TOKYO: World No.1 Victoria Azarenka pulled out of the Pan Pacific Open citing chronic fatigue while Maria Sharapova was stunned by Samantha Stosur as the event lost its top two seeds yesterday.
French Open champion Sharapova, Tokyo winner in 2005 and 2009, was upset by Australian Stosur 6-4, 7-6 in a quarterfinal filled with drama and high-quality tennis.
Azarenka withdrew before her quarterfinal with German Angelique Kerber, having come into the WTA premier five event complaining of health issues.
The Belarusian, who won this year’s Australian Open and reached the final of the US Open earlier this month, struggled to complete her third round match the previous day.
“Before the tournament I wasn’t feeling very good,” said Azarenka, who had her blood pressure checked during Wednesday’s win over Roberta Vinci.
“I had low energy. I wasn’t myself. It wasn’t possible today. Maybe it was tiredness from the whole season. I need to have some tests. It’s a little bit unknown what it is.” Stosur next faces Russian Nadia Petrova, who ousted sixth seed Sara Errani 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 after battling back from a set and 4-1 down against her Italian opponent.
Eighth seed Stosur had won just one of her previous 11 meetings with Sharapova but seized the initiative by taking the first set when the Russian blasted a backhand long.
The Australian was taken to a tiebreak in the second after leading 5-3 but won a nail-biter 12-10 on her fifth match point after a wild forehand from Sharapova.
“When you don’t take a few (chances) in a row you don’t know what’s going to happen,” said 2011 US Open champion Stosur. “I just kept trying to go for it and thankfully it paid off.” Sharapova was philosophical in defeat.
“She had the chance to win the match easily but I made it tough for her,” said the London Olympic silver medalist. “I had my fair share of chances in the tiebreak.
“One point here, one point there — it just didn’t go my way. I can play a lot better tennis than I have this week.” Following her walkover, fifth seed Kerber will face defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska in the semi-finals of the hardcourt event.
Pole Radwanska overpowered 10th seed Caroline Wozniacki 6-4, 6-3 in the day’s last quarterfinal.
Azarenka pulls out; Sharapova upset in Tokyo
Azarenka pulls out; Sharapova upset in Tokyo
Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia unveils 2026 International Jockeys’ Challenge
- Japan Cup hero Mickael Barzalona and defending champion Mohammed Aldaham among 14-strong lineup
RIYADH: Japan Cup hero Mickael Barzalona, newly appointed Irish Champion Dylan Browne McMonagle and last year’s winner Mohammed Aldaham have been unveiled by the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia as part of the 2026 Saudi Cup International Jockeys’ Challenge at King Abdulaziz Racecourse on Feb. 13.
Prince Bandar bin Khaled Al-Faisal, chairman of JCSA, said: “The Saudi Cup International Jockeys’ Challenge has always been a favorite part of Saudi Cup weekend for me.
“It is the only challenge in the world that includes equal numbers of men and women competing as individuals, and it has been gratifying to see so many winners from different parts of the world since its inception in 2020,” he said.
The seven women and seven men who will compete in the four-race series over the big weekend includes global representation and features leading UK riders Saffie Osborne and Hollie Doye, Marie Velon from France, Australia’s Angela Jones and the American-based Frenchman Flavien Prat and the US’s Forest Boyce.
Two of the men are locally based jockeys, with Panamanian-born Luis Morales, who has more than 600 winners to his name in Saudi Arabia alone, joining defending champion Aldaham in the lineup after he created history in 2025 by becoming the first Saudi jockey to triumph.
Barzalona will be aiming to carry through his remarkable run of form from 2025, a year in which he won the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud, King George VI Stakes, England’s Champion Stakes and the Japan Cup on Calandgan (IRE) in addition to notable strikes in the French 1000 Guineas and Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.
Joining Barzalona is 22-year-old Northern Irishman Dylan Browne McMonagle, who is a multiple Group 1 winner and was crowned Irish Champion Jockey last November.
Like Barzalona and Browne McMonagle, Flavien Prat will be making his first appearance in the IJC having established himself as a dominate force in American racing, where he won the 2019 Kentucky Derby aboard Country House and has multiple Breeders’ Cup wins to his name, including in the 2022 Classic on the brilliant and unbeaten Flightline (US).
Completing the men’s team is Keita Tosaki, one of Japan’s leading riders with more than 4,000 wins, with strikes on champions such as Real Impact (JPN) and Danon Decile (JPN), and rising British rider Billy Loughnane.
At the age of 17, Loughnane was crowned Champion Apprentice and just two years on is a Group 1 winner; on Dec. 31, 2025, he made modern history with the most number of wins in a calendar year with 223 victories.
Both Hollie Doyle and Saffie Osborne are previous participants, and Doyle will be making her third appearance, having starred in 2025 and 2021 when she also won the Neom Turf Cup for Irish mastermind Willie Mullins aboard True Self (IRE).
The Classic-winning rider has partnered multiple Group 1 winners and heads to Riyadh after a successful stint in Hong Kong through the latter part of 2025.
Osborne makes her return after appearing in 2024 and has broken new ground since then by partnering Heart of Honor (GB) in the Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes in America last year, and the duo have since dazzled with wins at Meydan in Dubai.
American Forest Boyce is a multiple graded stakes-winning jockey, one of Maryland’s most accomplished riders, and makes her first appearance in Riyadh.
With more than 1,000 victories and $40 million in earnings, Boyce will be joined by Australia’s Angela Jones, who has quickly risen through the ranks to become a consistent force in Queensland racing.
Since transitioning to senior status in 2023, Jones has recorded more than 450 career wins from more than 2,800 rides, and has partnered regularly with leading trainer Tony Gollan, forming one of Queensland’s most successful jockey-trainer combinations.
European women are strongly represented, with six‑time winner of the Cravache d’Or Feminine Marie Velon returning, along with debutants Nina Baltromei and Frida Valle‑Skar.
Baltromei is a German jockey who made history in 2025 as the first woman to win the Deutsches Derby.
Valle‑Skar is of Swedish origin and has built a strong career riding in France and internationally. She made her first race ride in 2017, rode her first winner the following year and has since amassed more than 230 wins from more than 2,800 rides.
Last year she also achieved an historic breakthrough when she partnered Matilda to victory in the German 2000 Guineas at Cologne. It was the first time in 54 years that a filly had won the race, and Valle‑Skar became the first female jockey to ride the winner of the Classic.
And Velon has more than 600 career victories, including major international successes. Her partnership with Iresine (FR) has been particularly notable, delivering victories in the Prix Foy (2023) and the Group 1 Prix Royal-Oak (2022).
“The JCSA is proud to promote this event with its equal opportunities for men and women, and we are glad to echo this key message shared by Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 — which is a guiding light for all sport in Saudi Arabia,” Prince Bandar said.
“Last year we celebrated the first victory by a Saudi jockey and Mohammed Aldaham is back this year to defend his title, may he have the best of luck,” he said. “Jockeys are tremendous and inspiring athletes and I look forward to personally welcoming them all to King Abdulaziz Racecourse and the Saudi Cup.
“The best of luck to all participants,” he added.
