Latest news with #LauraRobson
The Sun
a day ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Sinner and Swiatek awkwardly dance at Wimbledon Champions' Ball but VIPs ‘drunk enough' not to judge
LAURA ROBSON joked that Wimbledon VIPs were 'drunk enough' that they would not have minded the awkward 1am dance between the new singles champions. It has been a long-held tradition that the two individual Championship conquerors at the prestigious grass-court tournament share the stage at the Champions' Ball and have a little boogie. 6 6 6 6 6 6 The act disappeared during the Covid years but has since returned, albeit it is begrudgingly done by the multi-millionaire winners – and they are usually not very good at it either. They might have decent footwork on the Centre Court turf but not when it comes to dancing. Jannik Sinner, who beat Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz 4-6 6-4 6-4 6-4 in the men's final on Sunday, was interviewed on stage by Robson, 31, in a black suit and tie. Yet before the Italian world No.1 could return to his table, Robson – the 2008 Wimbledon junior girls' singles champion – called up Poland's six-time Grand Slam champion. Iga Swiatek, 24, had destroyed American Amanda Anisimova 6-0 6-0 in the women's final on Saturday – the first whitewash at that stage of the competition for 114 years – and she had stayed in London until Monday. Swiatek, wearing a long silver gown and pearls, happily came up to the stage for the ceremonial dance. The room contained All England Club top brass and committee members as well as respected BBC broadcaster Annabel Croft, who finished fourth in the 2023 edition of Strictly Come Dancing. Robson said: 'Iga, if you would like to come on back up. You (Jannik) led me right into it. 'Now, no matter what you do, we are going to give it a ten out of ten. 'If Annabel is here with the Strictly cards, it's a ten out of a ten.' Adorable moment Princess Kate asks Wimbledon winner to sign tennis ball for Prince Louis after he missed the final The pair engaged in a 20-second dance, albeit at a slow pace and with one twirl, to the soundtrack of 'Feel It Still' by Portugal. The Man. And as befits two introverted characters, who are not comfortable in the media spotlight, it was not exactly a Rock 'n' Roll routine. Nonetheless, they received a warm reception from the audience at The OWO – Raffles London hotel – in Whitehall. Robson said: 'Fantastic. Look at the moves. A round of applause for both. We will let you both go. 'We said 10 out of 10, I think everyone in this room is drunk enough that it doesn't even matter. 'So, it's all good. Enjoy your champagne, guys. Enjoy the rest of the night. Congratulations.' Sinner and Swiatek individually earned a record £3million for winning seven matches over the course of two weeks. Yet their wins were mired in controversy given that the pair – Sinner (three months) and Swiatek (one month) – had served anti-doping bans since the 2024 Wimbledon Championships. Neither player had been accused of intentionally cheating or wrongdoing but the infringements that led to their suspension have been the subject of much discussion in the sport and beyond. Sinner twice tested positive for prohibited substance clostebol, an anabolic steroid, in March 2024 – he blamed it on a physio's bare-handed massage – but was cleared of fault or negligence by an independent tribunal. Between February 9 and May 4, he was suspended from the ATP Tour after an out-of-court agreement with world drug busters. Swiatek, meanwhile, tested positive for prohibited substance Trimetazidine (TMZ) in an out-of-competition anti-doping test. She accepted a one-month suspension that was served in the off-season last year. It was a result of taking contaminated melatonin tablets from Poland, which she had been using for jet lag and sleep issues.
Telegraph
a day ago
- Sport
- Telegraph
It is rampant sexism to say women are too frail for five sets
That glaringly chauvinistic attitude is the one form of sexism about which tennis has nothing to say. Rows about schedules, about whether the top female players at Wimbledon suffer from receiving insufficient exposure on Centre and Court No 1 or from having the final on a Saturday rather than a Sunday, are just distractions from the core issue of why the workload is so disproportionately divided by sex. Are we really to presume that Swiatek, the champion in 2025, cannot cope with a best-of-five? This absurd presumption would have been dismissed even in the late 19th century: at the 1892 United States National Championships, the precursor to the US Open, Mabel Cahill beat Bessie Moore in the women's final 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2. You sense that Swiatek's towelling of Anisimova, a sporting drama unworthy of the stage, has focused a few minds. 'This is when you are desperate for the women's final to be a best-of-five,' said Laura Robson, as she watched the awful humiliation unfold. 'If she just had that much more time to know that she could play her way into the match, it would feel so different to her.' It was a view rooted in reality: Gaston Gaudio was routed 6-0, 6-3 by Guillermo Coria in the first two sets of the 2004 French Open final, but the best-of-five format meant that he still found a way to win. When Wimbledon announced equal prize money in 2007, the moment was heralded as a historic watershed. A 'no-brainer,' declared Billie Jean King, a key figure in the fight for equality. Another one of King's battle cries was 'equal pay for equal work'. The problem, however, is that there is no such thing when it comes to equal work in the Grand Slam setting, with parity in the prize funds but vast discrepancies in the match lengths merely ensuring that the men are underpaid. At the 2016 Australian Open, Djokovic, the men's champion, was on court for so much longer across his seven rounds than female counterpart Angelique Kerber that he earned £56,000 an hour less. Even a moderate voice such as Nadal has expressed reservations about a blanket approach to equal pay for men and women, arguing that such a policy should be based on the revenue that players bring into tennis, as well as the levels of audience interest. Surely the most elegant solution, though, is to implement best-of-five for women, at least in the closing stages of majors. While concurrent best-of-five male and female tournaments would create fiendish logistical difficulties, there is no good reason why it cannot work from the quarter-finals onwards, when the financial rewards almost double with each round. Differences in stamina? Forget it. Research indicates that the longer the physical challenge, the more the separation between men's and women's performances tapers off, with only a four per cent gap in some ultra-endurance competitions. Tennis' in-built perception of female frailty is rooted in a fallacy. In 2008, Venus Williams beat her sister Serena in straight sets to win her fifth Wimbledon singles title. Two hours later, the siblings were back on court to win the doubles. You struggled to envisage Federer and Nadal being able to conjure quite the same encore when, at 9.16pm the next day, their 4hr 48min duel for the ages finished in near-darkness. So, let us stop pretending that best-of-three offers even a remote equivalence, and start using Swiatek's express double-bagel as a cue for driving equality in play as well as pay.
NDTV
3 days ago
- Automotive
- NDTV
Lexus Creates New World Record In Tennis World- You Won't Believe What It Is
Lexus has just created a new world record, and it's in the world of sports; Tennis specifically. Confused? Well, let us explain. The brand and its cars are involved in a stunt where two tennis stars are strapped atop their moving cars while playing the sport. After multiple attempts, the Japanese manufacturer ended up in the Guinness Book of World Records, getting titles for "longest tennis rally on two moving cars" as well as the "fastest speed achieved during a tennis rally on two moving cars." Here's how it was executed. The stunt grabbing eyeballs has been executed with the combined efforts of the brand and Tennis stars Jamie Murray and Laura Robson. To begin with, the brand strapped the two players atop NX crossover SUVs. As part of the preparation and to keep them safe, they created two aluminium platforms and bolted them to the SUVs through roof rack mounting points. They were then secured using four safety straps, while professional stunt drivers were behind the steering wheel, taking the car down the runway of Duxford Airfield in England. Also Read: Tesla Releases First Teaser Ahead Of India Debut On July 15 This is where the skills of the drivers and the players came into play to create the records. While the car travelled at a speed of 47 kmph, Jamie Murray and Laura Robson played with the tennis ball passing it back and forth 101 consecutive times. They took multiple attempts before reaching the record-breaking number. Specifically, it took them around two hours to set the record. After setting the record, Laura Robson remarked, "Tennis is a sport that requires precision, skill and coordination, so playing a rally on top of moving cars travelling at speed is no mean feat!" She went on to describe it as a "surreal experience," while Jamie Murray said it was the "most exciting and unusual challenge I've ever taken on."
Top Gear
08-07-2025
- Automotive
- Top Gear
Watch these tennis stars set a Guinness World Record on top of two moving cars
There's tennis, and then there's *this* Turn on Javascript to see all the available pictures. British tennis pros Jamie Murray and Laura Robson have just claimed two Guinness World Records for the longest tennis rally to ever play out… atop two moving cars. And yes, it does look as incredible as it sounds. They managed to complete 101 consecutive volleys while standing on top of a pair of Lexus NX hybrid SUVs, which were travelling in parallel at 29mph across Duxford Airfield.
The Independent
08-07-2025
- Climate
- The Independent
Wimbledon fans face travel delays as they race to see Cameron Norrie
Wimbledon fans have faced travel delays as they race across the capital to see Britain's Cameron Norrie take on defending champion Carlos Alcaraz. There were 'severe delays' across the District, Central, and Hammersmith and City lines on Tuesday morning. Transport for London (TfL) has apologised to customers affected by the delays on the ninth day of the championships. British singles hopes at Wimbledon rest on Norrie after his gruelling five-set win followed Sonay Kartal's defeat on Sunday. Norrie, a semi-finalist in 2022, is only the third British man to reach the last eight more than once in the last 50 years, after Tim Henman and Sir Andy Murray. He faces defending champion Alcaraz on Centre Court on Tuesday afternoon. Former British tennis player Laura Robson said having the backing of the Wimbledon crowd would be 'massive' for Norrie. Robson told the PA news agency: 'I think it got him through the last match. 'He was absolutely dead on his feet at one point, but then got the crowd involved and just uses them really well because of his college background and everything that he has in his repertoire to get them fired up. 'I think it's obviously going to be a tough match against Carlos and it's on Centre Court – Cam probably requested to play elsewhere, but I think he'll enjoy it.' Former British tennis player Greg Rusedski said: 'Alcaraz, in my opinion, is the new Federer in our game. 'But Cam has done fantastically well. He's beaten him the last time they played, but that was two years ago. 'So get it loud, do it proud, and he's going to battle like no tomorrow. He's got an engine that can go all day.' Warm and sunny weather is forecast in SW19 for much of the rest of the week, with temperatures predicted to hit 30C on Friday. People in the Wimbledon queue enjoyed sunny and warm weather on Tuesday morning, in contrast to blustery and wet conditions on Monday. Speaking to the media on Tuesday, 1997 US Open finalist Rusedski said: 'It was super, super hot the opening two days – when it's hot, the ball goes through the air and it's harder to control. 'That's very untypical British weather and we're going to get that again with the heatwave at the final weekend as well.' All England Club chief executive Sally Bolton has said the tournament would have a 'catch-up' with TfL after the championships to look ahead 'in terms of investment into the District line'. Speaking to the media on Monday, Ms Bolton said: 'We have an excellent relationship with TfL, we're working with them all year. 'We have been and remain clear with them that delivering an event of this scale in this part of London requires the infrastructure in this part of London to support us in doing that.' A TfL spokesperson said on Tuesday: 'We apologise to customers affected by the disruption on the District line today. We are working hard to restore a good service. 'District line customers are advised to allow extra time for their journeys and to check before they travel using TfL Journey Planner or the TfL Go app.'
