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Rybakina, Sakkara and Krejcikova announced for Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open

Rybakina, Sakkara and Krejcikova announced for Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open
Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan has been copnfirmed for the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open. (Supplied)
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Updated 09 January 2024

Rybakina, Sakkara and Krejcikova announced for Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open

Rybakina, Sakkara and Krejcikova announced for Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open
  • The full list of players includes 10 of the current WTA top 20, with Ons Jabeur and Beatriz Haddad Maia already announced
  • British star Emma Raducanu, a wildcard entrant, also confirmed to be competing

ABU DHABI: A strong field has been announced for this year’s Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open with 10 of the Women’s Tennis Association’s top 20-ranked players, including Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina, Greece’s Maria Sakkari and  the Czech Republic’s Barbora Krejcikova set to compete at the second edition of the tournament, which takes place at the International Tennis Center, Zayed Sports City, Feb. 3-11.

Hosted in partnership with Mubadala and presented by Abu Dhabi Sports Council, the tournament’s main draw entry list has now been revealed, with the latest names joining British superstar Emma Raducanu, Tunisia’s World No. 6 Ons Jabeur and Brazil’s World No. 11 Beatriz Haddad Maia, who are already confirmed to be taking part.

Jeļena Ostapenko, Liudmila Samsonova, Daria Kasatkina, Veronika Kudermetova and Caroline Garcia, all ranked in the WTA top 20, will also be gunning for glory in Abu Dhabi, ensuring a highly competitive field for the eagerly awaited WTA 500 event, which was won last year by Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic.

Tournament Director Nigel Gupta said: “We are delighted to announce such a strong draw for this year’s event, and with 10 of the world’s top 20 players competing, it promises to be a truly special tournament.

“With fantastic talents such as Ons Jabeur, Beatriz Haddad Maia and Emma Raducanu confirmed, there was already a huge sense of excitement ahead of the event.

“This additional list of players undoubtedly adds to the anticipation, with tennis fans in Abu Dhabi and the UAE having the opportunity to watch some of the best players in the world compete for the title in less than one month’s time.”

WTA CEO Steven Simon added: “The field for this year’s Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open is packed full of talent and we are looking forward to another fantastic tournament.

“Abu Dhabi was the perfect location for last year’s inaugural event, which produced some fantastic entertainment both on and off court.

“We are hugely excited about heading back to the UAE and we know tennis fans in the country will create another memorable occasion.”

Currently ranked World No. 3, the highly rated Rybakina claimed the Brisbane International title last weekend, defeating Belarus’s Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets to become the first WTA champion of 2024. She won the first Grand Slam of her career at Wimbledon in 2022.

World No. 8 Sakkari won a WTA 1000 title at last year’s Guadalajara Open, defeating Caroline Dolehide of the US in the final, while in 2021 she reached the semifinals of both the French and US Opens, becoming the first Greek woman to reach the last four of a Grand Slam tournament.

Also ranked in the WTA top 10 is Krejcikova, who claimed the French Open in 2021. Alongside compatriot Katerina Siniakova, she has secured doubles titles at all four Grand Slams, along with gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. She also won three consecutive mixed doubles titles at the Australian Open in 2019, 2020 and 2021.

Other players confirmed to feature at the 2024 Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open include Poland’s Magda Linette, Romania’s Sorana Cirstea, Russian player Anastasia Potapova, Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina and Italy’s Jasmine Paolini.

Six players will be added to the draw through qualifying, while there are three additional wildcard slots available after the first of those was awarded to Raducanu, the 2021 US Open winner.

The full list of players confirmed for the tournament to date can be seen below:

Emma Raducanu (UK) — wildcard
Elena Rybakina (Kazakhstan)
Ons Jabeur (Tunisia)
Maria Sakkari (Greece)
Barbora Krejcikova (Czech Republic)
Beatriz Haddad Maia (Brazil)
Jeļena Ostapenko (Latvia)
Liudmila Samsonova
Daria Kasatkina
Veronika Kudermetova
Caroline Garcia (France)
Magda Linette (Poland)
Sorana Cirstea (Romania)
Anastasia Potapova
Anhelina Kalinina (Ukraine) 
Jasmine Paolini (Italy)
Emma Navarro (US)
Lesia Tsurenko (Ukraine)


Jake Paul beats 58-year-old Mike Tyson as hits failed to match the hype

Jake Paul beats 58-year-old Mike Tyson as hits failed to match the hype
Updated 16 November 2024

Jake Paul beats 58-year-old Mike Tyson as hits failed to match the hype

Jake Paul beats 58-year-old Mike Tyson as hits failed to match the hype
  • Downdetector reported that the outage primarily impacted users in major metropolitan areas, including New York, Seattle and Los Angeles

ARLINGTON, Texas: Jake Paul won a unanimous decision over Mike Tyson as the hits didn’t match the hype in a fight between a young YouTuber-turned-boxer and the 58-year-old former heavyweight champion Friday night.

All the hate from the pre-fight buildup was gone, with Paul even stopping to pay homage with a bow to Tyson before the final bell sounded at the home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys.

The fight wasn’t close on the judge’s cards, with one giving Paul an 80-72 edge and the other two calling it 79-73.

Tyson came after Paul immediately after the opening bell and landed a couple of quick punches but didn’t try much else the rest of the way.

Even fewer rounds and shorter rounds couldn’t do much to generate action for a 58-year-old in his first sanctioned pro fight in almost 20 years, facing a boxing neophyte with hopes of fighting for championships somewhere in the future.

Paul was more aggressive after the quickly burst from Tyson in the opening seconds, but the punching wasn’t very efficient. There were quite a few wild swings and misses.

Tyson mostly sat back and waited for Paul to come to him, with a few exceptions. It was quite the contract the co-main event, another slugfest in which Katie Taylor kept her undisputed super lightweight championship with a decision over Amanda Serrano.

It was the first sanctioned fight since 2005 for Tyson. Paul started fighting a little more than four years ago.

The fight was originally scheduled for July 20 but had to be postponed when Tyson was treated for a stomach ulcer after falling ill on a flight.


Kosovo players walk off in Romania game after ‘Serbia’ chants

Kosovo players walk off in Romania game after ‘Serbia’ chants
Updated 16 November 2024

Kosovo players walk off in Romania game after ‘Serbia’ chants

Kosovo players walk off in Romania game after ‘Serbia’ chants

Bucharest: A Nations League game between Romania and Kosovo in Bucharest was suspended on Friday in injury time after fans in the crowd shouted “Serbia!.”
The Kosovo players left the pitch after the chants, leading to the game to be paused with the score 0-0.
Animosity between Kosovo and Serbia has persisted since the war between Serbian forces and ethnic Albanian insurgents in the late 1990s.
Kosovo and Serbia do not play each other in UEFA and FIFA tournaments.
Football’s world governing body opened disciplinary proceedings against Serbia during the 2022 World Cup after the team hung a flag in their changing room depicting Kosovo as part of Serbia.
Kosovo joined FIFA and European confederation UEFA in 2016.
When Romania played in Pristina, they beat Kosovo 3-0.


Ronaldo shines as Portugal rout Poland to reach Nations League last-eight

Ronaldo shines as Portugal rout Poland to reach Nations League last-eight
Updated 16 November 2024

Ronaldo shines as Portugal rout Poland to reach Nations League last-eight

Ronaldo shines as Portugal rout Poland to reach Nations League last-eight

PORTO, Portugal: Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice as Portugal staged a second-half supershow to crush Poland 5-1 and reach the Nations League quarter-finals on Friday.
Portugal join France, Germany, Italy and Spain in the last-eight while Poland’s hopes of going through from Group A1 were ended.
Having struggled to plant a shot on target in the first half, Portugal stepped on the accelerator after the break.
Rafael Leao broke the deadlock in Porto just before the hour mark after starting and finishing the move.
The AC Milan striker raced away and passed to Nuno Mendes whose cross from the left was headed powerfully past Marcin Bulka in the Portugal goal.
Thirteen minutes later, skipper Ronaldo got his name on the scoresheet, converting a penalty after Jakub Kiwior was penalized for a handball in the area.
Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes made it 3-0 in the 80th minute, scoring after a clever run by Vitinha.
Pedro Neto added the fourth three minutes later after Ronaldo’s fine pass which left the Polish defense stranded.
As Polish spirits sank, Ronaldo added his second and Portugal’s fifth in the 87th minute with a spectacular overhead kick before Dominik Marczuk tucked away a consolation goal for the visitors.
Poland had enjoyed the better chances before falling behind but their potency in front of goal was blunted by the absence of record goal-scorer Robert Lewandowski who was sidelined with a back injury.
Moments before Leao’s goal, Portuguese keeper Diogo Costa pulled off a fine save to deny Marczuk having also been alert to deny Nicola Zalewski in the first half.
Portugal’s best chance in the first 45 minutes had fallen to Ronaldo who fired a close-range effort over the bar from close range.


Japanese football player Kazuyoshi Miura says he will play next season at age 58

Japanese football player Kazuyoshi Miura says he will play next season at age 58
Updated 16 November 2024

Japanese football player Kazuyoshi Miura says he will play next season at age 58

Japanese football player Kazuyoshi Miura says he will play next season at age 58
  • Miura will turn 58 in February
  • He intends to play next season for his fourth-tier Japanese club, Suzuka

TOKYO: Japanese football player Kazuyoshi Miura is several generations older than his teammates. His contemporaries retired decades ago. Lionel Messi is 37, and Cristiano Ronaldo is 39 — mere youngsters compared to Miura.
Miura will turn 58 in February, and the Japanese news agency Kyodo reported this week that he intends to play next season for his fourth-tier Japanese club, Suzuka. It will be his 40th season playing in professional football.
Miura is widely listed as the oldest active professional football player.
Miura scored 55 goals in 89 appearances and was a star with Japan’s national team in the 1990s.
He has played professionally in Brazil, Italy, Croatia, Australia and Portugal. He made his debut in 1986 with Brazilian club Santos, a side made famous by Brazilian star Pele.


Japan beat Indonesia 4-0 to extend group lead in Asian World Cup qualifying

Japan beat Indonesia 4-0 to extend group lead in Asian World Cup qualifying
Updated 16 November 2024

Japan beat Indonesia 4-0 to extend group lead in Asian World Cup qualifying

Japan beat Indonesia 4-0 to extend group lead in Asian World Cup qualifying
  • Japan tops the group on 13 points with five games remaining in the round.
  • Australia, Ƶ and China all have 6 points, followed by Bahrain with five and Indonesia with 3

JAKARTA: Japan defeated Indonesia 4-0 on Friday to move seven points clear at the top of Group C in the third round of Asian qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.
Two goals in each half mean the Samurai Blue stays on course for an eighth successive World Cup appearance.
After a bright start from the home team, the 78,000 fans at a sold-out Gelora Bung Karno Stadium were silenced after 35 minutes as Daichi Kamada broke down the left and sent a cross which defender Justin Hubner put into his own net from close range.
Takumi Minamino then scored from inside the area off Kaoru Mitoma’s pass to extend the lead five minutes before the break.
Hidemasa Motira took advantage of an errant pass from Indonesia’s goalkeeper to make it 3-0 early in the second half and Yukinari Sugawara rounded out the scoring in the 69th minute.
Japan tops the group on 13 points with five games remaining in the round. Australia, Ƶ and China all have six points, followed by Bahrain with five and Indonesia with three.
The top two from each of the three groups will be guaranteed a place at the World Cup, with the third- and fourth-place teams progressing to the next stage.