Asia has slim pickings at the Australian Open with many players failing to make progress last year, but hope remains for regional success with Zheng Jie and Kei Nishikori at the forefront.
Going into the tournament, eight Asian women are ranked within the top 100, the same as this time last year. China’s Zheng is the highest placed at 24, four ahead of compatriot Li Na.
Remarkably, veterans Ai Sugiyama of Japan (ranked 29) and Thai trailblazer Tamarine Tanasugarn (35) remain top-50 players, although they will be the first to admit that they are past their prime.
PHOTO: AP
Others making the grade include Taiwan’s Chan Yung-jan (75) and Hsieh Su-wei (80), China’s Peng Shuai (39) and Japan’s Ayumi Morita (76).
But players like China’s Yan Zi and Japan’s Akiko Morigami and Aiko Nakamura have all slipped off the radar.
Another high-profile casualty is India’s Sania Mirza, who was ranked 31 ahead of the Australian Open last year but is now languishing at 107 after wrist surgery.
Asian men’s tennis remains in dire straits with just two players inside the top 100, but that includes Japan’s Nishikori who burst onto the scene last year and has stormed up the rankings to 61 — two places ahead of Taiwan’s Lu-Yen hsun.
Chinese star Zheng, who has won three tour singles titles and 11 doubles titles plans to concentrate more on singles this year and had been working hard on her fitness.
“The most important thing I feel is I need more fitness because the Asia players, we are so small. I need to get stronger and more powerful so I am working so hard on my fitness,” she said.
Li, who has yet to go beyond the fourth round in Melbourne in four attempts, will be hoping to do better, although a cloud hangs over her participation after she pulled out of this month’s Brisbane International injured.
India’s Mirza, 22, has been built up as a star of the future but questions remain over her abilities on the big stage, where she has failed to go beyond her fourth round appearance at the US Open in 2005.
A youth icon in India, she had a 2008 to forget with surgery on her right wrist in April ruining her season. She made brief comebacks before bowing out of the Beijing Olympics in tears. But she is now hitting the ball harder than ever and hungry for success.
“The most important thing is I am back and so is my confidence,” she said. “I can say that I am in the best frame of mind for the big league again. This is the beginning of a new chapter in my career.”
Asian men’s tennis has been in the doldrums for years but in Nishikori there is hope that a player has finally emerged who can make waves.
The 19-year-old caused a sensation by capturing his first ATP title at Delray Beach last February in only his fifth tournament since turning professional.
His US Open performance, where he reached the fourth round put him in the world spotlight and he wants to build on that this year.
“I hope I will be able to do better than last year,” he said. “I reached the fourth round at the US Open, so my goal at the Australian Open is to finish higher.”
US President Donald Trump’s granddaughter, Kai Trump, is poised to make her LPGA Tour debut after receiving a sponsor invitation on Tuesday to the Nov. 13 to 16 tournament at Pelican Golf Club in Florida. “My dream has been to compete with the best in the world on the LPGA Tour,” Kai Trump said in a statement posted on the LPGA’s Web site. “This event will be an incredible experience,” she said. “I look forward [to] meeting and competing against so many of my heroes and mentors in golf as I make my LPGA Tour debut.” The 18-year-old high-school senior,
REACTION: Less than 24 hours after a 18-inning Game 3 loss, the Blue Jays’ win ensured that the best-of-seven series is to head back to Toronto for Game 6 tomorrow Vladimir Guerrero Jr on Tuesday blasted a two-run home run as the Toronto Blue Jays bounced back to defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 and tie the MLB World Series at two games apiece. Less than 24 hours after a shattering 18-inning Game 3 loss, the Blue Jays climbed off the canvas to breathe new life into their hopes of a first MLB title in 32 years. Guerrero’s two-run blast off Dodgers starter Shohei Ohtani and a superb pitching performance from ace Shane Bieber laid the foundations for a gutsy victory that silenced Dodger Stadium. “I’m always trying to compete
Jannik Sinner on Thursday eased past Francisco Cerundolo 7-5, 6-1 at the Paris Masters to set up a quarter-final clash with Ben Shelton, while reigning champion Alexander Zverev earned a straight-sets win over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the third round. A maiden crown in the French capital would return Sinner to No. 1 in the world rankings after current incumbent Carlos Alcaraz suffered a shock early exit at the hands of Britain’s Cameron Norrie. The Italian four-time Grand Slam champion is yet to drop a set in the tournament as he hones in on what would be a fifth title of the
Retired defender Jerome Boateng on Saturday pulled out of a planned coaching internship at Bayern Munich after fans voiced their objection due to the FIFA 2014 World Cup winner being found guilty of assaulting a former girlfriend last year. The former Bayern and Germany defender, who played for the club between 2011 and 2021, had discussed a short internship with coach Vincent Kompany. “Following the recent discussion regarding myself, I have decided to focus on my issues such as the A training license.... That is where my focus is,” he said in a social media post addressed to Bayern and
RSS