The grass-court tournament starts on July 1
Osaka — a four-time major champion and former No. 1 player — and three-time Grand Slam winner Kerber returned from maternity leave at the start of this season
WIMBLEDON, England: Former Grand Slam champions Naomi Osaka, Caroline Wozniacki, Angelique Kerber and Emma Raducanu have all been awarded wild cards for Wimbledon.
The grass-court tournament starts on July 1.
Osaka — a four-time major champion and former No. 1 player — and three-time Grand Slam winner Kerber returned from maternity leave at the start of this season.
Currently ranked 113th, Osaka was the only player to take a set from top-ranked Iga Swiatek at the French Open and followed that up with a quarterfinal spot last week in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, a warm-up event for Wimbledon.
Former US Open champion Raducanu made her breakthrough at Wimbledon by advancing to the fourth round in 2021. She will be playing there for the first time in two years after undergoing wrist and ankle surgery in 2023.
Kerber won the 2018 Wimbledon title and was runner-up at the All England Club in 2016. She is also a former top-ranked player.
Wozniacki returned from maternity leave last August. She’s never got past the fourth round at Wimbledon, where she will be playing for the first time since 2019.
British players Francesca Jones, Heather Watson and Yuriko Miyazaki were also included in the initial list of invitations. One main draw wild card remains to be allocated. Seven British players have been invited to play in the men’s draw, including last year’s junior champion Henry Searle.
Grand Slam champions Osaka, Raducanu, Wozniacki and Kerber receive wild cards for Wimbledon
Grand Slam champions Osaka, Raducanu, Wozniacki and Kerber receive wild cards for Wimbledon
Vive la France! Hawks make Zaccharie Risacher second straight Frenchman taken No. 1 in NBA draft
- France landed three players in the top six in a historic night for the country
NEW YORK: First, Victor Wembanyama, now Zaccharie Risacher.
These days, American college players have to wait their turn in the NBA draft. It’s someone else’s time at the top.
Vive la France!
The Atlanta Hawks took Risacher with the No. 1 pick on Wednesday night and France landed three players in the top six in a historic night for the country.
“That’s amazing,” Risacher said. “We try to represent our country and so, glad to be a part of it. You know there is more players coming in.”
Risacher doesn’t come with the enormous height or hype of Wembanyama, the towering center who went to San Antonio last year and went on to win the Rookie of the Year award.
But the Hawks saw him as the best choice in what has been viewed as a draft absent of elite talent.
The 19-year-old forward was the winner of the best young player award in the French League last season and beat out fellow Frenchman Alex Sarr in the race to be the top pick.
When he did, it made NBA draft history. This is the first time that the draft has gone consecutive years without the No. 1 pick being someone who played at an American college.
“Shows the amount of talent we have in France,” Sarr said. “Really excited for Zach. I think our national team is going to be really good.”
Sarr went second to the Washington Wizards after playing last year with Perth in Australia’s National Basketball League.
The Hawks had only a 3 percent chance of winning the lottery to earn the No. 1 pick, and there was no obvious choice waiting once they did. Most mock drafts were split between Risacher and Sarr, and Atlanta also worked out UConn center Donovan Clingan.
Houston made Kentucky freshman Reed Sheppard the No. 3 pick. A one-and-done college player had topped the draft for 13 straight years from 2010-22 before Wembanyama ended that streak.
Now the draft is under French rule.
Stephon Castle of the two-time reigning national champion Huskies made it two straight college freshmen when San Antonio took him at No. 4, the Spurs’ first of two picks in the top 10. They also held the No. 8 selection.
The Detroit Pistons took Ron Holland of the G League Ignite with the fifth pick before the Hornets took Tidjane Salaun, who played last year for Cholet Basket in France.
“I think the basketball in France is improved that’s why we are here in this draft,” Saluan said.
Clingan, who won titles in both seasons in Storrs, finally went to Portland at No. 7.
The draft moved to a two-night format this year, with the first round being held as usual at Barclays Center in Brooklyn and the second round to be held Thursday at ESPN’s Seaport District studios.
The green room was filled with a number of unfamiliar faces who will head to the NBA from other leagues or other countries. A player who would have been one of the most recognizable was not in the arena: Zach Edey, the two-time AP Player of the Year from Purdue, was taken at No. 9 by Memphis.
US gymnastics great Biles aims to lock up Paris berth at US Olympic trials
- Coach Landi: If she (Biles) could get her mental game as well as her physical game, then she would be close to unstoppable
- Olympic trials are a nerve-wracking affair: two days of competition each for women and men with the athletes emerging as the all-around winners securing their Olympic berths
MINNEAPOLIS: Simone Biles looks all but unstoppable as she vies to punch her ticket to Paris at the US Olympic gymnastics trials this week, where competition to fill out the five-woman roster promises to be fierce.
Biles captured her ninth US all-around title earlier this month, winning on all four apparatus at the US championships in Fort Worth, Texas.
Coach Cecile Landi said Biles’s success in managing her mental health combined with sheer talent and a formidable work ethic mean the 27-year-old could be better than ever as a third trip to the Olympics beckons.
“I think we always knew she could be better,” Landi said Wednesday as women began training at the Target Center in Minneapolis, where the trials start on Thursday with men’s competition.
“She’s the most talented athlete I’ve ever worked with and so we just knew if she could get her mental game as well as her physical game, then she would be close to unstoppable.”
Biles dazzled in winning four gold medals at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, but her expected star turn at the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Games was cut short when she withdrew with the “twisties” — a temporary mental block whereby gymnasts lose their sense of where they are in the air.
Since returning to competition in August she has gone from strength to strength, piling up more medals including all-around gold at the world championships last year.
Landi said a better work-life balance had only helped Biles in the gym.
“All the work she’s been doing outside the gym and just being 27, married, she has other stuff going on and I think it helps her keep a good balance,” Landi said. “It’s not only about gymnastics and I think that keeps her sane.”
Nevertheless, the Olympic trials are a nerve-wracking affair: two days of competition each for women and men with the athletes emerging as the all-around winners securing their Olympic berths.
A selection committee will then choose the remaining team members, taking into account performances at trials and other competitions including the national championships, as well as what combination of athletes might give the US their best Olympic scoring chances.
The 16 women in the field include Suni Lee, who won all-around gold and uneven bars bronze in Tokyo, who is in her best form since battling career-threatening kidney disease.
In her first elite all-around competition since Tokyo Lee finished fourth at the US championships, shaking off a vault error to win the balance beam, where her difficulty score was the highest of any competitor in the event.
Defending Olympic floor champion Jade Carey, a seven-time world medalist, seeks another trip to the Games, as does Jordan Chiles, who helped the US to team silver in Tokyo.
A lot is riding on the trials for 21-year old Shilese Jones, who won all-around bronze at the 2023 worlds but missed the US championships when an old shoulder injury flared up.
Jones had to petition for an invitation to trials, coach Sarah Korngold saying Wednesday she had arrived in Minneapolis pain free and ready to challenge for a first Olympic berth.
Skye Blakely, 19, is a two-time world team gold medalist vying for a first Olympic team.
Kayla DiCello, an alternate in Tokyo, won the Winter Cup in February and took all-around bronze at the US championships.
“Olympic trials for any sport is the hardest thing that you’ll ever do in life because the finishing product is obviously the Olympics,” Chiles said. “This is where we’re making an Olympic team.”
Women will begin competition on Friday and conclude on Sunday, when the team for Paris will be named.
Twenty men launch competition for five Olympic berths on Thursday, with Brody Malone seeking to continue his comeback from career-threatening knee injuries sustained when he came off the horizontal bar at a meeting in germany in 2023.
Out for more than a year, Malone won his third US all-around title this month.
His competition here includes 2020 Olympian Yul Moldauer, who helped the US to team bronze at the world championships last year, the men’s first world medal since 2014.
The young stars of that team, Paul Juda, Fred Richardson, Asher Hong and Khoi Young, are hoping for a chance to build on that success in Paris.
Saudi Tennis Federation aims to inspire a million players when Riyadh hosts 2024 WTA Finals
- The ambitious plan was revealed at the official launch of the event, which will take place Nov. 2-9 in Riyadh and feature the world’s top eight singles players and doubles teams
Riyadh: The Saudi Tennis Federation on Wednesday revealed ambitious plans to ignite a passion for tennis among 1 million people in the Kingdom by 2030.
It came as the STF, in collaboration with the Saudi Ministry of Sport and the Women’s Tennis Association, revealed the logo for the 2024 WTA Finals during the official launch ceremony for the event. The competition will take place in Riyadh from Nov. 2 to 9 at King Saud University and feature the world’s top eight singles players and doubles teams.
Arij Mutabagani, the president of the STF, said: “Hosting the WTA Finals in Saudi Arabia is a dream come true, offering our aspiring tennis players, both boys and girls, the chance to witness world-class athletes firsthand.”
Describing the federation’s ambitious plans for hosting the event she added: “We are working closely with the WTA and Judy Murray to expand tennis programs in schools, develop coaches and officials, nurture talent from grassroots levels, and enhance the overall tennis ecosystem.”
Reflecting on the personal significance of this milestone for tennis in the Kingdom, Mutabagani said: “For me, playing tennis as a child and rising to this position today is truly a dream come true. Witnessing the rapid development in sports that has brought us to this achievement is beyond what I could have imagined. Leading the federation to this point fills me with immense joy and pride.”
The launch on Wednesday marked the first visit to the Kingdom by the event’s newly appointed tournament director, Garbine Muguruza, and its community ambassador, Judy Murray. It will be followed by a series of nationwide tennis clinics to help develop and enhance local talent and broaden the appeal of the sport in the country.
Tennis is growing increasingly popular among a Saudi population in which 20 million people are under the age of 30. The STF’s “Tennis for All” initiative aims to introduce 60,000 young people to the sport in schools nationwide, as part of efforts to achieve the ambitious goal of turning 1 million people into tennis fans by 2030.
Steve Simon, the chair and CEO of the WTA, hailed the upcoming finals in Riyadh as a significant moment for women’s tennis.
“Bringing the WTA Finals to Saudi Arabia marks an exciting milestone for our sport, inspiring new players and fans in the region with top-level women’s tennis,” he said.
“This event allows the women’s game to complement the commitment to the growth of tennis in the Kingdom through inspiring new players and fans in the region, as they experience top-level women’s tennis for the first time.
“Alongside our Saudi Tennis Federation partners, we are counting down the days until the world’s best players descend on Riyadh for what we believe will be a thrilling season-ending finale.”
The three-year partnership between the WTA and STF is in line with the goals of Saudi Vision 2030, national development and diversification plan, to leverage sports in an effort to engage with the nation’s youth and foster community development.
Ecuador beat Jamaica 3-1 in Copa America
LAS VEGAS: Ecuador boosted their chances of reaching the knockout rounds of the Copa America on Wednesday after hanging on to beat Jamaica 3-1 in their Group B clash in Las Vegas.
Ecuador, beaten by Venezeula in their opening match of the tournament on Saturday, held off a spirited second-half rally by the Reggae Boyz to claim a vital three points at the Allegiant Stadium.
The South Americans looked to be cruising to victory after taking a 2-0 lead following a Kasey Palmer own goal and a penalty from Chelsea-bound teenager Kendry Paez.
However, Jamaica pulled a goal back from veteran striker Michail Antonio early in the second half, and then had strong claims for a penalty rejected 15 minutes before full-time.
Ecuador, however, made the game safe in stoppage time with a breakaway goal from Alan Minda as Jamaica pressed forward for an equalizer.
The defeat leaves Jamaica bottom of Group B with no points after two games.
The Jamaicans could be eliminated later on Thursday depending on the result of Venezuela’s clash with Mexico.
Earlier, Ecuador opened the scoring with a freakish own goal in the 13th minute, Pierre Hincapie’s cross from the left taking a wicked deflection off Palmer and looping into the Jamaica net.
Ecuador doubled their lead from the penalty spot on the stroke of half-time.
Defender Greg Leigh instinctively blocked a header with his upper arm and after a lengthy VAR review, Chilean referee Cristian Garay pointed to the spot.
The 17-year-old Paez — who will join Premier League giants Chelsea in July 2025 when he turns 18 — stepped up to calmly stroke the spot-kick into the bottom corner.
A rejuvenated Jamaica pulled one back early in the second half with Antonio jabbing home a low shot on 54 minutes after Ecuador failed to clear a corner.
Jamaica thought they had been thrown a lifeline with 15 minutes to go after a VAR penalty check triggered when Ecuador’s Alan Franco appeared to handle inside the area.
But despite being called to the monitor to take a look at the incident, referee Garay decided there had been no handball and waved play on, before Minda’s late goal sealed Ecuador’s win.
Turkiye edge into Euros last 16 with tense win over Czechs
HAMBURG: Turkiye reached the knockout phase at a major tournament for the first time in 16 years after a bad-tempered 2-1 win over a battling 10-man Czech Republic at Euro 2024 on Wednesday.
Vincenzo Montella’s Turkiye finished second in Group F behind Portugal to progress, as the Czechs were eliminated despite a brave performance on a sweltering night in Hamburg.
Georgia also went through as one of the best third-placed teams after a stunning 2-0 win over Portugal in the group’s other final game, eliminating Hungary.
Turkiye will face Austria in the last 16 in Leipzig on Tuesday, their first major tournament knockout match since the Euro 2008 semifinals when they were beaten by Germany.
The Czechs were reduced to 10 men in the 20th minute when Antonin Barak was given the earliest red card in Euros history, beating the unwanted record set by France’s Eric Abidal in 2008.
Barak’s pair of bookings were two of 18 yellow cards shown in total, with Tomas Chory also shown red after the final whistle in ugly scenes.
Hakan Calhanoglu powered Turkiye into a 51st-minute lead, but Tomas Soucek lashed in an equalizer midway through the second half.
A frantic finale to the game ensued as the Czech Republic pushed for the winner that would take them through, but Cenk Tosun ended their hopes on the counter-attack in added time.
There were ugly scenes at the final whistle as fans ran onto the pitch, with Czech forward Chory brandished a red card in the aftermath.
The Czechs started strongly despite the tens of thousands of Turkiye fans jeering their every touch, with Lukas Provod forcing Mert Gunok into an early save with a deflected shot.
They were especially dangerous from Vladimir Coufal’s long throw-ins, one of which Robin Hranac headed over when unmarked.
But Turkiye were given a huge boost as midfielder Barak caught Salih Ozcan by the halfway line and was shown a soft second yellow card.
Key Czech striker Patrik Schick could only feature among the substitutes after picking up an injury in the draw with Georgia last week.
He was given a yellow card for protesting from the bench after Provod was felled by flying challenge.
Turkiye winger Kenan Yildiz was fortunate to stay on the pitch, only receiving a yellow for a nasty tackle on Hranac before elbowing Coufal in the face without punishment as tempers threatened to boil over.
Montella’s side were struggling to break down their opponents despite the man advantage and almost fell behind when David Jurasek was denied by Gunok after a quick counter-attack.
Knowing defeat could send them home with Georgia leading Portugal, Turkiye started brightly after the break and released the pressure on themselves with a crucial opening goal.
Yildiz had an effort brilliantly saved by Jindrich Stanek, but the Czech ‘keeper suffered an arm injury in making the stop and with him struggling to get back into position, Calhanoglu drilled the ball into the bottom corner.
Stanek was immediately replaced by back-up Matej Kovar as part of a triple change.
The Czechs became increasingly stretched as they went in search of the two goals they needed to stay in the tournament and Turkiye’s teenage star Arda Guler failed to convert from barely three yards out.
But Soucek gave the Czechs hope when he fired home after Gunok spilt the ball following another Coufal hurl into the box.
The goal survived a long VAR review for a possible foul on the embarrassed ‘keeper and a handball, before being eventually awarded to set up a thrilling finish.
Ivan Hasek’s Czech Republic threw as many players forward as possible but could not find a moment of magic.
Instead, Turkiye hit them on the break and substitute Tosun struck a fine finish into the far corner, before the match ended in fiery fashion.
