Tennis News

The mighty Williams sisters — Venus and Serena — will play in their fourth Australian Open final.

MELBOURNE: Asian players go into the opening Grand Slam of the season with plenty still to prove, and at least one will be going home today.

The golden era in Belgian tennis is in full swing. The golden era in Belgian tennis is in full swing.

With a big serve and some big groundshots, second seed Serena Williams pounded out a 7-5, 6-1 victory over fourth-seeded Julie Halard-Decugis in the Toyota Princess final in Tokyo today.

Wild-card entrant Shinobu Asagoe of Japan upset fourth seed Amanda Coetzer of France 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 today, advancing to the quarter-finals of the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, a WTA Tour event.

Five and a half years after retiring from the WTA Tour, Martina Navratilova looked impressive on her return today as she and South African partner Mariaan de Swardt won their opening-round doubles match at the Villa de Madrid tournament in Spain in two sets.

Thailand secured the final spot in the Hopman Cup tennis field by winning both singles matches in their qualifying match against Japan at the Burswood Dome in Perth, Australia today.

TOKYO: Former world number four Kimiko Date-Krumm, enjoying a comeback after more than a decade in retirement, was selected Monday for Japan’s Fed Cup squad for the first time in 14 years.

Martina Navratilova, aged 47 years, eight months and three days, yesterday won the 120th singles match of her 31-year Wimbledon career, and her 303rd match in total.

It was a sentimental tennis season. Marat Safin , Amelie Mauresmo and Ai Sugiyama retired and actually appeared to mean it.

Ai Sugiyama on Monday warned not to expect a Kimiko Date Krumm-style comeback and says she is loving life outside the WTA Tour after recently drawing to a close her 17-year career.

Time: 2009 Dec 07 12:00 - 14:00 Summary: Language: Description: Is Ai Sugiyama Japan’s greatest ever tennis player? The former world junior No.

Women’s tennis has witnessed some comings - Kim Clijsters and Kimiko Date Krumm - and goings - Ai Sugiyama - this year.

Top seed Serena Williams was forced to retire with a knee injury down 6-2 3-1 against Canada’s Aleksandra Wozniak in the semi-finals of the Stanford Classic on Saturday.

It wasn’t with a victory, but Ai Sugiyama closed out her 17-year career with a smile and the praise of her peers.

After Maria Sharapova’s injury-shortened victory in the singles final left Japanese tennis fans hungry for more Saturday afternoon at Ariake Colosseum, Ai Sugiyama hoped to brighten the mood with a doubles win in her farewell match as a professional.

Japan’s Ai Sugiyama retired from tennis on a losing note as she was defeated in the doubles final of the Pan Pacific Open in Japan.

For a tournament that lost the top-ranked player in the world and its top six seeds before the second round, getting a singles final between former world No.

The court at Tokyo’s Ariake Colosseum has always been a special place for Maria Sharapova.

Ana has paid tribute to Ai Sugiyama, the former world No.8 who retired from tennis during this week’s Toray Pan Pacific Open in her native Japan.

Kimiko Date Krumm became the oldest player to win a WTA tournament since Billie Jean King when she capped a remarkable comeback by beating second-seeded Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain 6-3, 6-3 to claim the Korea Open title Sunday.

As bad as Ai Sugiyama felt on the court, being unable to finish the match that would close out her singles career only made it that much worse.

AFP, Tokyo Former Japanese doubles world number one Ai Sugiyama received an emotional reception Sunday at the Pan Pacific Open tennis tournament-her final event before retirement.

FROM LEFT: Dinara Safina of Russia, Ai Sugiyama and Ayumi Morita both of Japan and Venus Williams of the US pose at the end of a news conference for the Pan Pacific Open tournament in Tokyo yesterday.

Clijsters, playing her third tournament after taking more than two years off to start a family, clinched her 93-minute victory with a forehand winner and dropped to her knees in celebration, visibly sobbing.

A tearful Ai Sugiyama confirmed Friday that she was retiring from pro tennis at the end of the season.

American Vania King upset No. 15 seed Samantha Stosur 7-5, 6-4 on Wednesday. King , 20, is currently ranked just outside the top 100 in women’s singles, and up until now her biggest result when going solo had been a single title in Bangkok in 2006.

Don Johnson and Kimberly Po overcame teen-agers Lleyton Hewitt and Kim Clijsters 6-4, 7-6 today to win the Wimbledon’s mixed doubles title.

News, notes and fun from the U.S. National Tennis Center. Serena Williams cruising Arthur Staple She’s up a set and two breaks in the second, on her way to the second round.

Agnieszka Radwanska, of Poland, returns the ball to Patricia Mayr, of Austria, during the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York, on Aug.