Tennis
Nadal: ‘Two months ago I didn’t know if I would play tennis again’
Rafael Nadal advanced to the semi-finals of the Australian Open against Denis Sapovalov after a shocking match and made statements about the uncertainty he felt two months ago about being able to play tennis again.
Rafael Nadal, who almost ended his career months ago after another injury and the operation on his left leg, is in the semi-finals of the Grand Slam at the age of 35!
The legendary Spaniard, after a terrible duel with Denis Sapovalov, managed to break the tough resistance of his talented opponent and qualified for the semi-finals of the Australian Open for the seventh time in his career.
Speaking to Jimmy Courier at Rod Laver Arena shortly thereafter, he couldn’t hide his delight.
“I don’t know how I managed to turn it around. It ruined me. I was lucky at the beginning of the fifth set. I played great at the beginning of the game. It’s difficult to face Dennis, he’s talented, aggressive and he’s serving great. I had my chances in the beginning.” Third set and then I got a bit tired and he pushed me. It’s incredible for me to be in the semifinals again.” said Nadal first.
About his stomach problem in the 4th set he said: “My stomach started to feel bad. I asked if there was anything they could do. We went in and did some tests to see if I was ok. I took some pills to try and improve the problem 5th set.”
From this year, the Australian Open will harmonize with the rest of the Grand Slam by scheduling both men’s semifinals on Fridays, with the result that Nadal has two days to rest and prepare.
“It’s important that I have two days off. I’m not 21 anymore. After this game it’s great to have two days. It was a great test. I hope to be ready for the semifinals. It’s great for me to be able to play another match at Rod Laver Arena. underlined.
Finally, Nadal referred to the very difficult time he went through in the previous period with the leg injury and the coronavirus: “The truth is that two months ago I didn’t know if I could play tennis again. I’m here, it’s a gift of life for me to be here and have fun.”
Source: Tennis24
Source: sport24
Jessica Martinez is an author at Sportish, a publication dedicated to sports news and analysis. She covers various topics related to sports and provides insightful commentary on the latest developments in the world of sports.
Ukraine’s first racket Elina Svitolina (WTA 14) became the “Opening Week” participant of the Australian Open 2026.
On January 14, 2026, the Ukrainian will play an exhibition match against Amanda Anisimova (USA, WTA 4) at the tournament’s main stadium, Rod Laver Arena.
The meeting will be held in the format of two standard sets as the deciding game and a super tiebreak up to 10 points.
There will also be four more exhibition matches: Elena Rybakina – Zheng Qingwen, Alexander Zverev – Lorenzo Musetti, Carlos Alcaraz – Alex de Minaur, Jannik Sinner – Felix Auger-Aliassime.
After the match between Svitolina and Anisimova, Rod Laver Arena will host the AO 1 Point Slam tournament, where tennis stars Iga Swiatek, Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Coco Gauff, Naomi Osaka, Daniil Medvedev, Zheng Qingwen, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Jasmine Paolini will compete against amateurs.
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.
Tennis
22-28.12 Schedule and results of matches between Ukrainians and Ukrainians at ITF tournaments
Sport.ua presents the schedule and results of matches of Ukrainian tennis players at the ITF World Tour tournaments from December 15 to 21
men
M15 Antalya (Türkiye – location), Antalya Series
Singles, elimination, first round
- Maxim Khlyvnyuk (Ukraine) – Ibrahim Yego (Kenya) – absent
- Filip Pavic (Kosovo) – Andrey Bilata (Ukraine) – without
Singles, qualifiers, second round
- Maxim Khlyvnyuk (Ukraine) – Stefanos Schinas (Greece, 15) – 23.12, at 10:00 at the latest
- Alexandru Balan (Canada, 6) – Andrey Bilata (Ukraine) – 23.12, 12:30 at the latest
Singles, first round
- TVA – Nikita Bilozertsev (Ukraine, 6) –TVA
- TVA – Ilya Biloborodko (Ukraine) –TVA
- TVA – Alexander Ovcharenko (Ukraine, 2) –TVA
Doubles, first round
- Dillon Beckles (USA) and Alexander Wagner (Austria) – Nikita Bilozertsev (Ukraine) and Alp Horoz (Türkiye) – TVA
- William Mirarchi (Italy) and Daniil Stepanov – Mihai Marinescu (Romania) and Alexander Ovcharenko (Ukraine, 4) –TVA
M15 Monastir (Tunisia – difficult), FTT by Magic Hotel Tours
Singles, elimination, first round
- Kazuki Nishiwaki (Japan, 6) – Arseniy Mironov (Ukraine) – 6:0, 6:0
Women
W15 Antalya (Türkiye – ground), Antalya Series
Singles, elimination, first round
- Anastasia Necule (Romania) – Yaroslava Sribnaya (Ukraine) –TVA
- Arina Yakusheva (Ukraine) – Naz Kaynak (Türkiye) – TVA
- Jamie Collinson (Australia) – Helen Grab (Ukraine) –TVA
- Serafima Vasilyeva (Ukraine) – Öykü Şahbaz (Ukraine) – none
Singles, qualifiers, second round
- Eva Galievskaya (Ukraine, 6) – Honoka Uchiyama (Japan) or Alisa Aksiyanova – TVA
- Serafima Vasilyeva (Ukraine) – Sabina Shaidullina or Ema Garayda (Czech Republic, 14) – TVA
Doubles, first round
- Asylzhan Arystanbekova (Kazakhstan) and Ingkar Dyusebay (Kazakhstan) – Sara Balan (Romania) and Eva Galievskaya (Ukraine) –TVA
- Nanari Katsumi (Romania) and Honoka Uchiyama (Japan) – Helen Grab (Ukraine) and Arina Yakusheva (Ukraine) –TVA
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.
20-year-old American tennis player Lerner Tien (ATP 28) Became the winner of the ATP 2025 Junior Final Tournament.
The Americans were defeated in the final of the competition held on indoor courts in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia). Alexander Blox (Belgium, ATP 116) 1 hour 1 minute.
Next Generation ATP Finals 2025. Final, December 21
Lerner Tien (AMERICA) [1] –Alexander Blox (Belgium) [2] – 4:3 (7:4), 4:2, 4:1
Tien played in the Next Generation finals for the second time. He lost to João Fonseca in the decisive match in 2024.
Lerner suffered one defeat, losing to Rafael Hodar in the first round of the group stage in Jeddah. He then defeated Blox as well as Martin Landaluse, Nikolay Budkov Kjaer and Nishesh Basavareddy.
Tien becomes the second Youth Finals champion after Brandon Nakashima – Nakashima won the Next Gen award in 2022.
Lerner Thien received $502,250 in prize money for his victory at the Next Gen ATP Finals 2025.
Photo gallery of the award ceremony
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.
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