Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki won her 30th WTA singles title as she beat Latvia’s Anastasija Sevastova 6-3, 6-3 in the China Open final yesterday.
The Danish world No. 2 was impressive all week in Beijing — never dropping a set and rarely looking troubled — and sealed her spot in the WTA Finals Singapore.
The 28-year-old Wozniacki, who won the China Open in 2010, was once more imperious against the 20th-ranked Sevastova, who briefly retired from tennis in May 2013 with an injury. Wozniacki, whose form has been patchy in the second half of the year, was ruthless on her serve and wrapped up the first set with an overhead smash to underline her superiority.
US Open champion Naomi Osaka yesterday pulled out of this week’s Hong Kong Open to prevent aggravating a slight back injury, organizers said yesterday.
The Japanese star required treatment to her lower back during her semi-final defeat to unseeded Anastasija Sevastova at the China Open in Beijing on Saturday.
Afterward, Osaka, who turns 21 on Tuesday next week, said it was more a case of fatigue than anything more serious, but suggested that she might not make the WTA Hong Kong Open, which starts today.
“Unfortunately, I have been playing through pain in my back this whole week,” the world No. 6 said in a subsequent statement released by organizers.
“The doctors have advised me that I need to rest to ensure that the injury is not further aggravated and does not become more serious,” she added.
One player who does appear set to play in Hong Kong is China’s Wang Qiang, who is in the form of her life.
The 28th-ranked Wang was well beaten by world No. 2 Caroline Wozniacki in the China Open semi-finals, going down 6-1, 6-3, and has been carrying a thigh injury.
“I’ll try my best because I will definitely face the same situation in the future,” Wang said, asked if she would compete in Hong Kong. “I cannot give up easily.”
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
HSIEH MAKES QUARTERS: Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens of Belgium won in the women’s doubles and face Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sofia Kenin of the US Top-ranked Iga Swiatek and US Open champion Coco Gauff were knocked out of the women’s singles at the Miami Open on Monday, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced in the women’s doubles. Swiatek lost to Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-2, hours after third seed Gauff fell in three sets to No. 23 Caroline Garcia 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. Alexandrova beat a top-ranked player for the first time and advanced to face Jessica Pegula, a 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 winner over Emma Navarro, in the quarter-finals. Alexandrova recorded her second win over Swiatek, following a 2021 victory in Melbourne. Swiatek had won their three matches since. “We played quite