ROME: Aryna Sabalenka breezed into the third round of the Italian Open on Thursday with a straight-sets win over Barbora Krejcikova, 6-2, 6-3.&nbsp;World number one and favourite for the women&#39;s title in the Italian capital, Sabalenka took one hour and 25 minutes to see off Czech Krejcikova in the final match of the day on centre court.&nbsp;Sabalenka has never won the Italian Open. Her run to the final two years ago, when she was lost to Iga Swiatek, her best result.&nbsp;But with the French Open around the corner, the Belorussian made no mistake against Krejcikova, a former Wimbledon and French Open champion.&nbsp;Sabalenka lost the first game on her serve, but from there comfortably dealt with Krejcikova to set up a match with Sorana Cirstea in the next round.&nbsp;&quot;I&#39;m super happy to be through. She&#39;s a great player. We had a lot of tough matches in the past,&quot; Sabalenka said on court.&nbsp;&quot;I&#39;m of course happy with the level I played and to get this tough win.&quot;&nbsp;The top seed is on the same side of the draw as Coco Gauff, who beat Sabalenka in last year&#39;s French Open final and made short work of Tereza Valentova in her opening match of the tournament.&nbsp;American star Gauff beat Valentova 6-3, 6-4 in one hour and 34 minutes in front of a sparsely-populated centre court, and will play Argentine Solana Sierra in the next round.&nbsp;Earlier, Jasmine Paolini launched her title defence by battling back from a set down to beat France&#39;s Leolia Jeanjean 6-7 (4/7), 6-2, 6-4.&nbsp;Paolini throughHome hope Paolini is bidding to become the first Italian woman to retain the title in Rome, but started slowly at the Foro Italico.&nbsp;The world number eight turned on the afterburners after going behind following an error-strewn first set, comfortably turning around the match to secure a spot in the third round, where she will meet Elise Mertens.&nbsp;&quot;This match was a bit of up and downs, for sure. But I remember last year, I mean, also a lot of up and downs during the tournament,&quot; said Paolini.&nbsp;Paolini&#39;s compatriot Matteo Berrettini fell at the first hurdle, 6-2, 6-3, to Alexei Popyrin, a defeat which will see the former Wimbledon finalist drop out of the top 100 in the men&#39;s rankings.&nbsp;The Rome native has had a hideous time with abdominal injuries in recent years, and since the start of the season -- when he had to pull out of the Australian Open -- he has won just nine matches and lost 10.&nbsp;&quot;It was a pretty bad day, I had no energy, and I wasn&#39;t able to use the energy of the crowd,&quot; said Berrettini.&nbsp;&quot;This year started in a particular way, and the only way I can move forward is to accept that there will be days like this.&quot;&nbsp;Another Italian in Lorenzo Sonego was dumped out at the first time of asking, the 30-year-old seen off in straight sets 6-3, 6-3 by Peru&#39;s Ignacio Buse on centre court.

Tennis

Aryna Sabalenka advanced to the Italian Open third round with a straight-sets win, while Coco Gauff and Jasmine Paolini also progressed; Italian men suffered early exits.
 

Sabalenka, champion Paolini open Italian Open accounts

ROME: World number one&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/aryna-sabalenka-downs-naomi-osaka-to-reach-madrid-open-quarterfinals" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Aryna Sabalenka</a>&nbsp;said Tuesday she was ready to boycott the Grand Slam tournaments in order to have a greater share of the prize money. &quot;I feel like the show is on us. Without us there wouldn&#39;t be a tournament and there wouldn&#39;t be that entertainment,&quot; the four-time Grand Slam winner told a press conference at the Italian Open. &quot;I feel like definitely we deserve to be paid more percentage. &quot;I think at some point we will boycott. I feel like that&#39;s going to be the only way to fight for our rights. &quot;We girls can easily get together and go for this because some of the things I feel like it&#39;s really unfair to the players. I think at some point it&#39;s going to get to this.&quot; Last year almost all the leading players signed two letters to the four Grand Slam bosses demanding an increase in prize money, payments into a player welfare fund to improve retirement and maternity benefits, as well as involvement in decisions that affected them. The letters set a target of a 22% share in tournament revenue, which would bring the majors in line with the nine combined 1000-level events run by the ATP men&#39;s tour and the women&#39;s WTA tour. However, Poland&#39;s Iga Swiatek, a four-time French Open singles champion, believes boycotting tournaments &quot;is a bit extreme&quot;. &quot;I think the most important thing honestly is to have proper communication and discussions with the governing bodies so we have some space to talk and maybe negotiate,&quot; said Swiatek, who has also won Wimbledon and the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/us-open-finalist-anisimova-beats-noskova-to-win-beijing-title" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">US Open</a>. &quot;Hopefully before Roland Garros there&#39;s going to be an opportunity to have these types of meetings and we&#39;ll see how they go.&quot; On Monday, players said in a statement that an announcement by the French Open last month of a 9.5% prize money rise was not good enough. It said that last year Roland Garros generated &euro;395 million ($463 million), a 14% increase. However, the total purse went up by just 5.4%, reducing player share of revenue to 14.3%. It estimated that this year&#39;s revenues would pass &euro;400 million ($468.1 million), leaving the player cut still below 15%.

Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka reacts after winning a point to US' Hailey Baptiste during their 2026 WTA Tour Madrid Open tennis tournament singles match at the Caja Magica in Madrid, on April 28, 2026. (AFP)

The Belarusian says players should consider boycotting Grand Slams to demand a larger share of prize money, arguing they deserve higher payments and stronger control over tournament revenue distribution. 

Aryna Sabalenka ready to boycott Grand Slams over prize money

MADRID: World number one&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/sabalenka-into-third-straight-brisbane-final-ahead-of-australian-open" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Aryna Sabalenka</a>&nbsp;overcame Naomi Osaka 6-7 (1/7), 6-3, 6-2 in a gripping battle on Monday to reach the Madrid Open quarter-finals. Sabalenka, who has claimed titles at Miami, Indian Wells and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/sabalenka-into-third-straight-brisbane-final-ahead-of-australian-open" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Brisbane</a>&nbsp;this year, was tested by her Japanese opponent in the fourth-round clash but came back from a set and a break down to triumph. &quot;I was just trying to take one ball at a time and my team was there for me, they really (pushed) me to keep fighting, and I&#39;m really happy that I didn&#39;t give up and I was pushing until the very last point,&quot; said Sabalenka. The first set between the two four-time Grand Slam winners was tight, with only one break point forced, by Sabalenka, which&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/naomi-osaka-rallies-to-beat-leylah-fernandez-at-wuhan-open" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Osaka</a>&nbsp;saved to hold for 2-1. Osaka dominated in the tie-break, ripping into a 5-0 lead and then triumphing when Sabalenka lashed a return wide. Sabalenka stepped up a gear in the second frame, although world number 15 Osaka dug deep to survive three break points and then managed to engineer a break for herself to take a 2-1 lead. However, the Belarusian immediately broke to love and then again in the eighth game, serving out to take the second set. Only&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/rybakina-wins-ningbo-title-to-close-in-on-wta-finals" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Elena Rybakina</a>&nbsp;has beaten Sabalenka this year, in the Australian Open final, and the 27-year-old dominated in the third set, securing breaks in the fifth and seventh games while Osaka could not put pressure on her opponent&#39;s serve. Sabalenka sealed her victory serving to love with an ace to reach the last eight, where she will face American Hailey Baptiste. &quot;She&#39;s an incredible player, we had a really tight match in Miami, and especially here in Madrid I think this surface suits her game,&quot; added Sabalenka. Later, Rybakina and Coco Gauff are in action against Anastasia Potapova and Linda Noskova respectively, while in the men&#39;s draw second seed Alexander Zverev faces Frenchman Terence Atmane in the third round. Casper Ruud eased to a 6-3, 6-1 win over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina to reach the last 16, while Stefanos Tsitsipas defeated Daniel Merida 6-4, 6-2.

Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka returns the ball to Japan’s Naomi Osaka during their 2026 WTA Tour Madrid Open tennis tournament women's singles match at the Caja Magica in Madrid, on April 27, 2026. (AFP)

The Belarusian rallied from a set down to defeat her Japanese opponent in three sets, reaching the Madrid Open quarterfinals after a hard-fought fourth-round clash on Monday.

Aryna Sabalenka downs Naomi Osaka to reach Madrid Open quarter-finals

BRISBANE: Aryna Sabalenka beat Karolina Muchova in straight sets to reach her third Brisbane International final in a row on Saturday, a week before the Australian Open.&nbsp;Sabalenka looked in great touch against the tricky Czech, who had won their last three meetings and went into the match as one of the few players with a winning record over the world number one.&nbsp;But Sabalenka showed her class and power as she broke Muchova once in each set to take the semi-final 6-3, 6-4 in 89 minutes and will face Ukraine&#39;s Marta Kostyuk in Sunday&#39;s women&#39;s final.&nbsp;Former world number one Daniil Medvedev will take on unseeded American Brandon Nakashima in the men&#39;s final.&nbsp;&quot;I struggled against her a couple of times (in the past),&quot; Sabalenka, the defending champion, said of Muchova.&nbsp;&quot;I&#39;m happy that today I was focused from the beginning and I was able to show such great tennis and put her under so much pressure and get the win in straight sets.&quot;&nbsp;The 27-year-old Belarusian said she could feel her level getting better with every match in Brisbane, where she is yet to drop a set.&nbsp;She said that with seven of the world&#39;s top 10 having entered, it was ideal preparation for the Australian Open, which begins in Melbourne on January 18.&nbsp;Sabalenka is aiming to win a third Australian Open in four years.&nbsp;&quot;I definitely feel that compared to the first match here, I&#39;m playing better and better,&quot; she said.&nbsp;&quot;That&#39;s really important heading to Melbourne, to build that level, and to play some great matches against great opponents.&nbsp;&quot;So I&#39;m super happy with the performance so far and cannot wait to play my final match here.&quot;&nbsp;Kostyuk, who entered the week ranked 26th in the world, swept past world number six Jessica Pegula 6-0, 6-3 in just 55 minutes in a stunning display of power and aggression.&nbsp;Kostyuk&#39;s demolition of the American made it three wins over top 10 players in succession.&nbsp;She beat world number three Amanda Anisimova in the third round and ninth-ranked Mirra Andreeva in the quarter-finals.&nbsp;&quot;I think it was one of those days today when everything you touch turns into gold,&quot; Kostyuk said.&nbsp;&quot;Personally, I didn&#39;t have many matches like this in my career, especially against top-10 players, so it&#39;s a great bonus to have such a match because it&#39;s not easy conditions in Brisbane. It&#39;s very hot, very humid.&quot;&nbsp;Kostyuk has never beaten Sabalenka in four previous meetings but said the pressure was all on her opponent.&nbsp;&quot;The pressure is not on me -- I want to go out there and put on a good show for the crowd,&quot; she said.&nbsp;&quot;I really have nothing to lose.&quot;&nbsp;In the men&#39;s draw, top seed Medvedev beat Alex Michelsen of the United States 6-4, 6-2 while Nakashima defeated another American in Aleksandar Kovacevic, 7-6 (7/4), 6-4.

Aryna Sabalenka reached her third straight Brisbane final after beating Karolina Muchova and will face Marta Kostyuk. Daniil Medvedev also advanced to the men’s final, as players prepare for the Australian Open.

Sabalenka into third straight Brisbane final ahead of Australian Open

WUHAN: US Open champion Aryna Sabalenka&#39;s winning streak at the Wuhan Open rolled on to 19 matches when she beat Liudmila Samsonova 6-3, 6-2 Thursday to advance to the quarterfinals of the WTA 1000-level tournament. Top-ranked Sabalenka&#39;s streak includes winning titles at Wuhan in 2018, 2019 and 2024. Earlier, Jessica Pegula recovered from an early service break in the third set to beat Ekaterina Alexandrova 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 and also advance to the final eight. Sixth-seeded Pegula, who lost in the China Open semifinals last week, leveled the deciding set at 2-2, then won four of the last five games for victory. The win over No 9 Alexandrova came a day after Pegula needed seven match points to beat fellow American Hailey Baptiste in the second round. Sixth straight three-set match&nbsp;It was Pegula&#39;s sixth straight three-set match, and for the fifth time, she won. &ldquo;I can&rsquo;t remember the last time I played two sets,&rdquo; Pegula said. &ldquo;But I&rsquo;ve been competing really hard and I&rsquo;ve been playing a lot of really good players. It was different conditions today with the roof closed and I think it took us a little while to get adjusted.&rdquo; In night matches, No 2 Iga Swiatek was scheduled to play Belinda Bencic and No 3 Coco Gauff, coming off a semifinal loss to eventual champion Amanda Anisimova at the China Open last week, was due to face Zhang Shuai.

The US Open champion advances to the quarterfinals of the WTA 1,000-level tournament. Jessica Pegula also reached the final eight after another three-set win.

Aryna Sabalenka's Wuhan winning streak reaches 19 matches

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ISLAMABAD:&nbsp;World number one Aryna Sabalenka retained her U.S. Open title on Saturday, defeating American Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 7-6 (7-3) in straight sets at Arthur Ashe Stadium to claim her fourth Grand Slam crown. This title marks Sabalenka&rsquo;s second straight title in New York, making her the first woman since Serena Williams to win back-to-back US Opens. The Belarusian-based champion entered the match after losses in the Australian and French Open finals earlier this year. &#39;Super proud of myself&#39;&ldquo;Going into this final, I decided for myself that I&rsquo;m going to control my emotions. I&rsquo;m not going to let them take control over me,&rdquo; she told Reuters after the win. She added, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m super proud right now of myself.&rdquo; Anisimova, playing in her second Slam final, admitted the home atmosphere helped her stay in the match. &ldquo;They were really backing me, and I think that was really helpful to try and stay in the match,&rdquo; she said in comments reported by AP. She added that the closed roof made serving difficult, saying, &ldquo;I could not see the ball when I was serving&hellip; that made my serving today very, very difficult.&rdquo; 100th Grand Slam winThe victory marked Sabalenka&rsquo;s 100th Grand Slam match win as she celebrated with champagne and a pat on her trainer&rsquo;s head. With the title in hand, Sabalenka reinforced her reputation as the &ldquo;queen of hardcourts,&rdquo; Reuters reported. &ldquo;All those tough lessons were worth it for this one,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m speechless right now.&rdquo;&nbsp;

Aryna Sabalenka defended her US Open crown by beating Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 7-6 (7-3), becoming the first woman since Serena Williams to win back-to-back titles in New York and securing her fourth Grand Slam

Articles tagged with "Aryna Sabalenka"

Sabalenka, champion Paolini open Italian Open accounts

Aryna Sabalenka ready to boycott Grand Slams over prize money

Aryna Sabalenka downs Naomi Osaka to reach Madrid Open quarter-finals

Sabalenka into third straight Brisbane final ahead of Australian Open

Aryna Sabalenka's Wuhan winning streak reaches 19 matches

Sabalenka stands undefeated: retains US Open crown