Category: 6. Sports

LONDON (AP) — Two-time Wimbledon runner-up Ons Jabeur retired during her first-round match Monday after taking a medical timeout, the latest issue for her during an injury-filled season.

Jabeur, a 30-year-old from Tunisia, quit playing while trailing Viktoriya Tomova 7-6 (5), 2-0.

Jabeur was visited by a trainer in the first set. At one point, she sat on her sideline seat and cried into a towel.

“I wasn’t expecting not to feel good. I have been practicing pretty well the last few days. But I guess these things happen,” Jabeur said afterward. “I’m pretty sad. Doesn’t really help me with my confidence and what I keep pushing myself to do even though it was a very tough season for me. I hope I can feel better.”

She lost to Elena Rybakina in the 2022 final and to Marketa Vondrousova in the 2023 final. Jabeur also was a finalist at the 2022 U.S. Open, losing to Iga Swiatek.

Jabeur’s 2024 season ended early because of a shoulder injury and she’s dealt with leg problems this year.

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

Reigning women’s singles champion Barbora Krejcikova begins her title defence on Tuesday, 1 July at Wimbledon 2025 (30 June-13 July).

The Olympic tennis gold medallist opens on Centre Court in a bid for her third major singles title, having defeated fellow Olympic champion Jasmine Paolini in the 2024 final.

Krejcikova takes on rising Filipina star Alexandra Eala, who makes her main draw debut at SW19 on the grandest stage and her dream court.

Men’s world No.1 Jannik Sinner opens No.1 Court in an all-Italian battle against Luca Nardi, as the 23-year-old aims for his first trophy since the 2025 Australian Open.

Among the big names in action are seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic, Roland-Garros winner Coco Gauff and British No.1 Jack Draper.

Read on to find out the start times and how to watch the Championships live by scrolling over to 1 July below.

Cristiano Ronaldo has revealed that he had the opportunity to take part in the ongoing FIFA Club World Cup, but he resisted the temptation and signed a
new mega deal with Al Nassr.
The 40-year-old star striker is looking to have a great season with the Saudi Arabian club and do well with Portugal at the 2026 World Cup.

Ronaldo’s contract with Al Nassr was set to end on 30 June, but the former Real Madrid forward penned a new two-year deal on 26 June. He will now stay at the Saudi Pro League club till he’s 42.

It was reported that clubs from Brazil and Morocco were interested in signing Ronaldo on a short-term deal for the new-look Club World Cup, which has now been expanded to 32 clubs. Even FIFA president Gianni Infantino said that Ronaldo could play at the Club World Cup, even though Al Nassr have not qualified.

Ronaldo explains skipping Club World Cup

But Ronaldo has now clarified that the Club World Cup was not on his radar, as he loves Al Nassr and is already thinking about next year’s World Cup.

“I had some offers to play in the [Club] World Cup but I think it didn’t make sense because I prefer to have a good rest, a good preparation, because this season will be very long as it is the World Cup season at the end of the year,” Ronaldo told Al Nassr website.

“I want to be ready not only for Al Nassr but also for the national team. So, this is why I decided to play the last game for the Nations League and not listen to anything,” he added.

“And of course, to be in this club, which I love”.

Ronaldo recently helped Portugal win the UEFA Nations League title and will hope to win his first World Cup next year.

He added that one of his aims is to win a major trophy at Al Nassr.

“My goal, it’s always to win something important for Al-Nassr. And of course I still believe in that,” Ronaldo said. “This is why I renewed the two years more because I believe that I will be a champion in Saudi Arabia.”

Ronaldo has scored 93 goals so far in 105 appearances for Al Nassr. He is also very close to the 1,000-goal mark, having already scored 932.

Here are the Fantasy Cricket  and Match Predictions for Afghanistan National T20 Cup 2025, Match 5 – Mahipar Stars vs Maiwand Champions and Match 6 – Hindokush Strikers vs Pamir Legends on the 30th of June at the Kunduz Cricket Ground, Kunduz.

Points Table

Match 5 – Mahipar Stars vs Maiwand Champions (Kunduz Cricket Ground, Kunduz)

Current Form Mahipar Stars:

Mahipar Stars are currently placed at the 3rd position on points table with 1 win and 1 loss to their credit.

The top run scorer for Mahipar Stars in the Afghanistan National T20 Cup is Mohammad Shahzad with 94 runs to his name.

The top wicket taker for Mahipar Stars in the Afghanistan National T20 Cup is Saleem Safi with 6 scalps under his belt.
Mahipar Stars have won their previous match against Pamir Legends by 4 wickets.

Pamir Legends batted first and they posted a total of 174 for 8 in 20 overs. The top order batters including Rahmanullah Zadran got out without troubling the scorers much. Opener Mohammad Haroon batted superbly. He scored 92 runs off just 56 balls, hitting 10 fours and 4 sixes. Nangeyalia Kharote also played a significant innings of 39 runs in 21 balls to help Pamir Legends get to 174 in their innings.

During the chase, Mahipar Stars lost Hazaratullah Zazai and Naveed Obaid early on in the innings. Usman Sadat and Allah Noor also disappointed and got out without troubling the scorers much. It was Mohammad Shahzad who took the responsibility of taking Mahipar Stars over the line. He smashed 94 runs in just 48 balls, hitting 9 fours and 6 sixes. After he got out, Mahipar Stars struggled a little in the death overs. However, they managed to get over the line in the last over with 4 wickets in hand.

Current Form Maiwand Champions:

Maiwand Champions are currently placed at the 4th position on points table with 2 losses to their credit.

The top run scorer for Maiwand Champions in the Afghanistan National T20 Cup is Imran Mir with 89 runs to his name.

The top wicket taker for Maiwand Champions in the Afghanistan National T20 Cup is Khalel Ahmad with 5 scalps under his belt.

Maiwand Champions have lost their previous match against Hindokush Strikers by 5 wickets.

Maiwand Champions batted first and they posted a total of 146 for 9 in 20 overs. Wasim Akram disappointed and got out after scoring just 9 runs off 12 deliveries. Imran Mir and Yousuf Shah played well and scored 25 and 20 runs respectively. Samiullah Shinwari also played a knock of 29 runs but he consumed 34 deliveries for doing so and it didn’t help his team’s cause. Najibullah Zadran made 26 quick runs as Maiwand Champions managed to reach a modest total of 146 in their innings.

During the chase, Hindokush Strikers lost Zubaid Akbari and Kamal Khan early on in the innings. After their dismissals, Hassan Eisakhel and Mohammad Ishaq played superbly. They scored 39 and 65 runs respectively to seal the deal in favor for Hindokush Strikers. They chased the total down on the last ball of the innings with 5 wickets in hand.

Batting Stats T20

Let’s have a look at the squads:

Maiwand Champions

Najibullah Zadran, Yousaf Shah, Abdul Hadi, Mohammad Akram, Khalid Taniwal, Imran Mir, Shawkat Zaman, Ijaz Ahmad, Samiullah Shinwari, Ismat Alam, Babar Khan, Naseer Maroofkhil, M Gul Alizai, Khalil Ahmad, M Dawood, Sami Sarmast, Bashir Ahmad

Mahipar Stars

Hazratullah Zazai, Mohammad Shahzad, Hamza Khan Alikhil, Usman Sadaat, Naveed Obaid, Shir Khan Bahadur, Allah Noor, Sediq Pacha, Javid Sulaimankhil, Shamsurrahman, Farmanullah Safi, Khalil Gurbaz, Qamar Shams, Mohammad Ibrahim, M Saleem Safi, Aftab Alam, Mohib Zurmatai

Match Prediction – Maiwand Champions v Mahipar Stars

Cricket Betting Tips and Match Predictions* – PrePlay

Who will win the toss? – Mahipar Stars

Who will win?– Mahipar Stars

Top Batter (Runs Scored) – Hazaratullah Zazai (Mahipar Stars), Imran Mir (Maiwand Champions)

Top Bowler (Wickets taken) – Saleem Safi (Mahipar Stars), Samiullah Shinwari (Maiwand Champions)

Most Sixes – Hazaratullah Zazai (Mahipar Stars), Imran Mir (Maiwand Champions)

Player of the Match– Hazaratullah Zazai (Mahipar Stars)

Team Scores Batting first – Mahipar Stars 160+, Maiwand Champions 150+

Match Handicap : Mahipar Stars

Wicket Takers T20

Match 6 – Hindokush Strikers vs Pamir Legends (Kunduz Cricket Ground, Kunduz)

Current Form Hindokush Strikers:
Hindokush Strikers are currently placed at the 1st position on points table with 2 wins to their credit.

The top run scorer for Hindokush Strikers in the Afghanistan National T20 Cup is Mohammad Ishaq with 71 runs to his name.

The top wicket taker for Hindokush Strikers in the Afghanistan National T20 Cup is Dawlat Zadran with 6 scalps under his belt.

Hindokush Strikers have won their previous match against Maiwand Champions by 5 wickets.

Maiwand Champions batted first and they posted a total of 146 for 9 in 20 overs. Wasim Akram disappointed and got out after scoring just 9 runs off 12 deliveries. Imran Mir and Yousuf Shah played well and scored 25 and 20 runs respectively. Samiullah Shinwari also played a knock of 29 runs but he consumed 34 deliveries for doing so and it didn’t help his team’s cause. Najibullah Zadran made 26 quick runs as Maiwand Champions managed to reach a modest total of 146 in their innings.

During the chase, Hindokush Strikers lost Zubaid Akbari and Kamal Khan early on in the innings. After their dismissals, Hassan Eisakhel and Mohammad Ishaq played superbly. They scored 39 and 65 runs respectively to seal the deal in favor for Hindokush Strikers. They chased the total down on the last ball of the innings with 5 wickets in hand.

Current Form Pamir Legends:

Pamir Legends are currently placed at the 2nd position on points table with 1 win and 1 loss to their credit.

The top run scorer for Pamir Legends in the Afghanistan National T20 Cup is Mohammad Haroon with 118 runs to his name.

The top wicket taker for Pamir Legends in the Afghanistan National T20 Cup is Arab Gul with 5 scalps under his belt.
Pamir Legends have lost their previous match against Mahipar Stars by 4 wickets.

Pamir Legends batted first and they posted a total of 174 for 8 in 20 overs. The top order batters including Rahmanullah Zadran got out without troubling the scorers much. Opener Mohammad Haroon batted superbly. He scored 92 runs off just 56 balls, hitting 10 fours and 4 sixes. Nangeyalia Kharote also played a significant innings of 39 runs in 21 balls to help Pamir Legends get to 174 in their innings.

During the chase, Mahipar Stars lost Hazaratullah Zazai and Naveed Obaid early on in the innings. Usman Sadat and Allah Noor also disappointed and got out without troubling the scorers much. It was Mohammad Shahzad who took the responsibility of taking Mahipar Stars over the line. He smashed 94 runs in just 48 balls, hitting 9 fours and 6 sixes. After he got out, Mahipar Stars struggled a little in the death overs. However, they managed to get over the line in the last over with 4 wickets in hand.

Most 6’s T20

Let’s have a look at the squads:

Hindokush Strikers
Mohammad Ishaq, Mobin Khan, Zubaid Akbari, Hassan Esakhil, Kamal Khan, Asif Mosazai, Ijaz Ahmadzai, Sohail Khan, Tariq Stanikzai, Abdullah Tarakhil, Izharulhaq Naveed, Azeem Zadran, Lutfullah, Abdullah Ahmadzai, Dawlat Zadran, Yama Arab, Faridoon Dawoodzai

Pamir Legends

Nangyal Kharoty, Noor Rahman, Murad Muradi, Wafiullah Tarakhil, Haroon Khan, Barakzai Naseri, Bilal Ahmad, Emal Shaheen, Rahmanllah Zadran, Asif Shah, Mohib Hamraz, Mohammadullah, Arab Gul Momand, Lalbaz Sinzai, Sayed Shirzad, Kamil Kakar, Bilal Sami

Match Prediction – Hindukush Strikers v Pamir Legends

Cricket Betting Tips and Match Predictions* – PrePlay

Who will win the toss? – Pamir Legends

Who will win?– Pamir Legends

Top Batter (Runs Scored) – Mohammad Ishaq (Hindokush Strikers), Barakzai Nasari (Pamir Legends)

Top Bowler (Wickets taken) – Faridoon Dawoodzai (Hindokush Strikers), Bilal Sami (Pamir Legends)

Most Sixes – Mohammad Ishaq (Hindokush Strikers), Barakzai Nasari (Pamir Legends)

Player of the Match– Bilal Sami (Pamir Legends)

Team Scores Batting first – Pamir Legends 165+, Hindokush Strikers 155+

Match Handicap : Pamir Legends

Live Cricket Streaming Afghanistan National T20 Cup 2025: The live cricket streaming page which enables you to watch live cricket  – Geo-restrictions apply

*NB these predictions may be changed nearer the start of the match once the final starting teams have been announced and we will be running ‘In-Play’ features, so stay tuned.

© Cricket World 2025
 

In front of a roaring full house at Grand Prairie Stadium, Faf Du Plessis’ second ton of the season, followed by Akeal Hosein’s spin web ensured the Texas Super Kings delivered a commanding all-round performance to defeat rivals MI New York by 39 runs to secure their spot in the 2025 Cognizant Major League Cricket playoffs.

Match Summary

Texas Super Kings vs MI New York, Match 21, Major League Cricket

Texas Super Kings 223/4 (20 ov)

MI New York 184/9 (20 ov)

Result – Texas Super Kings won by 39 runs

Scorecard

Partnership

 

Match Analysis

 

After the early departure of Smit Patel to left-arm Proteas spinner George Linde, Du Plessis took charge of the innings with a calculated, explosive knock. The Texas skipper raced to a 21-ball half-century, highlighted by a quick onslaught in the Powerplay against MI New York’s attack consisting of Trent Boult, George Linde, and Ehsan Adil. 

After Linde accounted for Saiteja Mukkamalla in the 9th over, Du Plessis showed his leadership settling into a captain’s innings blending maturity with flair after he was joined by Marcus Stoinis. The pair proceeded with caution, rotating the strike and keeping the scorers engaged with odd boundaries here and there. While Du Plessis gradually started to shift gears, Stoinis struggled to keep pace ultimately losing his wicket to Rushil Ugarkar in the 15th over. 

Stoinis’ dismissal brought in the flamboyant Donovan Ferreira, whose thunderous late-innings cameo amplified his captain’s anchoring innings. Ferreira showed his power-hitting prowess blazing 53 off just 20 balls to equal the fastest fifty in MLC history. 

Ferreira and Du Plessis made life tough for MI New York’s bowlers who were unable to stem the tide as Texas surged to a formidable 223/4. Du Plessis carried his bat through the innings for a dominant 103* off 56 deliveries — his second century of the season and eighth in T20 cricket.

MI New York’s chase stuttered from the outset. Coming off a wonderful evening in the previous game, Nicholas Pooran could not capitalize on his form falling early to Nandre Burger in the 4th over. Akeal Hosein applied further pressure with a clinical spell of left-arm spin. Hosein had a wonderful day spinning his way to a brilliant 3/15 including the key scalps of Monank Patel and Quinton De Kock to leave MI New York reeling through the middle overs.

For a few moments, Kieron Pollard’s towering sixes triggered a few nerves in the TSK camp when the tall Caribbean powerhouse dispatched TSK’s premier spinner, Noor Ahmed, for 22 runs in the 14th over. However, despite his best to keep the game alive with a bruising 70 off 39 deliveries, his assault came too late as the asking rate proved too steep. The pressure took its toll ultimately as Burger and Stoinis returned to claim late wickets restricting MI New York to 184/8 in their 20 overs.

With this win, the Texas Super Kings not only punched their ticket to the playoffs but also continued their stronghold at home, where the energy of a sold-out Grand Prairie crowd seemed to push them up another gear. Meanwhile, MI New York’s have a lot to ponder to keep their hopes alive in the competition after a tough day at the field. 

As both teams now head to Lauderhill, Florida for the final week of the league stage, Texas Super Kings will take on an in-groove Washington Freedom on Wednesday, July 2, while MI New York will face the Los Angeles Knight Riders on Thursday, July 3 at Broward County Stadium.

 

 

Match Highlights

Texas Super Kings beat MI New York by 39 runs

TSK: 223/4 in 20 overs (Faf du Plessis 103*, Donovan Ferreira 53; George Linde 42/2, Rushil Ugarkar 47/2)

MINY: 184/9 in 20 overs (Kieron Pollard 70, Quinton de Kock 35; Akeal Hosein 15/3, Nandre Burger 40/2, Marcus Stoinis 43/2)

 

 

Wagon Wheel

 

FAF DU PLESSIS SMASHES ANOTHER CENTURY ?? He started and finished the innings in dominant fashion ?? pic.twitter.com/LDVp1lmIsA

— Cognizant Major League Cricket (@MLCricket) June 30, 2025

 

Match Details:

Date: Monday, June 30, 2025 01:00

Venue: Grand Prairie Stadium, Texas

© Cricket World 2025

The International Hockey Federation (FIH) can confirm that the “Green Army” – Ireland’s national hockey team nickname – will join the FIH Hockey Pro League for the 2025-26 season. It will be the first time that the finalists of the 2018 FIH Hockey Women’s World Cup will join the “League of the Best”.

Ireland was promoted through the FIH Hockey Nations Cup played in Chile earlier this year. Whilst New Zealand won that event against Ireland in the final, Hockey New Zealand later indicated that the Black Sticks would not proceed with the invitation to join Pro League this time. Therefore, as stipulated in the regulations, FIH extended the invitation to the runners-up, namely Ireland, who have confirmed their participation.

FIH President Tayyab Ikram said: “Congratulations to the Ireland Women team for joining the next season of the FIH Hockey Pro League! It’s wonderful to see a new team participating in the ‘League of the Best’. Qualifying through the FIH Hockey Nations Cup confirms how much the latter is a great springboard to join hockey’s elite.”

Speaking after the announcement, Ireland Women’s Head Coach Gareth Grundie said: “I am delighted that we have been given the opportunity to participate in the FIH Pro League 2025/26 Season 7. It’s a testament to the quality of play this team has achieved to date and is an excellent and invaluable opportunity for further improvement. It comes at an ideal time for us as a programme also, pitting us against the World’s best teams as we go in search of qualification for the 2026 FIH World Cup in the Netherlands and Belgium.”

Finishing the 2024-25 Women’s Pro League season in last place of the rankings, India is relegated to the FIH Hockey Nations Cup.

On the men’s side, following the Black Sticks’ victory at the recent Nations Cup in Malaysia, FIH has extended an invitation to Hockey New Zealand for their men’s team to join Pro League again next season. Since New Zealand’s hockey governing body is currently undertaking a thorough analysis and decision-making process in this regard, FIH has approved their request for an extension of the deadline to confirm or decline their participation until 21 July.

Should New Zealand eventually decide to not participate, the runners-up of the Men’s Nations Cup, namely Pakistan, would have the opportunity to consider joining the 2025-26 FIH Hockey Pro League season.

For more information about FIH and hockey in general, please download the Watch.Hockey app or follow the FIH social media channels – Facebook, Instagram and Twitter – and website.

#FIHProLeague

#MadeForHockey

David Beckham appears to be calming his nerves after wrist surgery with a bit of therapeutic gardening.

While still wearing a sling during his recovery, the former soccer legend hopped back into the field to dig up some homegrown potatoes.

On Saturday, June 28, his wife Victoria Beckham shared the latest pictures of her husband of 25 years, after leaving fans concerned with an earlier update about Sir David enduring “unbearable” pain.

As she shared pictures of her husband over the weekend celebrating his mother’s 76th birthday with a rainbow-themed cake, the Spice Girls singer’s following Instagram Stories showed her longtime partner squatting in their garden with a potato in one hand.

A small shovel lay in front of him as he smiled, with two freshly dug, dirt-covered potatoes resting beside the gardening tool.

The footballer turned entrepreneur has frequently offered glimpses about his newfound passion for gardening and beekeeping in recent months.

In a lighthearted video shared on his Instagram account in April, Victoria filmed her husband of 25 years as he knelt in the backyard of their home to pick some white radishes and began to joke with him.

With David all smiles and tending to his crops, it seemed he was well on the road to recovery, proudly showing off his batch of homegrown vegetables.

Former Australian cricketer Brad Haddin has asked Shubman Gill to make an “attitude adjustment” as the young Indian Test captain looks to leave a mark on the team. Gill has experienced a disastrous start to his Test captaincy career with the Indian cricket team as they
lost the first Test against England
by five wickets despite being the best side in the match for the majority of the game.

Indian batters passed the English challenge at Headingley, Leeds, with flying colours as they scored five centuries in the match, including one by Gill on his Test captaincy debut, but the lack of contributions from the lower order and some pretty ordinary bowling allowed England to escape with a victory.

Haddin says Gill needs to fix attitude to improve fielding

Besides poor bowling, the Indian team also suffered due ot the buttery fingers of the fielders as seven catches were dropped by them in the match, including four from Yashasvi Jaiswal.

Former Australian wicketkeeper-batter feels Gill and his Indian team need to fix their attitude to improve the fielding standards. He added that great fielding has always been a feature of great teams.

“Every great team, no matter what year you’re playing, the one stand out feature they’ve always had is that they’ve been a great fielding team. And I think that is one legacy Gill has start to leave now on this team. He needs an attitude adjustment,” Haddin told LiSTNR Sport podcast.

“If you want to field well and compete the whole time, it’s only attitude. You can do all your technical work off the field and have as many coaches as anyone, but it won’t matter. Even in the IPL this year, the catching was horrible. And that could be a byproduct.”

Also Read |
Jaiswal receives ex-India fielding coach’s backing despite dropped catches at Headingley

Haddin also brought 14-year-old IPL sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi into the conversation as he said that everyone who aims to become one of the greatest players needs to have very high fielding standards.

“Take the young kid [Vaibhav Suryavanshi] from Rajasthan for example. Everyone is talking about how well he batted, and it was unbelievable. But if you’re going to be a great player, he’s got to work on his fielding, his presence in the game.

Also Read |
Prasidh Krishna takes responsibility after unwanted record in 1st Test

“The one thing I would say to India is find a way to be the best fielding team in the world because you got the talent everywhere else,” he added.