Sports

LONDON: The Wimbledon Championships will become a 14-day tournament from 2022, with matches set to be played on Middle Sunday, traditionally a day off at the grasscourt Grand Slam, the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) said on Tuesday. The first Sunday of Wimbledon is normally a rest day, on which tournament organisers work to get the courts back into top shape for the latter rounds, resulting in a packed "Manic Monday" schedule. "From 2022, to coincide with the centenary of centre court,

LONDON: Europe's soccer governing body UEFA is set to increase the size of the national team squads at this year's European Championship from 23 to 26 players, British media reported on Tuesday (Apr 27). The rule is being changed to lighten the burden on players after the start of the 2020-21 season was delayed last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic while the campaign was also compressed to finish by May, in time for the Jun 11-Jul 11 Euros. The decision was taken

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) rode on an AB de Villiers special and a solid final over from Mohammad Siraj to inflict a one-run defeat on Delhi Capitals (DC) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) in Ahmedabad on Tuesday. The ever-reliable De Villiers scored an unbeaten 42-ball 75 to power RCB to 171 for five before their bowlers, led by Harshal Patel (2/37), Mohammed Siraj (1/44) Kyle Jamieson (1/32), restricted DC to 170 for four. Needing 14 off the final over, DC fell agonisingly

No. 7 seed Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany moved into the second round of the BMW Open with a 6-4, 6-3 victory Tuesday against Slovakia's Andrej Martin in Munich, Germany. Struff struck six aces and only faced two break points (saving one) during the 76-minute match. Up next is compatriot Dominik Koepfer, a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 winner against three-time Munich champion Philipp Kohlschreiber. No. 5 Nikoloz Basilashvili of Georgia cruised 6-2, 6-3 over Brazil's Thiago Monteiro. American qualifier Mackenzie McDonald upset No. 6 seed

World number eight Tyrrell Hatton became the fourth player to withdraw from this week's Valspar Championship in Palm Harbor, Florida, after receiving a positive test for COVID-19, the PGA Tour said on Tuesday. The Englishman, who finished in a share of eighth place at last week's Zurich Classic of New Orleans team event with 2016 Masters champion Danny Willett, was among the top players in this week's field at Innisbrook Resort's Copperhead course. "Hatton will have the PGA Tour's full support throughout his

Christian Horner has told that he was "delighted" to lure Ben Hodgkinson away from rivals Mercedes, but says Andy Cowell - who left the F1 world champions earlier this year - is unlikely to be joining Red Bull's "tremendously exciting" engine project. Red Bull made a big statement last Friday when they announced the hiring of Hodgkinson as technical director for their new engine programme, given his two-decades worth of experience for Mercedes' Powertrains division. In an interview with Sky Sports News' Craig

Julian Nagelsmann will take over as Bayern Munich coach from next season to replace Hansi Flick, the reigning German champions announced on April 27. Nagelsmann, who is just 33, will move from RB Leipzig on a five-year contract after Flick, whose relationship with the club's powerful sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic has deteriorated over transfer policy, asked to be released from his contract. "I am convinced that Bayern's sporting future will be a very successful one with Julian Nagelsmann," Oliver Kahn, the club's former

SYDNEY: Australia's Olympic Committee on Wednesday (Apr 28) hailed a decision to fast-track COVID-19 vaccinations for athletes travelling to the Tokyo Games despite accusations of queue-jumping. The Australian government announced late on Tuesday that an estimated 2,000 athletes and staff members would get jabs before travelling to the games, which are scheduled to begin on Jul 23. "We want to see our athletes head to Tokyo to compete and then return to Australia safely," said health minister Greg Hunt. Australian Olympic Committee CEO

LONDON: Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola passed on some simple advice to his players from his late mentor Johan Cruyff ahead of the first leg of their Champions League semi-final, away at Paris St Germain on Wednesday night: Enjoy yourselves. "Enjoy the travel, the coffee in the terminal, the night and the dinner, watching the other semi-final, enjoy the press conference, the walk, the training," Guardiola told reporters on Tuesday while describing Cruyff's philosophy. "We are privileged to be one of the best

Chelsea held their own away to Real Madrid but had to settle for a 1-1 draw in Tuesday's Champions League semi-final first leg after Karim Benzema scored an acrobatic goal to cancel out an early strike from Christian Pulisic. Chelsea made a bright start in heavy rain at the Alfredo di Stefano Stadium and deservedly went ahead when U.S. forward Pulisic rounded Thibaut Courtois to score in the 14th minute. Thirteen times European Cup winners Real looked ragged and short on ideas but

MADRID: Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said on Monday (Apr 26) that he was not thinking about any sanctions against the club from UEFA in the wake of the European Super League announcement last week. The breakaway league involving 12 of Europe's major clubs collapsed within three days of its announcement amid a fierce backlash from fans, governing bodies and politicians. Real president Florentino Perez was named as chairman of the project and appears to have been the driving force behind the league,

LONDON: AC Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Inter Milan's Romelu Lukaku have been fined for unsportsmanlike conduct following an investigation into a verbal clash between the pair during a Coppa Italia match in January. The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) said on Monday that Ibrahimovic had been fined €4,000 (US$4,834), Lukaku €3,000, AC Milan €2,000 and Inter €1,250. The two former Manchester United team mates exchanged insults during the cup quarter-final on Jan 26 and Lukaku had to be restrained at the end of

TOKYO: Hundreds of Japanese towns and cities have been forced to rethink plans to host Olympic teams because the coronavirus will prevent public appearances and require costly safety measures. The western town of Okuizumo spent more than US$5 million preparing to welcome India's hockey team for a pre-Games training camp, only to scrap the visit because of COVID-19. After sinking money into upgrading sports facilities, Okuizomo balked when it became clear it would have to provide bubble-like biosecurity measures with regular virus tests

LEICESTER, England: In-form Kelechi Iheanacho's late stunner earned Leicester City a crucial 2-1 home victory over Crystal Palace which tightened their grip on third place in the Premier League on Monday (Apr 26). Nigerian Iheanacho set up Leicester's equaliser for Timothy Castagne just after halftime, then smashed home an 80th-minute winner to complete the turnaround at the King Power Stadium. He has now scored 12 goals in his last nine games in all competitions for Leicester who are closing in on a place

Jamaica's Danusia Francis said the decision by German athletes to compete in full-body suits at the European Artistic Gymnastics Championships last week was empowering for women. Sarah Voss donned a full-body suit at the Basel event and was followed by team mates Kim Bui and Elisabeth Seitz. The German Gymnastics Association (DTB) said that the move was a stand against sexualisation in the sport. "I think it's amazing," Francis, who previously represented Britain but will compete for Jamaica at this year's Tokyo Games,

Eoin Morgan guided Kolkata Knight Riders to a much-needed victory over Punjab Kings in a low-scoring Indian Premier League contest in Ahmedabad. The KKR skipper came in with his side 17-3 early on in their chase of 124 but was typically calm under pressure, putting on 66 with Rahul Tripathi (41 from 32 balls) as he batted through to the end, finishing unbeaten on 47 from 40 balls. Kolkata's bowlers, led by Prasidh Krishna (3-30), had restricted Punjab to 123-9 and it took

Shorter 'sprint' races will be introduced to Formula 1 this year to set the grid positions at three grands prix, series bosses have agreed. Points will be awarded to the top three finishers - three for first, two for second and one for third. Grid positions for the shorter race - to be called 'sprint qualifying' - will be set by moving qualifying to Friday. Avoiding calling the event a 'race' is to ensure that the grand prix remains the main focus of

An "ultra-rare" signed rookie card for four-time National Basketball Association (NBA) champion LeBron James sold for $5.2 million on Monday, breaking the record for the most expensive basketball card ever sold. It also equalled the record for any sports trading card, matching the amount paid in January for a 1952 rookie card for baseball great Mickey Mantle. "At the heart of every collector in 2003 was the hope of pulling the ultra-rare LeBron James Rookie Patch Auto Parallel numbered to 23 copies," PWCC

Roger Federer's decision to make his long-awaited Grand Slam return on his least favourite surface at next month's French Open is part of a grand plan to peak in time for his beloved Wimbledon, according to ESPN commentator Patrick McEnroe. Federer, who due to injury or schedule preference has not competed on the clay courts at Roland Garros in four of the last five years, returned to competition last month after sitting out more than a year following two knee operations. "He wouldn't

World number one Ash Barty said her tennis had reached a new level during a "phenomenal" week in Stuttgart where she pulled off three successive comeback wins to claim her second title on clay. The Australian, who turned 25 on Saturday, defeated fifth seed Aryna Sabalenka 3-6 6-0 6-3 in the final to hoist her third WTA trophy this season and cement her place at the top of the rankings. The Sabalenka win followed victories over fourth seed Elina Svitolina and sixth seed