Author: Tristan Wells

Wimbledon this year will see the hottest temperatures in the tournament’s 147-year history.There is a ‘heat rule’ in place at Wimbledon which will see a ten-minute break taken between the second and third set when the heat stress index is at or above 30.1C.Temperatures are expected to soar into the low 30s, and could peak at 36C. That would be 7C hotter than the previous warmest start to the Championships, when 29.3C was recorded on June 25, 2001.A record high for the tournament was the 35.7C recorded on July 1, 2015.The weather will cool somewhat later in the first week…

Taylor, the Irishwoman, was victorious on both previous occasions. She won the first bout – a true classic – in New York City back in April 2022, via split decision after a ten-round cracker. She then retained the bragging rights when the duo met again in Arlington, Texas, defeating the Puerto Rican on points once more. That wasn’t before Taylor had had a point taken away in the eighth round for a headbutt, and fans will be hoping that there is even more drama this time around as they converge back on New York for a mouth-watering encounter that sees…

The heavyweight bout many hoped for on this side of the draw has come to fruition, as Sinner – the current world No1 – goes head to head with seven-time champion Djokovic – a man with more career Grand Slam titles (24) than any other – on Centre Court.Italian star Sinner has the edge in the pair’s overall head-to-head record, having won five of their nine total meetings. That includes the last four straight, starting with a historic Davis Cup victory in November 2023 before most recently triumphing over his upcoming opponent in this year’s Roland Garros semis.But the world…

It is men’s semi-final day at Wimbledon with some of the biggest names in the sport taking to Centre Court. There are two mouth-watering encounters going down in the last four of the men’s singles draw. Two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz takes on Taylor Fritz, the Eastbourne Open champion and fifth seed, while seven-time winner at the All England Club, Novak Djokovic, faces world No1 Jannik Sinner. Alcaraz, whose title defence continues after he ended Briton Cameron Norrie’s dreams in devastating fashion in the quarter-finals, will play Fritz for the third time in his career, looking to extend his 2-0…

The American world No5 is aiming to extend his best-ever run at the tournament, while his Spanish opponent seeks to join an elite group of SW19 champions.Make it past Fritz on Centre Court and the three-peat is still on for Alcaraz, the world No2 having already clinched back-to-back titles here over the past two editions.Two tough matches remain before he could be crowned champion here again, of course, including a possible final against the world No1 in Jannik Sinner or seven-time Wimbledon king Novak Djokovic.But if he pulls it off, as many will expect of a player with five other…

Argentina and England conclude their short two-match summer series with the Second Test in San Juan on Saturday.Steve Borthwick’s side defied the absence of 13 key players on British and Irish Lions duty in Australia for what was a hugely impressive 35-12 First Test victory over the Pumas in La Plata last weekend.Despite Alex Coles and Seb Atkinson both receiving yellow cards, a largely inexperienced England team featuring three debutants in the squad in Atkinson, Will Muir and Guy Pepper produced a superb defensive display to lead 3-0 at the interval thanks to a drop goal from man-of-the-match and co-captain…

The British and Irish Lions face an Australia-New Zealand Invitational XV this weekend in their final warm-up match ahead of the First Test against the Wallabies.Though there were improvements in attack with five tries and the set-piece remained dominant, the Lions’ breakdown problems remained in Canberra, while there were more handling errors, four tries conceded and a high penalty count as they just could not put away Australia’s best-performing Super Rugby franchise who were missing most of their Wallaby internationals.As expected, the majority of what is expected to be his First Test team are given the night off in Adelaide,…

First up on Centre Court is world number Aryna Sabalenka taking on the 13th seed Amanda Anisimova. Sabalenka has reached the last three Grand Slam finals but has lost on her previous two semi-final appearances at Wimbledon. She survived a major scare in the quarter-finals to edge past Laura Siegemund. Anisimova, meanwhile, is featuring in only her second Grand Slam semi-final. Source link

England have won the toss and elected to bat first as the Third Test against India gets underway on Thursday morning.Captain Ben Stokes has twice come under fire during this series already for opting to bowl first after winning the toss at both Headingley and Edgbaston, this time going for a change in approach amid the sunny and hot conditions at Lord’s that should be perfect for batters.Per ESPN, it is only the third time in 13 home Tests as England skipper that Stokes has chosen to bat first, after insisting this week that Brendon McCullum’s all-action side were not…

The Lions head to the Adelaide Oval on Saturday for what will be their final warm-up fixture ahead of the three-Test series against Australia that begins at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium on July 19.It will be Farrell’s 19th Lions appearance and first match of any kind since May 4, when he suffered a concussion during Racing 92’s Challenge Cup semi-final defeat by Lyon.His disappointing lone season in France was also hampered by a lingering groin injury that required surgery in November.Farrell, who has now returned to former club Saracens on a two-year contract, has not played Test rugby since stepping down…