Bianca Belair is a rising star in WWE who has achieved some notable feats in the past few years. Besides winning the women’s Royal Rumble match in 2021, the EST of WWE also main-evented Day 1 of WrestleMania 37 to win the SmackDown Women’s Championship.

 

Bianca Belair is described as a strong and tough character, which she certainly is. She does some unimaginable things in the squared circle. But in real life, she is known as a down-to-earth and kind individual who shares a great bond with her fellow wrestlers. Some of these candid pictures show a different side of the EST.

While Triple H isn’t in charge of NXT 2.0, he ran the previous black-and-gold brand of NXT successfully. The legendary Superstar was the executive producer of NXT. As a result, he was like a father figure to most of the talents of NXT, including Bianca Belair. His tips and guidance certainly helped to build future stars.

This picture is from backstage at the 2017 Mae Young Classic. As a rookie, Bianca Belair participated in that tournament and was eliminated early. Triple H is consoling Bianca while the latter is looking disappointed.

 

Bianca Belair is undoubtedly one of the fittest Superstars in the women’s division. Therefore, it is not hard to guess that the EST of WWE spends a lot of time in the gym to keep her in great shape. To live up to the tag name of the fastest and strongest, she works hard.
This gym shot shows the hard work she puts in to be in incredible shape. She is holding a barbell in her hands and looking like she is doing a deadlift.

Bianca Belair is married to one-half of The Street Profits, Montez Ford. The duo started dating while being in NXT and got engaged in 2017. A year later, they tied the knot. When she married Montez Ford, Bianca was still wrestling in NXT. They don’t have any kids, but Ford has two kids from his previous relationship.

 

Wedding day pictures are certainly very special, and this is a beautiful shot from their wedding day.

Evolution was a ground-breaking pay-per-view in WWE. Taking place in 2018, it was the first and only all-women PPV event. A number of women on the roster competed in that event, including legends from the past.

This picture is taken backstage at the Evolution pay-per-view. Binance Belair can be seen with Alicia Fox, Sasha Banks, Naomi, and Sasha Banks. Belair, however, wasn’t part of the event.

 

Given the athleticism of Bianca Belair, it is not hard to guess that she played different sports before her wrestling career. She is extremely agile in the ring with great stamina, and it comes from her background as a track and field athlete. She competed in hurdling. In fact, a glimpse of her athletic background was shown on WWE TV as well.

It is an amazing picture of her track and field days. Representing the state of Tennessee, she is hurdling with another athlete from Arkansas.

 

Bianca Belair created history at WrestleMania 37. Bianca Belair and Sasha Banks became the first African-American women to main event a WrestleMania. They closed the show on Day 1 of the mega event, and The EST of WWE prevailed over The Boss, winning the SmackDown Women’s Championship for the first time in her career.

It was certainly the greatest night of Belair’s career. This backstage picture is showing she is celebrating the big win with none other than Triple H. An elated Bianca is hugging Triple H, while he is looking proud of her achievement.

Most of the women share a great bond. They certainly support each other backstage, which has played a pivotal role in the rise of women’s wrestling in WWE. Bianca Belair’s first biggest achievement in WWE was the Royal Rumble victory in 2021. She won the match and earned a title shot at the Show of Shows.

 

This picture was taken backstage right after the women’s Royal Rumble match. Bianca is sharing a group hug with fellow female colleagues Carmella, Billie Kay, Rhea Ripley, Natalya, Ruby Riott, and Peyton Royce.

There is certainly a different level of satisfaction to be in the same profession with your partner and sharing the same locker room. Montez Ford and Bianca Belair are one of the popular wrestling couples in WWE right now. They travel together while spending a lot of time with each other on the road.

 

Montez Ford and Bianca Belair are having a fun time backstage in this picture. Montez is holding her long braid, and she is smiling.

As WWE wrestlers have a busy schedule, they hardly get the time for vacation or free time. The full-time wrestlers perform at live events, weekly shows, PPV, so they stay on the road most of the time. But when they get time for vacation or to spend quality time with their close ones, they make most of it.

This picture of Bianca Belair is at the beach, where she is spending her free time. The EST of WWE is looking stunning wearing sunglasses, as she is flaunting her abs.

After her meteoric rise to fame, Bianca Belair has certainly received mainstream attention. While she was the SmackDown Women’s Champion, Bianca Belair defended the belt against Carmella at the Rolling Loud music festival. A week later, she was at the Lollapalooza music festival, where she was snapped with the Grammy-winning rapper, Megan Thee Stallion.

The two ladies are looking great in this picture. Bianca Belair has the SmackDown Women’s Title on her shoulder.

In November 2019, Aryna Sabalenka got the most unfortunate news of her life. Aged just 43, her father, Sergey passed away unexpectedly. A massive tragedy struck her family and fellow tennis stars offered their condolences. The Belarusian tennis star’s life completely changed after her father’s demise. Along with her tennis commitments, she had a lot of other responsibilities on her shoulders now.

Additionally, she, along with her father, shared a common dream. Three years after his demise, Sabalenka has achieved the feat that’ll make her father proud in the heavens. Let’s find out what milestone did Sabalenka achieve.

The 25-year-old is in New York where she’s participating at the US Open. Sabalenka has overcome all challenges and is in the quarterfinal state of the event. With this, the Belarusian star will become the new World Number 1 when the WTA rankings get updated after the US Open, as defending champion Iga Swiatek bowed out of the tournament. Reflecting on this achievement, she remembers her late dad.

 

Sabalenka was featured in an interview recently where she was asked to comment about her being the new World Number 1. Answering the question, she said, “I just saw how proud he was of me—how he was celebrating every win, every title—and he told me then that I have everything I needed to achieve this goal: I just had to learn myself better, to learn how to control my emotions, and one day I’d be world number one. It was like our dream.”

As memories of this dream flashed back after she achieved the feat of getting the Number 1 ranking, Sabalenka recalled one of the most emotional moments in her tennis career.

 

Following her father’s demise, Sabalenka was set to participate in the Adelaide International 1 tournament. Despite receiving the sad news, she boarded the plane to travel to Australia, showing off tremendous grip and determination. Reflecting on her decision, she said, “I’m just trying to fight because my dad wanted me to be No.1. I’m doing it for him so that’s what is helping me to be strong right now.”

Sabalenka’s quarterfinal match against Qinwen Zheng is currently underway at the Arthur Ashe Stadium. The former has raced to a 2-0 lead in the opening set of the match. Can Sabalenka win her maiden US Open title this year? Let us know your views in the comments below.

The year 2023 was one of the worst years in the career of Simona Halep. Shortly before the US Open, the Romanian tennis star faced a massive punishment on account of her doping violation and was banned from tennis for four years. It was a potential career-ending blow because Halep’s best years would essentially be behind her. Recently, her former coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, opened up about the unfortunate case of Halep.

The former World Number 1 blamed her coaching staff for the mess created in her career. Following the announcement of her doping case, she had strong words against them, as did her coach.

Recently, Mouratoglou was involved in an interview with L’Equipe, where he opened up about Halep’s doping violation and its side effects on her career. He said, “I would never have imagined that by recommending this collagen to Simona, she would be a victim of contamination. The consequences for them are disastrous and we will continue to fight so that the truth is established and that her innocence is proven .”

 

 

Halep received the punishment in September last year for failing a drug test during the 2022 U.S. Open and for irregularities in her Athlete Biological Passport. As a result, she was provisionally suspended in October 2022 and the ruling of her case was announced a few months ago. However, Halep has appealed against her ban and the hearing will take place in a few days.

Following the doping ban, Halep accused her team of giving her contaminated nutritional supplements. She has maintained her innocence and maintained that she took it unknowingly. As a result, she is hopeful of the overturn of her ban. On the contrary, she had strong words against her team and expressed her emotions in tears.

 

What did Halep say about her team?
In the aftermath of her doping case, Halep stopped working with Patrick Mouratoglou and his academy. She once revealed how she was let down by her coaching team and took a jibe at them. “It’s true that he went out. I wish he could have done that a little bit earlier. I have stopped working with the academy for a while already.”

Halep will hope that the ruling of her appeal goes in her favor. At 32, time is running out for her and if the decision goes against her, it will potentially be the end of her illustrious career.

The schedule has been set for the opening day of the 2024 Australian Open (14-28 January, 2024) with as previously mooted, Novak Djokovic and Aryna Sabalenka both starting their campaigns during the Night Session on Rod Laver Arena.

Our preview looks ahead to the opening day of the first Grand Slam of the season with Sunday 14 January heralding an extra day that is usually not on the calendar for this tournament. Also in action include Jannik Sinner and Caroline Wozniacki who will play on Rod Laver Arena and Margaret Court Arena respectively.

🎾Australian Open Order OF PLAY – RLA & MCA – Sunday 14 January 🎾 Full schedule to follow at https://t.co/GDd0dOVG6D#AusOpen #AO2023 pic.twitter.com/QuyKAlyGB8

 

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 12, 2024
Sinner, Sakkari, Djokovic and Sabalenka set for Rod Laver Arena
The four players picked to open the tournament on Rod Laver Arena are Jannik Sinner, Maria Sakkari and the two defending champions in Novak Djokovic and Aryna Sabalenka.

Sinner hasn’t been seen since he defeated Novak Djokovic en route to winning the Davis Cup Finals with Italy. Deciding instead to take more of an extended break from the tour during the off season, it will be interesting to see which Sinner comes out of the hat after his best season to date. He faces Botic van de Zandschulp first up in a match that could be a tough examination, but in reality if he has ambitions of moving on further will be one he deals with comfortably.

Then it is Sakkari who has come unstuck in these kinds of situations in 2023 in her best and worst year on the tour as she finally won a title again but found herself prior to that in floods of tears after not being able to win her opening match at the US Open as it looked like her career had stalled. Always a top player in the WTA she will hope for a better start to the year.

 

 

Novak Djokovic then plays in the Night Session on Sunday morning with 18-year-old rising star, Dino Prizmic from Croatia playing in the match of his life after coming through qualifying. A lot of doubt has swirled Djokovic due to his wrist and he will aim to banish that with a clinical display. As will Aryna Sabalenka who reached the final of Brisbane but was royally thrashed by Elena Rybakina in a clinic from the Kazakh. She faces a qualifier herself in Ella Seidel.

Often though the stories come from elsewhere in Melbourne though whether that is emphatic wins or shocks. Leylah Fernandez is among those in action after impressing at the United Cup at times and after picking up her first titles in some years at the end of last season.

Caroline Wozniacki also returns to the site of some of her greatest moments including her Grand Slam title and also her retirement albeit it won’t be Sweet Caroline on Rod Laver as she plays on Margaret Court alongside Frances Tiafoe, Andrey Rublev and Barbora Krejcikova.

 

Elsewhere, Taylor Fritz will open his campaign after a torrid time as of late, while one to look out for perhaps is last year’s girls champion, Alina Korneeva who many see as the next Mirra Andreeva off the cab rank. She beat the 16-year-old in the final last season and has been dominating on the ITF Tour. She makes her Grand Slam debut this time around and will be one to look out for.

Emma Raducanu has learned her Kooyong Classic opponent as the 2021 US Open champion will be facing off against Russian wunderkind Mirra Andreeva on Thursday, via Michal Samulski.

After kicking off her post-surgery comeback at the ASB Classic in Auckland, Raducanu signed up to get some more action this week in Kooyong. For over three decades, the Kooyong Stadium has been a very popular spot for players who want to get some additional preparation just days before the Australian Open.

 

Raducanu, who turned 21 in November, is now also set to experience playing at one of the most popular tennis exhibitions. Raducanu also has a very attractive name as an opponent since 16-year-old Andreeva – who made the Wimbledon round-of-16 as a qualifier last year – is one of the most talented and promising players in women’s tennis.

Raducanu to play Andreeva in Kooyong ahead of the Australian Open
In Auckland, Raducanu went through two hard matches. After edging out Gabriela-Elena Ruse 6-3 4-6 7-5 in a thriller, Raducanu also played a long match against Elina Svitolina before the Ukrainian handed her a 6-7 (5) 7-6 (3) 6-1 defeat.

After losing in the Auckland round-of-16, Raducanu signed up for Kooyong and now she is guaranteed to play at least one match at the Kooyong Stadium this week.

 

However, the Kooyong Classic isn’t the only thing that Raducanu has on her schedule this week as the Briton is also set to meet Naomi Osaka in a charity match. That match will be played on Tuesday at Melbourne Park.

Emma Raducanu
Emma Raducanu© Getty Images Sport – Dave Rowland

With that being said, Raducanu will appear in at least two matches this week. Although the matches that Raducanu is scheduled to play this week are just an exhibition, getting action of any sort will certainly benefit the 21-year-old.

Next week, Raducanu will have her third Australian Open campaign. Previously, Raducanu lost in back-to-back Australian Open second rounds in 2022 and 2023.

A few hours ago, Rafael Nadal saddened his fans by announcing his withdrawal from the 2024 edition of the Australian Open due to an injury suffered at the Brisbane Open, in the match against Jordan Thompson. The Spaniard decided to give up the Melbourne Slam as a preventative measure, in order to make the best of his beloved clay-season.

And in the last few hours some news has arrived that will make the Spaniard’s fans happy. At the moment, Nadal is officially registered in the Entry List of the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell. The ATP 500 tournament in Barcelona will also see the Spanish tennis player Carlos Alcaraz among the participants.

 

The youngest No.1 in the history of tennis will try to defend the title won in the 2023 edition, when he overcame the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final.

Nadal© Alex Caparros / Stringer Getty Images Sport
Carlitos participated in 2021, 2022 and 2023 in the competition held in the capital of Catalonia.

During his first appearance he lost to American tennis player Frances Tiafoe in the first round. The second time he won the title by beating coutryman Pablo Carreno Busta, while last year he defended the title, confirming himself as champion.

This year, the tournament will begin on April 13, the week following the ATP Masters 1000 in Monte Carlo and preceding the ATP Masters 1000 in Madrid in which Alcaraz is defending champion. The Barcelona Open Bamc Sabadell will end on April 21, 2024.

 

The 2023 Wimbledon champion is the second participant announced by the promoters after Nadal. The winner of 22 Slams returned to the circuit in Brisbane, after a year’s absence following the injury suffered during the Australian Opem 2023, in which he was defending the title of the previous edition, and will compete on the clay courts of Barcelona in which he won 12 times.

Nadal’s last success in the Spanish ATP 500 tournament dates back to 2021, when he defeated Stefanios Tsitsipas. It should also be remembered that, in 2017, the organizers of the tournament dedicated the central court to the legendary Spanish champion, naming it Pista Rafael Nadal.

For Alcaraz, however, this is the fourth seasonal event on clay, as the young player registered in February for the ATP 250 in Buenos Aires and the ATP 500 in Rio de Janeiro and at the beginning of April for the Masters 1000 in Monte Carlo.

Serena Williams’ ex-coach Rennae Stubbs questions whether Jelena Ostapenko “knows what a double bounce is” and remarked that chair umpire Julie Kjendlie will probably have a hard time when she gets selected as the umpire for an Ostapenko match again.

World No. 12 Ostapenko had a stunning meltdown on Friday at the Brisbane International, calling chair umpire Kjendlie “blind” and telling her multiple times that she does not want her ever officiating her match since she always “ruins” her matches. The incident happened after Ostapenko thought that the ball bounced off the surface twice before Victoria Azarenka returned it late in the third set.

 

“You are blind, it is impossible to play when you make so many mistakes. I never want you at my match again, you will never be at my match. You ruin my matches,” Ostapenko ranted at Kjendlie.

Jelena Ostapenko
Jelena Ostapenko© Getty Images Sport – Bradley Kanaris

Stubbs: Does Ostapenko know what a double bounce actually is?
Stubbs, who worked with Williams during the American’s farewell at the 2022 US Open, wasn’t impressed with Ostapenko’s latest antics.

“Umpire Julie Kjendlie must just look at her schedule when she gets Ostapenko and say ‘oh bloody hell’… seriously does she know what a double bounce actually is?????” Stubbs wrote on X.

 

In the ninth game of the third set, Azarenka had an advantage on her serve when Ostapenko thought that the ball hit the surface twice and the point was automatically over. But Azarenka returned the ball to Ostapenko’s court, and since chair umpire Kjendlie didn’t make any calls, the Belarusian won the point and took a 5-4 lead.

Jelena Ostapenko
Jelena Ostapenko© Getty Images Sport – Bradley Kanaris

In the game after the incident, Ostapenko managed to hold on to her serve despite being 0-30 down early in the game. But Ostapenko still lost the match after Azarenka served out the 11th game and then broke the Latvian in the following game to complete a three-set win.

Emma Raducanu is reportedly set to be joined by childhood coach Nick Cavaday for the upcoming Australian Open, via The Daily Mail.

After being sidelined for eight months due to surgeries on both wrists and her right ankle, Raducanu returned to competitive action this week in Auckland, where she lost in the round-of-16 after a big battle against Elina Svitolina. In her first tournament back, Raducanu was reportedly joined by Jane O’Donoghue, who worked with the Briton during her junior days.

Following a pretty solid comeback in Auckland, Raducanu has turned her focus to the Australian Open. According to a report from The Daily Mail, “coach Cavaday is believed to have flown out to Melbourne” to accompany the 21-year-old for the first Grand Slam of the new season.

 

Raducanu worked with Cavaday during the offseason
When Raducanu ramped up her preparation to return to tennis at the start of 2024, British media were reporting that she was spotted training with coach Cavaday at the National Tennis Centre in London. Raducanu and Cavaday go a long way back as he was one of the 2021 US Open champion’s childhood coaches. They developed a good relationship several years ago and British media were also reporting in late 2023 that coach Cavaday is well-respected by the Raducanu family.

A month after having multiple surgeries, Raducanu announced her decision to split with coach Sebastian Sachs. Raducanu has returned to tennis since but she hasn’t yet announced a new full-time coach for 2024. However, it is still very early in the new season and Raducanu may be waiting to see how she will do at the Australian Open before making any big coaching moves.

This week, Raducanu officially learned that there would be no need for her to play in the Australian Open qualifying after several players withdrew, placing above the main draw cut. In Melbourne, Raducanu will be making her third Australian Open appearance. Previously, Raducanu suffered back-to-back Australian Open second-round losses in 2022 and 2023. It remains to be seen if Raducanu can do at least a bit better at Melbourne Park this year.

Coco Gauff won the ASB Classic, WTA tournament in Auckland, New Zealand, by beating Elina Svitolina in a hard-fought final, with the final score of 6-7 6-3 6-3. The young American tennis player has started the 2024 hard-courts Oceanic campaign in the right way, following up on the excellent performances she has shown since her super summer 2023 on the North American hard-courts.

The young US Open winner managed to beat the Ukrainian tennis player despite having lost the first set in the tie-break, once again showing her considerable improvements on this surface. Svitolina also did well and, after maternity leave and her comeback, is finding continuity in performances and positive results.

 

 

Speaking after the win, Coco Gauff shared her feelings, explaining what it was like to defend a title for the first time in her career. “It’s the first time I had to defend a title, so I’m very happy that I did it today.

This year the tournament was very different. Last year it rained almost every single match and we played indoors, with few people around. watch, so it’s really nice to play in front of a packed house almost every game,” explained the US star.

Gauff and Svitolina© Hannah Peters / Staff Getty Images Sport
Svitolina, who played for the first time in Auckland, congratulated Gauff. “It was a great experience playing here for the first time. I want to congratulate Coco and her team on a great start to the year.

Good luck at the Australian Open. I had fun here, playing great matches. Today is It was a tough defeat, obviously.”

 

 

Gauff had to work hard to overcome Svitolina in the final and win the title.

The first, balanced set was decided in a tie-break. Ahead 3-2, Svitolina earned 4 set points, conceding nothing else to her opponent The young American responded in the next set by obtaining three breaks overall and closing 6-3.

In the decisive set both allowed very few service chances. At 4-3, Svitolina gave Gauff the opportunity to serve for the match, which she took despite a counter-break point conceded, closing the third set with another 6-3.

World no. 1 Novak Djokovic will not lead Serbia in the Davis Cup Qualifiers first round against Slovakia at the beginning of February. The Davis Cup tie comes right after the Australian Open, and Djokovic opted to skip it, unwilling to travel across the globe and play on clay.

Novak played three matches for Serbia at the United Cup in Perth, scoring two wins but experiencing a right wrist injury. Djokovic ousted Zhizhen Zhang in the first match before feeling the pain against Jiri Lehecka. The Serb overpowered the young gun in sets one and three, emerging over the top and setting the quarter-final clash versus Alex de Minaur.

 

 

The home favorite proved too strong for Novak, beating him 6-4, 6-4 and sending his country in front against Serbia. Djokovic required constant massages on his troubled wrist, struggling with his serve and forehand and never facing a break point.

Novak will try to fix the issue with his hand by the Australian Open, seeking his 11th crown at Melbourne Park.

As was expected, the Davis Cup is outside Novak’s focus, focusing on a Major event.

Djokovic set his eyes on the Davis Cup trophy in the season behind us, leading Serbia in three singles rubbers but failing to send his country into the final. Novak led Spain right after the US Open and beat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in straight sets.

 

The Serb faced Cameron Norrie in the quarter-final tie and earned a 6-4, 6-4 victory in an hour and 41 minutes, helping Serbia reach the semi-final. Novak celebrated his 44th Davis Cup win, writing history and becoming Serbia’s most decorated player.

Djokovic served well, losing eight points in his games and sending the pressure to the other side. Norrie denied ten out of 12 break points, giving his best but getting broken once in each set to push Djokovic over the top.

Novak grabbed a break at 2-2 in the opening set, landing a volley winner and forging the advantage.

Novak Djokovic will not compete for Serbia at the Davis Cup vs. Slovakia.
Cameron saved four break points at 1-4, staying within one break deficit before Novak wrapped up the set with a volley winner in game ten for 6-4 and a boost.

Norrie sprayed a forehand error at the beginning of the second set, getting broken at love and facing more issues at 1-3. Djokovic squandered five break points that could have sent him over the top earlier. However, the Serb served well and fired an ace in the tenth game for a comfortable win.

Novak had a massive chance to push his team into the title clash, facing Jannik Sinner in the second rubber and earning three match points in the final set’s tenth game. The Italian denied them and prevailed 6-2, 2-6, 7-5, keeping his country in contention ahead of the doubles rubber.

Jannik produced his A-game in the opening set, serving well and outplaying Novak on the return. Djokovic missed a volley in the third game, falling 2-1 behind and facing more issues at 1-3. Sinner tamed Djokovic’s initial shot on an indoor court and fired a backhand down the line winner for his second consecutive break and a 4-1 advantage.

Jannik served for the opener at 5-2 and produced a hold at love with an ace, wrapping up the opener after 37 minutes. Novak raised his level in the second set, losing four points in his games and challenging Jannik to repeat those numbers.

 

The veteran broke the young gun two times and forced a decider. Djokovic forged the lead with a break in game four after Sinner’s costly double fault. Novak produced a hold at love in game five after Jannik’s loose backhand, controlling the pace and holding after deuce with an ace down the T line in game seven for 5-2.

Djokovic forced Sinner’s mistake on the return in game eight for set points. The Italian denied them and squandered a game point that could have prolonged the set. Djokovic earned the third set point and seized it after Sinner’s forehand error, wrapping up the set and forcing a decider after 80 minutes.

Novak Djokovic, 2023 Davis Cup© Clive Brunskill / Staff – Getty Images Sport
They fought nicely in the second game, embracing seven deuces and a break point for Novak. Jannik denied it with a booming serve and brought the game home with another for a vital hold and 1-1.

Djokovic kept everything under control in his games, holding at 15 in game seven for 4-3. Sinner netted a forehand in the eighth game, offering Djokovic a break point. The Italian denied it with a forehand drive-volley winner, producing another vital hold to boost his chances.

The Serb left that chance behind and held at love in game nine with a powerful forehand. Jannik served to stay in the match at 4-5 and offered Novak three match points after a volley error at the net. Standing one point from propelling Serbia into the final, Djokovic squandered the first with a backhand slice error.

The young gun defended the next two with winners, getting out of jail and firing two service winners for a crucial hold and 5-5. Novak netted a routine backhand in the 11th game and experienced a break point. Sinner landed a forehand down the line winner, securing a break and serving for the victory at 6-5.

Jannik created two match points with an ace down the T line and seized the first with a service winner, celebrating one of his career-best triumphs.