Maria climbs 43 places in WTA rankings
PARIS: Tatjana Maria jumped 43 places to 43rd in the WTA rankings published on Monday, the day after completing her fairytale run to the title at Queen's. The 37-year-old mother of two, who had to come through two rounds of qualifying before reaching the main draw at Queen's, became the oldest winner of a WTA 500 event when she beat American Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 6-4 in Sunday's final.
Maria, who was the first female Queen's champion since Olga Morozova 52 years ago, climbed one place short of her career high-ranking of 42, which she attained last year. The top three remained unchanged with Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula. Zheng Qinwen climbed one place to fourth, her highest ranking after reaching the semi-finals at Queen's.
Jasmine Paolini dropped one place to fifth while Iga Swiatek who has yet to set foot on grass after an unsuccessful season on clay, slipped one place to eighth.
WTA rankings:
1. Aryna Sabalenka (BLR) 11,553 pts, 2. Coco Gauff (USA) 8.083, 3. Jessica Pegula (USA) 6,483, 4. Zheng Qinwen (CHN) 4,853 (+1), 5. Jasmine Paolini (ITA) 4,805 (-1), 6. Madison Keys (USA) 4,669 (+2), 7. Mirra Andreeva (RUS) 4,636 (-1), 8. Iga Swiatek (POL) 4,618 (-1), 9. Emma Navarro (USA) 3,697 (+1), 10. Paula Badosa (ESP) 3,684 (-1), 11. Elena Rybakina (KAZ) 3,456, 12. Diana Shnaider (RUS) 3,216, 13. Amanda Anisimova (USA) 3,119 (+2), 14. Elina Svitolina (UKR) 3,035 (-1), 15. Karolina Muchova (CZE) 2,929 (-1), 16. Daria Kasatkina (AUS) 2,801, 17. Barbora Krejcikova (CZE) 2,725, 18. Ekaterina Alexandrova 2,378 (+1), 19. Jelena Ostapenko (LAT) 2,200 (+1), 20. Liudmila Samsonova (RUS) 2,141 (-2). Selected: 43. Tatjana Maria (GER) 1,259. — AFP
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Kuwait Times
20 hours ago
- Kuwait Times
Draper survives scare to reach Queen's q-finals
LONDON: British second seed Jack Draper survived a scare to reach the Queen's Club quarter-finals with a gritty 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) win over Australia's Alexei Popyrin on Wednesday. Draper was rocked by the world number 21 in the first set of the second-round tie at the Wimbledon warm-up event. But the 23-year-old hit back to level the match before taking the final set tie-break to complete his comeback in a tense encounter lasting two hours and 13 minutes in searing heat in west London. Earlier in his career, such a test of endurance would have been too much for Draper, but he believes he is made of sterner stuff these days. 'Before I felt like my energy wasn't that strong, and I felt like I looked like a bit of a Ferrari but I was a bit of a Toyota, like broke down quite easy,' Draper said. 'Now I'm starting to feel generally stronger and confident in myself. 'I have felt better and better every Grand Slam I have played.' Draper, who reached the US Open semi-finals last year, is hoping to make a strong run at Wimbledon this year after failing to get past the second round in his previous three appearance. The Londoner has made the last 16 at both the Australian and French Opens this year, rising to sixth in the ATP rankings. If Draper can reach the Queen's semi-finals for the first time after two previous last-eight exits, he will be guaranteed to be seeded fourth at Wimbledon when the grass-court Grand Slam gets underway on June 30. After losing the first set against Popyrin, Draper's powerful ground-stroke dragged him level with a double break in the second set. Popyrin clung on valiantly, saving two match points as he served at 4-5 in the final set. In the tie-break he led 4-2, pushing Draper to the brink of a shock defeat. But the Briton delighted the home crowd as he won five of the last six points, clinching the victory with an ace. Draper will play Brandon Nakashima in the quarter-finals after the American beat Britain's Dan Evans 7-5, 7-6 (7/4). On the day he was awarded a wild card entry into Wimbledon, the 35-year-old Evans was unable to emulate his surprise first-round win against Frances Tiafoe. In Wednesday's other matches, Danish fourth seed Holger Rune fought back to seal a 2-6, 6-1, 6-1 victory over American Mackenzie McDonald. Rune, who reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals in 2023, plays Roberto Bautista Agut in the quarter-finals after the Spaniard beat Czech eighth seed Jakub Mensik 3-6, 6-3, 7-5. – AFP
Kuwait Times
21 hours ago
- Kuwait Times
Korda ‘hungry' for Women's PGA after US Open heartbreak
GALLOWAY: Nelly Korda of the United States hits her tee shot on the eighth hole during the final round of the ShopRite LPGA Classic presented by Acer 2025 at Seaview Bay Course in Galloway, New Jersey.—AFP HOUSTON: World number one Nelly Korda says her agonizing near-miss at the US Women's Open earlier this month has left her hungrier for success as the Women's PGA Championship tees off on Thursday. The 26-year-old American had to settle for second place behind Maja Stark at Erin Hills three weeks ago after dropped shots in the final round ultimately torpedoed her chances of bagging a third major crown. 'Just an absolute heartbreaker,' Korda said immediately after her runner-up finish. 'But that's golf.' Korda has long targeted the Open as one of her priorities ever since making her major championship debut in the tournament at the age of 14 in 2013, and this year's tilt was the closest she has ever come to landing the elusive title. Korda though says she is ready to turn the page on her disappointment as the third major of the season gets underway at PGA Frisco's 6,604-yard Fields Ranch East layout on Thursday. 'It just makes you hungrier,' Korda said of her Open heartache. 'For me, I hate making mistakes; obviously I love winning. 'You don't get to win often, but there's nothing like it being in contention, so I think that's kind of what makes me hungrier to come back and to work harder and put myself into that position. 'You can look at it in a positive way, you can look at it in a negative way, but at the end of the day, three weeks after, I can spin it in a positive way, and it's going to make me hopefully hungrier.' Korda arrived in Texas this week still chasing her first title of 2025 after a dominant season last year that included seven wins, among them the second major of her career at the Chevron Championship. While the defeat is a motivator for Korda, Open champion Stark said her victory at Erin Hills still hasn't sunk in. 'I haven't really thought about it,' Stark said. 'I don't think I really had too much time to digest it because I had the tournament the next week, and then last week I had off.' Stark's first major title earned her a bumper payday of $2.4 million, money that she says remains untouched. 'I feel like everyone has been asking me if I've treated myself to anything or bought something,' Stark said. 'I was like 'No'. I was pretty happy with what I had before and I'm still happy with it.' – AFP
Kuwait Times
2 days ago
- Kuwait Times
Tanaka and Murao strike more gold for Japan at judo worlds
Tanaka and Murao strike more gold for Japan at judo worlds BUDAPEST: Shiho Tanaka won the women's -70kg title and Sanshiro Murao the men's -90kg to bring Japan's tally to six golds at the world judo championships on Tuesday. Japan have won six of the 10 titles already attributed after five days of competition in Budapest. Tanaka won the first individual world title of her career after settling for bronze last year in Abu Dhabi. She beat world number one Lara Cvjetko in the final, with the Croatian judoka settling for silver as in 2022. Olympic silver medalist Murao, 24, won an all-Japanese final, defeating defending world champion Goki Tajima on penalties after a duel of 8 minutes and 30 seconds. Georgia's Lasha Bekauri was eliminated in the round of 16. At 24, he still has no world gold medals, despite his two Olympic titles. — AFP
