In a first, Serena & Wozniacki to play together in Auckland

Auckland, December 24

Long-time friends Serena Williams and Caroline Wozniacki will play doubles together for the first time at the WTA Tour’s ASB Classic in Auckland beginning on January 6.

Former No. 1 Wozniacki has started her season in Auckland every year since 2015 and has made the hard court tournament the first stop of her short farewell tour.

The 29-year-old Wozniacki was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis shortly after winning her the 2018 Australian Open and will retire from tennis after playing the Open in Melbourne next month. She hasn’t played doubles for more than three years. Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam winner, has not played doubles with anyone other than her sister Venus since the Fed Cup World Group play-off in 2015. Her last WTA tournament in doubles without Venus was in 2002.

The pair are close friends. Williams was Wozniacki’s bridesmaid at her wedding earlier this year and will play an exhibition in Copenhagen in May, Wozniacki’s final match before retirement. — AFP

Big boost in Australian Open prize money

Melbourne: Big pay rises are in store for players at January’s Australian Open with organisers today announcing a 13.6 percent boost in the total purse to Aus$71 million. The winners of the men’s and women’s titles at the first Grand Slam of the year will both take home Aus$4.12 million, only a small increase from a year ago. But players beaten in earlier rounds do much better. Anyone crashing out in Round 1 will receive Aus$90,000, up 20 percent, while second round players get a 21.9 percent hike to Aus$128,000. afp