David Buttress will stand down as Dragons chairman at the end of the season.
Source: BBC Sport
Monthly Archives: April 2024
Chelsea only have 'small chance' of winning WSL
Chelsea manager Emma Hayes says her team only have a “small chance” of retaining their Women’s Super League title as they attempt to chase down leaders Manchester City.
Source: BBC Sport
Britain to face Germany at BJK Cup Finals
Great Britain face Germany in the first round of the Billie Jean King Cup Finals – with a quarter-final against Canada awaiting.
Source: BBC Sport
Ex-England lock Parling 'excited' at facing Lions
Former England lock Geoff Parling says coaching against the British and Irish Lions will be a “unique experience” that he “can’t play down.”
Source: BBC Sport
Pant to make India return at T20 World Cup
Rishabh Pant is set to return to international cricket for the first time since a serious car crash after being picked in India’s T20 World Cup squad.
Source: BBC Sport
New ACL research to be carried out with WSL clubs
A new three-year project researching anterior cruciate ligament injury prevention is being launched in the Women’s Super League.
Source: BBC Sport
Forest should have had one penalty at Everton – panel
Nottingham Forest should have been awarded one penalty from their three unsuccessful appeals at Everton, an independent panel says.
Source: BBC Sport
Archer named in England's T20 World Cup squad
Fast bowler Jofra Archer returns to England’s squad for the T20 World Cup in June after more than a year out with injuries.
Source: BBC Sport
My dad was an Olympic rower but I’m scared of water, now I’m the best paid female athlete in the world and four-time Grand Slam champion
Very few children are able to match the achievements of their Olympian parent, and even less manage to surpass them.
When an athlete has followed in the footsteps of their role model relative, and then become the dominant force in their sport aged just 22, it is hard not to take notice.
This is what makes Iga Swiatek‘s story so impressive, in a fortnight which has seen the Polish sensation assert herself as the face of women’s tennis.
With four Grand Slam titles to her name already, including three French Open crowns, Swiatek recently celebrated her 100th week as the number one ranked female player in the world.
Shortly before this, her superstar status was confirmed when she became the first sportsperson to sign a worldwide ambassadorship with the beauty company Lancome.
The endorsement is set to boost the Pole’s already healthy finances, who topped Forbes’s 2023 sporting female rich list, with £11.2million in sponsorship deals boosting her £7.9million in prize money.
And while Swiatek has arguably become the most talked about name in her own sport, there was a time where she lived in the shadow of another hugely successful athlete in her family.
Her father, Tomasz, is a former Olympic rower, who represented Poland in the men’s quadruple sculls at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
The 22-year-old also faced a battle to outshine her older sister, Agata, who competed on the ITF junior circuit of tennis, before giving up the sport due to injury.
And their father has credited the sibling rivalry for developing his youngest daughter into the driven competitor she is today.
In an interview with Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolitalast last year, Tomasz said of Swiatek: “She was always a kid who wanted to compete.
“First with her older sister, then with rivals on the court. As a ten-year-old, she urged, ‘Let’s go to a tournament for older girls, because we’ve already beaten everyone here.’
“She was always looking for new challenges.”
Swiatek herself has admitted she was never likely to follow her father into rowing, telling Ausopen.com in 2020: “I was scared of the water so tennis was much better for me.”
But her competitive nature meant that she was always destined for the very top of the sport, winning her first Grand Slam title at Roland-Garros in 2020.
The Warsaw native followed this up by becoming the second Olympian in her family when she donned Poland’s colours for the rescheduled Tokyo Games in 2021.
Despite suffering a disappointing second round defeat to Paula Badosa, the world number one revealed that she is more optimistic of her medal chances at this summer’s Paris Olympics.
Speaking to Eurosport in December, she said of her last Games: “For sure the pressure was huge, I mean, you could see after I lost against Paula, I cried, it was a big fuss.
Swiatek discussed the upcoming event, set to take place at Roland-Garros: “This time it’s going to be a little bit different. I’m going to know the venue. It’s going to be on my favourite surface.
“On the other hand, these also bring up more expectations from the outside.”
The current French Open champion’s ability to deliver on expectations has served her well so far, and she will be hoping for further success in what promises to be an exciting summer.
The Pole will look to defend her Roland Garros crown in May, before aiming for a best ever finish at Wimbledon little over a month later, where she is yet to progress beyond the quarter final stage.
And Swiatek will then target history in Paris, as she bids to become Poland’s first ever Olympic medallist in tennis, as well as surpassing her own father in Games appearances.
Source: TalkSport.com Tennis
'Only myself to blame' – Allen on Crucible exit
Mark Allen admits he has “only myself to blame” after his dreams of winning the World Snooker Championship were ended for another year by John Higgins.
Source: BBC Sport