Women sport news

Teams from China, Germany and the United States will compete here later Friday afternoon for the first two spots in the semi-finals for the US$200,000 Phuket Thailand Open powered by ptt on Karon Beach.

The two teams that competed for the gold medal at the 2007 SWATCH-FIVB World Championships this past July in Switzerland won quarterfinal matches here Friday afternoon to advance to the semi-finals of US$200,000 Phuket Thailand Open powered by ptt. photo FIVB

Sony Ericsson Championships to feature three current or former #1 players , four Grand Slam Champions and 2007 breakout players. Venus Williams forced to withdraw

The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour has not received any official information regarding the positive doping test result referred to by Martina Hingis in her press conference today, and as a result we are not in a position to comment on the matter.

Lindsay Davenport's comback gathered further momentum on Thursday when she crushed Canada's Aleksandra Wozniak at the Bell Challenge. Vania King joined her in the quarters.

England Women’s home international fixtures will all be hosted by London Irish ARFC this season, the Rugby Football Union for Women is pleased to announce.

The Old Dunstonian Ladies rugby team enjoyed a top quality training session on Wednesday 31 October at their ground in Langley Park, Beckenham, with an extra special guest coach.

When Marcela Paoletta isn't eating her favorite Argentinian dish milanesa and listening to Madonna, there's a pretty good chance she's practicing her dribbling or jump shots.

Former ASP Women’s World Champion Chelsea Hedges (AUS) led the Australian charge, advancing through her Round 2 heat before posting an emphatic win over Melanie Bartels (HAW) in Round 3. photo ASP Towner Covered Images

USA Water Ski has selected Danyelle Bennett (Zachary, La.) as its Female Athlete of the Month for October. The University of Louisiana-Monroe Water Ski Team was selected as Team of the Month. Bennett and the University of Louisiana-Monroe Water Ski Team are now eligible for the United States Olympic Committee’s Athletes and Team of the Month honors.photo IWSF

The 2007 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series heads north to Quebec City, Canada, Nov. 2-4 for Skate Canada. Approximately 56 skaters from 14 countries are competing for points and prize money. Skate Canada, taking place at the Colisée Pepsi, begins Friday with the compulsory dance. photo Paul Harvath US Figure Skating

Liz Halliday is back in the commentary box next weekend as the 2007 Le Mans Series season concludes with the 1000-mile Mil Milhas race at Interlagos in Brazil.

Canoeing* is the most popular watersport in the UK and a large proportion of the 1.5 million people who canoe use British Airways to carry their boats abroad.

The city of Brighton located at only 45 minutes from London is going to host the eighth edition of the SWATCH-FIVB Junior (Under 21) World Championships from September 3 to September 7, 2008, while the Hague will welcome the seventh edition of the SWATCH-FIVB Youth (Under 19) World Championships from July 30 to August 3, 2008. photo FIVB

With the completion of the first-round of the Main Draw at the final event on the 2007 SWATCH-FIVB World Tour calendar, there are some interesting notes as the delightful weather has attracted fans to the seaside resort village at Karon Beach.

There were surprises in the women's event in the Qatar Squash Classic on the opening day of main draw action in Doha, Qatar.

Three of the six seeds in action on Wednesday kept moving while three were stopped in their tracks. No.3 seed Julia Vakulenko was one of the winners, battling past Stephanie Dubois.

London Irish RFC has launched a girls’ rugby section and they are being given a helping hand by England Women’s Rugby World Cup finalist Shelly Rae. photo Dale McMillan

Experienced midfielder Cheryl Valentine will be missed, after 8 years representing Scotland on the pitch at senior level, the Scottish Institute of Sport supported athlete announced her retirement this week. photo George Wilkie

France condemned the Young Lions to their first defeat of the season, despite the heroics of goalkeeper Rebecca Spencer. photo FA

The female team enjoyed success with Bianca Walkden (Elite Taekwondo Club, Liverpool) winning a bronze medal in the female heavyweight +68Kg.

The World Class Performance Programme exists to provide our elite riders the best preparation to represent the British Equestrian Team at World, European, Olympic and Paralympic level in the four Olympic / Paralympic equestrian disciplines, Eventing, Dressage, Show Jumping and Para Equestrian Dressage.

The start of the new Co-op Superleague and NTL season saw Loughborough Lightning face Celtic Dragons at the Indoor Athletics Centre, UWIC, Cardiff. With both teams unable to field their Welsh and English Internationals, neither side could be sure what they would face.

Despite losing her title in last week's World Open in Madrid, Nicol David has extended her reign at the top of the Women's World Squash Rankings, according to the November list published today (Wednesday) by the Women's International Squash Players' Association (WISPA). photo Alexwan.net

Top seed Sina Wall survived five-game final to win the U19 title in the Belgian Junior Open Squash Championships - Germany's Sina Wall was celebrating her maiden circuit triumph in the Belgian city of Herentals.

Karrie Webb returns to Japan this week to defend her fifth title of 2006 at the Mizuno Classic against 77 other golfers. The field includes 43 LPGA Tour members and 34 JLPGA members. Photo Bret Douglas