Month: September 2023

World No. 6 Coco Gauff defeated Jelena Ostapenko in straight sets on Tuesday with a 6-0 6-2 victory in the 2023 U.S. Open quarterfinals, advancing the 19-year-old to the semifinals for the first time. ESPN Stats & Info tweeted that Gauff is the first American teenager to reach the U.S. Open semifinals since Serena Williams did so in 2001.

Gauff said in her on-court interview after the win: “I’m so happy. Last year I lost in the quarterfinals. I’m happy and ready to get back to work on the next one.”  She added: “Honestly, I didn’t feel comfortable at all during the match – even on the match points. I know the game [Ostapenko] plays. She has the ability to come back no matter the scoreline, so I was just trying to get every point, put every ball in. It’s really tough against her because you can’t really be aggressive, so I was trying my best to be aggressive when I could, and most of the time I was just trying to get the ball deep. She’s a tough player and she had a great tournament.”

Gauff is seeking her first Grand Slam title; she reached the quarterfinals at the French Open before losing to No. 1 seed Iga Świątek in straight sets.  Her previous best finish at the U.S. Open was a quarterfinal appearance last year, before falling in straight sets to Caroline Garcia.

Gauff is also chasing a doubles title with partner Jessica Pegula. They will take on Su-Wei Hsieh and Wang Xinyu in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. The last player to win a singles and doubles title in the same year was Serena Williams in 1999 at the age of 18.

Gauff will face either Sorana Cîrstea, or this year’s French Open runner-up Karolína Muchová, in the next round.

Editorial credit: lev radin / Shutterstock.com

Spain’s women’s soccer coach Jorge Vilda has been fired amid the fallout over the unwanted kiss on the lips that soccer chief Luis Rubiales gave a player at the Women’s World Cup final.  The firing was announced by Pedro Rocha, who is serving as interim president amid Luis Rubiales’ hiatus. The move comes as part of a shake-up in Spanish soccer ever since Rubiales, the president of the country’s soccer federation (RFEF), forcibly kissed forward Jennifer Hermoso on August 20th.

Rubiales apologized for his actions, describing the kiss as “mutual”; however, Hermoso denied his claims. Rubiales was given a 90-day suspension by FIFA while disciplinary proceedings are underway. In a statement, Rocha issued an apology and criticized Rubiales for “totally unacceptable behavior … The damage caused to Spanish football, Spanish sport, Spanish society and to the set of values of soccer and sport has been enormous. The [federation] wants to transmit, to the whole of society and to the whole of football world, its greatest regret for what happened, which has tarnished our team, our football and our society.”

Vilda had been the women’s national team coach since 2015. RFEF said in a statement regarding Villa’s firing that aid he was “key to the notable growth of women’s football and leaves Spain as world champions and second in the FIFA rankings,” adding that  “RFEF appreciates his work at the head of the national team and his responsibilities as the maximum sporting figure of the women’s national teams, as well as the successes reaped during his term, crowned with the recent achievement of the World Cup.” Vilda was praised for his “impeccable personal and sporting conduct” and as a “key part of the notable growth of women’s football in Spain,” describing him as “a promoter of the values of respect and sportsmanship in football.” Vilda, who previously coached Spain’s under-17 and under-19 women’s teams, led La Roja to a first Women’s World Cup title last month with a 1-0 victory against England in the final.

The federation described the move as “one of the first measures of restructuring announced by (interim) President Pedro Rocha.” RFEF also announced Vilda would be replaced by his deputy, Montse Tomé, making her the first woman in charge of the women’s national team. Her debut match will come on September 22 against Sweden.

Editorial credit: Jose Breton- Pics Action / Shutterstock.com

Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Kyle Rudolph is retiring from the NFL after 12 seasons played. Rudolph also spent nine games with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last season, but will make his retirement official as a member of the Minnesota Vikings, the team in which he spent the majority of his career with. Outside of his ten years with the Vikings, the two-time Pro Bowl tight end spent one season with the New York Giants, and his last season with the Buccaneers.

Rudolph tallied 4,773 receiving yards and punched home 50 touchdowns on 482 catches throughout his career. As a rookie, he caught 26 passes for 249 yards and three touchdowns; in 2012, Rudolph made his first Pro Bowl after a year where he caught a career-high nine touchdown passes, which was tied for the most in the NFC among tight ends. He missed a total of 15 games in 2013 and 2014, but came back in 2016 to have the best season of his career, catching 83 passes for 840 yards and seven touchdowns. He had a second Pro Bowl season in 2017, finishing the season with eight touchdown catches, which was the eighth most in the NFL. In Week 18 of the 2022 season with Tampa Bay, Rudolph caught what would end up being the final touchdown catch of his career, and the final touchdown pass of Tom Brady’s career.

Rudolph told NBC Sports that he would be retiring, and shared his future plans: “I played for so long and earned a veteran status. Now I’m a rookie getting as many reps as I can in the media world. This off-season is about, ‘Where do I fit in?’ The NBC job doing games on Peacock is cool. And talking about the storylines of the day in the NFL on Sunday nights will be cool, too.” Rudolph will be calling Big 10 games for NBC Sports this fall, and will also be hosting a weekly radio show for Fox Sports.

Editorial credit: CK Foto / Shutterstock.com