Anna McBride (GBR) successfully defended her title for the fourth consecutive time since the Global Games 2019. In a repeat of Annecy 2024, she met Eva Blanc (FRA) in another thrilling final. Despite both athletes starting strong, Anna’s relentless smashes proved too much for Eva, sealing the win 6-3, 6-2. Meanwhile, Belgium’s Hanee Lavreysen overcame Australia’s Kelly Wren 6-4, 6-2 to earn bronze.

Dominic Iannotti (GBR) transformed his Annecy 2024 bronze into gold at Astana 2025. The GG2019 champion defeated teammate Oliver Beadle with a sharp 7-5, 6-0 victory. After a six-year wait, Iannotti reclaimed his place at the top of the podium.

In the Men’s II2 final, Bezzi Emanuele (ITA) avenged his Annecy 2024 loss to Australia’s Timothy Gould. Though Gould started with a dominant 6-0 first set, Bezzi came back fiercely to win the second set 6-3. The decider was a tense battle that went to a tie-break, with Bezzi clinching it 10-8 to secure his first Virtus World Tennis Championship gold. Gabrielle Vietti (ITA) earned bronze by defeating Ramadani Sai Aman (AUS) 6-3, 7-6(8).

In the Men’s II3 final, Hunter Thompson (AUS) claimed his second straight world title. He and close friend—and frequent rival—Hayden Ballard (AUS) delivered another nail-biting rematch of their Annecy clash. After splitting the first two sets, Hunter edged out Hayden in a 10-8 third-set tiebreaker.

In the II1 Mixed Doubles final, the powerful British pair of Anna McBride and Dominic Iannotti dominated Australia’s Archie Graham and Kelly Wren. Despite a competitive start, the Aussies couldn’t hold off the British momentum, falling 6-1, 6-0.

For full result, visit the Astana 2025 website.

The tennis courts at Astana 2025 saw high-stakes clashes as top players delivered electrifying performances across singles and doubles matches.

In the Women’s II1 singles, a classic rivalry is set to reignite as Anna McBride (GBR) and Eva Blanc (FRA), finalists from Annecy 2024, will meet once again for the finals on the court. McBride cruised past Hanna Lavreysen (BEL) with a dominant 6-1, 6-1 win. Blanc, the Annecy runner-up, powered through Kelly Wren (AUS) 6-2, 6-0 to secure her place in the final. Both Anna and Eva are known to play attacking and aggressively, and dragged their finals last year beyond two hours. The finals will definitely be thrilling for this duo.

In the Men’s II1 singles, reigning world champion Archie Graham (AUS) was tested by Fabrice Higgins (GBR) but held his ground to win 6-3, 6-4. Dominic Iannotti (GBR) swept past Phillips Damian (AUS) 6-0, 6-1, setting up a thrilling face-off with Graham for a semifinal spot. Meanwhile, Coulier Benjamin (FRA) defeated Aidan Moody (GBR) 6-4, 6-2, and Oliver Beadle (GBR) edged out Etchebarne Arthur (FRA) in a nail-biter, 7-5, 6-7(4), 10-7. Coulier and Beadle now advance to the semifinals.

In Men’s II2 singles, the Annecy 2024 finalists Timothy Gould (AUS) and Bezzi Emanuele (ITA) are headed for another showdown. Bezzi overwhelmed Ramadani Sai Aman (AUS) 6-0, 6-1, while Gould dispatched Gabrielle Vietti (ITA) 6-2, 6-3.

In Men’s II3 singles semifinals, it’s Australia versus France, as Thompson Hunter and Ballard Hayden (AUS) prepare to take on Shricke Aharon and Segre Youen (FRA).

Doubles Action

The UK showed strong dominance in the Men’s II1 doubles. The pairings of Fabrice Higgins and Dominic Iannotti, and Oliver Beadle and Aidan Moody both stormed into the finals. They secured decisive wins against Australian duo of Archie Graham and Phillips Damian (6-2, 6-0) and the French team of Coulier and Etchebarne (6-3, 6-4), respectively.

The Women’s II1 doubles final will see France’s Delvas Elise and Eva Blanc take on Andriana Petrakis and Kelly Wren (AUS) for the title. Meanwhile, Great Britain’s Anna McBride and Lillie Mills will compete against Kazakhstan’s Baksheyeva Mariya and Rogova Antonina for third place.

For full result, visit the Astana 2025 website.

To watch a livestream, visit https://ktf.kz/live/ 

The 2025 Virtus World Tennis Championship has officially kicked off at the Dualat Tennis Centre — marking the first-ever Virtus event in Central Asia! Backed by the International Tennis Federation, this landmark championship runs until May 11 and celebrates world-class athletes with intellectual impairment competing at the highest level.

The grand opening ceremony welcomed top dignitaries, including Ruslan Esenalin, Chairman of the Committee of Sports and Physical Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Vasily Levit, the Head of the Department of Physical Education and Sports Department of Astana, Lesley Whitehead, Virtus Tennis Director, Diaz Doskarayev, the Vice President of the Kazakhstan Tennis Federation and many other dignitaries, setting the stage for a thrilling week of sport, inclusion, and inspiration.

Athletes from eight countries, Australia, Belgium, Great Britain, Kazakhstan, France, India, Italy, and Poland, marched into the court, waving at the audience during the opening ceremony. The attendees were treated with a very energetic, captivating and joyful Kazakh dance called ‘Samğau‘ performed by the “Naz” ensemble wearing amazing black and yellow traditional attire. This was followed by a ‘mime’ act.

Lesley Whitehead, Virtus Tennis director, welcomed all the esteemed dignitaries, coaches, officials, parents, international delegates and athletes to the 2025 Virtus World Tennis Championships in Astana. Addressing the attendees, she says,

“I would like to thank IDSport for hosting this event, the first Virtus competition in this region. We will witness some unbelievably thrilling tennis moments on the court alongside incredible friendships, team spirit and sportsmanship both on and off the court as these athletes try to compete to their best abilities in their categories. These athletes will show us that intellectual impairment is no barrier to performing at a high level. I hope you all make a lot of happy memories and new friends.”

Talking about the development of Tennis in Kazakhstan, Dias Doskaraev, Vice President of the Kazakhstan Tennis Federation said,

“Kazakhstan is placing significant focus on the development of inclusive tennis. Over the past three years, wheelchair tennis programs have launched in eight cities across the country. National events such as the Kazakhstan Cup and the Kazakhstan Championship are regularly held now. In 2024, our national team (for athletes with an intellectual impairment) was officially formed and participated in the World Championship. Two of our players are now ranked in the top 200 globally. Now, for the first time, we have the honour of hosting a world-class event in our country. I wish all athletes the best of luck.

Dina Temirgaliyeva, President of IDSport, expressed her wish to see Tennis included at the Paralympic Games one day.

Vasily Alekseyevich Levit, Head of the Department of Physical Culture and Sports of Astana, shared the importance of hosting this major event in Astana and how it will shape the sports culture in the country.

“For the first time in history, this prestigious championship is being hosted in Asia, and it is a great honour and responsibility for Astana to welcome it. Hosting such an important international tournament reflects the global sports community’s strong trust in Kazakhstan and highlights the steady progress of inclusive sports in our country. We sincerely thank the International Tennis Federation and Virtus for their trust and support.”

“The championship brings together athletes from across continents and contributes to the creation of an open, inclusive, and welcoming society where everyone has the opportunity to fulfil their potential,” he added further.

“We are proud of every participant who stepped onto the court and believe that Astana will leave them with warm and lasting memories. We are confident that this competition will not only serve as a milestone in athletic development but also as a solid foundation for the further advancement of inclusive sports in Kazakhstan and beyond.”

“The Department of Physical Culture and Sports of the city of Astana extends its gratitude to all partners and organisers and wishes the participants fair play, outstanding victories, and inspiring connections.”

Athletes from eight countries will be competing in singles, doubles and mixed doubles championships across II1, II2 and II3 categories over the next few days to win the top spot. Five athletes from Astana, Almaty and Akkol will be representing the host country. Virtus wishes everyone ‘good luck’ for their competiton.

For the competition program and other information, visit the Astana 2025 website.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is pleased to launch a Call for Contributions for its Unintentional Doping Research Project. 

WADA’s Taskforce on Unintentional Doping invites everyone, including athletes, athlete support personnel (e.g., coaches, physicians, parents), anti-doping practitioners, academics, and policymakers to share their personal experiences, professional opinions, research evidence, and examples of emerging practices regarding unintentional doping. WADA’s aim is to better understand the causes and consequences of unintentional doping so they can develop preventative strategies for athletes, athlete support personnel and anti-doping organizations. 

Deadline: 23 June 2025

Unintentional Doping

Unintentional doping occurs when an athlete or athlete support personnel unknowingly breaks an anti-doping rule. These cases can have wide-ranging and at times life-changing consequences, making this topic crucial to understand. Unintentional doping is particularly distressing for athletes and their support personnel/entourage. 

The goal of the Call for Contributions is to get a deeper understanding of the nature of unintentional doping, which involves determining the scale of the problem and understanding the scenarios that could lead to unintentional doping. For more details, please visit the Unintentional Doping page.

Professor Susan Backhouse, Chair of the Taskforce, said: “Unintentional doping is a complex behavioral problem, which, at its core, means it cannot be resolved by any one organization or in isolation. This is why engaging the whole community on this issue is so important. It was encouraging to see the importance of the work of the Taskforce highlighted at WADA’s Annual Symposium, as well as the common theme of collaboration, which will be crucial for addressing this issue. The Call for Contributions is a key component of the Taskforce’s commitment to developing a better understanding of unintentional doping and ultimately, how we can work towards preventing it.”

WADA’s Director of Education, Amanda Hudson, shared: “WADA is pleased to announce the next steps of this crucial social science research project. This Call for Contributions underlines WADA’s commitment to seek input from athletes and the wider anti-doping community to help inform the work WADA does. WADA’s goal is simple—we aim to reduce the incidence of unintentional doping in order to better protect clean athletes. I encourage everyone who has experience with or constructive thoughts about unintentional doping to contribute to this research project to better inform the work of this Taskforce. WADA wishes to thank the Fonds de recherche du Québec for supporting the social science research that is fundamental to anti-doping efforts and making this project a reality.”

Make a submission  

To participate in the Call for Contributions, please fill in the form by clicking on the link below.  

• Submissions are open to everyone. 
• Submissions can be made anonymously. 
• Submissions can be made in English, French, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, and Russian.

Share your thoughts and experiences 

Partagez vos réflexions et vos expériences 

Comparta sus reflexiones y experiencias 

شاركنا أفكارك وخبراتك 

分享您的想法和经验 

Поделитесь своими мыслями и опытом 

These contributions will support the goal of the Taskforce in proposing an evidence-informed approach to the prevention of unintentional doping.

Privacy and confidentiality

The Call for Contributions on Unintentional Doping is powered by SurveyMonkey. You can review Survey Monkey’s privacy policy here. All contributions will be reviewed confidentially by the Taskforce in line with WADA’s Privacy Policy and the International Standard for the Protection of Privacy and Personal Information. Those making submissions can also provide their contact information should they be willing to contribute further to the Unintentional Doping Research Project. 

About the Taskforce on Unintentional Doping 

WADA’s Taskforce on Unintentional Doping is a research-focused Working Group that is responsible for providing expert advice, recommendations, and guidance on developing an evidence-informed approach to the prevention of unintentional doping. The work of the Taskforce is co-funded by WADA and the Fonds de recherche du Québec with which WADA renewed a Memorandum of Understanding in 2022.

The work of the Taskforce is part of a multi-pronged approach to the matter of unintentional doping. As it relates to contamination specifically: 

• In 2018, WADA formed a Contaminants Working Group that is responsible for providing expert advice, recommendations and guidance with regards to prohibited substances that are contaminants. 
• On 27 March 2025, WADA’s Executive Committee approved creation of a new WADA Working Group on Contaminations (WGC), which will be responsible for conducting a global review on sources of contamination leading to adverse analytical findings (AAFs) and anti-doping rule violations (ADRVs) in sport. It will also provide guidance and recommendations to the ExCo on potential improvements to the regulations and processes to further take into account the risk of such contaminations, while also maintaining an efficient anti-doping system.

The three Groups will work together in a coordinated and complementary fashion.

(This article was first published on WADA’s website on 3rd April)