BRISBANE: An angry and impatient Serena Williams overcame blustery conditions at the Brisbane International yesterday in an ominous beginning to her only tournament before her charge at a 16th major title at the Australian Open next month.
The American threw her hands in the air, shook her head, gesticulated toward her coach and stomped her feet in petulant protest — but that did little to help compatriot Varvara Lepchenko who suffered a 6-2, 6-1 first round defeat.
Howling with frustration in her first match since winning the WTA Championships at Istanbul in October, lacking rhythm in swirling winds on Pat Rafter Arena, Williams still delivered enough booming serves and punishing groundstrokes to prevail in a formidable if cantankerous display.
The reigning Wimbledon, Olympic and US Open champion told reporters a calendar-year grand slam was very much on her mind at the start of the season.
Williams held all four major titles in the so-called Serena Slam of 2002-2003 but the holy grail of professional tennis is to win the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open tournaments in the same calendar year.
The American claimed world number one Victoria Azarenka and number two Maria Sharapova, and perhaps a few fringe-dwellers, were eyeing off a near-impossible feat not achieved since Steffi Graf’s unbeaten run through 1988.
“I think whoever wins the Australian Open will have that same thought,” Williams said.
“I think there is no way that Victoria or Maria or maybe some other players don’t have that same thought. I think I definitely feel that way.” Both Azarenka and Sharapova are in a red-hot Brisbane field with Williams. Of the world’s top 10, only Agnieszka Radwanska and Li Na are missing.
The predictability of her defeat of Lepchenko was matched by the level of emotion surrounding Australian wildcard Jarmila Gajdosova’s victory on the opening day.
Playing her first tournament since the passing in September of her mother, also named Jarmila, and with her world ranking having plummeted from a career high of 25 to 183 in the last 18 months, Gajdosova roared home from a one-set deficit to stun Italy’s world number 16 Roberta Vinci.
Gajdosova wept after a 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 triumph that set up a second-round showdown against French Open champion Sharapova.
“There have been a lot of things happening in my life,” Gajdosova said.
“As you all know, my mom passed away in September. It’s been a difficult time. First Christmas, as well, without her. My dad is here. My brother and his wife and son. It was my first match in front of them and my first match in Australia, after a long time, without my mum.” Sixth-seeded Czech Petra Kvitova recovered from a pre-tournament asthma scare to defeat Spain’s Carla Suarez-Navarro 6-3, 6-4.
Kvitova has been gasping and wheezing in Brisbane’s humid weather and revealed one of her recent attacks had been her worst in three years.
The 2011 Wimbledon champion was unaware she was asthmatic until she nearly collapsed during an event in New York in 2009.
“I was playing a tournament in the Bronx and after about five minutes I had to sit down and relax and have a drink because I just couldn’t move and I couldn’t play,” she wrote in a column for the Courier-Mail newspaper.
“I still feel really uncomfortable when I’m in this sort of hot and humid weather and it was at practise on Friday that I started to feel a bit similar to what I did in The Bronx.”
Distracted Williams sounds ominous warning in season opener at Brisbane
Distracted Williams sounds ominous warning in season opener at Brisbane
Football’s return to Syrian pitches brings fanfare — and friction
RIYADH: Just 10 days after the first anniversary of Syria’s Liberation Day, and one week after the historic performance of the country’s football team at the 2025 Arab Cup — where they reached the quarterfinals — domestic football returned as the Syrian Premier League kicked off its new season.
While league football has continued intermittently since a one-year suspension in 2011, this season represents a notable shift.
For the first time since 2017, the competition features 16 teams playing a full round-robin format — a return to structural normality after years of disrupted campaigns, withdrawals and operational challenges caused by conflict and deteriorating infrastructure.
Foreign players have also returned in significant numbers. A total of 25 overseas players are registered across the 16 clubs in what is now known as the “Prime TV” Syrian Premier League, following the broadcaster’s acquisition of domestic broadcasting rights for the season.
Yet despite the sense of renewal, the league’s reset has been far from smooth. Average attendances remain well below pre-war levels, while the season itself was delayed multiple times before eventually beginning in mid-December — a schedule that is now expected to extend deep into the summer months.
Concerns over facilities and fan safety have already sparked internal tension. The anticipated Matchday Two fixture between Tishreen and Hottin — also known as the Latakia Derby — was postponed by the Syrian Football Association until further notice. No official explanation was provided, but stadium readiness and crowd safety has been at the core of football discussion in Syria.
Supporters have also voiced their frustration over the newly announced ticket prices. Entry fees increased from 5,000 Syrian pounds ($0.45) to 15,000 SYP, a threefold rise announced by the SFA and widely cited as a factor behind subdued crowds.
Infrastructure remains a pressing issue. Historic venues such as Khalid Ibn Al-Walid Stadium in the city of Homs are still not cleared to host games due to pitch conditions and safety requirements, reinforcing the sense of uneven progress — advances made, but frequently offset by new obstacles.
Operational shortcomings were evident as early as the first game of the season. In the opening fixture between Al-Shorta and Hottin, a formal warning was issued to the former by the Disciplinary and Ethics Committee due to a breach in organizational arrangements for the match, including the failure to provide ball boys, which led to a five-minute delay to kick-off.
Political sensitivities have not been easy to navigate either. Al-Karamah were fined 1,500,000 SYP after fans directed verbal abuse at Al-Wahda player Milad Hamad, due to previous political posts made on his Facebook account.
Five days later, Al-Wahda announced Hamad’s suspension from all sporting activities pending review by the relevant committee at the SFA. “This decision comes in solidarity with all our beloved Syrian fans and as a reaffirmation of our commitment to the unity of our people and our land, and to the fact that the blood of our martyrs in the Syrian Revolution has not been shed in vain,” the club said in a statement posted via their official Facebook page.
Rebuilding a sustainable football system in Syria has proven complex. The league’s return has brought moments of excitement alongside renewed tension — a reminder that restoring domestic football is not simply about restarting competition, but about addressing the structures that support it. The Syrian Football Association was contacted for comment, but did not respond.
