Jamie Dornan cried for Rory McIlroy after Masters win
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NBC News
4 hours ago
- NBC News
Venus Williams is back in tennis and wishes Serena would come out of retirement to join the fun
Venus Williams is back on the tennis scene, ready to compete for the first time in more than a year, and while she smiled or laughed frequently Sunday while discussing her return at the DC Open, there was something that would make her even happier: if her younger sister Serena were along for the ride. 'I keep saying to my team: The only thing that would make this better is if she was here. Like, we always did everything together, so of course I miss her,' Venus said when asked about a recent video on social media that showed Serena swinging a racket. 'But if she comes back, I'm sure she'll let y'all know.' That, of course, was said with a wide grin. Serena, 43, hasn't played since the 2022 U.S. Open, when she declared she was 'evolving' away from the sport she dominated for stretches on the way to 23 Grand Slam singles titles and an additional 14 in doubles with Venus. 'I don't know what she's going to do. I don't ask those questions,' Venus said a day before the hard-court tournament in the nation's capital begins. 'I think we always hit the ball, because that's who we are. We're always hitting.' She said it was during a recent practice session of hers that Serena showed up and joined in for about 15 or 20 minutes. 'She can take six months off and she clocks it clean,' Venus said. 'You can't teach that kind of talent. She's just so good.' They both were the best around at one point. Both reached No. 1 in the rankings. Venus, who turned 45 last month, won seven major singles championships, two at the U.S. Open and five at Wimbledon. Her last tournament was in March 2024 at the Miami Open, where she exited in the first round. It's been so long that the official WTA Tour website lists her as 'inactive.' 'This is very special for me to come back and play tennis,' Venus said. 'I think it's a surprise for the fans — and a surprise in general, as I hold my cards tight.' Sure does. It came as a bit of a shock to the tennis world when her appearance in Washington via a wild-card invitation was announced a week ago. Her team had reached out to DC Open chairman Mark Ein via text in April to gauge whether he'd be open to having Venus at an event she last entered in 2022. He said he needed two seconds to reply: 'Of course.' 'She's such an icon of the sport — and, importantly, both on and off the court,' Ein said in an interview. 'So anytime you can have her engaged and have the spotlight on her and everything she's done and continues to do, it's hugely positive.' What did she miss the most while away from the tour? 'All the times that I had and, of course, the adrenaline, all those things,' Venus said. 'Just the pure fun of playing the game, the fun of the challenge, overcoming — when you play, you overcome so many challenges: your opponents, the conditions, a lot of times you have to overcome yourself. Those things are very exciting.' When asked why she's getting back on court, Venus offered a simple response: 'Why not?' As for whether this is a one-stop tour or she plans to play elsewhere, she wasn't prepared to say much. 'I'm just here for now, and who knows?' Venus said. 'Maybe there's more. ... But at the moment, I'm focused just on this. I haven't played in a year. There is no doubt I can play tennis, but obviously coming back to play matches, it takes time to get in the swing of things. I definitely feel I'll play well. I'm still the same player. I'm a big hitter. I hit big. This is my brand.'
Daily Mirror
5 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Scottie Scheffler accused of 's*** talking' after The Open as rival reveals true character
Scottie Scheffler clinched the Open Championship on Sunday to secure his fourth major title, but Jordan Spieth has spoken about a different side to the golfer Jordan Spieth has opened up about Scottie Scheffler's antics away from the high-pressure environment of professional golf. Scheffler won The Open for the first time on Sunday after a thoroughly impressive week at Royal Portrush. It is the fourth major win of Scheffler's career, adding to his two Masters titles and recent PGA Championship victory. Scheffler has been ranked world No.1 since March 2022 and is known for his clinical approach on the course. Three-time major winner Spieth has known Scheffler since their junior golf days and both are University of Texas alumni. Despite the new Open champion's reputation as a serious golfer, Spieth revealed that Scheffler loves to get into the heads of his friends when practising away from the cameras. "Well, he has that unique ability to, from best I can tell, to separate," adding, "But again, when I see him, I'm at the golf course. I see him here and there off the course, but when we're playing on the course at home, he s*** talks. "He's very witty. You can't really go at him because he's smart, and he's got good bull****." However, Spieth kept the specifics of Scheffler's banter under wraps. "I mean, it's not necessarily just to me. It's normally the other people that we're playing with. But yeah, not that I want to say it -- I'm not going to quote him on that kind of stuff. But then when a tournament starts, he's incredibly competitive, as you see. "But it also - he's kind of plotting along. You won't see that much emotion as he continues to strike it like this because the only time you're going to see it is when he's on the greens if he misses putts because he's not missing many shots." Scheffler's impressive performance at The Open, finishing 17-under-par and leaving his closest competitor trailing by four shots at Portrush, has sparked comparisons to Tiger Woods. Yet Spieth shed light on how Scheffler differs from the 15-time major winner. "I think more so, maybe it's less the golf swing and maybe more of his personality. He doesn't care to be a superstar," Spieth said. "He's not transcending the game like Tiger did. "He's not bringing it to a non-golf audience necessarily. He doesn't want to go do the stuff that a lot of us go do, corporately, anything like that. "He just wants to get away from the game and separate the two because I know that he -- at one time, he felt it was too much, that he was taking it with him, and whenever he made that switch, I don't know what it was, but he has hobbies. He's always with his family. They're always doing stuff. "I think it's more so the difference in personality from any other superstar that you've seen in the modern era and maybe in any sport. I don't think anybody is like him." Spieth compared Scheffler to NBA sensation Nikola Jokic, citing their similar perspectives on shunning the spotlight. However, when tennis legend Roger Federer was mentioned as another suggestion, Spieth highlighted a distinct difference: "When Scottie is done playing, he's not going to show back up at tournaments. I can promise you that."
Metro
6 hours ago
- Metro
Here's how Wimbledon expansion could look after High Court ruling
Plans to nearly treble Wimbledon's size will proceed after a judge denied a legal challenge against the expansion's planning permission. The proposals will see an additional 39 courts, including an 8-000-seat stadium, called the Parkland Show Court, to be added. Space will be created on the grounds of the old Wimbledon Park golf club. As well as the new court infrastructure, seven new maintenance buildings and access points will be built around the site. The conversion of the private golf course will also open up around 27 acres of parkland with public access. Meanwhile, parts of Wimbledon Lake will be remodelled, including the addition of a boardwalk around and across it. The works will increase the daily spectator capacity for the annual summer tennis tournament from 42,000 to 50,000. As a result, the qualifying event for the competition will be able to move back to the site from nearby Roehampton. The 120-year-old Wimbledon Park golf club was sold to the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC), which owns the site and runs the tournament, for £65 million in 2018. Wimbledon's expansion is thought to have been driven by fears that it could start to trail rival Grand Slam venues in Australia, France and the US who have invested hundreds of millions in state-of-the-art upgrades in recent years. Bosses hope the park will be able to partly open next year, with the grass courts completed by 2027. They would enter use for the qualifiers and championships by 2029 after the grass has matured. The Parkland Show Court is expected to be complete by 2030. Save Wimbledon Park's (SWP), the campaign group behind the High Court challenge, suggested it will appeal, adding: 'SWP is not taking this step lightly but believes that the GLA did make a significant legal error in the way it dealt with the special legal status of the park.' Christopher Coombe, director of SWP, said: 'This judgment would, if it stands, set a worrying precedent for the unwanted development of protected green belt and public open spaces around London and across the country. 'The (All England Club) will surely have noted the considerable public outrage about this development, most recently expressed outside the law courts, and we continue to hope that they could be persuaded to engage constructively with us, with a view to achieving a resolution of this four-year-old dispute.' Deborah Jevans CBE, chairwoman of the All England Club, said: 'We are delighted that Mr Justice Saini has dismissed the challenge to the GLA's decision to grant planning permission for our plans to transform the former Wimbledon Park golf course. 'It is clear that we have a robust planning permission that enables us to create a permanent home for the Wimbledon qualifying competition as well as delivering 27 acres of beautiful new parkland for local people, providing public access to land that has been a private golf course for over 100 years. 'We have spoken to more than 10,000 people who have taken the time to come in person and understand our plans in detail. 'The vast majority of people just want us to get on and deliver the many benefits on offer as soon as possible. 'We now turn our attention to separate legal proceedings to give everyone reassurance that there is not, nor has there ever been, a statutory trust over the former golf course land. 'This hearing is due to take place in January 2026.' Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan added: 'This is welcome news that will cement Wimbledon's reputation as the greatest tennis competition in the world and London as the sporting capital of the world. 'This scheme will bring a significant range of economic, social, cultural and environmental benefits to the local area, the wider capital and the UK economy, creating new jobs and green spaces.' Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Wimbledon finalist announces break from tennis to 'rediscover the joy of simply living' MORE: British tennis star given four-year doping ban 18 months after being cleared of wrongdoing MORE: I'm the tennis-mad fan who proposed on Henman Hill at Wimbledon
