LONDON: Naomi Osaka said Sunday she hopes to mark her daughter’s first birthday by making a winning return to Wimbledon thanks to a helping hand from Novak Djokovic.
The Japanese superstar, a four-time Grand Slam champion and a former world number one, hasn’t played at the All England Club since 2019.
Osaka takes on Diane Parry of France in her opener on Monday, the day before she celebrates daughter Shai’s first birthday.
“She’s one on Tuesday so it will be very exciting day,” said the 26-year-old.
“It’s been a great journey and I’m lucky and blessed to have happy girl with lots of energy. It’s a dream to be here with her now.”
Osaka’s four majors came on the hard courts of the US Open and Australian Open.
She made the third round at Wimbledon in 2017 and 2018, losing to former champions Venus Williams and Angelique Kerber respectively.
Her most recent appearance in 2019 was brief with a first round loss to Yulia Putintseva.
In order to improve her chances at this year’s tournament, Osaka has sounded out seven-time Wimbledon champion Djokovic.
“I tried to slide on grass. I asked Novak how he did it. I have tried a few times but it has been scary. I think I may have to wait for the grass to get brown a little,” she said.
“But he told me no matter if he falls he keeps getting up and doing it. He said I have to overcome the fear of getting hurt.”
Osaka, who only returned to the tour at the start of the year afer maternity leave, is ranked at 113 in the world and required a wild card to play at Wimbledon.
At the recent French Open, she gave world number one Iga Swiatek a mighty scare, holding a match point in their second round clash before the Pole prevailed.
Since then she made the quarter-finals of the grass-court tournament at ‘s-Hertogenbosch and pushed world number eight Zheng Qinwen to three sets in the opening round in Berlin.
“It’s a little weird as I feel I have been playing really well this year but just not making a lot of quarter-finals,” said Osaka.
“I feel that had I not played Iga, I could have gone a long way in Paris. I just need some luck.”
She added: “I lost first round in Berlin, but I learned lot. I’m feeling pretty good about myself. People tell me I have game for grass.”
Djokovic inspires Osaka at Wimbledon ahead of daughter’s birthday
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Djokovic inspires Osaka at Wimbledon ahead of daughter’s birthday
Chelsea FC teams up with UAE’s DAMAC for branded residences deal in Dubai
- Agreement includes what is said to be first-of-its-kind football-themed property-development collaboration: Chelsea Residences by DAMAC
- The luxury real estate company will also feature as front-of-shirt sponsor of the men’s and women’s teams for remainder of the season
DUBAI: Chelsea Football Club on Wednesday announced a long-term global partnership agreement with UAE-based DAMAC Properties, a Middle Eastern luxury real estate company.
The collaboration includes an ultra-modern development in Dubai, Chelsea Residences by DAMAC, described as a first-of-its-kind football-themed branded residences project. It will be built with the team’s famous brand woven into its fabric, the partners said, from its concierge services to high-performance spaces designed reflect the club in terms of high-end style, commitment to excellence and its vision for the future.
To showcase the partnership and celebrate the launch of the first Chelsea-branded residences, DAMAC will feature as front-of-shirt sponsors of the men’s and women’s teams for the remainder of this season, beginning with the men’s UEFA Conference League semi-final against Swedish side Djurgarden on May 1.
“This launch marks the first of an elite collection that celebrates not just the passion of Chelsea F.C. but its enduring legacy, innovative spirit and relentless pursuit of excellence,” said Amira Sajwani, DAMAC’s managing director of sales and development.
“This initiative goes beyond celebrating the beautiful game; it sets a new benchmark for those who expect nothing less than the exceptional, every time.”
Jason Gannon, Chelsea’s president and chief operating officer, said: “DAMAC are world renowned in building luxury properties, and we are thrilled to be working with the industry leader to bring to market a first-of-its-kind branded Chelsea F.C. residence in Dubai.
“With the club located in the heart of London, the collaboration will bring Chelsea to life in Dubai, supporting our continued growth on the global stage. We can’t wait to see Chelsea Residences take its place in the Dubai skyline.”
The project will be part of Dubai’s new beachfront development Maritime City and consist of more than 1,400 residential units. Each will offer seafront views and access to exclusive Chelsea-branded amenities with a focus on health, fitness and well-being, the partners said.
Sinner considered walking away from tennis during doping controversy
- Sinner accepted a three-month ban in February after a settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency
- “I didn’t feel comfortable and then I said, maybe after Australia, a little bit of free time, in the sense where I take a little break it will do me good,” he said
ROME: World number one Jannik Sinner, who is about to return to action after a three-month doping ban, thought about walking away from tennis even while successfully defending his Australian Open title, but is coming back with a new mentality.
Sinner accepted a three-month ban in February after a settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency, who had appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against an independent tribunal’s decision in August to clear him.
The Italian had tested positive for anabolic agent clostebol which Sinner said entered his system from a member of his support team through massages and sports therapy.
Sinner won the Australian Open in January, with the WADA case hanging over him, and was asked during an interview with Italian broadcaster RAI on Tuesday whether he had ever considered giving up tennis.
“Yes, yes. I remember before the Australian Open this year, I was not in a very happy moment because there was still that case of doping,” Sinner said.
“I didn’t feel really comfortable in the locker room, where I ate. It was a bit like some players looked at me differently and I didn’t like it at all. And there I said it’s heavy to live tennis in this way.
“I didn’t feel comfortable and then I said, maybe after Australia, a little bit of free time, in the sense where I take a little break it will do me good.”
Sinner was then forced into a break by the ban, but is now back in training for the upcoming Italian Open next month.
“Slowly, I’m getting back into the rhythm of real training with a goal in front of me,” Sinner said.
“Sometimes it goes very well, sometimes there is a drop and I don’t know why, so I will certainly be very happy to return to the court.
“Especially in Rome, it is a special tournament for me, but I certainly enter with a slightly different mentality. I miss the competition. I am certainly very happy that this phase is now over and we are ready to start again.”
Sinner’s settlement brought plenty of criticism from both current and former players, with Serena Williams saying she would have been banned for 20 years and had her Grand Slam titles taken away had she tested positive in a similar fashion.
“I mean, I don’t even want to answer. Everyone is free to say what they want, everyone can judge, but that’s okay,” Sinner said.
“It’s important to me that I know how that happened, but above all also of what I went through and it was very difficult.
“I don’t wish it on anyone to really pass as innocent something like that because it wasn’t easy, but we are in a world where everyone can say what they want, so it’s okay.”
How a fighter pilot’s mental techniques helped tiny Bodø/Glimt reach the Europa League semifinals
- Bodø/Glimt have also had some big results in Europe in recent seasons — a 6-1 thrashing of Jose Mourinho’s Roma in the Conference League 2021 stands out
- “It is a fairy tale, almost a miracle,” Mannsverk told AP
OSLO: How did an unheralded Norwegian team from a tiny town north of the Arctic Circle become one of the fairytale stories of European soccer?
For Bodø/Glimt, the transformation has been underpinned by a fighter pilot who developed mental techniques for his squadron before bombing missions in Libya.
Bjørn Mannsverk discovered a group of players exuding negative energy and prone to “a collective mental breakdown” when he was asked in early 2017 to join the backroom staff of a team that had just been relegated to Norway’s second tier.
His task as “mental coach” at Bodø/Glimt? To make players talk openly about their feelings, lower stress levels, change their attitudes and routines about things like preparation and nutrition, and remove the stigma around mental training.
Winning or losing no longer mattered. It was all about following a philosophy and culture established by Mannsverk, a former Royal Norwegian air force squadron leader whose military duties took him to Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks and to Libya for a NATO-led intervention in 2011.
The results have been extraordinary.
After securing an immediate return to Norway’s top division, the team — based more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) north of Oslo in a fishing town, Bodø, with a population of around 55,000 — have captured four of the country’s last five league titles. It started in 2020 with a first in the history of a club founded in 1916.
Bodø/Glimt have also had some big results in Europe in recent seasons — a 6-1 thrashing of Jose Mourinho’s Roma in the Conference League 2021 stands out — and this year they have become the first Norwegian club to reach the semifinals of a major European competition.
The first leg against Tottenham in the Europa League takes place in London on Thursday. It’s Bodø/Glimt’s biggest ever match.
“It is a fairy tale, almost a miracle,” Mannsverk told AP in a video interview. “How can you actually come from (Norway’s) second division in 2017 to playing a Champions League playoff and teams like Arsenal five years later?
“But I think it’s possible ... if you have the right mentality and you work hard over time.”
An active air force pilot for more than 20 years, Mannsverk and others in his squadron were the subjects of a mental training project in 2010 where the focus was on meditation and “every day repeating boring stuff, but with 100 percent attention.”
It meant that when he was in Libya the following year, he had the mental capacity to handle the dangerous missions he was asked to perform. His squadron’s mantra — “train as you intend to fight” — worked.
“Even though I got strong feelings when my first bombs hit the target and it was in infernal flames and fragments and everything,” he said, “it was like, ‘My training said that it’s OK, this is happening, recognize that, but know I have to return and do my job.’”
With Bodø until recently having a NATO air base, it was simply a happy coincidence that Bodø/Glimt’s leadership came across members of the squadron at the same time as they were seeking a “silver bullet” — as Mannsverk put it — to improve the team’s mental conditioning.
A project was born and fully embraced by manager Kjetil Knutsen following his appointment in 2018.
Bodø/Glimt have never looked back.
Mannsverk’s fingerprints are all over the team’s behavior, though he acknowledges there has been such a buy-in by the players that they now take decisions by themselves.
Like having a rotating cast of eight captains to share leadership duties. Like when the players gather into a circle — Mannsverk calls it the “Bodø/Glimt Ring” — after conceding a goal to discuss what happened and maintain solidarity. Like the players having no specific targets, apart from being the best version of themselves.
Inge Henning Andersen, Bodø/Glimt’s chairman, told the AP that midfielder Ulrik Saltnes considered retiring because he used to suffer from stress-related stomach issues that flared up around matches. Saltnes opened up about his problems to Mannsverk and “finally found a way out of it,” Andersen said.
The team play at an intensity that far exceeds its rivals, which players attribute to Mannsverk.
“I don’t think it would be possible to play like that without Bjørn and the mental work we do,” Saltnes once told the BBC.
This season’s Europa League campaign is giving Bodø/Glimt widespread attention, notably for its location. The team’s Aspmyra stadium — with a capacity of less than 9,000 — is one of the most northernly in world soccer at 67 degrees latitude. Tourists have long come to the town on the tip of Norway’s west coast because it is a good spot to see the northern lights.
Bodø, named the European Capital of Culture in 2024, has less than an hour of sunlight during its shortest days, meaning players take supplements to combat a lack of sunlight. It can be bitterly cold and windy in the long winters, making for tough trips for opponents from other countries.
On paper, Tottenham, one of the world’s richest clubs, start as a huge favorite against Bodø/Glimt. The crowd at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Thursday will be bigger than Bodø’s population.
Yet the English club are having one of their worst seasons in a generation and currently lies in 16th place in the 20-team Premier League. It gives Bodø/Glimt a realistic shot at an upset, like they produced when getting past Italian team Lazio in the quarterfinals.
Another chance, then, for the club to write another amazing chapter in their remarkable journey.
“We like to tell our story,” Mannsverk said. “The philosophy is a good thing. We know it’s difficult in football, where there’s so much money involved, to give a coach or a team the time. And it takes time to change and drill in the mentality.
“This was not done overnight ... but I’m totally convinced that it will work more or less all over.”
Saudi Esports Federation, PUBG MOBILE unite to forge new era for Kingdom’s esports scene
- Partnership creates unprecedented opportunities for Saudi players, fueling record participation
- Champion of PUBG MOBILE National Championship KSA will be sent to $3m PUBG MOBILE World Cup
Riyadh: The Saudi Esports Federation, the national body of esports in the Kingdom, and PUBG MOBILE, one of the world’s most popular mobile games, announced the signing of a landmark memorandum of understanding, marking a pivotal moment in the development of the Kingdom’s esports ecosystem.
The strategic alliance aligns PUBG MOBILE’s local community with the SEF’s national esports development objectives, and is expected to create unprecedented opportunities for Saudi players.
It integrates the PUBG MOBILE National Championship into the SEF’s Saudi eLeague, making it the main PUBG MOBILE competition within the national circuit. This alignment strengthens the SEF’s grassroots-to-pro structure and embeds PMNC as a core component of Saudi Arabia’s official esports calendar.
The MoU has already yielded record-breaking results, further streamlining the pathway from amateur to professional for aspiring Saudi players.
In addition to PMNC’s role, the partnership encompasses broader development through the SEF Academy and university leagues — ensuring a structured and sustainable talent pipeline for PUBG MOBILE players in Saudi Arabia.
And as a direct consequence of the collaboration, the champion of PMNC KSA, held within SEL, will now earn a coveted spot to compete at the prestigious PUBG MOBILE World Cup, held as part of the Esports World Cup later this year.
The PMWC boasts a staggering $3 million prize pool, solidifying its position as one of the most sought-after global PUBG MOBILE tournaments, with the opportunity representing a monumental step for Saudi players by offering them a chance to showcase their skills on the world stage and to compete for a life-changing prize.
“Through strategic collaborations with leading titles such as PUBG MOBILE, we are expanding opportunities for our players, building sustainable pathways to international competition, and accelerating the development of a dynamic and thriving esports ecosystem,” said Prince Faisal Bin Bandar, president of the federation.
“We are proud to see Saudi talent rise to the global stage and look forward to inspiring future generations to pursue esports excellence,” he added.
Vincent Wang, head of PUBG MOBILE Publishing, Tencent Games, said that PUBG MOBILE “is deeply committed to fostering the growth of esports in Saudi Arabia, and this MoU with the Saudi Esports Federation is a testament to that commitment.
“We are thrilled to provide the Kingdom’s players a clear pathway to the global stage, starting with the PMNC KSA champion’s journey to the PUBG MOBILE World Cup. We believe this partnership will unlock the immense potential of Saudi esports and inspire a new generation of champions,” he added.
The impact of the partnership is already clear, with PMNC KSA witnessing record-breaking player registrations, surpassing all previous PUBG MOBILE tournaments in the Kingdom.
“By embedding PUBG MOBILE into our structured leagues and talent development programs, we are enabling players to compete at a professional standard from an early stage,” said Meshal Al-Qabbani, executive director of esports at the Saudi Esports Federation. “We look forward to witnessing a new wave of Saudi talent rise through the ranks and achieve international success through this historic collaboration.”
The surge in players highlights the growing enthusiasm for PUBG MOBILE esports in Saudi Arabia, as well as the strength of the collaboration between PUBG MOBILE and the SEF.
The MoU announcement coincides with the culmination of PMNC KSA, where the champion will be crowned, awarded $26,000 and have their ticket to the PMWC metaphorically punched.
Time to be positive about the Pakistan Super League, says Sameen Rana
- Co-owner and COO of the Lahore Qalandars spoke to Arab News about the decade-old league and the challenges of biking a team
DUBAI: Viewed from several perspectives, it is a real achievement that the Pakistan Super League has reached its 10th year intact. It has survived COVID-19, regular changes in leadership at both Pakistan Cricket Board and political level, on-going unrest, spot-fixing, the rise of competing leagues, security issues and a seeming indifference to it outside of Pakistan.
The original contract between the PCB/PSL and the franchises contained a clause to review their value after 10 years. This now a bone of contention. It was revealed as such during an interview conducted by Arab News with Sameen Rana, co-owner and chief operating officer of the Lahore Qalandars. In a wide-ranging discussion, the motivation for the initial purchase was highlighted, followed by the challenges of building a team and an identity, concluding with a consideration of future prospects.
Rana was clear that the original motivation was “love of the country because the business model did not make sense. It was not something that was going to make money. At time of set up, the Indian Premier League was excluding Pakistani players — for us it was very much a national cause, and we wanted to do it for the country.”
It is apparent from comments made by owners of the other four original franchises that this was a common motivation. Together, the original five paid $93 million for 10 years, in a range of $5 million to $25 million.
Having made their investments, the owners were faced with building a squad of players, coaches and support staff. Rana admitted that this was a challenge. The first year was played in the UAE and, from a personal view he did not like it “as it was not the Pakistani tournament, playing in empty stadiums with small crowds who were brought in via the networks of the franchises.” However, there were “logistical benefits for the overseas players and it also meant that it allowed domestic players to play at a time when international cricket was not being played in Pakistan.”
In 2017, the PSL was played again in the UAE, but the final was played in Lahore. This was a highlight for Rana, seeing the stadium in Lahore jam-packed. The owners “had invested for the country, for the cause, and that that only became live when played in Pakistan.” Yet, that euphoria was tempered by the realities of running a cricket franchise. Rana openly emphasized that he, his brothers and others involved were businesspeople, new to cricket.
“We had no background in cricket at all. This meant we had to learn on the job. Looking back at the first year of the draft, we were unlucky in terms of the emerging category, because we had the last pick. This meant that we could not pick the players whom we wanted and the squad was not up to scratch.”
Lahore Qalandars struggled in the early years, being eliminated in the group stages. Rana revealed that they “felt disadvantaged in building a competitive squad because the more successful franchises were able to retain up to 16 players.” This meant that the top players were unavailable to the Qalandars. A different strategy was needed to build a core squad.
Rana said: “All we were hearing from various players and cricket stakeholders was that there is no talent. So, we decided to challenge that by going into the streets of Pakistan, initiating a player development program, supported by a lot of personal resources, providing player salaries, facilities for development and sending them abroad to play and learn. In this way, we have found new talent and provided the youth of Pakistan with an opportunity to make their career and to achieve their dreams through a fast-track program.”
The strategy worked to such good effect that the Qalandars finished runners-up in 2020 and champions in both 2022 and 2023. Now, there are new challenges to face, as the PSL prepares for its second decade. Disquiet has been expressed publicly by Ali Tareen of the Multan Sultans, suggesting that “the PSL’s marketing has declined, and the excitement around the tournament has also diminished compared to previous years.”
Rana disagrees with any suggestion that the PSL has lost its momentum. He takes the view that, whilst there are challenges to be faced and overcome, the PSL has been a force for good. “Ten years ago, there was no Lahore Qalandars, there was no PSL, there were no opportunities for the younger players to earn financially or to showcase their talent. There were no foreign players coming, there was no competitiveness. We were only dependent on the domestic T20 tournament, which few people watch. So, we have come a long way.”
However, he highlights a key challenge which is being faced. This is the new contract with the PSL. It seems that what the PSL has put on the table is renewal at either the current price, plus 25 percent, or the current price plus a new valuation of each team. At present, the new valuation is not available. Rana’s concern is that this potential hike in fee fails to recognize the part which franchises have played in building the brands.
He argues that “if you have worked hard to do this for the betterment of the PSL, then you are ending up paying more money as a fee, rather than getting credit for the work done. If Lahore Qalandars had not undertaken a player development program, then our valuation would be lower. This contradiction is a fundamental problem in the contract and against the objective of any contract, because it is encouraging the investor to do nothing.”
Franchises have revealed that it has taken years to overcome losses and not all of them have yet done so. A public statement from the owner of the Karachi Kings, Salman Iqbal, suggested that “if teams are still not generating profits in the current environment, the problem likely lies with their own operational models rather than the league itself.”
What must be galling for the franchise owners is that during 10 years of building loyal fanbases, enhancing commercial strategies and honing marketing strategies, the body which has consistently made money is the PSL and, by extension, the PCB.
A detailed financial analysis is beyond the scope of this column but such an analysis would reveal that the PSL has bankrolled the PCB for years. Only the return of international cricket to Pakistan, which has generated ICC and ACC revenues, has changed the balance. It is understandable that the franchise owners might feel under appreciated. The PSL was born in exile, nurtured amid political chaos, and sustained by franchise owners who have lost money. They invested for Pakistan. The PSL survived and gave creditability to Pakistan’s cricketing reputation.
Rana requests that “everybody remains positive and not create a culture of negativity, which can only damage Pakistan. The PSL has the future of players attached to it, plus a range of economic activity, so that should not be destroyed.”
In that context, it might be assumed that now is the time for the PCB to recognize the debt they owe to franchise owners, rather than run the risk of alienating them.
It is fair to say that the PCB/PSL stands at a crossroads. The return of international cricket provides an opportunity for the PCB to see the contribution which the franchises have made to that outcome. The love which they have displayed for the country through their PSL investment amounts to an act of faith. Whether that faith will be reciprocated in the negotiations to come or whether the PCB will seek, or be forced, to lever increased value for the rights to franchise is a matter now being played out. Once again, the PSL’s future is under pressure and Rana has pinpointed the central issue.
