Czech Lehecka Claims First ATP Title in Adelaide

Jiri Lehecka of The Czech Republic celebrates victory against Jack Draper of the United Kingdom during the Mens Singles Final match of the 2024 Adelaide International at Memorial Drive Tennis Center in Adelaide, Saturday, January 13, 2024. (AAP)

11:32-13 January 2024 AD ـ 02 Rajab 1445 AH

Czech Lehecka Claims First ATP Title in Adelaide

Jiri Lehecka came from behind to claim his first ATP tour title with a 4-6 6-4 6-3 victory over Briton Jack Draper in an absorbing final at the Adelaide International on Saturday.

The Czech reached the quarter-finals of the Australian Open last year and will be battle-hardened for his third trip to Melbourne Park after the tight two-hour contest against fellow 22-year-old Draper.

In the women's final at Memorial Drive Tennis Center, former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia beat Russian Daria Kasatkina 6-3 6-2 - with Ostapenko breaking serve five times in the match.

In the men's final, a single service break was enough to give lefthander Draper the opening set but Lehecka levelled up the contest when he managed the second break of the match in the next set.

That appeared to knock a bit of the stuffing out of Draper, who was also seeking his maiden tour title, and Lehecka raced to a 3-0 lead in the decider.

Draper, whose career has been blighted by injuries, never gave up the fight and had three break points at 3-1 but Lehecka saved them all and sealed the title with an unreturnable serve after just over two hours on court.

"It's hard for me to say anything because I'm so emotional after winning my first title in Adelaide, I'm so excited," Lehecka said after the trophy presentation.

"Such an amazing way to start the year."

Lehecka, the 32nd seed, takes on Spaniard Bernabe Zapata Miralles in the first round in Melbourne, while Draper, who lost to Rafa Nadal last year in his only previous match at the Australian Open, faces American Marcos Giron.

Ostapenko's win assures the Latvian of a return to the top 10 in the world rankings for the first time since 2018, as the 26-year-old, who reached the quarter-finals in Brisbane last week, showed impressive form before the Australian Open.

Ostapenko, the 11th seed in Melbourne, faces Australia's Kimberly Birrell in the first round, and will be looking to improve on her best performance at the tournament last year when she reached the quarter-finals and lost to Elena Rybakina.

Kasatkina, number 15 in the world, reached the final in Adelaide with two walkovers in the previous rounds, and the 26-year-old will take on American Peyton Stearns in the first round in Melbourne.

Serena Williams Listed as Eligible to Return to Tennis on February 22

Tennis - US Open - Flushing Meadows, New York, United States - September 2, 2022 Serena Williams of the US after losing her third round match against Australia's Ajla Tomljanovic. (Reuters)

08:13-10 February 2026 AD ـ 22 Sha’ban 1447 AH

Serena Williams Listed as Eligible to Return to Tennis on February 22

Tennis - US Open - Flushing Meadows, New York, United States - September 2, 2022 Serena Williams of the US after losing her third round match against Australia's Ajla Tomljanovic. (Reuters)

Serena Williams has been listed as eligible to return to tennis from February 22 by the sport's drug-testing body (ITIA), though it remains unclear whether the 23-times Grand Slam champion will make a ‌stunning comeback ‌to the ‌women's ⁠tour.

The 44-year-old ‌raised eyebrows late last year after rejoining the tennis anti-doping testing pool, though she denied at the time the move ⁠signaled she was preparing to ‌return to the ‍sport she ‍dominated for nearly two ‍decades.

She reignited speculation last month when she deflected questions about a possible return during an appearance on NBC's "Today" show.

The Women's Tennis ⁠Association did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside normal business hours.

Williams, who won her last Grand Slam singles title in 2017, has not competed since the 2022 US Open.

Sports

Piastri on Similar Trajectory to F1 Champion Norris, Brown Says

May 25, 2025 McLaren's Lando Norris celebrates with a trophy on the podium after winning the Monaco Grand Prix alongside third placed McLaren's Oscar Piastri and McLaren chief executive Zak Brown. (Reuters)

17:08-9 February 2026 AD ـ 21 Sha’ban 1447 AH

Piastri on Similar Trajectory to F1 Champion Norris, Brown Says

Oscar Piastri is on a similar career trajectory to Formula One world champion teammate Lando Norris and should have a shot at the title this season, McLaren boss Zak Brown said on Monday as they prepared to test in Bahrain.

The American told reporters on a video call that his drivers were raring to get going.

"He (Piastri) is now going into his fourth year. Lando has a lot more grands prix than he does so if you look at the development of Lando over that time, Oscar's on a similar trajectory," Brown said.

"So he's in a good place, physically very fit, excited, ready to ‌go."

LAST AUSTRALIAN CHAMPION ‌WAS IN 1980

Piastri, who debuted with McLaren in Bahrain ‌in ⁠2023, can become ‌Australia's first champion since Alan Jones in 1980.

While Piastri took his first win in his second season, Norris had to wait until his sixth. Both won seven times last year.

Brown said he had spoken a lot with the Australian over the European winter break and expected the 24-year-old, championship leader for much of 2025, to pick up where he left off.

He said the discussion had been all about creating the best environment for him and what ⁠McLaren needed to do to support him.

Brown said Piastri had spent time in the simulator and, in response to ‌a question about lingering sentiment in Australia that McLaren ‍favored Norris, "he knows he's getting a ‍fair shake at it".

"You win some, you lose some. Things fall your way, things ‍don't fall your way," added the chief executive.

PRE-SEASON FAVOURITE

Brown said Norris' confidence level was also very high.

"He's highly motivated and it's our job to give him and Oscar the equipment again to be able to let them fight it out for the championship," he said.

"If we can do that, I think Oscar and Lando will both be in with a shot."

Mercedes' George Russell is the current pre-season favorite after an initial shakedown ⁠test in Barcelona last month.

Norris can become only the second Briton to take back-to-back titles after seven times champion Lewis Hamilton, who won four titles in a row with Mercedes from 2017-20 as well as two together in 2014 and 2015.

The only other multiple British world champions are Jim Clark (1963, 1965), Graham Hill (1962, 1968) and Jackie Stewart (1969, 1971, 1973).

"I think there are some drivers that say 'I've done it. Now I'm done'," said Brown. "And then you have drivers like Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen and Michael Schumacher who go 'I've done it once, now I want to do it twice and three or four times'."

He reiterated that both remained free to race and said decisions would be taken strategically as and ‌when they arose.

"We feel like we'll be competitive. The top four teams all seem very competitive. Very early days but indications that we will be strong," he added.

Sports

‘Don’t Jump in Them’: Olympic Athletes’ Medals Break During Celebrations

Gold medalists team USA celebrate during the medal ceremony after the Team Event Free Skating of the Figure Skating competitions at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games, in Milan, Italy, 08 February 2026. (EPA)

11:43-9 February 2026 AD ـ 21 Sha’ban 1447 AH

‘Don’t Jump in Them’: Olympic Athletes’ Medals Break During Celebrations

Handle with care. That's the message from gold medalist Breezy Johnson at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics after she and other athletes found their medals broke within hours.

Olympic organizers are investigating with "maximum attention" after a spate of medals have fallen off their ribbons during celebrations on the opening weekend of the Games.

"Don’t jump in them. I was jumping in excitement, and it broke," women's downhill ski gold medalist Johnson said after her win Sunday. "I’m sure somebody will fix it. It’s not crazy broken, but a little broken."

TV footage broadcast in Germany captured the moment biathlete Justus Strelow realized the mixed relay bronze he'd won Sunday had fallen off the ribbon around his neck and clattered to the floor as he danced along to a song with teammates.

His German teammates cheered as Strelow tried without success to reattach the medal before realizing a smaller piece, seemingly the clasp, had broken off and was still on the floor.

US figure skater Alysa Liu posted a clip on social media of her team event gold medal, detached from its official ribbon.

"My medal don’t need the ribbon," Liu wrote early Monday.

Andrea Francisi, the chief games operations officer for the Milan Cortina organizing committee, said it was working on a solution.

"We are aware of the situation, we have seen the images. Obviously we are trying to understand in detail if there is a problem," Francisi said Monday.

"But obviously we are paying maximum attention to this matter, as the medal is the dream of the athletes, so we want that obviously in the moment they are given it that everything is absolutely perfect, because we really consider it to be the most important moment. So we are working on it."

It isn't the first time the quality of Olympic medals has come under scrutiny.

Following the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, some medals had to be replaced after athletes complained they were starting to tarnish or corrode, giving them a mottled look likened to crocodile skin.

Czech Lehecka Claims First ATP Title in Adelaide

Czech Lehecka Claims First ATP Title in Adelaide

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Serena Williams Listed as Eligible to Return to Tennis on February 22

Serena Williams Listed as Eligible to Return to Tennis on February 22

Piastri on Similar Trajectory to F1 Champion Norris, Brown Says

Piastri on Similar Trajectory to F1 Champion Norris, Brown Says

‘Don’t Jump in Them’: Olympic Athletes’ Medals Break During Celebrations

‘Don’t Jump in Them’: Olympic Athletes’ Medals Break During Celebrations

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