The great American started powerfully at Wimbledon. But the cursed weed ruined a tough match for Williams.
In women’s tennis, more than a dozen athletes who led the world tour have already changed. The heroines of the beginning of the century ended their careers, young girls go to the top, Iga Sventek crushes everyone at the main starts.
But, as if not noticing these changes, one of the Williams sisters still plays at major tournaments. Venus showed up at Wimbledon, who won five times on these courts, and for the first time she did it in the last century.
She started the match against Svitolina excellently, but the slippery English grass spoiled the champion’s mood.
Incredible Purpose
Williams’ eldest sister is 43, while the average age of the top athletes on the tour is now around 30.
But neither Venus nor Serena are stopped by these barriers. Both of them stubbornly apply for the Grand Slam tournaments, collect a full house in the stands, improving their image and advertising potential. However, from a sporting point of view, these attempts are hardly worth taking seriously.
In 2020, Venus lost in the first round of the three Grand Slams she competed in. The following season, she advanced to the second round at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, and again flew out in the opening game at Roland Garros. Then a year-long pause, which ended with participation in the American series of tournaments on hard. In all, she performed unsuccessfully – defeats in the first matches, including her native US Open.
The rhetorical question: why the four-time Olympic champion and seven-time winner of the Grand Slam tournaments still go to court will remain unanswered. She started this season in New Zealand, defeating compatriot Kathy Volonez and losing in the second round to Chinese Zhu Lin at the WTA-250 tournament.
Well, then again a six-month pause, defeat in the first round in the Netherlands, in the second round in Birmingham and confirmation of participation in the beloved Wimbledon.
Accident
In the first round, Elina Svitolina, who also received a wild card, became Venus’ rival. The 28-year-old Ukrainian, who became a mother last year, started the match poorly, immediately allowing Williams to make a break. Having led the score 2-0, the American made a double mistake on her serve, which allowed Elina to earn a break point. In the most important draw, Venus went to the net, but she could not play the ball, as she awkwardly stumbled and collapsed on the grass with a terrible scream.
At that moment, fear was visible in the eyes of the spectators, and frightened cries were heard from the stands. The American had a wounded right knee, so there was a risk of recurrence of the injury.
The referee and Svitolina immediately rushed to the rescue, the doctors ran out, but the main character of the situation lay down a little more and … continued the game. Venus didn’t even take a medical time-out. True, the game was already lost – Elina made a reverse break.
The next time, on the pitch of the American, Svitolina will again make a break, which will determine the fate of the set – 6:4. Taking advantage of the pause, Williams nevertheless took the help of a doctor, but this did not have positive consequences. In the second set, the Ukrainian immediately made a break, then another one and without nerves brought the match to victory – 6:4, 6:3.
Moving along the grid, the American refused to shake hands with the judge, which, to put it mildly, looked strange. But, apparently, Venus was offended by the referee, who at the end of the second game after watching the challenge decided to count Svitolina’s point. And Williams insisted on a replay.
Will he play until the age of 50?
In an emotional post-match press conference, Venus said she was shocked by the result as she was in good shape before and during the game:
Yes, it’s not fun right now. I felt that I was in great shape before this tournament and in great shape in the match. At the moment, it’s all very shocking,” she says.
After the game, the disappointed American admitted that she did not agree with the referee, and therefore decided defiantly to refuse to shake hands. But the most interesting thing is that even another early departure from the Grand Slam tournament did not affect Venus’ decision to continue playing. And, perhaps, up to 50 years:
“Nobody has done this before, so if there is anyone who could do it, it would be me,” said the American.
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.
39-year-old French tennis player and husband of Elina Svitolina Gael Monfils (ATP 110) Withdrew from the 2026 Australian Open.
The Frenchman lost to the Australian in four sets in the first round of the major tournament in Melbourne Dane Sweeney (ATP 182) in 3 hours 54 minutes.
Australian Open 2026. 1/64 finals
Dane Sweeney (Australia) [Q] – Gael Monfils (France) – 6:7 (3:7), 7:5, 6:4, 7:5
Monfils played on the Australian Open courts for the 20th time. For Gael, this was his last match at the Australian slam; He will retire in 2026.
Gael’s best results at the Aus Open are quarter-finals in 2016 and 2022. Sweeney will face eighth seed Ben Shelton in the second round.
“First of all, thank you very much. My journey started with you in 2005 – that’s when I first came here. Now the year is 2026 and somehow this is already the finish line. Thank you very much for this amazing journey. You were incredible. Thank you very much. I have very good memories here… Great battles. I am lucky to have played here for many years.”
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.
(Melbourne) The ex-no 1 world Naomi Osaka (current 17e in the WTA rankings) qualified Tuesday in three sets for the second round of the Australian Open.
Crowned in Melbourne in 2019 and 2021, the Japanese won 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 against the Croatian Antonia Ruzic (65e).
The four-time Grand Slam winner will play in the next round against Romanian Sorana Cirstea (41e), who started the last Australian Open of her career at age 35 by eliminating the German Eva Lys (39e).
Entering the court with a white parasol, a wide-brimmed hat and a long white train, Osaka started the match with her feet on the ground to quickly lead 3-0.
Ruzic recovered to 3-3 before again losing three games in a row and the first set.
The Croatian responded in the second round, winning by the same score.
In the decisive set, Osaka broke from the start to break away at 2-0, but Ruzic came back to her level again before taking her throw in to lead 4-3, service to follow.
This time it was the Japanese who held on to get back to 4-4, before inflicting a shutout then a new break on Ruzic to seal her qualification with a final winning backhand, after almost 2 hours 30 minutes of fighting.
Osaka played her first Grand Slam match on Tuesday since her semi-final at the United States Open in September, her best run in a major tournament since she returned to the circuit in early 2024 after the birth of her first child.
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.
(Melbourne) World No.2 Jannik Sinner, double title holder, benefited on Tuesday from the retirement of Frenchman Hugo Gaston (93e), injured his abdominals, to qualify for the second round of the Australian Open.
The 24-year-old Italian was leading 6-2, 6-1 when Gaston threw in the towel.
“It’s the abs that have given up a little. I felt the pain in the middle of the first round. I called the doctor immediately at the end of the first round to get an anti-inflammatory,” explained the Frenchman who suddenly felt “like a little stab”.
He fell during the first round after returning a drop shot from Sinner, but he assured that the injury and the fall were not linked.
On the other hand, the pain in his abdominals bothered him a lot “on serve and on high balls”.
“I saw that he was not serving at a very high speed, especially in the second set,” commented Jannik Sinner in his post-match interview on Central.
“I am very happy to qualify, to return to this place that I particularly cherish […]but that’s not the way I wanted to win this match,” added the world No.2.
Sinner’s next opponent will be Croatian Dino Prizmic (127e) or the Australian James Duckworth (88e).
For his first official match of the season, the four-time Grand Slam tournament winner took a little time to settle down, notably having to save three break points in the first game.
But once he managed to take Gaston’s serve in the particularly tight sixth game, Sinner unfolded, winning the next seven games. A few moments after snatching his only game in a one-sided second round, the Frenchman informed his opponent that he was giving up, after a little over an hour of match.
“Giving up pisses me off a bit,” Gaston commented. But hey, on the other hand I can’t afford to play at 50%, even 100%, to beat Sinner…”
Undefeated since his retirement at the beginning of October in the third round of the Masters 1000 in Shanghai, the world No.2 scored a sixteenth victory in a row on Tuesday and joined Carlos Alcaraz (1) in the second round of the Australian Open.er), Alexander Zverev (3e) and Novak Djokovic (4e).
“I felt very well prepared, we worked a lot physically and on the court” during the offseason, said Sinner, who skipped the Davis Cup finals in Bologna in November to have an additional week of preparation for the 2026 season.
For his part, Lorenzo Musetti, seeded fifth, progressed due to the retirement of Raphaël Collignon of Belgium in the fourth round.
The score was 4-6, 7-6 (3), 7-5 and 3-2. The nature of the injury has not been released.
Shelton hits hard
The 23-year-old American Ben Shelton inherited probably the worst draw, in the person of the first ATP player not to have been seeded, the Frenchman Ugo Humbert.
But last year’s semi-finalist, who made his name by reaching the quarter-finals in Melbourne in 2023 despite never having left the United States, was uncompromising and won 6-3, 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 (7/5).
PHOTO MARTIN KEEP, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Ben Shelton
“It’s always difficult to face Humbert in the first round, but I remained very calm, very focused on my game and I played better and better,” he stressed with satisfaction.
He will play in the second round against the Australian Dane Sweeny (182e).
Monfils eliminated in the first round of his last tournament in Australia
Gaël Monfils, who will end his career at the end of the season, was eliminated Tuesday in the first round of his last Australian Open by the inexperienced Australian Dane Sweeny (182e world) 6-7 (3/7), 7-5, 6-4, 7-5.
The 39-year-old Frenchman plays his 23e and final season. Ex-world No.6 currently 110ehe was playing his 20e Australian major since his first participation in 2005. He has reached the quarter-finals twice, in 2016 and 2022.
PHOTO PAUL CROCK, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Gaël Monfils
“My journey began here in 2003 (in qualifying, Editor’s note). We are in 2026 and it is the finish line, but thank you all for accompanying me, you were great,” he told the audience from the court while generally only the winner of the matches, before the final, speaks on the field.
“I fought four hours again today, but this guy (Sweeny) is very strong. I wish him good luck,” he added to his winner.
For the latter, the victory is particularly beautiful, because in addition to having beaten one of the great names in tennis of the last twenty years, he offered himself his first victory in a Grand Slam tournament.
“It’s like I’m in a series… it’s incredible,” he commented. Before the match started, his goal was “win or lose, enjoy the chance to be there.”
As usual, the most popular French player since Yannick Noah spared no effort. And despite the encouragement of the public – in particular from a group of French people – the youth of his opponent (24 years old) visibly prevailed, as Monfils appeared so tired.
Broken one last time to be down 6-5 in the fourth set and the Australian’s service to follow, Monfils failed to reverse the situation.
“You’re here, you played your 20are Australian Open and you have entered a very closed circle: you are six players from the Open era (since the 1969 edition) to have reached this bar,” tournament director Craig Tiley told him, who came to greet him on the court.
“We want to thank you for your career, your attitude and the way you taught us how to play this wonderful game. Well done,” added Tiley.
Monfils’ last match in Melbourne, greeted by a hearty ovation from the public with “thank you Gaël” sung in the stands, lasted 3 hours 51 minutes.
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.
