Seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams will play in January’s Auckland Classic at the age of 45, tournament organisers announced Wednesday.
Williams has been awarded a wild card for the Australian Open warm-up event from January 5-11 after only returning to the circuit in August at the U.S. Open after a 16-month break.
“She is one of the great players in the modern era and her performances on the court speak for themselves,” said tournament director Nicolas Lamperin, who added that she was in “remarkable shape and form”.
“Off the court she has made an equally significant contribution to the game and to the development of female players worldwide,” he said. “Venus has had a profound influence on the evolution of women’s tennis and has inspired the next generation with her unshakeable passion for the sport.”
Williams, who won the Auckland Classic in 2015 when she beat Caroline Wozniacki in the final, has lifted five Wimbledon singles titles, two U.S. Opens and an Olympic gold, in Sydney in 2000.
Lamperin said it was a “privilege” to have Williams back at the tournament.
“All sports fans should take this opportunity to watch one of the sport’s all-time greats in action.”
Japan’s four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka was also announced as a confirmed entry for the tournament.
The Australian Open begins in Melbourne on January 18. (JapanToday)
Alexis Mac Allister scored the only goal as Liverpool beat Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday, while Luis Diaz grabbed a brace as Bayern Munich sunk title-holders Paris Saint-Germain 2-1 in the French capital.
Premier League leaders Arsenal won 3-0 at Slavia Prague as rising star Max Dowman came off the bench to become the youngest player in the competition’s history, at just 15 years and 308 days old.
Leaders Bayern and second-placed Arsenal remain the only teams with a perfect record in the competition — alongside Inter Milan, who play their fourth match on Wednesday against Kazakh newcomers Kairat Almaty.
At Anfield, Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois produced a stellar performance to frustrate six-time champions Liverpool.
In a performance reminiscent of his match-defining display in the 2022 final against the same opposition — which the Spaniards won 1-0 — Courtois produced eight saves to keep back the hosts.
“He is a fantastic ‘keeper — we all know,” Mac Allister told Amazon Prime. “But today I think we were better and deserved to win.”
The Argentinian eventually broke Courtois’ resistance shortly after the hour with a header from a Dominik Szoboszlai free-kick in an encounter which saw former Liverpool hero Trent Alexander-Arnold return to his hometown amid a hail of boos when he emerged from the Madrid bench late on.
Arne Slot will be hoping the result marks a turning point for his side after they had come into the match with six defeats in their previous eight outings.
For previously unbeaten Madrid, it was first defeat in any competition since September’s 5-2 reversal at Atletico Madrid.
“It’s a tough blow to take because we came from a run of good games, but the important thing is to move forwards,” Real’s Fede Valverde told Movistar.
PSG welcomed Bayern to the Parc des Princes for a fixture which midfielder Vitinha had said would bring together “the two best teams in Europe”.
And it was the Bundesliga champions who emerged victorious as they made it 16 wins from 16 outings in all competitions this season.
“I know the Champions League winner is not decided now, otherwise PSG would not have won it last season,” Bayern coach Vincent Kompany said.
“But this was a very important three points.”
Summer signing Diaz claimed the headlines as he netted a brace before being sent off for a dangerous tackle on Achraf Hakimi, all in the opening 45 minutes.
Hakimi had to be helped from the field in tears, following recent Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele who came off after just 25 minutes.
Bayern took the lead inside five minutes and then overwhelmed PSG’s usually unflappable midfield and defence with their intense pressing game.
Diaz grabbed a second when he robbed Marquinhos of possession and slotted home after the half-hour.
His dismissal then changed the game as PSG fought back in the second period but Joao Neves’ 74th-minute header was not enough to stop the Ligue 1 champions falling to a first defeat in this year’s league phase.
Bayern, on the other hand, sit top with a perfect 12 points.
Arsenal lie just behind them after a Mikel Merino-inspired win in the Czech Republic earned them a fourth win from four.
The Spaniard netted twice in the second period to seal victory against Slavia Prague, after Bukayo Saka opened the scoring from 12 yards in the 32nd minute.
Another clean sheet meant Mikel Arteta’s side are still yet to concede in the competition this year.
“We are a very strong team, we are performing in an amazing way with a lot of clean sheets,” Merino said.
“But we know that this is just the beginning and we have to keep up this good work in the future to win big things.”
Elsewhere, Micky van de Ven scored a stunning solo effort as Europa League winners Tottenham won 4-0 at home to FC Copenhagen.
Atletico Madrid got back to winning ways following a heavy defeat to Arsenal last time out by seeing off Belgium’s Union Saint-Gilloise 3-1.
Serie A sides Napoli and Juventus both endured frustrating draws as the league champions played out a goalless stalemate at home to Eintracht Frankfurt and Sporting Lisbon held Juventus 1-1 — the Old Lady’s third draw so far this campaign.
Monaco earned a first win, 1-0 at debutants Bodo/Glimt of Norway, and PSV Eindhoven drew 1-1 at Olympiacos.
On Wednesday, Inter Milan will seek to rejoin Bayern and Arsenal atop the standings, while Manchester City host Borussia Dortmund and Athletic Bilbao travel to Newcastle’s St James’ Park. (JapanToday)
The Premier League leader extended its advantage at the top of the standings to seven points on Saturday after a 2-0 victory against Burnley.
That’s 13 wins from 15 games in all competitions for Mikel Arteta’s team after a flying start to the season that has only strengthened belief it will end its long-running title drought.
Not since 2004 has Arsenal been crowned English champion – but it has quickly established itself as the team to beat this season.
First half goals from Viktor Gyokeres and Declan Rice at Turf Moor made it nine wins in a row and put further distance between Arsenal and the chasing pack.
“Every weekend I know how important it is to win football matches,” Rice said. “I realize the position we’re in and what we can achieve as a club.”
Manchester United missed the chance to provisionally move up to second, but maintained its recent unbeaten run by scoring late to salvage a 2-2 draw at Nottingham Forest.
Chelsea beat Tottenham 1-0 and bottom of the table Wolverhampton remains winless after yet another defeat – losing 3-0 to Fulham.
Crystal Palace beat Brentford 2-0 and Brighton won 3-0 against Leeds.
Another win and another clean sheet for an Arsenal team that has by far the meanest defense in the league.
Victory at Burnley was the seventh straight shutout for the London club, which has only conceded three goals all term. This was also the third time in the league this season that Arsenal denied its opponent any shots on target.
Crucially, the goals are flowing at the other end and summer signing Viktor Gyokeres scored his sixth of the season to put Arsenal in front with a 14th minute header from close range. Rice doubled the lead in the 35th with another header low into the corner.
“We knew it was going to be a tough test, but we had to stick to our principles,” Rice said. “In the end our quality shone through.”
Amad Diallo scored a stunning left-footed volley from the edge of the area to salvage a point for United and ensure coach Ruben Amorim’s unbeaten run was extended to four games.
United had led Forest at halftime at the City Ground after Casemiro’s header in the 34th.
But the visitors were stunned after the break when Morgan Gibbs-White and Nicolo Savona struck within five minutes of the restart to put new Forest coach Sean Dyche in sight of a first league win since taking charge.
“We lost control of the game for five minutes and we paid the price,” Amorim said.
Bruno Fernandes hit the post with a long range effort as United went in search of a leveler and in the 81st Diallo lashed a volley beyond Forest goalkeeper Matz Sels.
He might have scored a winner with another fierce strike that was cleared off the line.
“We managed to score, we had a big opportunity in the end. But we lost two points and that is the feeling, but we have the next week to work and to try and get these points in another stadium,” Amorim said.
Chelsea bounced back from last week’s defeat to Sunderland with victory against London rival Tottenham.
Joao Pedro’s finish in the 34th was enough to separate the teams at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but Enzo Maresca’s team had numerous chances to extend its lead.
Spurs’ league record at home is looking increasingly concerning for coach Thomas Frank, with the last win coming against Burnley on the opening day of the season.
An eighth league defeat from 10 games this season leaves Wolves rock bottom and in danger of being cut adrift.
The signs were ominous from the ninth minute when Ryan Sessegnon opened the scoring for Fulham at Craven Cottage and it got worse from there.
The visitors were down to 10 men when Emmanuel Agbadou was sent off in the 36th and in the second half Harry Wilson extended Fulham’s lead before Yerson Mosquera’s own goal made it 3-0.
The latest defeat will only heighten speculation over the future of Wolves coach Vitor Pereira, who only signed a new three-year contract in September.
At the age of 34, Danny Welbeck is still delivering in England’s top flight.
The Brighton striker’s 11th-minute goal at the Amex Stadium was his sixth in as many games and opened the scoring against Leeds.
At this rate, the former Man United and Arsenal player may be a contender for England’s World Cup squad.
“I just control what I can control – I am enjoying playing my football here at Brighton, my focus is always on Brighton and doing the best that I can,” Welbeck said.
Diego Gomez scored twice in the second half to complete the 3-0 win for Brighton.
Jean-Philippe Mateta was on target for Palace in its 2-0 win against Brentford. (JapanToday)
Cristiano Ronaldo has reached a staggering 950 career goals, continuing to add to his legendary tally while leading Al Nassr to the top of the Saudi Pro League.
He scored in the 88th minute after his Portuguese compatriot, Joao Felix’s opener in the 25th minute in the first half, to bag three points for the league leaders on Saturday in the Saudi Pro League.
Ronaldo’s consistency and impact remain remarkable, proving why he is widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time.
His goals have propelled Al Nassr toward a strong position in the title race, with fans eagerly watching as he nears the 1,000-goal milestone.
PUNCH Online had reported that Ronaldo netted his 949th career goal as Al Nassr cruised to a 5–1 victory over Al Fateh in the Saudi Pro League on October 18.
Al Nassr’s next game is on Tuesday against Al-Ittihad, who are seventh on the log standings. (Punch)
Victor Osimhen continued his fine run of form as Galatasaray came from behind to beat Göztepe 3–1 at the RAMS Park on Sunday.
Efkan Bekiroğlu shocked the hosts with an early opener after just six minutes.
Galatasaray has Osimhen to thank for a leveller in the 19th minute.
The Nigerian striker capitalised on a defensive error — his third league goal of the season.
His fine performance comes days after his brace earned Galatasaray a 3-1 win over Bodø/Glimt in the UEFA Champions League last Wednesday.
Galatasaray went on to take control in the second half through strikes from Gabriel Sara and Mauro Icardi, either side of Göztepe’s efforts, before the visitors ultimately fell short.
The victory keeps Galatasaray top of the Turkish Super Lig with 28 points, five clear of second-placed Trabzonspor.
Göztepe remain fifth on 16 points after suffering only their second defeat of the campaign. (Punch)
Jannik Sinner clinched his fourth title of the season on Sunday as the Italian rallied from a set down to beat Alexander Zverev in the final of the Vienna Open.
Sinner dropped his first set of the tournament before staging a comeback to see off Zverev 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 to land the 22nd title of his career.
It is his second triumph in Vienna, where he also lifted the trophy in 2023, and extended his winning run on indoor hard courts to 21 matches going into next week’s final Masters 1000 of the year in Paris.
But the top seed had to do it the hard way after falling behind as world number three Zverev, who had won four of seven previous meetings, secured the only break of the first set to take the upper hand.
“It was such a difficult start in this final for me,” said Sinner.
“I went for a break down, had some chances in the first set but couldn’t use them. He was serving very well, but I just tried to stick there mentally and play my best tennis when it came.”
Sinner replied though by racing 3-0 ahead in the second set as he forced a decider against the 2021 champion.
Zverev saved two break points in the fifth game of the third set but Sinner maintained the pressure despite battling a thigh issue in his first event since retiring with cramp at the Shanghai Masters.
Sinner created another opportunity at 5-all with a blistering backhand down the line and won a lengthy rally the following point to snatch the key break.
A routine hold wrapped up victory for the 24-year-old who has reached the final in eight of his 10 tournaments this season, with Sinner adding to his titles at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and Beijing.
“The third set was a bit of a rollercoaster, but I was feeling the ball very well at times, so I tried to push and I’m very happy of course to win another title,” Sinner added. “It’s very special.” (JapanToday)
Erling Haaland’s 12-game scoring streak ended Sunday in Manchester City’s first loss in nearly two months, allowing Arsenal to extend its lead to four points in the Premier League.
Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Crystal Palace — secured via a brilliant scissor kick by former Palace player Eberechi Eze — was made all the sweeter by City losing 1-0 at Aston Villa, with right back Matty Cash grabbing the winner from a fierce 19th-minute strike.
It was City’s first defeat since Aug. 31 and meant Haaland’s scoring run for club and country — stretching back even further, to Aug. 23 — is over. The Norway striker did bundle the ball into the net in the 90th minute, before crashing into the post, but the goal was ruled out for offside.
With beleaguered Liverpool losing 3-2 at Brentford on Saturday, it has been a bad weekend for Arsenal’s chief title rivals.
Somewhat surprisingly, Arsenal’s closest challenger now is Bournemouth, which won 2-0 at home to Nottingham Forest. Even more unlikely is the sight of promoted Sunderland a point back alongside third-placed Tottenham, which won 3-0 at Everton. City is one point further adrift in fifth — and already six points behind Arsenal.
“It’s very early, we’re still in October,” said Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, whose team is seeking a first Premier League title since 2004. “The emotional state is really high but there are a lot of things to get better.”
City reeled in Arsenal to win the title in the 2023-24 season and is going to have to do it again.
City manager Pep Guardiola isn’t too concerned at this stage.
“I was worried before the international break (in September) when we were 14th in the table,” Guardiola said.
“If they win all their games and win the Premier League, congratulate them. That’s all we can do … but I don’t live in October and November thinking, ‘Oh what is going to happen if we don’t win the Premier League?'”
Eze barely celebrated after producing a wonderful finish from Gabriel Magalhaes’ nod-down to ultimately clinch a fourth straight league win for Arsenal.
“The technique is unbelievable,” Arteta said of the England playmaker, who started the season with Palace before completing a move to Arsenal, the team he supported as a kid, for a reported initial fee of 60 million pounds ($80 million) late in the summer transfer window.
This was a first league goal for his new club — and it came from a typical source, an Arsenal set piece.
It was also another clean sheet for Arteta’s team, which has conceded just three goals in nine games. It was achieved despite center back William Saliba being withdrawn because of injury at halftime and Declan Rice also going off midway through the second half with an undisclosed problem.
Haaland had previously scored in all but one of City’s games this season and, in his words, has been in the form of his life.
But he was unable to make it seven straight Premier League games on the scoresheet as Villa defended stoutly in the face of a late City onslaught to record a third straight home win over Guardiola’s team.
City has lost three of its nine league games.
Cash lashed home a left-footed shot after a corner reached him at the edge of the area.
During the summer transfer window, Bournemouth lost three of its back four and its goalkeeper from last season.
It hasn’t stopped the team making an unexpectedly good start — and a prolific new striker has been unearthed, too.
After Marcus Tavernier opened the scoring directly from a corner in the 25th minute, 19-year-old striker Eli Junior Kroupi doubled Bournemouth’s lead with a long-range strike into the corner — his fourth goal in his last three appearances.
The France under-21 striker is currently playing in place of the injured Evanilson.
It was Sean Dyche’s first Premier League match in charge of Forest.
Center back Micky van de Van scored two first-half goals at corners and Pape Sarr added a late third for Tottenham in its win at Everton.
Burnley scored in the fifth minute of stoppage time to win 3-2 at last-placed Wolverhampton, which has yet to win any of its first nine games of the campaign for the second straight season.
Wolves manager Vitor Pereira was involved in a heated exchange with his own fans after the game. (JapanToday)
Sean Dyche got off to a winning start as Nottingham Forest boss thanks to two penalties to beat Porto 2-0 in the Europa League, while Aston Villa were stunned 2-1 by Go Ahead Eagles on Thursday.
Forest, who sacked Ange Postecoglou after just 40 days and eight games in charge on Saturday, had not won in 10 games stretching back to the opening weekend of the Premier League season.
But Dyche, who began his playing career at the two-time European champions, roused an immediate impact, even if Forest needed some fortune from VAR interventions to get the better of the Portuguese giants.
Morgan Gibbs-White fired in from the spot on 19 minutes after Jan Bednarek had been penalised for handball.
Former Southampton defender Bednarek thought he had equalised early in the second half, only for the goal to be ruled out after a VAR review for offside against Samu Aghehowa.
The video assistant referee also came to the home side’s aid when Nicola Savona was initially booked for diving, only for that decision to be overturned and a second penalty awarded 13 minutes from time.
Igor Jesus this time slammed home for his first Forest goal at the City Ground.
Villa boss Unai Emery said his side were taught a lesson in the difficulties of European football after their perfect Europa League start came to a surprise end in the Netherlands.
Emery’s men had backed up their status as pre-tournament favorites by beating Bologna and Feyenoord to get their European campaign off to a flying start.
The visitors started strongly when Evann Guessand fired in his first Villa goal.
However, in wild weather conditions, the home side secured a famous win in their first ever experience of group stage European football.
Mathis Suray’s deflected shot levelled before half-time and Mats Deijl dinked over Emiliano Martinez to give the Dutch Cup winners the lead.
Emi Buendia was Villa’s match-winner at Tottenham on Sunday, but the Argentine went from hero to villain as he missed a late penalty with the chance to snatch a draw.
“Today showed us how difficult it is to play in Europe, to play away,” said Emery. “This is the reason I love football, because football has a lot of different ways to win. You can dominate, like
we did, you have chances to score, but if we are conceding a few chances, maybe you can lose. And we did.”
Danny Rohl endured a nightmare start as Rangers manager in a humbling 3-0 defeat in Norway to Brann.
The Glasgow giants’ hopes of making the latter stages are in tatters after a third consecutive Europa League defeat left them bottom of the 36-team table.
A change of manager made no immediate impact as Emil Kornvig converted at the back post to give Brann a half-time lead.
Jacob Sorensen punished more poor defending to head in from a free-kick before Noah Holm rubbed salt in Rangers wounds.
Celtic did salvage some pride for Scottish clubs by coming from behind to secure their first European win of the season over Sturm Graz.
Two goals in three minutes from Liam Scales and Benjamin Nygren earned a 2-1 victory after Tomi Horvat’s wonder strike put the Austrians in front at Celtic Park.
Danish side Midtjylland moved top of the standings with a 3-0 win over Maccabi Tel-Aviv.
Lyon beat Basel 2-0 to continue their 100 percent record thanks to goals from Corentin Tolisso and Afonso Moreira.
Braga are the only other side so far with three wins from three after they beat Red Star Belgrade 2-0.
Bologna won 2-1 at Steaua Bucharest to register their first win in the league phase.
Fenerbahce beat Stuttgart 1-0, while Real Betis were held 0-0 away at Genk. (JapanToday)
Manchester United climbed into the Premier League’s top four with a 4-2 victory over Brighton, as Sunderland went second after stunning Chelsea 2-1 on Saturday.
United took nearly a year into Ruben Amorim’s reign to win back-to-back league games but have now won three-in-a-row after ending Brighton’s run of success at Old Trafford.
The Seagulls had won on their previous three visits amid a run of six wins in seven league games against United.
There are signs of the Red Devils’ £200 million trio ($266 million) of attacking additions in the transfer window, Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko, beginning to click.
Cunha curled in his first goal for the club from outside the box to open the scoring.
Casemiro’s deflected effort doubled United’s lead before half-time.
Sesko then teed up Mbeumo to fire in at the near post.
Danny Welbeck’s brilliant free-kick and Charalampos Kostoulas’ header set up a nervy finale.
But Mbeumo smashed home his second goal to seal the points in the 97th minute.
United surge ahead of Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham into the Champions League places and within three points of leaders Arsenal.
Sunderland’s dream return to the top flight after an eight-year absence goes on after Chemsdine Talbi’s stoppage time winner at Stamford Bridge.
The Black Cats already seem set to buck the trend of all promoted sides being relegated straight back to the Championship in the past two seasons.
Chelsea looked like they would be the side to go second in the table when Alejandro Garnacho drilled in his first goal for the club after just four minutes.
Sunderland levelled midway through the first half when Wilson Isidor bundled in from close range after Chelsea failed to clear a long throw-in.
The visitors comfortably held the Club World Cup winners at bay in the second period before landing the sucker punch on the counter-attack in the 93rd minute when Brian Brobbey teed up Talbi to curl perfectly into the bottom corner.
Defeat leaves Chelsea down in seventh and any hope of a title challenge fading fast.
“We were not good enough and in the Premier League the consequences can be bad,” said Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca.
“If you want to be there (challenging for the title), you need consistency.”
Newcastle beat Fulham 2-1 thanks to captain Bruno Guimaraes’ 90th minute strike at St. James’ Park.
Jacob Murphy pounced on an error by Calvin Bassey to give the Magpies a first-half lead.
Sasa Lukic headed in Fulham’s equaliser just before the hour mark.
But Marco Silva’s men fell to a fourth consecutive defeat that leaves them hovering just above the relegation zone.
Guimaraes swept home the rebound after Bernd Leno had saved William Osula’s initial effort to propel Newcastle up to 11th.
Liverpool slumped to a fourth consecutive Premier League defeat as Brentford bullied the defending champions in a 3-2 win.
Goals from Dango Ouattara, Kevin Schade and Igor Thiago secured victory for the Bees, who climb to 10th in the table.
Liverpool slip to sixth and could be seven points adrift of leaders Arsenal by Sunday as their title defence has collapsed in spectacular style over the past month. (JapanToday)
National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell on Wednesday stood by the choice of Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny to headline next year’s Super Bowl halftime show, a decision President Donald Trump has branded “absolutely ridiculous.”
Speaking in New York after the league’s annual autumn meeting, Goodell said he had no qualms about picking the Grammy-winning entertainer, who is wildly popular across the United States, for the NFL showpiece despite the backlash it had drawn from Trump and right-wing critics.
“He’s one of the leading and most popular entertainers in the world,” Goodell said of the decision. “That’s what we try to achieve. It’s an important stage for us. It’s carefully thought through.”
Goodell said the NFL’s picks for the high-profile halftime show frequently elicited “blowback or criticism.”
Bad Bunny, real name Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, had already sparked right-wing ire after saying he would skip the United States during his upcoming world tour due to fears of immigration raids at his concerts.
The Latin megastar brought a fresh wave of controversy after being named to headline the Super Bowl last month, with right-wing critics infuriated at the choice of an artist who sings mostly in Spanish.
In an interview on Newsmax, Trump, who has regularly sparred with the NFL, said he had “never heard” of Bad Bunny.
“I don’t know who he is,” Trump said. “I don’t know why they’re doing it. It’s, like, crazy.” He went on to brand the decision “absolutely ridiculous.”
Other conservative critics have joined the pile-on.
“Is the @NFL incapable of reading the room?” Sebastian Gorka, Trump’s Senior Director for Counter Terrorism, posted on X last month shortly after the announcement.
Former racing driver turned right-wing commentator Danica Patrick said separately on X: “No songs in English should not be allowed at one of America’s highest rated television events of the year.”
Bad Bunny has said his halftime act was “for my people, my culture, and our history.”
Puerto Rico, where Bad Bunny hails from, is a U.S. territory in the Caribbean. In June, Bad Bunny posted video footage on his social media channels from an ICE raid that took place on his home island.
Super Bowl halftime shows have traditionally attracted the biggest names in the music industry, including the likes of Michael Jackson, the Rolling Stones, Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, Prince and Paul McCartney.
More recent performers have included this past year’s headliner Kendrick Lamar, the rapper who cut out profanity but still performed a viral diss track of his rival Drake. (JapanToday)
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