arabnews.com - Sinner does not expect easy road on return from doping ban

Sinner does not expect easy road on return from doping ban

April 26 : Jannik Sinner held onto his world number one ranking ahead of his return from a three-month doping ban, but the Italian does not expect his comeback to be as smooth when he takes to the court again at the Rome Masters next month. Sinner has not played since winning the Australian Open at the start of the season and accepted a ban in February following a deal with the World Anti-Doping Agency, which had challenged a tribunal’s decision to clear him after two positive tests. The 23-year-old was allowed to return to training on April 13 and his suspension will end on May 4, before his competitive return at the Italian Open, which gets underway three days later. Sinner, who spent time building fitness mindful of the French Open starting on May 25, was assured of retaining the top ranking for his home tournament after his closest challenger Alexander Zverev crashed to an early defeat in Monte Carlo. “We’re training very hard. Hopefully we’ll get some momentum going again ahead of the clay season.

Palmer’s dip in form a ‘mental thing’, says Chelsea boss Maresca

Chelsea forward Cole Palmer’s 16-game goal drought is due to a mental issue rather than a tactical or technical one, manager Enzo Maresca has said. The 22-year-old England international had a remarkable debut campaign last season at Chelsea, scoring 27 goals and registering 15 assists in 48 matches. This time around, however, Palmer has found the back of the net just 14 times in all competitions so far. Maresca believes it is only a matter of time before the player breaks his drought. “For sure it’s a mental thing, it’s not tactical or technical,” Maresca told reporters ahead of Saturday’s Premier League home game against 13th-placed Everton. “Cole is still the player who scored 14 goals in 20 games. The style is the same, the manager is the same, the club is the same.

Bryson DeChambeau bombs his way to lead at LIV Golf Mexico City

Bryson DeChambeau opened with an 8-under-par 63 to take a one-shot lead over fellow major champions Cameron Smith and Jon Rahm at LIV Golf Mexico City on Friday. DeChambeau eagled his first hole of the day, the short par-4 second at Club De Golf Chapultepec, and was 4 under through three. He carded just one bogey before finishing birdie-birdie-par-birdie. In the thin air of Mexico City, DeChambeau averaged 370 yards per drive with three 400-yard drives, per a reporter. “Yeah, 370 is about right,” DeChambeau said.

Yan Liu has an albatross and a late birdie to hang onto the lead in the Chevron Championship

THE WOODLANDS, Texas: Yan Liu had an albatross to offset three front-nine bogeys and rebounded from a late bogey for an even-par 72 and a one-stroke lead over four players Friday in the Chevron Championship, the first women’s major tournament of the year.

Mamelodi Sundowns to meet Pyramids in African Champions League final

CAIRO: A last-gasp own goal gave Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa an upset result over holders Al Ahly on Friday and a place against another Egyptian club, Pyramids, in next month’s African Champions League final. Al Ahly defender Yasser Ibrahim turned the ball into his own net in stoppage time at the end of a semifinal second-leg tie in Cairo to see Sundowns eliminate the Egyptian giants on the away goals rule after a 1-1 draw. Later in the Egyptian capital, Pyramids twice came from behind to beat Orlando Pirates of South Africa 3-2 with Fiston Mayele scoring twice for the home side to advance to the deciding tie. Pyramids will play in their first Champions League final when they take on Sundowns in the first leg in Pretoria on May 24 and the return in Cairo on June 1. The first legs of both semifinals last weekend ended goalless, handing a major advantage to the two Egyptians clubs who were hosting the return matches. Al Ahly, who have long been the dominant force in African club competition, were aiming for a sixth successive final and looked to be on their way after Taher Mohamed slammed home a stunning effort from the right in the 24th minute at a near-capacity Cairo International Stadium, awash in the red colors of the home team. Ahly needed only to hold on to their lead to ensure yet another final appearance but Sundowns forced several half-chances in the second half and threw on extra attackers in the closing stages to try to rescue a result. Their equalizer, however, was fortuitous as the ball struck unsighted defender Ibrahim on the back of his leg in a goalmouth melee and rolled into the net to send Sundowns through to their third final appearance, and first since 2016. Compatriots Pirates, who were winners

Eubank Jr. fined after missing weight for Benn grudge bout

LONDON: Chris Eubank Jr. will be fined £375,000 ($499,000) after failing to reach the correct weight ahead of his grudge fight against British rival Conor Benn on Saturday. Eubank Jr.

Al-Hilal storm into Champions League last four

JEDDAH: Al-Hilal thrashed Gwangju FC 7-0 on Friday to ease into the semifinals of the AFC Champions League. An early goal from Sergej Milinkovic-Savic gave the Saudi Arabians the lead and they never looked back, much to the delight of their fans in Jeddah. They were three goals to the good by the break and the second half was even better. On this performance, the four-time champions, who had been in uncertain form in the Saudi Pro League of late, will take some stopping on their quest for a fifth continental crown. It took just six minutes for the home fans — who provided a fantastic tifo backdrop — to be celebrating. Salem Al-Dawsari swung over a corner and Milinkovic-Savic broke free at the near post to send a perfect header into the far corner.

Saudi woman elected as first female president of Arab Badminton Federation

JEDDAH: Mai bint Ubaid Al-Rasheed has become the first Saudi woman to be elected as president of the Arab Badminton Federation. The election was held on Friday during the organization’s general assembly on the sidelines of the Badminton World Federation’s annual congress in China. Al-Rasheed secured 10 votes in the poll, two more than Iraqi candidate Fann Shawqi Youssef, the ABF said in a statement. She will take over the presidency from Sawsan Hajji Taqawi, who had held the position since 2018. Al-Rasheed’s victory was widely hailed as a positive step in strengthening the role of Saudi women in regional sports leadership. During the vote, Tabash Al-Jilali of Algeria, Iyad Mahmoud from Syria, Samir Shaghouri of Lebanon and Yaqoub Al-Issa from Palestine were elected as committee members. Yazeed Al-Massoud was named secretary-general of the Arab Badminton Federation for the 2025–28 term. The statement said that the new leadership marked a step forward in strengthening Arab cooperation and advancing the sport of badminton both regionally and internationally. The ABF was established in Cairo in 1996.

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Sinner does not expect easy road on return from doping ban

Palmer’s dip in form a ‘mental thing’, says Chelsea boss Maresca

Bryson DeChambeau bombs his way to lead at LIV Golf Mexico City

Yan Liu has an albatross and a late birdie to hang onto the lead in the Chevron Championship

Mamelodi Sundowns to meet Pyramids in African Champions League final

Eubank Jr. fined after missing weight for Benn grudge bout

Al-Hilal storm into Champions League last four

Saudi woman elected as first female president of Arab Badminton Federation