Emma Raducanu's US Open prep gathers pace with fine win over Marta Kostyuk in Washington
Before the tournament this year, Raducanu will team up with Carlos Alcaraz in a revamped doubles competition. The new doubles team – who can expect to be given a portmanteau nickname of either 'Alcaranu' or 'Raducaraz' – are one of several eye-catching partnerships set to make their debuts in New York in August.
The tournament will be played on August 19-20, the Tuesday and Wednesday before the singles matches begin. It has attracted almost all the top-10 players on both tours, with British No 1 Jack Draper teaming up with last year's Olympic champion Qinwen Zheng and Novak Djokovic playing alongside Serbian compatriot Olga Danilovic.
Elsewhere in Washington, Cameron Norrie completed a notable win over second seed and world No 7 Lorenzo Musetti to book his place in the last 16.
Norrie, the world No 41, hit back from losing the opening set to triumph 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 and score his first win over a top 10-ranked player since reaching the quarter-finals at Indian Wells in 2023.
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The Guardian
34 minutes ago
- The Guardian
The NHL preached inclusion. So why has it got into bed with Donald Trump?
'Diverse representation within inclusive environments is proven to advance innovation, creativity, and decision-making – all of which are critically important to the growth of the sport and our business,' NHL commissioner Gary Bettman wrote in his introduction to the NHL's first – and only, so far – diversity and inclusion report, which it released in 2022. 'Recognizing these facts, we are working to better understand and accelerate our engagement across all layers of diversity – including nationality, race, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, and religion – and their nuances and intersections,' Bettman continued. Last week, Bettman was named alongside NHL legend Wayne Gretzky, Florida Panthers' captain Matthew Tkachuk and various representatives of other sports as a member of Donald Trump's sports council. The council will be responsible for – among other things – playing an 'important role in restoring tradition to college athletics, including … keeping men out of women's sports.' Not what you'd call an opportunity for Bettman et al to gain a better understanding of the nuances of gender identity, by the sounds of it. This is not the first time Bettman has given mixed messages around social issues. In 2023, for example, the NHL tried to host a career fair aimed at recruiting a more diverse workforce (its inclusivity report noted that the league's employees were roughly 84% white and 93% straight). The event, attached to that year's All Star Game in Florida, quickly caught the attention of the governor's office, which accused the NHL of discrimination – against white people. The league cancelled the career fair. A few weeks later, the NHL again had the opportunity to stand for its diversity values when a handful of players refused to wear their team's Pride-themed warmup jerseys. Instead, the NHL retreated meekly, encouraging 'voices and perspectives on social and cultural issues.' That June – Pride month, no less – Bettman cancelled the Pride jerseys altogether, calling the furor around them 'a distraction' from the intended message. One wonders what he will call his own foray directly into the culture wars or, for that matter, how the NHL may characterize this particular moment of self-expression from the commissioner. It's likely that Bettman's participation in Trump's sports council will fall into the 'voices and perspectives on social and cultural issues' category the league talked about during the Pride jerseys fiasco. But seeing as Trump seems fixated on getting trans women out of college sports – even though there are fewer than 10 transgender athletes in college sports, according to the president of the NCAA – this feels like a very specific kind of perspective on a cultural issue, doesn't it? What's so aggravating about repeated allowances for anti-LGBTQ+ perspectives from the NHL under the guise of simply letting all opinions flourish equally, is how it pretends that these views are all morally equivalent when they're not. Sure, the players who refused to wear a Pride-themed jersey can't be forced to wear them, but it's not like it was simply a fashion choice. Fundamentally, those players made that decision based on a worldview that refuses to accept LGBTQ+ people, including their fellow hockey players, as being equal to them and everyone else. It's not the jerseys that were the problem – but they did a great job highlighting it. Earlier this spring, Harrison Browne, the first transgender player in professional hockey, wrote that while in the NCAA, he was offered the option to have his own locker room and change his pronouns on the roster. 'Looking back, I realize how important it is for trans and non-binary student athletes to have those options, whether or not they take them,' Browne wrote in The Walrus. 'These choices provide a baseline of institutional acceptance and acknowledgment for gender-diverse athletes at all levels.' On Monday, Browne told the Guardian via email that 'to see [Bettman, Gretzky, and Tkachuk] get behind an administration that is targeting marginalized communities, especially trans people in sports, is deeply disturbing and a huge step backwards in making hockey a more inclusive sport.' And going backwards really isn't Bettman's thing, or it never used to be. When he accepted his job as commissioner in 1992, he told a room full of reporters that 'the way a league performs well is by making its product as attractive as it can to the greatest number of fans.' He believed in growth, in other words – even up until 2022. What he risks now is stagnation, regression even. On that same day in 1992, Bettman said that he wanted to make hockey, a sport that at the time was seen as violent and retrograde, more 'user-friendly.' And he acknowledged that to do it, he'd need to push some of the older owners into the future. 'It may be that we are going to head in new, progressive directions that will make sense to every one immediately,' Bettman said. 'For some, it may take a little more time.' Maybe the diversity and inclusion stuff doesn't totally make sense to Bettman in 2025 – other North American sports have decided that they don't have the stomach to fight the culture wars under Trump either, and NFL commission Roger Goodell is also on the White House sports council. But Bettman should give the league's diversity policies time to grow, rather than deliberately reversing course, hurting hockey's players and fans, and ultimately jeopardising the future success of the sport for everyone. If that's too much to ask, at the very least, if he's invited to join a club created by a hostile and retrograde president, he should by now have the smarts to just say no.
Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
Watch: Olympic gold medallist ‘attacks' sprinter boyfriend at airport
Footage has emerged of Olympic gold medallist sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson allegedly attacking her Christian Coleman boyfriend at an airport. Richardson was detained last week in Seattle and a police report said footage appeared to show Coleman being shoved into a wall before an item was thrown at him. The 25-year-old was released following the incident after her boyfriend 'declined to be a victim,' the police report read. CCTV images, first obtained by TMZ, appear to show Richardson slamming Coleman into a wall and bumping into him after the first altercation. The argument continues as the pair bump into each other as he walks towards a checkpoint at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Port of Seattle Police said Richardson claimed the argument was started over a pair of headphones. 'Richardson advised she did not assault him in any way and the dispute was only a verbal argument,' police documents said. The 2024 silver medallist in the 100m and a gold medal winner in the 4x100m relay was arrested and charged with fourth-degree assault before she was released without further action. Coleman later said: 'For me personally, I feel like it was a sucky situation all round. I don't feel like she should have been arrested. 'I'm the type of guy who's in the business of extending grace, and mercy and love. She's just had a lot of things going on, lot of emotions and forces going on inside of her that not only I can't understand, but nobody can. 'She's one-of-one. I know it's been a tough journey for her this year. But she's gonna bounce back because she's the best female athlete in the world. I see it every day. She's gonna be just fine. She's gonna be good, and I'm gonna be good too.' Richardson will run in the 100m at the World Championships next month but missed out on qualifying for the 200m by one-hundredth of a second. She finished fourth in her heat in Oregon last week and declined to speak to reporters afterwards.
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Who are Vicky Mboko's parents?
VICKY Mboko stunned four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka to win her first WTA 1000 title at the 2025 Canadian Open. Here we get to know the parents of tennis' latest superstar, who had more than a little influence on her success. 2 2 Who are Vicky Mboko's parents? Victoria 'Vicky' Mboko is the daughter of Cyprien Mboko and Godee Kitadi. Seeking a better life, the couple emigrated from the Democratic Republic of the Congo during a time of turmoil in the late 1990s. The family first moved to North Carolina, where Vicky was born on August 26, 2006. When she was just two months old, the family relocated to Toronto, Canada, where Vicky was raised. Early on in his life, her dad Cyprien developed a passion for tennis. While he never played professionally, he was an avid follower of the sport from childhood. In September 2021, Cyprien told OnTennis: 'I have been watching tennis since I was very young. 'My friend and I back home in the Congo would watch Agassi, Courier, Graf and all the other great players.' His love for tennis was passed down to his offspring, with Cyprien believing it would promote physical fitness and personal growth. Despite financial constraints, he worked night shifts to support his daughter's training and tournament travel. Moment Swiatek beats Amanda Anisimova in first Wimbledon final whitewash for 114 years Vicky's mum Godee pursued her education diligently, earning an accounting degree while in Montreal. Together, Cyprien and Godee built a household where tennis was not just a pastime but a significant focus. They moved the family to Burlington, Ontario, so their kids could benefit from better training facilities and programmes. My sister and brothers have been really important for me. I probably would not have played tennis if not for them. They played with me and coached me Vicky MbokoOnTennis Their commitment to tennis led to all four of their kids — Vicky and her siblings Gracia, Kevin and David — playing the sport competitively. Gracia earned a tennis scholarship to the University of Denver, Kevin played at Edinboro University, and David showed early promise before eye problems forced him to stop competing. Vicky began playing tennis as a toddler, with her siblings playing a crucial role in nurturing her passion and skills. Her sister Gracia said: 'It almost seems like Vicky was born on a tennis court because our parents were always there when we were practising or playing, and Vicky would be with them.' The family's strong support system has been essential to Vicky's rapid rise in the ranks, with Vicky herself crediting them for her success. She said: 'My sister and brothers have been really important for me. I probably would not have played tennis if not for them. They played with me and coached me.'
