, even though I'm young. I thought I experienced everything on the court. But I didn't experience playing well on grass. That's the first time.' There were signs of a breakthrough right before Wimbledon: She made her first career final on grass in a tournament at Bad Homburg, Germany–losing to Jessica Pegula, then crying on court–and that also happened to be her first final at any event in more than a year. The last 12 months also including a doping case in which Swiatek wound up with a month ban after it was determined she was exposed to a contaminated medical product used for trouble sleeping and jet lag. Now she is one win away from ending her overall championship drought and adding to the Grand Slam hardware she already has earned: four titles at the French Open and one at the US Open. She is 5-0 in major finals, while Anisimova, a 23-year-old from the United States, will be making her debut in that round at a major on Saturday. They played each other as juniors when they were teens but never have met as professionals. 'She can play amazing tennis and she loves fast surfaces because she has a flat game,' Swiatek said about Anisimova. 'So you have to be ready for fast shots for her being proactive. But I'm just going to kind of focus on myself.' So what is the secret to Swiatek's grass prowess lately? 'I improved my movement and I am serving really well and I feel really confident so I'm just going for it,' said Swiatek, who listened to AC/DC, the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, and Guns N' Roses before her semifinal. 'For sure it's working.'
Grazia USA
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Grazia USA
Golden Goose Unveils A Tennis Themed Collection In Time For Wimbledon
Golden Goose. Supplied. Golden Goose is emulating the oldest tennis tournament in the world for its limited-edition capsule collection. Unparalleled in heritage and prestige, every year, the Wimbledon Championships see players donning their all-whites upon one of a kind, perfectly manicured grass courts. All the while, haut monde spectators descend with sartorial displays equivalent to the event's excellence. The tournament is uniquely a showcase of style and athleticism in one. Jasmine Paolini for Golden Goose. Supplied. Golden Goose channels these distinct features in its latest collection while keeping with the brands very own uniquely expressive code. The collection, fronted by tennis star Jasmine Paolini, reimagines traditional tennis characteristics, reinvigorating what we have come to expect with visual distortions, striking contrast, and rich storytelling. It casts white and cream tones alongside green accents which unequivocally call to the collections muse – for those in the know. The capsule collection reimagines known sneakers from the label. The Francy sneaker combines white nappa leather, a green star, and worn laces into a high-top shoe with a distinctly 70s feel. The Super-Star lives up to its name with an eye-catching mesh upper, green leather star, and standout finishings in the form of a silver heel tab and green interior. For the bold and à la mode, the Ball Star features a gleaming silver base with green detailing upon its collegiate silhouette. Finally, the women's exclusive Super-Star blends white on white, with green suede embellishments and black and white striped laces, for those looking for subdued flair. Golden Goose. Supplied. For those fortunate travellers who are across the pond this month, the Golden Goose store on Dover Street, London will feature an immersive 'Co-Creation' experience, until July 15. This will allow shoppers to personalise their sneakers with patches, pins, laces, and tabs, all nodding to the world of tennis. All London based stores will also be stocking the capsule collection itself. For the rest of us, the limited-edition collection is now available online.
National Post
3 days ago
- Sport
- National Post
Iga Swiatek's first Wimbledon semifinal comes against Bencic while Sinner beats Shelton
Iga Swiatek reached the Wimbledon semifinals for the first time with a 6-2, 7-5 victory over 19th-seeded Liudmila Samsonova that went from a stroll to a bit of a struggle in the late stages Wednesday. Article content 'Even though I'm in the middle of the tournament, I already got goosebumps after this win,' said Swiatek, who will face unseeded Belinda Bencic on Thursday for a spot in the final. 'I'm super happy and super proud of myself.' Article content Article content Article content Bencic beat No. 7 Mirra Andreeva 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2) to reach her first Grand Slam semifinal since the 2019 U.S. Open. The other women's semifinal is No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka against No. 13 Amanda Anisimova; they advanced with wins Tuesday. Article content 'It doesn't end here,' Bencic said. Article content No. 1 Jannik Sinner moved into the men's semifinals by defeating No. 10 Ben Shelton 7-6 (2), 6-4, 6-4 while showing barely any signs of the right elbow injury he picked up on a fall during his previous match. Sinner's opponent Friday will be either 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic or No. 22 Flavio Cobolli. The other matchup that day is two-time defending champ Carlos Alcaraz vs. No. 5 Taylor Fritz. Article content Swiatek is a five-time major champion, with four of those titles on the red clay of the French Open, and the other on the hard courts of the U.S. Open. She's also twice been a semifinalist at the hard-court Australian Open. Article content The grass courts of the All England Club always had given her the most trouble as a pro, even though she did claim a junior championship there in 2018. In her five appearances in the Wimbledon women's bracket before this year, she had made it as far as the quarterfinals just once, exiting in that round in 2023. Article content Article content But the 24-year-old from Poland is enjoying a career-best run on the slick surface, thanks in part to being more comfortable with the footing required. Article content 'I, for sure, feel like I really worked hard to progress here on this surface,' Swiatek said. 'So this year, I feel like I can just work with it and work with myself. I'll just keep doing that.' Article content Before the start of Wimbledon, Swiatek was the runner-up in Bad Homburg, Germany, her first final at a tournament played on grass — and her first final at any event in more than a year, a drought that resulted in her falling from the No. 1 ranking and being seeded No. 8 at the All England Club. Article content Her rough stretch included a one-month ban last season in a doping case after an investigation determined a failed out-of-competition drug test was caused by an unintentional contamination of non-prescription medication for issues with jet lag and sleeping. On the court, a semifinal loss to Sabalenka at Roland-Garros last month ended Swiatek's 26-match French Open winning streak.
BBC News
6 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Wimbledon 2025: Which Brits are still in?
Wimbledon 2025 is well and truly underway and it's been a very eventful first week of tennis on London's famous grass courts. This year's competition started with 23 British players competing in the men's and women's singles, the most in nearly 20 years. But despite high hopes for success on home turf, only one British player still remains in the running for the Wimbledon singles title. Cameron Norrie made it through to the quarter-finals after beating Chile's Nicolas Jarry in an intense five set match on Sunday. British number three Norrie started out strong with a two set lead, but Jarry fought back securing two sets of his own, leading to a fifth set was a fierce battle for both players, lasting a gruelling four hours and 27 final result was 6-3 7-6 (7-4) 6-7 (7-9) 6-7 (5-7) 6-3. "Honestly, I don't know," Norrie said when asked how he'd gotten through the round. "Nico did an unbelievable job of sticking with me. I had to keep fighting." Norrie's win came just a few hours after fellow British player Sonay Kartal, who was the final home player in the women's singles, was beaten on Centre Court by Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 7-6 (7-3) 6-4. "I think I have definitely had a bit more attention on me this week from people recognising me to fans around the grounds to my social media. It's kind of blown up a bit," 23-year-old Sonay said."The better in tournaments I do, I guess the more exposure I get. I think it will naturally come. But I'd say that people have gotten to know me a little bit better this week." Meanwhile, British number one Emma Raducanu's Wimbledon journey came to an end on was beaten 7-6 6-4 by top seed and world number one Aryna Sabalenka. Norrie is currently ranked 61st in the world after struggling with an injury last season, but is now one more victory away from getting to the semi-finals once again, following his last advancement to the final four in he'll first need to beat world number two and defending Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz. Spain's Alcaraz extended his career-best winning streak to 21 matches by beating Russian player Andrey Rublev in their fourth-round match on for British success will also come in the doubles and wheelchair tournaments - Alfie Hewett had an amazing Wimbledon last year and will be hoping to repeat his success this summer.
BBC News
6 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
'Extreme level' of superstition behind Fritz's title bid
Wimbledon 2025Dates: 30 June-13 July Venue: All England ClubCoverage: Live across BBC TV, radio and online with extensive coverage on BBC iPlayer, Red Button, Connected TVs and mobile app. Full coverage guide. An "extreme level" of superstition is aiding Taylor Fritz at Wimbledon as the world number five bids for a first major American matched his best run at the All England Club by reaching the quarter-finals on Sunday, after Australian opponent Jordan Thompson retired with injury when trailing 6-1 reaching his first major final at the US Open last year, Fritz hopes that sticking to a precise routine off the court can help him take the next step on it."I'm superstitious in a way that it just revolves [around] my routine. I don't have superstitions on court but I take the saying 'you don't change a winning formula' to an extreme," Fritz said."Every single thing I'm doing, I do everything exactly the same. It's like the second I get off the practice court, I eat, I organise my clothes, I go shower. "Everything is in the same order to an extreme level."I'm a little bit superstitious, but when I repeat the same routines, it gives me confidence that I'm going to keep playing well."The 27-year-old was denied a first Grand Slam trophy by world number one Jannik Sinner in New York 10 months he is in good form on the grass courts, having won titles at Stuttgart and Eastbourne in the build-up to 17th seed Karen Khachanov now stands in his way of a first Wimbledon - who, like Fritz, has come through two five-set matches to reach the last eight - recorded a straightforward 6-4 6-2 6-3 win over Poland's Kamil Majchrzak.
