The Chan sisters’ disappointing start to the new season continued yesterday at the Hobart International when they fell to a second consecutive first-round defeat, while fellow Taiwanese Hsieh Su-wei was ousted in the first round of the singles at the Adelaide International after a three-set battle with Aryna Sabalenka.
All looked well for top seeds Chan Hao-ching and Latisha Chan after they won the first set against unseeded Kateryna Bondarenko of Ukraine and Sharon Fichman of Canada, but the Taiwanese sisters could not maintain that momentum as they fell to a 2-6, 6-3, 10-4 defeat in 1 hour, 19 minutes.
The Chan sisters won only 55 percent of points on their first serve and 29 percent of their first-return points as they fell to a second straight first-round defeat after their earlier elimination at the Brisbane International last week.
Photo: AFP
India’s Sania Mirza won her first doubles match since returning to the WTA Tour following the birth of her son.
Mirza and Nadiia Kichenok of Ukraine rallied to beat Oksana Kalashnikova of Georgia and Miyu Kato of Japan 2-6, 7-6 (7/3), 10-3 to advance to the quarter-finals.
“Today was one of the most special days of my life to have my parents and my little baby boy with me in my first match after so long... and we WON our first round,” Mirza tweeted after the win. “Feel very grateful for the love I am receiving.. BELIEF!! Takes you places YES my baby boy, we did it.”
Mirza, who is married to Pakistan cricket captain Shoaib Malik, is playing at her first tournament since the China Open in October 2017.
In Adelaide, Hsieh lost her 100 percent career record against Belarusian Sabalenka, despite giving the sixth seed a scare before falling to a tight 5-7, 6-1, 7-5 loss in 2 hours, 5 minutes.
Hsieh saved six of 11 break points and converted three of four, but she failed to add to her victories in Rome in 2018 and in Birmingham, England, last year.
World No. 1 Ashleigh Barty also survived a scare before battling to a 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 victory over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the second round.
“I was able to play my style and control a bit more in the third set, but she hung around and got more aggressive,” the Australian said. “It was a very close one — but all of ours are. She controlled the match with me trying to do the best I could.”
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen has become the first female player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after the Golden State Valkyries selected her in the third and final round of the league’s draft on Monday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship earlier this month. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament’s most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen (陳凱玲) has become the first player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after being selected by the Golden State Valkyries in the third and final round of the league's draft yesterday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship on April 6. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament's most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as a
Japan yesterday secured a second consecutive Billie Jean King Cup finals appearance with a 2-1 win over 2023 champions Canada, thanks to Ena Shibahara and Shuko Aoyama’s 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 win over Kayla Cross and Rebecca Marino in the qualifying doubles decider. Shibahara and Aoyama powered through the opening set 6-3, breaking twice for a quick 3-0 lead. Cross and Marino hit back in the second, edging it 7-5 to level the match, before the Japanese pair regained control in the third. Canada’s 18-year-old Victoria Mboko edged Shibahara 6-4, 6-7 (8/10), 7-5 in a marathon opening clash. Mboko fired eight aces to
DAY OF BLOWOUTS: Elsewhere, the Lakers clinched the third seed in the Western Conference with a 140-109 pounding of the under-strength Houston Rockets The Denver Nuggets on Friday improved their playoff position, with a triple double from Nikola Jokic helping them to a 117-109 win over the Memphis Grizzlies. The Serbian put up 26 points, 13 assists and 16 rebounds. The triple-double performance, his 34th this season, ensured that he will finish the regular season as just the third NBA player to average a triple double across an entire season. The win meant the Nuggets improved to 49-32 on the season and gave them a real chance of grabbing fourth place and home-court advantage in the playoffs. Aaron Gordon top scored with 33 points for Denver,
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