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Pakistan dropped batting great Babar Azam on Wednesday for next week's one-day international series in Bangladesh, bringing in six uncapped players with an eye on next year's World Cup.Opener Saim Ayub, spin all-rounders Shadab Khan
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Underdogs New Zealand back themselves against anyone in "one-off games," declared captain Mitchell Santner on the eve of their T20 World Cup semi-final against South Africa in Kolkata.Santner admitted that Aiden Markram's unbeaten South Africa,
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Real Madrid fell to a damaging 1-0 defeat by Getafe at home in La Liga on Monday, leaving them four points behind leaders Barcelona.Alvaro Arbeloa’s side, beaten by a superb volley from Martin Satriano, suffered
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Top seed Carlos Alcaraz will open the Indian Wells Open, season’s first ATP Masters 1000 event, against former World No. 3 Grigor Dimitrov or Terence Atmane, with five-time champion Novak Djokovic also looming in his
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New Zealand driver Liam Lawson is looking forward to the start of the new Formula 1 season in Melbourne this weekend, although he says the new-era cars are not ‘super fun’ to drive.Lawson is hoping
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South Africa may be in red-hot form at the Twenty20 World Cup, but captain Aiden Markram said they will take nothing for granted in Wednesday’s semi-final against New Zealand, especially with his side moving to
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World number one Aryna Sabalenka on Tuesday voiced her support for a proposal to make women's matches best-of-five sets during the later stages of Grand Slam tournaments.Speaking ahead of this week's ATP-WTA tournament in Indian Wells, the hard-hitting Sabalenka said she believed switching to five sets would benefit her game."Yeah, let's do that," the four-time Grand Slam singles champion said when asked about the idea, which was floated by incoming US Tennis Association chief Craig Tiley at the Australian Open earlier this year."I feel like I would have probably more Grand Slams," Sabalenka added. "Physically I'm really strong, and I'm pretty confident that my body can handle that. So let's do it."Tiley, the former head of the Australian Open who last week was named as the new USTA chief, told the New York Times in an interview last month that switching to five sets from the quarter-finals onwards at Grand Slams should be discussed."All the research shows interest grows as the match goes on," Tiley said. "As a sport, we need to evolve."But while Sabalenka backed the move, other women players were more circumspect."I mean, it probably would favor me, because I'm physically up there with the best, but I mean, I probably wouldn't want to see that happen," reigning French Open champion Coco Gauff told reporters."And if it were to happen, I would prefer it to be the whole tournament, not just the quarters. I think changing the format in the middle of the tournament defeats the purpose of the playing field."Six-time Grand Slam champion and former world number one Iga Swiatek was firmly against the idea, and questioned the suggestion it would boost audiences."I think honestly it's a weird approach in the world where everything is becoming faster, you know," Swiatek said. "So I don't know if the audience honestly would like that."Also, I don't know if we would be able to keep the quality for five sets. Well, that's a fact, like, men are more physically strong and they can handle it for sure better."Swiatek said the physical demands would also force players to adjust their schedules, potentially leading to them playing fewer tournaments."We have never practiced in a way to prepare for that, so we would need to change, I think, our whole calendar, because the Grand Slams would be so tough that I don't think we would have honestly time to prepare for any other tournaments," she said."I think it would change a lot. I don't think it would change anything for good."World number five Jessica Pegula echoed Swiatek's remarks, stating while five sets were well within the physical capabilities of women, a switch could be counter-productive."I think we have amazing female athletes that honestly I think we could do that," the American said. "I don't think it's the fact that we can't; I just don't necessarily think that we should."On that aspect, I don't even know how you would schedule tournaments. We'd have to add weeks. We can't even get through the schedule now. So I'm not really sure for like a fan experience how that would really work." Related Story
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Hometown favorite Peyton Stearns battled past Taylor Townsend 7-6 (10/8), 7-5 on Sunday to capture her second WTA title in the Austin Open in Austin, Texas.Fourth-seeded Stearns, who played two years of collegiate tennis for
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South Africa have hardly put a foot wrong in their march to the Twenty20 World Cup semi-finals, but complacency can have no place against a New Zealand side famed for punching above their weight when the teams meet at Eden Gardens Wednesday. The Proteas are the tournament’s only unbeaten side and look a far more rounded T20 unit than the one that fell at the last hurdle in 2024. They beat New Zealand in the group stage and have earned the favourites’ tag that rested with defending champions India before the start of the tournament. India face England in the other semi-final on Thursday. “I’m glad that we’re favourites, because I’ve always felt that as a South African team you want to be able to play as a favourite,” head coach Shukri Conrad said, suggesting they were enjoying the spotlight. Since surviving a double Super Over against Afghanistan, Aiden Markram’s side have not taken their foot off the pedal. In Quinton de Kock, Markram and Ryan Rickelton, they field a top order capable of banking a powerplay head-start, with an explosive middle order offering little respite when the openers do not fire. South Africa complement it with a varied bowling attack. Kagiso Rabada’s hard, Test-match lengths and Marco Jansen’s left-arm bounce have cramped batters, while Lungi Ngidi’s change-ups have been a revelation across phases. Left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj provides control if conditions grip, with Markram holding himself back for match-ups. South Africa have looked ominous so far but the knockout stage brings its own challenge. Besides, New Zealand can be a tricky opponent. New Zealand opener Finn Allen’s ultra aggression is often the powerplay disruptor alongside a rotating partner - Devon Conway or Tim Seifert. All-rounder Rachin Ravindra’s ability to change gears sets a platform for Glenn Phillips and Daryl Mitchell to attack the back end. Their pace attack does not have a settled look though. The Black Caps are likely to miss the services of fast bowler Matt Henry, who is back home on paternity leave. Jacob Duffy or Kyle Jamieson could replace him. Their spin unit looks well covered however. Captain Mitchell Santner’s stump-to-stump trajectory is a key match-up against de Kock and Markram, and Ish Sodhi’s leg-spin could trouble South Africa’s right-hand middle. “We faced them in Ahmedabad, which I think is a venue that they’ve grown pretty used to given that they’ve spent a fair bit of time there,” New Zealand’s head coach Rob Walter said. “The semi-finals will be in a different venue. It will provide a different challenge.” Related Story
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FILE PHOTO: Paris 2024 Olympics - Badminton - Women's Singles Group play stage - Porte de La Chapelle Arena, Paris, France - July 28, 2024. V. Sindhu Pusarla of India gestures as she leaves the
