Ginbledon has arrived!
Hendrick's Gin invites South Africans to reimagine the tradition-bound iconic tennis tournament of the year with an infusion of curiosity, charm, and cucumber.
Hendrick's Gin invites South Africans to reimagine the tradition-bound iconic tennis tournament of the year with an infusion of curiosity, charm, and cucumber.
Hendrick's Gin invites South Africans to reimagine the tradition-bound iconic tennis tournament of the year with an infusion of curiosity, charm, and cucumber.
Buhle is the embodiment of the Hendrick's spirit. A lover of performance, peculiar pleasures, and botanical brilliance, she brings a flair of the unexpected to every Ginbledon moment - where cucumber sandwiches meet couture and the court is wherever you sip.
Buhle is the embodiment of the Hendrick's spirit. A lover of performance, peculiar pleasures, and botanical brilliance, she brings a flair of the unexpected to every Ginbledon moment - where cucumber sandwiches meet couture and the court is wherever you sip.
Where tennis meets all-day delights, cucumber sandwiches, and a swish of Hendrick's.
Hendrick's Gin invites South Africans to reimagine the tradition-bound iconic tennis tournament of the year with an infusion of curiosity, charm, and cucumber. Welcome to Ginbledon - the delightfully peculiar way to enjoy the season's most-watched tennis matches, inspired by Hendrick's and led by our muse, Buhle Samuels.
Sophisticated, eccentric, and never one to serve straight down the line, Buhle is the embodiment of the Hendrick's spirit. A lover of performance, peculiar pleasures, and botanical brilliance, she brings a flair of the unexpected to every Ginbledon moment - where cucumber sandwiches meet couture and the court is wherever you sip.
This year, Hendrick's encourages fans to host their own Wimbledon watch parties at home - swapping tea for premium Hendrick's pours, strawberries and scones for cucumber sandwiches, and ordinary mixers for the remarkable. Because tennis is better when served with a refreshing twist.
And there's more delight off the court. In partnership with Tops at SPAR, Hendrick's Gin is giving fans the chance to win a luxurious weekend stay for you and five friends at the iconic 12 Apostles Hotel in Cape Town.
Simply purchase any bottle of Hendrick's Gin at participating Tops at SPAR outlets and scan your SPAR Rewards card in-store to enter
**Please drink the peculiar responsibly. Not for sale to persons under the age of 18 years**
TO ENTER:
Visit your nearest Tops at SPAR
Purchase any bottle of Hendrick's Gin Scan your SPAR Rewards card
at checkout
The competition runs until 31 July 2025. T&Cs apply
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Daily Maverick
2 hours ago
- Daily Maverick
NSPCA takes aim at Durban July and cruelty in SA's horse racing industry
A new campaign to clean up South Africa's horse racing industry started with a fashion statement that shocked glamorous guests at the country's premier horse race. The Durban July held last weekend was South Africa's most glamorous day of racing — a swirl of high fashion, Champagne flutes and big bets. Amid the spectacle, actress and activist Nirvana Nokwe stepped on to the red carpet dressed not to dazzle, but to disturb. Draped in an unsettling art piece paying tribute to racehorses abandoned and broken when they're no longer profitable, Nokwe's striking look was a wake-up call: the 'sport of kings' is built on suffering. Her bold statement launched the National Council of SPCAs' (NSPCA's) Rein in the Pain campaign — a challenge to the Durban July's glossy image and a call for South Africans to confront the cruelty that lurks behind the roar of the crowd. 'This isn't just about what happens on race day,' said Nokwe. 'It's about what we don't see — the tongue-ties, the brutal whipping, the strained tendons, the fractured legs, the bleeding lungs. Fashion can make a statement, and this one says: It's time to change.' The dark truth According to the NSPCA, behind the turf tracks, mint juleps and TV cameras is a brutal system. Thoroughbreds — the sleek, high-speed horses synonymous with the Durban July — are bred for explosive performance. They can hit 60km/h in just a few strides, but that speed often comes at the cost of broken bones, strained ligaments and shortened lives. Many horses begin racing before their skeletons are fully developed, leaving them prone to injuries that force early retirement, or worse. 'These magnificent animals are being silenced by a system that too often places profit above their welfare,' said Jacques Peacock, NSPCA communications manager. 'Tradition can't excuse cruelty.' Every year, the South African racing industry registers around 2,000 new thoroughbred foals, adding to a population of about 30,000. Only a fraction of these will ever make it to the big racecourses. Many of those that do will be cast aside when they stop winning — and their new lives are often far from the manicured paddocks they once knew. The 'lost horses' While some racehorses have second careers in showjumping or leisure riding, a disturbing number simply vanish. A Daily Maverick investigation into the thoroughbred world revealed that thousands slip into a welfare black hole when they no longer earn. Some end up in slaughterhouses, their meat sold for lion parks or game reserves. Many more fall into the unregulated world of 'bush racing', where abandoned racehorses are flogged to race for small stakes or illegal bets on potholed dirt roads and tarred township streets. In these informal races, dubbed 'community racing', the cruelty can be staggering. Saddles are often ill-fitted or non-existent, bits are replaced with wire that tears mouths, and exhausted horses collapse from injuries or overwork. When the NSPCA inspected an Eastern Cape race, they found more than 100 ex-thoroughbreds, many with injuries so severe they had to be euthanised on the spot. 'They used to be pampered, treated better than most humans,' said an NSPCA inspector. 'Now they're tossed away like old shoes at a jumble sale.' Racing's shaky foundations While informal bush racing booms, formal thoroughbred racing in SA is on the decline. Since 1990, the number of horses starting races has dropped by nearly a third. In 2022, when we did the investigation, half of the country's racecourses had shut down, and the number of breeders and stud farms had plummeted by more than 80%. Once a lucrative spectacle, thoroughbred racing now survives largely thanks to betting houses and bookies, who rake in billions while owners struggle to cover the spiralling costs of raising and training a winning horse. 'You have to be wealthy to own racehorses, but you're not likely to get wealthy racing them,' said an owner. 'You're lucky if a win covers a few months' stabling costs.' Yet the real losers aren't the owners — they're the horses. The NSPCA argues that the racing industry's obsession with breeding and speed is producing more animals than it can or will care for. And once these horses leave the formal tracks, the National Horseracing Authority (NHRA) admits it has almost no power to track what happens to them next. Bush racing pipeline From the plush paddocks of the Durban July to the dusty roads of rural racing, a hidden pipeline funnels discarded thoroughbreds straight into a world of unchecked suffering. Some are sold or simply given away when they can't win any more. Others are bought up by owners who lack the knowledge — or the resources — to care for such high-maintenance animals. 'The big problem is thoroughbreds,' says Stanley Adam of the Eastern Cape Horse Care Unit. 'They're like Ferraris — you can't take a Ferrari and drive it down a gravel road and expect it to blossom.' Traditional racing is deeply woven into rural life. For some, it's a point of pride, a cultural celebration. But the lack of regulation can leave horses exposed to horrific injuries, doping, malnutrition and abuse. And unlike formal races, there are rarely vets on site and no accountability. However, the NSPCA's Farm Animal Protection Unit tries to inspect every informal or community race that takes place in SA. 'We rely on donations and used to do inspections as far up as Kuruman,' said Theresa Hodgkinson of the Highveld Horse Care Unit. 'But funding dried up. Now we see more thoroughbreds sold into informal racing — and many are in terrible condition.' A roadmap for change The NSPCA's Rein in the Pain campaign isn't just about raising awareness — it's about fixing a system that, in the organisation's view, is built to fail the animals at its heart. It has drafted clear, practical amendments to the NHRA's rules, setting a minimum standard for change. Key demands include: Banning performance-enhancing drugs and masking agents used to push injured horses through races; Phasing out harmful equipment like tongue ties by the end of this year; Completely banning whips by 2029 — with strict limits and schooling for jockeys in the interim; Ensuring that horses are microchipped by six months old and properly tracked from birth to retirement and beyond; Prohibiting racing horses under three years old to prevent premature skeletal damage; and Enforcing lifetime care and accountability, with criminal charges and lifetime bans for repeat offenders. 'These reforms are the bare minimum,' said Peacock. 'They're not exhaustive, but they're a start. This is about public trust — people need to see the industry take real responsibility for the animals that make it possible.' For the NSPCA, the real test will be whether ordinary South Africans demand this change. It's calling on the public to sign its petition at and to hold racing's big players accountable for the animals behind the betting slips and fancy hats. 'Our goal is simple,' says Peacock. 'We want the industry to stop pretending that window-dressing measures and paltry fines are enough. It's time for meaningful change — and it starts with every one of us saying, 'Enough is enough.'' DM
TimesLIVE
6 hours ago
- TimesLIVE
Swiatek ends Tauson's run to fly into quarters, Bencic downs Alexandrova
A deluge of double faults dictated early terms before Iga Swiatek found her grass court wings to fly into the Wimbledon quarterfinals with a soaring 6-4 6-1 victory over an out-of-sorts Danish 23rd seed Clara Tauson on Monday. The cold and blustery wind swirling around Court One was clearly not to Swiatek's liking as she opened her account with two double faults en route to dropping her serve to love. While the former world number one immediately got the break back, her serve kept misfiring as she produced two successive double faults to drop her serve again in the third game. But from then on the Polish eighth seed barely put a foot wrong in a match that was over in 65 brutal minutes. 'The beginning was pretty shaky with the double faults but I managed to play solid. I'm not sure if Clara was feeling that well, she said she didn't sleep well and I hope she has a good recovery,' Swiatek told the crowd. 'It's never easy to keep your focus. Sometimes when you're not feeling well you let go of everything and it can give you a boost. I hope she's going to be fine. Feeling good on the court = Feeling good off the court! 🤝 #Wimbledon — Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 7, 2025 'It's pretty amazing, this is the first time I've ever enjoyed London. Sorry guys, I mean I've always enjoyed it. I feel good on the court when I feel good off the court.' Swiatek had been prepared to face a barrage of aces from Tauson, who came into the match having served the most aces in this year's women's tournament. Her tally of 27 aces meant she was averaging an impressive nine per match during her run to the fourth round, which included a win over 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina two days ago. However, instead of adding to her count, Tauson surrendered the first set with a double fault and from then on her game fell apart as Swiatek won eight of the last nine games to reach the last eight for the second time in three years. Swiatek will face Russia's Liudmila Samsonova for a place in the semifinals. Switzerland's Belinda Bencic reached her first Wimbledon quarterfinal in nine attempts, dismissing 18th-seeded Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova 7-6(4) 6-4 in just under two hours on a breezy Court One. Super Swiatek 🇵🇱 The No.8 seed sails through to the QF, beating Clara Tauson 6-4, 6-1 #Wimbledon — Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 7, 2025 The Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion, 28, shed tears after she finally broke the fourth-round barrier 15 months after giving birth to her daughter Bella and said she felt very proud of herself. But she needed six match points to down 30-year-old Alexandrova, who just last month beat Bencic with the loss of only three games at the Den Bosch grass court tournament in the Netherlands. Bencic, who has been knocked out in the fourth round here three times before, said she turned the tide by being more courageous. 'I think I tried to be more brave. I had more matches under my belt and it turned out better than the last time I played her,' she said. 'I always got stuck in the fourth round. It was so important for me to break through to the quarterfinals,' she added. Alexandrova, who has also never passed the fourth round at the All England Club, blew hot and cold in the first set, dropping two service games before turning on the aggression, improving her second serve and fighting back to force a tiebreak. But Bencic, calm and businesslike, won four points in a row in the tiebreak and sealed the set after an hour and one minute when Alexandrova sent a backhand long. Bencic broke Alexandrova's serve in the eighth game of the second set but was unable to capitalise when serving for the match in a mammoth eight-deuce game that lasted some 15 minutes and during which the Russian saved five match points. But Bencic came fighting back on the Russian's serve with a forehand winner for a sixth match point, converting it when Alexandrova put a forehand long. The Swiss, ranked 35 but a former world number four, was one of nine mothers in the draw, but the only one to reach the fourth round. She gave birth in April last year and was back playing competitively within six months even reaching the fourth round of the Australian Open in January 2025. 'I'm really proud of myself and the whole team. We did an amazing job coming back,' she said. 'It's amazing to share the memories together as a family. I'm enjoying it more. I juggle it like every mum does.'
TimesLIVE
6 hours ago
- TimesLIVE
Relieved Sinner through to quarters as Dimitrov retires, Djokovic grinds on
Top seed Jannik Sinner breathed a sigh of relief after reaching the Wimbledon quarterfinals on Monday but was left feeling sorry for Grigor Dimitrov who retired from their match with a pectoral injury after dominating throughout and going up 6-3 7-5 2-2. Dimitrov, the 19th seed, won the opening two sets and held serve with an ace in the third but then fell to the ground, saying: 'my pec, my pec' as a concerned Sinner walked round the net to ask what was wrong. Sinner stayed by the side of Dimitrov who shed tears while he received treatment and the Bulgarian eventually threw in the towel and walked off to a standing ovation from the Centre Court crowd. 'I don't know what to say because he's an incredible player. I think we all saw this today,' Sinner said of his opponent, who had withdrawn from his past four Grand Slams with injuries. 'He's been so unlucky in the past couple of years. He's an incredible player, a good friend of mine also, and we understand each other very well off the court too. 'Seeing him in this position, if there would be a chance that he could play in the next round, he would deserve it. Now I hope he has a speedy recovery. Very, very unlucky from his side. 'I don't take this as a win at all — just an unfortunate moment to witness for all of us.' Sinner arrived for the clash having not dropped serve in 36 games but Dimitrov broke him on the first attempt to grab a 2-0 lead and the elegant veteran played near-flawless tennis to close out the opening set and leave the crowd stunned. Troubled by a right elbow problem after a fall earlier in the clash, Sinner took a medical timeout five games into the second set after being jolted again by Dimitrov, who shook off dropping his own serve late on to double his lead. Pushed into a corner, Sinner came out fighting but the match ended in anticlimactic fashion in the third set and the Italian now faces American 10th seed Ben Shelton in the quarterfinals. Novak Djokovic reached the quarters for the 16th time but it proved a hard day's work at his Centre Court office as he ground past Australian Alex de Minaur on Monday. The 38-year-old started abysmally and lost the opening set in 31 minutes but eventually assumed control of a cagey battle to win 1-6 6-4 6-4 6-4 to keep alive his quest for an unprecedented 25th Grand Slam title. With Roger Federer watching from the front row of the Royal Box, the player whose record eight men's titles Djokovic is trying to equal, the sixth seed's usually surgical game malfunctioned early on as he dropped serve three times. The hustling and bustling De Minaur continued to cause Djokovic headaches with his shot-placement and movement but the Serb found his range to win the next two sets full of attritional baseline rallies. Even then Djokovic looked like getting dragged into a fifth set as De Minaur jumped 4-1 ahead in the fourth and had a point for a 5-1 lead, but he slammed the door shut just in time, winning five games in a row to take his place in the last eight where he will face Italian 22nd seed Flavio Cabolli. 'I don't know how I'm feeling to be honest. I'm still trying to process the whole match and what happened on the court. It wasn't a great start for me, it was a great start for Alex,' a weary Djokovic said on court. 'He was just managing the play better from the back of the court and I didn't have many solutions. I was very pleased to hang tough in the right moments and win this one.' Djokovic has now won 43 of his last 45 matches at Wimbledon and not since 2017 has he failed to reach the final. The two losses were against Carlos Alcaraz in the last two finals, but for half an hour on Monday it looked as though Old Father Time might finally be catching up with him.
