Animisova wins Qatar TotalEnergies Open for her biggest title of career

DOHA - Living up to her roaring form, Amanda Anisimova brushed aside the challenge of an equally challenging Jelena Ostapenko in the final to claim the Falcon trophy of the Qatar TotalEnergiesOpen 2024 at the Khalifa International Tennis & Squash Complex on Saturday. American Anisimova overpowered the Latvian 6-4, 6-3 to clinch her maiden WTA 1000 and third WTA title - the biggest of her career, and first in over three years. Her Excellency Sheikha Hind bint Hamad Al Thani, Vice Chairperson and CEO of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, presented the trophy to the winner, in the presence of HE Nasser bin Ghanem Al Khelaifi, President of the Qatar Tennis, Squash, Padel and Badminton Federation, and Saad Al Mohannadi, Tournament Director. She also becomes the first American woman to lift the trophy in Doha since Monica Seles achieved the feat back in 2002. The achievement also marks a fightback in life in the past few years. Anisimova has fought back through early stages of her career, and the 23-year-old recently made her comeback to the tour last season following injury setbacks, as well as taking time away from the sport in 2023 to protect her mental health. In Doha though, it was all about smiles for Anisimova as she prevailed in a rain-interrupted final after a “lot of hard work and a lot of tears”. Ranked 41 in the world, Anisimova is the lowest-ranked champion in tournament history. But that shouldn’t matter. She’s showed qualities of a champion against Ostapenko, who was riding on a resounding victory over three-time champion and world number two Iga Swiatek in the semis. But Anisimova too was determined striking the ball hard and making some superb winners. “This week has been amazing. To be able to lift the trophy here for my first WTA 1000 is super special,” said Anisimova, who will make her top-20 debut on Monday, rising to a career-high 18 in the world. In May 2023, the American announced she would be taking an indefinite break from tennis, citing burnout and mental health concerns. She returned to action at the start of last season, ranked 373 in the world, and has clawed her way back up the charts to hit a new milestone when the new rankings are released on Monday. “There’s been a lot of hard work, a lot of tears, a lot of good moments. I think with tennis you experience it all, but that’s also why I love it,” said Anisimova. “There have been a lot of challenges the last few weeks and I’m very proud of myself and happy with how I’ve dealt with them. It’s been an incredible week on top of that.” In the first WTA 1000 final to feature two players ranked outside the top 30, Ostapenko and Anisimova traded heavy blows from the baseline, both utilising the same aggressive game style that carried them into the championship match. Anisimova was more clinical of the pair in the opening set, as she remained unfazed when her early break of serve was nullified by former French Open champion Ostapenko and broke again in the tenth game to take the lead in 37 minutes. It was the first set Ostapenko dropped all week, the five double faults she committed proving costly against a dialled-in Anisimova. Anisimova looked on her way to a comfortable win when she broke for a 2-1 advantage in the second set but Ostapenko responded immediately and got the set back on serve. Rain suspended play with Ostapenko serving at 3-3, 40-40 and players were taken off court for nearly 25 minutes. Anisimova broke serve upon resumption of play and kept up her all-out attack strategy to wrap up the win after one hour and 21 minutes of play. Ostapenko finished the match with 10 double faults and has now fallen to 0-3 in WTA 1000 finals. Still, the 27-year-old can take many positives from her week in Doha, where she defeated two top-five players - Swiatek and Jasmine Paolini - in the same tournament for the first time in her career. “Of course it’s not the result that I wanted today but I really hope I will come back stronger and I hope that one day I will lift this trophy,” said Ostapenko.  

Team Qatar bow out of AFC U20 Asian Cup

Shenzhen: Qatar crashed out of the AFC U20 Asian Cup China 2025 after a 1-3 loss to Australia in their Group A tie in Shenzhen, China, on Saturday. Goals from Alex Badolato, Dean Bosnjak and Daniel Bennie saw Australia roar to the three points after going behind to Mohamed Khaled Gouda’s goal. Australia’s knockout stage berth was sealed with a match to spare after China defeated Kyrgystan 5-2 later. The top two - who are both on six points - will meet on Tuesday to decide the group winners, while Qatar will be playing for pride against Kyrgystan in their concluding tie. Tiago Quintal forced Qatar goalkeeper Abubaker Osman into making his first save of the game in the fifth minute after he worked his way into the box but it was the West Asian side who broke the deadlock in the 19th minute. Tahsin Jamshid turned on the booster on the right flank to speed past Panagiotis Kikianis before squaring the ball for Gouda to tap in at the back post. Qatar’s lead, however, only lasted five minutes with another speedy move leading to the equaliser, this time Quintal spotted the surging run from right-back Joshua Inserra whose cutback was swept home by Badolato. Australia ended the first half the stronger of the two sides with Badolato having a curling effort crash against the post and Quintal heading wide from a Frans Deli cross but it remained all square going into the break. Just like they did in the opening half, Australia started the second half on the offensive and found themselves ahead in the 52nd minute when Bosnjak rose highest to nod home Quintal’s corner kick. Australia took a firm grip on the match from there on with Qatar hardly given a chance to venture out of their own half. The Young Socceroos constant pressure delivered their third goal through Bennie in the 69th minute, with the substitute firing in an unstoppable shot from an acute angle to seal the emphatic comeback victory.  

Ostapenko to take on Anisimova in Qatar Open final 

Doha: Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko had never lost to Iga Swiatek of Poland in four matches prior to their Qatar TotalEnergies Open semi-final on Friday. It took just 70 minutes of exhilarating tennis from Ostapenko on Friday to make it 5-0 in head-to-head against the second seed in Doha as the Latvian wrapped up a one-sided 6-3, 6-1 semi-final win. Also on Friday, Ostapenko ended Swiatek’s 15-match winning streak in Doha with her imperious tennis on the Centre Court at the Khalifa International Complex. The 27-year-old from Latvia is now one match away from her biggest title since Roland Garros 2017. Having not dropped a set this week, Ostapenko will face unseeded Amanda Anisimova of the US in the final on Saturday. Anisimova, 23, on Friday crushed Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova in the day’s second semi-final. Anisimova won 6-3, 6-3. She could bid to be the first American champion in Doha since Monica Seles lifted the trophy in 2002. The only previous meeting between Ostapenko and Anisimova also took place in Doha, with the former taking their 2022 second-round clash 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.

Team Qatar claim silver medal of 10m Air Rifle Mixed Team Junior event  at Asian Rifle/Pistol Cup 2025

Bangkok: Qatar’s shooting team added a new milestone to their record, securing the silver medal in the 10m Air Rifle Mixed Team Junior event at the Asian Rifle/Pistol Cup 2025, currently being held in Bangkok, Thailand, and running until February 22.  The championship features fierce competition among elite shooters from across Asia. The Qatari duo of Abdulrahman Ahmed Al-Sulaiti and Al-Maha Mishal Al-Ali delivered an outstanding performance in the final, putting up a strong fight against Singapore’s Chong Kuan and Angie Lovelai, who claimed the gold medal. Meanwhile, Iran and Kazakhstan shared the bronze. Leading the Qatari delegation at the event is Ali Al-Mohannadi, Head of the Rifle Division at the Qatar Shooting Federation.

HH The Amir Shotgun Grand Prix begins 

Doha: The second edition of the HH The Amir Grand Prix for Shotgun began on Friday at the Lusail Shooting Range Complex and will run until February 21.  The event has attracted significant participation, with 250 male and female shooters from 34 countries, including 12 Olympic champions and 42 members of the Qatari national team.The opening day of the championship featured official training for the skeet competition across four categories: men, women, youth, and junior women.  A total of 66 shooters participated in the men’s category, 14 women in the women’s category, 16 men in the youth category, and 5 women in the junior women’s category.On the first day, the Qatari national team shooters delivered impressive performances in preparation for the official competition, which kicks off on Saturday.  Notable Qatari participants include Nasser al-Attiyah, Rashid Saleh, Ali Ishaq, Reem al-Sharshani, Hajar Mohammed, and Sarah Mohammed.The championship will feature both skeet and trap shooting competitions in the four categories: men, women, youth, and junior women.In the skeet competitions across five fields, shooters will aim to hit 75 targets, divided into three rounds.  The competition will continue on Sunday with two rounds, shooting 50 targets (25 per round). The best six shooters will qualify for the final round, competing for the top three spots. After the skeet competition concludes, the trap competition will commence on Monday for the four categories, with 101 shooters in the men’s category, 30 in the women’s, 10 in the youth, and 4 in the junior women’s category.Shooters in both the skeet and trap events will compete for podium spots and championship prizes.  The Qatar Shooting Federation has allocated valuable prizes totalling 122,000 euros.The event will also feature 11 international referees from Qatar, the UAE, Oman, and Saudi Arabia. All rules approved by the International Shooting Federation will be enforced, particularly those regarding security and safety, to ensure the competition proceeds smoothly. The Amir’s Grand Prix Shotgun Championship, organised by the Qatar Shooting and Archery Federation at the start of the season, serves as the ideal preparation for the Qatari national team. It forms part of their build-up for upcoming international events, including three World Championships, a World Cup, the Asian Cup, and the Arab Championship, which will take place in Egypt next April.

Swiatek marches into Doha semifinals

Doha: Three-time champion Iga Swiatek of Poland lived up to her top billing as the second seed crushed Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan in straight sets to reach the semi-finals of the $3.2mn Qatar TotalEnergies Open. Swiatek, aiming for her fourth successive trophy in Qatar, on Thursday won 6-2, 7-5 in 1 hour and 35 minutes at the Khalifa International Tennis Complex. Swiatek has reached 100 WTA 1000 wins in just 121 matches. She is the second-fastest player to reach this milestone, trailing only the legendary Serena Williams, who achieved it in 115 matches. This puts Swiatek in truly elite company and underscores her remarkable talent In another quarter-final on Thursday, there was heartbreak for fans of Arab superstar Ons Jabeur who lost to Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko in straight sets. Ostapenko won 6-2, 6-2 in just 70 minutes on Centre Court. Giant-killer Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova rallied from a set down to beat last year’s US Open finalist Jessica Pegula of the US. Alexandrova, who beat top seed Aryna Sabalenka on Tuesday, on Thursday won 4-6, 6-1, 6-1 in 1 hour and 42 minutes in what was the first quarter-final of the day. For Swiatek, her love affair with Doha has continued in style. Thursday’s win was her 15th straight in the Qatari capital. After beating Rybakina at last month’s United Cup, Swiatek has now levelled her all-time head-to-head against the Kazakh to 4-4. Swiatek dominated the opening set against Rybakina, winning 6-2 in just 36 minutes and never facing a breakpoint. However, Rybakina quickly shifted the momentum in the second set, converting her second breakpoint opportunity in the very first game. The ensuing hour-long set was a tense battle. Rybakina, though pressured, initially held strong. She saved two break points in her first service game, then three more to establish a 3-1 lead. Swiatek, however, refused to yield. Facing a sixth break point in the set at 4-3, 15-40, Swiatek delivered a clutch performance, hitting a forehand winner past a charging Rybakina to level the score. This pivotal moment brought the set back on serve after a period of intense pressure on the Swiatek serve. In the deciding game, Swiatek hammered a cross-court backhand return winner off of a short second serve to deny Rybakina a tiebreak, and the contest ended two points later when the No. 5 seed served up just her second double fault in the match overall. Swiatek said her clash against Ostapenko today would be an interesting one. In the last quarter-final of the day, Amanda Anisimova of the US beat Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine in a three-set marathon. Anisimova won 4-6, 7-5, 6-4.