Category: 6. Sports

Former Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova continued her comeback from injury by denying Alexandra Eala another big-name upset in the Omnium Banque Nationale first round, advancing 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 in 2 hours and 6 minutes. Vondrousova will next face No. 24 seed Marta Kostyuk.

Montreal: Draws | Scores | Order of play

The last time Eala competed on North American hard courts, the Filipina delivered a breakout performance in Miami by knocking out three Grand Slam champions to reach the semifinals. For the opening set of her first-time encounter against Vondrousova, Eala appeared on her way to add another name to her list of upsets, pummeling her forehand with relish as the Czech player struggled with her serve.

However, Vondrousova improved her game in every respect over the last two sets. She had served five double faults in the first; she committed five across the second and third combined, while also sending down seven aces compared to none in the opener. She had converted just one out of eight break points in the first; she improved that to four out of eight in the next two.

With the fundamentals under better control, Vondrousova could focus on turning the match into a contest between offense and defense. Anticipating and redirecting Eala’s power time and again, Vondrousova proved near-impossible for the 20-year-old to hit through. A series of phenomenal passing shots helped seal the second set and build an early lead in the third.

Vondrousova also maintained an excellent record against fellow left-handers. She has not lost a completed match to a left-handed player since the end of 2023 (Leylah Fernandez at that year’s Billie Jean King Cup Finals), and has an impressive 13-3 record against them in WTA main draws and Billie Jean King Cup action.

Vondrousova and Kostyuk have split two previous meetings, both on clay. Vondrousova was a 6-2, 6-1 victor in 2023 Billie Jean King Cup play, but Kostyuk scored a 7-6(2), 6-2 win in the 2024 Stuttgart semifinals.

More to come…

Downing Street has no plans for a bank holiday to mark the Lionesses’ Euro 2025 win, the BBC understands.

England made history on Sunday as they retained their title against World Champions Spain after a dramatic penalty shootout in Basel.

A homecoming parade will be held in central London on Tuesday, with an open-top bus tour culminating in a ceremony outside Buckingham Palace.

But the government appears set to confirm there will be no bank holiday to mark the occasion, in line with what happened when England won the same tournament three years ago.

Calls for a bank holiday after a major football success are not new, but none were held when England’s men’s team won the World Cup in 1966, nor when the Lionesses won the Euros in 2022.

Sir Keir has previously suggested he would be open to giving people a day off work to celebrate an England win, saying at the time that the 2022 victory should be “marked with a proper day of celebration”.

When the Lionesses reached the World Cup final against Spain in 2023, Sir Keir said “there should be a celebratory bank holiday if the Lionesses bring it home”.

Downing Street will likely have an eye on the economic cost of announcing an extra bank holiday.

Government modelling has previously put the cost at £1.36bn, while accountancy firm PwC estimated the figure would be closer to £831m.

Sir Keir watched on from the stands as England clinched a win on penalties, after the two sides held each other at 1-1 after 90 minutes and extra time.

Spot kicks from Alex Greenwood, Niamh Charles and Chloe Kelly, as well as two huge saves from goalkeeper Hannah Hampton, were enough to see England emerge from the tense match victorious.

The prime minister described the team as “history makers” after the full-time whistle, adding: “You dug deep when it mattered most and you’ve made the nation proud.”

Ondrej Kopecky set a meeting record to win the decathlon at the Wiesław Czapiewski Memorial this weekend (26-27), while Adrianna Sulek-Schubert completed a hat-trick of heptathlon wins at the World Athletics Combined Events Tour Gold event in the Polish town of Naklo nad Notecia.

Czechia’s Kopecky scored 8254 points to triumph ahead of his compatriot Vilem Strasky, who set a PB of 8136. Estonia’s Risto Lillemets finished third on 8107.

Poland’s Sulek-Schubert – who was coached by the late Wieslaw Czapiewski, in whose honour the meeting is held – followed her victories in 2022 and 2024 by scoring 6287 points to triumph for a third time. That score missed her own meeting record by just three points and secured her the title by 38 points ahead of Germany’s Vanessa Grimm. Austria’s Verena Mayr was third on 6159.

Dutch athlete Sven Jansons took the early lead in the decathlon, topping the 100m in 10.64 and leaping 7.35m in a long jump won by India’s Tejaswin Shankar (7.57m). Kopecky clocked 11.14 before leaping 7.36m.

Kopecky moved from sixth to fourth after three events, throwing 14.35m in a shot put contest won by Rafał Horbowicz (15.55m). Finley Gaio took overall top spot at that point, ahead of Strasky, Jansons and Kopecky.

Shankar soared into the lead after the high jump, clearing 2.18m for a mark 15 centimetres higher than any of his rivals could manage. Kopecky cleared 1.91m and remained in fourth place overall.

Shankar held on to the lead overnight, finishing the first day with 4292 points – 155 ahead of runner-up Strasky – after clocking 48.87 in the 400m. Max Attwell went quickest overall with a PB of 47.50, while Kopecky clocked 49.34 and ended the day placed sixth (4048).

Strasky and Kopecky secured the strongest start to day two, respectively clocking 14.13 and 14.14 in the 110m hurdles.

For Kopecky, it was the discus that made the difference. With a PB of 49.10m, he hurled himself into the overall lead with a performance more than two metres farther than the rest of the field. Lillemets (46.90m), Gaio (45.56m) and Jansons (42.35m) also threw PBs and Gaio moved into second place overall – 5857 to 5826.

Kopecky maintained the momentum with a clearance of 5.10m to top the pole vault. Strasky was next best with 4.90m and moved into second place ahead of Lillemets.

Those positions would remain through to the end of the contest, Kopecky extending his lead to 165 points after the javelin (58.66m), which was topped by Lillemets (60.35m).

Attwell achieved another PB to win the 1500m (4:17.85), but Kopecky’s 4:30.95 was enough to clinch him overall victory ahead of Strasky (4:23.97) and Lillemets (4:27.90).

Shankar finished fourth with a PB of 7826, while Attwell finished fifth with 7822 – also a PB.

Sulek-Schubert opened her heptathlon campaign with the fastest 100m hurdles of the day, 13.38. She then cleared 1.77m in the high jump, a height also managed by Grimm and Bianca Salming.

Grimm topped the shot put with a heave of 14.91m while Sulek-Schubert managed 13.98m, and that put Grimm 24 points ahead after three events – 2826 to 2802.

But Sulek-Schubert regained the lead after winning the 200m in 24.00, the 2022 world indoor silver medallist ending the first day in top spot with 3783 points – 47 ahead of Grimm.

Sulek-Schubert maintained her lead on day two, starting Sunday with the farthest long jump mark of 6.22m and following that with a 38.50m throw – a mark that put her ninth in the javelin standings but saw her hold on to the overall top spot by 14 points ahead of Grimm (42.85m) with one event to go. Salming topped the javelin with 49.90m, while Mayr managed a PB of 44.13m.

It all came down to the 800m, won by Sophia Mulder in a PB of 2:08.58. Mayr was second in the race in 2:09.28 and Sulek-Schubert crossed the finish line third in 2:11.22 to triumph overall – holding off Grimm who ran 2:12.84.

Paulina Ligarska, who recently beat Sulek-Schubert to the Polish title, finished fourth on 6137 and Mulder was fifth on 5865.

 

Chloe Kelly fired in the decisive spot-kick as England beat Spain 3-1 in a penalty shootout to win Euro 2025 on Sunday, successfully defending the title they won three years ago after an enthralling game that ended 1-1 after extra time.

It was another spectacular turnaround from Sarina Wiegman’s side, who came back from two goals down to beat Sweden in a shootout in the last eight and beat Italy in the semifinals with another extra time goal from Kelly.

World and Nations League champions Spain made the breakthrough in the 25th minute as Ona Batlle crossed and caught the England defence flat-footed, allowing Mariona Caldentey to head the ball past goalkeeper Hannah Hampton.

With Lauren James suffering an ankle injury, England were struggling, but Kelly came off the bench to replace her just before the break and it proved an inspired substitution.

Kelly helped close down England’s porous left flank and provided the cross for Alessia Russo to level in the 57th minute, the forward heading home her inch-perfect assist.

Spain continued to monopolise the ball but could not find another goal before the end of normal time, and the story continued through extra time as they pressed and probed, but could not break the English defence as the game finished 1-1.

Florencia Tan Jun – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images

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The Spaniards got the shootout off to a great start when Cata Coll stopped Beth Mead’s effort, but England goalkeeper Hannah Hampton saved from Caldentey and from Aitana Bonmatí to put England in the driving seat.

Coll got Spain back into it with another one-handed stop to block Leah Williamson, but Spain substitute Salma Paralluelo hit her kick wide of the target.

That set the stage for Kelly to repeat her 2022 heroics, when she scored the extra-time winner over Germany that won them the title at Wembley.

Kelly made her trademark prancing run-up before smashing the ball into the net and peeling away in ecstasy to celebrate with her teammates in front of the England fans.

“I’m so proud, so proud of this team, so grateful to wear this badge, and I’m so proud to be English … I was cool, I was composed and I knew I was going to hit the back of the net,” Kelly said.

The final was the first time since the inaugural edition in 1984, in which England were beaten by Sweden, that the game was decided by a penalty shootout.

“Unbelievable, incredible, showing throughout this tournament we can come back when we go a goal down, and we have that grit,” an elated Hampton said.

“We’ve got English blood in us, so we never say die and we just keep going, and we did that today.”

For Spain’s Bonmatí, the defeat was bitter.

“I don’t have much emotion left to be honest. I have emptied myself of emotion. We are all exhausted,” she said.

“I have to say sorry, because it was my fault in the end, but I was not able to score it [the penalty]. Congratulations to our opponents. In my opinion we were superior in the match, [but] on some occasions, that’s not enough in football.”

“In the end, I found myself in the front even though I didn’t have the energy to motivate myself today. I was really happy they neutralised the times of the GC. Then it was more relaxed to race and you just had to have good legs to be in front. I tried but hats off to Wout [van Aert], he was incredibly strong. It was a really nice race.

I’m just speechless with my fourth win in the Tour de France. It’s six years in a row on the podium and this one feels especially amazing. I’m super proud that I can wear this Yellow Jersey.

It’s hard to say how and where I won this Tour. It starts with how we race with the team, with a great atmosphere, a great spirit. We went fighting from day 1 and after Mûr-de-Bretagne on stage 5 I knew I had good legs to compete for the victory. We just kept on fighting and then I think the second week was the decisive moment, taking more advantage. We went more comfortably into the third week.

I spoke with Jonas Vingegaard in the neutral start. We talked about how much racing against each other has changed us in the past five years. We raise each other’s level much higher, we push ourselves to the limit to try to beat each other. Battling against Jonas was again a tough experience. I must say respect to him and congratulations on his fight and incredible race.

Now is time to celebrate. Everybody has different ideas about how to celebrate. I want some peace and beautiful weather, enjoying some quiet days at home.”

20:00 Sunday 27 July 2025

After a frustratingly light crossing of the Celtic Sea, the Tom Laperche-skippered Ultim trimaran SVR Lazartigue was first to round the Rolex Fastnet Race’s landmark, the Fastnet Rock off southwest Ireland, this afternoon at 15:22:53 BST. However her elapsed time of 1 day 4 hours 2 minutes 53 seconds was some way off her 19 hours 4 minutes 31 seconds time two years ago when she was en route to set the present day race record.

Laperche reported in from the Rock: “We’ve done quite a few manoeuvres. We started the day in little wind and now we’re sailing at 35 knots, flying downwind. We should keep the gennaker – our largest sail – up until Cherbourg. There are tactics to be taken to make the right gybes to get back down to the English Channel.Laperche reported in from the Rock: “We’ve done quite a few manoeuvres. We started the day in little wind and now we’re sailing at 35 knots, flying downwind. We should keep the gennaker – our largest sail – up until Cherbourg. There are tactics to be taken to make the right gybes to get back down to the English Channel.

“We’re really happy with what we have been able to accomplish together. To have the boat ready for this start, to sail with six of us, to have a nice start, to make a nice passage to the Fastnet Rock, and to round the Fastnet in the lead again with the SVR Lazartigue trimaran. We’ve ticked all those off! “We’re really happy with what we have been able to accomplish together. To have the boat ready for this start, to sail with six of us, to have a nice start, to make a nice passage to the Fastnet Rock, and to round the Fastnet in the lead again with the SVR Lazartigue trimaran. We’ve ticked all those off! 

“Now we’re going to try to stay ahead. I know the others are going to make it difficult for us, which makes for a great race. There’s Banque Populaire and Actual Ultim 4, who aren’t far behind, and Sodebo who’s going to accelerate. The race is far from over.”“Now we’re going to try to stay ahead. I know the others are going to make it difficult for us, which makes for a great race. There’s Banque Populaire and Actual Ultim 4, who aren’t far behind, and Sodebo who’s going to accelerate. The race is far from over.”

Banque Populaire rounded the Fastnet Rock in 1 day 5 hours 11 minutes © James Tomlinson/RORC 

SVR Lazartigue was followed by the Armel le Cleac’h-skippered Banque Populaire which rounded in 1 day 5 hours 11 minutes. Before they rounded, Sam Goodchild reported in: “We’re doing 10 knots, which is basically drifting. The Irish Sea hasn’t been very kind to us. SVR is 15 miles ahead and we’re trying to play catch up from what we lost along the South Coast. We managed to catch up with Actual, which was good, and now SVR. I think their lead stretched out to 25 miles, but now we’ve come back in.”

While slow in the Celtic Sea, they were fast sailing down the English South Coast, initially upwind at 17 knots, but then 30+ once the wind veered into the north allowing them to crack sheets. 

However the Ultims haven’t had it all their own way and up until Start Point, the upgraded MOD70s had had the edge on them. “They’re a bit more manoeuvrable so they can play with shifts a bit more, plus we made a mistake going offshore,” continued Goodchild. “Being a bit more manoeuvrable maybe opened up a few more options and they played it well, looking for the new northwesterly coming in in Lyme Bay. They made us work to get past them.”

Having previously raced on Sodebo and on the giant 40m non-foiling trimaran Spindrift 2, this is an early experience for Goodchild on Banque Populaire. “Leaving the Solent and going 30 knots upwind at 50? TWA, I wasn’t expecting! They’re incredible.  On board everyone’s in good form. We’d prefer to be leading, but no one’s grumpy. Everyone’s trying to go fast and find the right way through the conditions, which are pretty unstable.”

While in light conditions encountering a foul Alderney Race can prove disastrous on slower boats, on Ultims this is less the case:  “You obviously keep an eye on it… but sometimes it’s even the opposite, because in wind against the tide that gives you more wind, and sometimes you go quicker and actually prefer to go against the tide than with the tide. The speed difference is so big with such a small wind gain, obviously wind is key.”

Anthony Marchand’s Actual Ultim 4 rounded in 1 day 5 hours 50 minutes 36 seconds with Thomas Coville’s Sodebo 3 bringing up the rear among the Ultims in 1 day 6 hours 54 minutes 56 seconds. 

Four Ultims set sail from Cowes © James Tomlinson/RORC 

Behind and still in the hunt were the upgraded MOD70s. Of these Erik Maris’ Zoulou was ahead and lining up to reach the Fastnet Rock early evening. However earlier they too were having hard time (in foiling trimaran terms) ‘only’ making 10 knots. 

“It’s been a bit of a game of snakes and ladders up the Irish Sea, but we’re sort of having a nice duel with Actual and Sodebo at the moment,” reported Zoulou’s British crewman Ned Collier Wakefield. The French MOD70 made a great gain diving deep into Lyme Bay, aided by the lighter conditions: “As soon as the Ultims drop off their foils it’s kind of a much of a muchness. We’re a little bit more manoeuvrable so we can react quickly and it is super shifty out here.”

The Zoulou crew includes some major talent, none more so than ‘Mr Multihull’ Loick Peyron, but the offshore legend is currently in Zoulou’s sick bay with flu-like symptoms. 

MOD70 Zoulou is owned by Erik Maris, sailed with Ned Collier Wakefield and Loick Peyron © James Tomlinson/RORC 

“Everyone is in really high spirits on board. Just finished our second saucisson. Everyone has got very excited about being up there with the big boys,” advises Ned Collier Wakefield. 

When Zoulou rounds, conditions look good for a reasonably fast return journey in around 15 knots. “It should be gennaker all the way back. There’s just this, secondary, low that’s causing a little funkiness as it may be sticking around a little bit after the Rock before we get back into proper breeze. But it should mean we can get the foil down and should be ripping at, high 20s, early 30s…”

According to Tom Laperche, SVR Lazartigue’s ETA is difficult to predict: “Between 08:00 and noon. It will depend on the wind, but the finish should be smoother in the last part of the race.”

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Harry Sweeny joined our team in 2024 and quickly became a key rider for us in the classics and grand tours. This is the Australian’s fifth season as a pro.

Harry is still discovering his limits as a racer. As a U23, he won Il Piccolo Lombardia and has since ridden the Tour de France, where, as a rookie, he finished third on a stage and rode onto the Champs-Élysées in the break, as jets trailed bleu, blanc, et rouge streaks into the sky overhead. He has raced Paris-Roubaix in the wet and Liège-Bastogne-Liège alongside his friend, the former winner and cycling legend, Philippe Gilbert. Last year, he finished seventh on GC at the Tour of Luxembourg after riding hard for his teammates all season. Harry believes that his best is yet to come.

He came to cycling late. As a kid growing up in Brisbane, where his family moved when he was a child, he played soccer and rugby and did gymnastics and swam. He took up triathlon as a schoolboy, but focused on cycling when he was a junior and was recovering from a running injury. He started out racing local crits. His athleticism soon shone and he was picked to race the world championships in Richmond, Virginia for the Australian national team.

He moved to Europe to race, first for a small junior team in Belgium, and then for two years with the Australian Institute of Sport squad, which was then based in Italy, before moving back to Belgium for his final year as an U23. Those years opened up new worlds for Harry.

EF Education-EasyPost’s open-minded international character is a big draw for him. On the teams he has raced for in the past, he has often been one of the few foreigners. Our team is made up of riders and staff from dozens of nationalities. Most of them know what it is like to build a life far from home and can help with all of the little difficulties that come with that. Our multicultural make up helps us to expand our outlook and think beyond traditional ways of doing things too.

Harry is a lot more than a bike racer. He is a keen cook and he loves to go camping and hiking with his girlfriend, an environmental scientist, near their adopted home in Andorra. In the winter, he loves to ski. And he is a YouTuber.

This summer, Harry will return to the Tour de France in EF Education-EasyPost pink. We know that we can always count on him to be where we need him to be when it counts – and to bring a laugh to the bus.