Tennis

Rebecca Marino bows out against Elise Mertens

Published

3 years ago

April 27, 2023

Nancy

PHOTO DARRYL DYCK, THE CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES

Rebecca Marino

(Madrid) After Leylah Annie Fernandez the day before, it’s Canadian Rebecca Marino’s turn to pack up for the Madrid tennis tournament.

The 32-year-old Vancouverite lost a hard 6-3, 6-1 to Belgium’s Elise Mertens on Thursday after an hour and 16 minutes of play on Spanish clay.

Marino, the 79^e world racket, was sorely lacking in efficiency on serve. She only put into play 47.4% of her first service balls, and only got the point in 51.9% of the occasions.

The maple leaf representative was also very generous with the 24^e first in the series ; she conceded six breaks in 11 occasions. Marino was also limited to just two breaks in five chances against Mertens.

In the next round, the Belgian will have an appointment with the German Jule Niemeier.

Earlier in the day, 15-year-old Mirra Andreeva continued her dream journey by taking the measure of 13^e seeded Beatriz Haddad Maia 7-6 ( 6 ), 6-3 in the second round.

Andreeva will now face Poland’s Madga Linette, 17^e seed, who defeated Czech Marketa Voudrousova 7-6 (1), 4-6, 6-4.

The day before, Andreeva had surprised Fernandez 6-3, 6-4 in the first round of this tournament played on clay. The one who will celebrate her 16th^e birthday in two days had just knocked out the 2021 U.S. Open runner-up, savoring her first career win on the WTA Tour in the process.

It was then the first time that Andreeva faced a player from the top-50 in the world, despite the fact that she had recorded some good results so far this season. Her win over Haddad Maia lifted her 2023 professional player record to 15-0 after winning back-to-back ITF W60 Series titles.

That wasn’t the only stunning result in Madrid.

Niemeier notably overturned the 10^e top seed Petra Kvitova, two-time Wimbledon champion, 7-6 ( 9 ), 6-1, while home favorite Spain’s Rebeka Masarova upset the 20^e seeded Donna Vekic 6-1, 7-6 (5).

Other winners include sixth seed Coco Gauff, ninth seed Maria Sakkari, 14^e seeded Liudmila Samsonova and the 19^e seeded Jelena Ostapenko.

Quebecer Eugenie Bouchard will meet in the second round on Friday morning with Italian Martina Trevisan, 18^e seeded, while Ontario’s Bianca Andreescu will cross swords with China’s Wang Xiyu.

Source: lapresse

Nancy

I am a sports journalist who has worked in print and online. I have authored articles for a sports website and have covered sports news for over 6 years.

Tennis

Nadezhda Kichenok lost the doubles match in the final of the Australian Open 2026 1/16.

Published

2 hours ago

January 23, 2026

Nancy

Nadezhda Kichenok lost the doubles match in the final of the Australian Open 2026 1/16.

Ukrainian tennis player Nadezhda Kichenok He completed his doubles participation at the 2026 Australian Open.

With the Ukrainians in the second round Makoto Ninomiya (Japan) lost in a row in 1 hour and 23 minutes against the eighth-placed Ellen Perez (Australia) / Demi Schuurs (Netherlands).

Australian Open 2026. Couples. 1/16 final

Ellen Perez (Australia) / Demi Schurs (Holland) [8] – Nadezhda Kichenok (Ukraine) / Makoto Ninomiya (Japan) – 7:5, 6:1

In the first match, Nadezhda and Makoto lost their advantage with a score of 4:2.

Kichenok and Ninomiya managed to defeat Australian duo Emerson Jones / Astra Sharma at the Australian Open.

Nadezhda became the last representative of Ukraine in doubles at AO-2026. Kichenok competed for the 11th time on the courts of Melbourne – his best result was the 1/8 final stage in 2018.

Source: Sport UA

Nancy

I am a sports journalist who has worked in print and online. I have authored articles for a sports website and have covered sports news for over 6 years.

Tennis

Australian Open Victoria Mboko qualified for the round of 16

Published

2 hours ago

January 23, 2026

Nancy

Australian Open Victoria Mboko qualified for the round of 16

(Melbourne) Canadian Victoria Mboko reached the fourth round of a major tournament for the first time in her career on Friday.

The 19-year-old Torontonian defeated Danish Clara Tauson 7-6 (5), 5-7 and 6-3 at the Australian Open.

Mboko dropped a set for the first time in three outings at Melbourne Park.

Ranked 16^e in the world, Mboko won in two hours and 20 minutes against Tauson, 14^e at the WTA.

It was their first confrontation among the pros.

A backhand volley gave victory to the Ontarian, on her fourth match point.

Mboko overcame nine double faults, still accumulating six aces.

Author of five breaks, she won 65% of the points contested on her first serves.

Tauson had five aces and five breaks, committing four double faults.

Mboko’s next rival will be none other than the number 1 in women’s tennis, Aryna Sabalenka.

The Belarusian triumphed at the first stage of the Grand Slam in 2023 and 2024 – and also at Flushing Meadows, in 2024 and last year.

In 2025, Mboko was the champion at the National Bank Open in Montreal, as well as at the Hong Kong tournament.

On Friday, the Canadian took a 2-0 lead in the deadlock break. The score moved to 2-2, but Tauson made two unforced errors and Mboko followed up with a point on a strong serve. Once the count was 5-5, the Dane sent a ball to the net, then Mboko settled the set with a forehand winner.

In the second round, the table notably showed 3-3 and 5-5. A break gave priority to Tauson then, at 12^e game, an ace helped her earn the set to create a stalemate in the match.

Mboko took control 4-1 in the last set, then racing towards victory.

In doubles, Gabriela Dabrowski, of Ottawa, and Luisa Stefani, of Brazil, defeated Elsa Jacquemot of France and Emiliana Arango of Colombia, 6-2, 6-4.

Source: lapresse

Nancy

I am a sports journalist who has worked in print and online. I have authored articles for a sports website and have covered sports news for over 6 years.

Tennis

Sabalenka beat Potapova in the third round of the Australian Open

Published

2 hours ago

January 23, 2026

Gary

Sabalenka beat Potapova in the third round of the Australian Open

Arina Sabalenko / Photo: © Robert Prange / Contributor / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

The first racket of the world, Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, reached the 1/8 finals of the Australian Open in Melbourne.

In the third round, Sabalenka beat Austrian representative Anastasia Potapova with a score of 7:6 (6:4), 7:6 (9:7). The opponents spent 2 hours and 4 minutes on the court.

In the 1/8 finals Sabalenka’s opponent will be Canadian Victoria Mboko.

Grand Slam Tournament. Australian Open. Melbourne (Australia). Hard. Total prize fund: about $75 million

Women. Third circle

Arina Sabalenko (Belarus) – Anastasia Potapova (Austria) – 7:6 (6:4), 7:6 (9:7).

Source: Sportbox

Gary

I am a sports journalist who has written for a number of Sportish. I have a background in journalism and have been writing since I was young. My main focus is sports news, but I also write about general news. I am currently working as an author at Sportish.