Australian Open: Djokovic gets medical exemption to compete January 4, 2022 Defending champion Novak Djokovic has said he’s received a medical exemption to compete at this month’s Australian Open. The tournament organisers had said that players and staff must be vaccinated against Covid-19 to compete, or have medical exemption status. The exemption was granted by an expert independent panel. Djokovic has won the Open nine times [...]
Murray begins 2022 with loss in Melbourne Summer Series January 4, 2022 British No5 Andy Murray suffered an opening round loss at the hands of world No 76 Facundo Bagnis in Melbourne. The Argentine beat the Brit 6-3 5-7 6-3 in the opening round of the Melbourne Summer Series. The competition is often used as a warm up for the Australian Open, which begins on 17 January. [...]
Novak Djokovic withdraws from ATP Cup ahead of Australian Open December 29, 2021 World No1 Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from the ATP Cup, raising doubts over whether he will compete in next month’s Australian Open. The ATP Cup begins on Saturday in Sydney and will see 16 countries take part, including Djokovic’s Serbia. This follows the withdrawal of Austrian dup Dominic Thiem and Dennis Novak. Djokovic does however [...]
Andy Murray handed wild card for Australian Open December 23, 2021 Andy Murray has been granted a wild card for next month’s Australian Open, as the former world No1 bids to challenge for Grand Slam titles again. Murray is a five-time finalist in Melbourne and indicated he had been willing to enter qualifying in order to compete again in January 2022. But organisers have spared the [...]
Tennis star Emma Raducanu signs high-flying deal with British Airways December 22, 2021 Emma Raducanu announced yesterday that she has signed a lucrative deal to promote British Airways.
Peng Shuai: Women’s Tennis Association concerned despite new interview December 20, 2021 The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) says it remains concerned about Peng Shuai after the Chinese tennis player appeared to retract claims she was sexually assaulted by a high-ranking government official. Singapore-based newspaper Lianhe Ziabao quoted Peng as saying: “I have never said or written that anyone sexually assaulted me. This point must be emphasised very [...]
Big Sport Quiz of 2021: How much do you remember? December 20, 2021 From teenagers sweeping to Grand Slam tennis titles to England reaching a major football final, an Olympic Games like no other and the introduction of a brand new cricket competition, it has been a hugely eventful year in sport. Off the field it has been just as transformative, with private equity and, increasingly, cryptocurrency and [...]
Australian Open: Pliskova joins Williams and Andreescu as absentees December 16, 2021 Two-time Grand Slam finalist Karolina Pliskova will miss the opening major of the season, the Australian Open, after injuring her hand in a training session yesterday. The Czech tennis player joins Serena Williams and Bianca Andreescu as absentees from the draw. The world No4 was a semi-finalist in 2019 and will also miss the warm [...]
SPOTY 2021: Daley, Sterling and Storey included in nominees December 13, 2021 The BBC have this morning announced the six-name shortlist for Sports Personality of the Year (SPOTY). The six nominees are: diver Tom Daley, boxer Tyson Fury, swimmer Adam Peaty, tennis player Emmu Raducanu, footballer Raheem Sterling and Paralympic cyclist Dame Sarah Storey. The last 14 winners have been men, with the last female winner coming [...]
Ed Warner: Soft power and sport – why do they do that? December 9, 2021 To the Guildhall for the launch of EY’s study of soft power and major sporting events, commissioned by the City of London and UK Sport. The publication was timely, coinciding with the findings of the inquiry into the chaos at the Euro 2020 final at Wembley which tarnished Britain’s hosting credentials, as well as the [...]