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Sabalenka holds off Pegula to win first US Open title
Aryna Sabalenka won her first US Open title as she put the disappointment of last year’s final behind her to hold off home hope Jessica Pegula.
Sabalenka was seen smashing her racquet on the floor of the locker room after losing the Flushing Meadows showpiece to Coco Gauff in 2023.
However, 12 months on, the Belarusian second seed earned redemption in New York, dropping to the floor in celebration after clinching a thrilling 7-5 7-5 win over Pegula.
It is a third Grand Slam singles trophy for Sabalenka after she successfully defended her Australian Open title in January.
It also continues her dominance on hard courts, with the win over Pegula extending Sabalenka’s unbeaten run on the surface at major tournaments to 14 matches.
“I’m speechless right now. It’s always been a dream of mine and finally I got this beautiful trophy,” Sabalenka said.
The 26-year-old ran up to her player’s box to celebrate the victory, hugging her team and jokingly slapping the head of her strength and conditioning coach Jason Stacy, who had a replica of Sabalenka’s tiger tattoo printed on the area.
“If you’re really working hard sacrificing everything for your dream, you’re going to get it one day,” she added.
“I’m just super proud of myself. I never say that but I’m super proud of myself.
“I’m super proud of my team that no matter what, we were able to go through it and get all those beautiful trophies.”
For sixth seed Pegula, the wait for a first major title goes on.
Playing in a first Grand Slam singles final, the 30-year-old was buoyed by a partisan crowd on Arthur Ashe Stadium and made a late surge to halt Sabalenka.
But Sabalenka fought back from a 5-3 second-set deficit before wrapping up victory in one hour and 53 minutes to claim 2,000 ranking points and $3.6m (£3.04m) in prize money.
[BBC]
The National People’s Power (NPP) polled 2,260 votes (46.18%) to secure 9 of the 19 seats in the Tangalla Urban Council at todays. Local Authorities Election.
THe Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJ) polled 1,397 votes to secure five seats while the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) polled 795 votes to secure 3 seats.
The United National Party (UNP) and the Sarvajana Balaya secure one seat each.
South Africa fast bowler Kagiso Rabada has served a one-month ban, commuted from three months, for drug use during the SA20 earlier this year.
A statement issued by the South African Institute for Drug Free Sports (SAIDS) confirmed Rabada had failed a doping test on January 21, after the match between MI Cape Town and Durban Super Giants, and he was notified of the result on April 1 when he was in India for IPl 2025. On April 3, his IPL franchise Gujarat Titans (GT) said Rabada had returned to South Africa for personal reasons after playing only two matches this season.
According to SAIDS, Rabada has since participated in an education and awareness programme to prevent further substance abuse. He can resume playing immediately and could return to action as soon as Tuesday, when GT play Mumbai Indians (MI).
Rabada’s sanction is in line with the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) punishment for use of a recreational drug – including cannabis, cocaine, methamphetamine or diamorphine. A similar punishment was handed to New Zealand’s Doug Bracewell last year after he tested positive for cocaine during the Super Smash.
However, there are instances of longer suspensions, which are up to individual boards. Last year, Zimbabwe’s Wessley Madhevere and Brandon Mavuta were banned from playing for four months each and fined 50% of their salaries for three months after testing positive for a recreational drug. In that instance, Zimbabwe Cricket chose to impose a sanction longer than the WADA recommendations.
It is not expected that Cricket South Africa will impose further punishment on Rabada after it issued a statement on Saturday afternoon calling the incident “regrettable”. CSA is satisfied with Rabada’s “commitment to upholding professional standards” after he apologised through the South African Cricketers’ Association when news of his positive drug test broke at the weekend.
“I am deeply sorry to all those that I have let down,” Rabada said. “I will never take the privilege of playing cricket for granted. This privilege is much larger than me. It goes beyond my personal aspirations.”
With the matter considered closed, Rabada will be available for South Africa for the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia next month, where he is crucial to their chances. Rabada was South Africa’s leading wicket-taker in the 2023-2025 WTC cycle with 47 wickets at an average of 19.97.
However, not everyone considers the case to be as open and shut as CSA.
Speaking to SEN Radio, former Australia captain Tim Payne was critical of the statement initially issued by GT to explain Rabada’s absence from the IPL.
“It stinks. I don’t like this use around ‘personal issues’, and it being used to hide stuff that isn’t a personal issue,” Paine told SEN Radio on Monday. “If you have a professional sportsman that’s tested for recreational drugs during a tournament in which he is playing, that doesn’t fall under personal issues for me. That falls under you have broken your contract.
“That is not a personal issue, that is something that is happening in your personal life. Taking drugs – recreational or performance enhancing – is not a personal issue that can just be hidden for a month. A guy can be taken out of the IPL, moved back to South Africa, and we just let it slide under the rug. Then we will bring him back once he’s already served his ban.”
ESPNcricinfo contacted CSA and SACA officials multiple times after Rabada returned home from the IPL and were told he was dealing with a “personal issue”, while some officials claimed not to know anything about why he had come home.
Voting commenced at 7.00am to elect members to 339 local councils in the island.
Voting is being held at 13,579 polling centers and will end at 4.00 p.m.
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