TENNIS
Swiatek named year’s best
Iga Swiatek’s second consecutive season-ending No. 1 ranking helped her collect her second WTA Player of the Year award in a row on Monday, making her the first woman since Serena Williams to do so. Williams, who retired last year, was the WTA Player of the Year every season from 2012-2015, the final four of the seven total times she claimed the award. Swiatek went 68-11 this year with a tour-leading six titles, including at the French Open in June. That was Swiatek’s third championship at Roland Garros and fourth overall at a Grand Slam tournament. The 22-year-old from Poland wrapped up the season with an undefeated run at the WTA Finals in Cancun, Mexico, last month.
TENNIS
Nadal to take on Alcaraz
Rafael Nadal is to face Carlos Alcaraz in an exhibition match in Las Vegas on March 3, the fixture’s broadcaster and organizers Netflix said on Monday. Twenty-two time Grand Slam winner Nadal is to meet Spanish compatriot and world No. 2 Alcaraz at the Michelob Ultra Arena at the Mandalay Bay Resort. The fixture is part of Nadal’s return to the courts after missing almost a year due to injury. “I’m very excited for my first visit to Las Vegas,” Nadal said. “I’m also very excited to be playing with my fellow countryman Carlos Alcaraz. I am sure it will be a fantastic night of tennis,” the 37-year-old said. Former US Open champion and this year’s Wimbledon winner Alcaraz is considered Nadal’s heir apparent on a national and global scene. The pair have faced each other just three times.
SOCCER
Women face more vitriol
One in five players at this year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup were targeted by online abuse, according to a study released on Monday by FIFA and the FIFPRO global players body. The findings emerged from analysis of 5.1 million posts and comments relating to 697 players and coaches taking part in the tournament in Australia and New Zealand. FIFA said in a statement that 152 players received targeted “discriminatory, abusive or threatening messaging.” Nearly 50 percent of the verified online abuse was homophobic, sexual or sexist in nature. The analysis also found players at the Women’s World Cup were 29 percent more likely to receive abuse than male players at last year’s FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
NETBALL
Chief quits after pay row
Netball Australia chief executive Kelly Ryan yesterday resigned in the wake of a protracted contract dispute that allegedly left unpaid players sleeping in their cars. Australia are netball world champions, but the sport in the country is in financial turmoil after struggling to lure major sponsors and losing government funding. Union officials last month said players in the domestic Super Netball competition had not been paid in two months, the result of a long-running contract dispute with Netball Australia. Although an agreement was eventually hammered out earlier this month, Ryan yesterday said the “timing felt right to hand over the reins.” The pay row ignited when Australian Netball Players’ Association official Kathryn Harby-Williams accused the national governing body of ignoring struggling players. “I have had them weeping. Players have slept in their cars,” the former captain told reporters.
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
The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) is considering reducing its pitch clock by two seconds to help players better adjust to the rules applied at the World Baseball Classic (WBC). The proposal aims to shorten the pitch timer from 25 seconds to 23 seconds with the bases empty, and from 20 seconds to 18 seconds with runners on base. Currently, the WBC mandates that pitchers deliver a pitch every 18 seconds with the bases empty and 15 seconds with runners on base. The issue was raised during a pre-season CPBL managers’ meeting on Tuesday by Rakuten Monkeys bench and batting
‘SETTING THE TONE’: Donovan Mitchell said that their determination to dominate had nothing to do with past results, but was about a potential post-season clash The Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday boosted their NBA-best record with a 142-105 romp past the New York Knicks, tightening their grip on the Eastern Conference lead with an all-around dominant display. Donovan Mitchell scored 27 points to lead six Cavs players to score in double figures, connecting on five of seven three-pointers as Cleveland drilled 19 from beyond the arc. “I think the biggest thing was just try to set the tone early,” Mitchell said, adding that the determination to dominate had nothing to do with the Knicks’ first-round playoff win over the Cavs two seasons ago and everything to do with
BELGIANS ADVANCE: Club Brugge gave Atalanta a lesson in efficiency, as Gian Piero Gasperini’s team had 29 efforts at goal, compared with seven from the visitors Seldom has a player’s sending off had such an influence on a game. AC Milan was to left rue Theo Hernandez’s second yellow card — for diving — as Feyenoord advanced to the UEFA Champions League last 16 at the former European champion’s expense with a 1-1 draw in the second leg of their playoff on Tuesday, giving the Dutch team a 2-1 win on aggregate. Bayern Munich, Club Brugge and Benfica also won their playoffs, eliminating Celtic, UEFA Europa League winner Atalanta BC and French team AS Monaco respectively. “In soccer everything changes in a second,” said Milan forward
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