Aryna Sabalenka has won her first Grand Slam title after coming back a set down to beat Elena Rybakina 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the Australian Open women's final on Saturday. The 24-year-old Belarusian who was competing under a neutral flag due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, after the tournament organizer required Russian and Belarusian players to compete as neutrals, appeared and won her first major final.
Ongoing Nigeria’s U-19 cricket team has continued to lash their opponents at the ICC U-19 World Cup African Division Two qualifiers in Abuja. The Nigerian team has defeated Rwanda during the opening match on Friday as well as Botswana yesterday, winning both games by 10 wickets. At Cricket pitch B of the Moshood Abiola stadium, Abuja, the clash saw Nigeria win the toss and elect to bowl.
Elochukwu Ndububem and Captain Ridwan Kareem thrashed the Botswana contingent, jointly making out six wickets in 11 overs.
Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer is to retire after next week’s Laver Cup, he said on Thursday. “The Laver Cup next week in London will be my final ATP event,” he said in a statement posted on his Twitter account.
Fans flooded social media to pay tribute to Serena and Venus Williams following their doubles first-round defeat at the US Open. Fans gave the Williams sisters a standing ovation as they left the court. The sisters agreed to give it one last try four years after their last slam appearance together and six years on from the most recent of their 14 titles. But they could not quite muster the greatness of the past as they fell to Czech pair Lucie Hradecka and Linda Noskova. The first set went to a tiebreak, with Hradecka and Noskova winning it 7-5, and they finished off the match with a 6-4 win in the second set.
Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur has become the first African woman in modern times and the third African after South African Irene Bowder Peacock, (1927 French Open) and Renee Schuurman, (1959 Australian Open) to reach a Grand Slam singles final on Thursday after defeating Tatjana Maria in the Wimbledon semi-finals.
Grand slam favourites Rafael Nadal (ATP world number 5) and Iga Swiatek (WTA world number 1, following Ashleigh Barty's surprise retirement) have now booked a spot in their respective penultimate game for records and titles. Nadal defeated World number 1, Novak Djokovic with a 2-6, 6-4, 2-6, 6-7 (7-4) in the quarter-final on Tuesday night, and will be chasing his 22nd grand slam when he faces German third seed Alexander Zverev in the semi-final on Thursday for a place in Sunday’s final.
