Canada defeated Italy on Sunday to win the Billie Jean King Cup for the first time in their history. Leylah Fernandez defeated Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 6-3 and Marina Stakusic topped Martina Trevisan 7-5, 6-3 in order to hand Canada a 2-0 series victory.

Runner-up in the 2021 US Open, Fernandez proved to be Canada’s standout player of the tournament, providing the team with four victories. 18-year-old Stakusic also proved to be an exciting player to watch, entering the tournament without having ever beaten a top 100 player and going on to defeat three.

“I’m so happy and honored that I could play this week,” Stakusic exclaimed. “This has been the best week of my life.” Canada is the 13th team to win the Billie Jean King Cup, winning $2.4 million in prize money due to their victory.

The post Canada Wins Billie Jean King Cup appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Rafael Nadal is expected to miss the remainder of this year’s ATP Tour after undergoing surgery on a hip muscle, his representative, Benito Perez-Barbadillo, confirmed. The recovery time for this injury is expected to be five months.

“Rafa will begin his progressive functional rehabilitation in a few hours, and the normal recovery process is estimated at five months, always taking into account respecting the biological times of said structure,” Perez-Barbadillo told reporters.

Currently, joint-holder of the men’s singles record for career Grand Slams at 22 titles, Nadal has been sidelined since January, when he withdrew from his second-round match in the Australian Open after suffering a hip flexor injury.

Previously, Nadal hinted that 2024 could be his final season of tennis before retirement. While he misses this season’s Roland Garros, Nadal will hope to recover in time to be able to make one last appearance at the 2024 French Open; the tournament he has won on a record 14 occasions.

The post Nadal Out for Rest of Season Following Surgery appeared first on SportzBonanza.

WTA world number three Jessica Pegula has become the highest-ranked women’s singles player to be eliminated from the French Open. The 29-year-old American was defeated 6-1, 6-3 by Belgian Elise Mertens in the third round of the competition on Friday.

Pegula struggled to find form at the start of the match, allowing Mertens to race to a 5-0 lead in the first set after just 26 minutes of play. The American also lost her composure, throwing her racket to the ground in frustration after Mertens broke her service for a second consecutive time.

“I feel like I was still playing good points,” Pegula said after her loss. “Elise was just being really tough, not making a lot of errors and making me play every single ball. And with the windy conditions, I felt like it definitely played into her game.”

Mertens, a former number-one doubles player, will face 2021 French Open runner-up Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the fourth round on Sunday. She will hope to make it past the fourth round for the first time in the competition in her career.

The post Third-Ranked Jessica Pegula Out of Roland Garros appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Mirra Andreeva celebrated her 16th birthday on Saturday by securing her spot in the Round of 16 of the Madrid Open. The Russian teenager defeated Magda Linette 6-3 6-3 in what was a major upset for the Australian Open semifinalist.

Andreeva began her unlikely Madrid Open journey on Wednesday when she faced the 2021 U.S. Open finalist Leylah Annie Fernandez in the Round of 128. There, she stunned Fernandez with a straight sets victory of 6-3 6-4, becoming the third-youngest player in history to win a match at a WTA 1000 event. The WTA world number 194 then went on to face Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia, whom she dispatched with a tight 6-7 (6) 3-6 triumph.

The rising star is now set to face WTA world number 2 Aryna Sabalenka in the Round of 16.

“I didn’t expect to be here and playing Sabalenka in the round of 16,” Andreeva exclaimed after her win. “I’m not really surprised with my level, because I know the way I can play on the court. But of course, I didn’t expect to be here and go this far.”

The post Mirra Andreeva Wins in Madrid on 16th Birthday appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Former Wimbledon runner-up Matteo Berrettini will miss this year’s Italian Open as he continues to recover from a stomach muscle tear. The Italian injured his oblique muscle during the Monte Carlo Masters and withdrew from his round of 16 match against Holger Rune as a result.

“I have been holding on to the hope of being able to compete in Rome, a tournament that means so much to me and where all my dreams started,” Berrettini said of his home tournament in an Instagram post. “However my latest scan results show I still need at least a week before I can start training physically again.”

Currently ranked 21 in the ATP World Rankings, Berrettini is hopeful that he will be able to recover and resume training early enough to compete in Roland Garros, which is set to commence on May 28. There, he will be hoping to surpass his best finish in the competition to date, namely, the quarterfinals in 2021.

The post Matteo Berrettini to Miss Italian Open appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Former US Open champion Emma Raducanu withdrew from the Madrid Open due to a right-hand injury. The British player’s announcement came shortly before she was scheduled to play Viktoriya Tomova in the first round of the competition on Wednesday.

Since her fairytale run to the 2021 US Open trophy as an 18-year-old qualifier, Raducanu has struggled to get her form back on track between dealing with various injuries and fitness struggles.

Raducanu fell in the second round of this year’s Australian Open before exiting in the first round of the Miami Open and the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart. The 20-year-old player is now faced with the prospect of falling outside the top 100 in the WTA World Rankings since her sole Grand Slam triumph.

Joining Raducanu on the sidelines are defending Madrid Open champions Ons Jabeur, who was ruled out of the tournament due to an injured left calf, and Karolina Pliskova, who incurred a knee injury during her loss to Iga Swiatek in Stuttgart last week.

All three players will be hoping to recover when this year’s next Grand Slam, Roland Garros, gets underway on 28 May.

The post Emma Raducanu Withdraws From Madrid Open Due to Injury appeared first on SportzBonanza.

2020 Olympic Women’s tennis champion Belinda Bencic will not be participating in the upcoming WTA tournaments in Madrid and Rome due to experiencing “discomfort” in her hip. These clay court tournaments are widely viewed as precursors to Roland Garros—the Grand Slam tournament that Bencic hopes to be fit to compete in.

Bencic explained that she first began feeling hip discomfort during the WTA Tour’s U.S. swing, which concluded when the Swiss player lost to Ons Jabeur in the final of the Charleston Open.

“I have some discomfort on my hip, which I struggled with during the U.S. swing as well, and need to take a little rest and recover to be back at 100% for Roland Garros,” Bencic posted on Instagram. “I will miss both tournaments dearly but will be back in a few weeks and can’t wait to be back competing soon and continuing in great form.”

Currently ranked 11 in the WTA world singles rankings, Bencic won the Adelaide International 2 title in January as well as the Abu Dhabi Open in February.

The post Belinda Bencic to Miss Madrid And Rome Tournament Due to Hip Setback appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Two-time Grand Slam women’s champion Garbine Muguruza announced on Monday that she would be taking an extended break from tennis this year. The 29-year-old Spanish national will miss this year’s Roland Garros and Wimbledon tournaments as a result of her decision.

“Spending time with family and friends and it’s really been healthy and amazing, so I am going to lengthen this period till summer,” Muguruza commented. “Therefore I am going to miss [the] clay and grass season.”

Muguruza won the French Open in 2016 and Wimbledon in 2017, becoming the WTA world number one in the process. In 2021, Muguruza was ranked third in the world after winning three WTA titles, however, her form declined going into 2022.

Now ranked 132 in the WTA rankings, Muguruza has played just four matches this year, each of which resulted in defeat. Muguruza’s last match came in February when she lost to Czech teenager Linda Noskova in the first round of the Lyon Open. Since 2021, Muguruza has been unable to get past the quarterfinals of any event.

The post Garbine Muguruza Announces Break From Tennis appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Former WTA world number 3 Elina Svitolina is looking to return to the WTA tour at the Charleston Open in South Carolina next month, the organizers of the event confirmed. Svitolina accepted a wild card entry into the tournament.

Svitolina, who last played at the Miami Open last year, has been absent from tennis due to giving birth to her daughter Skai. She has since been spending her downtime with her daughter as well as her husband, ATP tennis player Gael Monfils.

In addition to returning to the WTA Tour, Svitolina has also partnered with the Charleston Open and WTA Charities to host the “Tennis Plays for Peace” pro-am event, with the proceeds of the event going to Ukraine as well the Elina Svitolina Foundation.

Increasing awareness and raising funds for Ukraine is very important to us as a tournament and to our players,” Charleston Open director Bob Moran announced. “We are passionate about working with Elina, who has a deep and personal understanding of the needs in her home country right now, to further exemplify the mission of Tennis Plays for Peace and stand united with Ukraine.”

The post Svitolina Targets WTA Return At Charleston Open Following Childbirth appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Rafael Nadal is looking to make his return from his hip injury at the Monte Carlo Masters next month, thereby giving himself some clay court action before the return of Roland Garros.

The tournament, which begins on April 8, will be Nadal’s first appearance since the Australian Open, which he pulled out of after picking up a left hip flexor injury. He also missed out on the Indian Wells and Miami Open Masters tournaments as a result of his injury.

“Rafa was the first [player] to be registered,” Monte Carlo Masters tournament director David Massey confirmed on Wednesday. “He really wants to play at the Monte Carlo Masters and is giving himself every chance to take part in the tournament he’s so fond of.”

At 36 years old, Rafael Nadal holds the record for most wins at the Monte Carlo Masters, winning the tournament a record 11 times. This includes an Open era record streak of eight consecutive titles from 2005 to 2012.

For Nadal, the Monte Carlo Masters is a key part of his preparation for the Roland Garros Grand Slam, where he has won 14 titles. Nadal has won a record 22-time Grand Slams throughout his career.

The post Nadal Eyes Monte Carlo For Injury Return appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Canada defeated Italy on Sunday to win the Billie Jean King Cup for the first time in their history. Leylah Fernandez defeated Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 6-3 and Marina Stakusic topped Martina Trevisan 7-5, 6-3 in order to hand Canada a 2-0 series victory.

Runner-up in the 2021 US Open, Fernandez proved to be Canada’s standout player of the tournament, providing the team with four victories. 18-year-old Stakusic also proved to be an exciting player to watch, entering the tournament without having ever beaten a top 100 player and going on to defeat three.

“I’m so happy and honored that I could play this week,” Stakusic exclaimed. “This has been the best week of my life.” Canada is the 13th team to win the Billie Jean King Cup, winning $2.4 million in prize money due to their victory.

The post Canada Wins Billie Jean King Cup appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Rafael Nadal is expected to miss the remainder of this year’s ATP Tour after undergoing surgery on a hip muscle, his representative, Benito Perez-Barbadillo, confirmed. The recovery time for this injury is expected to be five months.

“Rafa will begin his progressive functional rehabilitation in a few hours, and the normal recovery process is estimated at five months, always taking into account respecting the biological times of said structure,” Perez-Barbadillo told reporters.

Currently, joint-holder of the men’s singles record for career Grand Slams at 22 titles, Nadal has been sidelined since January, when he withdrew from his second-round match in the Australian Open after suffering a hip flexor injury.

Previously, Nadal hinted that 2024 could be his final season of tennis before retirement. While he misses this season’s Roland Garros, Nadal will hope to recover in time to be able to make one last appearance at the 2024 French Open; the tournament he has won on a record 14 occasions.

The post Nadal Out for Rest of Season Following Surgery appeared first on SportzBonanza.

WTA world number three Jessica Pegula has become the highest-ranked women’s singles player to be eliminated from the French Open. The 29-year-old American was defeated 6-1, 6-3 by Belgian Elise Mertens in the third round of the competition on Friday.

Pegula struggled to find form at the start of the match, allowing Mertens to race to a 5-0 lead in the first set after just 26 minutes of play. The American also lost her composure, throwing her racket to the ground in frustration after Mertens broke her service for a second consecutive time.

“I feel like I was still playing good points,” Pegula said after her loss. “Elise was just being really tough, not making a lot of errors and making me play every single ball. And with the windy conditions, I felt like it definitely played into her game.”

Mertens, a former number-one doubles player, will face 2021 French Open runner-up Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the fourth round on Sunday. She will hope to make it past the fourth round for the first time in the competition in her career.

The post Third-Ranked Jessica Pegula Out of Roland Garros appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Mirra Andreeva celebrated her 16th birthday on Saturday by securing her spot in the Round of 16 of the Madrid Open. The Russian teenager defeated Magda Linette 6-3 6-3 in what was a major upset for the Australian Open semifinalist.

Andreeva began her unlikely Madrid Open journey on Wednesday when she faced the 2021 U.S. Open finalist Leylah Annie Fernandez in the Round of 128. There, she stunned Fernandez with a straight sets victory of 6-3 6-4, becoming the third-youngest player in history to win a match at a WTA 1000 event. The WTA world number 194 then went on to face Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia, whom she dispatched with a tight 6-7 (6) 3-6 triumph.

The rising star is now set to face WTA world number 2 Aryna Sabalenka in the Round of 16.

“I didn’t expect to be here and playing Sabalenka in the round of 16,” Andreeva exclaimed after her win. “I’m not really surprised with my level, because I know the way I can play on the court. But of course, I didn’t expect to be here and go this far.”

The post Mirra Andreeva Wins in Madrid on 16th Birthday appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Former Wimbledon runner-up Matteo Berrettini will miss this year’s Italian Open as he continues to recover from a stomach muscle tear. The Italian injured his oblique muscle during the Monte Carlo Masters and withdrew from his round of 16 match against Holger Rune as a result.

“I have been holding on to the hope of being able to compete in Rome, a tournament that means so much to me and where all my dreams started,” Berrettini said of his home tournament in an Instagram post. “However my latest scan results show I still need at least a week before I can start training physically again.”

Currently ranked 21 in the ATP World Rankings, Berrettini is hopeful that he will be able to recover and resume training early enough to compete in Roland Garros, which is set to commence on May 28. There, he will be hoping to surpass his best finish in the competition to date, namely, the quarterfinals in 2021.

The post Matteo Berrettini to Miss Italian Open appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Former US Open champion Emma Raducanu withdrew from the Madrid Open due to a right-hand injury. The British player’s announcement came shortly before she was scheduled to play Viktoriya Tomova in the first round of the competition on Wednesday.

Since her fairytale run to the 2021 US Open trophy as an 18-year-old qualifier, Raducanu has struggled to get her form back on track between dealing with various injuries and fitness struggles.

Raducanu fell in the second round of this year’s Australian Open before exiting in the first round of the Miami Open and the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart. The 20-year-old player is now faced with the prospect of falling outside the top 100 in the WTA World Rankings since her sole Grand Slam triumph.

Joining Raducanu on the sidelines are defending Madrid Open champions Ons Jabeur, who was ruled out of the tournament due to an injured left calf, and Karolina Pliskova, who incurred a knee injury during her loss to Iga Swiatek in Stuttgart last week.

All three players will be hoping to recover when this year’s next Grand Slam, Roland Garros, gets underway on 28 May.

The post Emma Raducanu Withdraws From Madrid Open Due to Injury appeared first on SportzBonanza.

2020 Olympic Women’s tennis champion Belinda Bencic will not be participating in the upcoming WTA tournaments in Madrid and Rome due to experiencing “discomfort” in her hip. These clay court tournaments are widely viewed as precursors to Roland Garros—the Grand Slam tournament that Bencic hopes to be fit to compete in.

Bencic explained that she first began feeling hip discomfort during the WTA Tour’s U.S. swing, which concluded when the Swiss player lost to Ons Jabeur in the final of the Charleston Open.

“I have some discomfort on my hip, which I struggled with during the U.S. swing as well, and need to take a little rest and recover to be back at 100% for Roland Garros,” Bencic posted on Instagram. “I will miss both tournaments dearly but will be back in a few weeks and can’t wait to be back competing soon and continuing in great form.”

Currently ranked 11 in the WTA world singles rankings, Bencic won the Adelaide International 2 title in January as well as the Abu Dhabi Open in February.

The post Belinda Bencic to Miss Madrid And Rome Tournament Due to Hip Setback appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Two-time Grand Slam women’s champion Garbine Muguruza announced on Monday that she would be taking an extended break from tennis this year. The 29-year-old Spanish national will miss this year’s Roland Garros and Wimbledon tournaments as a result of her decision.

“Spending time with family and friends and it’s really been healthy and amazing, so I am going to lengthen this period till summer,” Muguruza commented. “Therefore I am going to miss [the] clay and grass season.”

Muguruza won the French Open in 2016 and Wimbledon in 2017, becoming the WTA world number one in the process. In 2021, Muguruza was ranked third in the world after winning three WTA titles, however, her form declined going into 2022.

Now ranked 132 in the WTA rankings, Muguruza has played just four matches this year, each of which resulted in defeat. Muguruza’s last match came in February when she lost to Czech teenager Linda Noskova in the first round of the Lyon Open. Since 2021, Muguruza has been unable to get past the quarterfinals of any event.

The post Garbine Muguruza Announces Break From Tennis appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Former WTA world number 3 Elina Svitolina is looking to return to the WTA tour at the Charleston Open in South Carolina next month, the organizers of the event confirmed. Svitolina accepted a wild card entry into the tournament.

Svitolina, who last played at the Miami Open last year, has been absent from tennis due to giving birth to her daughter Skai. She has since been spending her downtime with her daughter as well as her husband, ATP tennis player Gael Monfils.

In addition to returning to the WTA Tour, Svitolina has also partnered with the Charleston Open and WTA Charities to host the “Tennis Plays for Peace” pro-am event, with the proceeds of the event going to Ukraine as well the Elina Svitolina Foundation.

Increasing awareness and raising funds for Ukraine is very important to us as a tournament and to our players,” Charleston Open director Bob Moran announced. “We are passionate about working with Elina, who has a deep and personal understanding of the needs in her home country right now, to further exemplify the mission of Tennis Plays for Peace and stand united with Ukraine.”

The post Svitolina Targets WTA Return At Charleston Open Following Childbirth appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Rafael Nadal is looking to make his return from his hip injury at the Monte Carlo Masters next month, thereby giving himself some clay court action before the return of Roland Garros.

The tournament, which begins on April 8, will be Nadal’s first appearance since the Australian Open, which he pulled out of after picking up a left hip flexor injury. He also missed out on the Indian Wells and Miami Open Masters tournaments as a result of his injury.

“Rafa was the first [player] to be registered,” Monte Carlo Masters tournament director David Massey confirmed on Wednesday. “He really wants to play at the Monte Carlo Masters and is giving himself every chance to take part in the tournament he’s so fond of.”

At 36 years old, Rafael Nadal holds the record for most wins at the Monte Carlo Masters, winning the tournament a record 11 times. This includes an Open era record streak of eight consecutive titles from 2005 to 2012.

For Nadal, the Monte Carlo Masters is a key part of his preparation for the Roland Garros Grand Slam, where he has won 14 titles. Nadal has won a record 22-time Grand Slams throughout his career.

The post Nadal Eyes Monte Carlo For Injury Return appeared first on SportzBonanza.