MELBOURNE: Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka were officially made the top-seeded players for the Australian Open which begins Sunday at Melbourne Park.
The announcement on Wednesday comes a day ahead of the tournament draw.
Two-time defending champion Jannik Sinner was seeded second, with Alexander Zverev third and 10-time champion Novak Djokovic fourth. Sabalenka, Iga Świątek and Coco Gauff are the top three seeds in the women’s draw for the second consecutive year.
Madison Keys returns as the defending champion and the ninth-seeded player, one of four American women among the top 10 seeds.
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Men’s Singles Seedings
1. Carlos Alcaraz, Spain
2. Jannik Sinner, Italy
3. Alexander Zverev, Germany
4. Novak Djokovic, Serbia
5. Lorenzo Musetti, Italy
6. Alex de Minaur, Australia
7. Felix Auger-Aliassime, Canada
8. Ben Shelton, United States
9. Taylor Fritz, United States
10. Alexander Bublik, Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan
11. Daniil Medvedev
12. Casper Ruud, Norway
13. Andrey Rublev
14. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Spain
15. Karen Khachanov
16. Jakub Mensik, Czech Republic
17. Jiri Lehecka, Czech Republic
18. Francisco Cerundolo, Argentina
19. Tommy Paul, United States
20. Flavio Cobolli, Italy
21. Denis Shapovalov, Canada
22. Luciano Darderi, Italy
23. Tallon Griekspoor, Netherlands
24. Arthur Rinderknech, France
25. Learner Tien, United States
26. Cameron Norrie, Britain
27. Brandon Nakashima, United States
28. Joao Fonseca, Brazil
29. Frances Tiafoe, United States
30. Valentin Vacherot, Monaco
31. Stefanos Tsitsipas, Greece
32. Corentin Moutet, FranceWomen’s Singles Seedings
33. 1. Aryna Sabalenka
34. 2. Iga Świątek, Poland
35. 3. Coco Gauff, United States
36. 4. Amanda Anisimova, United States
37. 5. Elena Rybakina, Kazakhstan
38. 6. Jessica Pegula, United States
39. 7. Jasmine Paolini, Italy
40. 8. Mirra Andreeva
41. 9. Madison Keys, United States
42. 10. Belinda Bencic, Switzerland
43. 11. Ekaterina Alexandrova
44. 12. Elina Svitolina, Ukraine
45. 13. Linda Noskova, Czech Republic
46. 14. Clara Tauson, Denmark
47. 15. Emma Navarro, United States
48. 16. Naomi Osaka, Japan
49. 17. Victoria Mboko, Canada
50. 18. Liudmila Samsonova
51. 19. Karolina Muchova, Czech Republic
52. 20. Marta Kostyuk, Ukraine
53. 21. Elize Mertens, Belgium
54. 22. Leylah Fernández, Canada
55. 23. Diana Shnaider
56. 24. Jelena Ostapenko, Latvia
57. 25. Paula Badosa, Spain
58. 26. Dayana Yastremska, Ukraine
59. 27. Sofia Kenin, United States
60. 28. Emma Raducanu, Britain
61. 29. Iva Jovic, United States
62. 30. Maya Joint, Australia
63. 31. Anna Kalinskaya
64. 32. Marketa Vondrousova, Czech Republic — AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
As expected, Alcaraz and Sabalenka named top-seeded players at the Australian Open
https://arab.news/6zvsp
As expected, Alcaraz and Sabalenka named top-seeded players at the Australian Open
- Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka were officially made the top-seeded players for the Australian Open which begins Sunday at Melbourne Park
- Sabalenka, Iga Świątek and Coco Gauff are the top three seeds in the women’s draw for the second consecutive year
Pakistan sells Multan Sultans for record $8.7 million ahead of PSL 11th edition
- New owner Walee Technologies plans to change franchise’s name to Rawalpindi
- PCB chairman says ‘Multan Sultans still dear to my heart, will think of something’
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Monday sold Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise Multan Sultans for a record Rs2.45 billion ($8.7 million), ahead of the 11th edition of the Twenty20 tournament.
The 11th edition of the tournament will kick off on March 26, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced on Friday, which will feature eight franchises competing across multiple venues.
The previous owner of Multan Sultans, Ali Tareen, announced in Dec. he was walking away from the ownership of the franchise. The PCB said earlier said it will run the Multan Sultans team for the 11th edition before looking for a potential buyer.
Walee Technologies, which specializes in media, finance and technology, bought the rights for the franchise for $8.7 million at an auction held in Lahore, with local media reporting the new owner planned to change its name to Rawalpindi.
“I cannot ask the person paying Rs2.45bn to keep the name Multan Sultans,” Naqvi told reporters after the auction. “Multan Sultans is still dear to my heart, but we will think of something.”
Walee Technologies was among five bidders that participated in the auction, which came a month after Hyderabad and Sialkot joined the PSL 11th edition.
FKS, an aviation and health care conglomerate based in the US who also run the Chicago Kingsmen team, bought the Hyderabad franchise for a whopping Rs1.75 billion ($6.2 million). The other winner was OZ
Developers, a real estate consortium, which bought the Sialkot franchise for Rs1.85 billion ($6.55 million) at the auction.
The PSL has become a key pillar of the country’s cricket economy, providing financial stability to the PCB and serving as a talent pipeline for the national team.
The league, which features a mix of local and international players, already had six city-based teams, including Karachi Kings, Multan Sultans, Lahore Qalandars, Islamabad United, Peshawar Zalmi and Quetta Gladiators.
