SEF arena inauguration heralds exciting new era for Saudi esports
RIYADH: Esports in Saudi Arabia is set for an exciting new era following the official opening of the new SEF Arena.
Elena Rybakina Sport News
Norris turns on the heat at sweltering Bahrain practice
SAKHIR: World championship leader Lando Norris topped the timesheets in a baking hot opening practice ahead of Alpine’s Pierre Gasly at the Bahrain Grand Prix on Friday. It was hunt-some-shade time on a sweltering afternoon in the Gulf kingdom — 35 degrees celsius and track temperature nudging 50 degrees. As a consequence the relevance of the opening session on the rest of the weekend will be minimal, with second practice later Friday, Saturday’s qualifying and the race itself all staged at sunset and in cooler temperatures. That was one main factor in teams using ‘FP1’ to give a half dozen rookies a shot as a ‘Friday driver’ as per the governing body’s guidelines. As a result, four-time world champion Max Verstappen, one point adrift of Norris in the driver’s standings after his win in Japan last weekend, had some down time with Ayumua Iwasa taking the wheel of his Red Bull. Dino Beganovic was handed the keys to Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari. Other new faces were Fred Vesti (in for Mercedes’ George Russell), Luke Browning (Williams/Carlos Sainz), Felipe Drugovich (Aston Martin/Fernando Alonso) and Ryo Hirakawa, in for Ollie Bearman at Haas. Williams team principal James Vowles explained the reasoning behind running Browning rather than Sainz, third to Verstappen in last year’s race for Ferrari. “It’s much, much warmer than it will be so it is unrepresentative, and (Sainz) has done many hundreds of kilometers around here.
Salah signs new contract to stay at Liverpool
Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah has signed a new contract to extend his eight-year stay at Anfield, the Premier League club said on Friday. “Of course I’m very excited. We have a great team now. Before also we had a great team. But I signed because I think we have a chance to win other trophies and enjoy my football,” Salah said in a statement. “It’s great, I had my best years here. I played eight years, hopefully it’s going to be 10. Enjoying my life here, enjoying my football. I had the best years in my career. “I would like to say to [the fans], I am very, very happy to be here. I signed here because I believe we can win a lot of big trophies together. Keep supporting us and we’ll give it our best, and hopefully in the future we’re going to win more trophies.”
Dubai World Cup 2025 sets new attendance record
DUBAI: The 29th edition of the Dubai World Cup at Meydan Racecourse last weekend attracted a crowd of more than 65,000 racing enthusiasts to set a new record for the venue.
Meet Ali Al-Shabeeb, the Geordie Saudi who scored at Wembley and dreams of SPL move
LONDON: When Ali Al-Shabeeb starts talking, his Geordie accent is unmistakable. Although he was born in Dammam, Al-Shabeeb left Saudi Arabia when he was 8 years old to move with his family to Newcastle. He went to school there, stayed in the northeast of England to go to Northumbria University, and now plays football there too, for FC Darlington.
Rybakina leads Kazakhstan to a 2-1 win over Australia in BJK Cup
BRISBANE: Elena Rybakina showcased her prowess to beat Kimberly Birrell 6-3 7-6(4) as Kazakhstan secured a 2-1 win over Australia in their Billie Jean King Cup Group D qualifier in Brisbane on Thursday.
Djokovic, Gauff, other players ask for more money, more say - ESPN
Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner, Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff are among 20 leading tennis players who signed a letter sent to the heads of the four Grand Slam tournaments seeking more prize money and a greater say in what they called «decisions that directly impact us.»
Jessica Pegula Topples Emma Raducanu To Set Miami Semifinal Clash With Teenager Alexandra Eala
America's No. 4 seed Jessica Pegula completed the semifinal lineup at the Miami Open with a 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-2 victory over Briton Emma Raducanu on Thursday (IST) at Hard Rock Stadium. The American advanced to her third semifinal in Miami in the last four years by topping the 2021 US Open champion for a second time in three career meetings. Pegula failed to seal the match in two sets after a strong rally from Raducanu in the second, where she saved four set points and fought back from a 5-2 deficit to force a tiebreak. Despite receiving medical treatment on a muggy Miami evening, Raducanu kept pushing hard. However, an early break of serve in the third set gave Pegula a lead she never gave up.