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Belfast Telegraph
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Belfast Telegraph
Belfast Pride 2025: Full details of parades and events in Belfast
Belfast Pride organisers say they are gearing up for what they hope will be their biggest parade ever, with a packed schedule of events leading up to next weekend's main celebration. More than 85,000 spectators flocked to the capital last year for Northern Ireland's biggest LGBTQ+ event, which was established in 1991. The festival runs from Friday, July 18 to Sunday, July 27 and features over 150 events across 10 days. Pride Day and the main Pride Parade, the festival's centrepiece, will take place on Saturday, July 26. Every year the parade adopts a theme with this year's being 'No Going Back,' in what organisers have said is a nod to the 'non-negotiable' fight for acceptance. A statement on Belfast Pride's website said: 'This theme is a reminder that the fight for dignity, rights, and acceptance is non-negotiable – there is no turning back from the advances made in visibility, legal protections, and societal recognition. "From the ban on hormone blockers in Northern Ireland, the failure of any government in the UK or Ireland to ban conversion therapy, the Supreme Court ruling on the rights of trans people, and the bans on pride parades – LGBTQIA+ rights are under attack here, and across the world. 'The message from Belfast Pride 2025 needs to be heard far and wide – NO GOING BACK.' When is the Belfast Pride Parade? The parade is set to begin at 1pm on Saturday, July 26 with the parade build-up starting from 11.30 am. The Belfast Pride Parade is the main event in the LGBTQ+ calendar, a major city event and the biggest cross-community parade in Belfast. What is the Belfast Pride Parade Route? This year's parade will set off from Custom House Square, continue along Bridge Street, Donegall Street, and past Writers Square, then head up Royal Avenue to City Hall before looping along Chichester Street and ending near Victoria Square. What can you do after the parade? A Pride Village will also pop up in the city centre, featuring a market, live music, children's entertainment, and a quiet space — all in an alcohol- and smoke-free environment. It will be based at the Big Fish, Donegall Quay where you can grab a bite to eat in a relaxed environment. Meanwhile, a party begin at 12 at Custom House Square and continue after the parade is finished. The 'infamous' Dj Kenny K will take to the stage followed by a number of drag queens and other performers. Topping off the day will be the Belfast Pride after-party at the Telegraph building with doors opening from 9pm. The line up includes Judas DJs and Froot Factory as well as The Harland & Poof Collective and many more. What other events are on throughout the week? From Monday until Saturday theatre lovers will get the chance to see The Rocky Horror Show at the Grand Opera House with performances from drag queens including Time Warp and Dammit Janet. BRIT Award winner Kate Nash will also be in town on July 22 for a live interview at the Oh Yeah Music Centre. The artist will also discuss the future of music industry as well as standing up for what's right. On Thursday a golf social event will be held at Laganview Golf Centre where visitors can pick up skills and dance between putts. At the QUB Student Union's bar on July 25 a selection of classic pop songs will be played throughout the night, including hits from Bon Jovi, Queen and Phil Collins.
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Wimbledon recap: Pride in London brings few rainbows to All England Club
Welcome to the Wimbledon briefing, where will explain the stories behind the stories on each day of the tournament. On day six, it was Pride Day in London, a tennis star's patience was rewarded, and the Americans made the most of July 4th weekend. Advertisement Pride Day at Wimbledon, with few rainbows More than 30,000 people took part in London's annual Pride parade Saturday afternoon in the city center. Thousands more lined the streets in celebration of the capital's biggest LGBTQ+ event. The scene at Wimbledon, which takes in views of central London from the top of 'Henman Hill,' was a little different. There is no organized Pride celebration at the All England Club, as a spokesperson confirmed in a statement sent to The Athletic. It was instead 'Sporting Saturday' — an annual celebration of sports people on the middle Saturday of the month. The Royal Box had LGBTQ+ sportspeople like Billie Jean King and Dame Kelly Holmes as guests, but there were no Pride flags, and people had to look hard to find any rainbows. Advertisement The Australian Open has hosted five Pride Days; the U.S. Open will host its fifth this year, and the French Open has held two, making Wimbledon the only major to have not yet formally dedicated a tournament day to Pride celebrations. On No. 3 Court, Daria Kasatkina, the No. 16 seed, who came out publicly as gay in 2022, was wearing a bracelet with rainbows on it during her 6-2, 6-3 defeat to No. 19 seed Liudmila Samsonova in the third round. Kasatkina defected to Australia from Russia earlier this year and has spoken out against her former homeland and anti-LGBTQ+ politics in the past. 'I know that, for example, in Australia, they're very active in this case. They are very vocal and supportive,' the 28-year-old, who announced her engagement to figure skater girlfriend Natalia Zabiiako last month, told The Athletic. 'I think that Wimbledon is, in general, a little bit different,' Kasatkina added. Advertisement 'The colors they use, it's white, green, and purple, and that's pretty much it. But I must say that around the city of London, I can feel the support, and I like how this city… I mean, we see the rainbow flags everywhere. So that's nice. We have to accept that Wimbledon is different. They've got their traditions and they follow them. And I don't think there is any sign of disrespect. 'We just got the approval for black shorts (in 2023 to take the stress off women and girls during their periods). It's not much of a place for this kind of thing. They're just very traditional, and we have to accept that, but overall, walking around London, I can feel a lot of the support from everywhere, so that's the most important. 'I don't feel that they [the AELTC] don't want to support. It's just this place, it's only about tennis and strawberries.' In 2019, there was a Pride panel at the All England Club, with King speaking to young people about her experience of coming out. It was hosted by tennis reporter Nick McCarvel and was one of the first Pride events on site. Advertisement 'That was an important first step for Wimbledon,' McCarvel said in an interview. 'Pride's evolving, and the tennis space is a space that maybe could be catching up a little quicker. But I think we also look at the women who have led the way in tennis. Billie Jean is certainly one of them. Daria Kasatkina continues to be one of them.' Within the men's game, it is different. In December last year, Joao Lucas Reis da Silva became the first active male professional tennis player to come out as gay when he posted a selfie on Instagram with his partner. Bill Tilden, the American star who dominated tennis in the 1920s, never publicly discussed his sexuality outside of his 1948 book, 'My Story: A Champion's Memoirs.' Brian Vahaly, who played in the 2000s and reached a career-high of world No. 57, and Bobby Blair, on tour in the 1980s, came out after they had retired from professional tennis. 'Sports haven't traditionally been a place where people have felt like they can be their full queer selves,' McCarvel said. 'I think of central London and the scenes in Soho and the Pride flags and the fact that it's not reflected today visually here at Wimbledon.' Advertisement Lesbian couple Jo Smith and Amelia Pamplin, two tennis fans from Brighton, said it feels like a safe and accepting place here, even without a day to recognise and celebrate the importance of Pride. 'It doesn't feel like there's been any animosity at all at any point,' Pamplin said. 'We've been sitting on the hill, and that was fine. I gave her a kiss. Everything was fine and normal.' 'When I think about it, and that it's London Pride, then I suppose it would be nice to have something like that around here,' Smith said. Belinda Bencic's patience continues to be rewarded Coming back to tennis after giving birth is one of the toughest things to do in sport, but Belinda Bencic continues to thrive back on the WTA Tour. Advertisement She is through to the Wimbledon fourth round after a tight three-set win over Jessica Pegula's conqueror, Elisabetta Cocciaretto. It continues a great season for Bencic, on top of winning the Abu Dhabi Open title and reaching the fourth round of the Australian Open, too. When the rankings next update, she'll be back in the world's top 30 at a minimum; she could go even higher if she can beat No. 18 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova on Monday to reach the quarterfinals. Bencic returned to tennis in October, ranked No. 1213, having given birth to her daughter, Bella, six months earlier. She did so at an ITF W75 event in Hamburg, Germany, on the lowest rung of professional tennis. She played a couple more such events before the year was out, reaching the final in Angers, France. 'I'm really confident about getting back to where I was and even better,' she said during a video interview in December after playing those events. Bencic has made good on that self-belief, reaching the fourth round at two majors and then winning a 500-level title. She missed the French Open with injury, but she attributes her success at the sport's premier events this year to the hard yards she put in at the back end of 2024. Advertisement 'This is the way I like to go because I feel like I have to build up,' she said in a news conference Saturday. 'I cannot just go straight into it. I gain more confidence with playing more matches. 'I don't see the point of coming back and losing your first three rounds, and then you're not able to get match play. [It's important] to have that match play and then feel more confident, going step by step up to the level that you've been. This is the way for me, and I don't care if people are surprised or not. This is just our plan.' She insisted that managing this kind of comeback is very personal, but insofar as making one of the hardest things in tennis look miraculously straightforward, Bencic's lower-tier tournament strategy may be a replicable one. Stripes more than stars for U.S. players? Perhaps it's fitting that America found some success on July 4th weekend. Advertisement As Grand Slams go, this Wimbledon hasn't been great for those representing the stars and stripes. Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula, the No. 2 and 3 women's seeds, left in the first round. Tommy Paul and Frances Tiafoe were out in the second. Madison Keys, Sofia Kenin, Danielle Collins and Brandon Nakashima lost in the third. Saturday, Nakashima, the No. 29 seed, won the first set and held leads in the second and third against Italy's Lorenzo Sonego, but ultimately lost a five-hour match in a tiebreak. Iga Świątek dispatched Collins in a ruthlessly patient 6-2, 6-3 win. Just two of the eight American women who were seeded remain. Six American men were seeded, and two of them have made it too. Navarro came back from a set down to beat Krejčíková, the defending champion. Amanda Anisimova is by far the highest seed in her quarter and has the most fearsome backhand on the planet. Advertisement Taylor Fritz has shown why he is top five in the world: He is a competitor. That's how, two points away from defeat in the first round, he made it through against the biggest server in the game, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard. Ben Shelton is still figuring out consistency from week to week, but give him the bright lights of a Grand Slam, and he shows up. He will face Sonego in the last 16. He came back from 2-1 down in sets against the Italian at the French Open in May. Fritz faces Jordan Thompson, a dangerous Australian who has somehow won three matches with a balky back. Anisimova might have her hands full with Linda Nosková, another big hitter in a match that could turn on who handles their nerves better. Advertisement Navarro is the only one of the four who won't be the favorite in her fourth-round match against Mirra Andreeva, the world No. 7. 'I'm super pumped to be where I'm at,' she said after beating Krejčíková. These are the days and the moments that you have to appreciate and enjoy because they are fleeting. It's not going to be like this forever.' Other notable results on day six Jannik Sinner (1) continued his breeze through the opening rounds. He has lost 17 games in his first three matches, breaking Roger Federer's Wimbledon record of 19. Today, he beat Pedro Martinez 6-1, 6-3, 6-1. Mirra Andreeva (7) took out Hailey Baptiste of the U.S. 6-1, 6-3 to reach the second week for the second time. Advertisement Ben Shelton (10) eased past Márton Fucsovics 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-2 Shot of the day Novak Djokovic has been looking ominous as he eases into this tournament. But what about spectacular and ominous? Day seven matches you should actually watch 🎾 Men's singles, 12 p.m. ET on ESPN/ESPN+ Andrey Rublev (14) vs. Carlos Alcaraz (2) Alcaraz has mostly survived, rather than thrived at Wimbledon 2025. For Andrey Rublev, his second-week run is redemptive, after a first-round meltdown here last year that took him to a dark place. 🎾 Women's singles, 11 a.m. ET on ESPN/ESPN+ Women's singles: Linda Nosková (30) vs. Amanda Anisimova (13) Two of the purest ball-strikers on the WTA Tour face each other on a fast court. This should, simply put, be cinema. Advertisement Wimbledon men's draw 2025 Wimbledon women's draw 2025 Tell us what you noticed on the sixth day… This article originally appeared in The Athletic. Culture, Tennis, Women's Tennis 2025 The Athletic Media Company
Yahoo
06-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Wimbledon recap: Pride in London brings few rainbows to All England Club
Welcome to the Wimbledon briefing, where will explain the stories behind the stories on each day of the tournament. On day six, it was Pride day in London, a tennis star's patience was rewarded and the Americans made the most of July 4 weekend. Advertisement Pride day at Wimbledon, with few rainbows More than 30,000 people took part in London's annual Pride parade Saturday afternoon in the city center. Thousands more lined the streets in celebration of the capital's biggest LGBTQ+ event. The scene at Wimbledon, which takes in views of central London from the top of 'Henman Hill,' was a little different. There is no organized Pride celebration at the All England Club, as a spokesperson confirmed in a statement sent to The Athletic. It was instead 'Sporting Saturday' – an annual celebration of sports people on the middle Saturday of the month. The Royal Box had LGBTQ+ sportspeople like Billie Jean King and Dame Kelly Holmes as guests, but there were no Pride flags and people had to look hard to find any rainbows. Advertisement The Australian Open has hosted five Pride Days; the U.S. Open will host its fifth this year and the French Open has held two, making Wimbledon the only major to have not yet formally dedicated a tournament day to Pride celebrations. On No. 3 Court, Daria Kasatkina, the No. 16 seed, who came out publicly as gay in 2022, was wearing a bracelet with rainbows on it during her 6-2, 6-3 defeat to No. 19 seed Liudmila Samsonova in the third round. Kasatkina defected to Australia from Russia earlier this year, and has spoken out against her former homeland and anti-LGBTQ+ politics in the past. 'I know that, for example, in Australia, they're very active in this case. They are very vocal and supportive,' the 28-year-old, who announced her engagement to figure skater girlfriend Natalia Zabiiako last month, told The Athletic. 'I think that Wimbledon is in general a little bit different,' Kasatkina added. Advertisement 'The colors they use, it's white, green, and purple and that's pretty much it. But I must say that around the city of London, I can feel the support and I like how this city… I mean, we see the rainbow flags everywhere. So that's nice. We have to accept that Wimbledon is different. They've got their traditions and they follow them. And I don't think there is any sign of disrespect. 'We just got the approval for black shorts (in 2023 to take the stress off women and girls during their periods). It's not much of a place for this kind of thing. They're just very traditional and we have to accept that but overall walking around London I can feel a lot of the support from everywhere, so that's the most important. 'I don't feel that they [the AELTC] don't want to support. It's just this place, it's only about tennis and strawberries.' In 2019, there was a Pride panel at the All England Club, with King speaking to young people about her experience of coming out. It was hosted by tennis reporter Nick McCarvel and was one of the first Pride events on site. Advertisement 'That was an important first step for Wimbledon,' McCarvel said in an interview. 'Pride's evolving and the tennis space is a space that maybe could be catching up a little quicker. But I think we also look at the women who have led the way in tennis. Billie Jean is certainly one of them. Daria Kasatkina continues to be one of them.' Within the men's game it is a lot different. In December last year, Joao Lucas Reis da Silva became the first active male professional tennis player to come out as gay when he posted a selfie on Instagram with his partner. Bill Tilden, the American star who dominated tennis in the 1920s, never publicly discussed his sexuality outside of his 1948 book, 'My Story: A Champion's Memoirs.' Brian Vahaly, who played in the 2000s and reached a career-high of world No. 57, and Bobby Blair, on tour in the 1980s, came out after they had retired from professional tennis. 'Sports haven't traditionally been a place where people have felt like they can be their full queer selves,' McCarvel said. 'I think of central London and the scenes in Soho and the Pride flags and the fact that it's not reflected today visually here at Wimbledon.' Advertisement Lesbian couple Jo Smith and Amelia Pamplin, two tennis fans from Brighton, said it feels like a safe and accepting place here, even without a day to recognise and celebrate the importance of Pride. 'It doesn't feel like there's been any animosity at all at any point,' Pamplin said. 'We've been sitting on the hill and that was fine, I gave her a kiss, everything was fine and normal.' 'When I think about it and that it's London Pride then I suppose it would be nice to have something like that around here,' Smith said. Belinda Bencic's patience continues to be rewarded Coming back to tennis after giving birth is one of the toughest things to do in sport, but Belinda Bencic continues to thrive back on the WTA Tour. Advertisement She is through to the Wimbledon fourth round after a tight three-set win over Jessica Pegula's conqueror, Elisabetta Cocciaretto. It continues a great season for Bencic, on top of winning the Abu Dhabi Open title and reaching the fourth round of the Australian Open too. When the rankings next update, she'll be back in the world's top 30 at a minimum; she could go even higher if she can beat No. 18 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova Monday to reach the quarterfinals. Bencic returned to tennis in October, ranked No. 1213, having given birth to her daughter, Bella, six months earlier. She did so at an ITF W75 event in Hamburg, Germany, on the lowest rung of professional tennis. She played a couple more such events before the year was out, reaching the final in Angers, France. 'I'm really confident about getting back to where I was and even better,' she said during a video interview in December after playing those events. Bencic has made good on that self-belief, reaching the fourth round at two majors and then winning a 500-level title.. She missed the French Open with injury, but she attributes her success at the sport's premier events this year to the hard yards she put in at the back end of 2024. Advertisement 'This is the way I like to go because I feel like I have to build up,' she said in a news conference Saturday. 'I cannot just go straight into it. I gain more confidence with playing more matches. 'I don't see the point of coming back and losing your first three rounds, and then you're not able to get match play. [It's important] to have that match play and then feel more confident, going step by step up to the level that you've been. This is the way for me, and I don't care if people are surprised or not. This is just our plan.' She insisted that managing this kind of comeback is a very personal thing, but in so far making one of the hardest things in tennis look miraculously straightforward, Bencic's lower-tier tournament strategy may be a replicable one. Stripes more than stars for U.S. players? Perhaps it's fitting that America found some success on July 4 weekend. Advertisement As Grand Slams go, this Wimbledon hasn't been great for those representing the stars and stripes. Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula, the No. 2 and 3 women's seeds, left in the first round. Tommy Paul and Frances Tiafoe were out in the second. Madison Keys, Sofia Kenin, Danielle Collins and Brandon Nakashima lost in the third. Saturday, Nakashima, the No. 29 seed, won the first set and held leads in the second and third against Italy's Lorenzo Sonego, but ultimately lost a five-hour match in a tiebreak. Iga Świątek dispatched Collins in a ruthlessly patient 6-2, 6-3 win. Just two of the eight American women who were seeded are still alive. Six American men were seeded, and two of them have made it too. Navarro came back from a set down to beat Krejčíková, the defending champion. Amanda Anisimova is by far the highest seed in her quarter and has the most fearsome backhand on the planet. Advertisement Taylor Fritz has showed why he is top five in the world: he is a competitor. That's how, two points away from defeat in the first round, he made it through against the biggest server in the game, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard. Ben Shelton is still figuring out consistency from week to week, but give him the bright lights of a Grand Slam and he shows up. He will face Sonego in the last 16. He came back from 2-1 down in sets against the Italian at the French Open in May. Fritz faces Jordan Thompson, a dangerous Australian who has somehow won three matches with a balky back. Anisimova might have her hands full with Linda Nosková, another big hitter in a match that could turn on who handles their nerves better. Advertisement Navarro is the only one of the four who won't be the favorite in her fourth-round match against Mirra Andreeva, the world No. 7. 'I'm super pumped to be where I'm at,' she said after beating Krejčíková. These are the days and the moments that you have to appreciate and enjoy because they are fleeting. It's not going to be like this forever.' Other notable results on day six Jannik Sinner (1) continued his breeze through the opening rounds. He has lost 17 games in his first three matches, breaking Roger Federer's Wimbledon record of 19. Today he beat Pedro Martinez 6-1, 6-3, 6-1. Mirra Andreeva (7) took out Hailey Baptiste of the U.S. 6-1, 6-3 to reach the second week for the second time. Advertisement Ben Shelton (10) eased past Márton Fucsovics 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-2 Shot of the day Novak Djokovic has been looking ominous as he eases into this tournament. But what about spectacular and ominous? Day seven matches you should actually watch 🎾 Men's singles, 12 p.m. ET on ESPN/ESPN+ Andrey Rublev (14) vs. Carlos Alcaraz (2) Alcaraz has mostly survived, rather than thrived at Wimbledon 2025. For Andrey Rublev, his second-week run is redemptive, after a first-round meltdown here last year that took him to a dark place. 🎾 Women's singles, 11 a.m. ET on ESPN/ESPN+ Women's singles: Linda Nosková (30) vs. Amanda Anisimova (13) Two of the purest ball-strikers on the WTA Tour face each other on a fast court. This should, simply put, be cinema. Advertisement Wimbledon men's draw 2025 Wimbledon women's draw 2025 Tell us what you noticed on the sixth day… This article originally appeared in The Athletic. Culture, Tennis, Women's Tennis 2025 The Athletic Media Company
New York Times
05-07-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Wimbledon recap: Pride in London brings few rainbows to All England Club
Follow The Athletic's Wimbledon coverage Welcome to the Wimbledon briefing, where The Athletic will explain the stories behind the stories on each day of the tournament. On day six, it was Pride day in London, a tennis star's patience was rewarded and the Americans made the most of July 4 weekend. More than 30,000 people took part in London's annual Pride parade Saturday afternoon in the city center. Thousands more lined the streets in celebration of the capital's biggest LGBTQ+ event. The scene at Wimbledon, which takes in views of central London from the top of 'Henman Hill,' was a little different. Advertisement There is no organized Pride celebration at the All England Club, as a spokesperson confirmed in a statement sent to The Athletic. It was instead 'Sporting Saturday' – an annual celebration of sports people on the middle Saturday of the month. The Royal Box had LGBTQ+ sportspeople like Billie Jean King and Dame Kelly Holmes as guests, but there were no Pride flags and people had to look hard to find any rainbows. The Australian Open has hosted five Pride Days; the U.S. Open will host its fifth this year and the French Open has held two, making Wimbledon the only major to have not yet formally dedicated a tournament day to Pride celebrations. On No. 3 Court, Daria Kasatkina, the No. 16 seed, who came out publicly as gay in 2022, was wearing a bracelet with rainbows on it during her 6-2, 6-3 defeat to No. 19 seed Liudmila Samsonova in the third round. Kasatkina defected to Australia from Russia earlier this year, and has spoken out against her former homeland and anti-LGBTQ+ politics in the past. 'I know that, for example, in Australia, they're very active in this case. They are very vocal and supportive,' the 28-year-old, who announced her engagement to figure skater girlfriend Natalia Zabiiako last month, told The Athletic. 'I think that Wimbledon is in general a little bit different,' Kasatkina added. 'The colors they use, it's white, green, and purple and that's pretty much it. But I must say that around the city of London, I can feel the support and I like how this city… I mean, we see the rainbow flags everywhere. So that's nice. We have to accept that Wimbledon is different. They've got their traditions and they follow them. And I don't think there is any sign of disrespect. 'We just got the approval for black shorts (in 2023 to take the stress off women and girls during their periods). It's not much of a place for this kind of thing. They're just very traditional and we have to accept that but overall walking around London I can feel a lot of the support from everywhere, so that's the most important. Advertisement 'I don't feel that they [the AELTC] don't want to support. It's just this place, it's only about tennis and strawberries.' In 2019, there was a Pride panel at the All England Club, with King speaking to young people about her experience of coming out. It was hosted by tennis reporter Nick McCarvel and was one of the first Pride events on site. 'That was an important first step for Wimbledon,' McCarvel said in an interview. 'Pride's evolving and the tennis space is a space that maybe could be catching up a little quicker. But I think we also look at the women who have led the way in tennis. Billie Jean is certainly one of them. Daria Kasatkina continues to be one of them.' Within the men's game it is a lot different. In December last year, Joao Lucas Reis da Silva became the first active male professional tennis player to come out as gay when he posted a selfie on Instagram with his partner. Bill Tilden, the American star who dominated tennis in the 1920s, never publicly discussed his sexuality outside of his 1948 book, 'My Story: A Champion's Memoirs.' Brian Vahaly, who played in the 2000s and reached a career-high of world No. 57, and Bobby Blair, on tour in the 1980s, came out after they had retired from professional tennis. 'Sports haven't traditionally been a place where people have felt like they can be their full queer selves,' McCarvel said. 'I think of central London and the scenes in Soho and the Pride flags and the fact that it's not reflected today visually here at Wimbledon.' Lesbian couple Jo Smith and Amelia Pamplin, two tennis fans from Brighton, said it feels like a safe and accepting place here, even without a day to recognise and celebrate the importance of Pride. 'It doesn't feel like there's been any animosity at all at any point,' Pamplin said. 'We've been sitting on the hill and that was fine, I gave her a kiss, everything was fine and normal.' Advertisement 'When I think about it and that it's London Pride then I suppose it would be nice to have something like that around here,' Smith said. Caoimhe O'Neill Coming back to tennis after giving birth is one of the toughest things to do in sport, but Belinda Bencic continues to thrive back on the WTA Tour. She is through to the Wimbledon fourth round after a tight three-set win over Jessica Pegula's conqueror, Elisabetta Cocciaretto. It continues a great season for Bencic, on top of winning the Abu Dhabi Open title and reaching the fourth round of the Australian Open too. When the rankings next update, she'll be back in the world's top 30 at a minimum; she could go even higher if she can beat No. 18 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova Monday to reach the quarterfinals. Bencic returned to tennis in October, ranked No. 1213, having given birth to her daughter, Bella, six months earlier. She did so at an ITF W75 event in Hamburg, Germany, on the lowest rung of professional tennis. She played a couple more such events before the year was out, reaching the final in Angers, France. 'I'm really confident about getting back to where I was and even better,' she said during a video interview in December after playing those events. Bencic has made good on that self-belief, reaching the fourth round at two majors and then winning a 500-level title.. She missed the French Open with injury, but she attributes her success at the sport's premier events this year to the hard yards she put in at the back end of 2024. 'This is the way I like to go because I feel like I have to build up,' she said in a news conference Saturday. 'I cannot just go straight into it. I gain more confidence with playing more matches. 'I don't see the point of coming back and losing your first three rounds, and then you're not able to get match play. [It's important] to have that match play and then feel more confident, going step by step up to the level that you've been. This is the way for me, and I don't care if people are surprised or not. This is just our plan.' Advertisement She insisted that managing this kind of comeback is a very personal thing, but in so far making one of the hardest things in tennis look miraculously straightforward, Bencic's lower-tier tournament strategy may be a replicable one. Charlie Eccleshare Perhaps it's fitting that America found some success on July 4 weekend. As Grand Slams go, this Wimbledon hasn't been great for those representing the stars and stripes. Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula, the No. 2 and 3 seeds, left in the first round. Tommy Paul and Frances Tiafoe were out in the second. Madison Keys, Sofia Kenin, Danielle Collins and Brandon Nakashima lost in the third. Saturday, Nakashima, the No. 29 seed, won the first set and held leads in the second and third against Italy's Lorenzo Sonego, but ultimately lost a five-hour match in a tiebreak. Iga Świątek dispatched Collins in a ruthlessly patient 6-2, 6-3 win. Just two of the eight American women who were seeded are still alive. Six American men were seeded, and two of them have made it too. Navarro came back from a set down to beat Krejčíková, the defending champion. Amanda Anisimova is by far the highest seed in her quarter and has the most fearsome backhand on the planet. Taylor Fritz has showed why he is top five in the world: he is a competitor. It's how, two points away from defeat in the first round, he made it through against the biggest server in the game, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard. Ben Shelton is still figuring out consistency from week to week, but give him the bright lights of a Grand Slam and he shows up. He will face Sonego in the last 16. He came back from two sets down against the Italian at the French Open in May. Fritz faces Jordan Thompson, a dangerous Australian who has somehow won three matches with a balky back. Anisimova might have her hands full with Linda Nosková, another big hitter in a match that could turn on who handles their nerves better. Advertisement Navarro is the only one of the four who won't be the favorite in her fourth-round match against Mirra Andreeva, the world No. 7. 'I'm super pumped to be where I'm at,' she said after beating Krejčíková. These are the days and the moments that you have to appreciate and enjoy because they are fleeting. It's not going to be like this forever.' Matt Futterman Novak Djokovic has been looking ominous as he eases into this tournament. But what about spectacular and ominous? 'In all his years at Wimbledon, he won't have played many finer rallies than that!' 🤩 Brilliant entertainment on Centre Court 👏👏👏#Wimbledon — BBC Sport (@BBCSport) July 5, 2025 🎾 Men's singles, 12 p.m. ET on ESPN/ESPN+ Andrey Rublev (14) vs. Carlos Alcaraz (2) Alcaraz has mostly survived, rather than thrived at Wimbledon 2025. For Andrey Rublev, his second-week run is redemptive, after a first-round meltdown here last year that took him to a dark place. 🎾 Women's singles, 11 a.m. ET on ESPN/ESPN+ Women's singles: Linda Nosková (30) vs. Amanda Anisimova (13) Two of the purest ball-strikers on the WTA Tour face each other on a fast court. This should, simply put, be cinema. Tell us what you noticed on the sixth day…
Vogue
30-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Vogue
BeyHive Couture: Vogue Captures Street Style Looks at the Cowboy Carter Show in Houston
Whenever Beyoncé performs in her native Houston, her return creates a rippling homecoming effect across the city. That's less of a reference to the tour de force singer and songwriter's 2019 live album and documentary concert film of the same name, but more a nod to true-to-life, Lone Star State homecoming traditions. The scene outside of NRG Stadium over the weekend for the two-night run of Cowboy Carter shows was nothing short of a pep rally. Texas-sized chrysanthemum corsages were on parade, embellished with ribbons and decorative spirit trinkets, pinned at the shoulder (down South, we call them mums). Red, white, and blue silk sashes sliced through crowds, too, customized to riff on the Grammy Award-winning (Best Country Album, anyone?) record cover. And because June 28 serendipitously doubled as International LGBTQI+ Pride Day, a gulf of self-described queens rounded out this metaphoric homecoming court. Beyoncé's past and present onstage fashion inspired street style looks laden with Easter eggs. A number of outfits paid homage to the inaugural NFL 2024 Christmas Day Halftime Show, apropos-dubbed BeyBowl, for the Houston Texas vs. Baltimore Ravens game, which also took place at NRG. Many a concertgoer drew from the furry, feathered, and rhinestone-flecked all-white western wear that stylist and costume designer Shiona Turini produced for Cowboy Carter Christmas. Others paid tribute to classic Americana, with patriotic flags waving through Levi's or Wrangler denim belt loops. For Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo competitors, such as sister barrel racers Leah and Elizabeth Zadel, it was an occasion to layer functional cowgirl gear with couture. 'These are Stella McCartney jeans that I saved up for, for a long time with the Ariat boots I always wear,' Leah told Vogue. 'And my sister got the idea for her pants from Beyoncé's custom Schiaparelli Haute Couture outfit for the tour. She sewed on all those conchos after she couldn't find anything similar and thought, 'Why not make it myself?'' Outside of Queen Bey's hometown hoedown, Vogue photographed some of the most inventive and inspiring looks. Arturo Valenzuela: 'I really went off of her Christmas [halftime show] outfits. With everything going on in the world right now I thought, 'Let me show up and show out.' I thought the white really pops on my skin tone. And my sash was made by a designer I found on TikTok.'
