Latest news with #Wimbledons
Scotsman
13 hours ago
- Sport
- Scotsman
US Open 2025 Tennis Odds: Here are the 10 favourites for the title - including Britain's Jack Draper
2 . Carlos Alcaraz - 7/5 The bookies can barely split the top two in the world when it comes to the US Open. Spanish defending champion Carlos Alcaraz is the 7/5 second favourite. His five majors include the two Wimbledons and the last two French Opens - he just needs to win the US for the career slam. In 2022 he became the youngest man in the Open Era to top the world rankings, at the age of just 19, but he's now world number two. | Getty Images
Wales Online
2 days ago
- Business
- Wales Online
Andy Murray's new life now as he and Kim welcome new addition after heartbreak
Andy Murray's new life now as he and Kim welcome new addition after heartbreak The three-time Grand Slam winner retired from tennis just over a year ago Murray is enjoying his retirement from tennis alongside Kim It's been just over a year since Andy Murray hung up his racket for good after announcing his retirement from tennis. The former British number one walked away from the game last summer having cemented his status as one of the greatest players of his generation, winning 46 titles, including two Wimbledons and one US Open, as well as three Olympic medals. However, he certainly hasn't started taking it easy in retirement, having got stuck in to several exciting new ventures and made some big announcements since ending his playing career. Those new ventures have included teaming up with long-time rival Novak Djokovic to work as the Serbian star's coach for the Australian Open, with that move taking the tennis world by surprise last year. However, while they reached the semi-finals Down Under together, their shock partnership came to an end after just six months. Murray has since been linked with new coaching roles with the likes of British stars Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper, but for now, his interests lie elsewhere having taken up new roles outside of tennis. Andy Murray's new career roles In May, it was confirmed that the 38-year-old had taken on a new job as a venture capitalist and become an associate partner at Redrice Ventures in London, who he previously worked alongside as part of a co-investment in sports wear company Castore in 2018. In the role, Murray heads up a group of athlete advisors - the Redrice Sports Collective - to help find investment opportunities, particularly in the sports business. Article continues below The former tennis ace's expanding investment portfolio already includes the luxury five-star Cromlix Hotel that he bought with his wife Kim in 2013 for a reported sum of £1.8 million, while he has also invested in Game4Padel, the UK's largest operator of padel courts. Last month, it was revealed that Murray had landed another big business deal, teaming up with Scottish potato company Albert Bartlett - a long-time supplier to Cromlix - to market their products. "I was lucky during my early playing days to have access to the kit and facilities required to play and develop, and as my career progressed, to have the best diet and training advice available," said the two-time Wimbledon champion as the deal was announced. "I am excited to partner with Albert Bartlett to showcase the importance of a balanced diet and an active lifestyle to communities across the UK. I hope the project inspires people to play and enjoy sport throughout their lives, at whatever level they are able." Family addition Of course, retirement hasn't been purely about finding new work for Murray, with the Scottish star also able to devote more time to his family, as well as his love of golf. The couple, who married in 2015 after meeting at the US Open 10 years earlier, are now proud parents to four children - Sophie, Edie, Teddy and Lola. However, their family has just got a little bit bigger, with Murray announcing on Instagram that they had recently got a new dog. Sharing a photo of him posing and smiling with the flat-coated retriever, the tennis legend wrote simply: "New addition to the family". Content cannot be displayed without consent It comes after Murray revealed last year that the family's beloved border terrier Rusty had died, as he penned an emotional tribute to the "loyal and protective" dog on social media. "You were the most loyal and protective companion our family could have wished for," he wrote. "You were so patient and gentle with the kids and we all learned so much from you. The house feels empty without you in it. "The noise you made when you wanted a plate to lick or a biscuit to chew on or when you wanted anything for that matter was infuriating at times! But today we would do anything to hear it again," he continued, with a 'heartbroken' emoji. "Love you Ruzz," Murray added. "Rest easy poppet x" Article continues below That tragic news came two years after Murray and his family said goodbye to their other Border Terrier, Maggie May, who died in 2022. The tennis ace had previously revealed how his beloved dogs were his "biggest supporters", adding: "Whether I win or lose, they still want to hang out with me".
USA Today
14-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Caitlin Clark has changed women's sports forever
On Sunday's episode of The Excerpt podcast: WNBA player Caitlin Clark is a phenomenon. She? It has changed women's basketball, women's sports and sports, period. But what makes her tick? How did a kid from Iowa become one of the most recognizable athletes in the world? And what does her presence mean for the future of the WNBA and how we talk about it? USA today sports columnist Christine Brennan has covered the beginning of Clark's career, and recently took a step back to write about this superstar in a new book "On Her Game: Caitlin Clark and the Revolution in Women's Sports." Hit play on the player below to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript beneath it. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text. Podcasts: True crime, in-depth interviews and more USA TODAY podcasts right here Taylor Wilson: Hello, and welcome to USA TODAY's The Excerpt. I'm Taylor Wilson. Today is Sunday July 13, 2025. Caitlin Clark is a phenomenon who has changed women's basketball, women's sports, and sports period. But what makes her tick? How did a kid from Iowa become one of the most recognizable athletes in the world? And what does her presence mean for the future of the WNBA and how we talk about it? USA TODAY sports columnist Christine Brennan has covered the beginning of Clark's career, and recently took a step back to write about this superstar in a new book On Her Game: Caitlin Clark and the Revolution in Women's Sports. Christine joins me now to discuss. Thanks for hopping on, Christine. Christine Brennan: Oh Taylor, my pleasure. Thank you. So just starting here, what inspired you to step back and write this book in this moment? I'd written a few columns on Caitlin Clark. I had not met her. The fascination with her, the crowds, the capacity crowds … Of course the big news, Taylor, was the women's and the men's final game, the NCAA final in 2024, where there were four million more viewers for the women than the men. Even now, I cannot believe I said that sentence. This is NCAA men's and women's basketball. Four million more people watched the women than the men because of Caitlin Clark. So this fascination was crystal clear. Why? I've covered women's sports and men's sports for more than four decades, hard to believe, and while I was covering the NFL and Super Bowls and Wimbledons and Tiger Woods, I've also done a lot with women's sports, and I've never seen women's sports explode in this way, and the nation absolutely fall in love with a women's team sport athlete. Yes, tennis. Serena, Venus, what have you. But not to this extent in women's team sports ever. And so I started to write a few columns for USA TODAY, I was doing some TV work on this Caitlin Clark phenomenon, and really just wanted to tell the story of this phenomenal athlete, but also place it in history, American culture, Title IX. All of that comes to play in where we are, with the girl next door all grown up and selling out arenas and having millions watch her on TV. Well Christine, I think a lot of us were introduced to Caitlin back during that 2023 tournament, just incredibly exciting, that Iowa run to the final four. How and when were you introduced to Caitlin? So the big one for me – on my iPad in my kitchen, not on press row – I happened to be watching the Iowa-Indiana women's game in February of 2023. And I was watching from an Indiana perspective, because all my siblings and a niece and a brother-in-law all went to Indiana. I went to Northwestern. But it was more like, "Can Indiana, a really good team, beat Iowa?" And I knew Caitlin Clark was on the team. Well, the ending. Buzzer beater, Caitlin Clark's flinging it from the parking lot. She's sideways, her legs are askew, and the ball goes in and she wins the game. And it's one of those things, you watch it two or three times. My family, as much as they wanted to see Indiana win, couldn't believe what they watched, and saw everyone was having this reaction. And I think it actually was probably better that I wasn't on press row, that I wasn't at the game, that I was in my kitchen in Washington, D.C., looking at it like an observer as opposed to a journalist. And I think it helped me understand how fascinating she was, and that she's really, yes, a basketball player, but really an entertainer. She's the high-wire act, and I think once you understand that, you can begin to understand the fascination that the nation has with her. Well, as a journalist, Christine, you've covered so much of the beginning of Caitlin's career here in college and now in the pros. And I do think we have to talk about what happened with you and the WNBA Player's Association last year, if you don't mind. The WNBPA called for your press credentials to be revoked after an interview with another one of the league stars, DiJonai Carrington. What happened here, Christine, and how do you look back on how the Player's Association dealt with all that? I do deal with it in the book, because I could not not deal with it, and I wanted to deal with it and tell the story, and also the backlash and what happened afterward. As I think many remember, in the first game of the playoffs, DiJonai Carrington was defending Caitlin Clark, and as Caitlin passed the ball, DiJonai's hand kind of swatted at the ball, and then her fingers ended up hitting Caitlin Clark in the eye. And over the next day or two, the Internet was going crazy. X and all the other social media accounts (had) accusatory tweets and posts about DiJonai Carrington. "She meant to hurt her, Caitlin Clark. What was she doing? Why did she do it? Her fingers …" Pictures galore, millions and millions of posts and reactions. And so as a journalist, there's one thing you do at that moment. You ask the athlete about it. And most athletes understand, and covering the NFL and others over the years, I've asked incredibly tough questions. The athletes understand that this is an opportunity for them to hit it out of the park, for them to answer the question and have their moment to tell their side of the story. And by the way, DiJonai Carrington did that. She answered the question. I basically said, "What were you doing there? Did you intend to hit Caitlin Clark in the eye or not?" Because that was the insinuation by thousands and thousands, hundreds of thousands of comments, that she was trying to injure Caitlin Clark. I asked, "Did you intend to do it or not?" I think female athletes are strong and tough, and can answer those questions, and DiJonai did. DiJonai Carrington answered it, saying of course she did not intend to injure Caitlin Clark, and then I followed up with another question specifically about other things that were on the internet. And while I don't base my entire career on Internet questions, so much of the WNBA season surrounding Caitlin Clark and all the issues did rise up, the foundation of so many of those was actually the internet. And so social media was a huge part of the conversation with the WNBA last year and Caitlin Clark and DiJonai Carrington, so you've got to ask the specific question and the follow-up to give them that chance to answer, and put it to bed and quiet all the criticism. That's exactly what I did with DiJonai Carrington. I would do it again a hundred times out of a hundred, and what really surprised me was how the WNBA, the players, were so unprepared for national scrutiny. As I said, again, are they saying that women can't handle these questions? I believe they can, and DiJonai Carrington showed us that she could, and answered it and tried to quiet the criticism. And that's what you do as a journalist every time. As I said, it was journalism 101, and it's also giving the respect to the WNBA and its players that I've given to the NFL, I've given to the Olympics. I would ask those same kinds of questions, probably much tougher. I asked Tiger Woods and many others over the years. So again, very surprising that the WNBA Player's Association wanted to ban a journalist for asking questions. And also, as a postscript, they failed miserably. I had credentials, USA TODAY credentialed me for Game 1 of the finals, and obviously that did not work, and it's a shame that they even went that far, but clearly journalism went out, at least in 2024. Well, bringing it back to Clark here, on her arrival to the league, we saw some eye-raising reactions from some WNBA veterans. This was a big part of the narrative early on. How do you view that moment after some time to digest, Christine, and was that a dynamic you wanted to explore in this book? You know, it was really surprising to me, and I did write a column for USA TODAY on Diana Taurasi's comments and Breanna Stewart's comments where they were minimizing, taking a shot at Caitlin Clark, not giving her her due. And this was at the women's final four, where again, Caitlin Clark was taking an Iowa team that no one expected to make to the finals. She was taking them to the finals, and that's where they had four million more viewers than the men the next night. And you've got some of these stars in the game that were kind of giving Caitlin Clark a quick kick to the shins, and what were they thinking there? Just throwing cold water on what is an incredible celebration of female athletes. Meanwhile, Diana Taurasi, as she is saying, "Reality's coming…" And of course now she's long since said, well, reality was coming for her, because she was so wrong about Caitlin Clark, and her coach Geno Auriemma was just absolutely wrong, talking about delusional fans and that Caitlin Clark didn't have the skill set to play in the WNBA. As I say in the book, I'm not sure that there's ever been a sports prediction more wrong than the one of Geno Auriemma, but as someone myself who mentors a lot of 22-year-olds, it just was stunning to me to see a revered at that time 41-year-old at acting in that manner towards a 22-year-old who loves her. And so you have Clark, the kid, going on and on for minutes, like a veteran, about the meaning of Taurasi, and you have Taurasi doing whatever the heck she was doing, embarrassing herself and the WNBA. And what was it? Were they shocked that a woman from Iowa could be the one, and not a woman from Connecticut? Which of course, UConn, amazing, now has 12 national titles. Breanna Stewart, also from UConn, literally was asked if Caitlin Clark, if she needed a NCAA title to be seen as one of the greats. Not the GOAT, not the greatest of all time, but one of the greats. Well, Taylor, you and I could come up with probably a hundred greats, right? The more the merrier. And Breanna Stewart literally looked at the interviewer and said, "Yes, yes, she does need a title to be considered one of the greats." That was one of the great put downs of Caitlin Clark ever, and it was just ridiculous. And the nation noticed, and I noticed. And of course Sheryl Swoopes, with her flurry of falsehoods, extraordinary. What was going on? And I tried to get them to talk to me for the book, and most did not want to speak and talk to me about it. But the pattern is clear and unmistakable of either the attempt to minimize Caitlin Clark, to be critical of her. And that spotlight shining on Caitlin Clark is, we've already seen, shining on all the players who deserve the attention, who never got it, but are now getting it. And you've got these veterans acting in an absolutely bizarre manner, and so I felt it was very important to tell that story, as sad as it is to see it. It was clearly what happened, and a big part of trying to understand why the league seemed so unprepared, and even so reluctant to accept, as I said, the greatest thing that ever happened to it. Christine, part of the book's title here is "The Revolution in Women's Sports." How important was the broader conversation around women's sports beyond Caitlin Clark, beyond just basketball, in writing this book? You know, for me, Taylor, it was huge, because this has been such a topic that I've covered and focused on in my work over, really, the length of my career. And being a girl athlete growing up at a time when Title IX was just starting, I had my own personal Title IX. I had my dad. So I was a six sport athlete in high school, at Ottawa Hills High School in the suburbs of Toledo, not because I was so great, but no one really cared about girls' sports, so you didn't have to specialize. And I literally ran from field hockey to tennis, and then winter was volleyball and basketball, and spring was softball and track and field. And I loved it. But my dad and my mom were just so supportive of me as a tall, 5-foot-11-1/2 girl. At a time when most girls were told, "No, you cannot play sports," my mom and dad were saying, "Yes, yes you can." From literally age 5 or 6. That's my background. And so to see what we have now, to see what these young women have now, it can almost bring tears to your eyes. And I've been asked a lot, "Does it make you sad that you didn't have that back then?" And my answer is, we didn't know what we didn't have. So I was playing sports and loving it, and wanting to be a sports journalist and going to Northwestern and on my way, but I've also then had such a … It's been so important to me to be an observer, reporter, try to chronicle this incredible rise in our country. I think Title IX might be the most important law in our country over the last 53 years. I realize there's a lot of competition for that title of most important law, but we're just beginning to see the breakthroughs with women who played sports, who are now running for Congress and winning in the Senate. We will have a woman president, many women presidents, throughout the '40s and '50s in this country, maybe the '30s. The common denominator for all those young women will be that they played sports because of Title IX, and learned how to not only win at a young age, but lose at a young age. Beautifully put there, Christine. I just want to end here with Caitlin Clark again. What will her legacy be? How will we be talking about Caitlin 10, 20, 50, a hundred years from now? I hope, Taylor, that we will be looking at her as the beginning of something incredible, and we'll be seeing crowds like the crowds in Indiana. And by the way, out in California with the Valkyries, they're having incredible sellouts as well in the WNBA, the expansion team. But every team will have capacity crowds, and will have secondary market prices going through the roof. And that all the little girls that Caitlin Clark is signing the autographs for? That all of them are going to grow up and probably be trying to hit logo threes, although coaches will be saying, "Hey, let's try for twos," as a whole generation are flinging it from half court because of Caitlin. But also because they have those autographs and the signed shirts and wearing the number 22, they'll also want to be great athletes, but also role models themselves. And that's the hope, that this is just the beginning. Again, we would have hoped it would have been Maya Moore. We would have hoped it would have been Sheryl Swoopes. All of the great players from the past, that they would have been the ones with the spotlight, and the millions of TV viewers and packed houses to the rafters in arenas around the country. But it wasn't. It's this woman. And yes, in a 74% Black league, a white woman, those are issues. I deal with all of them in the book as well. Absolutely. But this is the moment, and this is the time. And again, the spotlight, we see the examples, the all-star voting. What A'ja Wilson got two years ago? Not even a hundred thousand votes, and now she's, last year, well, well into the hundreds of thousands votes, because that rising tide lifts all boats. People are voting for Caitlin Clark for the all-star game, then they're also voting for other players, because they've seen them now, because they've watched them play and they respect them. And that's what we're seeing. So that is a huge sea change in our country. All those guys, their daughters, their granddaughters, what will it look like? I'm very bullish. I think it will be terrific, and we will be able to have those stepping stones from Billie Jean King, through the Atlanta Olympics in '96, the Women's Olympics, the '99 Women's World Cup Soccer, onward we would go. And with Caitlin Clark now, the arrival of Clark, of course Venus and Serena Williams and what they meant in tennis. But this is women's team sports, and this is remarkable, and we've never seen anything like this before on the team sports side. And that's why I think the future is so bright. I really enjoyed this book. "On Her Game: Caitlin Clark and the Revolution in Women's Sports" is on shelves now. Christine, thank you so much for joining me. Oh, my pleasure, Taylor. Thank you.
Daily Record
11-07-2025
- Sport
- Daily Record
Carlos Alcaraz sent chilling Wimbledon warning as rival claims world's best are powerless to stop him
The Spanish superstar has extended his SW19 winning streak to 23 matches as he closes in on a hat-trick of titles. Taylor Fritz will bid to become only the fourth man to ever beat Carlos Alcaraz on grass today as the American bids to reach his first Wimbledon final. The Spanish superstar has extended his SW19 winning streak to 23 matches as he closes in on a hat-trick of titles. And Alcaraz, 22, has only ever lost to Daniil Medvedev (2021) and Jannik Sinner (2022) in his first two Wimbledons – and was then beaten by Jack Draper at Queen's Club last year. But after his quarter-final win over Russian Karen Khachanov, the big-serving Frtiz said: 'I truly know the way that I played the first two sets today, there's not much any opponent on the other side can do.' And the world No.5 followed: 'I'm happy we're not playing at the French Open on clay with the French Open balls. That would be a nightmare. 'Grass is very much so an equaliser. So, I trust in how I'm playing.' Meanhwhile, Novak Djokovic is to win his record-breaking 25th Grand Slam singles title on Sunday, he will have to do it the hard way. The Serbian superstar will face world No.1 Sinner in a blockbuster semi-final on Centre Court this evening. And should he reach a seventh successive Wimbledon final, he would still probably face two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz. It is a herculean task in the 30-degree heat of tropical London – but also probably the last real chance here for a champion who will be 39 next year. Sinner, 23, and Alcaraz, 22, have shared the last six major titles – and an epic French Open final last month. You can get all the news you need on our dedicated Celtic page, and sign up to our newsletters to make sure you never miss a beat throughout the season.
Fox Sports
07-07-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Mirra Andreeva beat Emma Navarro at Wimbledon. She was the last person to realize she won
Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Mirra Andreeva was the last person on Centre Court to realize she beat Emma Navarro on Monday, a result that made her the youngest woman in 18 years to reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals. Andreeva was so focused on not thinking about the score — and avoiding looking at Roger Federer — that the 18-year-old Russian didn't grasp that the fourth-round match was over when Navarro netted a forehand. So instead of celebrating a 6-2, 6-3 win, the seventh-seeded Andreeva calmly turned back to her baseline and started fiddling with her racket, seemingly getting ready for the next point. It wasn't until she noticed the reaction from the crowd — and coach Conchita Martinez celebrating — that it dawned on her she won. 'Honestly, I just kept telling myself that I'm facing break points. I tried to tell myself that I'm not the one who is up on the score, I'm the one who is down," Andreeva said in an on-court interview. 'In the end I completely forgot the score. I'm happy that I did it because I think that (otherwise) I would be three times more nervous on the match point.' Andreeva became the youngest player since Nicole Vaidisova in 2007 to reach the women's quarterfinals at the grass-court Grand Slam. The score wasn't the only thing Andreeva tried to ignore. She was also afraid to look up at the Royal Box, where eight-time Wimbledon champion Federer was sitting with his wife Mirka. 'I really tried my best not to look over there in the box, because I knew that as soon as I would look there I would just completely lose my focus,' she said, before addressing the couple directly. 'Honestly, it means a lot to me that you came and watched my match. It's been one of my dreams to see you in real life. So when I saw both of you I got really, really nervous." The No. 10-seeded Navarro beat defending champion Barbora Krejcikova in the previous round, ensuring there will be yet another first-time champion. It will be the ninth different women's champion in the past nine Wimbledons. Serena Williams was the last repeat champ in 2016. Andreeva will next face Belinda Bencic, who also reached her first Wimbledon quarterfinal — 11 years after making her debut at the All England Club. Bencic beat 18th-seeded Ekaterina Alexandrova 7-6 (4), 6-4 earlier on No. 1 Court. Bencic, who lost in the fourth round on three previous occasions, failed to convert five match points while serving at 5-3 in the second set. But on the sixth one, Alexandrova sent a forehand long. 'For you guys it was entertaining,' Bencic said about that marathon game at 5-3, where Alexandrova finally converted her fourth break point to stay in the match. 'For me it was a big stress.' Bencic's best result at a Grand Slam was reaching the semifinals at the 2019 U.S. Open, where she also reached the quarters on two other occasions. The Tokyo Olympic champion, playing at Wimbledon for the ninth time, had not been into the last eight at any of the other three majors, until now. Bencic missed last year's grass-court Grand Slam tournament while she was on maternity leave, having given birth to her first child — a daughter named Bella — in April 2024. She said traveling with a child on tour is still relatively easy while Bella is so young, but that she's spending a lot more time taking pictures when she's at tournaments. 'I'm juggling it like every mom does,' Bencic said. 'So, props to the moms.' Also, No. 19 Liudmila Samsonova reached her first Grand Slam quarterfinal by beating Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 7-5, 7-5 on No. 2 Court. Samsonova has yet to drop a set this tournament and will face No. 8 Iga Swiatek, who reached her second Wimbledon quarterfinal by beating Clara Tauson 6-4, 6-1. ___ AP tennis:
