Latest news with #womensport
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Why we need to talk about periods, breasts and injuries in women's sport
The Euros are reaching their conclusion in a massive summer across women's sport. But away from the drama and excitement on the pitch, there is also a scientific revolution taking place. Teams of scientists are researching the unique ways that elite sport affects the female body – how breasts alter the way you run, but the right sports bra could give you the edge; how the menstrual cycle could impact performance and what role period trackers could play; and why is there a higher risk of some injuries, and what can be done to avoid them? It's a far cry from the era when professional female athletes told me they were thought of simply as "mini-men". Breast biomechanics Cast your mind back to the iconic scene from the final of the last European Championships in 2022. It was extra time at Wembley and Lioness Chloe Kelly scored the winning goal against Germany. In the ensuing euphoria, she whipped off her England shirt showing the world her sports bra. It was fitted by Prof Joanna Wakefield-Scurr, from the University of Portsmouth, who proudly goes by the nickname the Bra Professor. Here are her breast facts: Breasts can bounce an average of 11,000 times in a football match An average bounce is 8cm (3in) without appropriate support They move with up to 5G of force (five times the force of gravity), comparable to the experience of a Formula 1 driver Laboratory experiments – using motion sensors on the chest – have revealed how a shifting mass of breast tissue alters the movement of the rest of the body, and in turn, sporting performance. "For some women, their breasts can be really quite heavy and if that weight moves, it can change the movement of your torso, it can even change the amount of force that you exert on the ground," Prof Wakefield-Scurr tells me. Compensating for bouncing breasts by restricting the movement of your upper body alters the positioning of the pelvis and shortens the length of each stride. That's why sports bras are not just for comfort or fashion, but a piece of performance gear. "We actually saw that low breast support meant a reduction in stride length of four centimetres," Prof Wakefield-Scurr explains. "If you lost four centimetres every step in a marathon, it adds up to a mile." Sports bras also protect the delicate structures inside the breast, "if we stretch them, that's permanent," the professor says, so "it's about prevention rather than cure". The menstrual cycle and its effect on performance The menstrual cycle has a clear impact on the body – it can affect emotions, mood and sleep as well as cause fatigue, headache and cramps. But Calli Hauger-Thackery, a distance runner who has represented Team GB at the Olympics, says talking about its sporting impact is "still so taboo and it shouldn't be, because we're struggling with it". Calli says she always notices the difference in her body in the lead up to her period. "I'm feeling really fatigued, heavy legs, I [feel like I'm] almost running through mud sometimes, everything's more strained than it should be," she says. Calli finds she "lives" by her menstruation tracker, as being on her period is a source of anxiety "especially when I've got big races coming up". One of those big races was in April – the Boston Marathon – and Calli's period was due. She finished in sixth place, and recalls that she "luckily got through" - but says she can't help wondering if she could have done even better. Can elite sport damage women's fertility? Football boot issues reported by 82% of female players The menstrual cycle is orchestrated by the rhythmic fluctuations of two hormones – oestrogen and progesterone. But how big an impact can that have on athletic performance? "It's very individual and there's a lot of nuance here, it's not quite as simple as saying the menstrual cycle affects performance," says Prof Kirsty Elliott-Sale, who specialises in female endocrinology and exercise physiology at Manchester Metropolitan University. "Competitions, personal bests, world records, everything has been set, won and lost on every day of the menstrual cycle," she says. This famously includes Paula Radcliffe, who broke the marathon world record while running through period cramps in Chicago in 2002. Working out whether the menstrual cycle affects sporting ability requires an understanding of the physiological changes that hormones have throughout the body, the challenge of performing while experiencing symptoms, the psychological impact of the anxiety of competing during your period and perceptions about all of the above. Prof Elliott-Sale says there "isn't a phase where you're stronger or weaker", or where "you're going to win or you're going to lose", but in theory the hormones oestrogen and progesterone could alter parts of the body such as bone, muscle or heart. "What we don't yet understand is: Does that have a big enough effect to really impact performance?" she says. The professor adds that it is "a very sensible conclusion" that poor sleep, fatigue and cramping would have a knock-on effect on performance, and that dread and anxiety were an "absolutely tangible thing" for athletes on their period who are performing in front of large crowds. She has spoken to athletes who "sometimes even triple up with period pants" to avoid the risk of leaking and embarrassment, and "that's a heavy mental burden". Rugby union team, Sale Sharks Women have been working with Manchester Metropolitan University. I met Katy Daley-McLean, former England rugby captain and England all-time leading point scorer. The team are having open discussions around periods to help them understand the impact that menstruation can have, and how to plan for it. This includes taking ibuprofen three days before, rather than thinking: "I can't do anything about it," Daley-McLean says. "It's through that knowledge and that information that we can talk about this, we can put plans in place, and we can change our behaviour to make you a better rugby player," she says. How to avoid injuries One issue that has emerged as women's sport has been given more attention is a difference in the susceptibility to some injuries. Most of the attention has been around the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) – a part of the knee that attaches the upper and lower parts of the leg together. Injuries can be brutal and take a year to recover from. Not only is the risk three to eight times greater in women than men, depending on the sport, but they are becoming more common, says Dr Thomas Dos'Santos, a sports biomechanics researcher at Manchester Metropolitan University. However, there is "no simple answer" to explain the greater risk in women, he says. Partly it could be down to differences in anatomy. Bigger hips in women mean the top of the thigh bone starts from a wider position and this changes the angle it connects to the lower leg at the knee, potentially increasing risk. The ACL is also slightly smaller in women "so it's a little bit weaker, potentially", Dr Dos'Santos explains. ACL injuries can happen at all stages of the menstrual cycle, but hormonal changes are also being investigated, including a study sponsored by Fifa, the governing body for world football. High levels of oestrogen prior to ovulation could alter the properties of ligaments, making them a bit more stretchy so "there could be an increased risk of injury, theoretically," he says. But Dr Dos'Santos argues it's important to think beyond pure anatomy as women still do not get the same quality of support and strength training as men. He compares it to ballet, where dancers do receive good quality training. "The [difference in] incidence rates is basically trivial between men and women," Dr Dos'Santos says. There is research into whether it is possible to minimise the risk of ACL injuries, by training female athletes to move in subtly different ways. But there is a risk of lessening performance, and some techniques that put strain on the ACL – like dropping the shoulder to deceive a defender before bursting off in another direction – are the necessary moves in sports like football. "We can't wrap them up in cotton wool and say you should avoid playing sport," Dr Dos'Santos says. "What we need to do is make sure that they're strong enough to tolerate those loads, but it isn't just as simple as some people saying we can 100% eradicate ACL injuries, we can't." No longer 'mini-men' Even though there are still many unanswered question, it is still a world of difference for Katy Daley-McLean at Sale Sharks Women. When she got her first cap in 2007, she remembers that all the assumptions around how her body would perform were based on the data from male rugby players. "We were literally treated as mini-men," Daley-McLean recalls. And now, she says, girls and women don't feel like the outsiders in sport, which is not only improving performance at the elite level but helping to keep more women in sport. "It's awesome, it's something to be celebrated because if you look at the stats, one of the biggest reasons young girls drop out of sport is body image, it's around periods and not having a correct sports bra, which is so easily sorted." Inside Health was produced by Gerry Holt More Weekend Picks by James Gallagher I found a bacteria-eating virus in my loo - could it save your life? Vitamin pills and icy swims: Can you really boost your immune system? How our noisy world is seriously damaging our health
Telegraph
29-06-2025
- Sport
- Telegraph
Billie Jean King interview: Wimbledon should change tradition – no all-white kit and names on shirts
From the top floor of a London hotel, Billie Jean King scans the city skyline through her fuchsia spectacles with the air of a businesswoman perfecting a sales pitch. While most octogenarians are doing crosswords or busying themselves with a spot of gardening, King, who turns 82 in November and has spent her life serving up answers to advance women's sport, is on a never-ending mission to exercise her influence. She has just finished delivering a speech about leadership – sharing a stage with one of the world's most powerful women, Melinda French Gates, at a women's sport summit – days out from her favourite time of the year: Wimbledon. Ever since powering to her maiden Wimbledon title in the doubles as a 17-year-old in 1961 – the first of 20 titles she won at SW19 across singles and doubles – King has returned every summer to the All England Club. She continues to be captivated by its eye-catching floral displays and meticulously mowed lawns, which rekindle happy memories of her time as a serial winner on its hallowed grass courts. But there is one thing about the place that she resents: Wimbledon whites. In an age where sports are jostling to stand out in a saturated marketplace, King believes the clothing rule, officially implemented two years after she landed that doubles title as a teenager and dictates that players must wear predominantly white kit, was a 'total mistake'. King herself wore dresses featuring blue and pink embroidery as well as intricate patterns during her playing days at Wimbledon but the rule became more restrictive in the mid-Nineties, which she believes makes it harder for viewers to distinguish between players. 'There's a match that comes on, you sit down, and you look – let's say it's television – who's who? Tennis people say: 'Well, the mark is next to their name' [to indicate who is serving]. I shouldn't have to look at a mark, I shouldn't have to look at anything. I should know [who's who]. My sport drives me nuts,' she sighs, burying her head in her hands. After momentarily being stunned into silence, I meekly point out that whites are what make Wimbledon quintessentially British. It is a sporting institution that has – and always will be – draped in tradition. 'But they shouldn't have the same uniforms on. They both have white on,' retorts King. 'You can change tradition.' It is a mantra that King has embodied as a lifelong campaigner for social justice and equality. She was instrumental in pushing for equal prize money for men and women at the US Open in 1973 – the same year her ' Battle of the Sexes ' victory over Bobby Riggs would irreversibly shift public perceptions of women's athleticism. Despite having the foresight to spread her influence across different sports spheres, it is tennis where King's status as a visionary shines through. One of her latest ideas is for players to be assigned numbers and have names on their kit. 'I'd have merch with their names on the back so they'd make money, the tournament makes money, everybody makes money,' she says. 'We're losing out on millions and millions because of that. Numbers are really important! Kids love numbers and they can retire numbers – like a Federer. It's so obvious. Take what other sports are doing and what people like from other sports.' Ever since she started owning tennis tournaments with her former husband, Larry King, her continued advocacy of women's sport has exploded into a booming portfolio that includes teams from baseball, basketball and soccer. In 2020, she was part of a star-studded list of celebrity names who bought a stake in Angel City FC in the United States' National Women's Soccer League. Last September, it sold for $250 million (£182 million), making history as the most valuable football club ever in women's sport. More recently, King was a major financial backer in a new, professional Women's Ice Hockey League, which drew record-breaking audiences and viewership in its inaugural season. Nowadays, King is all too happy that others have joined the party in dipping into their pockets to help level the playing field. Last month, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian pledged to make Chelsea women a 'billion-dollar franchise' after buying a stake in the Women's Super League club, while Michele Kang, the American tech pioneer, has invested more than $85 million (£67 million) into women's sports projects. The owner of three women's football clubs – Washington Spirit, Lyon and London City Lionesses – Kang last year donated $4 million (£2.9 million) to the USA Rugby women's sevens programme after seeing the impact of social media phenomenon Ilona Maher. 'I've waited my whole life to see people believing in the investment of women's sport,' says King, clapping her hands together. 'That we matter. It's great.' Never one simply to cheer-lead, King insists it is impossible to champion women's sport – the global revenues of which Deloitte predicts will surpass £1.82 billion this year – without recognising its commercial viability. 'Women athletes sometimes say: 'We deserve more. We deserve this.' I'm like, 'Did they make money this year?' If they haven't, why do you think you deserve more? I want athletes to know the business side of it. When an athlete asks me: 'What do I do?' I say: 'Understand the business you're in. If the budget isn't going well, guess where my prize money is going to go? Back into the budget.' That's really understanding the business.' Half an hour in King's company is an intense experience. Other than sport, there is no linear thread to our conversation, which meanders from the PE diet British schoolchildren are fed during summer ('You have rounders – do you pitch underarm for that?') to the biweekly hit-about she has with her wife and business partner, Ilana Kloss, to stay in shape, and how the Premier League is wallowing in collective financial debt (£3.6 billion being the last reported figure). King cracks a wry smile at the latter. 'Men's sports lose money too, but people never talk about the men,' she says. Tennis is one of a number of sports that has deepened its ties with Saudi Arabia, with the sport last year hosting the WTA Finals in Riyadh. Is the country's harsh stance on LGBTQ+ rights not a profound mismatch with her own moral compass? 'I know things don't change without engagement,' says King, who was the first prominent female athlete to be publicly outed as gay in 1981 and subsequently lost $2 million-worth of endorsement deals. 'You're damned if you do and damned if you don't. I have a feeling it's going to help long term. In the short term, it probably doesn't feel like it. It's the girls who watched it [the WTA Finals]. They had some mothers and girls there of colour and they started getting excited about it. You never know how one person is going to impact another person's life. Muhammad Ali and I used to talk about this a lot. If you don't engage, things will stay the same.' That engagement has culminated in a landmark maternity policy, which is being bankrolled by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund and includes fertility grants for players to freeze their eggs and covers the top 150 players in the world. Again, King believes opportunity trumps optics. 'I would have frozen my eggs for sure,' says King, whose well-publicised abortion in 1971 led her to becoming a fierce advocate for women's reproductive rights. 'But it costs money. If I was a young woman and had the money I would have got my eggs frozen by the time I was 30, knowing what we know now. But we didn't know any of this.' Tennis' flagship women's team competition – the Billie Jean King Cup – stages its finals in Shenzhen, China, this September, starting a three-year association with the country that is yet to provide answers over the disappearance of Peng Shuai. The Chinese tennis player accused a high-ranking government official of sexual assault in 2021 before vanishing from public life, instigating international concern and leading the WTA to boycott the country. She later said there had been a 'huge misunderstanding', although this was in a highly controlled interview, and the WTA said a return to China would not be considered until the request for a private meeting with her had been met. At the time, King hailed the organisation she founded as being on 'the right side of history' but the opportunity to take the sport to a country with the second-largest tennis-playing population globally was too good to pass up – WTA backpedalled and announced its return to China in April 2023. King harbours her own regrets over the situation. 'The fact we're taking tennis back to China is important,' she says. 'I'm very big on engagement and building bridges. I'm really looking forward to it. I'm sorry we left China. I thought we should have stayed.' Engagement remains high on King's agenda when discussing one of sport's most divisive topics: transgender women in sport. Ever the advocate for inclusion, she believes the debate requires less toxicity and more empathy. 'The whole thing's a nightmare,' she says. 'I don't think people have any idea of how hard it is for trans people. Just listen to their stories. Listen – not tell them. Everyone is unique. Make them feel included because you really don't know. With every person I meet, I try to start with a blank. Ask questions. If I weren't doing this interview with you, I'd be bugging you with a lot of questions.' And with that, King is whisked away to her next engagement. A day trip to Wimbledon on a London Routemaster bus beckons, and with it another trip down memory lane.
Forbes
24-06-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Nike's Breaking4: Faith Kipyegon And The Global Branding Moonshot
Athlete, Faith Kipyegon, running the 1500m race at the Athlos NYC track meet at Randalls Island in ... More New York, US, on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. Alexis Ohanian aims to shake up women's track with Athlos, an event combining music, racing and bigger prize money. Photographer: Bryan Banducci/Bloomberg Nike's Breaking4 isn't just a race. It's a branding moonshot that's rewriting the playbook for women's sport. On June 26th in Paris, middle-distance legend Faith Kipyegon will attempt to become the first woman in history to run a sub-four-minute mile. While the world watches the clock, Nike is staging something parallel in ambition, different in form: a global campaign that fuses performance science, emotional storytelling, and cultural reframing into a single, high-stakes brand moment. Faith Kipyegon is accomplishing what was once thought impossible. By breaking records and redefining the limits of human performance, she is not just competing; she is transforming the narrative of what women can achieve in sports. Her journey is a testament to resilience, vision, and the relentless pursuit of excellence. This isn't corporate posturing. Nike's Breaking4 and Faith Kipyegon's quest aren't just aligned—they are reflections of the same belief: that boldness, when shared, can shift culture. One brand, one athlete, betting on the impossible together. With echoes of its ground-shifting Breaking2 marathon project, Nike's Breaking4 is building not only toward a finish line - but toward a shift in perception, visibility, and belief around women's athletic potential. Here's how the Swoosh is turning one athlete's quest into a multi-platform experience designed to inspire the world. What Is a Branding Moonshot? A branding moonshot is when a company invests in an audacious, high-risk campaign designed to redefine cultural narratives, not just market share. It's less about immediate ROI and more about reshaping what a brand stands for - and what's possible in its category. In the case of Breaking4, Nike isn't simply promoting a race; it's engineering a historic first, amplifying a human story, and challenging generational assumptions about gender and athletic limits. It's not marketing for margin - it's marketing for meaning. As Gillian Oakenfull highlights in her Forbes article, 'Winning With Women's Sports: Executing The KickGlass Marketing Playbook', brands that lead with purpose and authenticity in the women's sports market are not just driving cultural change but also achieving significant brand growth. Her assertion that 'being a force for good and driving brand growth are one and the same' underscores the strategic alignment of Nike's Breaking4 campaign with a broader cultural and commercial shift. Innovation as Experience Design At the heart of this effort is a campaign built on Nike's deepest brand truth: relentless innovation. That commitment is perhaps most evident in the technology Nike has developed around Kipyegon, who currently holds the women's mile world record at 4:07.64. For her Breaking4 bid, Nike has designed a 'Speed Kit' from the ground up. Kipyegon will wear a pair of Victory Elite FK spikes - featherlight at 85 grams and equipped with Zoom Air pods that return up to 90% of energy with each stride. Anchored by a razor-thin carbon plate and titanium pins, the shoe is tuned to her exact biomechanics. But the real revolution lies above the ankle. Nike's Fly Suit - a one-piece aerodynamic race suit - features textured bumps called Aeronodes that manipulate airflow to reduce drag, much like the dimples on a golf ball. Strategically ventilated and sculpted for compression in the right places, it's designed to help Kipyegon conserve energy at 15 mph over four punishing laps. And perhaps the most radical innovation of all? The FlyWeb Bra - a 3D-printed, seamless piece of racewear designed specifically for Kipyegon. Printed from thermoplastic polyurethane and mapped to her anatomy using computational design, it delivers support without bulk and breathability like nothing else on the market. It's not built for a season - it's built for a single mile. As Tim Newcomb reports in Forbes, Nike's innovation team worked directly with Kipyegon to prototype gear tailored to her biomechanics and race-day conditions—right down to the 3D-printed titanium pins in her spikes and the energy return of the Zoom Air unit. This is branding not as advertising, but as experience design. Every piece of gear reinforces Nike's identity as a performance-first innovator, engineered for athletes on the edge of what's possible. Mythologizing the Athlete: Storytelling With Stakes Great brands don't just market - they mythologize. And Nike, through its two-part docuseries on Prime Video, is doing just that. Titled Breaking4: Faith Kipyegon vs. the 4-Minute Mile, the series chronicles not just Kipyegon's training, but her humanity: a mother, a champion, a dreamer chasing something once deemed out of reach. The campaign elevates what could have been a single live-stream into a global narrative arc. Part one builds anticipation, while part two, to be released post-race, ensures emotional connection regardless of the outcome. It's smart marketing - but it's also sincere storytelling. Orchestrating Belief on Social Media In an era of oversaturation, Nike's social strategy for Breaking4 is a masterclass in digital minimalism and emotional precision. On Instagram, the brand has prioritized cinematic short-form clips that center Kipyegon's voice, not slogans - giving fans intimate glimpses of her training, her family, and her dream. On X (formerly Twitter), Nike has leaned into threaded storytelling, breaking down everything from the biomechanics of pacing to the cultural significance of the mile barrier. Meanwhile, across TikTok and YouTube Shorts, the focus is on micro-moments of awe - Kipyegon floating in the Fly Suit, slow-motion spikes crushing the track - designed for shares, not sales. Hashtags like #Breaking4, #FaithInFaith, and the echo of Kipchoge's mantra #NoHumanIsLimited have fostered a digital groundswell. Rather than blast every platform with the same message, Nike has tailored each channel to amplify a different emotional note, turning social media into an orchestral score for belief. YouTube as the Global Stage While Prime Video hosts the docuseries, YouTube is Nike's open-access arena - the platform where the brand is livestreaming the race and releasing cinematic trailers, athlete features, and behind-the-scenes content. The official Breaking4 Live stream is already scheduled on Nike's YouTube channel, positioning the platform as the digital stadium for a global audience. It's a smart move: YouTube offers reach, shareability, and real-time engagement - all critical for turning a one-hour race into a worldwide moment of belief. Science as a Supporting Character What may be the most innovative - and understated - component of Breaking4 is Nike's investment in mindset as a performance variable. The company is leveraging cutting-edge biometric data, performance psychology, and even digital twin modeling to help Kipyegon visualize success and condition her physiology to deliver it. Using heart rate variability, lactate thresholds, and predictive simulations, Nike's Applied Performance Innovation team has mapped a detailed strategy for race day. Rotating pacers, pacing lights on the track, optimal weather windows - nothing is left to chance. It's performance art informed by performance science. And it's also branding at its most human. By treating the athlete not as a billboard but as a collaborator, Nike transforms the role of sponsorship into one of empowerment. The brand isn't just behind Kipyegon - it's beside her. Marketing as Mythology: Redefining the Finish Line Nike has long operated at the intersection of sport and society, and with Breaking4, it is once again pushing the boundaries of what achievement looks like - and who gets to define it. For decades, the sub-four-minute mile has been a milestone reserved for men, with Roger Bannister's 1954 breakthrough often serving as shorthand for transcending limits. By staging Kipyegon's attempt with as much fanfare, science, and spectacle as Kipchoge's Breaking2, Nike sends a clear message: women's excellence is just as worthy of mythology. This kind of parity in marketing investment - from product to production to promotion - is still rare in sport. That Nike has committed to such an effort sets a new benchmark not only for athletics, but for how brands contribute to shaping public perception and possibility. The Business of Belief Whether or not Kipyegon breaks four minutes, Nike's campaign is already a success. It owns the conversation, deepens brand affinity, and reinforces its core positioning: daring to dream bigger, run faster, and break what was thought unbreakable. This is branding as belief architecture. Not just betting on the impossible - but building the infrastructure that makes it plausible. In a world where hype fades fast and meaning endures, Nike's Breaking4 reminds us that the most powerful stories are the ones that dare to redefine the limits. Faith Kipyegon isn't the only one making a moonshot. Nike is right there with her through Breaking4 - not chasing speed, but meaning. Together, they're not just racing the clock. They're rewriting it.
CBC
18-06-2025
- Business
- CBC
60% of Canadians say perception of women's sport has improved over 3 years: report
A new report says 60 per cent of Canadians believe perceptions of women's sport have improved over the past three years. The study also found 80 per cent of men consider themselves fans of women's sport. However, the report found that over 30 per cent of fans still say investment is lacking across media, sponsorship, and policy. Commissioned by Torque Strategies, in partnership with IMI, the report was presented at the espnW Conference at Toronto's Evergreen Brick Works on Wednesday morning. It also found 41 per cent of Canadians see women's sports as a national investment.
BBC News
09-06-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Tennis across BBC Sport this summer – How to watch Queen's Tennis on TV and iPlayer
Tennis kick starts BBC Sport's summer schedule from Monday 9 June. For the first time in over 50 years women are competing at the historic Queen's Club with current British number one Katie Boulter and former US Open champion Emma Raducanu competing in the women's event. The grass court season continues throughout June and July with Nottingham, Eastbourne and Wimbledon, all live across the BBC. Read more: Women's Sport takes centre stage across the BBC in summer 2025 How to watch Queen's – Women's Tournament on BBC iPlayer and TV Watch live coverage from Queen's, where a stellar line-up has gathered to take part in the first women's event at the famous venue for more than half a century. The field includes reigning Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova, along with former winners Petra Kvitova and Elena Rybakina, and four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka. Home hopes are headed by 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu and British number one Katie Boulter. Isa Guha presents with coverage across BBC Two, BBC One, iPlayer and BBC Sport website/app all week. Read more: Why female tennis players are returning to Queen's after half a century Monday 9 June 12pm: BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website/app 1pm: Watch Queen's Tennis on BBC Two Tuesday 10 June 12pm: BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website/app 1pm: Watch Queen's Tennis on BBC Two Wednesday 11 June 12pm: BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website/app 2pm: Watch Queen's Tennis on BBC One and BBC Two Thursday 12 June 12pm: BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website/app 1pm: Watch Queen's Tennis on BBC Two Friday 13 June 12pm: BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website/app 1pm: Watch Queen's Tennis on BBC Two Saturday 14 June From 1.25pm BBC One, BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website/app Live coverage of the semi-finals from Queen's, presented by Isa Guha. Sunday 15 June From 1.15pm BBC One, BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website/app Live coverage of the first women's final to take place at Queen's in more than 50 years, where a host of big names began the tournament hoping to take the title. Presented by Isa Guha. How to watch Queen's – Men's Tournament on BBC iPlayer and TV It's the men's turn to take centre stage at London's famous venue as the top male players battle it out in what's likely to be their final tournament ahead of Wimbledon. An all-star entry list includes reigning Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz, British number one Jack Draper and American big-hitter Taylor Fritz. In 2024, the USA's Tommy Paul defeated Italy's Lorenzo Musetti in the final, with Paul returning this year to defend his title. Clare Balding presents coverage across BBC Two, BBC One, iPlayer and BBC Sport website/app all week. Monday 16 June 1pm: BBC Two, BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website/app Tuesday 17 June 1pm: BBC Two, BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website/app Wednesday 18 June 1pm: BBC Two, BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website/app Thursday 19 June 1pm: BBC Two, BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website/app Friday 20 June 1pm: BBC Two, BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website/app Saturday 21 June TBC Sunday 22 June TBC Follow for more
