Stefanos Tsitsipas Rallies in Paris for 100th ATP Masters 1000 Win

Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas celebrates after winning against Spain's Roberto Carballes Baena during their men's singles match on day one of the Paris ATP Masters 1000 tennis tournament at the Accor Arena - Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy - in Paris on October 28, 2024. (AFP)
Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas celebrates after winning against Spain's Roberto Carballes Baena during their men's singles match on day one of the Paris ATP Masters 1000 tennis tournament at the Accor Arena - Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy - in Paris on October 28, 2024. (AFP)
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Stefanos Tsitsipas Rallies in Paris for 100th ATP Masters 1000 Win

Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas celebrates after winning against Spain's Roberto Carballes Baena during their men's singles match on day one of the Paris ATP Masters 1000 tennis tournament at the Accor Arena - Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy - in Paris on October 28, 2024. (AFP)
Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas celebrates after winning against Spain's Roberto Carballes Baena during their men's singles match on day one of the Paris ATP Masters 1000 tennis tournament at the Accor Arena - Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy - in Paris on October 28, 2024. (AFP)

Greek 10th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas fought past Spanish lucky loser Roberto Carballes Baena 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the first round of the Rolex Paris Masters on Monday.

Tsitsipas needed an hour and 59 minutes, but when it was said and done the 26-year-old secured the 100th match win at an ATP Masters 1000 event of his career.

Tsitsipas said he battled an upset stomach during the match.

"It took a long time for me to feel better," Tsitsipas said. "It was very strange. It doesn't happen very often. I just had to feel better, because I knew I was playing good tennis. I didn't have a great start, but there were so many things on my mind at that moment, I wasn't able to play clearly and with a good picture."

Tsitsipas finished with an 11-4 edge in aces and a whopping 36-15 advantage in total winners, but he had to overcome 45 unforced errors while Carballes Baena committed only 21. Tsitsipas also won 36 of his 45 first-service points (80 percent) and saved 4 of 6 break points.

Tsitsipas' next opponent will be Chile's Alejandro Tabilo, who outlasted Portugal's Nuno Borges 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3 in two hours and 10 minutes.

A trio of Frenchmen won on home soil in the opening round.

Wild card Adrian Mannarino upset No. 11 seed Tommy Paul 6-3, 7-5. He reached break point 11 times and managed to break Paul's serve on five occasions.

"I don't know if it's the fact of playing in Paris or of fully finding my form after a lot of physical problems," Mannarino told reporters in French, per tennismajors.com. "The level of play (Monday) was good. Managing to finish the match, when there are many that have passed me by in the same kind of circumstances, it's really satisfying."

No. 15 seed Ugo Humbert also pleased the French fans with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 victory over Brandon Nakashima. And wild card Arthur Rinderknech advanced when Czech opponent Tomas Machac retired during the second set of their match. Machac won the first set 7-6 (3) and was trailing 3-5 in the second.

Serbian lucky loser Miomir Kecmanovic went the distance against Argentina's Sebastian Baez, prevailing 6-4, 6-7 (6), 7-5 in two hours and 28 minutes.

Advancing in straight sets were Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan, American qualifier Marcos Giron, Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands, Nicolas Jarry of Chile, Jordan Thompson of Australia and Argentines Francisco Cerundolo and Tomas Martin Etcheverry.



Fan Group Urges FIFA to Halt World Cup Ticket Sales over 'Extortionate' Prices

A sign promoting the World Cup in 2026 is shown at a newly opened metro stop at Los Angeles International Airport on December 5th, in Los Angeles, California, US August 22, 2025. REUTERS/David Swanson
A sign promoting the World Cup in 2026 is shown at a newly opened metro stop at Los Angeles International Airport on December 5th, in Los Angeles, California, US August 22, 2025. REUTERS/David Swanson
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Fan Group Urges FIFA to Halt World Cup Ticket Sales over 'Extortionate' Prices

A sign promoting the World Cup in 2026 is shown at a newly opened metro stop at Los Angeles International Airport on December 5th, in Los Angeles, California, US August 22, 2025. REUTERS/David Swanson
A sign promoting the World Cup in 2026 is shown at a newly opened metro stop at Los Angeles International Airport on December 5th, in Los Angeles, California, US August 22, 2025. REUTERS/David Swanson

Football Supporters Europe (FSE) has called on FIFA to immediately halt sales of national team allocations for next year's World Cup, accusing football's governing body of imposing "extortionate" ticket prices that risk shutting ordinary fans out of the tournament.

In a statement on Thursday, the European fan umbrella group said prices for tickets allocated to Participating Member Associations (PMAs) – typically distributed via official supporters' clubs or loyalty schemes – had reached "astronomical" levels, Reuters reported.

FIFA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

FSE said based on price tables quietly circulated to national associations, a supporter following their team from the first group match through to the final via the PMA route would pay at least $6,900, almost five times the equivalent cost at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

FSE said national team supporters were being asked to pay the full amount in early 2026 in order to secure the right to buy tickets all the way to the final.

Adding to fans' frustration, FSE said the lowest price category – Category 4 – would not be made available to the most loyal supporters through their associations, with FIFA reserving those tickets for general public sales and subjecting them to dynamic pricing.

The group called that decision a "monumental betrayal" of World Cup tradition and of the contribution of traveling supporters to the tournament's atmosphere.

"For the prices that have been put up by FIFA, we're a bit stunned," FSE Executive Director Ronan Evain told Reuters.

"This is a handful of people who are trying to make as much money as possible from the tournament. And we believe this approach is putting the very nature of the tournament at risk."

"For the final, tickets are going up to about $4,000. You need fans, you need the life in the stands, you need the colour, you need the atmosphere. With these prices, none of this will happen," he said.

For the first time at a World Cup, FSE said, there will be no consistent prices across all group-stage games, with FIFA instead introducing variable pricing based on opaque notions such as the "attractiveness" of a fixture.

That means fans of different teams could pay different amounts for the same category of ticket at the same stage, with little transparency on how prices are set.

Evain said the new structure would push many ordinary fans beyond what they can afford, particularly families.

"A lot of people that were hesitating in travelling to the U.S. are now saying they need to take an extraordinary financial risk, especially if you're a family," he said.

"We are in the region of $30,000 for a family of four. The vast majority of football fans can't afford this. Even in Europe."

FSE urged FIFA to pause PMA ticket sales and open consultations with member associations, supporters' groups and other stakeholders "until a solution that respects the tradition, universality and cultural significance of the World Cup is found."


French Player Folliot Suspended for 20 Years over Match-fixing

Paris 2024 Olympics - Tennis Training - Roland Garros Stadium, Paris, France - July 24, 2024. General view of tennis balls during training REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Paris 2024 Olympics - Tennis Training - Roland Garros Stadium, Paris, France - July 24, 2024. General view of tennis balls during training REUTERS/Claudia Greco
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French Player Folliot Suspended for 20 Years over Match-fixing

Paris 2024 Olympics - Tennis Training - Roland Garros Stadium, Paris, France - July 24, 2024. General view of tennis balls during training REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Paris 2024 Olympics - Tennis Training - Roland Garros Stadium, Paris, France - July 24, 2024. General view of tennis balls during training REUTERS/Claudia Greco

French player Quentin Folliot has been suspended for 20 years for committing 27 breaches of tennis's anti-corruption program, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) said on Thursday.

Folliot was a central figure in a network of players operating on behalf of a match-fixing syndicate, an ITIA investigation found, and is the sixth player to be sanctioned as a result.

Folliot's career-high ranking was 488th, according to the ATP, and he earned prize money of $60,047 in singles and doubles.

The Frenchman denied 30 charges relating to 11 matches between 2022 and 2024, eight of which he played in, and an independent Anti-Corruption Hearing Officer, Amani Khalifa, upheld 27 of the charges in October.

Khalifa's written decision said the 26-year-old Folliot was "a vector for a wider criminal syndicate, actively recruiting other players and attempting to embed corruption more deeply into the professional tours".

Folliot, who was provisionally suspended in May 2024, has also been fined $70,000 and ordered to repay corrupt payments totaling more than $44,000, Reuters reported.

Time served under the provisional suspension was credited against his period of ineligibility meaning Folliot's ban will end on May 16 2044, subject to repayment of outstanding fines.


Morocco Pick Hakimi, Confident He Will be Ready for Cup of Nations

Paris 2024 Olympics - Football - Men's Quarter-final - Morocco vs United States - Parc des Princes, Paris, France - August 02, 2024. Achraf Hakimi of Morocco celebrates scoring their third goal. REUTERS/Piroschka Van De Wouw/File Photo
Paris 2024 Olympics - Football - Men's Quarter-final - Morocco vs United States - Parc des Princes, Paris, France - August 02, 2024. Achraf Hakimi of Morocco celebrates scoring their third goal. REUTERS/Piroschka Van De Wouw/File Photo
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Morocco Pick Hakimi, Confident He Will be Ready for Cup of Nations

Paris 2024 Olympics - Football - Men's Quarter-final - Morocco vs United States - Parc des Princes, Paris, France - August 02, 2024. Achraf Hakimi of Morocco celebrates scoring their third goal. REUTERS/Piroschka Van De Wouw/File Photo
Paris 2024 Olympics - Football - Men's Quarter-final - Morocco vs United States - Parc des Princes, Paris, France - August 02, 2024. Achraf Hakimi of Morocco celebrates scoring their third goal. REUTERS/Piroschka Van De Wouw/File Photo

Hosts Morocco have included African Footballer of the Year Achraf Hakimi in their 26-man squad for the Africa Cup of Nations, confident he will recover from an ankle injury in time to play.

There had been concern about the full back's availability for the tournament, which kicks off on December 21, after suffering a severe sprain of his left ankle during Paris St Germain's 2-1 defeat by Bayern Munich in the Champions League last month, according to Reuters.

Coach Walid Regragui had already expressed optimism that Hakimi would be available to captain the team in the opening match against Comoros in Rabat.

"He's been working hard since his injury and doing what he has to do. He's a hard worker. He wants to be there from the first match," the Moroccan coach told French radio at the weekend.

Left out of the squad, but named as a reserve is Lille striker Hamza Igamane, who hurt his adductors playing against Olympique de Marseille last Friday.

Igamane has made a major impact in Ligue 1 and with the Morocco side and was expected to be a starter at the tournament for the hosts.

Morocco, who were semi-finalists at the last World Cup and are heavily fancied for home success, also take on Mali and Zambia in Group A.

Squad

Goalkeepers: Yassine Bounou (Al Hilal), Munir El Kajoui (Renaissance Berkane), El Mehdi Al Harrar (Raja Casablanca)

Defenders: Nayef Aguerd (Olympique de Marseille), Abdelhamid Ait Boudlal (Stade Rennais), Mohamed Chibi (Pyramids), Jawad El Yamiq (Al Najma), Achraf Hakimi (Paris St Germain), Adam Masina (Torino), Noussair Mazraoui (Manchester United), Romain Saiss (Al Sadd), Anass Salah-Eddine (PSV Eindhoven)

Midfielders: Sofyan Amrabat (Real Betis), Eliesse Ben Seghir (Bayer Leverkusen), Brahim Diaz (Real Madrid), Neil El Aynaoui (AS Roma), Bilal El Khannous (VfB Stuttgart), Azzedine Ounahi (Girona), Oussama Targhaline (Feyenoord)

Forwards: Ilias Akhomach (Villarreal), Ayoub El Kaabi (Olympiakos), Youssef En-Nesyri (Fenerbahce), Abdessamad Ezzalzouli (Real Betis), Soufiane Rahimi (Al Ain), Ismael Saibari (PSV Eindhoven), Chemsdine Talbi (Sunderland).