Tennis
The best tennis player in the world is stripped of her flag. Waiting for new provocations?
Arina Sobolenko / Photo: © Tim Clayton – Corbis / Contributor / Corbis Sport / Gettyimages.com
The success of Arina Sobolenko will definitely not please everyone.
In the world of women’s tennis, power has changed. For the first time in a year and a half, Iga Sventek will cease to be the first racket of the world. She will be replaced by Belarusian Arina Sobolenko, who, unlike the Pole, continues to fight at the US Open.
But it’s too early to relax. This alignment is unlikely to please some figures.
The inexplicable failure of Šwiętek
Sobolenko staked out her first place in the WTA ranking after Swiatek’s departure from the US Open. Polka, unexpectedly for many, lost in the 1/8 finals. Her offender was Elena Ostapenko from Latvia.
Although at first nothing foreshadowed trouble for Iga. Polka took the first set very confidently (6:3). It seemed that Sventek would squeeze the Latvian in two games, but instead she swam and allowed her opponent to level the score – 3:6. Iga failed the third set completely and completely, taking only one game – 1:6.
Swiatek was so shocked that she could not even explain her defeat properly.
“I have no idea why this happened. We need to see what went wrong. Surprised that my level has changed so dramatically. I usually play poorly and then catch up. This time it was completely different, – quotes Swiatek Tennis Now.
In the fight for the title
Arina Sobolenko, in turn, continues the campaign for the title. The Belarusian has already reached the 1/8 finals, knocking out Belgian Marina Zanevskaya, Briton Jody Anna Burrage and Clara Burel from France in turn. Moreover, all matches ended with a confident victory for Arina in two sets. Sobolenko will play a ticket to the quarterfinals with Russian Daria Kasatkina.
Next week, Arina will officially become the first racket of the world, as Iga Swiatek failed to defend the title in the United States. In the WTA live rating, Sobolenko has 8206 points, and Shventek – 8195.
Prepare for new provocations
Of course, Arina’s success pleases. In Belarus, another first racket of the world appeared in the women’s individual classification – previously only the legendary Victoria Azarenka achieved such a result. However, Sobolenko was already the leader of the WTA rating, but in pairs.
This achievement will attract the attention of not only fans, but also haters. The fact is that Belarus, like Russia, is officially suspended from international tournaments. Tennis players play without a flag – even on the WTA website in the Region column, Sobolenko has nothing. Athletes are provoked and slinged in every possible way. And they suddenly take first place in the world rankings. Disorder!
Perhaps, especially hotheads are now activated, who will demand to tighten the admission of Russians and Belarusians to tournaments. New renunciation declarations, public confessions, and similar insinuations may emerge. And this will continue as long as Sobolenko remains the first racket of the world.
Now Arina for many will become a bone in the throat and a splinter in the heel. Therefore, she should be prepared for various provocations. And, of course, to continue to play tennis at the top level – she does it better than anyone in the world.
Source: Sportbox
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.
sports doctor Dmitry Babelyuk He commented on the injury of the Ukrainian tennis player Marty Kostyuk:
“The video shows how the supporting leg bends when the weight is transferred to it. Martha managed to sense the danger and balance her body so that the “galik” was not completely exposed, but this small rotation still caused discomfort.
Anyone familiar with tennis knows how important footwork and especially sudden changes in movement are in tennis. For this reason, ankles are the most common problem tennis players encounter after elbows.
We remember Elina’s season with a brace and then surgery. This is also a common problem in men’s tennis.
The fact that Marta was able to continue playing shows that her injury is not serious, so it is definitely too early to bury this season. It is important now to recover well and be fully prepared for the next Slam.
Predictably, only one ligament was torn. Not a strong enough twist to tear all three, which happens all too often, but a strong enough twist to tear a ligament, forcing you to finish the tournament.
Marta is leaving JSC and will recover to prepare for the next tournament. “The injury is not serious enough to put the season in doubt.”
Source: Sport UA
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.
Leader in ATP world rankings Carlos Alcaraz He held a press conference after defeating Adam Walton in the first round of the 2026 Australian Open:
– Carlos, congratulations on the successful start of the tournament. How would you evaluate today’s match? Frankly, the second set was tense, but in the end did you get through it without any losses?
– I can say that it was a difficult match for me. In the first set, everything was decided by a break. He made a few mistakes on his first serve. He also played very well, very reliably, and I think he was constantly trying to find a position to attack as much as possible.
In the second set, he started to find more space for aggressive play. In general, I played good tennis, but in one of the games I lost my concentration a little – mostly when I was fighting with myself, and after that everything became more difficult.
But overall I am satisfied. To be honest, I was ready for a serious battle. Although the level it showed was a bit of a surprise to me. I had to pull myself together and be ready for this battle. I’m happy with the first match of the season and the level I was able to show.
– Carlos, congratulations. What are you most pleased with today and what do you think needs to be improved to go far again in the tournament group?
“I think I hit the ball well.” Of course it could have been played better. But I’m glad I did everything I had to do. I acted correctly in terms of behavior and mental attitude on the field. I always had a good attitude, always tried to think positively. I think I did a good job with that and that was one of the main goals of this match.
In terms of tactics and the level of play in general, I understand that there are many aspects that need to be improved for the next round if I want to go further.
– Carlos, for many the quarter-finals are an excellent result, but you have not yet progressed further in this tournament. Do you have an explanation for why you performed less well than others at this Grand Slam?
– Yes, this is a little difficult for me to explain. It’s strange that I haven’t made it past the quarter-finals in Australia yet because I think I’m playing good tennis here. I played very well here for the last two years, but lost to Isner and Djokovic in the quarter-finals. If you are the first or second racket in the world, let’s say these are not the most ordinary opponents at this stage.
This is not an excuse, but I really want to do better than previous years. I have a feeling that this season I might have a chance to go further.
Source: Sport UA
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.
How Anastasia missed the match against the 697th racket in the world.
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova finished her performance at the Australian Open 2026 very early, which was definitely not expected from her. The 44th racket of the world (before the start of the tournament) lost in the first round to Chinese Bai Zhuoxuan, who before the start of the tournament was only 697th in the WTA rankings. Almost three hours of struggle, a comeback during the match and a nervous outcome in the tiebreak – 4:6, 6:2, 6:7 (10:12). For a tournament of the level of the Australian Open, this defeat can already be attributed to the most notorious stories of the start of the main draw.
Lost initiative, return to the game and tension until the last play
The beginning of the meeting did not foretell trouble, but Pavlyuchenkova’s game did not go well. In the fifth game, the Chinese woman forced a fight on the return and made a break – 3:2. This immediately added nervousness to the Russian woman’s actions. At the end of the game, Bai Zhuoxuan again took advantage of her opponent’s mistakes and led 5:2. Pavlyuchenkova managed to immediately win back one serve and reduce the gap – 3:5, but was no longer able to turn the tide of the game. After 47 minutes, the first set was won by the Chinese – 6:4.
In the second game, Pavlyuchenkova finally began to impose her tempo on her opponent. In the sixth game she achieved a break and took the lead – 4:2. Her boxing became noticeably calmer, and strikes from the baseline began to land more often. At the end of the set, Anastasia once again took her opponent’s serve and confidently closed the game – 6:2. At that moment, it seemed that the difference in class would still have an effect, and the match would gradually come under the control of the Russian.
The decisive set began with a cold shower for the favorite. The Chinese woman immediately made a break and took the lead – 1:0. Pavlyuchenkova quickly returned serve, equalized the score, and after 2:2 the game went into error-waiting mode. Both tennis players confidently won games on their serves. The stands actively supported the Russian, and on the court one could regularly hear: “Anastasia, we love you.”
Nevertheless, there were no more breaks, and the fate of the match was decided by a tiebreaker up to 10 points. It turned out to be nervous and protracted. Bai Zhuoxuan played more carefully in key rallies and put the pressure on her opponent – 12:10. The final score of the meeting was 4:6, 6:2, 6:7 (10:12).
The numbers behind which the problem is hidden
The match lasted 2 hours 43 minutes and turned out to be eventful; the statistics of the game explain a lot. Pavlyuchenkova completed seven aces – a solid indicator, but eight double faults regularly brought her opponent back into the game. The situation with break points is also not the most rosy: only four out of 11 opportunities were realized.
Bai Zhuoxuan’s performance is more modest: two aces, three double faults, three breaks out of 10 attempts. The Chinese played simpler, but calmer – and this was enough to withstand the pressure and wait for her chances.
For Pavlyuchenkova, the Australian Open 2026 ended, in fact, immediately after the start. The defeat from the 697th racket in the world (in the new ranking she is 702nd) is a painful blow to both ambitions and ranking prospects, even taking into account the equal fight and tiebreaker in the decisive set. But for Zhuoxuan Bai this match became the main event of her career. In the second round she will meet with the first racket of the world – Aryna Sabalenka. After such a victory, the Chinese woman will definitely take to the court without an extra burden of responsibility – she has already done everything she could.
Source: Sportbox
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.
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