Author: Trisha Ghosal

Madison Keys entered the US Open 2025 as one of the favourites, home turf, home crowd and an Australian Open trophy already in her bag. Her style of play, fast hands, explosive power and an affinity for hard courts, seemed perfectly suited. She began in her usual fashion, but Renata Zarazua of Mexico was ready. Staying deep, defending with grit and dragging Keys into long rallies, Zarazua forced the American to attempt winners, and Keys faltered. Keys somehow scraped through the opening set, edging a dramatic tie-break 7(12)-6(10). The second too was decided in a breaker, this time going Zarazua’s…

By Trisha Ghosal The blue courts of Flushing Meadows are ready once again. The US Open, tennis’ noisiest and most unpredictable Grand Slam, begins tonight, and as always, it brings with it storylines bursting with intrigue. From dominant champions to hopeful challengers, the fortnight ahead promises its share of brilliance, nerves and, inevitably, surprises. Sinner vs Alcaraz: Rivalry at Full Tilt On the men’s side, the conversation begins with Jannik Sinner. Over the past year, the Italian has carved out a near-perfect record, losing only a handful of matches and looking untouchable against almost everyone not named Carlos Alcaraz. At…

By Trisha Ghosal Every great season in tennis is punctuated by rivalries that redefine the rhythm of the sport. For Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina, 2025 has been exactly that, a contest of contrasts that may well shape the road to the US Open. Swiatek, the six-time major champion, has spent the year rediscovering her game. What began as a frustrating stretch, marked by semi-final exits and self-doubt, turned around in a single, defiant victory over Rybakina at Roland Garros. Down a set and a break, she clawed her way back, showing grit that reawakened the fighter within. That match…

By Trisha Ghosal The countdown is on. 45 days from now, the Women’s ODI World Cup is scheduled to begin in India. 10 New Zealand players are already in Chennai acclimatising. Australia will arrive soon for a bilateral series. The Indian team has completed a 10-day camp at Bengaluru’s Centre of Excellence and will assemble again in Vizag later this month. Preparations on the field are in full swing. And yet, the most basic detail remains unresolved: where will the final be played? The Missing Venue The plan was for Bengaluru’s M. Chinnaswamy Stadium to host both India’s opening match…

By Trisha Ghosal I’ve seen freedom. Not the kind written into laws, but the kind you can feel, in the trembling hands of a high jumper before they leap, in the silent breath a chess player holds before making their move, in the water spray from a para-swimmer’s last, desperate stroke. As a woman in sports journalism, I didn’t just walk into this world; I had to carve my way in. And the chisel I used was curiosity, not just about who won or lost, but about what it took to get there. I wanted to know what drove a…

By Trisha Ghosal Even the greatest players hit lean patches in their careers. The real test is whether they can rise from them. That trait often decides if a player is merely good or truly great. Iga Swiatek has faced her share of criticism, from being labelled “the queen of clay” to dealing with a failed doping test (later proven to be caused by contaminated melatonin, as confirmed by the International Tennis Integrity Agency). Despite the clearance, the naysayers remained unconvinced. Following her semi-final loss to Madison Keys at the Australian Open 2025, the player from Poland endured a frustrating…

For most of the IPL’s history, the script was simple: franchises decided, players complied, at least in public. Retentions and releases were front-office business. The players’ role, more often than not, was to smile for photographs, thank the fans, and keep their opinions to themselves. The power lay with the managements who controlled contracts, the auction tables, and the narrative. If you were traded or released, you simply wore the label and moved on. The New Playbook: Owning the Narrative Sanju Samson’s reported desire to leave Rajasthan Royals and R Ashwin’s hints about moving on from Chennai Super Kings may…

By Trisha Ghosal It began with a mist-kissed morning in Leeds and ended under an open London sky. Fifty days in England. Twenty-five of those inside Test grounds, the rest chasing stories down cobbled lanes and terraced streets. Two teams fought tooth and nail, and between the overs and the deadlines, the writer learnt more than she had expected. Test cricket is best cricket They call it slow, they call it old-fashioned but for me, these 25 days proved it’s alive in every nerve of the game. Grounds brimming every single day, a carnival outside, friendly fire in the press…

By Trisha Ghosal in London Some series give you statistics. Some, silverware. But every once in a while, cricket gifts you a saga, one that rises above results, formats, and headlines. The 2025 England versus India Test series was one such saga. It was a theatre staged across cathedrals of the game; Headingley, Edgbaston, Lord’s, The Oval, Old Trafford and carried the weight of history, legacy, and heart. It gave us the thrill of a 371-run chase and the silence of a single bail falling in heartbreak. It gave us cartwheels and cracked bones, legends on balconies and pioneers at…

By Trisha Ghosal in London Since Brendon McCullum took over as coach and Ben Stokes as captain, England have brought a different flavour to Test cricket, a style defined by positivity, aggression, and scoring at 4.5 to 5 runs per over. While this has added a dash of entertainment to the format, England must now ask themselves: is it actually working? A WTC final at home, but England nowhere to be seen In May 2022, McCullum was appointed Head Coach and Stokes became captain to revitalise England’s floundering Test fortunes. Together, they introduced a fearless approach. England became more willing…