Iga Swiatek clinches No. 1 ranking, moves on at Miami Open

Associated PressMar 26, 2022, 12:41 AM EDT

Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Iga Swiatek started her week by deciding that she wanted to set her sights on becoming the No. 1 player in the world, without knowing how long that quest would take.

A few days and one surprising retirement later, mission accomplished.

Women’s tennis has a new name atop its rankings, a 20-year-old who – now that Ashleigh Barty has retired and asked to vacate her No. 1 spot on the world list – becomes the first Polish player to hold that distinction. Swiatek’s ascension was clinched with a 6-2, 6-0 win over Viktorija Golubic of Switzerland in the second round of the Miami Open.

When the tournament ends and the rankings are updated April 4, Barty will be removed and Swiatek officially will move into the top spot no matter what happens the rest of the way in Miami.

“I’m really satisfied and really proud of myself,” Swiatek said.

Swiatek becomes the 28th different woman to hold the No. 1 ranking since the computerized system debuted in November 1975. Her rise has been steady and constant; she ended 2016 ranked No. 903, cracked the top 500 for the first time in 2018, ended 2020 ranked No. 17, then was No. 9 when last year ended.

Barty revealed her retirement decision on Wednesday, and as part of that said she wanted to be removed from the rankings. She’s held the top spot since November 2019 and would have kept the top spot after this tournament ended even if Swiatek won the title.

But her decision to retire and step out of the rankings opened the door for either Swiatek or Paula Badosa, the No. 5 seed in Miami and the only other person who had a mathematical chance of getting the top spot. Badosa won her second-rounder in Miami on Friday, topping Marie Bouzkova 7-5, 7-5 in a match that ended shortly before Swiatek took the court.

Badosa was ranked No. 71 when she played in Miami last year.

“Things have changed a lot, very fast,” Badosa said. “I’m really proud of myself. I think I’ve had an amazing year.”

Swiatek and Badosa bucked a wild trend in Miami – where seeded women’s players have had serious struggles. There were 32 seeds entering the tournament, and more than half of them are gone before the third round even gets started.

Coco Gauff is one of the few exceptions.

The 14th-seeded American, whose home is about a 45-minute drive north from where she’s playing this event, got past Wang Qiang of China 7-5, 6-4 on Friday – avenging a first-round loss to her in the Australian Open earlier this year.

“I feel like playing at a home crowd you either can get nervous playing in front of your family, friends, or embrace it,” Gauff said. “And today I think I embraced it.”

No. 16 Jessica Pegula felt right at home too, even though the tournament is held on the grounds where the NFL’s Miami Dolphins practice and play – and her parents, Terry and Kim Pegula, just happen to own the Dolphins’ AFC East rival Buffalo Bills. Pegula had little trouble beating 2018 Miami Open winner Sloane Stephens 6-1, 6-4.

“It is weird,” Pegula said about playing at the Dolphins’ home.

No. 4 Maria Sakkari, No. 10 Jelena Ostapenko, No. 20 Elise Mertens, No. 24 Sorana Cirstea, No. 26 Madison Keys and No. 29 Liudmila Samsonova all lost second-round matches Friday.

Shelby Rogers of the U.S. used 15 aces – and saved nine of the 10 break points she faced – to beat Ostapenko, 6-3, 7-6 (0). It was Rogers’ second win over Ostapenko this month, after also topping her in a second-round matchup at Indian Wells.

“There are no easy matches out here,” Rogers said.

Beatriz Haddad Maia topped Sakkari 4-6, 6-1, 6-2. Madison Brengle of the U.S. beat Samsonova 6-4, 6-0. China’s Zhang Shuai needed only 53 minutes to beat Cirstea, 6-1, 6-1. Linda Fruhvirtova topped Mertens 7-5, 2-6, 6-1.

Other seeded second-round women’s winners Friday included No. 17 Elena Rybakina, No. 21 Veronika Kudermetova and No. 28 Petra Kvitova.

In men’s second-round play, No. 16 Reilly Opelka retired from his match against Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo with a shoulder injury, and Hugo Gaston knocked out No. 20 John Isner of the U.S. 7-6 (5), 6-4. Isner – the 2018 Miami champion – had 22 aces and was broken just once, but went 0 for 5 on his break chances.

No. 2 seed Alexander Zverev was tested but topped 166th-ranked Borna Coric 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, and said getting more aggressive as the match went along was key.

“I felt like, `OK, if I’m going to lose, I’m going to go for it,”‘ Zverev said. “It worked out.”

Fan favorite Nick Kyrgios rolled past No. 5 Andrey Rublev 6-3, 6-0, and No. 9 Jannik Sinner held off Emil Ruusuvuori 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (8).

No. 6 Casper Ruud, No. 10 Cameron Norrie, No. 17 Pablo Carreno Busta, No. 22 Gael Monfils, No. 28 Frances Tiafoe, No. 30 Alexander Bublik and No. 31 Fabio Fognini were all winners, but No. 13 Diego Schwartzman lost to Thanasi Kokkinakis and No. 19 Lorenzo Sonego of Italy lost to Denis Kudla of the U.S.

Mackenzie McDonald of the U.S. also pulled off a mild upset, topping No. 26 Grigor Dimitrov 6-1, 6-4.

Jabeur bounces back at French Open, Ruud and Andreeva advance

Associated PressMay 30, 2023, 11:32 AM EDT

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PARIS — Ons Jabeur got a do-over on Court Philippe Chatrier at the French Open and won this time.

A year after her first-round exit, the No. 7 seed Jabeur beat Lucia Bronzetti 6-4, 6-1 to help erase some bad memories and answer questions about a recent calf injury.

The Tunisian, a crowd favorite in Paris, smiled and expressed relief in not repeating last year’s mistake, when she lost to Magda Linette of Poland.

“I’m very happy to win my first match on Philippe Chatrier – because I’ve never won here,” Jabeur said on court about the clay-court tournament’s main stadium.

Now she can focus on trying to win her first major. She was runner-up at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open last year.

The 28-year-old Jabeur has also battled injuries this season. She had knee surgery after the Australian Open, and was then sidelined with a calf injury. She had stopped playing against top-ranked Iga Swiatek at the clay-court tournament in Stuttgart, Germany, in late April and then pulled out of the Madrid Open.

“It was a very difficult period for me after Stuttgart,” said Jabeur, adding that she’s beginning to find her rhythm.

Jabeur struck 27 winner’s to Bronzetti’s seven, though with 24 unforced errors she’ll have room to improve.

Mirra Andreeva had a memorable Grand Slam debut by dominating Alison Riske-Amritraj 6-2, 6-1. Andreeva’s older sister – 18-year-old Erika – was facing Emma Navarro later in the day.

Later, Swiatek gets her French Open title defense started against Cristina Bucsa, who is ranked 70th.

On the men’s side, No. 4 seed Casper Ruud beat qualifier Elias Ymer 6-4, 6-3, 6-2, to remind the higher-profile tournament favorites that he was runner-up to Rafael Nadal last year at Roland Garros.

New mom Elina Svitolina beats seeded player at French Open in 1st Slam match in 16 months

Associated PressMay 30, 2023, 11:27 AM EDT

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PARIS — So much has changed for Elina Svitolina, who played – and won – her first Grand Slam match in nearly 1 1/2 years at the French Open, eliminating 2022 semifinalist Martina Trevisan 6-2, 6-2.

For one thing, she’s now a mother: Svitolina and her husband, French tennis player Gael Monfils, welcomed their daughter, Skaï, in October. For another, Svitolina is now ranked 192nd, nowhere near the career high of No. 3 she first reached in 2017, back in the days when she was regularly reaching the second weeks of major tournaments – including a pair of semifinal runs. Away from the courts, her home country of Ukraine was invaded by Russia last year, and the war continues.

“Everything,” she said, “is kind of old and new for me right now.”

In sum, Svitolina is juggling a lot nowadays.

She hadn’t played at a Slam since a third-round exit at the Australian Open in January 2022. She hadn’t played a match anywhere since March 2022, when she was still ranked 20th.

“It was always in my head … to come back, but I didn’t put any pressure on myself, because obviously with the war going on, with the pregnancy, you never know how complicated it will go,” the 28-year-old Svitolina said.

The work to return to the tour after giving birth began this January; her initial WTA match came at Charleston, South Carolina, in April. She won her first title since returning to action, at a smaller event on red clay in Strasbourg, France.

At Roland Garros, she used her big forehand to compile a 20-12 edge in winners and never faced a single break point against Trevisan, who was seeded 26th.

Trevisan cried as she spoke after the match about a problem with her right foot that made it difficult to even walk and prompted her to stop playing during her quarterfinal last week at the Morocco Open, where she was the defending champion.

Still, she gave Svitolina credit.

“Even though she’s just coming back from having a daughter, she’s a champion,” Trevisan said. “And she’s coming off a title, so she’s confident.”

Svitolina talked about feeling “awful when you’re pregnant, especially the last months,” but getting into a position now where she thinks she’s stronger than before – in more ways than one.

“I feel that I can handle the work that I do off the court and, match by match, I’m getting better. Also mentally, because mental (state) can influence your physicality, as well,” she said. “I tried to find the balance, and I feel like I’m seeing (things) a little bit again differently as well after the break. Everything is getting there. The puzzles are getting slowly into place.”