KAROLINA MUCHOVA"S HILARIOUS RESPONSE F

 

AN ALL-TIME GREAT FINAL | KAROLINA MUCHOVA VS. LINDA NOSKOVÁ | WIMBLEDON FINAL 2026

 

KAROLINA MUCHOVA VS. COCO GAUFF |

 

KAROLINA MUCHOVA VS. NAOMI OSAKA | US OPEN 2025

VENUS WILLIAMS BOWS OUT OF US OPEN AS STREAMLINED ALCARAZ SAILS THROUGH

USA's Venus Williams waves at supporters after losing against Czech Republic's Karolina Muchova at the end of their women's singles first round tennis match on day two of the US Open tennis tournament at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City

Image: Kena Betancur / AFP

Venus Williams battled bravely before bowing out of the US Open on her return to Grand Slam tennis on Monday as Spanish ace Carlos Alcaraz stormed into the second round with a dominant opening win.

The second full day of action in New York saw all eyes turn to the Arthur Ashe Stadium's night session, where the 45-year-old Williams lost in three sets to 11th seed Karolina Muchova.

Williams only returned to competitive tennis in July following a 16-month absence from the sport and had been granted a wild card into the main draw at Flushing Meadows.

But hopes of a fairytale run -- 28 years after her debut in the tournament -- ended in a 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 loss to Muchova, who was not even born when Williams turned professional in 1994.

"I didn't win today but I'm very proud of the way I played," Williams, the US Open champion in 2000 and 2001, said.

"I don't think I've ever had a crowd on my side like that. I knew people around the world and around the United States were really rooting for me, and that felt great."

With the American exiting, 2022 men's champion Alcaraz took centre-stage in the late game in his first round tie against unseeded American Reilly Opelka.

The Spaniard arrived for the game sporting a striking new hairstyle -- a severe crew cut -- and he duly chopped down the 6ft 11in Opelka with a blistering 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 victory in 2hr 5min.

"Today was a really difficult one," Alcaraz said. "Reilly is a great, tough player. I couldn't get the rhythm that I wanted to get but I'm just really happy with what I did today. I did a great performance today."

Alcaraz is chasing a second US Open title following his maiden Grand Slam victory at the tournament three years ago.

Australian Open winner Madison Keys became the highest-ranked player to exit so far, the sixth seed losing to Mexico's Renata Zarazua 6-7 (10/12), 7-6 (7/3), 7-5.

"Today was the first time in a while where my nerves really got the better of me and it kind of became a little bit paralyzing," home hope Keys said.

"I was just slow, I wasn't seeing things the way that I wanted to, which I feel like resulted in a lot of bad decisions and lazy footwork."

Kvitova farewell

Czech Republic's Barbora Krejcikova bundled out rising Canadian star Victoria Mboko, defeating the teenager 6-3, 6-2.

Belgian 19th seed Elise Mertens ousted wild card Alyssa Ahn 6-1, 6-0 while Ukrainian 30th seed Dayana Yastremska exited in a 6-7 (5/7), 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 loss to Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova brought the curtain down on her career after a 6-1, 6-0 defeat to France's Diane Parry.

The 35-year-old Czech had already announced her intention to retire after the US Open, but was nonetheless overcome with emotion as she said farewell to the sport, breaking down in tears as she addressed fans afterwards.

"I hoped I would put on a better show today," Kvitova said. "It was tough to know it could be my last match, and emotionally it was very tough as well."

Qualifier Coleman Wong became the first man from Hong Kong to record a victory in a Grand Slam singles event in the Open era with a 6-4, 7-5, 7-6 (7/4) defeat of US player Aleksandar Kovacevic.

It was the latest in a series of breakthrough results by young Asian players at this year's US Open.

Alexandra Eala of the Philippines -- who trains with Wong at Rafael Nadal's academy in Spain -- and Indonesia's Janice Tjen both won their first-round matches in the main draw.

British fifth seed Jack Draper needed four sets to get past Argentina's Federico Gomez, 6-4, 7-5, 6-7 (7/9), 6-2.

Other seeds to advance included Norway's Casper Ruud, the 12th seed, who downed Austria's Sebastian Ofner 6-1, 6-2, 7-6 (7/5).

US 17th seed Frances Tiafoe beat Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka 6-3, 7-6 (8/6), 6-3.

- AFP

EMMA RADUCANU GIVEN LETTER BY 'STALKER' AT HOTEL DURING TERRIFYING DUBAI ORDEAL

Emma Raducanu was reduced to tears during a match (Image: WTA)

Emma Raducanu broke down in tears and appeared to hide behind the umpire's chair in distressing scenes which took place during her second-round loss against Karolina Muchova in Dubai

The man who caused Emma Raducanu to break down during her Dubai Tennis Championships match had shown 'fixated behaviour' when handing her a letter at her hotel the previous day.

Raducanu, 22, became visibly distressed just two games into Tuesday's second-round defeat to Karolina Muchova. The match was briefly paused as the 2021 US Open champion broke down in tears and went behind the umpire's chair while asking for help.

The Telegraph report that Raducanu is understood to have been approached at her hotel on Monday by a man who handed her a letter. Although the individual's identity remains unknown at this stage, it's thought he isn't a UK national.

The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) said in a statement: "On Monday, February 17, Emma Raducanu was approached in a public area by a man who exhibited fixated behaviour. This same individual was identified in the first few rows during Emma's match on Tuesday at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships and subsequently ejected.

"He will be banned from all WTA events pending a threat assessment. Player safety is our top priority, and tournaments are advised on security best practices for international sporting events.

"The WTA is actively working with Emma and her team to ensure her well-being and provide any necessary support. We remain committed to collaborating with tournaments and their security teams worldwide to maintain a safe environment for all players."

The Dubai Tennis Championships added: "We fully support the statement made earlier today by the WTA in regard to an incident involving Emma Raducanu on February 17. The tournament security team worked in collaboration with the WTA security team to proactively identify and immediately eject the individual in question from the stadium during Emma's second-round match on Tuesday."

In 2022, a man who stalked Raducanu while she was still a teenager was given a five-year restraining order. The individual had visited her home in Bromley three times following her remarkable US Open win aged 18.

Following the incident in Dubai, the Lawn Tennis Association reiterated: "This incident once again highlights issues around safety that all players, but female players in particular, can face. We have support available for British players and have been in contact with Emma and her team following the events in Dubai.

"We have extensive security arrangements at our events in Britain and keep these under constant review. The tours have strong processes in place already and we will continue to work together along with police and security providers to deal with situations like this robustly."

Raducanu's team or the 22-year-old herself are yet to comment. She's currently ranked No.61 in the world after several years of dealing with injury setbacks but is Britain's No.2 woman behind Katie Boulter.

- Nathan Ridley

AUSTRALIAN OPEN: CLUTCH NAOMI OSAKA COMPLETES REVENGE MISSION AGAINST CAROLINE GARCIA

© Australian Open/X - Fair Use

Naomi Osaka has gotten her revenge over Caroline Garcia and clinched her first Australian Open win since 2022 after beating the Frenchwoman 6-3 3-6 6-3 in a match that finished 20 minutes past midnight in Melbourne. 

Last year, the Japanese returned to Melbourne Park as a mom and suffered a first-round loss to the former world No. 4.

Later in her press, Osaka didn't hide that she was very frustrated with the defeat.

This year, she drew the same opponent - in the same stage - again. 

But this time, Osaka was the one who ended on the winning side after firing seven aces and 25 winners, as well as converting four of her six break point chances. 

Naomi Osaka
© Australian Open/X - Fair Use

Throughout the match, it was an even battle. Even in the third set, there wasn't much separating the two but the only difference was that the former world No. 1 came up big in the key moments and realized her chances.

Now, the four-time Grand Slam champion is set for a very tough test as she plays next against 2023 French Open runner-up Karolina Muchova.

How Osaka beat Garcia?

In the first set, the two-time Australian Open champion went 2-of-2 on her break points in the fifth and ninth games and that was enough for her to seal the opener. 

After winning the first set, the Japanese had two consecutive game points in the first game of the second set but then hit a double fault - made some errors - and ended up losing her serve for the first time. 

That changed the rhythm of the match as Garcia stabilized and went on to force a decider after collecting another break in the ninth game.

However, Osaka was able to respond and prevent the Frenchwoman from completing a comeback win after breaking the 31-year-old twice in the third set.

While the Japanese claimed two breaks and didn't lose any of her service games in the decider, it should be noted that Garcia had a total of four break points across two games but the four-time Grand Slam winner saved it.

JESSICA PEGULA OUSTS NO.1 SWIATEK TO REACH US OPEN SEMIS

Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/AP

NEW YORK -- Jessica Pegula pulled off a major upset of Iga Swiatek at the US Open, beating the No. 1-ranked woman 6-2, 6-4 on Wednesday night to win a Grand Slam quarterfinal for the first time on her seventh try.

"There have been so many freaking times, and I just kept losing," Pegula told the crowd. "I know everyone keeps asking me about it, but I was like, 'I don't know what else to do. I just need to get there again and, like, win the match.' So thank God I was able to do it. And finally -- finally! -- I can say, 'Semifinalist.'"

Her win guarantees the US Open will feature multiple American men and women in the semifinal round, the first time that has happened since 2003 (Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick; Lindsay Davenport and Jennifer Capriati).

The No. 6-seeded Pegula, a 30-year-old American, has won 14 of her past 15 matches and will make her debut appearance in the semifinals of a Slam on Thursday against unseeded Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic.

Both Muchova and Pegula have yet to drop a set, the first time that has been done by multiple women at this stage of the tournament since 2014 (there were three that year: Serena Williams, Peng Shuai and Ekaterina Makarova).

"I know she has a lot of experience going deep in Slams," Pegula said about Muchova, whom she defeated at the Cincinnati Open last month. "I'll worry about that, maybe, when I wake up in the morning."

The other women's match Thursday also will feature an American making her major semifinal debut, No. 13 Emma Navarro, against No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka, who has won the past two Australian Open titles. Sabalenka lost to Coco Gauff in the 2023 final in New York; Navarro ended Gauff's title defense in the fourth round.

There are also two Americans in the men's semifinals, but they'll face each other: No. 12 Taylor Fritz takes on No. 20 Frances Tiafoe on Friday.

The lopsided nature of Pegula's win was surprising, but she believed this day would come.

"I knew I could do it. I just had to go out and execute my game and not get frustrated," she said. "Luckily I felt like I was able to take advantage of some things she wasn't doing well very early and then was able to kind of ride that momentum throughout the match."

Swiatek served poorly in the first set and her forehand was a real problem, with 22 of her 41 unforced errors coming on that side. Pegula made only 22 unforced errors in all and used terrific defense to keep forcing Swiatek to hit an extra shot.

Pegula repeatedly did what seemed nearly impossible lately against Swiatek, who counts the 2022 US Open among her five Grand Slam titles and has led the WTA rankings for most of the past 2½ years: break her serve.

Entering Wednesday, Swiatek had lost only a pair of service games across four matches in the tournament, both in the first round -- and she didn't even face a single break point in any of her most recent three contests.

But Pegula, whose parents own the NFL's Buffalo Bills and NHL's Buffalo Sabres, didn't have much trouble in that department, especially at the outset, breaking in each of Swiatek's initial two service games, which both ended with double-faults, and three of the first six.

It helped that Swiatek was unable to properly calibrate her first serves early, putting just 2 of 12 -- 16.7% -- in play at the start and only 36% for the opening set.

Even as the games kept going in her favor, Pegula didn't show much perceptible emotion, whether grabbing a 4-0 lead just 21 minutes in or taking up that set, which was greeted with a slight shake of her left fist as she walked to her sideline seat.

Swiatek didn't hide her thoughts that well. She smacked her racket against the top of the net. She slapped her right thigh after a forehand flew wide to get broken yet again and trail 4-3 in the second set. Fifteen minutes later, it was over.

"It's never easy to play against Jess," Swiatek said. "She has a tricky ball because it's pretty low and pretty flat. I just made too many mistakes."

Pegula entered the day as the only player inside the WTA's top 10 who hadn't reached a major semifinal; 0-6 in her career in Slam quarterfinals, she was one loss shy of the worst major quarterfinal record by any woman in the Open era, shared by three players (0-7).

During that 0-6 rut, two of her exits came against Swiatek, and one was against another No. 1 player, Ash Barty.

Pegula was asked about that record in this round during her postmatch interview on court after winning her fourth-round match. And again in the news conference that followed. And again during a TV interview before stepping out into Arthur Ashe Stadium on Wednesday.

If that all weighed on Pegula, she didn't let it show.

ESPN Stats & Information and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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COCO GAUFF BEATS MUCHOVA TO REACH US OPEN FINAL AFTER PROTESTERS DISRUPT MATCH

Reuters 

American Coco Gauff beat Karolina Muchova 6-4 7-5 to reach her first U.S. Open final on Thursday after the match was halted for nearly an hour when an environmental activist glued his feet to the floor of Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Gauff, who had beaten Muchova in the Cincinnati final last month to claim the biggest title of her career, fed off the energy of the home crowd to get past the Czech once again.

CLIMATE PROTESTERS HALT US OPEN SEMI-FINALS

Reuters 

Climate protesters halted the U.S. Open women's semi-final between American Coco Gauff and Czech Karolina Muchova for nearly an hour on Thursday.

With Gauff up a set and holding serve to open the second, a disturbance erupted in the upper bowl of Arthur Ashe Stadium, the sport's largest venue with a seating capacity of over 23,000.

Stacey Allaster, United States Tennis Association (USTA) Chief Executive Professional Tennis, told ESPN the disturbance involved three climate protesters

The USTA later issued a statement confirming four were taken into NYPD custody.

COCO GAUFF VS. KAROLINA MUCHOVA | 2023 CINCINNATI FINAL | WTA HIGHLIGHTS

'SUMMER OF COCO' CONTINUES AS GAUFF TRIUMPHS IN CINCINNATI

USA TODAY Sports 

Coco Gauff beat Karolina Muchova 6-3 6-4 to win the biggest title of her young career at the Cincinnati Open on Sunday and extend her outstanding run of form on North American hard courts ahead of the U.S. Open.

The American teenager, seeded seventh, broke the Czech three times in the first set and confidently served out the opener to love in her first WTA 1000 final appearance.

IGA SWIATEK VS. KAROLINA MUCHOVA | FINAL HIGHLIGHTS | ROLAND GARROS 2023