Latest news with #SportingIconAward
CNN
29-04-2025
- Sport
- CNN
Rafael Nadal tells CNN exclusively that he ‘100%' believes Jannik Sinner is innocent amid return from doping suspension
Spanish tennis legend Rafael Nadal exclusively told CNN Sports he completely trusts that world No. 1 Jannik Sinner is innocent, as the Italian prepares to return from a doping suspension. Sinner is approaching the end of a three-month ban having twice tested positive for banned substance Clostebol, an anabolic steroid, in March last year. The three-time grand slam champion previously escaped a ban when the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) ruled that he wasn't at fault for the positive tests, accepting that the contamination was caused by a physio applying an over-the-counter spray. However, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) subsequently lodged an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), leading to Sinner accepting a suspension from February 9 to May 4. In a February statement, Sinner said that he has 'always accepted that I am responsible for my team' but has always denied knowingly taking a banned substance. 'I don't have a clear opinion, first of all, because I don't have the whole information,' Nadal told CNN after being honored with the Sporting Icon Award at this year's Laureus World Sports Awards. 'First of all, I 100% believe that Jannik is innocent. I don't think at all that Jannik wanted to do something that is not allowed, so I 100% believe in Jannik.' The saga around Sinner has shone the spotlight on the current anti-doping protocols in tennis, with several players raising concerns about possible preferential treatment for the top stars. Sinner, for example, won't miss any grand slam events during his ban. Recently, Serena Williams said she would have been banned for '20 years' and 'gotten grand slams taken away' if the same thing had happened to her. She did, though, describe Sinner as a 'fantastic personality' and 'great for the sport.' Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic said that the whole case was 'not a good image for our sport.' But Nadal, who retired from tennis last year following a historic career, said he has full trust in the current anti-doping system. 'From my point of view, I really don't believe that Jannik, because he's the No. 1 in the world, received different treatment than another person, from my perspective and from my understanding,' the 22-time grand slam singles champion said. 'I really believe in the process, I have been there going through all the tests for 20 years, how the things are strict on every single movement … and I believe in the process. 'I can't say another thing and I can't think another way because, if not, I will think that we are not in a fair world, and I really believe that we are in a fair world in this matter.' Despite his ban, Sinner will be one of the favorites to win his first French Open title when the tournament starts at the end of May. Nadal, who won a record 14 Coupes des Mousquetaires at Roland Garros, said he hopes a potential Sinner win won't be tarnished by questions around his eligibility to play. However, for Sinner to claim the title, he will first have to find a way past the likes of Carlos Alcaraz, who many have compared to Nadal. Not only are both from Spain, but both are formidable on clay with Alcaraz winning his first French Open title last year. Nadal, who retired with 22 grand slam singles trophies, said the comparisons are only natural and holds high hopes that the 21-year-old can reach the very top of the sport. 'All of us received the pressure from the media and from the hope that people have about you, but I think at the end, we are humans and we know how to handle that,' Nadal told CNN. 'I don't think for Carlos it's a big deal holding that pressure. He's a great player and has a great family behind (him). 'I think he's doing great and he's having an amazing career and he's going to win much more if he stays out of injury – that's the most important thing. I wish and I really believe that he's going to have one of the best careers of all time.' Nadal said he occasionally messages Alcaraz but would always be on hand to provide some advice – not that he thinks the youngster needs it. It's an invitation that the 38-year-old extends to all players on the tour who might want to casually learn from his own experiences. However, Nadal has so far resisted following the likes of Andy Murray, who has gone into coaching after retiring from a playing career. 'I mean in this life you can never say never,' he said, adding he was enjoying spending more time with family without all the travel that comes with being on tour. 'It's difficult to imagine myself now doing this kind of thing … it's not my moment, at all. I am in a different moment of my life and I don't see myself traveling now with a player.' Instead, Nadal is happy to continue developing his tennis academy which is starting to breed success across the game, adding to the Spaniard's already impressive tennis legacy. And, even in retirement, Nadal has not stopped picking up trophies. In addition to being given the aforementioned Laureus Sporting Icon Award, the Spaniard will also be honored in a ceremony at this year's French Open. 'The results are the results, you know. I won what I won, I lost what I lost, that's the results and nobody can change that,' Nadal said when asked what he wants to be remembered for now that his playing days are behind him. 'Of course, I will be remembered as a good tennis player, but for me, it's important to be remembered as a good person, a player who fights as hard as possible but with positive values, being always fair and correct with everyone on court. 'Trying to respect every single moment, for me that's the most important thing.'
Mint
24-04-2025
- Sport
- Mint
'You can't fight it': Steve Waugh on the rise of T20s and the future of Test cricket
Steve Waugh, the most successful Test captain in the history of cricket, who once led Australia to fifteen of their record sixteen consecutive Test wins, and to victory in the 1999 ODI WorldCup, was in Madrid for the 25thanniversary of the Laureus World Sports Awards in the city. Waugh is an academy member of Laureus, a charitable organisation that runs sports development programmes for underprivileged youth in over forty countries and hosts an annual awards show to honour the top sportspeople in the world. As some of the biggest stars in the world of sports gathered for the awards at Palacio Cibeles, Madrid's sprawling City Hall—including Swedish pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis (who won the Sportsman of the year award), gymnasts Simone Biles (Sportswoman of the year) and Rebeca Andrade (Comeback of the year) and tennis legend Rafael Nadal (Sporting Icon Award)—Waugh found the time for an in-depth discussion with Lounge on the state of cricket, Test cricket's value, the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, and much more. Edited excerpts: My foundation, which looks after kids with rare diseases, is 21 years old now and I'm still as passionate about it as ever. I still support Udayan in Calcutta (a residential centre for the rehabilitation of children of leprosy patients in Kolkata) and that's been a 25-year association now, and I'm also a member of the Laureus Sports for Good Foundation, so yes, philanthropy plays a big part in my life. I think there are lots of commentators, lots of coaches. I wanted a challenge, I wanted to go into a different direction. When I retired, I had been on the road as a cricketer for 20 odd years and I had a young family and I wanted to be with them for a change. You can't fight it. That's the way of the world. People love it. Everything happens quickly and there's more eyeballs watching cricket, and that translates to more people playing it. Financially players get set up for life, so yeah, T20 has taken over world cricket right now. Test cricket, I think players really want to play it, but if they want to make money they have to play T20. That's a good thing. When I first started playing, probably only five or six players from the Australian cricket team were professional cricketers. Now, there's probably a couple of hundred professional cricketers in Australia. India has probably three or four hundred. Then you have the support staff, all the coaching staff for all the teams, and you have a massive industry that was never there before in cricket. It's now a great career path. You also see women's cricket taking off because of T20s, and it's great for young girls to have role models and to be able to become a professional sportsperson. The game has changed quite a bit. Expectations are that you got to entertain and score quickly and take wickets quickly so you don't see many grinding Test matches. When you do see a Test go all five days it's very exciting to watch, people can't get enough of it, but the players are so conditioned to quick action these days that it's hard for them to pull back the technique when they play Test cricket. They are in fast forward all the time. A perfect example is Sam Constance who was pulling out reverse sweeps and ramp shots within the first couple of overs of a Test match which was almost unthinkable a few years ago. But the modern players think you can do whatever you want and do it whenever you want. It's great to watch, but we have to be careful that we don't lose what Test cricket stands for and the way it's played. For sure. The technique is completely different for T20, you are moving across the stumps all the time and I think it's pretty hard to magically switch back into First Class mode. Only the very mentally strong would be able to do that. The modern thinking is, it's not a bad shot if you get out to it, it's just the way you play. No! When I was playing, the pitches had no grass, they were so slow, and it was back breaking work for the quicks. Kapil Dev and Javagal Srinath…I don't know how they did it. Now the pitches are a bit more conducive to fast bowling and the IPL has helped as well because of the demand for strike bowlers. I think there is a lot more professionalism, a lot more strength coaching input so you have much stronger, fitter players now. And then you have the emergence of a role model like Bumrah, and suddenly every young kid in India wants to bowl quick and it becomes self-fulfilling. His control is impeccable. He has an amazing wrist. I've never faced him but I think those who do, find him quicker than they expect. He lets the ball go from a different height and position than everyone else. He is a fierce competitor, and he works batsmen out really well. You can see him thinking it through, analysing, and working out just what he needs to do to get a batsman out. They are both huge. When we play the Border-Gavaskar, that's the most important series, when we play Ashes that's the most important series. Players love playing both. Obviously there is a longer history with the Ashes, a great history and tradition. But I think in significance they are equal now because India and Australia have been the two best Test playing nations for 10-15 years. So the Border-Gavaskar is like a battle for who is the best team in the world. The Ashes is more like bragging rights—we hate to lose to England and vice versa, just like when India play Pakistan. Last year's Ashes was amazing. It drew record crowds. This Ashes will be sold out too. 90,000 people in the MCG every day. Well I guess the Olympics takes precedence over everything. I'm ok with that. Obviously the Gabba has been a great venue for Australian cricket but I do believe that the ground should not matter too much and the Olympics is the ultimate in sports, so, happy to make way for the Olympics. Rudraneil Sengupta is the author of Enter the Dangal, Travels through India's Wrestling Landscape.
