Chan Hao-ching and Chan Yung-jan yesterday began their year with a defeat in the first round of the doubles at the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand, on a day that also saw fellow Taiwanese Chang Kai-chen exit the Shenzhen Open.
The second-seeded Chan sisters fell to a 7-5, 3-6, 10-5 defeat to Kirsten Flipkins of Belgium and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia in their opening match of the season.
The Taiwanese duo saved six of 11 break points and converted five of 13, winning 70 of the 136 points contested, but it was not enough.
There was also an upset in the singles in Auckland as world No. 2 Serena Williams slumped to a 6-4, 6-7 (3/7), 6-4 defeat to fellow American Madison Brengle.
“I really think I played — I’m trying to think of a word that’s not obscene — but that’s how I played,” Williams told the WTA Web site. “Eighty-eight unforced errors is too much, just way too many.”
The result was a surprise, as Brengle won just a single game in their only previous encounter in Madrid in 2015.
In the second round of the Shenzhen Open, Taiwanese qualifier Chang was routed 6-1, 6-2 in just 47 minutes by Kristyna Pliskova of the Czech Republic.
There was better news in the first round of the ATP Tour’s Chennai Open on Tuesday, as eighth seed and Taiwanese No. 1 Lu Yen-hsun cruised to a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Radu Albot of Moldova in 63 minutes.
Lu was due to face Russian world No. 99 Daniil Medvedev in the second round yesterday.
Yu Yao-hsing on Tuesday nabbed Taiwan’s only goal in the final round of qualifiers for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, as they fell 3-1 to Sri Lanka at Taipei Municipal Stadium. Early goals from Sri Lanka in the first half left Taiwan struggling to get on the board, and Christopher Tiao’s own goal at 53 minutes sealed the team’s fate in the third round of qualifiers. While acknowledging that the defeat, Taiwan’s sixth in Group D, was disappointing, head coach Matt Ross said he saw reasons to stay positive about the team’s development. “There were lots of positive signs in terms of the
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli yesterday vowed to “keep raising the bar” after winning the Japanese Grand Prix to become the youngest driver in Formula One history to lead the championship standings. The 19-year-old Italian took advantage of a mid-race safety car to jump into the lead after a dreadful start from pole position, crossing the line ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Antonelli’s Suzuka victory came two weeks after the first grand prix win of his career in China, and sent him top of the championship standings after three races, nine points ahead of team-mate George Russell. Mercedes are struggling to
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Teng Kai-wei, the only Taiwanese player on an opening-day roster in this year’s Major League Baseball (MLB) season, took his first win of the year with the Houston Astros in his season debut. Teng entered in relief in the top of the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday, with the Astros trailing 5-0. He pitched 2-1/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts, as Houston scored 11 runs during his outing to snatch an 11-9 comeback victory. The win is the Astros’ first of the season and the third of Teng’s MLB career. “It’s my first time pitching for the Astros, so
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