All posts tagged: WTA

What was Serena Williams upto during four-year break before Wimbledon return

What was Serena Williams upto during four-year break before Wimbledon return

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4 min readUpdated: Jun 30, 2026 05:08 PM IST Serena Williams is set to return at the Wimbledon 2026 on Tuesday after having officially retired from the sport back in September 2022, but during her time away  from the court, she has accomplished a lot including solidifying her business and philanthropic empire. Earlier this month, Williams had also returned to professional tennis as well when she teamed up with 19-year-old Canadian Victoria Mboko to take on the third-seeded duo Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Erin Routliffe at Queen’s Club. Williams and Mboko had won that match but their partnership was cut short when the latter suffered a knee injury that ruled her out of Wimbledon. Here is a year-by-year breakdown of Williams’ accomplishments during her hiatus from Tennis: 2022: Williams shipped her primary focus to ‘Serena Ventures’, the Venture Capital firm, she founded in 2014. She raised a $111 million inaugural fund to invest in early-stage startups, specifically prioritizing women, BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) and underrepresented founders. The firm boasts over a dozen “unicorn” investments, …

Karman Kaur Thandi exits in qualifying round 1

Karman Kaur Thandi exits in qualifying round 1

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Former India No. 1 Karman Kaur Thandi’s hopes of making the main draw of a Grand Slam were dashed on Tuesday after she exited the women’s singles qualifiers at the French Open 2026. The 27-year-old, returning after using a protected ranking, lost to France’s Harmony Tan 1-6, 0-6 in a one-sided contest in the opening round of the qualifiers. Karman, currently ranked 1488 in the WTA rankings, secured her place in the elite qualification draw thanks to her Protected Ranking (PR) of 238, which placed her on the official entry list. Playing her first competitive match post her injury break, Karman was never allowed to settle by her French opponent. The Indian then struggled with serving as much as she did with returns. Karman failed to convert her lone break-point opportunity, while Tan capitalised on five of her eight chances. This was Karman’s first Grand Slam in 3 years and the first Indian woman to compete at a Grand Slam in 2 years, since Ankita Raina at the 2024 Australian Open. This also ended India’s …

Rutuja Bhosale tops doubles main draw at 2026 Mumbai Open WTA 125K

Rutuja Bhosale tops doubles main draw at 2026 Mumbai Open WTA 125K

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India’s top-ranked women’s doubles player Rutuja Bhosale will headline the doubles main draw of the 2026 Mumbai Open WTA 125K Series, following the official announcement made on Tuesday at the Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association. Bhosale has been paired with Thailand’s Peangtarn Plipuech, with the Indo-Thai combination seeded first in the tournament, scheduled to be held from February 4 to 8 at the MSLTA courts in Mumbai. The duo will open their campaign against Mananchaya Sawangkaew of Thailand and Argentina’s Nicole Fossa Huergo. India’s presence in the doubles draw remains strong, with several home players featuring prominently. Last season’s runners-up Prarthana Thombare will partner 21-year-old Alevtina Ibragimova and face the second-seeded pairing of Elena Pridanika and Polina Iatcenko in the opening round. Thombare enters the tournament on the back of consistent results in 2025, including a semifinal finish at a WTA 125 event in Turkey and a runner-up showing in Newport. Meanwhile, India’s No. 4 and No. 5 doubles players, Ankita Raina and Shrivalli Bhamidipaty, will team up as a wildcard entry. The pair will …

WTA defends players amid privacy row over cameras at Australian Open: ‘Human and fair demand’ | Tennis News

WTA defends players amid privacy row over cameras at Australian Open: ‘Human and fair demand’ | Tennis News

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2 min readUpdated: Jan 29, 2026 02:45 PM IST The WTA has moved swiftly to address growing concerns over player privacy at the Australian Open, issuing a strong response after several top players criticised the presence of cameras in off-court, player-only areas. “The WTA supports its players and takes their concerns about privacy and cameras at the Australian Open very seriously,” the organisation said in a statement. “Players deserve spaces away from competition where they can rest in complete privacy.” The governing body emphasised that it has already taken steps at WTA events to reduce camera presence in non-competition areas and called on tournament organisers and broadcast partners to establish “clear and respectful boundaries.” The WTA added that it would engage in dialogue with players and tournaments to find an appropriate solution. The statement follows a wave of criticism sparked by Coco Gauff’s quarter-final loss to Elina Svitolina in Melbourne. Frustrated after her elimination, Gauff was filmed smashing a racket in the tunnels of Melbourne Park, footage that quickly circulated online. The incident echoed a …

WTA Finals 2025: Why Elena Rybakina may have declined a photo with WTA chief Portia Archer after winning the title | Tennis News

WTA Finals 2025: Why Elena Rybakina may have declined a photo with WTA chief Portia Archer after winning the title | Tennis News

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Former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina won the WTA Finals on Sunday, beating Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 7-6 (7-0) in Saudi Arabia. Apart from the sensational win, the other major talking point that emerged post the victory was her refusal to get involved with the celebrations, including not taking a photo with WTA chief Portia Archer. The 26-year-old stood separate from both her opponent and Archer during the post-match celebrations, despite being asked to join them. While Rybakina did not wish to divulge the reason behind not taking the photo with Archer, a possible cause could be an incident involving her coach, Stefano Vukov, who was suspended earlier in February after he was found to have breached the WTA’s code of conduct. Story continues below this ad The suspension was succeeded by an independent investigation into his behaviour towards Rybakina, who insisted that Vukov had not conducted himself in an inappropriate manner. The 38-year-old also denied any inappropriate behaviour on his part, and six months later, was cleared of any wrongdoing in August and was present at …

WTA announces paid maternity leave for players

WTA announces paid maternity leave for players

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The Women’s Tennis Association announced a 12-month paid maternity leave for pregnant players in the circuit, on Thursday. Under a program sponsored by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, those who become partners via partner pregnancy, surrogacy, or adoption can also avail a two-month off with pay. The scheme, retroactive from 1 January, 2025, will aid over 300 players in the circuit. Though the WTA did not disclose the amount players would receive, it revealed that the amount will be paid monthly. “Independent contractors and self-employed individuals don’t typically have these kinds of maternity benefits provided and available to them. They have to go out and sort of figure out those benefits for themselves,” said WTA CEO Portia Archer. Players are eligible to avail the benefit if they have played eight WTA tournaments, including Grand Slams in the last year with at least four of them at WTA 250 level and above or a minimum of 24 WTA tournaments over the previous 36 months with at least 12 of those being WTA 250 and …

Emma Navarro Downs Emiliana Arango 6-0, 6-0 To Win WTA Merida Open

Emma Navarro Downs Emiliana Arango 6-0, 6-0 To Win WTA Merida Open

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Emma Navarro posing with the trophy© X (Twitter) Top-seeded American Emma Navarro capped a dominant week with a 6-0, 6-0 thrashing of qualifier Emiliana Arango in the final of the WTA Merida Open on Sunday. Navarro, seeded No. 1 for the first time, marched to her second WTA title without dropping a set, adding the 500-level crown to the title she won in Hobart last year. Navarro hadn’t reached a final since, although she made it to the quarter-finals or better at the last three Grand Slams and came into the week ranked 10th in the world. She needed just 55 minutes to subdue Arango, becoming the first player to win a WTA final 6-0, 6-0 since Iga Swiatek blanked Karolina Pliskova in the 2021 Rome title match. Arango, a 24-year-old Colombian who made it past the quarter-finals of a WTA tournament for the first time this week, came into the tournament ranked 133rd in the world and will crack the top 100 when the new rankings are announced on Monday. (This story …

Top Seed Jessica Pegula To Face McCartney Kessler In All-American Austin WTA Final

Top Seed Jessica Pegula To Face McCartney Kessler In All-American Austin WTA Final

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Jessica Pegula in action© X (Twitter) America’s world number four Jessica Pegula beat Australian veteran Ajla Tomljanovic 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 on Saturday to book a title showdown with rising compatriot McCartney Kessler at the WTA tournament in Austin, Texas. Kessler defeated Belgian Greet Minnen 7-5, 6-4. Pegula raced through the first set thanks to seven double faults from Tomljanovic. The Australian settled in the second to force the decider, but Pegula came out of a trio of breaks with a 3-1 lead in the third and comfortably closed out the match. “We were a little hit or miss with our serves today,” said Pegula, who is chasing a seventh career title and her first since winning the 1000 event in Toronto last year. That was one of Pegula’s two titles in a 2024 season in which she also reached the US Open final. Kessler, ranked 56th in the world and seeded fifth, took advantage of Minnen’s 10 double faults to book her third WTA final appearance. The first two yielded titles — in …

Mirra Andreeva Holds Off Elena Rybakina To Become Youngest WTA 1000 Finalist

Mirra Andreeva Holds Off Elena Rybakina To Become Youngest WTA 1000 Finalist

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Teenager Mirra Andreeva toppled another seed at the Dubai Championships, upsetting Elena Rybakina on Friday to become the youngest player to reach the final of a WTA 1000 tournament. The Russian 17-year-old fought back from 1-3 down in the deciding set to beat seventh-seeded Rybakina 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 and move into the first WTA 1000 final of her career. Andreeva is the youngest player to beat multiple Grand Slam champions at a tournament of this level. She has ousted Iga Swiatek, Marketa Vondrousova, and now Rybakina, en route to the final. She awaits Clara Tauson or Karolina Muchova in Saturday’s championship match. The players had met once before, in Beijing in 2023, when Rybakina won in three sets. “Last time we played was a really tough match,” said Andreeva. “I had a lot of opportunities and she, as a really experienced player, just didn’t give me a chance and went for her shots and killed me in the end.” A punishing backhand return from Andreeva earned her the first break of the match …

Maaya Rajeshwaran storms into WTA Mumbai Open semis

Maaya Rajeshwaran storms into WTA Mumbai Open semis

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India’s Maaya Rajeshwaran stormed her way into the semi-finals of the 2025 Mumbai Open – a WTA 125 event – at the Cricket Club of India on Friday. The 15-year-old beat Japan’s Mei Yamaguchi 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 as she continued her dream run in the event, having entered the main draw through the qualifiers. Maaya’s win means, she is now the only Indian to still be in contention for the top prize in the singles draw at the Mumbai Open WTA 125 Series. She will now take on Jil Teichmann in the semi-final on Saturday. The Coimbatore teenager’s stunning run of form has left many stunned, including the 44-year-old Rohan Bopanna. “Maaya Rajeshwaran’s performance at the WTA 125 L&T Mumbai Open is just so inspiring & impressive,” Bopanna tweeted. “At just 15 years old, she’s showing great composure and skill against some experienced players.” Maaya Rajeshwaran’s performance at the WTA 125 L&T Mumbai Open is just so inspiring & impressive! At just 15 years old, she’s showing great composure and skill against some experienced players💪🏽. …