عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Sports

Swiatek Avoids Setting Goals for 2026 Ahead of Australian Open

Iga Swiatek of Poland reacts during her singles match against Belinda Bencic of Switzerland during the 2026 United Cup final between Poland and Switzerland at Ken Rosewall Arena in in Sydney, Australia, 11 January 2026. (AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts) EPA
Iga Swiatek of Poland reacts during her singles match against Belinda Bencic of Switzerland during the 2026 United Cup final between Poland and Switzerland at Ken Rosewall Arena in in Sydney, Australia, 11 January 2026. (AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts) EPA
TT
TT

Swiatek Avoids Setting Goals for 2026 Ahead of Australian Open

Iga Swiatek of Poland reacts during her singles match against Belinda Bencic of Switzerland during the 2026 United Cup final between Poland and Switzerland at Ken Rosewall Arena in in Sydney, Australia, 11 January 2026. (AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts) EPA
Iga Swiatek of Poland reacts during her singles match against Belinda Bencic of Switzerland during the 2026 United Cup final between Poland and Switzerland at Ken Rosewall Arena in in Sydney, Australia, 11 January 2026. (AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts) EPA

Iga Swiatek heads into Melbourne Park with the Australian Open title the only gap on her Grand Slam resume, but the world number two is keen to avoid setting herself targets for the new season and says her main goal ​is to improve her game.

The 24-year-old Pole has won majors on the hard courts of Flushing Meadows, the Paris clay and the grass of Wimbledon but has never managed to reach the final at the year's opening Grand Slam, going out twice in the semi-finals.

"For now I'm not setting results goals," she told Polish sports news website Sportowy24 last month.

"I am focusing on developing technically and in terms of my tennis game itself."

Swiatek is renowned for her grit and intensity on tour but the former world number ‌one was forced ‌to revaluate her approach after failing to secure a ‌semi-final ⁠spot ​at the ‌season-ending WTA Finals for a second straight year in November.

She has spoken about the physical and mental toll the punishing tour schedule takes on players and said in Beijing in September that the season was too long and too intense.

Just before Christmas she told Sportowy24 that she felt refreshed after spending more time at home than usual.

She has also worked with sports psychologist Daria Abramowicz, often crediting with helping shape her preparation and routines and publicly defending their ⁠work together amid questions about the partnership.

"I hope the preparation period will mean that in the new season I ‌will play well, solidly, and that I will learn something ‍new," said Swiatek, who suffered a heartbreaking ‍semi-final loss to eventual champion Madison Keys last year in Australia.

After the peace ‍of Poland, Swiatek will be plunged into the maelstrom of the Grand Slam at Melbourne Park, which kicks off on January 18 and crowns a women's champion after two punishing weeks of summer heat.

The disappointment of a 3-6 6-0 6-3 loss to Swiss Belinda Bencic in the final of the ​United Cup on a similarly fast Sydney surface on Sunday was tempered by the fact that Poland ultimately won the trophy.

"I'm still here, nothing crazy ⁠happened," Swiatek reassured her fans.

"Everything is fine, just super sore. I guess, first tournament of the year it costs everybody a bit differently than during the season."

The Australian Open boasts 11 Grand Slam champions with top seed Aryna Sabalenka among the title favorites, and Swiatek will have little time to ease herself back into elite competition mode.

While Swiatek will be keen to avoid discussing it, the Pole could complete the career Grand Slam if she walks away with the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup.

The claycourt specialist has won four of her majors at Roland Garros and showed a different side to her game by winning on the hard courts of the US Open in 2022.

Her 6-0 6-0 thrashing of Amanda Anisimova in the Wimbledon ‌final last July showed she can adapt and it would be no surprise if she finally gets to grips with the Melbourne Park surface this time around.

Most Viewed

 
 
Sports

‘Incredible Situation’: Spurs Coach Tudor on Subbing Kinsky After Errors

Tottenham's goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky leaves the field after substitution during the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 soccer match between Atletico Madrid and Tottenham in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (AP)
Tottenham's goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky leaves the field after substitution during the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 soccer match between Atletico Madrid and Tottenham in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (AP)
TT
TT

‘Incredible Situation’: Spurs Coach Tudor on Subbing Kinsky After Errors

Tottenham's goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky leaves the field after substitution during the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 soccer match between Atletico Madrid and Tottenham in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (AP)
Tottenham's goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky leaves the field after substitution during the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 soccer match between Atletico Madrid and Tottenham in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (AP)

Tottenham's interim coach Igor Tudor bemoaned an "incredible situation" which led him to withdraw goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky after just 17 minutes of Tuesday's 5-2 Champions League defeat at Atletico Madrid.

The 22-year-old Czech stopper made two errors leading to goals as Spurs fell three behind inside the first 15 minutes of the last 16 first-leg clash at the Metropolitano stadium.

Tudor selected Kinsky, who had not played since October, over Guglielmo Vicario after five straight Premier League defeats before the game.

"(The situation was) very rare. I've been coaching for 15 years, I've never done this. It was necessary to preserve the guy, preserve the team," Tudor told reporters.

The Croatian coach defended his decision to start Kinsky.

"It was, before the game, the right choice to do in the moment like we are. With pressure on Vicario, in another competition... 'Tony' is a very good goalkeeper. It was, for me, the right decision.

"After this, of course, it's easy to say that it was not the right decision."

Kinsky slipped and gave the ball away in the sixth minute for Marcos Llorente to open the scoring.

After Micky van de Ven fell over allowing Antoine Griezmann to score the second, Kinsky erred again.

The goalkeeper bungled a pass and Julian Alvarez was able to walk the ball into the net.

Tudor sent on Vicario to replace Kinsky, who was applauded off by Atletico's fans.

"Unfortunately, it happened in this big game, these mistakes. So we paid this start of the game, it was too much for us," continued Tudor.

"(Kinsky) was sorry... the team is with him, me too. I was speaking with him. He understands the moment, he understands why he goes out.

"As I said before, he's a very good goalkeeper. We are with him, we are all together. It's never about one player."

Tudor, who has lost all four matches at the helm since replacing Thomas Frank in February, refused to say whether he should still be at the helm.

Tottenham, 16th in the Premier League, are facing a fight against relegation.

"I need to keep working. Not speaking too much, stay focused on the things we can do," Tudor added on TNT Sports.

"It's unbelievably difficult to explain all these things, the first time in my career that I saw these things, 15 years.

"I'm focused on the problems, the players also. We need to stay positive."

Sports

China Sprint Race Presents ‘Huge Challenge’ in F1’s New Era

Formula One F1 - Australian Grand Prix - Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne, Australia - March 8, 2026 Drivers in action during the race. (Reuters)
Formula One F1 - Australian Grand Prix - Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne, Australia - March 8, 2026 Drivers in action during the race. (Reuters)
TT
TT

China Sprint Race Presents ‘Huge Challenge’ in F1’s New Era

Formula One F1 - Australian Grand Prix - Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne, Australia - March 8, 2026 Drivers in action during the race. (Reuters)
Formula One F1 - Australian Grand Prix - Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne, Australia - March 8, 2026 Drivers in action during the race. (Reuters)

Formula One's new era heads into its first sprint in Shanghai this weekend, with the Chinese Grand Prix promising a very different test to Melbourne, where George Russell led home a Mercedes one-two.

The Silver Arrows dominated the season-opener, Russell winning from Kimi Antonelli and followed home by the Ferrari pair of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton in the first race under sweeping new regulations.

Lando Norris and McLaren struggled, the British world champion trailing home fifth and teammate Oscar Piastri failing to even start after crashing on his way to the grid.

Red Bull's four-time champion Max Verstappen carved his way through the field to sixth after starting 20th on the grid following a qualifying crash.

The Shanghai International Circuit, unlike the Albert Park track in Melbourne, has one long straight and several complexes of turns.

It will require a different approach to battery deployment and energy harvesting in the new cars, which have a 50-50 split between conventional and electrical power.

But with only one practice session before sprint qualifying on Friday, the teams will have little time to hone their set-ups and strategies.

Saturday morning will see the sprint race over 19 laps of the 5.451km circuit and grand prix qualifying in the afternoon.

Sunday's grand prix will be over 56 laps, and if the race in Melbourne is anything to go by, it could be very eventful.

"Shanghai is going to be important to be straight on point with deployment, with everything, because obviously we get only one practice and then we go into qualifying," said Antonelli.

"The rate of development is going to be massive and it's going to be important to not put any wrong step because the situation can flip very quickly."

Leclerc agreed: "To have a sprint race so early on in a season like this will be a huge challenge for everybody. It's going to be very tricky."

Race-winner Russell said his only reservation about the 2026 cars was a lack of control when the active front wing was opened up under the new "straight mode".

Introduced this season to reduce drag and give a boost of speed akin to the now-defunct DRS system, Russell said it made the cars skittish.

- 'Pretty big gap' -

"The only thing I would request from the FIA is that the front wing doesn't drop as aggressively," said Russell.

"When we open 'straight mode' we will have lots of understeer, and when I was behind Charles and I was trying to duck out of his slipstream it was like my front wing wasn't working.

"So, I think from a safety aspect that would make the racing safer, better. I don't see a downside of doing it."

Norris was highly critical of the new cars.

McLaren, so dominant last season, were off the pace all weekend in Australia.

"The gap to the guys ahead is pretty big and we clearly have a lot of work to do," said the world champion.

Verstappen admitted Red Bull also have problems to address.

"I had some issues at the start with the battery so as soon as the clutch was dropped, I had no power, so that is something we need to understand," said the Dutchman.

"It was a decent comeback from P20 and we will work as a team to close the gap further."

New to the grid, Cadillac were encouraged by Sergio Perez finishing 16th on the team's much-anticipated debut.

"It was great to see the Cadillac Formula 1 Team bring its first car home," said team principal Graeme Lowdon.

Sports

Sinner Edges Into Indian Wells Quarters, Sabalenka Powers Past Osaka

Sinner Edges Into Indian Wells Quarters, Sabalenka Powers Past Osaka
TT
TT

Sinner Edges Into Indian Wells Quarters, Sabalenka Powers Past Osaka

Sinner Edges Into Indian Wells Quarters, Sabalenka Powers Past Osaka

World number two Jannik Sinner survived a stern test from Joao Fonseca on Tuesday to reach the Indian Wells quarter-finals, while women's world number one Aryna Sabalenka eased past 16th seed Naomi Osaka 6-2 6-4 to progress to the women's last eight.

Sinner was pushed hard by the 19-year-old Brazilian, trailing 6-3 in the first set before rallying to close out the match 7-6(6) 7-6(4).

"I am very happy winning this match," Reuters quoted Sinner as saying.

"Joao is an incredible talent. He was serving really well. I was trying to be as aggressive as possible and that was the key to get through against the incredible talent."

The Italian will now meet the home favorite Learner Tien on Friday for a place in the last four.

"I feel he is a very consistent player and I am very happy to face him again. He has improved a lot since the last time we met," Sinner said of his American opponent.

Meanwhile, in the ⁠first meeting between ⁠the two four-time Grand Slam champions since 2018 - when Osaka beat Sabalenka at the US Open en route to her maiden major title - the Belarusian's power proved too much for the former world No. 1 on Tuesday.

"Yeah that's crazy, for so many years we only played once. I'm pretty sure we are playing many more matches, she's coming back playing great tennis," Sabalenka said in her on-court interview. "I'm pretty happy for the result today, much better than last time."

Mar 10, 2026; Indian Wells, CA, USA; Naomi Osaka (JPN) and Aryna Sabalenka (BEL) embrace after their fourth round match in the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Osaka began confidently with a strong opening service game, but top seed Sabalenka soon found her rhythm and capitalized on a brief ⁠dip from the Japanese, breaking for 2-1 after two double faults.

The Belarusian tightened her grip with a barrage of powerful backhands to lead 5-2, then served out the set comfortably with an ace.

After a series of solid holds from both players early in the second, Sabalenka again used her firepower to take control, breaking again for a 4-2 lead that proved decisive in closing out the win and continuing her run in the tournament without dropping a set.

"I'm happy that I put so much pressure on her today, that I brought variety to the court," Sabalenka said. "My serve worked well. On the return I played really great tennis. Happy with my performance for sure."

Last year's runner-up Sabalenka will continue her quest for a first title in the California desert against Canada's Victoria Mboko, who sailed past higher-ranked American Amanda Anisimova 6-4 6-1.

It will be a rematch of an Australian Open round-of-16 between ⁠the two, which Sabalenka won ⁠in straight sets.

Elsewhere, Australia's Talia Gibson enjoyed the biggest win of her career, beating Italy's world No. 7 Jasmine Paolini 7-5 2-6 6-1 in her first match against a top-10 player.

The 21-year-old, playing her first WTA 1000 main draw, also became the first qualifier in 11 years to reach the quarter-finals of the tournament.

"I just have a confidence in the way I'm playing," Gibson said. "I'm in shock."

Czech Republic's Linda Noskova, the 14th seed, sailed past Alexandra Eala in just 55 minutes with a 6-2 6-0 win to book a quarter-final meeting with Gibson.

In the men's draw, Alexander Zverev saw off Frances Tiafoe 6-3 6-4, converting two of three break points and firing 14 aces to seal his ninth win over the 21st-seeded American.

He will next face France's Arthur Fils as he looks to reach his first Indian Wells semi-final.

Fils earlier produced a stunning 6-3 7-6(9) win over Canadian ninth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, saving five set points and rallying from 0-5 down in the second-set tiebreak to book a place in the quarter-finals for the second consecutive year.