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.
Hong Kong-based cricket team Hung See this weekend found success in their matches in Taiwan, even if none of the results went their way. Hung See played the Chairman’s XI on Saturday morning, the Daredevils that afternoon and PCCT yesterday, with all three home teams winning. The team for Chinese players at the Happy Valley-based Craigengower Cricket Club sends teams on tour to “spread the game of cricket.” This weekend was Hung See’s second trip to Taiwan after visiting Tainan in 2016. “The club has been traveling to all parts of the world since 1982 and the annual tradition continues [with the Taiwan
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Coco Gauff’s dreams of a first women’s singles title in Melbourne were crushed in the quarter-finals by Paula Badosa. World No. 2 Alexander Zverev was ruffled by a stray feather in his men’s singles quarter-final, but he refocused to beat 12th seed Tommy Paul and reach the semi-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania and Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 in 2 hours, 20 minutes to advance the semi-finals. Hsieh and Ostapenko converted eight of 14 break
The San Francisco Giants signed 18-year-old Taiwanese pitcher Yang Nien-hsi (陽念希) to a contract worth a total of US$500,000 (NT $16.39 million). At a press event in Taipei on Wednesday, Jan. 22, the Giants’ Pacific Rim Area scout Evan Hsueh (薛奕煌) presented Yang with a Giants jersey to celebrate the signing. The deal consisted of a contract worth US$450,000 plus a US$50,000 scholarship bonus. Yang, who stands at 188 centimeters tall and weighs 85 kilograms, is of Indigenous Amis descent. With his fastest pitch clocking in at 150 kilometers per hour, Yang had been on Hsueh’s radar since playing in the HuaNan Cup
HARD TO SAY GOODBYE: After Coco Gauff dispatched Belinda Bencic in the fourth round, she wrote ‘RIP TikTok USA’ and drew a broken heart on a television camera lens Defending champion Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while compatriot Chan Hao-ching on Saturday dominated her opponents in the second round, as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka swept into the quarter-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia toppled Hungary’s Timea Babos and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US 6-4, 6-3, hitting 24 winners and converting three of seven break points in 1 hour, 18 minutes at 1573 Arena. Although rivals at last year’s Australian Open — where Hsieh and Belgium’s Elise Mertens beat Ostapenko and Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok 6-1, 7-5
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