Category: 6. Sports

WIMBLEDON — Four Top 10 seeds had exited Wimbledon at the first hurdle, and Madison Keys had only just avoided joining the exodus. Two days after pulling through a 2-hour, 41-minute rollercoaster against Elena-Gabriela Ruse, the No. 6 seed was far more efficient in dismissing Olga Danilovic 6-4, 6-2 in 75 minutes.

Wimbledon: Scores | Order of play | Draws

In contrast to the baking conditions of the first two days, second-round action began in a more familiar scenario: clouds, cooler temperatures and a two-hour rain delay owing to persistent drizzle. This suited Keys down to the ground.

“I definitely felt a little more comfortable today,” she said in her on-court interview. “It’s the cloudy, rainy England we know and love, so that helps a lot. It felt a little bit more normal out here today.”

Danilovic has been one of the most improved players of the past 12 months, raising her ranking from No. 150 last July to No. 37 this week. But the Serb’s surge has mostly been down to her results on clay and hard courts — her first-round defeat of qualifier Zhang Shuai was her first tour-level win on the surface.

By contrast, Keys is a three-time grass-court titlist and a two-time Wimbledon quarterfinalist (2015 and 2023), and used her wealth of expertise on the surface to pull away after a tight first set.

More to come…

Wimbledon 2025 – Victoria Mboko, from lucky loser to first-round winner

Such a late change of plans could easily disrupt the preparations of any athlete, not least an 18-year-old. But you just have to watch Mboko in action to understand that she plays far beyond her years, demonstrating tactical prowess and clean shot-making that fully justify her place at the Grand Slam table.

She explained of the situation, “I would understand why I would be such a disadvantage, but I think for this instance, it helped me a lot, because I was so relaxed and I had no thought in my mind that I was going to play a match.

“Because it was just such a relaxing morning and so slow and chilled, I didn’t really feel any nerves going into it. It helped me be a lot looser on court because I technically wasn’t supposed to be there.”

With the music of fellow Canadian Drake to get her into game mode and the pressure afar from her shoulders, Mboko dispatched Fręch in 73 minutes to advance to round two.

Tuesday’s victory was special for many reasons: not only was it her debut on the grounds of Wimbledon, yet it also fell on Canada Day. Her best major performance came at Roland-Garros this year, a run to the third round on the clay courts of Paris.

Next up for the 18-year-old starlet is USA’s Hailey Baptiste, who is also playing in her maiden Wimbledon main draw.

Like last weekend in Perth, the Lions toiled in the early exchanges, the Reds setting about them with a vengeance, the outstanding centre Hunter Paisami leading the charge.

The Lions grew into the game and completely bossed from late in the first half, but they had their issues before the floodgates opened.

The tourists were wasteful, failing to find their range and dropping ball left, right and centre.

There was the old chestnut of a botched restart reception; there were forced passes and hesitant defence. It wasn’t great. They knocked on eight times to the Reds’ one in the opening 40 minutes, some of them with the hosts struggling to hold them out.

First blood went to the Reds, a bust through the Lions midfield by Paisami giving them field position, some heavy carries taking them deeper still. When the line beckoned, Toomaga-Allen lunged and scored.

Harry McLaughlin-Phillips banged over the extras and the Suncorp rocked to the sound of Reds on the march.

The Lions responded when Daly put Freeman over and Russell tied it up with the conversion, but it was not a cue for the Lions to take control.

Rather, it was the precursor for another Reds try, sparked by Porter getting done on the floor. Paisami was involved again before Kalani Thomas’ grubber kick for Josh Flook down the left.

Van der Merwe hesitated in dealing with the bouncing ball and Flook stole in – 12-7 to the Reds.

The imperfections, and perhaps desperation, in the Lions game was clear with a couple of missed opportunities, but they eventually started to make stuff stick.

Porter drove over after a close-range tap penalty from his Leinster and Ireland front-row pal Ronan Kelleher. Russell converted.

Next, Van der Merwe finished off a terrific move in the corner with the help of Ollie Chessum and Jack Conan. Russell launched the conversion from somewhere close to Caxton Street. A pearler.

At the break, the Lions led 21-12. Could have been better, could have been worse.

It improved early in the new half when smart work from Jamison Gibson-Park drew the heat and then slipped an inside pass for Itoje to crash over.

Russell, who could have kicked them over with his eyes closed, did it again – 28-12 Lions. Getting there.

Farrell made big changes at that point, replacing his front-row and his half-backs.

Not many fireworks from the Russell-Gibson-Park axis but more than enough to get excited about.

The rest is a sea of red. Morgan, doing his mightiest to make a statement, which he did, went over from an Alex Mitchell pass. The Lions were now playing with an intensity that the Reds could not deal with.

Freeman got a second, with Morgan heavily involved at the start of that play, then Jones gathered a daft chip ahead from Tim Ryan and ran more than half the length of pitch to score.

A final try came in the last breath, Ringrose scampering over to bring up the half-century.

It was a pleasing night’s work for the Lions, but the sight of Daly in pain in the aftermath was a troubling one.

Like last weekend with Tomos Williams, the Lions are sweating on a medical call.

Navigating life and pressure at Barcelona

After a productive stint at Benfica, Nazareth was rewarded with an offer from Barcelona in July 2024, where she was signed for a record €500,000 fee – the biggest in Portuguese women’s football history.

The terms included four seasons with the Spanish giants, seeing Nazareth through to 2028.

It sent shockwaves through the sport but also spoke to the prestigious side’s belief in the midfielder’s talent.

For Nazareth, the headline-making transfer fee sparked mixed feelings. On the one hand came a weight of expectation, seeing every performance through the lens of money. But on the other hand, came a sense of belief.

“If they paid this amount for me to be here, it’s because they believe in me, it’s because I have value. And I believe, I believe that I can eventually be worth this,” the Portuguese star told Forbes Portugal.

“I also have to be able to change my way of thinking, I have to value myself, and that means recognising my quality.”

Accepting Barcelona’s investment in her, Nazareth has been rising to the challenge of the game in Spain.

Up until her ankle injury in March of this year, the Portuguese prodigy had shown flashes of her potential. She scored three goals in 12 starts with three assists in the Liga F this season and bagged three goals and two assists in the Champions League.

The step up in work ethic, she says, has been significant, but the special environment has balanced the challenge.

“It’s a different level. I remember that in the first training session I was like, ‘What have I gotten myself into?’” Nazareth continued to Forbes Portugal on her initial experiences at Barcelona.

“I’m not saying that there wasn’t quality at Benfica, because there is a lot of quality, but, once again, without comparing, it’s a different world. It’s playing with the best, it’s easy to play with them, they all think the same way.”

London, July 2, 2025 – NEOM McLaren Electric Racing has today revealed a striking new livery for the season finale of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship in London on July 26-27.

Unveiled at McLaren Racing’s Never Stop Racing fan experience in Trafalgar Square, the design reimagines the team’s identity as a bold “away kit,” creatively expressing the ambition of Oxagon, NEOM’s reimagined industrial city.

The partnership between Oxagon and the NEOM McLaren Electric Racing Team highlights the power of strategic collaboration to drive meaningful change. By combining McLaren’s technological edge with Oxagon’s vision for advanced and clean industries, the two organizations are working to redefine how technology, sustainability and design converge to shape the future of industry – within NEOM and beyond.

Developed between the two brands, the livery introduces dynamic new colors inspired by Oxagon, while retaining the signature papaya elements that define the NEOM McLaren Electric Racing Team’s visual identity. This distinctive design will also feature on the race suits and helmets of drivers Sam Bird and Taylor Barnard.

“This special edition livery offers a fresh take on our existing design — a purposeful “away kit’ that shines a light on Oxagon, one of NEOM’s key regions,” said Ian James, Team Principal, NEOM McLaren Electric Racing Team. “It represents more than bold visuals; it symbolizes a partnership rooted in innovation, collaboration and real-world industrial transformation.”

“Our work with the NEOM McLaren Electric Racing Team demonstrates how cross-industry partnerships can accelerate sustainable transformation,” said Vishal Wanchoo, CEO of Oxagon. “By combining McLaren’s performance and efficiency with Oxagon’s vision for clean, connected manufacturing, we’re advancing the kind of innovation that is shaping the future of industry.”

Since the launch of the international Oxagon x McLaren Accelerator Program in 2023, two successful cohorts of scale-ups from around the world have completed the 12-week program designed to fast-track deep tech and next generation solutions to advance industries. From autonomous mobility to smart logistics and supply chain innovation, the program has already led to pilot projects within NEOM and commercial opportunities across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In 2024, out of seven companies, four were shortlisted to pilot their technologies in the port on HSE, worker wellbeing, robotic container handling and condition-based predictive maintenance.