■ Athletics
Denise Lewis retires
Denise Lewis, UK Olympic heptathlon gold medallist at the 2000 Sydney Games, has quit athletics. The 32-year-old had been expected to compete at both the World Championships in six weeks and chase a third title in the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne next March. Lewis claimed her first major title at the 1994 Commonwealth Games and retained the title four years later in Kuala Lumpur. The victory in Malaysia came only weeks after winning the European title in Budapest and the following year, as she shrugged off injury problems, she finished runner-up at the World Championships. Then came her Olympic Games success in Sydney. Lewis has been hit by injury since then and it was three years before she contested her next competition, finishing fifth at the World Championships.
■ Soccer
Collina gets another season
Top referee Pierluigi Collina will be allowed to carry on for another season, Italian football federation (FIGC) president Franco Carraro confirmed on Wednesday after a meeting of their federation council. It was agreed to make an exception for the 45-year-old Collina, as the FIGC proceed to change the retirement age for international referees from 45 to 46. Collina will be able to handle Italian league and Champions League matches up to June 30 next year but will be ruled out of the 2006 World Cup. Voted world referee of the year five times, Collina has been a referee for 28 years. The pinnacle of his career was when he officiated at the 2002 World Cup final between Brazil and Germany. Instantly recognisable for his bald head and bulging eyes, Collina is a celebrity in his own right in Italy, often appearing on television shows.
■ Baseball
Japan must decide
Japan professional baseball yesterday said it has tentatively agreed to take part in the inaugural 16-nation World Baseball Classic subject to the approval of the Japanese baseball players' association. Japanese baseball officials were responding to an end-of the month deadline set by the US' Major League Baseball (MLB) for Japanese owners and players to decide on whether to take part in the World-Cup style tournament set for March next year. The Japanese players' association will hold a meeting on July 22 to decide whether to take part. MLB and its players' association have already approved the tournament. MLB officials and union traveled to Japan earlier this month and set an end-of-the-month deadline for Japan to reach a decision. MLB wants to make an announcement about the tournament on July 11, the day before the All-Star game in Detroit.
Twelve days after winning her second Grand Slam title at the French Open, Coco Gauff fell at the first hurdle on grass in Berlin on Thursday as beaten Paris finalist Aryna Sabalenka advanced to the quarter-finals. Recipient of a first round bye, American Gauff lost 6-3, 6-3 to Chinese qualifier Wang Xinyu as world number one Sabalenka beat Rebeka Masarova 6-2, 7-6 (8/6) in her second round tie. Winner of 10 main tour titles, including the US Open in 2023 and the WTA Finals last year, Gauff has yet to lift a trophy in a grass-court tournament. “After I won the first
Sergio Ramos on Tuesday outfoxed two Inter players and artfully headed home the first goal for Monterrey at the FIFA Club World Cup. The 39-year-old Ramos slipped through the penalty area for the score just as he did for so many years in the shirts of Real Madrid and Spain’s national team, with whom he combined smarts, timing and physicality. Ramos’ clever goal and his overall defensive play at the Rose Bowl were major factors in Monterrey’s impressive 1-1 draw against the UEFA Champions League finalists in the clubs’ first match of the tournament. “There is always a joy to contribute to the
Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka staged a “crazy comeback,” saving four match points before beating Elena Rybakina 7-6 (6), 3-6, 7-6 (6) in the quarter-finals of the Berlin Open on Friday. Sabalenka was 6-2 down in the final-set tie-breaker, but won six straight points to reach her eighth semi-final of the season. “Elena is a great player and we’ve had a lot of tough battles,” Sabalenka said. “I have no idea how I was able to win those last points. I think I just got lucky.” “I remember a long time ago when I was just starting, I won a lot of matches being down
While British star Jack Draper spent the past week trying to find rhythm and comfort in his first grass tournament of the season at the Queen’s Club Championships in London, Jiri Lehecka on Saturday bulldozed everything in his path. After more than two furious hours of battle, their form was reflected in the final scoreline as Lehecka toppled a frustrated Draper, the second seed, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 to reach the biggest final of his career, against Carlos Alcaraz. Lehecka is also the first Czech to reach the men’s title match at Queen’s since Ivan Lendl lifted the trophy in 1990. Draper, who
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