Sports

US Open champ Raducanu loses opening match at Indian Wells

INDIAN WELLS, United States (AFP) — Emma Raducanu crashed out of the WTA Indian Wells tournament in the second round on Friday, losing 6-2, 6-4 to Aliaksandra Sasnovich in her first match since her stunning US Open triumph in September. On September 11, the British 18-year-old shocked the tennis world at Flushing Meadows by becoming the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam title. But on Friday, she looked rusty in her first match since […]

Unvaccinated Irving misses Nets’ first practice in New York

LOS ANGELES,  United States (AFP) — Brooklyn point guard Kyrie Irving, who has been staunchly against getting vaccinated for the coronavirus, missed the Nets’ practice on Tuesday. Irving practised with his teammates last week in San Diego but did not attend the team’s first practice in New York City as a result of the city’s strict Covid-19 protocols. Because of the ongoing global pandemic, New York has implemented new health and safety regulations which do […]

Vaccinated Wiggins can play in Warriors NBA home games

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Golden State Warriors swingman Andrew Wiggins has been vaccinated against Covid-19 and will be able to play in NBA home games this season, coach Steve Kerr said on Sunday. Wiggins’ status was in doubt after the San Francisco Department of Public Health announced anyone age 12 or older had to be fully vaccinated to attend indoor events in the city. “Andrew got vaccinated,” Kerr said after a team practice. […]

Sixers ace Embiid unhappy with ‘disrespectful’ Simmons

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid on Thursday accused unsettled star Ben Simmons of “disrespecting” his team-mates as he attempts to force a trade out of the club. In comments to reporters, Embiid hit back at suggestions coming from Simmons’s camp this week that he wanted to leave was because he felt the team was being built to suit Embiid’s skills. “The situation is disappointing, borderline kind of disrespectful to […]

Nets Irving misses media day, declines to reveal vaccination status

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — NBA star Kyrie Irving skipped the Brooklyn Nets media day on Monday because of Covid-19 protocols and declined to discuss his vaccination status, which could prevent him from playing home games this season. “I would like to keep that stuff private,” Irving told reporters via a Zoom call. “I know that I’ll be there every day no matter what and just be present for my teammates as one of […]

Nets say ‘positive’ contract talks with Harden, Irving

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — The Brooklyn Nets have had “positive” contract extension talks with James Harden and Kyrie Irving as the team aims to build a championship-winning roster, general manager Sean Marks said Tuesday. Harden and Irving are reportedly close to agreeing terms on new long-term deals which could see both players remain in Brooklyn for three and four more seasons respectively. “We’ve had very positive conversations with both of those guys,” Marks […]

Palace congratulates Filipino billiard player Carlo Biado for winning 2021 US Open Pool Championship

(Eagle News) – Malacanang congratulated Filipino billiard player Carlo Biado “for bringing pride and honor to the country by winning the 2021 US Open Pool Championship in Atlantic City.” “Carlo is indeed a world-class billiards champion,” said a Palace statement on Sunday, Sept. 19, shortly after his victory. Biado defeated Singapore’s Aloysius Yapp, 13-8 at Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City in New Jersey to win the 2021 US Open Pool Championship. With his win, Biado became […]

Afghan girls’ football team flees to Pakistan

LAHORE, Pakistan (AFP) — Members of Afghanistan’s national girls’ football team have fled across the border into Pakistan dressed in burqas, a month after the hardline Taliban swept back into power, officials said Wednesday. The group of junior players and their coaches and families had tried to escape the country last month but a devastating bomb attack at Kabul airport left them stranded, someone close to the team told AFP. “I received a request for […]

US Open champion Raducanu can ‘rule the world’ says former coach

  LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Emma Raducanu’s stunning US Open triumph showed the British teenager can “rule the world” of women’s tennis, according to her former coach. Raducanu has become a global sensation after the 18-year-old stormed through qualifying to win the US Open in just her second Grand Slam appearance. She defeated Leylah Fernandez in Saturday’s final in New York to become the first British woman to win a Grand Slam singles title […]

Queen leads explosion of British joy at Raducanu’s stunning Slam win

Emma Raducanu’s extraordinary US Open triumph on Saturday led to an explosion of joy in Britain, with Queen Elizabeth II leading the celebrations as the 18-year-old qualifier made tennis history in New York. Raducanu beat 19-year-old Canadian Leylah Fernandez 6-4 6-3 to become Britain’s first women’s Grand Slam singles champion since Virginia Wade at Wimbledon in 1977, and the first player to win a major after coming through a qualifying tournament. “I send my congratulations […]

Holyfield tapped to take on Belfort after De La Hoya hospitalized for Covid

  LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Evander Holyfield will step in to face Vitor Belfort on Saturday after former boxing great Oscar De La Hoya was forced out of a one-off comeback bout because of Covid-19. But the bout has been moved from Los Angeles’ Staples Center to Florida after California boxing authorities refused to sanction a battle between Brazilian mixed martial arts star Belfort and former heavyweight world champion Holyfield — who will […]

Djokovic into US Open last 8, three wins from Grand Slam

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Novak Djokovic struggled but advanced within three matches of completing the first men’s singles calendar-year Grand Slam in 52 years on Monday by outlasting American Jenson Brooksby at the US Open. World number one Djokovic rallied past 99th-ranked Brooksby 1-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 to book a quarter-final encounter with Italian sixth seed Matteo Berrettini in a rematch of July’s Wimbledon final. The 34-year-old Serbian star would become the first […]