■ TENNIS
Serena forced to drop out
Serena Williams dropped out of the upcoming Western and Southern Financial Group Women's Open on Tuesday with a hand injury that she suffered at Wimbledon. The hardcourt tournament will be held in Cincinnati from Sunday to July 22. Williams suffered the injury in her loss to world No. 1 Justine Henin in the quarter-finals at the All England Club last week. She was also plagued by a left calf injury that caused her to collapse to the court in her dramatic fourth-round win over Daniela Hantuchova.
■ SOCCER
Reds agree to Benayoun fee
Liverpool on Tuesday reached agreement over a fee with West Ham for midfielder Yossi Benayoun, the player's agent Ronen Katzav said. The Israeli has been a target of Reds manager Rafael Benitez for some weeks and after haggling over a price for the 27-year-old the two clubs appear to have struck a deal. And now a fee -- as yet undisclosed -- has been settled on Katzav expects the transfer to be completed pretty swiftly. "It should be completed in the next 48 hours. Everybody would be happy to play for Liverpool. West Ham will always be in his heart but he is looking to move up a level," Katzav said. He was speaking hours after West Ham signed Liverpool striker Craig Bellamy.
■ BASKETBALL
NBA sets new salary cap
The NBA set next season's salary cap at US$55.63 million per team on Tuesday, paving the way for teams to begin signing free agents. The new cap went into effect yesterday, when the league's moratorium period ended and trades can be made. Teams have been allowed to negotiate with free agents since July 1, but the deals couldn't be completed until the new cap was determined. The salary cap will rise about US$2.5 million from last season's US$53.135 million figure. The minimum team salary is US$41.72 million, 75 percent of the salary cap.
■ SOCCER
Galaxy crash out of cup
Los Angeles Galaxy's form has gone from bad to worse ahead of the arrival of stellar signing David Beckham later this week, losing to third-tier side Richmond Kickers in the US Open Cup on Tuesday. Richmond Kickers play in the second tier of the United Soccer Leagues, which sits below Major League soccer in the US soccer structure, but they still proved too good for the Galaxy. David Bulow scored in the 31st minute and the Kickers' defense did the rest in a 1-0 upset. Los Angeles won the Open Cup in 2001 and 2005, but this loss was an extension of the poor form that has them sitting second last in the Western Conference ahead of the arrival of Beckham, formerly England captain and star of Real Madrid and Manchester United.
■ CRICKET
WICB deficit wiped out
Profits from this year's World Cup will wipe out the financial deficit of the host West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), tournament organizers said. The March to April event, staged in the Caribbean for the first time, netted US$32 million in ticket sales. "We broke new ground by hosting this event successfully in the Caribbean," Cup chairman Kenneth Gordon said. "We sold more tickets [672,000] than the last two World Cups in South Africa [625,000] and England [476,000] and garnered US$32 million in ticket revenue which the International Cricket Council has told us is the highest gate ever. The profit from the event will also eliminate the deficit of the WICB and this augurs well for the future of West Indies cricket," he said.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two