TENNIS
Taiwanese makes final
Taiwan’s Wu Fang-hsien and partner Zhang Shuai of China on Friday reached the final at the Grand Est Open 88 in France. Wu and Zhang downed Italy’s Camilla Rosatello and Kimberley Zimmermann of Belgium 6-3, 7-6 (7/3) in their semi-final at the WTA 125 event at the Tennis Club de Contrexeville to book place in the decider against Oksana Kalashnikova of Georgia and Belarus’ Iryna Shymanovich.
OLYMPICS
Minister swims in Seine
French Minister of Sports Amelie Oudea-Castera yesterday swam in the Seine, raising hopes that the river will be clean enough for competitors at the Paris Olympics, which start in less than two weeks. The 46-year-old was accompanied by para-triathlete Alexis Hanquinquant. Oudea-Castera, dressed in a body suit, swam a day after Paris City Hall said that the river had been clean enough to swim in for most of the past 12 days.
SOCCER
France book Euro place
Sakina Karchaoui’s long-distance screamer on Friday helped ensure France’s place at the Women’s Euro 2025 as they emerged 2-1 winners against Sweden in League A qualifying, while England beat the Republic of Ireland to close in on qualification. Karchaoui rocketed an unstoppable dipping strike from more than 30m out after half an hour. Josefine Rybrink leveled for Sweden, but Marie-Antoinette Katoto pounced on a loose ball at a corner to lash France back into the lead. England beat Ireland 2-1 in Norwich, meaning a draw next week will be enough to book their place at the Euros. Iceland booked their place in the tournament proper with a 3-0 win over already-qualified Germany, while Austria triumphed 3-1 over Poland, but can no longer progress. Elsewhere, Finland and Norway drew 1-1, the Netherlands and Italy drew 0-0, Spain lost 2-1 to the Czech Republic and Denmark beat Belgium 3-0.
RUGBY UNION
Van der Merwe equals mark
Duhan van der Merwe on Friday scored a record-equaling 27th international try as Scotland romped past the US 42-7 in their tour of North and South America. The wing raced over for Scotland’s opening try at Audi Field in Washington, drawing level with Stuart Hogg.
RUGBY UNION
France players charged
Argentine prosecutors said they have charged two France rugby players with aggravated sexual assault. The prosecutors’ office in Mendoza — where the alleged assault took place on Sunday last week following the first Test — ordered the two players, Oscar Jegou and Hugo Auradou, to remain under detention until trial. The French Rugby Federation previously said that the players admitted to having sex with the woman, but described it as consensual and denied any acts of violence.
RUGBY UNION
US cities eye Cup games
Representatives from US cities on Friday attended a summit hosted by World Rugby in Washington to hear details about potentially hosting the men’s World Cup in 2031 and the women’s World Cup in 2033. Cities including Atlanta, Dallas, Las Vegas and Los Angeles all expressed interest in playing a part in hosting the tournaments.
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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