Carla Suarez Navarro To Play French Open Following Cancer Battle - UBITENNIS
Connect with us

Latest news

Carla Suarez Navarro To Play French Open Following Cancer Battle

The Spaniard has entered into the Grand Slam a month after finishing her treatment for Hodgkin lymphoma.

Published

on

Former top 10 player Carla Suarez Navarro will return to competitive tennis at the French Open next week for the first time since recovering from cancer.

 

The 32-year-old hasn’t played on the Tour since February 2020 after being diagnosed with an early stage of Hodgkin lymphoma during the second half of last year. An uncommon cancer that develops in the lymphatic system. Suarez Navarro has undergone extensive chemotherapy to treat the illness and was finally given the all clear just last month.

Now just weeks after being given the all clear, the Spaniard is already planning to return to the Tour with her focus being on Roland Garros. A tournament where she reached the quarter-finals on her debut back in 2008 and then again in 2014. Overall she has won 26 matches at the French Open which is more than any other Grand Slam.

“It makes me tremendously excited to be able to participate in Roland Garros. I have been working these last few months to give myself the opportunity to compete one last time in Paris. I am looking forward to jumping onto the court and feeling again how special this tournament has always been for me,” said Suarez Navarro.
“Roland Garros is a tournament that has given me some of the best moments of my career. My first great result was produced on these courts, I have very good memories after all these years and it is a joy to be able to come for the last time to compete in Paris. They are going to be some very beautiful days and I hope I can enjoy them to the fullest.” She added.

The former world No.6 had previously confirmed that she planned to retire from tennis but those plans were delayed. First, it was due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced the Tour to be suspended before she received her cancer diagnoses.

Suarez Navarro’s plans remain unchanged with her confirming the upcoming return will be a farewell Tour for her in some sense. It is unclear as to how many tournaments she will play or when she will finally step away from the sport for good.

“Tennis has given me many things and I have always wanted to say goodbye on a court. Being able to choose the last shot, having the ability to set myself a date is something I wanted from my heart. This was the illusion that has moved me to train hard in recent times,” she commented.

Suarez Navarro has reached 11 WTA finals during her career, winning titles at the 2014 Portugal Open and 2018 Qatar Open. She has also reached the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam on seven occasions and has earned more than $11.6M in prize money.

The French Open will start on Monday.

Latest news

Hamad Medjedovic wins the Next Gen Finals title in Jeddah

Published

on

Hamad Medjedovic came back from one set down to beat Arthur Fils 3-4 (6-8) 4-1 4-2 3-4 (9-11) 4-1 after 2 hours and 11 minutes at the Next Gen ATP Finals at King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah. 

 

Medjedovic hit 38 winners to 21 unforced errors. 

The first set went on serve en route to the tie-break. Medjedovic earned a mini-break to take a 3-2 lead and held two set points at 6-4, but he was not able to convert them. Fils won four consecutive points to win the tie-break 8-6. 

Medjedovic earned a break in the second game to win the second set 4-1. 

Medjedovic becomes the sixth Next Gen ATP Finals champion, joining top 10 players Stefanos Tsitsipas, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. The 20-year-old Serbian player is the lowest-ranked champion in tournament history. 

Medjedovic started the third set with an early break in the first game. The Serbian player held on his serve to seal the set 4-2. 

Medjedovic recovered from squandering two match points at 6-4 in a thrilling tie-break of the fourth set at 5-6 and 7-8. Fils saved both chances on second serves and won four of the next five points to win the tie-break 11-9 forcing the match to a deciding set. 

to win the first five-set final in tournament history. The Serbian player won 88% and converted his third match point to clinch the biggest title of his career so far. 

Medjedovic earned a break in the second game of the fifth set. Fils earned himself a penalty point for a smash of his raquet and went down 0-3. Medjedovic held on his next service games and converted his third match point. 

“Two of us from Serbia. Djokovic won the big Masters, the real one, and I won the Next Gen. Obviously it’s a huge thing and I am happy to follow in his footsteps in some way. I can’t believe I have won this title. It’s going to give me a lot of confidence for 2024. Arthur is an amazing player. He is top 40 for a reason”, said Medjedovic. 

Continue Reading

Latest news

Elena Rybakina headlines a strong line-up in Adelaide

Published

on

Elena Rybakina, Zheng Qinwen, Carolina Garcia and Angelique Kerber will highlight the Adelaide International, a WTA 500 tournament.

 

Rybakina reached the final at the Adelaide International on her tournament debut in 2022, losing to now retired Ashleigh Barty. Rybakina went on to win her first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon later last year. The Kazakh player finished runner-up to Aryna Sabalenka in the Australian Open final in 2023. 

Zheng won her first WTA 500 title in Zhengzhou and reached the final in Zhuhai, ending the 2023 season at a career-high of world number 15. 

Angelique Kerber will make her come-back to the WTA Tour at the United Cup before playing her first WTA draw in Adelaide. Kerber gave birth to her daughter Liana last February. The German player won titles at the 2016 Australian Open and in Sydney 2018 and reached in Sydney 2014 and in Brisbane 2018. 

Kerber is one of the three former number 1 players, who are making her come-back on the WTA Tour after giving birth to their children. 

Caroline Wozniacki lost to eventual champion Coco Gauff in the Round of 16 at the US Open in her third tournament back. 

Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka is planning to make her return next January after giving back to her child Shai last July. 

“It’s definitely way more tournaments than I used to play. So I think some people will be happy with that. I realized that I don’t know how the beginning of the year is going to go for me. I don’t know the level of player and I think I have to ease into it. At the very least, I will set myself up for a very good end of the year”, said Osaka.

Continue Reading

Latest news

Arthur Fils beats Luca Van Assche in all-French semifinal at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah

Published

on

World number 36 Arthur Fils beat his friend Luca Van Assche 2-4 4-1 4-3 (7-1) 4-3 (8-6) in an all-French clash after 1 hour and 37 minutes to reach the final at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah. 

 

Van Assche, who was born in Belgium but moved to Belgium when he was three years old, broke serve in the fifth game to take a 3-2 lead and served out the first set to 15. Van Assche won 12 of the last 14 points. 

Fils hit a couple of big forehands to earn three break points at 2-1 15-40. Van Assche saved one break point with a volley, but Fils converted his second chance to open up a 3-1 lead, as Van Assche netted a backhand. Fils served out with a hold at 15 to level the match at one set apiece. 

The first five games of the third set went on serve. Van Assche led 2-3 30-40 on Fils’serve to earn two set points. 

Fils saved them before racing out to a 5-0 lead. Van Assche won his first point with a forehand. Fils earned five set points and closed it out when Van Assche netted a backhand. 

Fils won 22 consecutive points on his first serve until 2-1 in the fourth set. Van Assche faced a match point at 2-3, but Van Assche saved it to force another tie-break. Fils opened up a 4-1 with a mini-break. Van Assche won three points to 4-4 before saving two match points at 4-6 and 5-6. Fils hit a forehand to earn a fourth match point and converted it when Van Assche sent a backhand over the baseline. 

Van Assche beat Fils in the boys’ singles final at 2021 Roland Garros. Fils won his first title in Lyon last May. 

“I played every point trying everything with my forehand, moving very good. I was very happy with the tie-break. Today was a tough match against a great friend. We have known each other since we were nine, so it was a little bit tough and I am happy with the win. I came onto the court with the mindset that I can win. The first set was tough, he was playing very good and defending so well, running very fast. I kept my focus and I am really happy with the win”, said Fils. 

Fils set up a final clash against Hamad Medjedovic, who advanced to the championships match, when Dominic Stricker was forced to withdraw in the second set due to a back injury in the semifinal. 

Medjedovic was leading 4-3 (7-5) 2-1 when Stricker walked to the net and ended the match. 

Medjedovic hit 12 winners to 3 unforced errors. The Serbian player won three matches in the round-robin group. 

Medjedovic won 93% of his first serve points in the first set. Stricker did not drop a point on his first serve. Medjedovic earned his only mini-break to seal the tie-break 7-5. 

Medjedovic earned an early break in the third game of the second set to take a 2-1 lead before Stricker retired from the match. 

Medjedovic reached two semifinals in Gstaad and Astana. He is coached by Viktor Troicki. Stricker advanced to the semifinals at the 2022 Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan. 

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Trending