Category Sports News

Wimbledon 2025

Venue: All England Club, June 30 – 13 .

Naomi Osaka, a four-time major champion, said she had “nothing positive to say” after missing out on a Wimbledon fourth round debut.

Former world number one Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 27, lost to her in a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 loss to the crowd on Court Two.

Since winning the most recent major at the Australian Open in January 2021, Osaka has not advanced past the third round of a Grand Slam.

I’m now not feeling anything. So I suppose I’d rather not feel anything than feel everything.

Osaka has taken a maternity break in 2023 as well as a number of breaks from the sport to prioritize her mental health.

Following the birth of her daughter Shai, the two-time Australian Open and US Open champion, made a comeback to the Tour in 2024.

However, Osaka later claimed in the following year that she did not “feel like I’m in my body” because she had to work so hard to rediscover her best form.

Osaka expressed on Friday, “Yes, but honestly, right now I’m just really upset,” asking if she feels more inclined to make a serious run at the major.

“I’m just going to be a negative person today,” I said. I apologize so much. I’m working on improving myself so that I don’t have anything negative to say about myself.

I want to compete, even though I still have the opportunity to [try it].

Wimbledon 2025

Venue: All England Club, June 30 – 13 .

Sonay Kartal’s blistering performance against France’s Diane Parry made it clear that she was a rising star in British tennis and that she would one day surpass her in the fourth round.

The 23-year-old turned on the style after falling behind in the first three games of this match to claim a 6-4, 6-2 victory.

Kartal arrived at her home Grand Slam outside of the top 50 despite ranking 864th in the world three years prior.

And she certainly caught the attention at Wimbledon, beating 20th seed Jelena Ostapenko in the opening round and edging past Viktoriya Tomova in straight sets.

After a slow start, she capitalized on the energy of the vocal home crowd to easily defeat qualifier Parry with some strong serving and potent shots.

Kartal raised her arms and soaked up the acclaim of the crowd, who had been captivated from beginning to end when Parry sent a forehand long to confirm the victory at match point.

It was a “pretty nervy” stage for me, Kartal said, calling it “undoubtedly the biggest and most meaningful stage I’ve played.”

“I really appreciate you guys supporting me every single time,” he said.

In round three, Kartal will face Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, the world’s top female wrestler, who defeated Naomi Osaka.

Although she was ranked third overall in the world when she arrived here, she may have finished the year as the top-ranked player in the nation thanks to her outstanding performances at Wimbledon, which is an impressive increase for a player who was just outside the top 300 this year.

Kartal’s style at Wimbledon is not just out of the ordinary, with her baggy, retro-fitting clothes, and 14 tattoos also appealing.

The Show Must Go On is one of those tattoos, which is evidenced by her inclusion as the first British woman to advance to the fourth round this year.

After such a strong performance, she might be joined by Raducanu later on Friday, but for those who weren’t aware of Kartal’s exciting talent, they will be there.

Although Parry was undoubtedly not a pushover after beating 12th seed Diana Shnaider in round two, her nervousness may have contributed to her slow start.

However, Kartal was practically unstoppable once she found her rhythm.

Kartal spent the majority of her teenage years self-sufficient, and her path to professional tennis was uneventful. She also missed out on a racquet for two years due to injury.

However, she has attributed the challenging circumstances to her allowing her to mature more quickly, which in turn has enabled the growth of her professional career.

She is now a player to watch at Wimbledon.

She continued, “Even though everyone in this tournament is an unbelievable player, I will still respect that opponent regardless of whether I am playing the world’s top player or the world’s top 300.”

Philippe Coutinho has been permanently signed by Brazilian side Vasco da Gama from Aston Villa.

Following a loan spell at his boyhood club last year, the former midfielder from Liverpool and Barcelona has signed a one-year contract.

Before joining Qatari side Al-Duhail until the end of the season, the 33-year-old hasn’t played for Villa since the start of the 2023-24 campaign.

The Midlands club has scored six goals in 43 games, including those for Inter Milan and Liverpool.

Barcelona signed Coutinho from Liverpool for a club-record £142 million in 2018 but struggled during a dismal four-year stay at the Nou Camp, which was hampered by a serious knee injury.

After his match was suspended overnight due to bad lighting, American Ben Shelton was only able to get into the third round of Wimbledon in just 84 seconds.

As he prepared to face Rinky Hijikata, the umpire abruptly ended play at 21:29 BST on Thursday.

Wimbledon defended the decision, calling it “extremely dark,” according to tournament director Jamie Baker.

Shelton was in no hurry to claim a 6-2, 7-5, 6-4 victory when the match resumed on Friday when it was back in the early afternoon sun.

He had three aces and an unreturned second serve for the win.

The 22-year-old apologized to the crowd on court two, “Sorry you guys didn’t really get to see a lot of tennis.”

I might have to go to the practice courts because I was hoping to do some groundwork today.

Overall, I’m thrilled to be in Wimbledon’s third round.

Shelton, a two-time Grand Slam semi-finalist, joked that he was “upset” not to have hit four aces and that he would “hope to improve on] that in the coming round.

“You obviously come out, you’re serving for the match, and you’ve got some nerves,” I said.

I couldn’t be happier with what I did to score three aces and relieve myself of the pressure.

He claimed it was his third or fourth time having a match at Wimbledon that was split in three days, and that it required him to “adapt to the stopping, starting, and re-warming up, and it’s part of what makes tennis fun.”