Sports
Wimbledon hails Serena Williams’ return as wildcard buzz builds
Wimbledon organisers have described the return of 23-time Grand Slam singles champion Serena Williams to competition as “exciting,” amid growing speculation that the American could receive a wildcard entry for this year’s Championships.
The 44-year-old stepped back onto the court this week for the first time in nearly four years, teaming up with Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko in doubles at the WTA event at Queen’s Club.
Williams, a seven-time Wimbledon singles champion, has not confirmed whether she will feature at the All England Club, though reports suggest she is in line for a wildcard, most likely in doubles.
“I guess what I can say is we can all see how much excitement Serena being back on a tennis court, and particularly back on a grass court, has created,” Sally Bolton, chief executive of the All England Club, said Thursday.
“And so one can only imagine what that would be like at the Championships. The wildcard committee will make its decisions next week, and we’ll be communicating those early next week.
“She has certainly created a fantastic buzz, and that is exciting for the sport.”
Williams won her first Wimbledon singles title in 2002 and her most recent in 2016. She has also won six women’s doubles titles at the grass-court major.
“And as and when at the wildcard meeting next week, I’m sure it won’t ignore her success at Wimbledon when making that decision,” All England Club chair Debbie Jevans said.
Wild cards are given to players whose rankings do not merit a place in the main draw and are often awarded to home players, top players returning from injury layoffs or those, such as Williams, with notable past success.
The announcement will be made Tuesday.
Fans heading to Vancouver for the World Cup are confronting steep ticket prices, but many say the cost is secondary to the personal meaning behind the trip, with supporters traveling to honor loved ones or share the experience with family.
The tournament, co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, opened Thursday with Mexico beating South Africa 2-0 in a tense match that produced three red cards. Vancouver hosts its first game Saturday, when Türkiye face Australia in a Group D clash.
For some fans, the journey carries a deeper purpose. One German supporter said he traveled to Vancouver to pay tribute to his late father, who had a strong affection for the city, even as he acknowledged the rising costs of following the tournament.
“We are here to watch Australia against Turkey, and I’m happy to get some tickets,” Harold from Germany told Reuters.
“I paid $150. That’s a lot of money for a football match, but I got lucky to get tickets at this price.”
“We’ve been to tournaments in Germany, the World Cup and the World Cup in Brazil in 2014, and it has always been expensive, but it’s getting more and more expensive, and I don’t like this, but I think it’s a great atmosphere.”
Lasting memories
Australian fan Mark Wright, attending his fifth World Cup with his family, said the expense mattered little compared with the chance to create lasting memories.
The Socceroos have made a habit of qualifying for the global showpiece, reaching the last six editions and advancing to the round of 16 for a second time in Qatar four years ago.
“It wasn’t about the cost. I’ve been to four World Cups now, and it’s never about the cost,” Wright said. “It’s about following my country and my team and spending time with my family.
“For me, the World Cup is a lifetime memory, doing things that I love, celebrating, watching.
“I think the World Cup makes everywhere better. You see the best version of a country or a city because people are happy. Generally, the weather decides to be good as well, out of some sort of miracle. But football is life, as they say in the popular TV show Ted Lasso, and I think that gives everyone a bit of a feeling, and it improves the city.”
Türkiye step into a World Cup match for the first time in 24 years on Sunday, opening their 2026 campaign against Australia in Vancouver in a Group D fixture that brings together history, momentum, and contrasting tournament identities at BC Place Stadium.
Kickoff is set for 07:00 Turkish time.
The other Group D match sees the United States face Paraguay, adding early pressure to a group already considered one of the most balanced in the competition.
For Türkiye national football team, the match represents more than an opener. It marks a long-awaited return to the World Cup stage for the first time since 2002, when the team stunned global football by finishing third.
Two decades later, they arrive in North America with renewed belief, built on a strong qualifying run and a sharp competitive rise under Vincenzo Montella.
Their recent form adds weight to that confidence. Türkiye enter the tournament unbeaten in eight matches and have won seven of their last eight, including pre-tournament victories over North Macedonia and Venezuela.
That run has strengthened the sense that this is a team capable of progressing beyond the group stage for the first time in the modern era.
Yet the opening match carries uncertainty.
Kenan Yıldız remains a major doubt after missing full training due to a calf issue, limiting Türkiye’s attacking flexibility in wide areas. His absence would remove one of the squad’s most direct and progressive forwards, forcing adjustments in the final third.
Even so, the squad retains a blend of elite-level experience and emerging talent across Europe’s top leagues.
Arda Güler arrives fully fit after recovering from injury at Real Madrid and is expected to play a central creative role.
Captain Hakan Çalhanoğlu anchors the midfield with control and set-piece threat, while Deniz Gül is positioned to lead the line.
Supporting options include Barış Alper Yılmaz and Orkun Kökçü, giving Montella multiple tactical shapes depending on game state.
Defensively, Türkiye offer continuity and European experience with Merih Demiral, Çağlar Söyüncü, Zeki Çelik and Ferdi Kadıoğlu among the key figures. In goal, a three-way competition between Altay Bayındır, Mert Günok and Uğurcan Çakır adds depth but also selection complexity for the coaching staff at a crucial moment.
Across the pitch, Australia national football team bring a different profile. The Socceroos arrive with tournament rhythm, having qualified for a fifth consecutive World Cup and reaching the round of 16 in 2022, their best performance in modern competition and a continuation of their reputation as a disciplined knockout-capable side.
Australia’s preparation has been steady rather than spectacular. A narrow 1-0 defeat to Mexico was followed by a 1-1 draw with Switzerland, matches that highlighted their defensive structure and reliance on transitions rather than sustained possession. That identity is expected to remain central in Vancouver.
Their squad is built on experience and familiarity. Mathew Ryan remains a stabilizing presence in goal, Jackson Irvine provides midfield work rate and leadership, and Mathew Leckie brings World Cup experience and physical presence on the flank. Mohamed Toure is expected to lead the attack after a productive club spell, offering pace and direct movement as Australia look to stretch defensive lines.
Historically, the matchup is limited but slightly favors Australia, who won both previous meetings in 2004 friendlies. However, those results carry limited relevance to a new generation of players and a vastly different competitive landscape.
Tactically, the match is expected to hinge on control versus transition. Türkiye’s challenge will be breaking down a compact Australian block while maintaining defensive balance against counterattacks. Australia, meanwhile, will look to absorb pressure and exploit space behind advanced fullbacks, especially in wide channels.
With the United States and Paraguay also in the group, neither side can afford a slow start. In a section where qualification may come down to goal difference or single moments, Vancouver’s opener carries disproportionate weight for both teams’ tournament trajectories.
Neymar was again absent from Brazil’s training session in Morristown, New Jersey, on Wednesday as the squad continued preparations for Saturday’s World Cup opener against Morocco while also celebrating head coach Carlo Ancelotti’s 67th birthday.
Ancelotti’s players paid tribute to the Italian, who has been tasked with ending Brazil’s 24-year wait for a sixth World Cup title, with a traditional guard of honor. Barcelona forward Raphinha later joked that the team had gone easy on him compared with the usual treatment.
“He passed through it, but nobody touched him,” Raphinha said.
Talisman Neymar continues his intensive rehabilitation for a grade 2 calf injury suffered while playing for Santos in Brazil in mid-May.
The 34-year-old is set to miss the first game, with no indication yet on whether he will feature in subsequent group matches against Haiti and Scotland.
Despite Neymar’s absence, Brazilian pundits present at the training ground remained optimistic.
“Brazil is not the great favorite, but it has good players that can come together to form a good team. I think it has its chances,” said Zinho, a key midfielder in the Brazil team that won the World Cup in the United States in 1994.
Zinho, who is currently a pundit for ESPN, believes Ancelotti’s side will be cautious against a Morocco team that reached the semifinals at the last World Cup.
Benjamin Back, a popular Brazilian radio commentator, said Ancelotti would not alter the team’s style.
“He will have a team that defends and waits for the opponents’ actions before trying to be quick in transition once it wins the ball,” he said.
“It is a young group, with good physical condition and a great coach. I would put Brazil among the favorites,” he added.
Brazil’s first game will take place at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Mexico got the World Cup party started as the co-hosts swept away South Africa 2-0 on Thursday, in an encounter with three red cards as the quadrennial football extravaganza got underway.
Julian Quinones’s early strike set the tone for a dominant Mexican display in the Group A encounter, with Raul Jimenez’s header midway through the second half removing any lingering tension for the home crowd.
Amid escalating protests and social tensions in Mexico’s capital, more than 80,000 fans made their way to Mexico City Stadium, better known as Azteca Stadium.
It got a much-needed facelift ahead of the 48-team tournament that Mexico is co-hosting alongside the United States and Canada.
Before the kickoff, the crowd was entertained by Colombian singer Shakira and a host of performers in an opening ceremony.
Yet the match will be remembered as much for the three dismissals, with South Africa having Sphephelo Sithole sent off early in the second half, with his teammate Themba Zwane following him off the pitch before Mexico’s Cesar Montes was dismissed in the dying moments.
The ill-tempered encounter spoiled an otherwise party atmosphere, yet the home crowd got to celebrate an opening victory that will set them up nicely to make it out of a group that also includes South Korea and the Czech Republic.
The game was barely minutes old when Jimenez stung the fingertips of South Africa goalkeeper Ronwen Williams with a volley from 12 yards, but the tournament’s opening goal was not long in coming.
Sithole was robbed on the edge of his own box by Erik Lira, preferred in the heart of midfield to captain Edson Alvarez, and he quickly fed Quinones, who danced inside before drilling a low finish beneath Williams.
It was the earliest first goal at a World Cup since 2006, when Philipp Lahm netted for Germany against Costa Rica after six minutes.
It took 35 minutes for South Africa to even vaguely threaten the Mexico goal when Lyle Foster glanced a header wide, yet as the first half drew to a close, Hugo Broos’s side were clinging on for dear life.
First, Jimenez wafted a foot at an inswinging cross to draw a fine save from Williams before Quinones struck the post from close range with the goal at his mercy, and Brian Gutierrez pushed an effort wide when he should have done better.
The second half began in a similar vein, and it was Gutierrez who drew the first red card when his marauding run toward the box was stopped in its tracks by Sithole, whose clumsy tackle from behind earned him his marching orders to complete a miserable afternoon’s work for the midfielder.
The crowd had begun to get a little restless at Mexico’s failure to turn their numerical advantage into another goal, but that frustration was relieved when Jimenez bagged his first World Cup goal, with a powerful downward header past Williams from a devilish cross by Roberto Alvarado.
The game’s finale was dominated by the dismissals , with Zwane sent off after a VAR check for a supposed arm to the face, while Montes was sent off for Mexico for denying a goalscoring opportunity.
Azteca Stadium is the first venue to host three World Cup openers, after doing so at the 1970 and 1986 tournaments.
It is the eighth opening match of a World Cup for the Mexicans, who had previously lost five and drawn the last two, including against South Africa in the 2010 World Cup.
South Africa are playing in their first World Cup since hosting the 2010 tournament. Bafana Bafana also played in the 1998 and 2002 editions.
Mexico arrived with an eight-match unbeaten streak and have not lost since last November, when Paraguay beat them in a friendly.
The Mexican team is led by the 67-year-old coach Javier Aguirre, who is in his third stint with the national team.
The opener was also marked by teenager Gilberto Mora, who became Mexico’s youngest player in World Cup history.
The attacking midfielder was brought on in the 66th minute at the age of 17 years and 240 days.
Mora was already part of the Mexico team that won the Gold Cup when he was 16. His appearance on Thursday was his ninth overall for his country.
He is also the youngest player at the tournament, and the Club Tijuana player has already attracted the interest of European clubs.
The youngest player in men’s World Cup history remains Northern Ireland’s Norman Whiteside, who played at the 1982 tournament in Spain at the age of 17 years and 41 days.
Iran’s World Cup campaign has yet to begin, but the tournament’s political tensions are already threatening to spill onto the field.
Iranian Sports Minister Ahmad Donyamali warned this week that Iran could stop matches at the 2026 FIFA World Cup if what he described as unauthorized flags are displayed or anti-team slogans are chanted inside stadiums, adding another layer of controversy to one of the tournament’s most politically sensitive participants.
The warning comes days before Iran open their Group G campaign against New Zealand in Los Angeles on June 15. They will then face Belgium on June 21 at the same venue before concluding the group stage against Egypt in Seattle on June 26.
Speaking to Iranian media, Donyamali said Iranian officials had formally raised concerns with FIFA regarding potential protests during the team’s matches.
“We have informed FIFA that if unofficial flags are brought or slogans against the national team are chanted in the stadiums where Iran plays in the World Cup, the team manager will definitely be responsible for stopping the match,” Donyamali said.
The comments underscore the political scrutiny surrounding Iran’s presence at the expanded 48-team tournament, jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Iran’s national team has long found itself caught between football and politics. Opposition activists and members of the Iranian diaspora argue the team represents the country’s ruling establishment rather than the broader Iranian population. Demonstrations have followed the team at major international events in recent years, particularly after nationwide protests erupted following the death of Mahsa Amini in 2022.
The issue resurfaced in April when protesters gathered outside the FIFA Congress in Vancouver, urging world football’s governing body to ban Iran from the World Cup. Demonstrators claimed the team was closely aligned with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and did not represent ordinary Iranians.
One of the most visible symbols of the dispute has been the pre-revolutionary Lion and Sun flag, which opposition figures, including Reza Pahlavi, have encouraged supporters to display at international sporting events. Iranian authorities view such symbols as politically charged, while opposition groups regard them as expressions of national identity and dissent.
The concerns appear particularly acute ahead of Iran’s final group-stage match against Egypt in Seattle. Donyamali said FIFA had assured Iranian officials that measures would be in place to prevent disruptions during the game after both countries’ football federations raised concerns.
While political tensions dominate the headlines, logistical challenges have also complicated Iran’s World Cup preparations.
The Iranian Football Federation said its allocation of supporter tickets was withdrawn shortly before the tournament, leaving many fans who had already arranged travel without access to matches. FIFA has said it is working to maximize opportunities for Iranian supporters, though U.S. sanctions and financial restrictions have complicated ticketing and travel arrangements.
The team has also been forced to adapt its tournament preparations. Rather than establishing a training base in the United States, Iran relocated to Tijuana, Mexico, amid uncertainty surrounding visas and entry procedures.
Under arrangements confirmed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Iran’s players are permitted to enter the United States shortly before matches and must leave afterward. Several members of the broader delegation reportedly encountered visa difficulties, further highlighting the diplomatic challenges facing the team.
The unusual setup reflects the wider tensions between Washington and Tehran, which have cast a geopolitical shadow over the tournament despite FIFA’s efforts to keep the focus on football.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino has publicly backed Iran’s participation and supported efforts to facilitate the team’s involvement in the competition. However, with emotions running high among supporters and critics alike, the governing body faces a difficult task balancing its ban on political demonstrations with the realities of one of international sport’s most politically charged storylines.
A historic comeback, sealed by a play that may forever be etched into Knicks lore.
The New York Knicks are now one win away from ending a championship drought that has stretched more than five decades, and they did it in unforgettable fashion Wednesday night.
Trailing by 29 points, the Knicks produced the largest comeback in NBA Finals history, rallying to stun the San Antonio Spurs 107-106 on OG Anunoby’s tip-in with 1.2 seconds remaining.
“That has to be the most iconic shot in the history of New York basketball,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said.
Few would argue. With the game hanging in the balance, Jalen Brunson’s deep 3-pointer bounced off the front rim before Anunoby soared above the crowd, extending his right arm to gently guide the ball through the net.
“His right hand came from God,” Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns said.
The victory leaves the Knicks, owners of just two NBA titles and appearing in their first Finals since 1999, with three opportunities to capture their first championship since 1973. Their first chance comes Saturday night in Game 5 in San Antonio.
It looked impossible early, when the Spurs rolled to a 27-point halftime lead. But Brunson helped bring the Knicks back with 36 points, and Anunoby finished with 33.
No team had come back from more than 24 points down in an NBA Finals game since the league began keeping detailed play-by-play records for all four quarters in 1997. Boston overcame a 24-point deficit against the Los Angeles Lakers in 2008. The Spurs led 81-52 in the third quarter.
“We’re a resilient group. We’ve been through a lot,” Anunoby said. “We’ve come back plenty of times when we’re behind. Just staying with it, weathering the storm, not being too down or angry or frustrated.”
The only bigger comeback on record in any NBA playoff game was a 31-point rally by the Los Angeles Clippers against Golden State in Game 2 of a first-round series in 2019.
“You look at it when you’re down 29 and think, ‘OK, let’s get it to 20,'” forward Josh Hart said. “There’s three minutes left in the third quarter, we’re down 18, you’re thinking, ‘Let’s get it to 10.’
“In the fourth quarter, you’re like, ‘This is winning time. Anything can happen.'”
And it did.
The Knicks had their 13-game winning streak snapped in Game 3 and seemed headed for a second straight defeat throughout the first half, when Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs built the largest halftime lead by a visiting team in NBA Finals history.
But the young Spurs, who made 11 of their first 16 3-point attempts, went cold in the second half, shooting 3 for 17 from beyond the arc as the Knicks outscored them 58-30.
“We got on our heels. We missed some shots,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “It’s disappointing, to say the least.”
Delirious fans inside Madison Square Garden sang along to Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin'” a few minutes after witnessing something that seemed almost impossible.
Wembanyama had 24 points and 13 rebounds but shot just 9 for 25 from the field.
Road teams had won the first three games, only the second time that had happened in the NBA Finals. San Antonio was well on its way to making it four for four.
President Donald Trump wasn’t at this game. Taylor Swift was. But the same restrictions remained around Madison Square Garden as when Trump attended Game 3. That angered the Knicks, who decided not to move forward with plans to hold an outdoor watch party outside the arena.
Inside the building in the first half, there wasn’t much for the home fans to be happy about, either.
But the Knicks gave themselves a chance by limiting the Spurs to 14 points on 4-for-20 shooting in the third quarter, using a 13-0 run to get back into the game and cutting the deficit to 90-75 entering the fourth.
These Knicks, who erased a 22-point deficit in the fourth quarter against Cleveland in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals, simply don’t quit. Even when the comeback appeared to be for nothing after Stephon Castle was fouled and made two free throws to put San Antonio back ahead with 30 seconds remaining, the Knicks had one more rally in them.
Dylan Harper scored 21 points, and De’Aaron Fox and Devin Vassell added 18 apiece for the Spurs, who will try to regroup and send the series back to New York for Game 6 on Tuesday. Only one team, Cleveland in 2016, has recovered from a 3-1 deficit in the NBA Finals.
“I think it began before that,” Wembanyama said of the Spurs’ collapse. “I can’t really explain it right now. I don’t know. We clearly weren’t the hungrier team in the second half.”
Fans booed Wembanyama when he came onto the floor to warm up about an hour before the game, and the Knicks tried to play physically against him. Mitchell Robinson was called for a flagrant foul for hitting him above the shoulders, and Jose Alvarado was reviewed for a possible flagrant after making contact below the belt.
Wembanyama, who was also assessed a flagrant foul, held his own against the Knicks but will regret the two free throws he missed with 1:47 remaining and San Antonio leading 104-103.
The Spurs raced to a 12-2 lead, giving them a double-digit advantage in the first quarter of all four games. They kept pouring it on and led 41-22 after one quarter, then extended the margin to 57-32 when Julian Champagnie’s 3-pointer made them 11 for 16 from beyond the arc.
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