Author: Reuters

Posted on

LIV Golf ‘business as usual’ but chief admits rebel tour may need to raise money

  • Scott O’Neil rejects claims LIV is close to collapse

  • ‘Structural changes’ afoot, chief executive says

The LIV Golf chief executive, Scott O’Neil, has admitted the nascent golf league’s finances are “managed very tightly” and said structural changes are on the way that would probably mean they needed to raise money, but he remained adamant the league would not fold.

He was interviewed by LIV employees during the TV broadcast of the first round of the rebel tour’s Mexico City leg, a day after reports that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund was to cut its funding for the league it helped launch in 2022.

Continue reading...
Posted on

Wout van Aert outduels Tadej Pogacar to win his first Paris-Roubaix title

  • Belgian ends decade-old run of bad luck in event

  • ‘It’s everything to me … I stopped believing a lot of times’

Wout van Aert shattered a decade-old jinx to win Paris-Roubaix on Sunday, outduelling the world champion, Tadej Pogacar, in a brutal classic race across the cobbles.

The 31-year-old suffered a puncture as did Pogacar and their great rival Mathieu van der Poel, who had two mechanicals and could not contest the final sprint, which went in Van Aert’s favour for his second title in one of the five Monument classics after his Milan-Sanremo victory in 2020.

Continue reading...
Posted on

European football: Real Madrid held at home by Girona to extend winless run

  • Fans jeer as draw follows losses to Mallorca and Bayern

  • Marseille go third in Ligue 1 as Paris FC stun Monaco

Real Madrid had to settle for a 1-1 draw against mid-table Girona in La Liga on Friday, extending the hosts’ winless run to three games in all competitions and giving Barcelona the chance to stretch their advantage at the top.

Federico Valverde put Madrid ahead six minutes after half-time but Girona levelled in the 62nd minute through Thomas Lemar. Álvaro Arbeloa’s side are six points behind Barça, who have a game in hand against Espanyol on Saturday and could move nine clear with seven games to play.

Continue reading...
Posted on

Medvedev smashes racket then bins it during 6-0, 6-0 loss in Monte Carlo

  • World No 10 suffers heavy loss to Matteo Berrettini

  • Russian committed 27 unforced errors

Daniil Medvedev smashed his racket several times and placed the remnants in a courtside dustbin during his humbling 6-0, 6-0 loss to the Italian wildcard Matteo Berrettini at the Monte Carlo Masters on Wednesday.

It was the world No 10’s first tour-level defeat without winning a game and he capitulated in 49 minutes, failing to earn a game point on his own serve and committing 27 unforced errors. Berrettini will face João Fonseca in the last 16 after the Brazilian teenager beat Arthur Rinderknech 7-5, 4-6, 6-3.

Continue reading...
Posted on

Alpine condemn ‘hateful’ abuse of Colapinto and Ocon over F1 crashes

  • Colapinto abused over Bearman’s crash in Japan

  • Ex-Alpine driver Ocon clashed with Colapinto in China

Alpine have condemned on Thursday online abuse of Franco Colapinto for an incident in the Japanese Grand Prix as well as death threats directed at the Formula One team’s former racer Esteban Ocon over prior events in China.

They also dismissed suspicions from some fans of “sabotage” and claims their Argentinian driver was not being given the same quality equipment as his teammate Pierre Gasly.

Continue reading...
Posted on

LA 2028 Olympic organizers say 1m tickets will be available for $28

  • Aaround 5% of tickets will cost more than $1,000

  • Tickets for general public to go on sale on 9 April

Tickets for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games will go on sale to the general public on 9 April, organizers said on Monday, as LA28 also moved to reassure fans over ticket security by naming a group of verified resale platforms.

A presale for residents in qualifying areas of Los Angeles and Oklahoma City, which will host softball and canoe slalom events, will begin on 2 April.

Continue reading...
Posted on

Mohamed Salah warned by Egypt team director that MLS move would diminish spotlight

  • ‘You won’t remember Salah more than I remember Messi’

  • Forward urged to consider Saudi Arabia or Europe

Egypt’s national team director, Ibrahim Hassan, has cautioned Mohamed Salah against moving to Major League Soccer when he leaves Liverpool at the end of the season. Salah has yet to announce his next move after he ends a hugely successful nine-year spell at Liverpool, where he won two Premier League titles and the Champions League.

The MLS commissioner, Don Garber, has said he would love to see Salah in the league, though it is unclear whether any teams will attempt to sign the 33-year-old.

Continue reading...
Posted on

French league postpones Lens match to allow PSG weekend off between Liverpool games

  • Lens were opposed to moving the Ligue 1 game

  • The top two sides will now play on 13 May

Paris Saint-Germain’s visit to Lens, potentially a crucial encounter in the Ligue 1 title race, has been postponed to give PSG more time to prepare for their Champions League quarter-final against Liverpool.

The match between the top two teams in France’s top division – PSG lead Lens by a point – was scheduled for 11 April but will now take place on 13 May, three days before the final round of fixtures.

Continue reading...
Posted on

Wimbledon introduces video reviews for players to challenge umpire calls

  • Reviews allowed for double bounces and double hits

  • Players not able to challenge electronic line calls

Wimbledon will introduce video review technology this year that will allow players to challenge judgment calls made by the chair umpire, the tournament’s organisers have announced.

Players will not be able to challenge the decisions of the electronic line calling (ELC) system that was introduced at Wimbledon last year, but video reviews will be available to check other scenarios, like whether a ball has bounced twice or touched a player’s racket or body.

Continue reading...
Posted on

European football: Raphinha hat-trick seals Barcelona win, Lazio beat Milan

  • Barça thrash Sevilla to restore four-point lead in La Liga

  • Isaksen damages Milan’s title hopes with first-half winner

Raphinha hit a hat-trick as Barcelona thrashed Sevilla 5-2 to restore their four-point lead at the top of La Liga. After Real Madrid cut the gap by beating Elche on Saturday, the Spanish champions responded by romping to a comfortable victory.

Dani Olmo and João Cancelo also struck for Hansi Flick’s side, who host Newcastle in the Champions League on Wednesday. Fans streamed to the stadium to vote in the club’s presidential elections, with either Joan Laporta or Victor Font to be announced the new chief later on Sunday night.

Continue reading...
Posted on

Carlos Alcaraz stays positive after winning streak ended by Daniil Medvedev at Indian Wells

  • Spanish world No 1 falls to first defeat of tennis season

  • Medvedev wins 6-3, 7-6(3) to set up final against Jannik Sinner

Carlos Alcaraz said he was finding it tough to constantly have a target on his back and was surprised by the level of performance from Daniil Medvedev after the Russian handed him his first defeat of the season at Indian Wells.

Medvedev’s 6-3, 7-6(3) victory over the world No 1 in the semi-finals ended the Spaniard’s 16-match winning run to start the season. World No 11 Medvedev will play Jannik Sinner in the final on Sunday.

Continue reading...
Posted on

Barcelona fan ‘gutted’ at missing Newcastle game after going to wrong St James’ Park

  • Supporter ended up in Exeter, 366 miles away

  • League One club took pity and let him watch their game

A Barcelona fan’s navigation mishap turned into an unexpected adventure when he arrived at the wrong St James’ Park on Tuesday for a Champions League clash, ending up 366 miles from where his team were playing.

The Spanish fan, who had travelled from London expecting to watch Barcelona take on Newcastle in the first leg of the last-16 tie, instead found himself at the turnstiles of third-tier Exeter’s St James Park.

Continue reading...
Posted on

Sabalenka powers past Osaka to reach Indian Wells quarter-finals

  • World No 1 wins 6-2, 6-4 against Japanese

  • Australian qualifier Talia Gibson stuns Paolini

Aryna Sabalenka eased past Naomi Osaka 6-2, 6-4 to reach the Indian Wells quarter-finals while the fourth seed, Alexander Zverev, progressed to the last eight in the men’s event.

Sabalenka and Osaka, both four-time grand slam title winners, were meeting for the first time since 2018, when the Japanese won at the US Open en route to her maiden major title, but the world No 1’s power proved too much for one of her predecessors.

Continue reading...
Posted on

Pogacar makes it three in a row at Strade Bianche while Chabbey sprints to glory

  • Teenage French sensation Paul Seixas finishes second

  • Swiss wins women’s race in a thrilling finish

Tadej Pogacar won a record fourth Strade Bianche title as he made a triumphant start to his 2026 season, with the teenage French sensation Paul Seixas second. The world champion made a typically devastating long-range break around 80km from the finish, after which it was a procession to the line in Siena for his third win in a row.

In doing so, the four-time Tour de France winner proved once again that his appetite to triumph – and dominantly – has not diminished despite his myriad successes. One of the 27-year-old Slovenian’s main targets for this season comes in a week’s time at the Milan-San Remo one-day classic, one of only two of the five Monument races he is yet to win.

Continue reading...