Sports

Heather Watson will lead Great Britain squad for their Billie Jean King Cup play-off tie against Mexico. British number one Johanna Konta was not available for selection as she continues to manage a longstanding knee problem. Heather Watson is the highest-ranked player in the squad, which also includes Harriet Dart, Katie Swan, Jodie Burrage and Katie Boulter. The tie will take place behind closed doors in Roehampton on 16-17 April. With the WTA season about to enter the clay swing, Konta did not

Australia's Sean Abbott will join Surrey for their T20 Blast campaign and three County Championship matches. The 29-year-old all-rounder will replace Kemar Roach as Surrey's second overseas player when the West Indies seamer returns to the Caribbean in May. Abbott has played two one-day and seven Twenty20 internationals for Australia, and won the 2020 and 2021 Big Bash titles with Sydney Sixers. He could make his Surrey debut against Gloucestershire on 27 May. Abbott, who has also helped New South Wales reach the

Jurgen Klopp says Liverpool made it "too easy" for Real Madrid to win the quarter-final first leg between the sides, but feels Mohamed Salah's goal offers his side a lifeline in the return game at Anfield. The Reds were largely second best throughout an entertaining game against a Real team missing their first-choice centre-back pairing, but packed with impressive attacking talent. Much of the damage was done in the first half through Vinicius Junior's low drive after he had chested down a superb

American teenage prodigy Coco Gauff says she is spending less time on social media now as she focuses on charting her own course to success in tennis. Gauff has been in the spotlight ever since her astounding run as a 15-year-old at Wimbledon in 2019, where she knocked out her idol and five-time champion Venus Williams after becoming the youngest player in the professional era to survive the qualifying draw. Her dream run at the grass court Grand Slam continued until the fourth

Kyrie Irving scored 40 points, including a critical 3-pointer in the final minute, and Jeff Green made a pair of free throws with 3.7 seconds left to seal the host Brooklyn Nets’ 114-112 comeback win over the New York Knicks on Monday. The Nets, playing the second leg of a back-to-back, carried over some of the struggles from their 115-107 loss Sunday in Chicago. Brooklyn fell behind by 10 points at halftime and lost James Harden after just four minutes due to hamstring

Former England women’s international Sarah Taylor said on Tuesday she is excited about playing cricket again after joining Welsh Fire for the inaugural season of The Hundred. The 31-year-old, one of the best wicketkeepers of all time, was part of the England sides that won the Twenty20 and 50-overs World Cups in 2009. She made 226 appearances for England, including 10 tests, 126 one-day and 90 T20 games, before retiring from international cricket in 2019 after a battle with anxiety. Her last domestic

Rachael Blackmore is relishing the opportunity to become the first female jockey to win the Grand National, but the Irish rider is not getting carried away by the hype generated by her record-breaking effort at last month’s Cheltenham Festival. Blackmore had six wins at Cheltenham and was the first female jockey to win the Champion Hurdle, with Honeysuckle, before finishing second at the Gold Cup behind Minella Indo, ridden by Jack Kennedy. Her dominant displays have caused bookmakers to slash the odds of

Baseball fans packed the stands of Globe Life Field on Monday after the Texas Rangers opened their doors to 100% capacity, making the game the first North American sporting event without attendance restrictions since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The team said it was a sellout, with 38,238 in attendance under an open roof on a sunny day at the Arlington, Texas, stadium, the only one in baseball to allow full capacity after Texas Governor Greg Abbott ordered the state to fully

UGUSTA - Five months after a unique November Masters that was staged with virtually no spectators due to coronavirus concerns, a limited gallery of a few thousand has been allowed onto the hallowed grounds this week. Perhaps about 7,000 fans were on hand, barely 15% of the crush normally allowed for practice rounds, but it made for an idyllic viewing experience for those lucky or well-connected enough to get through the gates. While there are no grandstands, the pink azaleas and white dogwoods

Real Madrid will benefit more than Liverpool from the absence of fans in their Champions League quarter-final, said Rafa Benitez. Liverpool face Madrid in Spain later on Tuesday before next week’s return fixture at Anfield, where the Merseyside club have struggled in the Premier League this season, with matches taking place without fans due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Benitez, who managed Liverpool from 2004 to 2010 and had a short spell at Madrid, said it was crucial the English side get a goal

As we watch history unfold once more in Doha, the Tissot Grand Prix of Doha will go down as an instant classic. The Tissot Grand Prix of Doha now holds the record for the nearest top 15 finish in MotoGP history, held by Fabio Quartararo of Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP. The Losail International Circuit is known for producing tight finishes, but this time was no exception. The time was 8.928 seconds. In a ferocious sprint under the spotlight, Quartararo and Miguel Oliveira (Red

Week 20 of the QNB Stars League's 2020-21 season saw thrilling action, with as many as 18 goals scored. On Saturday, all six games were played. Al Sadd, the new champions, returned to winning ways with a 2-0 victory over Al Gharafa to move to 54 points. The Wolves won their 17th game, while the Cheetahs fell to 30 points after suffering their ninth loss. They fell to the sixth position in the table as a result of this. Al Duhail beat Al

FIM President Jorge Viegas praised Qatar yesterday for staging "two good" Grands Prix to kick off the new MotoGP season on schedule. When the COVID-19 situation interrupted the international sports calendar worldwide last year, Qatar's legendary Losail International Circuit (LIC) was scheduled to launch the 2020 MotoGP season. As a result, the 2020 season's first-round in Qatar has been postponed. On the other hand, LIC welcomed riders for two opening rounds of the 2021 season over two back-to-back weekends to cheer up the

The ‘Qatar Clasico' games between Al Sadd and Al Rayyan in the QNB Stars League (QSL) have always drawn a lot of interest from fans and teams, and it will be the same today when the two Qatar football giants face off. Despite the fact that Xavi Hernandez's Al Sadd have already clinched the QSL trophy, the arch-rivals' Round 21 clash, which kicks off at 8:30 pm at Al Sadd Stadium, still has a lot on the table. Xavi, whose team has yet

As of the 2020-2021 sports season, the Qatar Anti-Doping Committee (QADC) has unveiled a new name. The new brand's philosophy centres around athletes, who are the backbone of sports in general. The athletes in the new brand are wearing a purple sea lavender flower, which is one of Qatar's most well-known flowers. The architecture of the brand also incorporates pure environmental elements, as it seeks to promote the idea of clean sport, in which every competitor must compete for glory based on his

North Korea has announced it will not take part in the Tokyo Olympics this year, saying the decision is to protect its athletes from Covid-19. The decision puts an end to South Korea's hopes of using the Games to engage with the North amid stalled cross-border talks. In 2018, both sides entered a joint team at the Winter Olympics which led to a series of historic summits. Pyongyang says it has no cases of the virus but experts say this is unlikely. The

Fakhar Zaman's sensational innings of 193 from 155 balls came in vain as South Africa held on in a thriller to take their three-match ODI series with Pakistan to a decider. Pakistan seemed out of contention as they slipped to 120-5 in the 25th over of their chase of 342 - only for opener Fakhar to turn the game on its head with a superb fifth ODI ton and the highest score at Johannesburg. The left-hander brought up three figures from a fairly

Barcelona move up to second, one point behind leaders Atletico Madrid, thanks to a sixth La Liga win in a row. Barca looked as if they were going to be frustrated but the turning point was Oscar Plano's straight red card for a dangerous foul on Dembele. Dembele volleyed home in the last minute from Ronald Araujo's flick-on. Both sides hit the woodwork in the first half - Kenan Kodro's header for Valladolid and Pedri's low drive for Barcelona being tipped on to

The French Open, which last year was postponed by four months and took place in front of limited crowds, is due to start this year on May 23. French Sports Minister Roxana Maracineanu said it was possible the French Open could be postoned for the second year amid the COVID-19 crisis. France entered a third nationwide lockdown on Saturday to contain the coronavirus spread, although professional sports have largely been spared. An exception is cycling’s Paris-Roubaix one-day race, which has been postponed from its original April 11

Anirban Lahiri achieved his best in 1260 days and Jordan Spieth got back into the winner's circle after a span of 1351 days at the Valero Texas Open. Indian golfer Anirban Lahiri notched up his best finish in over three years by signing off fifth at the Valero Texas Open after carding a three-under 69 in the final round here. Lahiri, who finished 10-under overall, had opened the week with a modest one-under 71. He added solid 69s on each of the next