Category: 6. Sports

A new Wimbledon ladies’ singles champion will be crowned on Saturday when No. 8 seed Iga Swiatek of Poland faces No. 13 seed Amanda Anisimova of the United States for the title.

For former World No. 1 Swiatek, a victory would be her sixth career Grand Slam title — and her first title at any level since 2024 Roland Garros.

Anisimova, meanwhile, has stormed into her first career Grand Slam final and will make her Top 10 debut in the PIF WTA Rankings on Monday.

There will be a first-time Wimbledon ladies’ singles champion for the eighth straight edition. The last woman to repeat as champ was Serena Williams, when she won her seventh Wimbledon singles title in 2016.

Here’s what you need to know as the prestigious grass-court major comes to its exciting conclusion:

When is the singles final?

The ladies’ singles final is scheduled to take place on Centre Court on Saturday, July 12 at 4:00 p.m. local time (11:00 a.m. Eastern). It will follow the gentlemen’s doubles final, which will begin at 1:00 p.m. local time.

What are the points and prize money at stake?

By making the final, Swiatek and Anisimova have assured themselves of 1,300 points for the PIF WTA Rankings and the Race to the WTA Finals Riyadh, as well as £1,520,000 in prize money.

The singles champion will see those totals increase to 2,000 points and a cool £3,000,000.

Swiatek rose from No. 8 to No. 4 right before Wimbledon, following a Bad Homburg runner-up result. If she wins the title, she is projected to rise to No. 3, and a runner-up showing would keep her at No. 4.

Currently ranked a career-high No. 12, Anisimova will join the world’s Top 10 for the first time after Wimbledon. Her run to the final has pushed her up to a projected No. 7, and if she wins the title, she is projected to crack the Top 5 at No. 5.

How did they get to the final?

For someone who frequently underrates her chances on grass at tour-level, Swiatek has improved dramatically on the surface and has posted her career-best grass-court season.

Swiatek exited Roland Garros with her 26-match winning streak at that event snapped, and she was ranked No. 8 last month, her lowest ranking since February 2022. Instead of being passive, she and her team proactively worked on her movement and serve to improve on grass.

She has won nine matches on the surface this swing (her most on the surface in a calendar year). She reached her first grass-court final at Bad Homburg two weeks ago (losing to Jessica Pegula), and now she has reached her second grass-court final here at Wimbledon.

This fortnight, Swiatek dropped one set in the second round (to her former junior doubles partner and singles rival Caty McNally) but since then she has been generally untroubled. She has beaten three Top 35 players in a row without the loss of a set, culminating in a 6-2, 6-0 dismissal of Belinda Bencic in the semifinals.

Anisimova, meanwhile, lost in Wimbledon qualifying last year after coming back from an eight-month tennis hiatus. In the 12 months since, she has seen her career reach numerous new peaks as she enjoys her career-best form.

Ranked No. 189 a year ago, Anisimova made her first WTA 1000 final in Canada in August 2024, then won her first WTA 1000 title in Doha this February. This year, she reached the Top 20 for the first time.

Signs were present that Anisimova could make a deep run at Wimbledon following her runner-up showing on the grass of Queen’s Club. Only the slice-and-dice game of former Wimbledon semifinalist Tatjana Maria could stop her in that final.

Indeed, Anisimova hit SW19 on a mission, beating former Top 20 player Yulia Putintseva 6-0, 6-0 in the opening round. Her last four matches have been battles, but she has used her power game to persevere, and she collected a huge win in the semifinals when she toppled World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka for the sixth time in their nine meetings.

How do they stack up?

In a surprising twist, this Wimbledon final will be the first professional meeting between Swiatek and Anisimova.

However, these two players (both born in 2001) did meet once in the juniors, back in 2016. There, Swiatek bested Anisimova en route to Poland’s victory over the United States in the Junior Fed Cup (now known as Junior Billie Jean King Cup).

Whoever wins, it will be their first career grass-court title — although both players have made grass-court finals this summer (Anisimova at Queen’s Club and Swiatek at Bad Homburg).

What milestones and key stats are at play?

Iga Swiatek could claim her 100th Grand Slam singles match-win (out of 120 Grand Slam singles matches). She would be the fastest woman to 100 Grand Slam wins since Serena Williams in 2004 (100 wins from 116 matches).

Swiatek could become the first Polish player to win the Wimbledon title during the Open Era (since 1968). The only other Polish woman to make a Wimbledon singles final in the Open Era is Agnieszka Radwanska in 2012.

Currently 5-0 in Slam finals, Swiatek could become the third woman in the Open Era to win all of their first six Grand Slam singles finals, joining Margaret Court and Monica Seles.

The 24-year-old Swiatek could become the youngest woman since 20-year-old Serena Williams in 2002 to win Grand Slam singles titles on all three surfaces. Swiatek has four Roland Garros titles on clay, plus one US Open title on hard court.

Amanda Anisimova could become the first American woman to win the Wimbledon singles title since Serena Williams in 2016. She is already the first American woman to make the final since Williams in 2019.

A title would also make 23-year-old Anisimova the youngest American woman to win the Wimbledon singles title since 21-year-old Serena Williams in 2003.

Since 1990, Anisimova is the fourth woman to defeat the World No. 1 at Wimbledon en route to a maiden Grand Slam final, joining Zina Garrison (1990), Marion Bartoli (2007) and Sabine Lisicki (2013).

All Blacks coach Scott Robertson said the series was still alive and they had given the side a chance to build their combinations, with Rieko Ioane moving to the right wing to replace the injured Sevu Reece, while Caleb Clarke will come in on the left wing.

However, France coach Fabien Galthié has opted for freshness, including the five players who contested the French Top 14 final and arrived late in New Zealand in his team.

Robertson said Ioane, being a good athlete, had learned quickly.

“He’s been around for a long time. He’s 80 Tests in and there’s an opportunity to jump in on the other wing. Players are going to play one or two positions and he’s going to get the ball in his hands. He had some nice touches [in Dunedin].”

Lock Patrick Tuipulotu replaces Scott Barrett at lock.

“He’s played 52 Tests, is a good lineout caller, physical and he’s got a beautiful bit of mana and calmness about him. We’re pleased we can bring someone like him in.”

“Continuity is a big part of it. This is a three-Test series and we’ve got one done.”

Tuipulotu said he was feeling good ahead of his start and was looking forward to getting onto the field.

“We did a lot of good things [in the first Test]. The set piece went well, but we were rusty and there were some skill errors around the handling. Another week together will put us in good stead. We don’t know what the weather will be like in Wellington, so skill execution will be important in the Cake Tin.”

Tupou Vaa’i has been given another start on the blindside of the scrum.

“He plays a little bit more on the edge there, but he’s got the skill set to do it. He’s quick enough. The great thing about him is his footwork at the line,. He’s a great defender. It’s repetition for him and just a little bit of a change of the number on his back.”

Vaa’i said he enjoyed the change and believed he could make a valuable contribution in the role.

“It’s on me to go out there and continue to play the way I play. It’s just another number on my back. It’s always good to do both. It’s Test match footy so anything could happen to you. I enjoy playing at six.”

Robertson said the intention was for the All Blacks to utilise their skills as much as possible and to adjust them should bad weather affect the contest.

“It’s about thinking fast, what’s in front of you, what’s the opportunity, see it and then we’ll go and act on it. There’s a lot of instinctual. You can see how we set up across the field to play from anywhere, and if it’s on, we’ll go.”

But, there is also a need to improve their play in the air.

“The aerial game is critical, and the French are very good at it.”

Clarke’s presence will lift the All Blacks’ ability to contest in the air.

“He’s a big power athlete, and every time he’s been in our team, he’s performed. We’re looking forward to him getting back to his best

Robertson said the coaches want to see centre Timoci Tavatavanawai show more of his Super Rugby Pacific form when debuting from the bench. His ability to have an impact without the ball was impressive, and it was an opportunity for him to take that to another level.

LIVE on Sky Sport – Saturday 12 July:  All Blacks vs France, 19:05PM (NZST). The match is also available in selected territories on NZR+, learn more HERE.

All Blacks match-day 23 (Test caps in brackets; * denotes debutant)  

1. Ethan de Groot (30) 2. Codie Taylor (97) (Vice-Captain) 3. Fletcher Newell (23) 4. Patrick Tuipulotu (51) 5. Fabian Holland (1) 6. Tupou Vaa’i (39) 7. Ardie Savea (95) (Captain) 8. Christian Lio-Willie (1) 9. Cam Roigard (11) 10. Beauden Barrett (135) 11. Caleb Clarke (29) 12. Jordie Barrett (69) (Vice-Captain) 13. Billy Proctor (3) 14. Rieko Ioane (82) 15. Will Jordan (42)  

IMPACT: 16. Samisoni Taukei’aho (31) 17. Ollie Norris (1) 18. Pasilio Tosi (8) 19. Samipeni Finau (9) 20. Du’Plessis Kirifi (1) 21. Cortez Ratima (12) 22. Timoci Tavatavanawai * 23. Damian McKenzie (62)  

France

(15-1): Leo Barre, Theo Attissogbe, Nicolas Depoortere, Pierre-Louis Barassi, Emilien Gailleton, Joris Segonds, Nolann Le Garrec, Esteban Abadie, Jacobus van Tonder, Pierre Bochaton, Matthias Halagahu, Joshua Brennan, Georges-Henri Colombe, Gaetan Barlot (capt), Baptiste Erdocio.

Replacements: Pierre Bourgarit, Paul Mallez, Regis Montagne, Romain Taofifenua, Cameron Woki, Bastien Vergnes-Taillefer, Thibault Daubagna, Antoine Hastoy

Wimbledon 2025 – Will ‘queen of clay’ Iga Świątek rule supreme on the lawn?

Świątek’s best surface is undoubtedly clay, four French Open trophies providing the evidence. Yet her season’s best performances have come on the grass of northern Europe, where she has reached her first two finals of the year.

The 24-year-old was devastated to lose out in Bad Homburg in Germany, but it proved that she is a contender on the grass swing, something reinforced by a Wimbledon run where she has dropped just one set back in the second round.

“Honestly, I never even dreamt that it was going to be possible for me to play in the final,” Świątek said on-court after her semi-final win. “Tennis keeps surprising me, I thought I lived through everything, even though I’m young…I didn’t experience playing well on grass, so that’s the first time, and I’m super excited and enjoying it.”

In what has been a challenging, trophyless 13 months without a title for the five-time major champion, during which she served a one-month doping ban. There is no better place for her to end that drought than on Centre Court and with a maiden Wimbledon title.

Świątek has been ruthless throughout the two weeks in south-west London, reaching her best level and reminding the tennis world that she never left contention. The former world number one has a record of five Grand Slam finals, five Grand Slam victories – will that become six come Saturday?

England shelved BazBall for survival with Joe Root ending the opening day on 99 against Jasprit Bumrah and India at Lord’s

Joe Root’s patient unbeaten 99 has led England to 4-251 on an attritional and compelling first day of the third Test against India at Lord’s.

With the series level at 1-1 after two high-scoring matches, England won the toss on Thursday in good batting conditions but they lost Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley cheaply and, with pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah back in their attack, India sensed a big chance.

Root and Ollie Pope, however, adopted a risk-free approach, a far cry from the aggressive Bazball style of cricket England have adopted in recent years, to rebuild the innings, and Ben Stokes made 39no to leave the match finely poised.

“We want to be a team that is positive and entertaining, but we want to play to the situation,” Pope said.

“Our order is pretty fast-scoring on our good days, we all know we can score hundreds off 120 balls, but we need to dig in off this sort of surface.”

Earlier, Stokes won the toss under clear skies and would have expected his top order to take full advantage.

India won the second Test by 336 runs to level the series without Bumrah and he bowled a probing opening spell as the touring side rode the momentum of their excellent performance at Edgbaston.

Neither Crawley nor Duckett looked comfortable on a slow pitch, and immediately after the drinks interval, Nitish Kumar Reddy struck in his first over when Duckett fell for 23, playing a loose stroke to a ball down the leg side and feathering a catch to wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant.

Pope was dropped off his first ball, a very hard chance to Shubman Gill at gully, before Reddy squared up Crawley with a fine delivery and he edged it to Pant to depart for 18.

England laboured to 2-83 at lunch, but Root reached his 67th Test half century to go with his 36 hundreds, the milestone coming off 102 balls and including seven fours.

The free-scoring Pant was forced off the field with a finger injury but Pope was out for 44 to the first ball after tea, driving loosely at spinner Ravindra Jadeja and nicking the ball to stand-in keeper Dhruv Jurel.

When Bumrah speared in a rapid ball that clipped the top of Harry Brook’s off stump to send the in-form batter back to the pavilion for 11, with England on 4-172, India were back in the ascendancy.

But Root found a reliable partner in Stokes and tried to complete his 37th Test ton before the close, but in vain.

“Joe Root has inspired everyone in the changing room and in this country,” Pope said.

“His work ethic and the way he goes about his cricket is inspirational over such a long career. Fingers crossed he can make it a massive one tomorrow.”

How Switzerland bounced back at the right time

Until today, Switzerland had never reached the quarter-final stage of any international tournament.

Coming into this one, it didn’t feel as though they were going to make it out of the group.

Before July, they had won just one of their last seven games on their way to being relegated to League B of the UEFA Nations League.

By all accounts, they were carrying the form of a team far and away from their best.

So, what changed?

The answer is simple: the power of hosting.

In the last two editions of the EUROs, the winning side was the nation who hosted the competition.

It just invokes something special within a team, as it has with this year’s host, a side that has shown real fighting spirit in front of their home crowd.

Even in their opening defeat to Norway, a game of fine margins, they demonstrated that they should not be discounted.

Thursday proved to be the biggest test of their character, trailing to Finland late on in a game where they needed to avoid defeat by all means necessary.

They did not panic. They believed. The fans believed. Every attack roared home by the Geneva crowd, who rallied behind them.

Pia Sundhage’s management prowess paid off, calling on the right substitutes at exactly the right moments.

Record-breaking crowds, a 14,000 strong fan march… this was a performance that paid back the faith supporters have shown in the squad.

This is more than just a draw for the Swiss – this is history.

After being put in and losing Tim Robinson without a run on the board, Northants’ David Willey was then dropped on nought with Sam Wood parrying the ball over the rope for six.

He went on to make 27 with Bopara scoring 53 from 40 balls and Saif Zaib smashing 30 from 18 balls as the Steelbacks reached 100-2 in the 11th over.

They collapsed to 129-7 at the start of the 15th before Luke Procter and Ben Sanderson steered them to 171-7.

There were two wickets apiece for England’s Josh Hull, Logan van Beek and spinner Josh Thomas, who is on a short-term loan from Somerset.

Rishi Patel also fell without scoring to start the Foxes reply but Shan Masood and Sol Budinger added 71 inside seven overs before Masood was strangled down the leg side for 25 and Budinger holed out for 40 from 22 balls soon after, both off George Scrimshaw.

Ahmed and Louis Kimber guided the Foxes to 100-3 in 11 overs but Kimber (17) was bowled by Scrimshaw who ended with 3-33, leaving Ben Cox (21* from 10) to join Ahmed to see the hosts to the line.

The England all-rounder hit three sixes in his 30-ball unbeaten 52 not out.

At Derby, Worcestershire made it back-to-back wins to move within four points of the top four.

They might have been regretting choosing to bat first when they fell to 10-4 in the third over, with Zak Chappell (3-26) in fine form, however Roderick made 71 from 59 balls and steadied the ship with Ethan Brookes (43 from 26) before a late flurry from Ben Dwarshuis (33* from 18) and Tom Taylor (14* from five) saw the visitors post 174-6.

Despite two early sixes from Caleb Jewell (16), the Falcons lost wickets at regular intervals and although 41-year-old Madsen hit 10 fours and cleared the ropes twice, his side were unable to keep up with the required rate thanks to some stifling bowling.

When Martin Andersson was run out by Adam Hose with 28 still needed from 13 balls the game was up and Madsen was left on 77 from 53 balls as the Rapids saw it out.

Sem Verbeek and Katerina Siniakova put a perfect finish on their dream Wimbledon run on Thursday when they captured the mixed doubles title. The Dutch-Czech pair held its nerve in a tight 7-6(3), 7-6(3) final victory against home favorite Joe Salisbury and Brazil’s Luisa Stefani.

Verbeek and Siniakova, competing in their first tournament together, beat top seeds Harri Heliovaara and Anna Danilina in the opening round and continued their momentum to the title. It marks the first major mixed doubles crown for both Verbeek and Siniakova.

“It’s been an honor and a pleasure to compete next to such a great doubles legend, one of the best to ever do it,” an emotional Verbeek said of Siniakova during the trophy ceremony. “Thank you for making this a Thursday that I will remember for the rest of my life.”

Siniakova added: “It’s very special. It means a lot. We had a lot of fun on the court. I really enjoyed it. Thank you for playing with me, Sem. It was really an amazing time here. To be back on the Centre Court with this atmosphere, it’s always amazing. I’m just really happy I could be here again.”

Siniakova, who partnered Tomas Machac to win the gold medal at last year’s Paris Olympics, is the WTA doubles No. 1 player who has 10 major titles in women’s doubles, including at this year’s Australian Open alongside Taylor Townsend. Siniakova and Townsend will compete in the Wimbledon women’s doubles semifinals Friday.

The 31-year-old Verbeek, No. 31 in the PIF ATP Doubles Rankings, led the Centre Court crowd in singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to his father, Frank, during the trophy ceremony.

 

 

Before this year, Swiatek had only moved into the second week of Wimbledon once, when she reached the 2023 quarter-finals.

After a shock third-round defeat by Yulia Putintseva last year, Swiatek said she had not given herself enough time to mentally recover from her French Open win.

This year, having lost to Sabalenka in the Roland Garros semi-finals, she went to Mallorca for a week’s training on grass before returning to competitive action in Bad Homburg.

Swiatek reached the final at the WTA 500 event, where a defeat by Jessica Pegula left her in tears, but it was an indication that her level on the surface had improved.

“I feel like I have developed as a player and I had time to practise a little bit more [this year],” said Swiatek.

“I would say we mainly focused on my movement and how I should stop before hitting the ball.

“Also, [we worked] on fast hands because obviously it’s important here not to stop the movement, even though the ball sometimes is fast.”

Tottenham Hotspur have signed Mohammed Kudus from West Ham United, their fifth acquisition of the summer transfer window.

The 24-year-old Ghana international becomes the first player to join Spurs from West Ham since Scott Parker in 2011.

Kudus contributed 22 goal involvements (13 goals, nine assists) in 65 Premier League appearances for the Hammers after joining from Ajax in August 2023.

On his first day at the club, Spurs posted a video of him and Micky van de Ven shaking hands and appearing to make up. This was after Kudus was sent off last season for striking Van de Ven in the face when Spurs played West Ham in October.

Watch Kudus and Van de Ven make up

Who is Mohammed Kudus?

Born in Nima, Ghana, Kudus played for the Right to Dream Academy before signing for Danish club Nordsjaelland in January 2018.

He made his debut three days after his 18th birthday. Kudus went on to make 51 senior appearances, scoring 14 goals for Nordsjaelland, before signing a five-year contract with Eredivisie side Ajax in July 2020.

Kudus continued his progress under the guidance of Erik ten Hag, winning the KNVB Cup in 2020/21, the first trophy of his career.

His exciting displays as an attacking midfielder and right-winger drew the attention of West Ham, and after 65 appearances in which he netted 17 times, he signed for the Hammers in August 2023.

Watch Kudus’ highlight reel from his time at West Ham

Kudus became the club’s top-scoring Ghanaian when he netted at Newcastle United in March 2024, surpassing Andre Ayew’s record of 12 goals, while his “carved elephant stool celebration” when he paid tribute to his homeland after scoring the equaliser against Brighton & Hove Albion last December, will live long in the memory of West Ham fans.

Kudus has represented Ghana 42 times and scored two goals, including two in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

When could Kudus feature for Spurs? 

Kudus could be in action for Spurs as early as 19 July, when Thomas Frank takes charge of his first match as new head coach with a pre-season friendly at Reading. 

Kudus could make his first Premier League appearance for Spurs when they host promoted Burnley in their opening match of the 2025/26 season on 16 August.