Svitolina ends season after undergoing foot surgery
NEW YORK : Elina Svitolina's tennis season has ended, the Ukrainian said on Wednesday after she underwent surgery on her right foot to address a long-standing injury.
Elina Svitolina Sport News
Oscar Piastri celebrates 50th race with win from pole in Bahrain
SAKHIR: McLaren’s Oscar Piastri celebrated his 50th Formula One race with a pole-to-flag win in Bahrain on Sunday that sent him second overall and three points behind championship leading teammate Lando Norris. The Australian also became the season’s first repeat winner in four races and ended reigning champions McLaren’s long wait for victory at their Bahraini owners’ home Sakhir circuit. Norris finished third, after lining up sixth on the grid and then having to fight back from a five-second penalty for a jumped start under the floodlights. Mercedes’ George Russell held off his fellow Briton for second in a tense battle over the closing laps but faced a stewards’ enquiry for allegedly using the drag reduction system outside the defined zone. “It’s been an incredible weekend starting with qualifying yesterday and finishing the job today in style is nice,” said Piastri, who won by 15.499 seconds despite a safety car period wiping out his initial lead. “It’s very important given our owners.
UAE’s National MMA Championship 3 underway in Dubai
DUBAI: The UAE’s National MMA Championship 3, organized by the UAE’s Jiu-Jitsu and Mixed Martial Arts Federation, began on Saturday at Shabab Al-Ahli Club in Dubai in front of a large crowd, and featured young talent representing clubs and academies nationwide.
Bayern fail to make most of Leverkusen slip with Dortmund draw
LEVERKUSEN, Germany: Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich were held to a 2-2 home draw with Borussia Dortmund on Saturday, failing to take advantage of Bayer Leverkusen’s slip-up earlier in the day. After defending champions Leverkusen were held to a 0-0 draw at home to Union Berlin, Bayern knew a win would have moved them eight points clear with five games to play. Dortmund took the lead through Maximilian Beier in the 48th minute but Bayern hit back with two goals in four minutes, before Waldemar Anton equalized for the visitors with 15 minutes remaining. “We’ve moved a step closer to the championship and we’ve shown we can create plenty of opportunities,” said Bayern veteran Thomas Mueller, who will leave the club after 25 years at the end of the season. “That should help us in the Champions League on Wednesday,” Mueller added of next week’s Champions League quarter-final second leg at Inter Milan, with Bayern facing a 2-1 first-leg deficit, “(We need) to be more clinical,” said Harry Kane.
Golf-McIlroy leads Masters after electric start to third round
AUGUSTA, Georgia: Rory McIlroy reached the midway point of the third round at the Masters on Saturday with a two-shot cushion over Bryson DeChambeau after a blistering start that saw him leapfrog overnight leader Justin Rose after just two holes. Grand Slam-chasing McIlroy started birdie-eagle-birdie en route to becoming the first player to begin a round at the Masters with six consecutive threes on a partly cloudy day that offered pristine scoring conditions. Rose started the day atop a star-studded leaderboard but by the time he made the turn, he was looking up at McIlroy and DeChambeau after going one-over through his first nine holes. Popular American DeChambeau started hot with back-to-back birdies but a narrowly missed par putt on the third forced him to settle for the first of two bogeys he collected on the front nine. A glittering leaderboard has fans buzzing about the possibility of a classic finish on Sunday and many patrons are pulling for McIlroy to finally win the Green Jacket and become only the sixth player to claim all four of the sport’s majors. Augusta National has been the site of painful collapses for McIlroy and that gut-wrenching run threatened to repeat itself when he stumbled late in his opening round with two double bogeys. But the Northern Irishman bounced back admirably on Friday with a thrilling round of 66 to climb back into contention and that momentum appears to have carried over into Saturday’s round. A heavyweight battle between McIlroy and defending champion Scottie Scheffler could still materialize after the world number one went even through his first nine on Saturday to sit four-back of McIlroy.
Ukraine and Spain qualify for Billie Jean King Cup Finals
RADOM, Poland: Elina Svitolina sent Ukraine to the Billie Jean King Cup Finals for the first time with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Switzerland’s Jil Teichmann to level the countries’ qualifier 1-1 on Saturday. It ensured Ukraine tops Group E to qualify for the tournament in Shenzhen in September. Switzerland needed a flawless record against Ukraine to progress.
Eala ecstatic after win over her idol Swiatek
Alexandra Eala was left star-struck by Iga Swiatek in 2023 after meeting the Pole at the Rafa Nadal Academy during her graduation ceremony but the Philippine wildcard gave her idol no quarter at the Miami Open on Wednesday in a massive quarter-final upset.
Iga Swiatek Gets Extra Security After Harassment
World number two Iga Swiatek is receiving additional security at the Miami Open after she was harassed by a spectator during her practice. The issue comes after British player Emma Raducanu was targeted by a stalker during last month's Dubai Open. Media reports said that Swiatek was verbally harassed by a spectator, who has a history of online attacks against the player, during practice on Sunday. "Security is a top priority. We monitor the network to catch these types of issues. Constructive criticism is one thing, and threats, hate speech or even disturbance during training is another - this cannot be condoned," a spokesperson for Swiatek told AFP.
Filipino wildcard stuns Keys in Miami, Dimitrov into last 16
Australian Open champion Madison Keys was dumped out of the Miami Open third round on Sunday, falling 6-4 6-2 to Filipino wildcard Alexandra Eala, while 2024 finalist Grigor Dimitrov beat Karen Khachanov to reach the fourth round.