Tennis

Miami Open: Britain's Katie Boulter loses to Victoria Azarenka in fourth round..

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British number one Katie Boulter is out of the Miami Open after a fourth-round defeat by Victoria Azarenka of Belarus.

The 27-year-old, ranked 30th in the world, lost 7-5 6-1.

Boulter had made it through to the fourth round of the tournament for the first time by beating Brazil's Beatriz Haddad Maia in straight sets.

The Briton broke back to deny Azarenka as the former world number one served for the first set, before saving two break points to level the opener at 5-5.

But three-time Miami champion Azarenka struck again two games later, breaking Boulter to love to clinch a tight first set.

The second set proved much more one-sided as Azarenka stormed into a 5-0 lead with a double break before Boulter was able to get on the board in the sixth game.

Boulter managed to save two match points but she could not deny Azarenka, whose upcoming opponent Putintseva beat Ukraine's Anhelina Kalinina 6-4 7-6 (7-5).

Billie Jean King Cup 2024 qualifying: Great Britain take on France in bid for finals spot..

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Great Britain face France on Friday and Saturday as they bid for a spot in the 2024 Billie Jean King Cup Finals.

Great Britain reached the semi-finals of the 2022 competition but did not reach the last eight last year, having lost their qualifier against France.

The tie takes place on an indoor clay-court in Le Portel in northern France.

Britain will be led by Katie Boulter, with Emma Raducanu, Harriet Dart, Heather Watson and Fran Jones completing Anne Keothavong's team.

The two nations have played each other four times, with both Great Britain and France winning twice.

Britain beat Sweden 3-1 on home turf in November to secure their place in this year's qualifiers.

How does the Billie Jean King Cup work?
Each play-off tie is a best-of-five series, with four singles matches followed by a deciding doubles match if needed.

The winner progresses to November's Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Spain.

Twelve nations compete in the Finals event - eight qualifiers, last year's finalists Canada and Italy, host nation Spain and a wildcard.

The loser of the tie in France will compete in Group I events in 2025.

Who is playing for Great Britain?
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Katie Boulter, the British number one and world number 28, is the highest-ranked player in Anne Keothavong's side.

Boulter recently won the biggest title of her career at March's San Diego Open and broke into the world's top 30 for the time.

Former US Open champion Raducanu is also in line to play in her first BJK Cup event since April as she works her way back from a lengthy injury lay-off.

They are joined by Dart, who clinched Britain's spot in the qualifiers, and Watson, who will be appearing in her 36th tie.

Jones was a late addition to the squad, fresh from reaching her first WTA 125 final on the clay courts in Mexico.

Who is playing for France?
World number 23 Caroline Garcia is the highest-ranked player in either team, and has previously been as high as number five in the world.

Garcia is an experienced singles and doubles player, having won two Grand Slam doubles titles alongside team-mate Kristina Mladenovic.

Mladenovic herself is a former world number one in doubles and was previously a top-10 singles player.

Emma Raducanu beats Czech wonderkid Linda Noskova to set up quarter-final clash with world No 1 Iga Swiatek in Stuttgart..by Matthew Lambert

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Emma Raducanu has won four matches in a row for first time since her US Open title in 2021

Emma Raducanu beat Czech wonderkid Linda Noskova in Stuttgart to set up a quarter-final showdown with the queen of clay: world No 1 Iga Swiatek.

Raducanu is unbeaten on the red dirt this season and has won four matches in a row for the first time since her US Open title in 2021.

'I am not too surprised as I have been working really hard and I knew it was only a matter of time,' said the 21-year-old after her 6-0, 7-5 win.

'I don't think this was my best, I still have a long way to go.'

Noskova is world No 31 at the age of just 19 but she was outrun and outmanoeuvred.

Barcelona Open: Britain's Cameron Norrie beaten by Tomas Martin Etcheverry in quarter-finals..

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Cameron Norrie missed out on a semi-final spot at the Barcelona Open with defeat by Tomas Martin Etcheverry.

British number one Norrie, 31st in the world, sits just one place lower than Etcheverry in the ATP rankings.

There was little to separate the pair, but the Argentine stormed through the tie-breaks to win 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-1).

British number two Jack Draper also fell at the quarter-final stage of the Bavarian International, losing to American third seed Taylor Fritz.

Fritz fought back from a set down to claim a 4-6 6-3 7-6 (7-1) victory and will face Chile's Cristian Garin after the world number 106 knocked out German top seed Alexander Zverev with a 6-4 6-4 win.

Emma Raducanu told she 'didn't show up' in heavy Madrid Open loss after fortunate draw..By Felix Keith, Sports Reporter.

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An exhausted Emma Raducanu was brought back down to earth with a bump after being knocked out of the Madrid Open in the first round.

Raducanu arrived in Madrid in good spirits after victories over Angelique Kerber and Linda Noskova at the Stuttgart Open. The 21-year-old Brit is on the comeback trail after a nightmare 2023 which included wrist and ankle operations and she was given a reminder of the brutal nature of professional tennis on Wednesday.

She was beaten 6-2, 6-2 by qualifier Maria Lourdes Carle, who had to come through two qualifying rounds to reach the main draw. Raducanu had originally been drawn to face Karolina Pliskova, but the former world number one withdrew due to injury, presenting her with the world No.82 instead.

The 2021 US Open champion could not make the most of the favourable draw and was broken six times on the way to her heaviest defeat in terms of games won since Stuttgart 2023. Raducanu had dropped to 303rd in the WTA rankings last year and is now up to No.221 following her successes in Stuttgart and in beating Caroline Garcia and Diane Parry in the BJK Cup earlier this month.

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But her BJK Cup captain Anne Keothavong admitted the defeat was a bump in the road. She said: "I don't think you can over-analyse the tennis. Emma the performer did not show up today. Credit to her opponent, who came out with the fire and the energy. She was the one who looked up for it and was ready for the fight."

Raducanu herself admitted that she did not have the physical capacity to compete after a tiring period of matches. "I'm going to recharge a bit,” she said. “From the performance today it was very clear that mentally and emotionally, I was exhausted. It's a shame, but I guess the sport is just pretty brutal."

Speaking before the match, Raducanu had warned she is not at full fitness yet. “I’m trying to learn how to manage energy levels,” she explained.

“I’m not going to deny that I am tired. But I think that’s it just accepting that you’re not going to feel 100 per cent and try to save everything for the fight, because the mental side can get you over the line.”

Raducanu wasn’t the only Brit to endure a difficult day in Madrid, with Harriet Dart following her in being knocked out in the first round, losing 6-4, 6-4 to Cristina Bucsa. Dart had won two qualifying matches to reach the main draw and that appeared to take its toll as she surrendered a 4-0 lead in the second set, losing six games in a row to fall to a straight-sets defeat.

Emotional Rafael Nadal suffers first-round defeat on likely French Open farewell..By Daniel Orme, Sports Writer.

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Tennis icon Rafael Nadal struggled to speak after potentially saying goodbye to the French Open with a first-round exit.

The Spaniard was given a testing draw and came up against Alexander Zverev on Monday afternoon. However, he struggled to find a way beyond his opponent - who secured a 6-3 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 success - despite a battling display.

Speaking after his defeat, the 37-year-old said: "It is difficult for me to talk, I don't know if it's the last time I'll be here in front of all of you. Honestly, I am not sure. If it is, then you have been amazing. The feelings I have today are difficult to describe in words. It is the place I love the most.

"I have to congratulate Sasha for this great match. I really wish you all the best in this tournament. 2022 was a tough moment for you so you deserve it.

"I have been going through a very tough two years in terms of injuries. I went all through these processes with the dream to be back here. The first round wasn't ideal. I was competitive and I had chances but it was difficult against a player as good as Sasha.

"It's hard to say about the future. I am travelling with my family and I am having fun. The body is feeling better than it did two months ago. Maybe in two months I say it's enough. That is something I don't feel yet. I hope to be back here for the Olympics, that motivates me. I really hope to be well prepared.

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"The amount of feelings I had on this court throughout my career, I didn't think I would be here almost 38 with all of the success. It has been a very beautiful process. All the people who are in Roland Garros helping me since I came here and the support of my people.

"I can't thank them all enough. The feelings you made me feel here are unforgettable, thank you very much from the bottom of my heart. I hope to see you again, but I don't know."

Despite his win, Zverev also made sure to pay credit to his legendary opponent, who looks set to bow out this year after amassing an eye-watering 14 victories at Roland Garros. He said: "I don't know what to say. Thank you Rafa from all of the tennis world.

“It is such a great honour. I've watched Rafa play all my childhood and I was lucky enough to play him two times on this beautiful court. Today is not my moment, it is Rafa's moment. I'm not going to speak much."

Andy Murray considers surprise Wimbledon move after French Open exit..by Felix Keith, Sports Reporter.

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Andy Murray is considering playing doubles with his brother Jamie at what is likely to be his farewell to Wimbledon this summer.

Murray paired up with Dan Evans at the French Open, but suffered a first-round exit at the hands of Thiago Seyboth Wild and Sebastian Baez, who won two tie-breaks to take the match 7-6 (6) 7-6 (3). The doubles defeat followed another in straight sets against Stan Wawrinka in the first round of the singles.

The 37-year-old has been playing at Roland Garros after recovering ahead of schedule from damaged ankle ligaments and is still trying to find his best tennis. He is gearing up for what is expected to be his final shot at Wimbledon next month before a potential retirement after the Olympic Games in Paris.

Murray won the Davis Cup alongside his elder sibling and has revealed that they are considering a reunion for Wimbledon, which starts on July 1 in SW19. “I may do, yeah. I’m not 100 per cent sure yet,” he said.

“My brother doesn’t have a partner for Wimbledon currently. We have spoken a little bit about it. So may do that, but I’m not 100 per cent sure yet. I mean obviously Jamie could also get a good partner, as well. We’ll see what happens, but yeah, we’ll probably decide in the next few days, probably.”

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The three-time Grand Slam champion was disappointed with how things went with Evans, especially considering the tennis at the Olympics will be played at the same venue later this summer. “I guess for both of us it was kind of an opportunity to put our names in the frame to play the Olympics,” he said.

“Me and Dan obviously were hoping to have a good run here. But it wasn’t to be. So I don’t know if we’ll get the opportunity. There’s guys obviously ahead of us in the rankings, and we’ve got good doubles players in the UK. Let’s see what happens.

“It was an opportunity to have a good run and didn’t happen. I don’t regret it. Obviously when you lose, if you could have said, ‘OK, you’re going to lose in the first round’ four days ago, yeah, you would regret sticking around.

“I felt like we had a good chance to do well and we agreed if we were going to play, we would play to try and win the tournament. So no I don’t regret playing at all.

"I have been struggling a little bit with my back the last couple of weeks, so I probably needed a few lighter days anyway. Yeah, I’ll get a chance to get home, start preparing on the grass and hopefully get a few good tournaments there.”

Iga Swiatek to face Jasmine Paolini in French Open final..by Jonathan Jurejko, BBC Sport journalist at Roland Garros.

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Iga Swiatek

Iga Swiatek continued her dominance over Coco Gauff to reach the French Open final and move closer to a third straight title at Roland Garros.

World number one Swiatek will face Italian 12th seed Jasmine Paolini in Saturday's final.

Poland's Swiatek, 23, broke Gauff in the first game of the match and, apart from briefly losing serve in the second set, retained control to win 6-2 6-4.

Third seed Gauff saved three match points before Swiatek closed out victory.

The 20-year-old American has now lost 11 of her 12 matches against the world number one.

"It was intense, especially in the second set but I'm happy," said Swiatek.

"I stuck with my tactics, didn't overthink things and just went for it."

Paolini, 28, beat unseeded 17-year-old Russian Mirra Andreeva 6-3 6-1 in the second semi-final on Thursday.


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Jasmine Paolini