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The Hindu
10-07-2025
- Sport
- The Hindu
Wimbledon's curfew rule: Explained
Few sporting events have a bedtime - the Wimbledon tournament is one of them. The hallowed tennis tournament has a strict curfew for play, shutting down by 11 p.m. each night. It is the only one of the four Grand Slams to have such a rule in place. Before the curfew was in place, play would stop at sundown, when players could no longer view the ball, or umpires were no longer able to make accurate line decisions. In 2009, the All England Club installed a retractable roof on Centre Court. This meant that matches were no longer at the mercy of the sun. However, the 11 p.m. curfew rule was introduced as the local council in Merton did not want the game to extend late into the night. 'The 11 p.m. curfew is a planning condition applied to balance the consideration of the local residents with the scale of an international tennis event that takes place in a residential area,' Merton Council said, as quoted by he New York Times. Another key factor was constraints associated with transportation in and around the sports venue. Public transport options for fans diminish later in the evening, BBC Sports noted in its FAQ about the tournament. It is a 15-minute walk from the site to the nearest London Underground station, and on weekdays, the Tube shuts down service by midnight local time. The three other Grand Slams suffer from no such curfew. The French Open regularly commences play post-8 pm, so that people can watch the matches post-work. The Australian Open takes place at Melbourne Park, away from the city and residential areas. The U.S Open at Billie Jean King Tennis Center frequently sees late matches. Both the U.S and Australian Open have matches scheduled later in the evening as well. Notable instances The Wimbledon curfew was recently in the spotlight after it resulted in the postponement of the final moments of play between World No. 4 Taylor Fritz and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard during their first round match on June 30, 2025. The two players had finished playing the fourth set of what had now become a five-set match, with each player having won two sets. After Fritz won the fourth set 7-6(6), the clock stood at 10:18 p.m. While Fritz wanted to continue the match, Perricard did not want to stop the match well into the fifth set, which may have occurred due to the 11 p.m. curfew. The decision came down to the supervisor, who suspended play. Fritz was visibly upset. The match resumed the next day, and Fritz won the final set 6-4 to post a victory after being two points away from elimination the previous night. (The final result stood at 6-7(6), 6-7(8), 6-4, 7-6(6), 6-4). In 2019, Novak Djokovic's semifinal against Rafael Nadal began around 8 p.m. local time. Play was halted after the completion of the third set tiebreak at 11:02 p.m., and the match was finished a day later. The tournament made an exception once in recent history, during a match between Andy Murray and Marcos Baghdatis in 2012. Murray had won three sets and was up 5-1 in the fourth set when the clock struck 11 p.m. With Murray about to serve for the match, play was continued till 11:02 p.m, allowing him to clinch the set and the match. Other time limits at Wimbledon Matches are also stopped in evenings due to poor visibility after sundown. But unlike the curfew, there isn't a designated stop time for bad light. On July 3, the Wimbledon match between Ben Shelton and Rinky Hijikata was postponed since the darkness was about to prevent the electronic line calling (ELC) system from operating properly. After 147 years of having (human) line-calling judges, the ELC was introduced at Wimbledon this year. Floodlights usually enable play well into the night for other sporting events, like cricket or football matches. This is not, however, a solution for Wimbledon's outside courts; the grass courts become slippery once night falls and the temperature drops, leading to the formation of dew. Broadcasting scheduling also has little impact on Wimbledon— either on the curfew or on the starting times. The Centre Court matches start at 1:30 pm local time, later than the other tourneys, allowing for spectators to get lunch. The No. 1 Court sees matches start at 1 p.m, while outdoor court matches start the earliest, at 11 a.m. Despite its seeming inconvenience, some view the curfew positively. Former British No. 1 tennis player Laura Robson has supported the curfew, telling Metro that she thinks 'the sort of backlash of playing at 1am is a nightmare for all of the players involved, all of the staff involved, all of the ball kids involved. So yeah, I'd like to see less of that rather than getting rid of the curfew.' Ending early also has health benefits for the players, who risk injury the next day if they play late into the night.
USA Today
09-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Jackson Koivun has best PGA Tour performance of young career at John Deere Championship
Auburn sophomore Jackson Koivun delivered his best performance as a young golfer on the PGA Tour last weekend. The two-time reigning SEC Golfer of the Year finished just three shots behind the eventual champion, Brian Campbell, with a 15-under par weekend showing. Playing in his fourth PGA Tour event of the year and sixth overall, Koivun secured his first career top 25 finish, ending his 72 hole run just outside of the top 10. Auburn's best golfer was the only amueter in the field to make the cut, while he also outperformed his former Tiger teammate Brenden Valdes (E), who turned pro this year, by 15 strokes to par. After a one-under par score of 70 to open up his tournament, the 20-year-old shot the best round of his PGA Tour career on Friday with a 7-under par 64. Koivun kept the pressure on the leaders with a 3-under par 68 on moving day, before ending his weekend with a 4-under 67 on Sunday. The sophomore bogied just one hole on the final day as he chased down the leaders. While Koivun has insisted on staying at Auburn for at least another season before he turns pro, his showing at the John Deere proved once again the 20-year-old is ready to challenge for wins on the PGA Tour. Now coming off a solid showing at the U.S Open and his best four-day performance at the John Deere Classic, Koivun will aim to finish in the top 10 among golfers in the ISCO Championship. It may be his best chance at winning an event yet, as the premier players on tour will be competing in the Genesis Scottish Open this weekend. Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Brian on Twitter@TheRealBHauch
The Star
28-06-2025
- Business
- The Star
Tennis-Trading cards offer lifeline to low-income players
Tennis - Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - June 28, 2025 General view of tennis balls during Britain's Jack Draper's practice session REUTERS/Andrew Couldridge LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) -A nearly year-old initiative to sell tennis players' trading cards is generating vital extra income for lower earners struggling to make ends meet, its backers said. While the world's elite tennis players can earn fortunes, with Wimbledon for example offering a record 53.5 million pounds ($73.5 million) in prize money this year, those much further down the rankings often struggle financially. Winners Alliance, the commercial partner of the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) which wants to address the financial disparities, said the new cards had generated around $20 million since they were rolled out in August. Some 70% of the income has gone to the 400 players signed up. "You have the 100th best player in the world and they're struggling to make a living," Eric Winston, president of Winners Alliance, told Reuters. "That's not right." Winners Alliance has teamed up with the Fanatics-owned Topps brand to produce trading cards for the next 20 years, hoping to emulate the huge popularity of such initiatives in other sports such as soccer and U.S. basketball. The cards, featuring current and former players, are sold online, at hobby shops and on site at big tournaments including the U.S Open and Australian Opens. The latest release on May 15th sold out in 24 hours. Founded in 2022, Winners Alliance, chaired by hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, manages commercial opportunities for sports players and their agents. Its aim is to generate a recurring annual income of $100,000 for all ranked players from trading cards, video games and other income streams. "The level of players in the top 200 has never been so high... and some can barely make ends meet," said PTPA deputy executive director Romain Rosenberg, citing the example of a player near the top 100 who earned $25,000 one year after deducting taxes, coaching and other unavoidable costs. Rosenberg contrasted tennis with other sports such as football where even lower-tier players earn large salaries, often without the high costs tennis players face with coaching, travel and health expenses. "It is still early days but the aim is to emulate the success of U.S. basketball and baseball leagues... even reaching 10% of their revenue in five to 10 years would generate meaningful passive income for players," Rosenberg added. The PTPA, co-founded by players Novak Djokovic and Vasek Pospisil in 2020, has backed various efforts to level the playing field between the haves and have-nots of tennis, including legal aid and health programmes. Sports trading cards have enjoyed enduring popularity, buoyed by record-breaking sales such as a rookie card of baseball great Mickey Mantle fetching $12.6 million at auction in 2022. (Reporting by Amy-Jo Crowley in London and Amy Tennery in New York; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
Straits Times
28-06-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
Trading cards offer lifeline to low-income players
Tennis - Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - June 28, 2025 General view of tennis balls during Britain's Jack Draper's practice session REUTERS/Andrew Couldridge LONDON/NEW YORK - A nearly year-old initiative to sell tennis players' trading cards is generating vital extra income for lower earners struggling to make ends meet, its backers said. While the world's elite tennis players can earn fortunes, with Wimbledon for example offering a record 53.5 million pounds ($73.5 million) in prize money this year, those much further down the rankings often struggle financially. Winners Alliance, the commercial partner of the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) which wants to address the financial disparities, said the new cards had generated around $20 million since they were rolled out in August. Some 70% of the income has gone to the 400 players signed up. "You have the 100th best player in the world and they're struggling to make a living," Eric Winston, president of Winners Alliance, told Reuters. "That's not right." Winners Alliance has teamed up with the Fanatics-owned Topps brand to produce trading cards for the next 20 years, hoping to emulate the huge popularity of such initiatives in other sports such as soccer and U.S. basketball. The cards, featuring current and former players, are sold online, at hobby shops and on site at big tournaments including the U.S Open and Australian Opens. The latest release on May 15th sold out in 24 hours. Founded in 2022, Winners Alliance, chaired by hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, manages commercial opportunities for sports players and their agents. Its aim is to generate a recurring annual income of $100,000 for all ranked players from trading cards, video games and other income streams. "The level of players in the top 200 has never been so high... and some can barely make ends meet," said PTPA deputy executive director Romain Rosenberg, citing the example of a player near the top 100 who earned $25,000 one year after deducting taxes, coaching and other unavoidable costs. Rosenberg contrasted tennis with other sports such as football where even lower-tier players earn large salaries, often without the high costs tennis players face with coaching, travel and health expenses. "It is still early days but the aim is to emulate the success of U.S. basketball and baseball leagues... even reaching 10% of their revenue in five to 10 years would generate meaningful passive income for players," Rosenberg added. The PTPA, co-founded by players Novak Djokovic and Vasek Pospisil in 2020, has backed various efforts to level the playing field between the haves and have-nots of tennis, including legal aid and health programmes. Sports trading cards have enjoyed enduring popularity, buoyed by record-breaking sales such as a rookie card of baseball great Mickey Mantle fetching $12.6 million at auction in 2022. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
USA Today
21-06-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Our Q&A with ESPN's Chris Berman: Boomer gives us his best golf nicknames
Chris may no longer be broadcasting the U.S Open on ESPN as he did for many years but he's still very present in the world of golf. He's an unofficial ambassador at The Sentry, where he has a home in Kapalua and doesn't mind bragging about the time he won the pro-am with Xander Schauffele as his partner. His other longtime home is in Connecticut and he's been involved with the Travelers Championship, the Tour's annual stop at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell for longer than Sammy Davis Jr. As is custom, Berman will serve as emcee of the trophy ceremony on Sunday. Berman, 70, has extended his contract with ESPN through 2029, which would make him ESPN's first employee to celebrate their 50th anniversary with the company. The 2027 Super Bowl will be the 45th that Berman will have worked for ESPN. Berman joined ESPN on Oct. 1, 1979, and is a six-time National Sportscaster of the Year and a member of several Halls of Fame, including the Sports Broadcasting HOF, the National Sports Media Association HOF and Cable HOF. Golfweek caught up with him earlier this year and shared some of our favorite nicknames he coined, including from the world of baseball: Luis Funky Cold Medina, Bert Be Home Blyeven and Oddibe Young Again McDowell. Golfweek: You're part of the furniture at the Sentry and Travelers Championship. Where does your love of golf stem from? Chris Berman: I never really played when I was young. My dad had a set of clubs in the garage and he maybe played three times a year. He'd rather spend time with his boys. But I always liked it, I always watched the Bing Crosby, the Masters and then the U.S. Open in 1974 at Winged Foot was a big deal. I was a freshman in college, I think, and one of my dad's business associates lived near the third green. I snuck on the course all four days and that kind of got me going a little bit. Seve was my guy. Late in my 20s, when we were all working late at ESPN on weekends, some of us would get together and play at a public course at 10 o'clock on a weekday and then roll into work at 4. GWK: Why do you think golf appeals to athletes from so many sports? CB: I think it's the ultimate challenge because you're testing yourself. The ball is stationary. NFL kickers and hockey players are the best golfers as a group. Maybe because the puck can be stationary and of course in kicking the ball is stationary. Sterling Sharpe worked with us on TV. He never played golf until after he retired. He's like a scratch. But not every great athlete is a good golfer. I think they like the challenge of being able to improve. More: Former U.S. Open host Chris Berman signs extension with ESPN, will reach 50 years GWK: You're beloved for your clever player nicknames but what player got the most upset with the one you coined for him? CB: Nobody really in golf. Let me think of the golf nicknames back when I was on the air every day. We had Ground Control to David Toms. He liked it. He'd smile at it. I think he was more kidding, but Mark Lye was Mark 'Unplayable' Lye. He thought I was making fun of his golf game for about 10 seconds. I said, No, it's a golf term. When Jose-Maria Olazabal first arrived on the scene, we didn't know how to pronounce his last name. We thought it was Oh-loz-uh-ball, and I go, Oh my goodness, it's the greatest golf name ever. Two strokes for a lost ball, you know? And well, it's Oh-lah-thah-bull. I went, shoot, that doesn't work, damn it. Curtis Strange was insert your favorite song. People are Strange, you know, Strange Brew. He liked it because he's a music guy. Joey Sindelar, who I played in the Travelers pro-am with 12-13 times and we became good friends, he was Joey Seven Deadly Sin-delars. When Xander won (the Travelers in 2022), he demanded that I give him a nickname. I had to chew on it. I went Xander Killing Me Schauffele With His Song, which I think is not bad. He and I won the Sentry pro-am, though I can't take too much credit for that. [As emcee at Travelers media day, Berman attempted to coin one for Scottie Scheffler on the spot. 'I'll be better in June, but off the year you had last year, there's no other way to describe it but 'Top Scheffler.' That's OK? Is that all right for now? Is that like a ball mark on the green?' 'That's great. If it's good with you, it's good with me. That's more your forte than mine,' Scheffler said.] For Max Homa, I've used Homa is Where my Heart is or Homa Sweet Homa, which anybody could come up with; they're interchangeable. Sam Burns, you can usually go Third-Degree Burns for Sam, I don't know that I've used it yet. I did use Jon CD-Rahm. I don't think I've gone for the easy one with Jason Day. You know, it's a Beautiful Day or something, as opposed to Glenn 'All' Day, which was not my nickname, but it was very apropos. Adam Scott, I didn't do because it's 'Great, Scott,' that's too easy. Davis Love III was, Might as well face it, you're addicted to Love. You know, a lot of rock and roll ones. [He texted later with two current pros that were top shelf: Patton 'Street Car Named' Kizzire and Sahith It's Not Just the Party, It's Theegala.] None of mine are derogatory. I'll give you a baseball one that he really wasn't that pissed, but a long time ago Kevin Bass, who played for Houston and a lot of other places, an All-Star a few times, he brought it to my attention that he wasn't fond of my nickname. We were at the batting cage and he goes, 'Can I talk to you for a minute, Chris, because you call me Kevin Large-mouth Bass.' I said, 'Yeah, the fish.' He goes, 'I know, but it makes me sound like a complainer. I said, 'OK, that's actually very fair. I certainly had no intention.' He goes, 'I'm sure you didn't, but it makes me sound like I'm a big mouth and pain in the ass in the clubhouse or whatever.' You know, it kind of stunned me for a minute. We were friendly, and just to show you how quote-unquote upset he was, I said, 'Well, how about Kevin Small-mouth Bass?' He goes, 'Perfect. Go with it.' So that was an easy negotiation. GWK: Were you too loud for golf? CB: Oh, hell no. The golfers loved it. Professionally, I've never had more fun in my life. I always covered the U.S. Open with Andy North in the evening, prime time, and that's different. You're trying to bring people in that haven't watched it all day, a lot of casual sports fans. And you know, nobody is for everybody. People complained about Johnny Miller and he forgot more golf than you and I and 100 of our best friends combined would ever know, right? I'll give you an example. In 2010, they shaved the left side by the green at Pebble on 14. Y.E. Yang hit a shot and it just trickled down the left side into that collection area. And so he took a putter, which you and I would probably do, and putted it up the hill, and it got to the top, and it stayed there for a second, and then it rolled right back down like miniature golf, right back to his feet. He stares at it, he's pissed. He goes to the bag and he gets a wedge to chip with from almost the exact same spot. We've all been there. And he chips it up there, pretty good shot until it runs out of steam. It rolls back down to his feet, and you can see the smoke coming out of his ears. But he's looking at his caddie. He's looking at the bag, he's looking at the ball. He's really annoyed. He doesn't even grab a club for a good 30+ seconds. So, I said, 'And now, what, the ball retriever?' I wasn't trying to make fun of him. He hadn't made a move yet for a club. A couple of golf scribes didn't think that was appropriate. Later that night in the Tap Room, Lee Westwood comes over. He said, 'When you said the ball retriever, I fell off my bloody couch laughing.' So there's your answer. I wasn't trying to make fun of him. It was like, we've all been there. But I wasn't trying to be anybody that I wasn't. I was just trying to do the best job. But that's why they have different flavors of ice cream. Not everyone likes vanilla, chocolate or smurf. GWK: What's the course you've never played that you most want to play? CB: I've played Augusta once and St. Andrews once. Seminole is one I'd like to do. I've never played Pine Valley, which is in the northeast, so I should really get there. Pebble Beach is my favorite. That's where God waits for a tee time. I've told them this for a while, but I used to say when I completely retire, I'd like to own the concession and drive the beverage cart at Pebble Beach. That would be fun.
