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☆ Simona Halep: Serving lengthy doping ban, tennis star sues health supplement company for damages in excess of $10 million
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-17 | by ( Ben Morse | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —As she serves a four-year doping ban, Romanian tennis star Simona Halep is now pursuing legal action against a Canadian health supplements company for damages in excess of $10 million. According to the complaint, Halep used Schinoussa supplements during the 2022 US Open tournament in New York. The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) has said Halep’s suspension is backdated and will run from October 7, 2022, until October 6, 2026. Halep said in a statement after her suspension that she had adjusted her nutritional supplements ahead of the hard-court season in 2022. “I was tested almost weekly after my initial positive test through early 2023, all of which came back negative,” Halep said.

Persons: Simona Halep, Halep, “, ”, Laurent Gillieron, John Koveos, ” Koveos, Koveos, they’re, Halep “, ” Halep Organizations: CNN, Quantum Nutrition, Doping Agency, United, United States Anti, Nutrition, Women’s Tennis Association, Tennis Integrity Agency, Globe, CFL, NHL Locations: Romanian, New York, United States, Globe

☆ Mirra Andreeva: 16-year-old stuns Ons Jabeur in Australian Open second round, admits she’s ‘inspired’ by No. 6 seed
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-17 | by ( Ben Morse | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Mirra Andreeva, tennis’ new teenage sensation, shocked Ons Jabeur in the second round of the Australian Open on Wednesday. 6 seed and three-time grand slam finalist 6-0 6-2 for her first career top-10 victory as she continues to show why she’s tipped for the top of the sport. Afterwards, the 47th-ranked Russian was full of respect for Jabeur and detailed how she has become a personal inspiration of hers. Andreeva added that she saw Jabeur as an idol because of “the way she’s on the court and off the court. It is the third time she has reached the third round of a grand slam having done so at the French Open and Wimbledon last year.

Persons: Mirra, ”, Andreeva, Rod Laver, Jabeur, Tracey Nearmy, Jelena Dokic, Martina Hingis, Alina Korneeva, “, It’s, Diane Parry, Kamilla Rakhimova Organizations: CNN, Russian, Wimbledon, Tunisian, Andreeva, Australian, Women’s Tennis Association

☆ Billie Jean King: Players ‘are exhausted,’ says tennis great as she urges the sport’s authorities to work together
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-25 | by ( Ben Church | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

It meant many of the sport’s top players opted not to play the latter – an end-of-year tournament dubbed the World Cup of tennis. Aryna Sabalenka waits during a rain delay at this year's WTA Finals. Clive Brunskill/Getty ImagesSimon responded with a letter of his own during the WTA Finals, outlining to players how the organisation was handling the issues raised. But there looks to be no magic solution to the array of problems facing women’s tennis at the moment. “But I think about men’s and women’s tennis, I don’t just think about women’s tennis.

Persons: Issues, Sabalenka, Storm Hunter, Jessica Pegula, Billie Jean King, –, Poland’s Iga, “, ” Sabalenka, Clive Brunskill, Marketa Vondrousova, ” Vondrousova, we’ve, Steve Simon, Martina Navratilova, ”, ” Navratilova, Simon Organizations: CNN, Tennis Association, WTA, International Tennis Federation, Tennis, BJK, Amazon Prime Locations: Cancún, Mexico, Seville, Spain

☆ Iga Świątek regains world No. 1 ranking after thrashing Jessica Pegula to win WTA Finals title
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Ben Church | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Iga Świątek brushed aside Jessica Pegula to win the WTA Finals on Monday and return to the top of the world rankings. The win means Świątek replaces Aryna Sabalenka as the world No. “Coming back to world number one, it’s a dream come true, for sure,” Swiatek told reporters after winning her first WTA Finals title. So I’m really happy.”Since her last-16 defeat at the US Open, Świątek has won 12 out of the 13 matches she’s played, picking up titles at the China Open and now Cancún. It capped off a controversial WTA Finals, with players unhappy with the organisation of the event, run by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA).

Persons: Jessica Pegula, Sabalenka, ” Swiatek, “, I’m, Świątek, she’s, “ We’ve, Matthew Stockman, ”, Pegula, Martina Navratilova, Steve Simon, Simon, ” Świątek Organizations: CNN, WTA, China, Getty, Women’s Tennis Association, Tennis, Amazon, Sports Locations: Cancún, Mexico

☆ BJK Cup: Billie Jean King on the career moment she’ll ‘never forget’ and the growth of the tournament named in her honor
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Ben Church | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Billing itself as the world’s largest annual international team competition in women’s sport, the Billie Jean King Cup is akin to the World Cup of tennis, pitting countries from around the world against one another. Tennis great Billie Jean King lent her name to the tournament – which celebrates its 60th anniversary this month – in 2020 and she has fond memories of playing in it herself. It fits my personality and fits how I think about the sport,” King said. Improving women’s tennis is something King has done throughout her career in the sport. More than anything, though, King wants this competition, and women’s sport in general, to get more media coverage.

Persons: CNN —, Billie Jean King, King, “, ” King, “ It’s, Davis, Serena Williams, John G, Mabanglo, ”, Bobby Riggs, Lesley Martin, Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, Iga Świątek Organizations: CNN, Tennis, US, Getty, Federation Cup, Fed, International Tennis Federation, ITF, Women’s Tennis Association, ”, WTA Locations: Seville, Spain, France, Italy, Canada, Germany, US, Australia, Switzerland, Poland, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Kazakhstan, Venus, AFP, “, ” Switzerland, Mexico

☆ Women’s tennis returns to China after Peng Shuai boycott
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Jessie Yeung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Hong Kong CNN —The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) kicked off its first tournament in China in more than three years Monday, ending its boycott over the uncertain fate of tennis star Peng Shuai. Peng, a three-time Olympian and grand slam doubles champion, later denied having made the sexual assault claim. But despite the lack of such an investigation, Simon announced this April that the suspension, which he called a “principled stand,” would come to an end by September. The WTA had already pulled its tournaments in China in 2020 due to Covid-19 travel restrictions. Cornet had posted an Instagram story saying her season would only resume later in October, the newspaper said.

Persons: Peng Shuai, Peng, Zhang Gaoli, –, Zhang, Steve Simon, ”, Simon, ” Peng “, Alize Cornet, Cornet, ” Cornet Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Tennis Association, United, Communist, WTA, Guangzhou, Olympic, Beijing Winter Games, Human Rights Watch, Reuters Locations: China, Hong Kong, United Nations, Beijing, Ningbo

Some deal makers wonder whether tennis, which has already confirmed initial talks with Saudi Arabia, will be the fund’s next target. “Of all the important sports around the world, I think tennis is clearly the one with the greatest opportunity for financial growth and the most unrealized value,” Maria Sharapova, the retired tennis star, told DealBook. Despite the popularity of tennis, the sport brings in only 1.3 percent of earnings from global media sports rights. That’s partly because tennis is made up of myriad entities — including the Women’s Tennis Association; the U.S. Tennis Association; and independent tournaments. The independently operated organizations make scheduling tournaments difficult and diminish bargaining power for sponsorship and media deals.

Persons: Novak Djokovic, Coco Gauff, Aryna Sabalenka, ” Maria Sharapova, DealBook Organizations: U.S, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Women’s Tennis Association, U.S . Tennis Association Locations: Saudi Arabia, U.S

☆ How being a mom changes the game for elite tennis players
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-03 | by ( Eryn Mathewson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

If she’s successful, Wozniacki, 33, would join a short list of mothers who have reached the finals of a grand slam, or won. But the rule limits how many grand slams players can enter, something that tennis pro Taylor Townsend of Chicago would like to see changed. No matter what level of income a player earns, the training required to compete and win at the elite level in tennis is intense. “It’s certainly hard enough to win a grand slam without having a child going, ‘Mom, when are you coming back?’ ” Stubbs told CNN. “Serena … I think she wanted to win the grand slam as a mom more than anything,” she said.

Persons: Caroline Wozniacki’s, Tatiana Prozorova, Petra Kvitová, Jennifer Brady, Coco Gauff, —, Wozniacki, “, ”, ‘, she’s, Serena Williams, Olympia, Kim Clijsters, Caroline Wozniacki, Jada, Australia’s Margaret Court, Naomi Osaka, Terry Holladay, Taylor Townsend, Townsend, Rennae Stubbs, “ It’s, ’ ” Stubbs, Karolina Pliskova, “ Serena …, Christine Stromberg, She’s, Kate Ackerman, Wu Tsai, ” Ackerman Organizations: New, New York CNN, Vogue Magazine, Queens, Women’s Tennis Association, WTA, ESPN, CNN, Professional Tennis Operations, Services, Harvard University Medical School, Boston Children’s Hospital Locations: New York, Russian, Czech, Florida, Belgian, Chicago

☆ Coco Gauff continues excellent preparation for US Open with third title victory of the season
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( Ben Morse | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Coco Gauff continued her excellent preparation for this month’s US Open with victory at the Western & Southern Open on Sunday. “I’m really happy with how I was able to manage this week,” Gauff said after becoming the tournament’s youngest ever winner. I wasn’t really serving as good as I did against Iga. I’m glad I was able to push through.”Gauff is still searching for her maiden grand slam title having reached the final of the French Open last year. She won in Auckland in January and Washington two weeks ago, and victory in Cincinnati on Sunday was her fifth career title.

Persons: Coco Gauff, Karolína, “ I’m, ” Gauff, “, she’s, It’s, I’m, Gauff, Matthew Stockman, Muchová, Bianca Andreescu, Caroline Wozniacki, Gauff –, – Organizations: CNN, & Southern, Sunday, Western & Southern, Women’s Tennis Association, Wimbledon Locations: Flushing Meadows , New York, Auckland, Washington, Cincinnati, Czech

☆ Fifty Years Ago the Men Boycotted Wimbledon. That Changed Everything.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( Cindy Shmerler | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Stan Smith’s 1972 Wimbledon cup sits alongside his 1971 United States Open winner’s prize in a trophy case inside his Hilton Head Island, S.C., home. “Once you’ve won it you always want to win it again.”But in 1973, Smith decided not to play. Instead, he and 80 other players voted to boycott the tournament just before the first matches in support of the player Nikola Pilic. It was when its members banded together, flexed their muscles and walked out on the most prestigious tournament in tennis, with ramifications that are still being felt today. Among them: greater communication between the players and the tournaments, and wider distribution of prize money at all levels of the pro game.

Persons: Stan Smith’s, Smith, “, ”, John Newcombe, Ilie Nastase, you’ve, Nikola Pilic, Pilic, Billie Jean King Organizations: United, Wimbledon, International Lawn Tennis Federation, Davis, Women’s Tennis Association, Association of Tennis Professionals Locations: Yugoslavia

☆ ‘You have to ask for help if you need it’: Billie Jean King encourages tennis players struggling with demands of the tour to seek support
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Matias Grez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Billie Jean King has urged players that are struggling with the demands of being a tennis professional to seek support from psychologists. “Being a pro-athlete is hard,” tennis great King, who won 39 major titles, told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour. “The WTA [Women’s Tennis Association] has been fantastic with mental health for years, but people would say: ‘Why aren’t you doing anything?’Billie Jean King says support is available for players on the WTA Tour. The governing body has provided staff that are dedicated to athletes’ mental health for more than 25 years, with a Mental Health Care Provider available in person at tournaments, including all four grand slams, and there are virtual meetings available upon request in between tournaments. Naomi Osaka withdrew from the 2021 French Open, citing her mental health.

Persons: Billie Jean King, Naomi Osaka, Sabalenka, “, Emma Raducanu, King, CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, JP Yim, Kathleen Stroia, Ukraine –, Aleksandr Lukashenko, Tim Clayton, Raducanu, ”, hadn't, Clive Brunskill, “ We’ve, I’ve, ’ ” Organizations: CNN, WTA, Mental Health, ‘, Virginia Slims Circuit, WTA Tour, Wimbledon Locations: Paris, Ukraine, Osaka, Belarus

☆ WTA plans equal prize money to match men at combined higher-tiered events
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Jill Martin | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —These days, equal prize money is given to the men and women at the well-known grand slam events, the highest tier in tennis: The Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open. The Women’s Tennis Association, the governing body of women’s tennis, announced Tuesday a strategy to tackle pay inequity between the men and the women. The WTA plans to update the tour’s calendar and revamp prize money, with WTA 1000 and 500 combined events attaining equal prize money by 2027 and to have equal prize money for single-week WTA 1000 and 500 events by 2033. Meanwhile, at the same-level event in Rome last month, the total prize pool for men’s singles was around €8.6 million, while the women’s singles prize money pool was a little more than €3.5 million. The additional WTA 1000 events will be one-week events in Doha, Dubai and a yet-to-be-named event, according to the WTA release.

Persons: “, Billie Jean King, Sloane Stephens Organizations: CNN, Wimbledon, US, ATP, Association of Tennis Professionals, Tennis Association, WTA Locations: Indian Wells, California, Rome, Beijing, Cincinnati, Toronto, Montreal, Doha, Dubai

☆ Women’s Tennis to Return to China Despite Unresolved Concerns About Peng Shuai
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Rachel Bachman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Peng Shuai has been seen in public only in carefully orchestrated settings, including at the 2022 Olympics in Beijing. The Women’s Tennis Association tour will return to China this year, despite the fact that Chinese officials haven’t met the WTA’s demands for a transparent investigation into a 2021 assault allegation of Chinese player Peng Shuai. The move ends a boycott, started in late 2021, when Peng disappeared from public view after a post to her social-media account alleged that she had been sexually assaulted by a senior Communist Party official. The WTA halted its events in China and said it would stay out of the country until the allegation was investigated and it could speak directly with Peng.

☆ WTA set to return to China in September despite uncertainty over Peng Shuai’s situation
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Wayne Sterling | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) announced Thursday that it will return to hosting tournaments in China in the fall after suspending all events in the country in 2021 due to the uncertainty over tennis player Peng Shuai’s safety. Human Rights Watch called the WTA’s decision to return to China a “huge disappointment,” but “not surprising.”“International businesses need to work together to do the right thing,” said Yaqiu Wang, senior China Researcher at Human Rights Watch. “It’s hard to challenge the Chinese government alone, but if businesses band together to address China’s flouting of human rights, the power balance can shift. “After all, sports organizations and companies all want to operate in an environment where the human rights of their players, employees, and consumers are protected and there is rule of law. “The road to expose the Chinese government’s human rights abuses and hold it accountable is difficult and often incurs a cost, and it’s not a straight road.”

☆ Rugby-England women's players to receive maternity cover
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Reuters Staff | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The issue of maternity leave for professional athletes has gradually come into sharper focus in recent years. In 2019, sportswear giant Nike introduced a new maternity policy for all its sponsored athletes, guaranteeing pay and bonuses for 18 months around pregnancy. World soccer governing body FIFA introduced 14 weeks of maternity leave in 2020, the same year that the Women’s National Basketball Association announced fully paid maternity leave as part of its collective bargaining agreement for the first time. Rugby Players’ Association general secretary Christian Day described the new policy as a “significant step forward” for the women’s game in England. “This new policy ensures that our women’s players will be better supported through parenthood when representing England,” Day said.

☆ Netflix Explores Investing in Sports Leagues, Bidding on Streaming Rights
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Jessica Toonkel | Sarah Krouse | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Netflix Inc. is warming up to the idea of offering live sports on its platform—as long as it can do so without breaking the bank, according to people familiar with the discussions. The company recently bid for the streaming rights for the ATP tennis tour for some European countries, including France and the U.K., but dropped out, one of the people said. It also discussed bidding for a series of other events including U.K. rights to the Women’s Tennis Association and cycling competitions, the people said.

Billie Jean King defeating Bobby Riggs in the Battle of the Sexes marked a historic moment for women's tennis, and sport. It’s their job now to step up, lead and shape the future.”Billie Jean King worked with fashion designer Tory Burch on the Billie Jean King Cup's 'winner's jacket.' Magazine IAnd inside the jacket, to remind the champions of the Billie Jean King Cup of the ‘fight’ and their place in it, is a message from King herself. “Congratulations on winning the 2022 Billie Jean King Cup,” King reads aloud. Billie Jean King, be bold.”

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