Sports

The French Open has been postponed by a week in the hope that more spectators will be permitted to attend. The Grand Slam tournament at Roland Garros will now run from 30 May to 13 June with qualifying the week before. France is in a third nationwide lockdown amid a surge in coronavirus cases, which president Emmanuel Macron previously said he expected to end in mid-May. The French Tennis Federation (FFT) said postponing was the "best solution". "I am delighted that the discussions

The Indian Premier League is back with its 14th edition. This time, the tournament will be held in India after BCCI decided to hold the 2020 edition in UAE due to the coronavirus pandemic. Defending champions Mumbai Indians will take on Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore in the opening match of the 2021 edition of the IPL. Several sides will again be vying for the IPL title this year but the favourites again look to be five-time champions Mumbai Indians. The Rohit Sharma-led side have

MADRID - Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes secured a hard-fought 2-0 victory at Granada in the Europa League quarter-final first leg to put their side in the driving seat. In a game where clear-cut chances were sparse, the highlight of a dull opening quarter came when a streaker somehow managed to find his way onto the pitch, despite crowds not being allowed to attend the match due to COVID-19 protocols. Rashford’s goal just past the half hour was the game’s standout

Britain’s sports governing bodies have backed the government’s COVID certification programme which could allow a full return of fans at stadiums without social distancing requirements from June 21. The certificate would show if a person had been vaccinated, had a recent negative test or natural immunity from a positive test taken in the last six months. An open letter from sports bodies, including the Football Association, Premier League, and the Rugby Football Union read: “All of our sports can see the benefit that

Top-seeded Daniel Evans of England fell in three sets to Italian Lorenzo Musetti on the clay courts of the Sardegna Open on Thursday in Cagliari, Italy. Musetti won 6-1, 1-6, 7-6 (8). Australian and No. 6 seed John Millman was also upset, losing 6-3, 6-3 to Laslo Djere of Serbia. Third-seeded Lorenzo Sonego of Italy defeated Gilles Simon of France in straight sets, 6-4, 6-1. Also, Germany’s Yannick Hanfmann defeated Marco Cecchinato of Italy 7-5, 6-1. Andalucia Open Third-seeded Casper Ruud of Norway

MADRID: Toni Nadal, the uncle and former coach of Rafael Nadal, has confirmed he will work with the 20-year-old Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime. Auger-Aliassime is 22nd in the ATP world rankings and one of the rising stars of men's tennis. "When the offer reached me, I told him to come to the Academy (the Rafa Nadal Academy) for 10 days so that he could see if what I could offer him may or may not suit him," Toni Nadal told Marca on Thursday, adding

MUMBAI: India cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar said on Thursday (Apr 8) that he has been released from hospital a week after he was admitted when he contracted COVID-19, but he will remain in isolation at home. Tendulkar, who turns 48 later this month, was previously quarantining at home after testing positive following mild symptoms. "I have just come home from the hospital and will remain isolated while continuing to rest and recuperate. I would like to thank everyone for all the good wishes

LONDON: Slavia Prague boosted their hopes of a first European semi-final since 1996 as Tomas Holes headed a stoppage-time equaliser in a 1-1 draw at Arsenal in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final on Thursday. It looked as though substitute Nicolas Pepe's 86th-minute effort had given the hosts a narrow advantage to take to the Czech Republic for next week's second leg. But defender Holes forced a header past Bernd Leno from a corner in the 93rd minute to deflate Arsenal

The Baylor Bears won their first men's NCAA basketball title with a 86-70 win over the previously undefeated Gonzaga Bulldogs in the championship game Monday night in Indianapolis. Baylor's win snaps Gonzaga's 35-game win streak, which was the longest active streak in the nation and dated back to last season. "We're really good defensively. I thought we made things tough tonight," Baylor coach Scott Drew said. "Gonzaga missed some shots that they probably normally make. But credit our guys for making everything difficult."

The French Open has been postponed by a week in the hope that more spectators will be permitted to attend. The Grand Slam tournament at Roland Garros will now run from 30 May to 13 June with qualifying the week before. France is in a third nationwide lockdown amid a surge in coronavirus cases, which president Emmanuel Macron previously said he expected to end in mid-May. The French Tennis Federation (FFT) said postponing was the "best solution". "I am delighted that the discussions

Toni Nadal, the uncle and former coach of 20-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal, has joined the coaching team of Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime. Nadal, widely known as 'Uncle Toni', coached his nephew from childhood and through his adult career until he stood down in 2017. He will now join the team of highly-rated Auger-Aliassime, 20, starting at next week's Monte Carlo Masters. "I never considered before to work for someone else," Nadal, 60, said. Nadal left his nephew's team after helping him to

The richest franchise tournament in world cricket is back on Friday as the Indian Premier League kicks off its 14th edition. Global cricketing superstars - including India icon Virat Kohli and England all-rounder Ben Stokes - will be on show in the Twenty20 tournament, with ball-by-ball radio commentary on BBC Radio 5 Live sports extra and online. The 2021 IPL returns to India after last year's competition took place in the United Arab Emirates because of Covid-19. This year, for at least the

AUGUSTA, Georgia: New dad Jon Rahm was the last of the 88 players in the Masters field to arrive at Augusta National, and he moved quickly to dispel a rumour that he had named his baby after Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga. Rahm's wife Kelley gave birth to a boy, Kepa, on Saturday morning, leaving the world number three to spend a few days helping out with parent duties before turning his attention to golf's first major of 2021. He arrived on-site at the

MUNICH - Paris St Germain forward Kylian Mbappe scored twice to steer the visitors to a 3-2 victory over holders Bayern Munich in a topsy-turvy Champions League quarter-final first leg on Wednesday. On a snowy evening in the Bavarian capital, Mbappe fired in his eighth goal of the competition in the 68th minute after Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting in the 37th and Thomas Mueller on the hour had cancelled out a two-goal PSG lead. It was Bayern’s first Champions League loss in more than two

SEVILLE, Spain - Chelsea coach Thomas Tuchel praised his side for overcoming the shock of last week’s 5-2 defeat to West Bromwich Albion as they beat Porto 2-0 in Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final first leg. Chelsea conceded more than double the amount of goals against struggling West Brom as in their previous 14 games under Tuchel but looked like their usual selves against Porto, winning thanks to goals from Mason Mount and Ben Chilwell. “We had a lot of excellent results together, then

After thinking hard about hanging on another year to compete at the COVID-19 delayed Tokyo Olympics, four-time gold medallist gymnast Simone Biles said on Wednesday she just might stick around for another three years for the 2024 Paris Summer Games. Winner of the coveted all-around crown along with team, floor and vault gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics, Biles had given every indication that the Tokyo Games would be her competitive swan song. But the 24-year-old American hinted during her appearance at the

The NBA expects to have arenas packed full of fans when the 2021-22 season begins, with the chances of it happening increased by a deal with a COVID-19 screening company, ESPN reported. With vaccine distribution in full swing, the NBA will look toward the airport screening company Clear to provide COVID-19 screening technology at home venues around the league. Each team will be allowed to determine how the screening technology will best serve its fan base. The league will not require teams to

Sloane Stephens, looking to shake off a poor start to the season, notched her biggest victory of 2021 on Wednesday, upsetting eighth-seeded Madison Keys 6-4, 6-4 in the second round of the Volvo Car Open at Charleston, S.C. Stephens lost in the first round of each of her first four events of the year, including the Australian Open, before falling in the second round at the recent Miami Open. On Tuesday, she defeated China’s Xinyu Wang in straight sets before winning an all-United

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel praised midfielder Mason Mount’s attitude after the England international scored his first Champions League goal in Wednesday’s 2-0 win against Porto in Seville. Mount and Ben Chilwell scored to put Chelsea in the driving seat ahead of the “home” leg of the quarter-final on April 13, which will also be played in Seville due to COVID-19 travel restrictions between Portugal and England. Since Tuchel replaced Frank Lampard at Stamford Bridge in January, Mount has scored five goals in all

Rangers midfielder Glen Kamara said he has been subjected to online racial abuse every day since his confrontation with Slavia Prague’s Ondrej Kudela in the Europa League last month. Kamara complained of being racially abused by Kudela in their last-16 match, with the incident sparking a furious response from his Rangers team mates and saw players clash on the pitch and in the tunnel afterwards. Kudela has denied the allegation and Slavia have stood by him, lodging an official complaint with Scottish police,