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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡
● Olympic Winter Games 2030: French Alps ● The organizing committee for the 2030 Winter Games is expected to be officially formed on or about 3 February, with FrancsJeux.com reporting that ex-biathlon star Martin Fourcade tabbed as the likely head of the organizing committee.
Fourcade, still just 36, retired from competition at the end of the 2019-20 season, having won six Olympic golds and a silver from 2010-18. He was also a 13-time World Champion, and joined the International Olympic Committee in 2022 as an elected member of the Athletes’ Commission.
The other candidates mentioned are another former biathlete, Vincent Jay, the 2010 Olympic champion in the men’s 10 km Sprint, and retired Freestyle skier Marie Martinod, the 2014-18 silver winner in the Halfpipe.
● World Games ● Voting for the World Games Athlete of the Year for 2024 has been narrowed down to 10, with voting continuing through 31 January.
Indonesian climber Veddriq Leonardo was the top vote getter with 22,861, way ahead of China’s Wushu star Xin Tong (12,533) and Estonian Flying Disc player Kristin Lott (11,575). American flag football star Vanita Krouch was fifth at 8,856 and the U.S. cheerleading pair of Allison Hoeft and Sydney Martin were sixth at 7,598.
● Russia ● Comments from Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov indicated that any return to international competition – even as neutrals – is welcomed as a step toward re-integration.
Peskov said Friday of a decision by the International Chess Federation to allow Russian and Belarusian junior (U-18) teams to compete as neutrals, “Of course, we will continue to work patiently to ensure that our athletes have the opportunity to take part in international competitions.
“Even if it’s in neutral status at first, the main thing is to start playing and return to international sports life.”
The Russian fencing federation has asked the International Fencing Federation (FIE) to allow its athletes to compete under the federation’s flag, as is now allowed by the International Judo Federation.
● Athletics ● Sad news that Dr. Greg Bell, the 1956 Olympic men’s long jump champion, died Saturday at 94 in Logansport, Indiana.
Bell was an Indiana star, winning the 1956 and 1957 NCAA titles, the 1955 and 1959 AAU national champion and took the Melbourne Olympic title with an Olympic Record 7.83 m (25-8 1/4). He finished with a best of 8.10 m (26-7) in 1957, which at the time placed him no. 2 all-time to fellow American Jesse Owens.
Inducted into the USA Track & Field Hall of Fame in 1988, Bell was a practicing dentist at the Logansport State Hospital until his retirement in 2020, at age 89!
● Gymnastics ● Two-time Olympic gold medalist Suni Lee is not a threat to make it to the Olympic Winter Games.
Trying skiing for the first time while in Montreal, she fell flat and wrote later on Instagram:
“First time skiing. Omg never again.”
≡ RESULTS ≡
● Alpine Skiing ● A busy men’s World Cup weekend in Kitzbuehel (AUT), with three events, starting with the seventh win of the season for defending World Cup champion Marco Odermatt, winning in 1:13.25, ahead of Raphael Haaser (AUT: 1:13.36) and Stefan Rogentin (SUI: 1:13.55). Bruce Bennett was the top American, in 19th (1:14.47).
Canadian James Crawford got his first career World Cup gold in Saturday’s Downhill – and his fifth career World Cup medal – in 1:53.64, beating Alexis Monney (SUI: 1:53.72), who won his third career World Cup medal.
Sunday’s Slalom was the 14th career World Cup gold for Beijing 2022 Olympic champ Clement Noel (FRA), fourth after the first run and eighth in the second run, but fastest overall at 1:41.49. Italy’s Alex Vinatzer moved from 11th to second with the second-fastest second run in 1:41.58 and Brazil’s Lucas Braathen was third (1:41.68). Benjamin Ritchie was the top American, in 21st.
¶
The women’s World Cup was in Garmisch-Partenkirchen (GER), with three-time Olympic medalist Federica Brignone taking her fifth race of the season, overtaking teammate Sofia Goggia, the 2018 Olympic Downhill winner, by 0.01: 1:35.82 to 1:35.84. Swiss Corinne Suter got her second medal of the season in third (1:36.02), just ahead of American Breezy Johnson (1:36.08). Fellow American Lauren Macuga was sixth in 1:26.21.
The Super-G on Sunday had defending World Cup champion Lara Gut-Behrami scoring her sixth medal of the season, but her first win in 1:14.91, followed by Kajsa Vickhoff Lie (NOR: 1:15.26) and Brignone (1:15.29). Keely Cashman of the U.S. was sixth, her best World Cup finish ever, in 1:15.94.
¶
Czech skier and 2022 Olympian Tereza Nova, 26, suffered a bad crash during Downhill training on Friday in Garmisch and had to undergo surgery on Saturday. According to Czech ski federation spokesman Tomas Haisl:
“Terka underwent surgery in the hospital in Murnau to reduce brain swelling. She is currently in an induced coma, where she will remain for as long as the doctors deem it appropriate.”
● Athletics ● Jamaica’s 2024 Olympic silver winner Kishane Thompson starred in the men’s 60 m at the World Indoor Tour Gold meet in Astana (KAZ), winning his heat in 6.58 and the final in 6.56 over Ali Anwar Al-Balushi (OMA: 6.60), with American Demek Kemp fourth in 6.63.
The U.S. got wins from Dylan Beard in the men’s 60 m hurdles (7.58) and two-time World Champion Chase Jackson in the women’s shot with a world-leading 19.13 m (62-9 1/4).
● Badminton ● At the Indonesia Masters in Jakarta, Thailand scored both Singles titles, with fourth-seeded Kunlavut Vitidsarn (THA) overcoming no. 3 seed Jonaton Christie (INA), 18-21, 21-17, 21-18, while Ratchanok Intanon (THA) took the women’s title, 21-18, 21-17, over Yu Jin Sim (KOR).
Wei Chong Man and Kai Wun Tee (MAS) won the men’s Doubles, defeating Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto (INA), 21-11, 21-19, and Hye Jeong Kim and Hee Yong Kong (KOR) won the women’s Doubles over Pearly Tan and Muralitharan Thinaah (MAS), 21-12, 17-21, 21-18.
Japan’s Hiroki Midorikawa and Natsu Saito won the Mixed Doubles by 21-15, 21-17 over China’s Xin Wa Guo and Fang Hui Chen.
● Biathlon ● IBU World Cup no. 6 for 2024-25 was in Antholz-Anterselva (ITA), also a test event for the 2026 Winter Games in Milan Cortina, with 36-year-old Tarjei Boe, the 2011 seasonal winner, taking Norway’s ninth win in 14 men’s races this season in the 10 km Sprint in 23:51.0 (0). Teammate Sturla Laegreid was a very close second in 23:51.4 (1).
Sunday’s 12.5 km Pursuit saw Lagreid win in 29:53.0 (0) and take over the seasonal lead. He beat Boe (30:11.9/1) and Italian Tommaso Giacomel (30:17.0/2).
Following the lead of his younger brother, Johannes, Tarjei Boe announced that he will also retire at the end of the season.
Four-time Worlds medalist Lou Jeanmonnot (FRA) continued her hot streak, winning her fifth race of the season in the women’s 7.5 km Sprint in 21:09.5 (0), ahead of Germans Selina Grotian (21:16.7/0) and Franziska Preuss (21:26.2/0).
The 10 km Pursuit on Saturday had Jeanmonnot winning again – four of the last five World Cup races – in 29:44.0 (1), ahead of teammate Julia Simon (30:08.1/0) and Preuss (30:37.6/1). Preuss still leads Jeanmonnot overall, 879 to 787 after 14 of 21 events.
● Bobsled & Skeleton ● The sixth stop of the IBSF World Cup (in bobsled) was in St. Moritz (SUI), with two races of the men’s Four-Man sleds scheduled, as the Two-Man season has concluded. Britain’s Brad Hall, the 2023 Worlds silver medalist, won the first races in 2:11.59, ahead of double Olympic champion Francesco Friedrich (GER: 2:11.80) and Olympic silver medalist Johannes Lochner (GER: 2:11.87). Frank Del Duca drove the top American sled, in 11th (2:13.10).
The Sunday races had to be canceled; per the IBSF announcement: “[t]he temperatures in St. Moritz did not reach the necessary below-zero margin during the night which would allow the natural ice track to freeze during the night.”
The women’s Monobob was also held twice, the American star – and 2022 Olympic runner-up – Elana Meyers Taylor getting her first win of the season, in 2:21.52, winning both runs. She beat New Zealand’s Bree Walker (2:21.76) and fellow American Kaysha Love (2:22.07), with Beijing Olympic champ Kaillie Armbruster Humphries finishing seventh (2:22.44).
Taylor won the second event as well, winning both runs again with a total of 2:22.15, ahead of Love (2:22.29) and German, two-time World Champion Laura Nolte (2:22.45). Armbruster Humphries was seventh again (2:22.79). The Two-woman races were canceled due to the warm weather.
● Cross Country Skiing ● The FIS men’s World Cup in Engadin (SUI) started with the eighth win of the season for four-time World Cup champ Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo, in the Freestyle Sprint, in 2:29.24, just ahead of Swede Edvin Anger (2:29.44). The 20 km Freestyle Mass Start completed the weekend sweep for Klaebo, who won in 53:02.8, heading a Norwegian sweep, with Iver Andersen (53:04.1) and Didrik Toenseth (53:04.7). Norwegians took the first six places.
The women’s Freestyle Sprint was the third win in four Free Sprint races this season for Swede Jonna Sundling, the 2022 Olympic champ, in 2:49.04, more than a second ahead of Kristine Skistad (NOR: 2:50.08). Seasonal leader Jessie Diggins of the U.S. was sixth in 3:47.44.
Sunday’s 20 km Freestyle Mass Start was fourth win of the season for Norway’s 36-year-old Astrid Slind (57:12.7), ahead of teammate Nora Sanness (57:16.3) and Sundling (57:32.9). Diggins finished fifth (57:33.9), and leads Slind, 1,483 to 1,269 after 21 of 31 events this season.
● Cycling ● The UCI men’s World Tour opened with the six-stage Santos Tour Down Under in Australia, and Ecuador’s 2023 Pan Am Games road winner Jhonatan Narvaez took control of the race on the hilly fifth stage and held on for the overall win on Sunday.
Second by four seconds after the fourth stage, Narvaez won a fifth-stage sprint for a tight victory and grabbed the lead by just nine seconds over Javier Romo (ESP) going into Sunday’s flat, 90 km stage in Adelaide. He finished 31st to Romo’s 20th, but both had the same time and Narvaez took the race title, 19:19:16, with Romo at 19:19:25. Magnus Sheffield of the U.S. was seventh, 27 seconds back of the winner.
● Fencing ● The FIE World Cup was back in action, with Sabre events in Plovdiv (BUL), and Korea’s Paris 2024 Olympic champ Sang-Uk Oh winning the men’s final over France’s 2023 European bronzer Sebastien Patrice, 15-11.
France defeated the U.S. (Antonio Heathcock, Colin Heathcock, Daryl Homer and William Morrill) in the tight men’s team final, 45-44.
Home favorite – and 2024 Worlds bronze medalist – Yoana Ilieva won a tight women’s final from Italy’s Chiara Mormile, 15-13, for her first career World Cup gold. It was the second career World Cup medal for Mormile. Japan defeated Hungary, 45-44, for the team gold.
¶
At the Epee Grand Prix in Doha (QAT), 2022 Worlds bronze winner Neisser Loyola (BEL) got his first Grand Prix gold with a 15-11 win over Hungarian Gergely Siklosi, the 2019 World Champion.
Hong Kong’s Kaylin Hsieh scored a 15-7 win in the women’s final over Nelli Differt (EST). Hsieh won her first career Grand Prix medal.
● Figure Skating ● The stars shone brightly at the U.S. national championships in Wichita, Kansas, especially World Champion Ilia Malinin.
Still just 20, he dazzled in the Short Program, with a Quad Flip and a Quad Lutz-Triple Toe Loop combo and scored 114.08 points to lead Andrew Torgashev by 19.14 points!
In the Free Skate, Milanin was even better, trying a staggering seven quad jumps: Quad Flip, his patented Quad Axel, Quad Loop (fall) and Quad Lutz to start, then including Quad Lutz, Quad Toeloop and Quad Salchow – each in combination – and although he also some trouble on the Salchow combo, he scored a monster 219.33 points to finish at 333.31. It’s Malinin’s third straight U.S. title, in spectacular fashion.
Torgashev was strong in second at 191.55 and finished second overall at 286.49, with Cam Pulkinen moving from fourth to third (252.92) and Maxim Naumov from seventh to fourth (248.16).
There was no doubt about the Ice Dance winners as World Champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates won both segments and took their sixth national title with 223.223.52 points, well ahead of Christina Carrera and Anthony Ponomarenko (210.79). Caroline Green and Michael Parsons finished third with 205.37 points.
Chock and Bates won their fourth U.S. title in a row; their total of six equals the record by Meryl Davis and Charlie White from 2009-14. Carrera and Ponomarenko won silver for the second year in a row.
Amber Glenn, who placed silver-withdrew-bronze-gold in the prior four Nationals, defended her 2024 title in a battle with 2019-20 winner Alysia Liu, who led after the Short Program. But Glenn won the Free Skate by nearly seven points and vaulted from third to first with a 216.79 total.
Liu, who returned to competition this season after a two-year break, scored 76.36 to lead after the Short, and her 138.97 Free Skate score ranked second, with a total of 215.33 points, her first top-three finish since winning in 2020. Sarah Everhardt, fourth in 2024, moved up to the bronze at 207.36, with 2018/21 national champ Bradie Tennell in fourth place (199.94).
Defending Pairs champs Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea led in Pairs after the Short Program by more than eight points, but suffered two falls and ended up fifth in the Free Skate, scoring 189.57 total points.
That left the door open for 2024 runners-up Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov, who won the Free Skate and took their first national title with 211.90 points. Katie McBeath and Daniil Parkman won the silver, coming from fourth after the Short Program, at 190.57, with Kam and O’Shea placing third, repeating their bronze placement from 2023.
¶
U.S. Figure Skating named Glenn, the injured Isabeau Levito and Liu as its women’s team for the ISU World Championships, in Boston in March. The Pairs selections were Efimova and Mitrofanov and Kam and O’Shea.
Chock and Bates, Carreira and Ponomarenko, and Green and Parsons were named for Ice Dance.
● Freestyle Skiing ● Olympic champ Guangpu Qi (CHN) grabbed his 17th individual World Cup gold in Aerials at Lac-Beauport (CAN) on Saturday, scoring 124.50 to out-distance Canadian Lewis Irving (102.50) and 2021 Worlds runner-up Chris Lillis of the U.S. (85.40) in the final.
Qi doubled his pleasure in Sunday’s jumping, scoring 110.56 to best countryman Xindi Wang (105.88) and Canada’s Emile Nadeau (95.98).
Two-time women’s Worlds winner Laura Peel (AUS) won the first women’s competition at 117.19, well ahead of China’s Meiting Chen (102.31) and Olympic champ Mengtao Xu (92.72). Sunday’s results showed another double, this time for Peel (102.17), who was a decisive winner over American Kareena Elliott (87.42) and Airleigh Frigo (AUS: 76.85).
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Every time Canadian star Mikael Kingsbury wins a Moguls or Dual Moguls World Cup, he extends his record for career wins, as he did in Waterville, New Hampshire, taking the men’s Moguls on Saturday, 84.95 to 83.55 over American Nick Page. It’s Kingsbury’s 94th World Cup win!
Sunday was the Dual Moguls, with another Kingsbury win, this time over Australia’s 2018 Olympic silver winner Matt Graham in the final. Filip Gravenfors (SWE) won the bronze.
France’s 2018 Olympic winner Perrine Laffont got her second win of the season in the Saturday women’s Moguls with 77.43 points, beating Beijing 2022 Olympic runner-up Jaelin Kauf (77.39) and Olivia Giaccio (75.52), both from the U.S.
Laffont and Kauf went head-to-head for the Dual Moguls gold on Sunday, with Laffont getting the win again, 20-15. Yuliya Galysheva (KAZ) won the bronze.
● Handball ● The IHF men’s World Championship moved to the quarterfinals in Zagreb (CRO) and Baerum (NOR), with three-time defending champ Denmark and France advancing with perfect, 5-0 records. Portugal won Group III at 4-0-1 and Croatia took Group IV at 4-1.
The quarters start Tuesday:
● France (5-0) vs. Egypt (4-1) in Zagreb
● Hungary (3-1-1) vs. Croatia (4-1) in Zagreb
● Denmark (5-0) vs. Brazil (4-1) in Baerum
● Portugal (4-0-1) vs. Germany (4-1) in Baerum
The semis are on Thursday and Friday, and the medal matches in Baerum on Sunday.
● Luge ● The seventh stop for the FIL World Cup was in Oberhof (GER), for the second time this season, with the women’s winners repeating in both Singles and Doubles!
Madeleine Egle (AUT), the 2024 Worlds bronze medalist, won for the fourth time this season at 1:23.117, winning the first run, over second-run winner Julia Taubitz (GER: 1:23.230), the 2021 World Champion. Ashley Farquharson was the top American, in seventh (1:23.675).
Younger sister Selina Egle, with Lara Kipp (AUT) won their sixth World Cup race in a row, taking both runs and finishing in 1:24.135, ahead of two-time World Champions Jessica Degenhardt and Cheyenne Rosenthal (GER: 1:24.235). Americans Chevonne Forgan and Sophia Kirkby were fifth (1:24.897) and Maya Chan and Sophia Gordon finished eighth (1:25.943).
Germans went 1-2 in the men’s Doubles with three-time World Champions Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt winning in 1:22.808, ahead of teammates Hannes Orlamuender and Paul Gubitz (1:22.876), who won at the first Oberhof event. Marcus Mueller and Ansel Haugsjaa finished eighth as the top U.S. sled (1:23.557).
Germany’s 2024 World Champion Max Langenhan won his third World Cup of the season in the men’s Singles, in 1:25.895, ahead of two-time Olympic champ Felix Loch (1:26.134) and Beijing runner-up Wolfgang Kindl (AUT: 1:26.257). Tucker West was the top American, in 10th (1:26.746)
In the new Mixed events, Loch and Merle Frabel (GER) won the Singles in 1:36.948, and Wendl and Arlt and Degenhardt and Rosenthal won the Doubles in 1:36.365.
Next up are the World Championships in Whistler (CAN) beginning on 6 February.
● Rugby Sevens ● Argentina made a statement at the Rugby Sevens Series in Perth (AUS), winning the men’s final over Australia by 41-5! Fiji, France and Argentina won their groups, then the Argentines whipped Britain, 27-14, and smashed Spain by 40-5. Australia got by France (24-12) and eased by South Africa, 17-12, to get to the final. Argentina, Fiji and Spain are all tied at 48 points atop the men’s standings after three of six tournaments.
Australia won the women’s tournament for its second victory in three stages of the Series so far, beating New Zealand in the final, 28-26. Those two teams and Canada won their groups, then all three won their quarters. In the semis, the Kiwis bopped France, 36-7 and Australia eliminated Canada by 24-17. France won the bronze over Canada (14-7). New Zealand still has a small, 56-54 lead over Australia overall, with France next at 48.
● Ski Jumping ● The men’s World Cup moved to the giant, 235 m ski-flying hill in Obertsdorf (GER), with Slovenia’s Beijing 2022 runner-up Timi Zajc becoming the first jumper to win a World Cup this season who is not from Germany or Austria!
Zajc won Saturday’s final with 453.7 points, winning the second jump, ahead of first-round leader Johann Forfang (NOR: 448.6) and Slovenian teammate Domen Prevc (444.9).
Prevc won Sunday’s meet, winning the first round and scoring 436.8 overall, ahead of Forfang (433.2) and Austria’s Michael Hayboeck (429.1).
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At the women’s World Cup in Zao (JPN), Slovenian star Nika Prevc – at 19, the youngest of the jumping Prevcs, with three older brothers – won Friday’s event off the 102 m hill, scoring 220.1 points for her fifth win of the season. That was just enough to beat Thea Bjoerseth (NOR: 217.5) and 2023 Worlds runner-up Eva Pinkelnig (AUT: 212.7).
Sunday’s second event saw Jacqueline Seifriedsberger (AUT), 34, get her third career World Cup win at 235.4 points, ahead of Eirin Kvandal (NOR: 232.5) and Prevc (231.3).
● Ski Mountaineering ● Swiss star Remi Bonnet, already the reigning World Champion and winner of three races on the ISMF World Cup this season, dominated the Individual Race in Arsinal (AND) for his fourth win and 22nd of his career.
He won in 1:12:21.4, far ahead of France’s Thibault Anselmet (1:14:20.0) and Aurelien Gay (SUI: 1:14:30.2).
The women’s race wasn’t close either, with World Champion Axelle Gachet Mollaret leading a 1-2 for France with Emily Harrop, 1:11:11.1 and 1:12:38.2. Swede Tove Alexandersson finished a distant third in 1:13:32.0. It’s the fourth win in the Individual and Vertical races for Gachet Mollaret this season (without a loss).
● Snowboard ● In the FIS World Cup in Parallel Giant Slalom in Rogla (SLO), Italy’s Maurizio Bormolini scored his third Parallel win of the season, beating Elias Huber (GER) in the men’s final and re-taking the season lead, with five events still to go.
Japan’s Tsubaki Miki, the 2023 World Champion, won the women’s final for her third win of the season and extended her seasonal lead, beating two-time Worlds medalist Sabine Payer (AUT).
● Speed Skating ● The third ISU World Cup was in Calgary (CAN) at the famed Olympic Oval, with American Jordan Stolz continuing his march, now with 11 wins in 11 races at 500-1,000-1,500 m.
Stolz is the reigning World Champion in all three distances and won the 1,500 m on Friday at 1:41.22 – a track record – ahead of China’s Zhongyan Ning (1:42.24), the 2024 Worlds 1,000 m silver medalist.
On Saturday, Stolz took the 1,000 m in another track record of 1:05.90, with Jenning De Boo (NED: 1:06.05) second and three-time Olympic gold medalist Kjeld Nuis (NED: 1:06.73) third. Stolz added the 500 m on Sunday with 33.85 win, ahead of De Boo (33.87), with fellow American Cooper MacLeod sixth in 34.15, a lifetime best.
Not to be overshadowed, Italy’s Davide Ghiotto, the two-time World Champion at 10,000 m, broke the 10,000 m world record, finishing in 12:25.69, crushing the 12:30.74 mark by Olympic champ Nils van der Poel (SWE) in 2022. Czech Metodej Jilek was a distant second in 12:37.81.
France’s Timothy Loubineaud took the Mass Start in a tight finish with Fridjof Petzold (GER) and Belgian Indra Medard, 7:50.14 to 7:50.48 to 7:50.74. American Ethan Cepuran was ninth (7:54.94).
Austin Kleba, MacLeod and Zach Stoppelmoor won the men’s Team Sprint in 1:16.98, over The Netherlands (1:17.54), after finishing second to the Dutch in Beijing in December.
Dutch star Joy Beune, the 2024 World Allround Champion, won the women’s 5,000 m in 6:45.76 ahead of teammate Merel Conijn (6:47.44), then beat 2024 World Champion Miho Takagi (JPN), 1:51.72 to 1:51.85, in the 1,500 m. American star Brittany Bowe, four times a Worlds medalist at this distance, was sixth (1:53.98).
Takagi, the 2022 Olympic winner at 1,000 m, won that race in 1:13.10, beating two-time World Champion Jutta Leerdam (NED: 1:13.46), with three-time World Champion Bowe fifth (1:14.28) and U.S. teammate Kimi Goetz in seventh (1:14.66).
Sunday’s 500 m sprint went to two-time World Champion Femke Kok (37.01) over Poland’s Andzelika Wojcik (37.16). Goetz was ninth (37.69), Bowe finished 15th and Olympic champ Erin Jackson was 20th.
American Greta Myers took the women’s Mass Start in 8:36.64, well in front of Wenjing Jin (CHN: 8:44.38) with U.S. teammate Mia Manganello in ninth (8:46.10). Canada won the Team Sprint over Poland, 1:24.90 to 1:26.02.
● Tennis ● The defending Singles champions were back to the final; in the Australian Open, but Italy’s Jannik Sinner was the only one to repeat, defeating German Alexander Zverev in straight sets, 6–3, 7–6 (7–4), 6–3. Sinner became the 15th man to win two or more Australians in the Open Era.
The women’s final saw 2024 champ Aryna Sabalenka (BLR) make it to the final, but lost to 29-year-old American Madison Keys, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5, as Keys won her first career Grand Slam title in her second appearance in a Slam final (also the 2017 U.S. Open). Keys was the first American to win the women’s Australian since Sofia Kenin in 2020. Sabalenka was the first to make three straight women’s finals since Serena Williams in 2015-16-17.
In the men’s Doubles, the 2024 Wimbledon winners, Harri Heliovaara (FIN) and Henry Patten (GBR) took their first Australian title over Italians Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori, 6–7 (16–18), 7–6 (7–5), 6–3. The women’s Doubles also took three sets, with Kateřina Siniakova (CZE) and American Taylor Townsend – who won Wimbledon last year – defeating Su-wei Hsieh (TPE) and Jelena Ostapenko (LAT), 6–2, 6–7 (4–7), 6–3. It’s Siniakova’s 10th Doubles title in a major!
The Mixed Doubles title went to Australians Olivia Gadecki and John Peers over fellow Australians Kimberly Birrell and John-Patrick Smith, 3–6, 6–4, [10–6]. This was the first time since 1967 for an all-Australian final in this event.
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