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.
Taiwanese badminton star Tai Tzu-ying (戴資穎) yesterday beat Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon in their women’s singles semi-final match to advance to today’s final at the Thailand Open. The top-seeded Tai overcame a 10-21 first-game loss to seventh seed and former world champion Ratchanok to dominate the final two games 21-13, 21-19 in 58 minutes of play at the Impact Arena in Bangkok. World No. 2 Tai is today to face world No. 4 Chen Yufei of China. Chen yesterday bested Pusarla Venkata Sindhu 21-17, 21-16 to secure her spot in the final of the Super 500 tournament. On Friday, Tai overpowered China’s He Bingjiao 21-10,
Wimbledon, widely regarded as the world’s most prestigious tennis tournament, was on Friday stripped of ranking points by the sport’s main tours in a move that threatens to reduce the Grand Slam to the status of a high-profile exhibition event. The decision by the ATP and WTA was in response to Wimbledon banning Russian and Belarusian players following the invasion of Ukraine. “It is with great regret and reluctance that we see no option but to remove ATP Ranking points from Wimbledon for 2022,” an ATP statement said. “Our rules and agreements exist in order to protect the rights of players as a
Defending champions Taichung Blue Whale thrashed Taoyuan Mars 6-0 in Taiwanese women’s soccer over the weekend, while Hualien City rolled on with their fourth win to sit atop the league table. While Thai fullback Pitsamai Sornsai partnered with compatriot goalkeeper Nattaruja Muthtanawech on defense, Japanese midfielder Maho Tanaka opened the scoring for Blue Whale in Saturday’s match, kicking a screamer on a volley from outside the penalty box — her first goal of the season. The match remained 1-0 heading into the break, although Taoyuan Mars striker Ho Chia-huan, a student at Hsing Wu High School in New Taipei City, had good
Faced with a machete, a fighter leaps and locks his legs around another man’s neck, bringing him crashing down to a cacophony of cheers. This is vovinam, Vietnam’s acrobatic martial art with roots dating back to the country’s struggle for independence, and it is showing at the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games for the first time since 2013. Proponents are trained to use not only their hands and legs to grapple a rival to the ground, but also fend off assailants armed with blades. Short for “Vo Viet Nam” (literally “Vietnamese martial arts”) it was inspired by nationalists who sought an end to the
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