Rio Open Fixtures & Upcoming Matches

Saturday, 22 Feb 2025

20:00

Sebastian BaezCamilo Ugo Carabelli

21:30

Francisco Comesana Alexandre Muller

News

WADA defends Sinner's three-month ban as 'appropriate' amid tennis outrage

Following their decision to appeal the International Tennis Integrity Agency's decision not to suspend Sinner after he twice tested positive for the anabolic steroid clostebol in March last year, WADA repeatedly stated they would ask for a suspension of between 12 months and 24 months. The World No 1 has won seven titles – including the US Open last September and the Australian Open in January – since the failed drug tests. His case was due to be heard by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in mid-April, but both parties dropped a bombshell last week as it was revealed that they had reached an agreement with the Italian's ban a lot shorter than the minimum one year that was initially demanded. A statement read: "The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) confirms that it has entered into a case resolution agreement in the case of Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner, with the player accepting a three-month period of ineligibility for an anti-doping rule violation that led to him testing positive for clostebol, a prohibited substance, in March 2024." With the ban running from 9 February to 4 May, Sinner is set to miss six ATP Tour events and will likely return to action at the Italian Open. The ruling has left many in the tennis community outraged with Nick Kyrgios stating: "Obviously Sinner's team have done everything in their power to just go ahead and take a 3-month ban, no titles lost, no prize money lost. Guilty or not? Sad day for tennis. Fairness in tennis does not exist." Three-time Grand Slam winner Stan Wawrinka wrote on social media “I don't believe in clean sport anymore”. But WADA Vice-President Yang Yang fired back in an interview with Xinhua: "The whole anti-doping process is highly professional and technical, which is really difficult for many to understand." WADA confirmed that it has the ability to adjust its sanction framework to make sure everyone gets a fair deal, stating: "One of its primary functions is to ensure that unique cases which do not fall squarely within the sanction framework can be adjudicated appropriately and fairly, provided that all parties and WADA agree." It further stated that a 12-month ban would have been "unduly severe" once you take into account "the level of seriousness of the violation given its specific facts". Yang stated the organisation was "pleased" with the way they have handled the case despite the criticism. "Under the current Code revision, it is already proposed that the minimum sanction in case of contamination is a reprimand, so [the sanction is] three months. It is well within what is recommended for adoption at the world conference," Yang said. "So WADA considered a three-month ban was appropriate in [the] Sinner case. We are pleased to have been able to deal with this matter in an open and transparent way."

1 hour ago

Russian phenom Mirra Andreeva becomes youngest-ever woman to reach WTA 1000 final

The No 12 seed was victorious 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 against the Kazakh, and will face Clara Tauson in the Dubai final. Andreeva's win made history, with the superstar now the youngest woman to reach a WTA 1000 final since its inception back in 2009. Additionally, the Russian is the first woman to beat three Grand Slam champions at the same event since Maria Sharapova did so in 2004 at the WTA Finals. She had already claimed the record for the youngest woman to beat multiple such champions during a WTA 1000 event after her prior match. Dubai finalist Andreeva defeated former Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova in the second round, before dominating five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek in the quarter-finals, prior to her win over the 2022 Wimbledon champion in the last four. Maria Sharapova toppled Svetlana Kuznetsova, Anastasia Myskina, and Serena Williams en route to the 2004 year-end championships in Los Angeles. "Honestly it's crazy because, at first, I was not very positive before coming to Dubai," said Andreeva, after the win over Rybakina, "I was like, okay, well, I'm just going to play. "Last time we played it was a really tough match… She went for her shots and killed me in the end. This time I knew she'd hit hard. I tried to fight for every point and kept believing. "I just tried to accept when things didn't go my way. I fought for every point and kept believing and, in the end, it went my way. "In the end when you don't think about what's going to happen, it always ends up being one of the best tournaments of your career. I don't know if it's a paradox or something, but it's just like this." The WTA 1000 tournament in Dubai will be Andreeva's second tour-level final, with the first occurring at the lasi Open last year – where she defeated Elina Avanesyan in the championship match. Whilst the Russian is the youngest-ever woman to make a WTA 1000 final, two other teenagers have reached the same stage. In 2021, Iga Swiatek defeated Karolina Pliskova in the final of the Rome Masters – at the age of 19. Two years later, Coco Gauff lifted the trophy at the Cincinnati Open when she was victorious against Karolina Muchova – also at the age of 19. Her win over Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals had already handed the Russian multiple impressive records. At 17 years and 297 days, Andreeva became the youngest woman to reach the last four of the event and the youngest-ever player to defeat the Pole. The No 12 seed, after her victory over Swiatek, was also the youngest WTA player to earn five wins against top 10-ranked opponents since Nicole Vaidisova in 2007 at the age of 17 years and 273 days.

1 hour ago