Taiwan’s Chan Yung-jan on Sunday claimed her fifth doubles title of the season without playing a shot at the Mallorca Open.
Top seeds Chan and Martina Hingis of Switzerland were handed a walkover after singles champion Anastasija Sevastova had to pull out of the final with a thigh injury, disappointing her partner, former world No. Jelena Jankovic of Serbia.
“It’s not a usual way to win a title, but it’s nice to have our 4th title here in Mallorca,” Chan wrote on Facebook, following the pair’s victories in Indian Wells, Madrid and Rome.
Photo: screen grab from Facebook
Chan also claimed the Taiwan Open in February alongside younger sister Chan Hao-ching.
Chan and Hingis headed to Eastbourne, England, following the trophy presentation where they are the second seeds at the Wimbledon warm-up tournament.
Earlier, Sevastova won her first trophy since 2010, becoming the second Latvian in two weeks to clinch a WTA Tour singles title after Jelena Ostapenko’s triumph at the French Open.
The 27-year-old world No. 19 defeated Germany’s Julia Goerges 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 to add the Mallorca Open to her maiden title in Estoril, Portugal, seven years ago.
Sevastova had finished runner-up last year, losing to Caroline Garcia, but she avenged that loss against the Frenchwoman in the semi-finals this year.
“It’s my second final here. I won, but it was a tough match. I hope the tournament will be back here next year,” Sevastova said.
At the Aegon Classic in Birmingham, England, Chan Hao-ching failed to claim her second title of the season in a closely fought doubles final.
The Taiwanese and Zhang Shuai of China fell to a 6-1, 2-6, 10-8 defeat to Australian duo Ashleigh Barty and Casey Dellacqua in 67 minutes.
Following the loss, Chan made the journey to Eastbourne on the south coast to team up with Monica Niculescu of Romania in the doubles.
Earlier, two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova beat unseeded Barty 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the singles final to win her first title since her playing hand was injured in a knife attack at her home.
Kvitova was playing only her second tournament and seventh match since she was attacked in December last year.
“It’s hard to say anything, but I think I’ve been through a very difficult time in my life and it wasn’t about the tennis, but about coming back healthy and alive, and moving my fingers properly and everything like that,” Kvitova said.
“This is something clearly special. It’s some bonus to have in my life and my career, and everything,” she said.
It was the Czech left-hander’s first grass-court final since her triumph at Wimbledon in 2014 and her 20th career title in her 27th final.
“I could not have imagined a better comeback than I am having now,” Kvitova said.
The Philadelphia 76ers, fueled by 36 points from Tyrese Maxey and a triple-double from Joel Embiid, on Thursday beat the Houston Rockets 128-122 in an NBA overtime thriller. Cameroonian big man Embiid scored 32 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and handed out 10 assists, posting the ninth triple-double of his career to help the Sixers end the Rockets’ three-game winning streak. Rockets star Kevin Durant scored 36 points and Amen Thompson added 17, but Thompson was scoreless in the fourth quarter. Even so, the Rockets led by nine midway through the final frame, Maxey tying it at 115-115 with 40.1 seconds left. Durant missed a
Tobias Harris on Monday scored 25 points as the Detroit Pistons held off the Boston Celtics to score a 104-103 victory in their top-of-the-table Eastern Conference showdown. Harris was one of four Detroit players to finish in double figures, with Jalen Duren adding 18 points and point guard Cade Cunningham scoring 16 points with 14 assists. The win sees Detroit extend their lead at the top of the Eastern Conference to 31-10, 5.5 games ahead of second-placed Boston, who fell to 26-16 with the defeat. Jaylen Brown led the Celtics scoring with 32 points and almost snatched victory in the
The Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo on Friday said that he will probably be out for an extended period after hurting his right calf again after a similar injury caused him to miss eight games earlier this season. Antetokounmpo had his right calf wrapped in the first half of their 102-100 loss to the Denver Nuggets. He did not appear comfortable the rest of the night and left for good with 34 seconds remaining. “At the end, I could not move no more, so I had to stop playing,” Antetokounmpo said. The two-time NBA Most Valuable Player said he expected to undergo an MRI
The chaotic scenes which tarnished Sunday’s Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final will forever overshadow a tournament that had until that point been a great success for hosts Morocco, on and off the pitch. Everything appeared set up for Walid Regragui’s Morocco side to cement their status as Africa’s preeminent footballing force as the continent’s top-ranked team made it to the final against Senegal in Rabat. Home advantage unquestionably brought extra pressure on the 2022 FIFA World Cup semi-finalists, but it also perhaps played into their hands for the controversial penalty award at the end of normal time in the
RSS