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MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - FEBRUARY 21: Naomi Osaka of Japan sprays champagne after winning the 2021 Australian Open Women's Final, at Government House on February 21, 2021 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Graham Denholm/Getty Images)

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - FEBRUARY 21: Naomi Osaka of Japan poses with the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Trophy after winning the 2021 Australian Open Women's Final, at Government House on February 21, 2021 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Andy Cheung/Getty Images)

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - FEBRUARY 21: Naomi Osaka of Japan poses with the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Trophy after winning the 2021 Australian Open Women's Final, at Government House on February 21, 2021 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Graham Denholm/Getty Images)

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - FEBRUARY 21: Naomi Osaka of Japan and her entourage including her coach Wim Fissette and physical trainer Natsuko Mogi pose with the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Trophy after winning the 2021 Australian Open Women's Final, at Government House on February 21, 2021 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Andy Cheung/Getty Images)

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - FEBRUARY 22: Novak Djokovic of Serbia signs a pregnant tennis fans stomach after winning the 2021 Australian Open Men's Final, at Brighton Beach on February 22, 2021 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Graham Denholm/Getty Images)

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - FEBRUARY 22: The signature of Novak Djokovic of Serbia is seen on the stomach of a pregnant tennis fan at Brighton Beach on February 22, 2021 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Graham Denholm/Getty Images)

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - FEBRUARY 22: The signature of Novak Djokovic of Serbia is seen on the stomach of a pregnant tennis fan at Brighton Beach on February 22, 2021 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Graham Denholm/Getty Images)

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - FEBRUARY 22: Novak Djokovic of Serbia poses with the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup and interviewed by the media, after winning the 2021 Australian Open Men's Final, at Brighton Beach on February 22, 2021 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Andy Cheung/Getty Images)

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - FEBRUARY 22: The signature of Novak Djokovic of Serbia is seen on the stomach of a pregnant tennis fan who expects to give birth in two days, at Brighton Beach on February 22, 2021 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Andy Cheung/Getty Images)

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - FEBRUARY 22: Novak Djokovic of Serbia poses with the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup after winning the 2021 Australian Open Men's Final, at Brighton Beach on February 22, 2021 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Graham Denholm/Getty Images)

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - FEBRUARY 22: Novak Djokovic of Serbia poses with the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup after winning the 2021 Australian Open Men's Final, at Brighton Beach on February 22, 2021 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Graham Denholm/Getty Images)

Wrong hand gestures!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA - FEBRUARY 27: Iga Swiatek of Poland winner of the singles held up by her team after defeating Belinda Bencic of Switzerland in the final during day six of the Adelaide International WTA 500 at Memorial Drive on February 27, 2021 in Adelaide, Australia. (Photo by Mark Brake/Getty Images)

ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA - FEBRUARY 27: Iga Swiatek of Poland with the winners trophy standing in front of the ball boys and girls during day six of the Adelaide International WTA 500 at Memorial Drive on February 27, 2021 in Adelaide, Australia. (Photo by Sarah Reed/Getty Images)

ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA - FEBRUARY 27: Desirae Krawczyk of USA signals her doubles partner Alexa Guarachi of Chile in match against Hayley Carter of the USA and Luisa Stefani of Brazil during day six of the Adelaide International WTA 500 at Memorial Drive on February 27, 2021 in Adelaide, Australia. (Photo by Sarah Reed/Getty Images)

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Novak Djokovic's 18 best AO21 shots for 18 Grand Slams | Australian Open 2021.

 

 

Steffi Graf vs Arantxa Sánchez Vicario - 1996 | Roland-Garros Classics.

 

 

Coco Gauff vs. Belinda Bencic | 2021 Adelaide Semifinals | WTA Match Highlights.

 

 

I. Swiatek vs. B. Bencic | 2021 Adelaide Final | WTA Match Highlights.

 

 

Reason Osaka chose to being 'Black' over being 'Japanese'- her first option.

She got kicked to the curb by the Japanese?

It's obvious she wanted to be Japanese FIRST but the hit was too big to ignore - and come back from.

Click here for more.

Future of WTA: Black or / and Lesbian.

Here are last 25 Slam winners (chronological). How many can you spot from above categories? L stands for Lesbian and B stands for Black. Notice how more of them are bunching together in the end.

100	Justine Henin	2003	French Open	7	2004	2003, 2005, 2006, 2007		2003, 2007
101	Anastasia Myskina	2004	French Open	1		2004
102	Maria Sharapova	2004	Wimbledon	5	2008	2012, 2014	2004	2006
103	Svetlana Kuznetsova (L)	2004	US Open	2		2009		2004
104	Kim Clijsters	2005	US Open	4	2011			2005, 2009, 2010
105	Amélie Mauresmo (L)	2006	Australian Open	2	2006		2006
106	Ana Ivanovic	2008	French Open	1		2008
107	Francesca Schiavone (L)	2010	French Open	1		2010
108	Li Na	2011	French Open	2	2014	2011
109	Petra Kvitová	2011	Wimbledon	2			2011, 2014
110	Samantha Stosur (L)	2011	US Open	1				2011
111	Victoria Azarenka	2012	Australian Open	2	2012, 2013
112	Marion Bartoli	2013	Wimbledon	1			2013
113	Flavia Pennetta	2015	US Open	1				2015
114	Angelique Kerber	2016	Australian Open	3	2016		2018	2016
115	Garbiñe Muguruza	2016	French Open	2		2016	2017
116	Jeļena Ostapenko	2017	French Open	1		2017
117	Sloane Stephens (B)	2017	US Open	1				2017
118	Caroline Wozniacki	2018	Australian Open	1	2018
119	Simona Halep (L?)	2018	French Open	2		2018	2019
120	Naomi Osaka (B)	2018	US Open	4	2019, 2021			2018, 2020
121	Ashleigh Barty (L)	2019	French Open	1		2019
122	Bianca Andreescu (L)	2019	US Open	1				2019
123	Sofia Kenin (L)	2020	Australian Open	1	2020
124	Iga Świątek (L?)	2020	French Open	1		2020

Shouldn't this be your FIRST thought on learning of injury to Tiger Woods?

He freaking drives? Himself? In LA? After having FIVE back surgeries and with so much at stake?

Oh, he may not have the money for the 'Showfer'!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Heck, even I don't drive. I have a Showfer. Also called the bus driver - for bus meant for special need lunatics!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Could this help Federer regain at least the GOAT contender status?

Join Navy Seal Training Program? Tiger Woods did - and won. And Federer hasn't had FIVE back surgeries!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Women fighting harder than ever to break through the male-dominated sporting narrative.

 

 

One woman’s achievements can inspire an entire generation - HEATHCLIFF O'MALLEY/AP/GETTY IMAGES/REUTERS

At last weekend’s Australian Open final, Naomi Osaka’s victory over Jennifer Brady in straight sets left some fans wanting more. The debate reignited the conversation around whether women should play five sets in tennis as Andy Murray put the question to his 1.7 million followers.

Yet as far back as the late 1990s, the likes of Steffi Graf and Martina Hingis were among those who had disproved the myth that women are incapable of playing five sets.

In 1984 the Women’s Tennis Association had decided to introduce five-set finals at their end-of-season event, and six years later the tour witnessed its first match go the distance. A 16-year-old Monica Seles, just two months after becoming the youngest French Open champion, tussled with Argentina’s Gabriela Sabatini before winning after nearly four hours. Afterwards, she smiled and said she had “enjoyed every minute” on the court.

The longer format remained for 14 years, producing three five-setters in that time, and acts as a reminder that female tennis players have the stamina to sustain the fight.

Elsewhere, the myth of men’s unequivocal physical superiority has been debunked by female athletes, too. Kathrine Switzer was the first registered female runner to complete the Boston Marathon in 1967, but had to wrestle away from race organisers clinging to her vest during the race, such were their doubts about a woman’s ability to finish the distance safely.

 

Kathrine Switzer battles through the 1967 Boston Marathon, despite others trying to stop her - GETTY IMAGES

We have come a long way since, and now women are not only entering ultra-endurance competitions, but clocking faster times and winning races against men – despite making up a tiny proportion of the participants. Ann Trason was a pioneer, holding the title of ultrarunner of the year for more than a decade during the Eighties and Nineties in a field dominated by men, and led the way for other women in ultra-sport.

Britain’s Jasmin Paris is one of those following her legacy. In January 2019, she became the first woman to win the 268-mile Montane Spine Race. In her first attempt at the event she smashed the course record by 12 hours, nailing a maiden victory in 83hr 12min 23sec.

“The Spine was in midwinter, a lot of it was in the dark, you had to navigate, feed yourself, get the right amount of sleep whilst remaining competitive,” Paris says. “It’s hugely mental and that’s why I think the difference between men and women disappears.”

She does not consider herself a myth-debunker, though – “When I’m running a race, I just race it” – but understood the impact of her feat before she had even reached the finish line. At the final checkpoint, as dawn was breaking on the last day, volunteers told her about the buzz she had created on social media: “That was inspiring for me. I felt like I was in a privileged position, to be used as a role model for women’s achievement in sport.”

 

Jasmin Paris became the first woman to win the 268-mile Montane Spine Race, run at the same time as expressing milk for her one year-old daughter - JASMINKPARIS TWITTER

That Paris was expressing milk for her one year-old daughter during the race also rubbishes long-held beliefs that a woman’s career in sport would spiral downward after having children. This issue has been given more prominence in sports coverage in recent times, helped in no small part by Serena Williams, the most high-profile sporting mother of all since 2017. Her tennis rivals Kim Clijsters and Victoria Azarenka led the charge too, while Jamaican sprinter Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce’s world-title victory lap with her son on her hip in 2019 sent the message that not only are mothers capable – they can thrive at the top of sport.

These myths extend beyond the limitations put on what women can physically achieve. Merely occupying certain spaces in sport can be contentious, namely coaching. A Telegraph Sport exposé this month found that women athletics coaches had been routinely sidelined at elite level, while a rumbling debate ensued when Emma Hayes was linked to the AFC Wimbledon managerial job, as no woman has ever coached in men’s elite football in England.

Tennis is ahead on this front, but only marginally. Double major champion Amelie Mauresmo coached Andy Murray for two years and then top-10 player Lucas Pouille up until October. But she was the only woman coaching in the top 100 of the Association of Tennis Professionals tour, and came under intense scrutiny when coaching Murray, to an extreme he says was never the case for his male coaches.

It is a lesson that, unfortunately, Cherie Pridham will be primed for as directeur sportif of Israel Start-Up Nation this season, becoming the first woman to lead a men’s WorldTour cycling team. To break through the glass ceiling is not the only challenge. A higher standard awaits when you get there. “For me, I want to get it right,” Pridham said upon her unveiling in December, in a subtle acknowledgement of that fact, “because when I do, I know that it will inspire others to take the same journey and that really does mean something to me.”

One woman’s achievements can inspire an entire generation, but failure can also – unfairly – lock successive candidates out. In motorsport, only two women have ever qualified to race in a Formula One championship, and the last woman given the opportunity to try – Giovanna Amati – was dropped by her Brabham team after falling short of qualification on three occasions in 1992. Three decades on, the breakthrough feels closer than ever, with Williams development driver and W Series champion Jamie Chadwick the front-runner. But there will be extreme pressure on the woman given the keys to the ignition – succeed or risk another 30-year wait.

Still, historic moments and breakthroughs must be celebrated. Tennis player Fran Jones is testament to that. At the Australian Open she made her major debut, capturing worldwide audiences. With a rare genetic condition, Ectrodactyly Ectodermal Dysplasia (EED), she was born with a thumb and three fingers on each hand and seven toes, and as a child was told by a doctor that her tennis dreams could never be realised. But the 20-year-old qualified for her first grand slam on her debut attempt, already has WTA wins under her belt, has the backing of an LTA pro scholarship, and is within reach of breaking into the top 200.

“I would love other people to tell themselves what their limits are, not being limited by others,” Jones says. “Everyone that may find themselves in a similar position, dealt a different set of cards, they just need to find a way to use those cards to keep pushing them forward.” She has busted the myth that physical difference should prevent her playing on an equal platform with her competitors.

Tennis is renowned as the sport that most embodies progress for women. And yet, despite vocal support from the likes of Serena and Venus Williams to play five sets, organisers continue to choose not to have women competing in the same format as men.

In that strange way, five-set tennis stands as both a symbol of how myths in women’s sport can be busted, but also of how they are too quickly eroded. Women are still having to work harder than ever to break through the pervasive, male-dominated sporting narrative.

https://sports.yahoo.com/women-fighting-harder-ever-break-120601109.html

Citing bad back, Rafael Nadal out of Rotterdam tournament.

Rafael Nadal pulled out of next week’s hard-court tournament at Rotterdam, Netherlands, because of the bad back that bothered him during the Australian Open.

Nadal’s withdrawal from the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament was announced Thursday.

The 20-time Grand Slam champion wrote in a series of posts on Twitter that he “found a temporary solution that allowed me to play without pain in the second week” of the Australian Open, where he lost in the quarterfinals to Stefanos Tsitsipas in five sets.

But, one of Nadal’s tweets said, “Once I got back to Spain I visited my doctor and together with my team they’ve advised not to play this upcoming week. I was really looking forward to coming back to Rotterdam and The Netherlands since it’s been a while (since) I played there.”

The second-ranked Nadal would have been seeded No. 1 in Rotterdam. Instead, third-ranked Daniil Medvedev, the runner-up to Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open, will take the top spot in the seedings.

If Medvedev reaches the final in Rotterdam, he would replace Nadal at No. 2 in the rankings, according to the ATP Tour. That would allow Medvedev to become the first man other than Nadal, Djokovic, Roger Federer or Andy Murray to be in the ATP’s Top 2 since Lleyton Hewitt was second to Federer in July 2005.

Nadal cited the back issue when he sat out the ATP Cup team competition at Melbourne Park that preceded the Australian Open.

The 34-year-old Spaniard then was able to participate in the year’s first Grand Slam tournament, which began Feb. 8.

He entered the Australian Open with a chance to break his tie with Federer for the most major singles championships won by a man.

During that event, though, Nadal said his back prevented him from practicing properly for about three weeks and that he frequently needed to skip training sessions on the days he did not have matches.

After winning his first four outings, all in straight sets – and calling his opening set against Fabio Fognini in the fourth round “without a doubt” his “best level in the tournament” – Nadal took a two-set lead against Tsitsipas in the quarterfinals last week.

Nadal had been 223-1 in Grand Slam matches when leading two sets to none, but he faltered in the third-set tiebreaker with some uncharacteristically poor play and wound up losing to Tsitsipas 3-6, 2-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4, 7-5.

Nadal was among the men on the entry list released Thursday for the Miami Open, which runs March 22 to April 4. Federer, who has been sidelined for more than a year after two knee operations, and Djokovic are also in the field for Miami.

https://sports.yahoo.com/citing-bad-back-rafael-nadal-181941224.html

Close GOAT race will produce at least ONE match (if not matches) that will haunt at least TWO people for LIFE - and beyond.

ONE Slam (final?) they SHOULDN'T have lost - NO FREAKING QUESTION ABOUT IT.

Of course, Federer is the HEAD of that department for that category with the 40-15 'portfolio'. How about Nadal and Djokovic?

2021 AO made TWO things official.

1. GOAT race is now STRICTLY between Nadal and Djokovic.

2. Federer has moved from undisputed GOAT status to disputed GOAT to GOAT to GOAT contender to NOT even a contender to SHEEP to a DISTANT third to IS he a tennis player to.............