TENNIS
Swaitek races to quarters
Second-ranked Iga Swiatek dropped only two games and advanced to the quarter-finals of the China Open by thrashing Magda Linette 6-1, 6-1 yesterday. She next faces either ninth-seeded Carolina Garcia or Anhelina Kalinina tomorrow. Swiatek raced into a 5-0 lead in the first set and snuffed out any hope of an unlikely comeback when she forced her fellow Pole to fire a forehand long. The four-time Grand Slam champion then presided over a second-set masterclass, blitzing an exhausted Linette with an unrelenting salvo of mighty groundstrokes to wrap up the match in just over an hour. World No. 4 Jessica Pegula crashed out with a 6-4, 6-2 defeat to Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko, who faces Liudmila Samsonova in the last eight after the Russian defeated Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk 6-4, 6-7 (4/7), 7-5 in a match that took nearly three hours. Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina defeated Russia’s Mirra Andreeva 2-6, 6-4, 6-1. The men’s singles final between Italy’s Jannik Sinner and Russia’s Daniil Medvedev was delayed and was not over as of press time last night.
TENNIS
Polmans hits umpire
Australian Marc Polmans yesterday said he had apologized to the chair umpire after accidentally hitting him in the face with a ball in a Shanghai Masters qualifying match on Tuesday. The world No. 140 was leading Italian Stefano Napolitano after winning the first set when he hit a volley into the net on his second match point. The Australian then hit the ball in anger as it bounced back from the net. His errant hit narrowly missed the ball person before hitting chair umpire Ben Anderson in the face. Anderson was apparently not seriously injured. Polmans was immediately disqualified. “An update from me — the umpire, Ben, has accepted my apology for my actions — he knows it was unintentional and I shanked the ball on the frame in frustration in the heat of the moment,” Polmans wrote on social media platform X yesterday. “We both move on. It was a high pressure situation and I should have reacted better.” Polmans would forfeit all prize money and ranking points picked up during the qualifying tournament. He could still face further punishment from the ATP for the incident.
OLYMPICS
Bedbug sightings spark furor
A rash of bedbug sightings across France is causing paranoia among travelers and becoming a sore spot for the government as Paris prepares to host the Olympics next year. Videos that appear to show the bloodsucking insects crawling over seats on the Paris Metro and a high-speed train have gone viral on social media in the past few weeks, and some Metro passengers posted videos on TikTok vowing to stay standing. Public transport operator RATP, which runs Paris’s subway, trams and buses said in a statement that it had investigated, but “no cases of bedbugs have been confirmed to date.” While it is unclear whether infestations are up significantly, it has become a political issue in France, which is hosting the Rugby World Cup. French Minister Delegate for Transport Clement Beaune was to hold an emergency meeting with public transportation operators yesterday to discuss how to tackle the issue.
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
LONG TIME COMING: With the addition of Marcus Smart, the Washington Wizards finally held a team to under 100 points, the last team this season to do so The Detroit Pistons on Monday won their seventh straight game in the NBA with in-form Cade Cunningham making 32 points and grabbing nine rebounds in a 106-97 win over the Los Angeles Clippers. The Pistons, who are in the playoff position, moved to 32-26, their best record at this stage of a season for 17 years. It was an all-round effort from Detroit with Tobias Harris adding 20 points and Jalen Duren making 19 rebounds along with his 12 points. It was a tight contest until Detroit pulled away late in the third quarter to tie their longest winning streak since the 2014-2015
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