TENNIS
Taiwanese exit in UK
Taiwanese sisters Latisha Chan and Chan Hao-ching on Wednesday crashed out of the women’s doubles at the Rothesay Open Nottingham. The Chans exited in the round-of-16, beaten 6-3, 6-4 by British duo Heather Watson and Harriet Dart at the Nottingham Tennis Centre. Meanwhile, Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Wang Xinyu of China consolidated their No. 7 ranking for the WTA Finals with their victory in Paris this week. Hsieh and Wang have 2,060 points for the Oct. 31 to Nov. 7 tournament, 61 adrift of Demi Schuurs of the Netherlands and the US’ Desirae Krawczyk (2,121) in sixth. Eight pairs are to play at the finals in Shenzhen, China.
SOCCER
Women’s TV deal inked
FIFA agreed to a major European broadcasting rights deal with five key countries to show the Women’s World Cup, resolving a standoff with just over a month to go until the competition begins. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and FIFA extended their media rights partnership to broadcast the event on EBU’s free-to-air TV network across 34 European territories, including Britain, Germany, France, Spain and Italy, FIFA said in a statement on Wednesday. It was a major breakthrough and ended the threat of a blackout for TV viewers in Europe when the competition starts in Australia and New Zealand. “As part of this agreement, the EBU has committed to working towards broadcasting at least one hour of weekly content dedicated to women’s football on its own digital platform and broadcaster network,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino said in the statement.
SOCCER
Golfers eye Leeds stake
Rickie Fowler said that he and fellow American golfers Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas are looking to invest in Leeds United after 49ers Enterprises agreed on a takeover of the English soccer club. Leeds owner Andrea Radrizzani agreed to sell his stake to the investment arm of the San Francisco 49ers NFL franchise after they were relegated from the English Premier League. “There is the group that’s moving forward with being involved with Leeds. Myself, J.T. and Jordan potentially will be a part of it,” Fowler told Sky Sports. “It will be fun if we get to be a part of it. If not, we will continue to root for Leeds. I feel like it’s [soccer] continuing to get bigger in the [United] States, but still since I haven’t been to a game I don’t have the true appreciation until I’ve actually been able to go and be there and feel that energy.”
RUGBY UNION
SANZAAR clarifies schedule
The governing body of southern hemisphere rugby, SANZAAR, has apologized for any confusion about the prospect of the Rugby Championship moving from its traditional August-to-October window to earlier in the year. Reports earlier this year said that SANZAAR was considering the shift to a March-to-April window at the behest of South Africa and Argentina, whose players now mostly play club and provincial rugby in European competitions. However, SANZAAR said in a statement it “can reiterate that until 2026, the existing mini-tour match schedule is locked in. Furthermore, The Rugby Championship window will not change from 2026 with the national unions working on competition models for the August-September.”
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
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