Latest from The Mainichi
The Mainichi
4 hours ago
- Sport
- The Mainichi
Wimbledon 2025: How to watch on TV, betting odds, the schedule, seedings and more to know
LONDON (AP) -- Get ready for Wimbledon before play begins Monday with a guide that tells you everything you need to know about how to watch the third Grand Slam tennis tournament of 2025 on TV, what the betting odds are, what the schedule is, who the top seeds and defending champions are and more: When does Wimbledon start? Play begins Monday at 11 a.m. local time, which is 6 a.m. ET. The first match on Centre Court -- which traditionally involves the previous year's men's champion -- is scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m. local (8:30 a.m. ET). The previous year's women's champion opens Centre Court on Day 2. Where can I watch Wimbledon on TV? -- In the U.S.: ESPN/ABC (live coverage) and Tennis Channel (match re-airs). -- Other countries are listed here. Who are the defending champions at Wimbledon? Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic and Carlos Alcaraz of Spain won the 2024 singles titles. Krejcikova got past Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 for her second Grand Slam title and first at the All England Club. Alcaraz beat seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (4) to win his second consecutive trophy at the grass-court major -- defeating Djokovic each time -- and fourth Slam title overall, a total Alcaraz now has raised to five at age 22. Who are the top seeds at the All England Club? Aryna Sabalenka is the top-seeded woman, and Jannik Sinner is the top-seeded man. They are the players who are ranked No. 1, and the tournament seedings -- which were officially released Thursday -- follow the WTA and ATP rankings. For the women, French Open champion Coco Gauff is No. 2, Jessica Pegula No. 3 and Paolini No. 4. For the men, Alcaraz is No. 2, Alexander Zverev No. 3 and Jack Draper No. 4. Who are the betting favorites at Wimbledon this year? Sabalenka and Alcaraz are listed as the money-line favorites to win the singles trophies, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. Sabalenka is at +290 -- she was at +275 before Friday's draw -- with 2022 champion Elena Rybakina next at +600 and Gauff the third choice at +750 (she was at +600 before the draw). Alcaraz moved to +110 from +130 after the draw, ahead of Sinner (+190), followed by Djokovic (+650). Who does Coco Gauff play in her first Wimbledon match and when? Gauff was drawn to face Dayana Yastremska, a 2024 Australian Open semifinalist, in the first round. That match will be Tuesday, when all of the women in the bottom half of their bracket are scheduled to play. Sabalenka -- who faces Canadian qualifier Carson Branstine -- and the rest of the top section will be in action on Monday. Alcaraz meets Fabio Fognini at Centre Court on Monday, when the bottom half of the men's bracket will be on the program; Sinner takes on Luca Nardi on Tuesday, when the top of the men's draw will play. Other basic facts about the grass-court Grand Slam tournament Wimbledon is played outdoors on grass courts at the All England Club in southwest London; there are retractable roofs at Centre Court and No. 1 Court. Women play best-of-three-set matches with a first-to-10 tiebreaker at 6-all in the third; men play best-of-five with a tiebreaker at 6-all in the fifth. Unlike at the other three major tennis tournaments -- the U.S. Open, Australian Open and French Open -- there are no night sessions; there is an 11 p.m. curfew at Wimbledon. This is also the last Grand Slam event with 14 days of competition; later this year, the U.S. Open will join the Australian Open and French Open as a 15-day event that begins on Sunday instead of Monday. What is new this year at Wimbledon? The All England Club will use electronic line-calling during matches for the first time, replacing line judges. That puts Wimbledon in line with the Australian Open and U.S. Open, leaving the French Open as the last major with humans making in or out calls -- at least as of now. Another change in 2025: The times for the two singles finals are moving later, with both now starting at 4 p.m. (11 a.m. ET). What is the singles schedule at Wimbledon? -- Monday-Tuesday: First Round (Women and Men) -- July 2-3: Second Round (Women and Men) -- July 4-5: Third Round (Women and Men) -- July 6-7: Fourth Round (Women and Men) -- July 8-9: Quarterfinals (Women and Men) -- July 10: Women's Semifinals -- July 11: Men's Semifinals -- July 12: Women's Final -- July 13: Men's Final What is the prize money at Wimbledon in 2025? Total player compensation at Wimbledon is 53.5 million pounds (about $72 million), a jump of 7% over last year. The two singles champions each earn 3 million pounds (about $4 million).
The Mainichi
6 hours ago
- Science
- The Mainichi
Scientists obtain unstable gold from lead, practical use uncertain
GENEVA (Kyodo) -- A team of scientists including those from Asian countries has successfully transformed lead into gold, though it disappeared in microseconds, with the discovery published in a U.S. physics magazine last month. The team's spokesperson at CERN, a research organization on the Swiss-French border, said that although it was only an experimental finding, it could help advance human knowledge and enable the development of advanced equipment in the future. Four experiments conducted between 2015 and 2018 at CERN, formally known as the European Organization for Nuclear Research, yielded the results. The team, which included scientists from India, South Korea, Japan, China, Indonesia and Thailand, studied what happens when two lead nuclei come very close to each other in a so-called near-miss collision. After the lead nuclei moved at nearly the speed of light, they confirmed that some protons and neutrons were pulled out of the core part of the atoms. During the experiments using the Large Hadron Collider, a particle accelerating machine, lead atoms were observed to lose three of their 82 protons, resulting in atoms of gold with 79 protons. Through such near-miss collisions, the team confirmed the change that produced up to 89,000 gold nuclei per second. The result of the analysis, which involved a total of 167 institutes across the world, was published by Physical Review C of the American Physical Society in May. Marco Van Leeuwen, the research team's spokesperson, said that the gold made in the tests existed only "for a short time, microseconds or even shorter," and weighed a combined 29 picograms. One picogram is a trillionth of one gram. It would take "billions of years to make one gram of gold," he said, but noted that the scientists' work aims to enhance atomic research and may have private sector applications, such as in medical equipment that produces X-ray images. Tatsuya Chujo, a Japanese guest researcher at CERN who participated in the experiments, said, "I was surprised and excited that gold can actually be created from special reactions." "It means that we can basically produce any kinds of elements in the world by this simple and pure reaction using a world class accelerator," said Chujo, a professor at the Institute of Pure and Applied Sciences of the University of Tsukuba.
The Mainichi
6 hours ago
- The Mainichi
Oslo police announce rape and sexual assault charges against son of Norwegian crown princess
OSLO, Norway (AP) -- Oslo police on Friday announced charges against Marius Borg Hoeiby, the eldest son of Norway's crown princess, on multiple counts including rape, sexual assault and bodily harm after a monthslong investigation of a case that involved a "double-digit" number of alleged victims. Hoeiby, the 28-year-old son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit and stepson of the heir to the throne, Crown Prince Haakon, has been under scrutiny since he was repeatedly arrested in 2024 amid allegations of rape and on preliminary charges of bodily harm and criminal damage. Oslo Police Attorney Andreas Kruszewski said that Hoeiby was cooperative during police questioning, which is now complete. Evidence in the case was drawn from sources including text messages, witness testimonies and police searches, the police attorney said. The charges included one case of rape involving intercourse and two cases of rape without intercourse, four cases of sexual assault and two cases of bodily harm, Kruszewksi said at a news conference. "I cannot go into further detail about the number of victims in the case beyond confirming that it is a double-digit number," he said. Defense attorney Petar Sekulic, in an email to The Associated Press, said Hoeiby was "absolutely taking the accusations very seriously, but doesn't acknowledge any wrongdoing in most of the cases -- especially the cases regarding sexual abuse and violence." The royal palace said "the case is proceeding through the legal system and is following normal procedures. We have nothing further to add." The case was top news in Norway, where the royals are popular. Hoeiby previously lived with the royal couple and their two children, Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Sverre Magnus, but now lives in a separate house nearby, according to Sekulic. Hoeiby remains free pending a possible trial and is entitled to a presumption of innocence until a court rules otherwise. Once known affectionately as "Little Marius," Hoeiby grew up in the public eye enjoying the same wealth and privilege as his royal siblings, although his biological father, Morton Borg, served time in prison for drugs and violent offenses. Hoiby has acknowledged cocaine use and addiction. Norway's future queen made headlines in 2001 when she married Haakon, because she was a single mother who had lived a freewheeling life with a companion who had been convicted on drug charges.
The Mainichi
7 hours ago
- Business
- The Mainichi
Trump says he's terminating trade talks with Canada over tax on tech firms
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump said Friday that he's suspending trade talks with Canada over its plans to continue with its tax on technology firms, which he called "a direct and blatant attack on our country." Trump, in a post on his social media network, said Canada had just informed the U.S. that it was sticking to its plan to impose the digital services tax, which applies to Canadian and foreign businesses that engage with online users in Canada. The tax is set to go into effect Monday. "Based on this egregious Tax, we are hereby terminating ALL discussions on Trade with Canada, effective immediately. We will let Canada know the Tariff that they will be paying to do business with the United States of America within the next seven day period," Trump said in his post. Trump's announcement was the latest swerve in the trade war he's launched since taking office for a second term in January. Progress with Canada has been a roller coaster, starting with the U.S. president poking at the nation's northern neighbor and repeatedly suggesting it would be absorbed as a U.S. state. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Friday that his country would "continue to conduct these complex negotiations in the best interests of Canadians. It's a negotiation." Trump later said he expects that Canada will remove the tax. "Economically we have such power over Canada. We'd rather not use it," Trump said in the Oval Office. "It's not going to work out well for Canada. They were foolish to do it." When asked if Canada could do anything to restart talks, he suggested Canada could remove the tax, predicted it will but said, "It doesn't matter to me." Carney visited Trump in May at the White House, where he was polite but firm. Trump last week traveled to Canada for the G7 summit in Alberta, where Carney said that Canada and the U.S. had set a 30-day deadline for trade talks. The digital services tax will hit companies including Amazon, Google, Meta, Uber and Airbnb with a 3% levy on revenue from Canadian users. It will apply retroactively, leaving U.S. companies with a $2 billion U.S. bill due at the end of the month. "We appreciate the Administration's decisive response to Canada's discriminatory tax on U.S. digital exports," Matt Schruers, chief executive of the Computer & Communications Industry Association, said in a statement. Canada and the U.S. have been discussing easing a series of steep tariffs Trump imposed on goods from America's neighbor. The Republican president earlier told reporters that the U.S. was soon preparing to send letters to different countries, informing them of the new tariff rate his administration would impose on them. Trump has imposed 50% tariffs on steel and aluminum as well as 25% tariffs on autos. He is also charging a 10% tax on imports from most countries, though he could raise rates on July 9, after the 90-day negotiating period he set would expire. Canada and Mexico face separate tariffs of as much as 25% that Trump put into place under the auspices of stopping fentanyl smuggling, though some products are still protected under the 2020 U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement signed during Trump's first term. Addressing reporters after a private meeting with Republican senators Friday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent declined to comment on news that Trump had ended trade talks with Canada. "I was in the meeting," Bessent said before moving on to the next question. About 60% of U.S. crude oil imports are from Canada, and 85% of U.S. electricity imports as well. Canada is also the largest foreign supplier of steel, aluminum and uranium to the U.S. and has 34 critical minerals and metals that the Pentagon is eager to obtain. About 80% of Canada's exports go to the U.S. Daniel Beland, a political science professor at McGill University in Montreal, said it is a domestic tax issue, but it has been a source of tensions between Canada and the United States for a while because it targets U.S. tech giants. "The Digital Services Tax Act was signed into law a year ago so the advent of this new tax has been known for a long time," Beland said. "Yet, President Trump waited just before its implementation to create drama over it in the context of ongoing and highly uncertain trade negotiations between the two countries."
The Mainichi
7 hours ago
- Sport
- The Mainichi
Baseball: Shohei Ohtani homers in 2nd straight game as Dodgers down Royals
KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Kyodo) -- Shohei Ohtani hit a home run for the second straight game and also had an RBI triple as the Los Angeles Dodgers edged the Kansas City Royals 5-4 on Friday for their fifth consecutive win. The two-way star slugged a leadoff homer to right off a 1-2 changeup from Noah Cameron (2-4) at Kauffman Stadium, going deep for the National League lead-extending 29th time this year. Trailing 4-3 with a runner on and no out in the fifth, Ohtani then tied the game by lining a drive to right-center for a triple off the left-hander's 1-1 four-seamer, and scored the decisive run on a Mookie Betts single. Ohtani went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a walk on the eve of his next pitching start against the Royals on Saturday, his first away game on the mound this season. Tomoyuki Sugano had a wild start and surrendered seven runs over five innings on nine hits -- including three home runs -- and a walk, but picked up the unlikely win as the Baltimore Orioles roared back to batter the Tampa Bay Rays 22-8. Jonathan Aranda and Josh Lowe hit a solo shot each before Brandon Lowe cranked a three-run shot to right off Sugano (6-4) in a six-run second at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The Orioles scored four runs in the home half and added another in the third to cut the arrears before Sugano allowed his last run in the fourth on three straight singles. However, a Colton Cowser RBI double and Gary Sanchez's two-run shot in the fifth gave the Orioles a lead they would not surrender. "In my long baseball career, it's probably the first time I earned the win giving up this many runs," said Sugano after his team amassed 14 runs over three innings after he got the hook. "I was tense and couldn't get the subtleties of my control right. I know the reason why."
