Russian and Belarusian players are experiencing delays obtaining UK visas in time for Wimbledon.

The All England Club and the Lawn Tennis Association reversed last year’s ban on competitors from the two countries following the invasion of Ukraine but there appears a chance some may not make it anyway.

Sixteen-year-old Mirra Andreeva is due to make her Wimbledon debut in qualifying but said after losing to Coco Gauff in the third round in Paris on Saturday that she was still waiting to be granted a visa.

Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka has also spoken about not having received her visa while world number two Daniil Medvedev pointedly said “if I’m able to come to UK to play Wimbledon” when talking about the grass-court season.

The Home Office is carrying out additional checks on Russian and Belarusian nationals, extending a wait that is currently at least six weeks, while fast-track options are not available to people from the two countries.

Wimbledon begins on July 3 and, speaking after reaching the French Open quarter-finals, Russian Karen Khachanov, who still has a visa from previous years, said: “I heard that it takes much longer to issue the visa.”

Under normal circumstances, Andreeva would be a strong candidate for a Wimbledon wild card, but it appears hugely unlikely the All England Club would offer such help at the moment.

Fellow Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, meanwhile, is set to miss the tournament because she is not currently ranked high enough to get into the main draw or qualifying.

Pavlyuchenkova is a former French Open finalist but was sidelined long term following knee surgery.

She is showing strong form in Paris, making it through to the quarter-finals, and was asked whether she could seek a wild card.

Pavlyuchenkova said incredulously: “Are you serious? Do you think after the situation last year they would give me a wildcard this year?”

Stenton Glider produced a fine run to finish second to all-the-way winner Habana in the German 1000 Guineas at Dusseldorf on Sunday.

The Hugo Palmer-trained daughter of Dandy Man, who was well held by Mawj in the English equivalent in soft ground at Newmarket on her previous run, the Fred Darling runner-up showed her true metal with a powerful display under Andrea Atzeni.

From an unpromising wide draw in stall 10, Atzeni was forced to make more use of her than he would lave liked early in the mile contest in order to get a good position.

Stenton Glider settled well in third behind the Andreas Wohler-trained Habana and although briefly losing momentum as they crossed the path shortly after turning for home, she stayed on well to take second ahead of the Charlie Appleby-trained Dream Of Love, who was sent off the 6-4 favourite under William Buick.

“That’s the luck of the draw, but the two big questions we wanted answered going there was whether she was a miler and whether she would handle fast ground,” said Palmer.

“They were giving the ground as good, but both Andrea Atzeni and William Buick both agreed the ground was firm, it may have been good to firm.

“She skipped off it and her best furlong was her last furlong, and she has now shown Group form on firm ground and heavy ground, and I’m sure she will be fine on anything in between, so that’s a massive box ticked for us.

“The winner had the run of the race and kicked clear – and the winner is clearly a very good filly – but she kicked clear when we were still behind horses turning for home.

“We were never going to catch her, but we were reducing the deficit all the time, and we’re obviously delighted with how she has run. Hopefully, her first stakes victory won’t be far away.”

Though beaten three lengths by Eduardo Predroza’s mount, there was plenty to like about the fillies who filled the places, and Palmer, who had won the Group Two contest twice before with Hawksmoor (2016) and Unforgetable Filly (2017), has not ruled out a trip to Royal Ascot with Stenton Glider.

He added: “This is the first time she has run on fast ground and Andrea said that when she went to let down on it, it was a new sensation for her and she just took a stride or two to hit top gear and realise she did enjoy it, and could handle it. She stretched all the way to the line.

“That path is a very difficult challenge of the race, like the ridges at the bottom of the hill at Sandown.

“I remember when we won it before, James Doyle made a particular issue of it. He was more prominent than we were today and he made sure that as soon as he crossed the path on the bridle, he kicked and took the momentum away form the others. It is one of the idiosyncrasies of the track.

“We weren’t in that position and we were chasing, so we had to go from there, but I’m absolutely delighted.

“We will see what the handicapper does, if we didn’t move too much and she came out of the race OK, then the Sandringham would still be a possibility.

“Potentially, there’s the Listed race at Carlisle (Eternal Stakes, over an extended six and a half furlongs) at the end of the month.

“I’ve always thought the Dick Hern at Haydock in early August might suit her very well. I suppose potentially the Thoroughbred Stakes at Goodwood – I’m talking off the top of my head – she could take on colts.

“The priority is she needs to be a stakes winner. Once she is, then the world really is her oyster. Then we can have fun – not that we are not having fun at the moment!”

Buick was far from unhappy with the performance from Dream Of Love, who had been a place and a length in front of Stenton Glider when 12th in the fillies’ Classic at Newmarket.

Prominent near the rail throughout, she stuck to her task well to finish two-and-a-quarter lengths further back in third.

Buick said: “She ran very well. I thought it was a competitive race on fast ground.

“Everything went smooth and she has probably taken another step up on what she has achieved in the past.”

Jean-Claude Rouget’s Ace Impact extended his unbeaten record with a brilliant performance to land the Qatar Prix du Jockey Club at Chantilly.

Having completed a hat-trick on his previous run over 10 furlongs at this track last month, he gained a fourth success in scintillating fashion, coming from well off the pace in the hands of Cristian Demuro to collar long-time leader and favourite Big Rock inside the final furlong.

The additional half-furlong certainly helped the son of Cracksman, as Ace Impact looked better the further he went.

British raider Epictetus, trained by John and Thady Gosden, held every chance turning in, but Frankie Dettori’s mount faded to finish fifth, while Aidan O’Brien’s Continuous was in third throughout, before failing to see out the final furlong, eventually finishing eighth of the 11 runners.

Dubai Mile will be aimed at the Grand Prix de Paris with the possibility of a run at Royal Ascot in between.

The Ahmad Al Shaikh-owned colt, a son of Roaring Lion, won twice last season – including in Group One company – and then finished an excellent fifth to Chaldean in the Qipco 2000 Guineas at Newmarket on his three-year-old debut.

Sent off a 25-1 chance on Daniel Muscutt’s first Betfred Derby ride at Epsom on Saturday, he was prominent on the inside rail before fading into ninth once the pace quickened.

Trainer Charlie Johnston said: “I think it was a great position to have got into and saving ground.

“I didn’t think they were going that quick, so you have to be handyish – that is what I felt at the time. The winner (Auguste Rodin) and the second (King Of Steel) have come from a long way back.

“I could feel he was in a bit of trouble about six to five (furlongs) out, just as the pace started to lift.

“He wasn’t sitting there full of horse under him. He was hitting that flat spot he hits and whereas on other tracks you can hit a flat spot and get away with it, here you hit a flat spot and the race happens, then you run on when it is all over.

“The pacemaker couldn’t decide whether to go inside or outside and that didn’t help him, but only cost him a length or two – it wasn’t a significant reason for where he finished.

“Albeit we have had and have plenty of confidence in the horse, he was still a 25-1 shot in the Derby.”

Dubai Mile holds engagements in the Group Two King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot on June 23 and also the Irish Derby at the Curragh on July 2.

However, Johnston is keen to head to ParisLongchamp for the Grand Prix de Paris, over the same mile-and-a-half trip on July 14.

“We will see about Ascot and I’ve always thought the Grand Prix de Paris was a race that would really suit him,” said Johnston. “I’d like to have that as part of his plans.

“Whether or not he goes to Ascot in between, we’ll see.

“If he did everything, it would be three weeks and three weeks – it is six weeks until Paris.”

A man has been charged after he was seen wearing a football shirt at Wembley which appeared to make an offensive reference to the Hillsborough disaster.

James White, 33, of Warwickshire, was charged on Sunday with displaying threatening or abusive writing likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress, Scotland Yard said.

The Metropolitan Police Events Twitter account retweeted a picture on Saturday of a man wearing a Manchester United shirt that had the number 97 on the back and the words “Not Enough”.

Wembley was hosting the FA Cup final, where Manchester City beat local rivals Manchester United 2-1.

The Met said White was arrested “after being seen wearing a shirt which appeared to refer in offensive terms to those who died in the Hillsborough tragedy”.

He was bailed to appear at Willesden Magistrates’ Court on June 19.

Meanwhile, police said a further 22 people were arrested during the course of the policing operation for offences including assault, affray, possession of drugs, and drunk and disorderly behaviour.

Inquiries continue in respect of an item thrown on to the pitch shortly after the Manchester United goal, and there has been no arrest at this stage in relation to that matter.

On Sunday, the FA said in a statement: “The FA strongly condemns the actions of the individual who wore a shirt referencing the Hillsborough disaster ahead of the Emirates FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium.

“We saw a photograph of the offensive shirt on social media and immediately started working to identify the perpetrator.

“Our security team were able to quickly locate the individual based on the image, and we welcome the swift action which was then taken by the police.

“We will not tolerate abuse relating to Hillsborough or any football tragedy at Wembley Stadium and we will continue to work with the authorities to ensure strong action is taken against perpetrators.”

Ninety-seven football fans died as a result of a crush at a match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield on April 15, 1989.

An inquest jury ruled in 2016 that they were unlawfully killed amid a number of police errors.

King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes winner Pyledriver is on course for the defence of his title and could use the Hardwicke Stakes as a stepping stone as he nears a return from injury.

William Muir and Chris Grassick’s stable star has not run since taking the all-aged midsummer Group One highlight last July.

He was being prepared for a tilt at the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe when he suffered setback and plans for a return to the Dubai Sheema Classic, in which he finished fourth in the spring of 2022, were similarly scotched when he met with an injury to his near foreleg.

Pyledriver, who runs in the colours of the La Pyle Partnership, also won the Coronation Cup in 2021 and finished second in that race to Hukum last year.

Muir is hopeful the six-year-old can return to Ascot for the Group Two Hardwicke on June 24.

“Pyledriver is just starting to come along now,” he said. “He did his first piece of work on Friday.

“We have brought him along nice and gently this time and he’s doing it really nicely. He is doing plenty of cantering.

“He did his first gallop on Friday and he swims every night, which is something a bit new, because we have not done that before, but we thought we would try to get him to the Hardwicke, which is just under three weeks away.

“He swims like a natural. It scares me, because I don’t like going swimming, but he doesn’t mind it.”

However, the Lambourn trainer is mindful the gelding’s primary targets are towards the end of the year and the option of missing his King George prep is still on the table.

“It is not a big issue if he doesn’t go there, but he’ll only go if I’m happy he’s 90-95 per cent straight fitness-wise,” Muir added.

“Those type of races are big races. The object was to go to the King George again, then prioritise getting to the Arc. Then you have all these international races at the back-end of the year.

“The Hardwicke, though it sounds stupid to say it, is a race to bring him on for the King George.

“The best races for him, and for the prize-money, are later on in the year, so the longer I wait now, he won’t be over the top when we get to the end of the year.

“You can over-do it by racing a lot, and when you get to internationals like Kong Kong and the Breeders’ Cup, you can go past your best.

“If in the next two weeks we can get him where we want him – which we can do, as when we were getting him ready for Lingfield I thought I was struggling to get to the Winter Derby, he had two gallops and then ‘bang’ he was there and he was bouncing – if he says to me ‘yes’, he’ll be there.

“And if he says ‘no’, he won’t be. We’ll see how he gets on, but there’s no big issue if he doesn’t go to the Hardwicke.”

The Football Association has condemned the actions of a fan at Wembley who wore a jersey referencing the Hillsborough disaster.

The Metropolitan Police Events Twitter account retweeted a picture on Saturday of a man wearing a Manchester United shirt that had the number 97 on the back and the words “Not Enough”.

Wembley was hosting the FA Cup final where Manchester City beat their rivals Manchester United.

Police said a man was arrested on suspicion of a public order offence and taken into custody.

On Sunday, the FA said in a statement: “The FA strongly condemns the actions of the individual who wore a shirt referencing the Hillsborough disaster ahead of the Emirates FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium.

“We saw a photograph of the offensive shirt on social media and immediately started working to identify the perpetrator.

“Our security team were able to quickly locate the individual based on the image, and we welcome the swift action which was then taken by the police.

“We will not tolerate abuse relating to Hillsborough or any football tragedy at Wembley Stadium and we will continue to work with the authorities to ensure strong action is taken against perpetrators.”

Sharing a tweet which featured a photo of the man wearing the jersey, the Met’s events Twitter account said on Saturday: “We are aware of this and have worked proactively with officials at @wembleystadium to identify the individual.

“He has been arrested on suspicion of a public order offence and taken into custody.”

Ninety-seven football fans died as a result of a crush at a match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield on April 15, 1989.

They were unlawfully killed amid a number of police errors, an inquest jury ruled in 2016.

Australia pace bowler Josh Hazlewood will miss the World Test Championship final against India at the Kia Oval – little more than a week before the Ashes begins.

Hazlewood has been managing an Achilles issue as well as a side injury that flared up during the recent Indian Premier League, but Cricket Australia insists the 32-year-old will be fit for the start of this summer’s showdown with England at Edgbaston on June 16.

“Josh was very, very close to being given the green light but we are cognisant that our upcoming schedule means this is not a one-off Test match for us,” Australia chair of selectors George Bailey told cricket.com.au.

“This will give Josh an ideal preparation leading into Edgbaston. With six Test matches in a little over seven weeks we will need all of our fast bowling assets.”

Hazlewood has played just four Tests in the past three years due to a series of injuries but shared a stint of new-ball bowling with five-day skipper Pat Cummins during the team’s preparation in England.

He returned early from his recent spell in the IPL due to a side issue, having been ruled out of the preceding Test campaign in India with a recurrence of the Achilles problem he sustained in the final five-day match of the Australia summer.

Speaking on Saturday about the close proximity of the India decider, which starts on Wednesday, and the first Ashes Test, Hazlewood said: “It’s probably one or the other for me at this stage.

“Just being over here for the last week and bowling in England, it does feel a lot easier on the body compared to Australia or India where it can be hot, the wickets are really hard and you’ve got to bend your back to get something out of them.

“In England it feels like you can just take that couple of per cent off, bowl a bit within yourself and the wicket does enough for you.”

Michael Neser has joined the official 15-man Australia party, but Scott Boland is likely to partner Cummins and Mitchell Starc at the Oval.

Neser, who has been training with the Australia squad alongside another reserve quick bowler Sean Abbott, has been playing for Glamorgan in the LV= County Championship and taken 19 wickets at 25.63.

Australia coach Andrew McDonald said the tight turnaround between the WTC final and the five-Test Ashes series has to be taken into account in managing their fast bowlers.

McDonald said: “Definitely consideration for (the schedule) – we don’t want to go too far ahead.

“We’ve got the WTC final to play, which we are excited about, but on the back of that we have to quickly turn our attention to England and the Ashes.

“There are short turnarounds there. That’s nothing we’re not used to.

“So, there’ll always be considerations around management. I’d say there’d be some moving parts amongst the quicks.”

A doubles pair were defaulted from the French Open on Sunday after Japanese player Miyu Kato hit a ball girl in the head with a ball.

Kato and her Indonesian partner Aldila Sutjiadi, the 16th seeds, were leading Marie Bouzkova and Sara Sorribes Tormo 7-6 (1) 1-3 in the third round of the women’s doubles when the Japanese player hit the ball down to the other end of the court at the end of a point.

Unaware that the ball was coming, the ball girl was struck directly on the head and began crying.

The umpire originally gave Kato a warning but, with Czech Bouzkova and Spaniard Sorribes Tormo pointing out the girl’s distress, the supervisor and referee were called to Court 14.

Kato apologised to the ball girl and lengthy discussions took place before the decision was made to disqualify the pair, who appeared incredulous, amid booing from the crowd.

The incident comes a day after 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva admitted she feared she would be defaulted after she angrily swiped a ball into the crowd during her singles match with Coco Gauff.

It is three years, meanwhile, since Novak Djokovic was defaulted from the US Open after hitting a line judge in the throat with a ball swatted away in annoyance.

Kia Joorabchian has likened King Of Steel’s Betfred Derby near-miss akin to “missing the last penalty in a Champions League final”.

The high-profile football agent and founder of Amo Racing saw the 66-1 chance collared late on by the Aidan O’Brien-trained Auguste Rodin at Epsom on Saturday, with the pair well clear of White Birch in third.

The Roger Varian-trained King Of Steel, an imposing son of Wootton Bassett, was having the first run of the season, having previously finished almost 10 lengths behind the winner in the Vertem Futurity Trophy over a mile at Doncaster last October.

He missed his intended Derby prep when failing to load into the stalls ahead of the Dante Stakes at York.

Kevin Stott, having his first ride in the Classic, poached a lead with two furlongs to run, only for Ryan Moore’s mount to overcome the deficit inside the last half-furlong.

It was the second big-price runner-up finish in the last three renewals of the blue riband for the owner, whose distinctive purple colours had come close to landing the Derby with Mojo Star, a 50-1 runner-up to Adayar in 2021.

“I was delighted,” Joorabchian said King Of Steel’s half-length defeat. “Although I feel like I’ve done a few rounds with Mike Tyson!

“It was great. He had a fantastic run. We loved him from the first day we found him in Keeneland.

“He was a big horse – he looked bigger than everything else there and he still is. Roger loved him all this year.

“We had an unfortunate incident in the Dante, but we knew what we had on our hands at home.

“He was a big price. Mojo was a big price. Maybe the next Derby they won’t price us out at 100-1.”

He added: “You have got to remember this was just the third run in his life – and actually it was Mojo’s third run in his life, so maybe there’s something about that. You know a good horse when you have one and this is a good horse.”

Asked to compare his emotions with his football experiences, he laughed: “It is like missing the last penalty in a Champions League final – that’s what it felt like!”

Royal Scotsman has a major Goodwood target in his sights but could head to Royal Ascot before that if he recovers from sore feet which caused his lacklustre run when favourite for the Irish 2,000 Guineas at the Curragh

The Paul and Oliver Cole-trained colt was a well-supported 6-4 chance after finishing a fine third to Chaldean in the Newmarket version.

However, he never looked on good terms with himself under Jamie Spencer and post-race tests showed the Fitri Hay-owned son of Gleneagles had an excuse.

Oliver Cole said: “He came back from Ireland and his front feet were a bit sore.

“Going down to post, he never picked the bridle up and coming up the straight, when racing, he never picked the bridle up. Clearly, it wasn’t his day. We will put a line through it. It was just one of those things.”

Twice a winner at Goodwood last term, including when breaking the six-furlong track record, connections are confident he can still make his mark over a mile, although he has the option of dropping back to seven furlongs for the Jersey Stakes as well as staying in top-class company for the St James’s Palace Stakes.

“Either we go for the Jersey Stakes, the Group Three, or the St James’s Palace Stakes, we’ll play it by ear,” added Cole.

“I suppose if you take the softer option, there’s more chance of winning. He has got plenty of speed – he broke the track record over six (furlongs, Richmond Stakes at Goodwood) – and is in the July Cup.

“I think you have got to say he is potentially a very good miler. We have just got to hope that everything falls into place.

“The Sussex Stakes is the plan. It is whether we go Jersey or St James’s Palace, then Sussex, or he could even go straight to Goodwood. We will see what he is like. It is just getting over the setback – he was just sore on the soles of his feet.

“It was amazing, because before the race I had so much confidence. He is such a consistent horse, so to do that… but it’s horse racing.”

Jack Channon is in no rush to determine the next move for Caernarfon following her Epsom endeavours on Friday.

The 1000 Guineas fourth was trying a mile and a half for the first time and produced a huge display to finish third, hitting the front in the hands of Connor Beasley at the two-furlong pole and battling to the line gamely to finish just two lengths adrift of winner Soul Sister and only a head away from Savethelastdance in second.

Sent off at 40-1, it was the second Classic in a row the daughter of Cityscape has outrun her odds and having tired in the closing stages, the obvious next port of call would appear the Prix de Diane at Chantilly on June 18.

However, Channon will not hurry to cross the Channel with Caernarfon and will allow her time to get over her Oaks exertions before firming up future running plans.

He said: “She’s come out of it really well, she had a pick of grass on the lawn and her legs are good.

“It would take a proper recovery this week for her to be considered for the French Oaks which is two weeks away.

“She would need to be really bouncing to go to Chantilly and there are other options down the line, including the Nassau.

“When she quickened and went nearly a length clear it looked possible, but Frankie’s (Dettori) horse went past and then Ryan’s (Moore) filly came back and just outstayed us.

“It was a great run from our filly, with the first three finishing clear. I’m immensely proud of her, but as Connor said she didn’t quite get home.”