Tag: Aryna Sabalenka

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McIlroy and Norris honoured at Laureus awards

Rory McIlroy and Lando Norris have both been rewarded for their respective successes in 2025 at the Laureus awards in Madrid.

Northern Ireland’s McIlroy won the Comeback of the Year award after winning his first Masters golf title last year.

England’s Formula 1 driver Norris, who won his maiden World Drivers’ Championship, took the Breakthrough of the Year award.

McIlroy, who won the Masters again earlier this month, beat Justin Rose in a sudden-death play-off to earn the Green Jacket 12 months ago.

The 36-year-old – a former winner of the Breakthrough of the Year award – became just the sixth man in history to win all four Majors following his 2025 Augusta triumph.

“There are certain moments in your career that stay with you, and winning the Masters is one I’ll carry with me forever. To then have a year like that recognised by Laureus is very special,” McIlroy said.

“Completing the career Grand Slam was incredibly emotional. It’s something I’ve been chasing for a long time, and it probably means more because of everything that came before it – the near misses, the setbacks, and the questions along the way.”

Norris held his nerve in a tense battle with McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri and four-time champion Max Verstappen to win the 2025 championship.

The 26-year-old held off some strong competition to scoop the award, with fellow Britain Luke Littler, the darts world champion, among the nominees.

“Winning the world championship is something I dreamed about since I was young, so to win my first in 2025 is pretty special,” Norris said.

“It’s far from being an individual achievement. Without my team, who were also nominated for a Laureus Team of the Year award, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”

Carlos Alcaraz was named Sportsman of the Year, with fellow tennis player Aryna Sabalenka earning the sportswoman award.

Alcaraz, 22, won eight ATP Tour titles, including two Grand Slam events, and ended 2025 ranked as the world number one as he beat rival Jannik Sinner to the award.

Sabalenka, 27, added a second US Open crown to her collection as she collected four WTA titles last year.

England’s women were in the running for Team of the Year after winning Euro 2025 but the award went to men’s Champions League winners Paris St-Germain.

British cyclist Tom Pidcock missed out on the Action Sportsperson of the Year award, with American snowboarder Chloe Kim taking the honour.

Full list of Laureus award winners:

Sportsman of the Year award: Carlos Alcaraz

Sportswoman of the Year award: Aryna Sabalenka

Team of the Year award: Paris St-Germain

Breakthrough of the Year award: Lando Norris

Comeback of the Year award: Rory McIlroy

Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability award: Gabriel Araujo

Action Sportsperson of the Year award: Chloe Kim

Young Sportsperson of the Year award: Lamine Yamal

Sporting Inspiration award: Toni Kroos

Lifetime Achievement award: Nadia Comaneci

Sport for Good award: Fútbol Más (Source:BBC)

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Sinner overpowers Lehecka to win Miami Open

World number two Jannik Sinner powered past Jiri Lehecka 6-4, 6-4 to win the ATP Miami Masters 1000 for a second time on Sunday, adding the title to his Indian Wells crown.

Sinner had to wait out rain delays before and during the match to complete his “Sunshine Double,” becoming the first man to sweep the elite hard court tournaments in California and Florida since Roger Federer in 2017 and the first to do so without dropping a set.

In fact, Sinner — who won Miami in 2024 but missed last year as he served a three-month doping ban — has now won three straight Masters 1000 events, starting with a victory in Paris last year.

“It means a lot to me, (completing) the Sunshine Double for the first time, it’s incredible,” Sinner said on court. “It’s something I never would’ve thought (I’d win) because it’s difficult to achieve. We made it somehow, so I’m very happy.”

Sinner’s victory, coupled with Aryna Sabalenka’s triumph over Coco Gauff on Saturday, mark the first time the Indian Wells-Miami sweep was achieved on both the men’s and women’s sides since Novak Djokovic and Victoria Azarenka both did it in 2016.

It also saw the Italian gain a bit on Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz in the race for world number one as the clay court season beckons.

Early showers saw the match delayed for more than an hour. Sinner had just pocketed the first set when the showers hit again, halting the match for 90 minutes.

It wasn’t enough to unsettle Sinner, who fired 10 aces and won 33 of 36 points when he put his first serve in play.

His return game was also spot on as he handed 22nd-ranked Czech Lehecka his first service break of the tournament for a 2-1 lead in the opening frame.

Sinner trailed 0-40 in the following game but fired three service winners and a pair of aces to hold and made the advantage stand up.

The Italian gave himself a first set point in the ninth game with a blistering cross-court forehand service return winner.

Lehecka saved that one with a service winner and saved another set point with a volley, going on to seal the hold on his sixth game point before Sinner pocketed the set with a love game.

Lehecka fought off five set points before Sinner pounced for the lone break of the second set and a 5-4 lead.

Sinner didn’t face a break point in the second set and gave himself a match point with a forehand volley winner, thought he had it on a serve that was called a let, and polished it off with another winner at the net.

While Lehecka, playing in his first Masters 1000 final, couldn’t follow compatriot Jakub Mensik into the Miami winner’s circle, he will reach a career-high 14th in the world rankings on Monday.

“I came here with not good form and I was able to come back to the tennis that I want to play,” Lehecka said at the trophy ceremony. (JapanToday)

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World No.1 Alcaraz beaten by Korda in Miami Open third round

Sebastian Korda stared down Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday, sending the world number one crashing out of the Miami Open third round 6-3, 5-7, 6-4.

Korda, ranked 36th in the world, notched his first victory over a world number one, sending Alcaraz to his second straight early exit in Miami following defeat to 55th-ranked Belgian David Goffin in the second round last year.

Since that defeat, Alcaraz had built a remarkable 73-6 record, including a 16-0 start to 2026 that included his historic Australian Open triumph and a title in Doha.

It looked like Korda had missed his chance to spring the upset when he served for the match at 5-4 in the second set and was broken at love.

Alcaraz won the next two games to force a third set.

The Spaniard stepped up his intensity to win five straight games. But Korda didn’t buckle and it was the American who seized a break for 4-3 in the third when Alcaraz sailed a forehand wide.

He held his next service game with confidence, slamming down an overhead winner on game point and after Alcaraz held serve to force Korda to serve for the match again, the American made no mistake, sealing victory on his second match point as Alcaraz sent a service return long.

“It feels great,” said Korda, who has been ranked as high as 15th in the world but has endured two seasons disrupted by injuries. “I took the scenic route, that’s for sure — a little more stress than I would want but happy with how I played, happy with how I stayed with it.

“He’s unbelievable in every aspect of his game, movement, volleys, forehand, backhand, there’s nothing he can’t do,” Korda said of 22-year-old Alcaraz, whose Australian Open title made him the youngest man to complete the career Grand Slam.

Alcaraz, who fell in the semi-finals at Indian Wells this month, was on the defensive early against Korda, who broke for a 5-3 lead in the first set and pocketed the set with an ace.

He broke Alcaraz again for a 2-1 lead in the second before the Spaniard’s spirited fightback that ultimately came up short.

Korda will face either Spanish qualifier Martin Landaluce or 14th-seeded Karen Khachanov for a place in the quarterfinals.

Sixth-seeded Taylor Fritz broke big-serving compatriot Reilly Opelka once in each set to triumph 6-3, 6-4 in just 63 minutes.

Fritz served just four aces to Opelka’s 10, but Fritz won 29 of 31 points behind his first serve and dropped just six points on his serve overall.

Fritz lined up a fourth-round clash with Czech Jiri Lehecka, who beat American Ethan Quinn 6-3, 7-6 (8/6).

Rybakina advances

World number one and defending women’s champion Aryna Sabalenka, coming off her first Indian Wells title last weekend, headlined the night session against 72nd-ranked American Caty McNally.

In early women’s action, Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina — seeded third despite moving up to number two in the world this week — moved smoothly into the last 16 with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk.

Rybakina next faces Australian qualifier Talia Gibson, who knocked off another seed with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over 18-year-old 18th seed Iva Jovic.

Gibson, coming off an impressive run to the Indian Wells quarterfinals, had ousted former world number one Naomi Osaka in the second round.

Fifth-seeded American Jessica Pegula, runner-up to Sabalenka last year, reached the fourth round with a comfortable 6-2, 6-2 victory over Canadian Leylah Fernandez.

Former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko, runner-up in Miami in 2018, held off seventh-seeded Jasmine Paolini 5-7, 6-2, 7-5, emerging victorious from a see-saw battle that saw the Italian charge back from 0-4 down in the third set, recouping two service breaks to level at 5-5 before Ostapenko put it away.

Ostapenko next faces 45th-ranked American Hailey Baptiste, who upset ninth-seeded Ukrainian veteran Elina Svitolina 6-3, 7-5. (JapanToday)

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World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka rallies to beat Elena Rybakina for 1st title at Indian Wells

World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka beat Elena Rybakina 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (6) in the Indian Wells final Sunday for her first title at the California desert tournament.

Sabalenka, a runner-up in 2023 and ’25, finished off the win at the with a big serve that Rybakina hit long. It was a sweltering afternoon on the court as the temperatures soared into the 90s.

The 27-year-old Sabalenka had a chance to close out the third set but was broken at 5-4. Rybakina found herself with a championship point in the tiebreaker, only to have Sabalenka hit a backhand winner.

This marked the 16th time the two players have met, with Sabalenka now holding a 9-7 advantage. Rybakina of Kazakhstan beat Sabalenka at the 2025 WTA Finals championship and the Australian Open two months ago. She also edged Sabalenka in the finals at Indian Wells in 2023.

“What a day,” Sabalenka said after the match.

In the men’s final later Sunday, Daniil Medvedev faces Jannik Sinner, who has won eight of his last nine matches against Medvedev. (JapanToday)

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Fifth seed Rybakina beats Sabalenka to win 2026 Australian Open final

Fifth seed Elena Rybakina defeated world number one Aryna Sabalenka in a gripping three-set final to capture the Australian Open women’s singles crown.

The 26-year-old Kazakh, born in Moscow, secured a hard-fought 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 victory at Rod Laver Arena, marking her second Grand Slam title and her first Australian Open triumph.

Rybakina took control early, breaking Sabalenka in the opening game and closing the first set 6-4 in just 37 minutes.

“Serving at 4-3, the 26-year-old Rybakina saved two break points: the first with an ace, and the second with a 182km/h serve out wide that foiled Sabalenka,” observers noted.

After claiming the set, Rybakina celebrated with a small fist pump, setting the stage for a high-stakes battle.

The world number one responded in the second set, winning 6-4 to force a decisive final set. “Sabalenka certainly hoped so, and was eager to preserve her streak of avoiding straight-sets losses at majors since the 2020 US Open,” match reports highlighted.

Both players delivered intense baseline rallies and net exchanges, refusing to yield on serve, keeping fans on the edge of their seats.

Rybakina dominated the third set 6-4, overcoming an early 0-40 deficit at 5-6 to clinch the match. She sealed her victory with a championship point ace as Rod Laver Arena erupted in applause.

“It was a battle,” Rybakina said after the match. “I’m really proud. It’s really a Happy Slam.”

The win makes Rybakina just the sixth player in the Open Era to win her first two majors on grass and hard court, joining Amelie Mauresmo, Lindsay Davenport, Maria Sharapova, Martina Hingis, and Venus Williams. She is also the first to claim the Australian Open women’s singles title by defeating three top 10 players since Naomi Osaka in 2019.

Rybakina, who won Wimbledon in 2022, received the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup from former champion Jennifer Capriati.

“I’m really glad that we achieved this result … hopefully we can keep on going strong this year,” she said, acknowledging her coaching and support team.

The players embraced at the net after the final point. “I know it’s tough, but I just hope that we’re going to play many more finals together,” Rybakina said of Sabalenka.

Sabalenka, gracious in defeat, congratulated her opponent: “I want [to] congratulate you on an incredible run, incredible tennis. Let’s hope that next year, Daphne [is] going to be ours, right?” (Punch)

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Kyrgios beats Sabalenka in latest ‘Battle of the Sexes’ in tennis

Nick Kyrgios won the latest version of the “Battle of the Sexes” in tennis, beating top-ranked women’s player Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 6-3 in an exhibition match that represented light entertainment rather than another landmark moment for gender equality.

There was laughing and joking between the players, some under-arm serves, over-the-top grunting on shots, and even some dancing from Sabalenka during a timeout to entertain the crowd at the 17,000-seat Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai — where the most expensive tickets sold for approaching $800.

Kyrgios, the 2022 Wimbledon runner-up who has played only six tour-level matches in the last three years because of wrist and knee injuries, appeared to play within himself at times and faced the disadvantage of Sabalenka’s side of the court being nearly 10% smaller in an attempt to level the playing field. The players were only given one serve per point, rather than two.

Kyrgios was drenched in sweat by the time he clinched victory off his third match point and the pair were all smiles when they embraced at the net.

Kyrgios acknowledged feeling nervous and having to “strap in.”

“I think this is a great stepping stone for the sport of tennis,” the Australian said.

Sabalenka said the match was good prep for next season, with the Australian Open coming up in January, and would like to play Kyrgios again to exact “revenge.”

“Really enjoyed the show,” she said, “and I feel like next time I play him I’m going to know the tactics, his strengths and his weaknesses, and it’s going to be a better match, for sure.”

The so-called “Battle of the Sexes” was a name borrowed from the 1973 match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs, which King won in straight sets in the Houston Astrodome and took place amid King’s efforts to start a female tour and get equal pay in tennis.

Fifty-two years on and the latest iteration had no real wider cultural significance. Instead, Sabalenka and Kyrgios — members of the same agency, Evolve, that arranged the exhibition — just wanted to put on a show, engage a younger audience and make some money.

Kyrgios might be regarded as a controversial choice to play in such a match, given he pleaded guilty to shoving a former girlfriend to the ground during an argument in 2021 — he escaped conviction on a charge of common assault — and has previously expressed his opposition to equal pay in tennis. (JapanToday)

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Sabalenka beats Anisimova to retain US Open title

World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka, on Saturday, successfully defended her US Open title with a thrilling 6-4 7-6 (7-3) win over Amanda Anisimova in New York, United States.

Sabalenka sealed a hard-fought victory against Anisimova at Flushing Meadows, making her the first woman to win the tournament in consecutive years since Serena Williams in 2014.

The Belarusian picked up the fourth Grand Slam title of her career as a result, all on hard courts – having now added two New York triumphs to her pair of Australian Open trophies.

Both women were looking to bury recent scar tissue, with Anisimova back in a major final 56 days after her Wimbledon whitewash, while Sabalenka suffered heart-breaking defeats at the Australian Open and French Open – forced to apologise after an ungracious press conference towards winner Coco Gauff at the latter.

Sabalenka also lost to Anisimova in the semi-finals at Wimbledon, putting her in the strange position of being by a distance the best player in the world but without a major trophy in 2025, but she quelled a fightback from her opponent to secure the silverware.

The set was threatening to run away from Anisimova in a similar fashion to Wimbledon, but she told herself above all this tournament to be brave and she powered winners into opposite corners to finally get on the board.

Having won one game, she quickly made that three in a row, the crowd greeting every winner with a huge cheer.

The American was dominating both the winner and error count and it was the latter that climbed again as Sabalenka responded with four games in a row to take the opening set.

Anisimova, who was struggling with the roof lighting on her ball toss, was too inconsistent to apply any solid pressure.

Anisimova slammed a ball down in frustration when a backhand pass from Sabalenka gave her another break in the third game of the second set and, although she fought back to level, the eighth seed’s serve was too much of a liability.

Sabalenka forged ahead again to lead 5-3 and soon found herself serving for the title.

Perhaps it was inevitable that it would not be straightforward. Anisimova somehow dug out a backhand lob that Sabalenka dumped into the net to give herself a chance to level and more huge hitting made it 5-5.

If there was a moment for the demons to resurface, it was now, but Sabalenka took the set to a tie-break, where she has been untouchable this season, and this time finished the job.

Anisimova’s final tally of 29 unforced errors, including seven double faults, was ultimately too many, but the American, who started the year ranked outside the top 30, will have the consolation of being a top-four player on Monday.

Reacting to her win, Sabalenka, who fell to her knees after clinching victory with an unreturnable serve and jumped up and down with her coaches in the stands in a scene of utter joy, said, “I want to thank everyone who came here, who flew in to be there in my box.

“I’m going to reach a lot more finals and I don’t care where you are in the world I want you in my box.”

Also speaking after her loss, Anisimova, who was left in tears yet again after the heartbreak of her 6-0 6-0 drubbing in the Wimbledon final two months ago, said, “It’s been a great summer, losing in two finals in a row is great but it’s also super hard.

“I didn’t fight hard enough for my dreams today.”

She later admitted having problems seeing the ball with the glare of the roof causing her issues when serving.

“I haven’t played on the court during the day with the roof closed. It was literally white, and I couldn’t see the ball when I was serving the whole match.

“It started from the warm-up. I was like, ‘this is really going to be a problem for me’. I didn’t know what to do.

“There was no way of adjusting, because I could not see the ball when I was serving, and that was a huge shock to my system, because I knew if I can’t hold my serve, it was going to be very tough to stay in the match,” she said. (Punch)

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Djokovic overcomes Norrie to make U.S. Open last 16

Novak Djokovic beat Britain’s Cameron Norrie in four sets on Friday to became the oldest man to reach the U.S. Open last 16 since Jimmy Connors in 1991.

The 38-year-old Djokovic earned a record 192nd Grand Slam match win on hard courts as he defeated Norrie 6-4, 6-7 (4/7), 6-2, 6-3, staying in the hunt for an unprecedented 25th major title.

“Coming into any match you really want to win in straight sets without any drama but obviously that’s not possible,” said Djokovic. “It’s good that I get tested. I obviously haven’t had any matches since Wimbledon. I’m still trying to find my rhythm and my groove on the court.”

Djokovic has now defeated Norrie in all seven of their meetings and is through to the fourth round in New York for the 16th time in his career.

On Sunday he will play German veteran Jan-Lennard Struff, who has already knocked out two seeds in Holger Rune and Frances Tiafoe.

A lone break of Norrie’s serve in the seventh game was enough for Djokovic to pocket the opening set, but not before he summoned the physio to work on his lower back.

The Serbian star headed off court for a medical timeout and returned to serve out the first set.

“It’s all right, you have some ups and downs. You don’t want to reveal too much to the rivals listening,” said a grinning Djokovic, refusing to elaborate on the nature of his back issue.

He had the chance to make further inroads in the second set but Norrie saved three break points and then pinched the tie-break from his smoldering rival who double-faulted on set point.

Norrie took that momentum into the third set with an early break, drawing an emphatic response from Djokovic as he responded by winning four straight games.

Djokovic soon made the set his and another break to start the fourth set gave him the cushion required to close out a milestone victory.

In women’s action, world number one Aryna Sabalenka advanced to the fourth round after extending her remarkable streak of tie-break victories to defeat Canada’s Leylah Fernandez.

Reigning champion Sabalenka punched her ticket to the last 16 after seeing off Fernandez 6-3, 7-6 (7/2) in one hour 39 minutes on the Louis Armstrong Stadium.

Sabalenka’s decisive second set victory was capped by her 18th consecutive tie-break win.

The victory was also sweet revenge for Sabalenka, who suffered an upset defeat to then teenager Fernandez in the semi-finals of the 2021 U.S. Open.

“I wanted this revenge badly,” Sabalenka said afterwards. “It was a tough lesson for me back then. Since then, we never played again. I just wanted to prove to myself that the lesson was learned and that I developed as a player and I could get this win.”

Sabalenka attributes her dominance of tie-breaks this season to a tougher mental approach.

“I definitely think that mentally I’m pretty strong, and I’m still growing, because I’m learning a lot of lessons, and all of those lessons making me tougher, tougher, and tougher,” she said. (JapanToday)

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Gauff beats Sabalenka to win French Open title

Coco Gauff won the first French Open singles title of her career by fighting back to beat world number one Aryna Sabalenka in a rollercoaster final.

American second seed Gauff claimed a 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 6-4 victory after a tense battle between the WTA Tour’s two leading players in testing conditions.

“I honestly didn’t think I could do it,” Gauff, 21, said during the trophy presentation.

Gauff recovered from a difficult start where she trailed by a double break, eventually finding her rhythm and benefiting from a huge number of mistakes from 27-year-old Sabalenka.

“This hurts so much. Congratulations to Coco – she was a better player than me,” said Sabalenka, who was also bidding for her first Roland Garros title.

A stiff breeze played havoc with serve in the opening two sets, leading to the pair exchanging 12 breaks in an entertaining if not high-quality affair.

Gauff, who lost in the 2022 final, settled quicker in the deciding third set to move a break up and kept her nerve to serve out victory.

She had to survive another break point before winning her second championship point, falling to the clay on her back when Sabalenka pushed a forehand wide.

With her parents Candi and Corey dancing euphorically in the stands, Gauff shared an affectionate hug with Sabalenka before running off court to celebrate with her family.

Gauff’s previous appearance in the French Open singles showpiece, when she was still a teenager, ended in her covering her head with a towel as she sobbed on her chair.

It was the defining image of her defeat by Iga Swiatek, but she vowed to come back stronger – and she has.

“I was going through a lot of things when I lost here three years ago,” Gauff said.

“I’m just glad to be back here. I was going through a lot of dark thoughts.”

Three years on, Gauff returned to the final as a Grand Slam champion, having fulfilled the potential promised by winning in New York.

A productive clay-court swing, taking her to the Madrid and Rome finals, meant she arrived in Paris considered a sounder bet than defending champion Swiatek.

“Three finals… I guess I got the most important win – that’s all that matters,” said Gauff.

Only Sabalenka, who beat her to the Madrid title, had performed better and it was therefore unsurprising the top two seeds met again with the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen at stake. (BBC)