Sports / Tennis

Serena Williams to play at Wimbledon aged 40 and could face Emma Raducanu in mouth-watering clash

The seven-time singles champion, will make a sensational appearance at the 2022 Championships in her first competitive singles match in a year.

The American withdrew from the 2021 tournament after tearing her hamstring on Centre Court after six completed games of the first set against Belarussian Aliaksandra Sasnovich.

Williams has fallen to 1,208 in the WTA world rankings due to her inactivity but there was never any doubt someone of her stature would be missed off the initial wildcard list.

All England Club chiefs had to change their plans and bring forward the announcement by a day after an unexpected social media message by Williams to her 14.9million followers on Instagram.

The 23-time Grand Slam champion posted a photo of her white Nike trainers on grass and captioned it with: “SW (Serena Williams) and SW19. It’s a date. See you there. Let’s go.”

Raducanu, 19, will be seeded in the first round and if the draw is unkind, she could play the global superstar on the hallowed green turf.

As part of her warm-up plans, Williams will appear at the Eastbourne International next week but in doubles action alongside Tunisian world No.4 Ons Jabeur.

Tim Henman, who is on the committee board at Wimbledon, said: “It is a good selection on the women’s side.

“Serena requested one actually a couple of weeks ago and she is going to play down at Eastbourne.…

Sports / Tennis

Emma Raducanu out of French Open after Aliaksandra Sasnovich fightback

Emma Raducanu ran out of steam as her French Open dream was ended in the second round by Aliaksandra Sasnovich.

The British number one looked in fine shape after an excellent first set, but she was unable to maintain that early momentum and slipped to a 3-6 6-1 6-1 defeat.

Sasnovich, the world number 47 from Belarus, had emphatically won their only previous meeting, 6-2 6-4 in Indian Wells last October in Raducanu’s first match after winning the US Open.

But a pumped-up Raducanu broke her opponent in the fifth game of the opening set. Sending Sasnovich wide whenever possible, the 19-year-old from Kent unleashed a couple of fearsome backhands and finished the job with a blistering forehand.

A second break wrapped up the opening set before a wobbly start to the second, including a pair of double faults – her first of the match – saw Sasnovich snatch a double break and a 4-0 lead.

Raducanu’s winners had dried up; she hit just four to Sasnovich’s 19 in a stinker of a set as the 28-year-old from Minsk levelled the match.

A reset was required and, after a quick departure from the court, Raducanu reached 30-30 on the Sasnovich serve only to dump a backhand into the net, prompting to  cover her face with her racket in frustration.

Nevertheless, the fist pumps were back as she saved a break point to hold for 1-1.

But game three was to prove pivotal, Sasnovich fending off five break points amid seven deuces to hold, and moments later Raducanu mistimed a forehand and found herself a break down.

Sasnovich was now in complete control with Raducanu unable to stem the flow of winners, and she went on to run away with the set and reach the third round for the first time.…

Sports / Tennis

Marcus Rashford and Andy Murray Support Emma Raducanu

Emma Raducanu was forced to withdraw from Wimbledon after struggling with her breathing during the second set of her fourth-round match with Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic; Marcus Rashford leads defence of the teenager after she faced criticism for pulling out of the match.

Raducanu revealed she struggled with her breathing and felt dizzy during her fourth-round Wimbledon clash with Ajla Tomljanovic on Monday before being advised to retire.

Difficulty breathing was given as the official reason for her withdrawal on Monday night but the initial lack of explanation for what caused it led to intense speculation.

John McEnroe was heavily criticized after jumping to the conclusion immediately after the match on the BBC that she could not handle the occasion, and Piers Morgan said on Twitter saying she needed to toughen up.

Andy Murray weighed in, replying to a tweet from Kevin Pietersen about mental toughness being what separated good athletes from great ones, although the former England cricketer later insisted he had not been referring to Raducanu.

Murray wrote: “No question mental toughness can be what separates the best in sport but surely both of you aren’t judging her mental toughness on yesterday’s match?!

“I think some of what he (McEnroe) said was fair yes.. however the timing of it was a bit off considering nobody had any clue what her issue was injury/illness/breathings issues etc at the time of his comments.”

Several other sports stars then got behind the teenager who announced herself as a new star of British tennis by reaching the last 16 on her debut at the All England Club.

Rashford, who has taken on politicians in his bid to improve childrens’ lives for the better, drew

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Sports / Tennis

Teenager Emma Raducanu reaches the third round on her Wimbledon debut

The 18-year-old, who sat her A-Levels just two months ago, overcame her Czech opponent 6-2 6-4 having been a late wild card entry into the tournament.

It follows on from her first-round win against Vitalia Diatchenko and means she is now Britain’s last woman standing in the singles at the All England Club. The world No 338 will now face Sorana Cirstea after the Romanian beat 12th seed Victoria Azarenka 7-6 3-6 6-4.

Raducanu had showcased her impressive serve early on as she claimed the first set 6-2, but found herself three love down in the second amid a fightback from the world No 42 Vondrousova, who was runner-up at the 2019 French Open.

The Grand Slam debutante held her nerve and clawed her way back to three games apiece, eventually securing a crucial break courtesy of a double fault to earn a 5-4 advantage before serving out for a landmark victory in one hour and 12 minutes.

In sealing a place in the next round Raducana will earn £115,000, almost quadruple her career earnings heading into the match having only made her debut on the WTA Tour in June.…