Donna Vekic revealed she was in "so much pain" in her record-breaking Wimbledon semi-final defeat to Jasmine Paolini, explaining her tears in the third set of a marathon match.
Vekic let slip a first-set lead to lose 2-6 6-4 7-6 (10-8) on Centre Court and miss out on a major final debut.
It appeared emotions had got the better of the first-time semi-finalist as victory slipped away despite a further early break in the decider, eventually losing after two hours and 51 minutes.
This was the longest women's singles semi in Wimbledon history, and Vekic insisted her tears were provoked by the punishment her body took in the epic encounter.
"I thought I was going to die in the third set," Vekic said in her post-match news conference. "I had so much pain in my arm, in my leg.
"It was not easy out there, but I will recover.
"I was more crying because I had so much pain, I didn't know how I could keep playing. My team tells me I can be proud of myself.
"It's tough right now. It's really tough to be positive right now. It was so close."
Paolini will now play Barbora Krejcikova in Saturday's final, her second grand slam title match after losing to perennial French Open champion Iga Swiatek at Roland Garros in June.
"Two grand slam finals in a row was crazy to believe, I think, no?" Paolini said. "I'm also surprised how at the moment, until now in this moment, I'm living this.
"I feel maybe Saturday I will be so nervous, I don't know, but I feel also relaxed. I'm the same person. I'm doing the same things. I'm surprised a little bit how I'm managing this.
"I don't want to say more, because maybe Saturday I'm going to be shaking. I'm surprising myself to live this with with really relaxing mood."
Barbora Krejcikova came from a set down to stun Elena Rybakina to reach the Wimbledon final where she will face Jasmine Paolini on Saturday.
Krejcikova extended her unbeaten record against the Kazakh world number four to three matches, emerging a 3-6 6-3 6-4 victor on Centre Court.
The opening two games saw Rybakina assert her dominance, securing a break point early on as she racked up a four-game lead without reply.
Krejcikova would get her first game on the board soon after and would find a break of her own in the eighth game, but her slow start was punished as Rybakina saw out the first set, serving five aces along the way.
Krejcikova found her rhythm, but she made hard work of sealing the second set after serving two double faults in the ninth game, opening the door for her opponent. However, she was able to get the job done to take the game to a decider.
Krejcikova and Rybakina exchanged a number of long rallies in the third set, but it would be the world number 31 who would get the decisive break point.
The seventh game saw Rybakina lead with a service hold to love, but Krejcikova then put three games together on the spin to edge closer to victory.
There was to be no comeback for the 2022 Wimbledon champion, as Krejcikova completed the turnaround on serve as Rybakina sent a forehand long to confirm her remarkable triumph.
"Unbelievable. "It is very tough to explain, but a lot of joy and a lot of emotions. Also there is a lot of relief and I am super proud," Krejcikova said in her post-match interview.
"I am so proud about my game and my fighting spirit today.
"I was trying to fight for every single ball, during the second set I was getting my momentum and when I broke her I started to be in the zone and I didn't want to leave the zone."
Data Debrief: Krejcikova ends wait for grand slam final appearance
It has been a long time coming for Krejcikova, who reached her first grand slam final since Roland-Garros in 2021.
The Czech is the player with the most women’s singles grand slam main draw appearances between their first two Major finals (13, Roland-Garros 2021 and Wimbledon 2024), since Karolina Pliskova (18 between the US 2016 and then Wimbledon 2021).
Her meeting with Paolini on Saturday will be the first women's singles final at a grand slam during the Open Era, where the two opponents previously met in a grand slam qualifier, doing so at the Australian Open 2018.
Jasmine Paolini outlasted Donna Vekic to win the longest women's semi-final in Wimbledon history, reaching her second grand slam final in just over a month.
Paolini, who was runner-up to Iga Swiatek at the French Open in June, was pushed all the way and had to come through a third-set tie-break, eventually triumphing 2-6 6-4 7-6 (10-8) on Centre Court.
The seventh seed will now face either Elena Rybakina or Barbora Krejcikova in Saturday's final.
An opening game featuring four deuces and a squandered break point for Vekic set the tone as she started confidently, and Paolini was unable to force a single break point in the opening set while conceding six.
The stakes were huge for unseeded Vekic, who was competing in her first grand slam semi-final having exited in the first round of 20 majors, but she found breaks in the fifth and seventh games to go ahead.
A second set featuring a number of long rallies and back-and-forth games saw Paolini fight her way back into the contest, smashing a forehand winner on set point before roaring to the vocal crowd.
Vekic broke early in the decider as she threatened to overpower Paolini, but an eye-catching forehand helped the Italian stave off another break and she clinched one of her own in the eighth game, a Vekic double fault helping her on the way.
The Croatian saved match point at 5-4 and then missed a potentially match-changing break point at 5-5, breaking down in tears and appearing to struggle physically at the change of ends.
Paolini missed another match point at 6-5, Vekic firing a forehand winner down the line to cap a breathtaking rally before closing out the game to ensure a tie-break was required.
The Italian was not about to waste a third opportunity to clinch the win, though, with Vekic sending a forehand wide to finally bring the curtain down on a historic two-hour, 51-minute battle.
"I was trying to think about what to do point by point because it was really difficult, you know there is no place better than here to fight for every ball and every point," Paolini said in her post-match interview.
"I really enjoy playing in front of you guys. For a tennis player this is the best place to play a match like this and thank you for cheering for me!"
Data Debrief: Double delight for Paolini
Paolini fell short of French Open glory when she could not match clay-court specialist Swiatek at Roland Garros last month, but she has joined an exclusive list by making the finals of both major tournaments in the same year.
This century, the only other women to achieve that feat are Justine Henin (2006), Venus Williams (2002) and Serena Williams (2002, 2015 and 2016).
She is also the first Italian woman in the Open Era to reach the Wimbledon final, to make finals at any two slams, and to make finals on all three surfaces in a single WTA campaign.
Kyle Schwarber hit another leadoff home run and All-Star Matt Strahm struck out Shohei Ohtani in a key spot as the Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-3 for their major league-leading 60th win on Wednesday night.
The Phillies have won the first two games of this three-game series between division leaders. At 60-32, only the 1976 team (88 games) reached the 60-win mark faster in a season in franchise history.
Philadelphia won without All-Star slugger Bryce Harper, who sat out with a bruised left hand after he returned for Tureday’s10-1 win following a nine-game absence. Harper was hurt at an unspecified point, through he clearly grabbed his hand and hunched over in pain on a second-inning chopper by Miguel Rojas.
Strahm entered with one out in the seventh and the Phillies holding a 4-2 lead. With runners at the corners, he struck out Ohtani and retired Teoscar Hernandez on a fly out to escape the jam.
The Dodgers scored a run in the eighth on Rojas’ RBI single, but Jeff Hoffman tossed a scoreless ninth for his ninth save.
Schwarber’s homer off Gavin Stone was his 39th career leadoff homer and 18th overall this season.
Valdez pitches Astros past Marlins
Framber Valdez struck out a season-high 10 over seven stellar innings and rookie Joey Loperfido homered and tripled to propel the Houston Astros to their eighth straight home win, 9-1 over the Miami Marlins.
Valdez allowed six hits – all singles – and walked one to win his third straight decision.
Loperfido hit a two-run homer to highlight a four-run second off Bryan Hoeing and had his first career triple in the fourth.
Yainer Diaz had three hits and three RBIs for the Astros (48-44), who have won eight of 11 to match a season high at four games over .500.
Perez’s home runs help Royals sweep
Salvador Perez homered in both games and MJ Melendez hit a solo shot in the nightcap as the Kansas City Royals beat the St. Louis Cardinals 8-5 for a sweep of their day-night doubleheader.
Garrett Hampson had two-run double to back a strong start by Alec Marsh in the Royals’ 6-4 victory in the early game.
Kyle Isbel homered in the second game and James McArthur pitched the ninth for his second save of the day and 17th of the season.
Kansas City notched its 50th and 51st wins of the season after it totaled just 56 victories all last season.
Nolan Arenado, Alec Burleson and Paul Goldschmidt homered in the opener for the Cardinals, while Lars Nootbaar went deep in the nightcap. St. Louis entered the day having won four of five.
Novak Djokovic will take on Lorenzo Musetti for a place in the Wimbledon final, after the Italian overcame Taylor Fritz on Wednesday.
Seven-time Wimbledon champion Djokovic received a walkover for his quarter-final tie after Alex De Minaur withdrew due to a hip injury.
And the Serbian will be fancied to reach his 10th final at the All England Club, though 25th seed Musetti, who was the runner-up at Queen's before Wimbledon began, will be out to cause an upset.
Musetti joined compatriot Jasmine Paolini in reaching the last four, as he prevailed 3-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 3-6 6-1 over 13th seed Fritz.
"I probably have no words. It's tough to speak but I'll try my best," said the 22-year-old after reaching his first major semi-final.
"We were joking about trying to play on the big stage at Wimbledon. I've never tried Court One and Centre Court. I played a fantastic match because Taylor was in great shape."
Data Debrief: In good company
Musetti has become the only the fifth player in the Open Era to reach at least three ATP-level semi-finals in a single season before turning 23, after Paul Connors (1974), Vitas Gerulaitis (1977), John McEnroe (1980) and Pat Cash (1987).
After reaching the Stuttgart and Queen's semi-finals, Musetti is the first Italian in the Open Era to reach three or more ATP event semi-finals on grass in a calendar year.
Rory McIlroy is hoping to learn from his near-miss at the U.S. Open as he looks to get his season back on track following that agonising day at Pinehurst.
McIlroy capitulated late on in the last round at U.S. Open last month, allowing Bryson DeChambeau to capitalise and clinch the title.
It has been a decade since McIlroy won the last of his four majors, but the Northern Irishman will hope to end that run at The Open next week.
First, McIlroy will defend his title at the Scottish Open, and speaking to the press ahead of that tournament, he said he will "learn a lot" from that U.S. Open heartbreak.
"I look back on that day, just like I look back on some of my toughest moments in my career," McIlroy said.
"I'll learn a lot from it and I'll hopefully put that to good use.
"It's something that's been a bit of a theme throughout my career. I've been able to take those tough moments and turn them into great things not very long after that.
"I think the way I've described Pinehurst on Sunday was like it was a great day until it wasn't.
"I did things on that Sunday that I haven't been able to do in the last couple years.
"Yeah, it was a tough day. It was a tough few days after that, obviously.
"But I think as you get further away from it happening, you start to see the positives and you start to see all the good things that you did throughout the week."
McIlroy took a short break away from the game after the U.S. Open, but he is now raring to go.
"I had some good chats with people close to me," he said.
"As you start to think about not just Sunday at Pinehurst but the whole way throughout the week, there was a couple of things that I noticed I wanted to try to work on coming into here and obviously next week at Troon.
"They were hard but at the same time, as each day went by, it became easier to focus on the positives and then to think about the future instead of what had just happened."
Elena Rybakina will go up against Barbora Krejcikova in the last four at Wimbledon after a convincing defeat of Elina Svitolina.
Rybakina was broken in the first game of Wednesday's quarter-final, but responded emphatically to overcome her Ukrainian opponent 6-3 6-2.
The world number four, the highest-ranked player left in the women's draw, needed just 61 minutes to complete an emphatic win.
Rybakina is now the player to have reached the joint-most WTA-level semi-finals this season, with seven, which matches Iga Swiatek's total.
Speaking after her victory, Rybakina is wary of being labelled the favourite.
She said: "Of course I have such amazing memories from 2022 and I'm just enjoying every time I step on the court, especially when I play well. It's just really amazing.
"I don't like [to be the favourite] to be honest.
"Of course, I want to go to the end, but [I'm taking it] match by match and I'm happy with the way I'm going and looking forward to the next one."
Her next match will come against 2021 French Open champion Krejcikova, who sent world number 14 Jelena Ostapenko packing.
Krejcikova triumphed 6-4 7-6 (7-4), coming out on top in a thrilling second-set tie-break, to reach the semi-finals at Wimbledon for the first time in her career.
"It's an unbelievable moment that I'm experiencing right now in my tennis career," said the Czech, who won only three Tour-level matches between February and June.
Data Debrief: Home away from home
Only Monica Seles (Australian Open 21/21 and French Open 20/21), Margaret Court (US Open 20/21, French Open 20/21 and Australian Open 20/21) and Chris Evert (RG 20/21) have won more from their first 21 matches at a single major than Rybakina at Wimbledon (19/21) during the Open Era.
Krejcikova, meanwhile, has become the player with the most singles grand slam main draw appearances between their first two major semi-finals (13) since Sloane Stephens (16 between the 2013 Australian Open and the US Open in 2017).
Novak Djokovic is through to the last four at Wimbledon after his quarter-final opponent Alex De Minaur was forced to withdraw from the tournament ahead of their match on Wednesday with a hip injury.
Seven-time Wimbledon winner Djokovic had been due to face ninth seed De Minaur on Centre Court.
But the Australian will be unable to play, meaning second seed Djokovic progresses to the semi-finals where he will take on either Lorenzo Musetti or Taylor Fritz.
Daniil Medvedev and defending champion Carlos Alcaraz will contest the other semi on Friday.
De Minaur had beaten Arthur Fils in four sets to book his last-eight clash with Djokovic, producing a strong tournament after also reaching the quarters at the French Open.
But that Fils win also saw him sustain an injury problem which the 25-year-old has been unable to recover from in time.
"Obviously not an announcement I wanted to make by any means," read a statement from De Minaur.
"I am devastated to pull out due to a hip injury, a little tear of the fibre cartilage that kind of is at the end of or connects to the adductor.
"I felt a loud crack during the last three points of my match against Fils and got a scan [on Tuesday] and it confirmed that this was the injury and with a high risk of making it worse if I was to step on court."
The development means the match between Musetti and Fritz on Court One is the only men's singles contest that will take place on Wednesday.
Jannik Sinner explained he was combatting dizziness and illness as he fell to an epic five-set defeat against Daniil Medvedev in the Wimbledon quarter-finals.
Top seed Sinner, who was forced to take a medical timeout midway through the third set, rallied brilliantly from that issue in the fourth to force a decider in a four-hour tussle on Centre Court.
However, the Italian ran out of steam in the fifth set, with Medvedev going on to clinch a 6-7 (7-9) 6-4 7-6 (7-4) 2-6 6-3 victory.
"Already in the morning I didn't feel great and had some problems," Sinner said after the match when he was asked about his struggles.
"Then with the fatigue, it was tough.
"I went off the court actually. I didn't want to go off. The physio told me better to take some time because he watched me, and I didn't seem in shape to play. I was struggling physically.
"It was not an easy moment. I tried to fight with what I had.
"I was not feeling great. I didn't vomit. But took some time because I was dizzy quite a lot. Yeah, actually off court I had a little bit the toughest time maybe.
"I retired a lot two years ago. I don't want to retire if it's only a little bit of illness or sick or whatever."
Sinner stressed he did not want to detract from Medvedev’s victory and had been determined to see the match through to the end.
"Nothing to take away from Daniil – he played very smart, good tennis," added the Italian.
"I was still in shape to play somehow. The fifth set I felt a little bit better again. The energy level was a bit up.
"But the energy level was not consistent. It was up and down. Like this, it's also not easy to handle the situations on the court.
"It happens. I was never thinking about retiring. You don't want to retire in a quarter-final of a grand slam."
Sinner has made the last eight or better at each of the last three Wimbledon appearances, but is yet to reach the final.
Medvedev, meanwhile, will take on defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in the semis on Friday, having now matched his best career run at the All England Club.
Chris Sale pitched into the sixth inning for his major league-leading 12th win and Adam Duvall hit a three-run homer to lead the Atlanta Braves to their fourth straight win, 6-2 over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday night.
Sale (12-3) allowed two runs on five hits over 5 1/3 innings while walking three and striking out nine. He was replaced by Jesse Chavez after throwing 100 pitches.
Sale, who has surrendered two runs or fewer in six consecutive starts, has bounced back from several injury-riddled seasons to be one of baseball’s best pitchers this year.
Chavez fanned three in 2 2/3 scoreless innings and A.J. Minter needed just three pitches to get three outs in the ninth.
Atlanta scored twice in the second off Zac Gallen on Sean Murphy’s RBI groundout and an error by All-Star second baseman Ketel Marte.
Duvall followed Matt Olson’s double and Marcell Ozuna’s single in the sixth with a 441-foot blast over the left-field wall for his eighth home run and a 5-0 lead.
Gallen was reached for five runs and seven hits in 5 1/3 innings.
Phillies get healthy, rout Dodgers
Trea Turner hit a grand slam and All-Star Zach Wheeler pitched five strong innings before leaving with low back tightness as the Philadelphia Phillies rolled to a 10-1 rout of the Los Angeles Dodgers in a matchup of division leaders.
Wheeler earned his 10th win, throwing 76 pitches on a steamy night before leaving with a 9-1 lead. He gave up one run and three hits with seven strikeouts and two walks.
Wheeler joined Aaron Nola and Ranger Suarez as 10-game winners, giving the Phillies three before the All-Star break for the first time in franchise history.
The major league-leading Phillies welcomed back Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber from injuries before the game.
Schwarber delivered a two-run single in the second inning to put Philadelphia ahead 3-0 and the Phillies scored six more in the fourth.
Turner – a former Dodger - drove an 86-mph slider from Bobby Miller into the left field seats for his sixth career grand slam and Bryson Stott added a solo shot for his first home run since May 18 for a 9-0 advantage.
Brandon Marsh also homered for the major league-leading Phillies, who went 5-4 while Harper and Schwarber were sidelined.
Harper went 0 for 4 after he strained his left hamstring running the bases on June 27. In that same game, Schwaber strained his left groin while making a throw from left field.
Cavan Biggio’s homer was the lone run for the Dodgers, who have lost four of six.
Bello, Devers keep Red Sox surging
Brayan Bello struck out a career-high 11 – getting each of the first 10 outs by strikeout – and Wilyer Abreu and Dominic Smith homered on consecutive pitches during an eight-run second inning to lead the red-hot Boston Red Sox to a 12-9 win over the Oakland Athletics.
Bello is only the third major league pitcher since 1961 to record his first 10 outs by strikeout. He allowed five runs and nine hits over 5 1/3 innings but struck out the side in each of the first three innings and fanned Lawrence Butler to open the fourth.
Rafael Devers had two and three RBIs on the day he was scratched from the All-Star Game with a sore shoulder.
The Red Sox (50-40) scored eight runs on seven hits, a walk and a hit bater in the second and won for the seventh time in eight games. Boston moved a season-high 10 games over .500 and has pulled within 3 ½ games of the second-place Yankees in the AL East.
The Detroit Pistons and former No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham have agreed to terms on a five-year, $224million maximum rookie contract extension.
The deal could be worth up to $269million if Cunningham earns All-NBA honours in 2024-25.
Cunningham played one season at Oklahoma State before Detroit selected him No. 1 overall in the 2021 NBA Draft.
He earned First-Team All-Rookie honours in 2021-22 after averaging 17.4 points, 5.6 assists and 5.5 rebounds in 64 games.
Cunningham appeared in Detroit’s first 12 games in 2022-23 before sustaining a stress fracture in his shin that led to season-ending surgery.
The 22-year-old point guard bounced back last season, averaging team highs of 22.7 points and 7.5 assists while adding 4.3 rebounds per game in 62 contests.
The Pistons, though, posted an NBA-worst 14-68 record, and Detroit is last in the league with a .220 winning percentage (54-192) since drafting Cunningham.
In the 138 games Cunningham has played in his career, the Pistons have gone 32-106.
Jasmine Paolini moved into her first Wimbledon semi-final after breezing past Emma Navarro in straight sets on Tuesday.
The seventh seed had never won a WTA main-draw match on grass courts until late last month but progressed into the last four at SW19 after triumphing 6-2 6-1 on Centre Court.
French Open finalist Paolini will fancy her chances of reaching the final as well, with world number 37 Donna Vekic – who overcame Lulu Sun in the quarter-finals – standing in her way of the showpiece.
Having profited from Madison Keys' injury-enforced retirement in the last round, Paolini was slow to get going after Navarro, who stunned Coco Gauff earlier in the competition, broke to seize an early 2-1 lead.
Yet the Italian appeared fuelled by that concession, winning on her opponent's service for three straight games to turn that deficit into a routine first-set triumph in just 27 minutes.
The 23-year-old Navarro struggled to regain her composure in the following set, missing two break-point chances at 1-1 before Paolini followed up by breaking to snatch a 3-1 advantage.
World number seven Paolini hammered home that advantage soon after, cutting through Navarro with ease en route to victory in less than an hour.
Data Debrief: Italian history for Paolini
Paolini is the first Italian women's player to reach the semi-finals at this tournament, having not previously ever won at Wimbledon before this edition.
The 28-year-old is also the oldest player to reach their first semi-finals in two different grand slams during the same season, since Betty Stove in 1977.
Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz made the Wimbledon semi-finals by beating Tommy Paul in four sets on Centre Court.
Paul produced a spirited display and the momentum was with him when he impressively took the opener, only for Alcaraz to fight back for a 5-7 6-4 6-2 6-2 victory on No.1 Court.
At 21 years and 65 days old, the victory made Alcaraz – who beat Novak Djokovic in an epic final last year – the youngest player to reach the last four of the Wimbledon men's draw in successive editions since fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal in 2006 and 2007 (21 years, 33 days).
He was made to work for the win, though, with Paul taking a 73-minute opener that showcased some terrific rallies, hitting a wonderful passing shot on set point.
With the American starting the second set with a confident hold and an immediate break, Alcaraz was on the ropes.
However, he hit straight back and only dropped two more points on his own serve in the second, unforced errors creeping into Paul's game as Alcaraz levelled the contest.
The third set started with three straight breaks of serve, two of them going Alcaraz's way, and the momentum was with the three-time grand slam champion from there.
The world number three pummelled a forehand winner down the line on set point to go 2-1 up, and it was smooth sailing in the fourth as Paul finally wilted, only winning two points on Alcaraz's serve and giving up back-to-back breaks.
Alcaraz will face Daniil Medvedev in the semi-finals after the Russian outlasted top seed Jannik Sinner to win a four-hour classic earlier on Tuesday.
Alcaraz hailed Paul's performance after his victory, saying of his opponent: "He has been playing great tennis on the grass, beating great players, and today was a really difficult match for me.
"It was like playing on clay, with big rallies – 10 or 15 shots every point. I had to stay strong mentally, and I'm really happy I could find the solutions."
Data Debrief: Alcaraz in fine company
Alcaraz's victory means he now has 16 wins from his first 18 matches at Wimbledon, putting him in good company.
During the Open Era, only Rod Laver and Boris Becker (both 17) have recorded more victories through their first 18 outings at the grass-court slam.
Daniil Medvedev prevailed 6-7 (7-9) 6-4 7-6 (7-4) 2-6 6-3 over world number one Jannik Sinner to reach the semi-finals at Wimbledon.
In a four-hour epic, the Russian outlasted top seed Sinner to reach the last four at the All England Club for a second straight year.
Since 2000, Medvedev is only the fourth player to defeat the men's number one on three or more occasions at grand slams, along with Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Stanislas Wawrinka.
Sinner, who was forced to take a medical timeout due to illness midway through the third set, rallied brilliantly from that issue in the fourth to force a decider.
However, the Italian ran out of steam in the fifth set, with Medvedev going on to clinch victory with three match points to spare, briskly sending Sinner around the court before drilling a winner down the line.
"I knew if I wanted to beat Jannik it was going to be a tough match, he's not a guy you can beat easily, even if he wasn't feeling that good," said Medvedev.
"I managed to stay at a high level, a great match and I'm really happy with my game looking forward."
Asked what it was like to face Sinner after the medical timeout, Medvedev added: "It's actually very tough. One moment, I could see he wasn't moving well.
"It's tricky because you want to play more points to make him suffer more, but then at the same time, you know he will come back and go full power. In a way, I would prefer not to have this situation."
Medvedev will face either Tommy Paul or reigning champion Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-finals.
Data Debrief: Dragging on...
There have now been 36 five-set matches in the men's singles at Wimbledon this year, surpassing the 1983 US Open and 2024 Australian Open (35 each) for the most at a single grand slam event in the Open Era.
Medvedev, meanwhile, has now reached nine semi-finals at majors, though the 28-year-old has only progressed from two of those previous eight ties.
Keegan Bradley's appointment as the USA captain for the 2025 Ryder Cup was "surprising", says Xander Schauffele, but he is confident he is up to the task.
The PGA of America confirmed the decision on Monday after Tiger Woods decided against leading the team in New York.
Bradley was left out of the team for last year's 16.5-11.5 defeat to Team Europe in Italy, and emerged as a late contender before the announcement.
The move took many by surprise, with two-time Ryder Cup player Xander Schauffele admitting he was also expecting Woods to be named Zach Johnson's successor.
"Yeah, it's surprising," he said during a press conference ahead of The Open Championship.
"You typically expect someone that's a little bit older to get selected as a captain. I think a lot of people were banking on Tiger to do it.
"He obviously has a lot on his plate. Keegan expressed his love for the Ryder Cup publicly, which we all saw.
"I haven't talked to him or seen him yet, but I'm sure he's over the moon and is going to do a great job.
"He's a very passionate individual. On the course, he's intense, that's just how he competes and how he is.
"As a captain, he's going to have a mixed bag, and he's not going to be afraid to hold a speech with the guys and get everyone going."
The Girls team representing Jamaica at the 30th edition of the Junior Caribbean Squash Championship held in Tortola, British Virgin Islands, experienced great success with the team bringing home 6 medals: 2 gold; 3 silver and 1 bronze.
Mehar Trehan was the sole gold medallist in the individual competition defending her title in the U17 Girls category defeating her compatriot, Elle Wilson 3-0. Trehan was strong from the outset and dominated her category and defeated all her opponents 3-0; without dropping a set. Wilson had a more difficult route to the final and had to overcome Sarrayah Yearwood of Trinidad & Tobago in 5 games.
The doubles partnership of Sanjana Nallapati (Captain) and Katherine Risden captured the gold defeating their Barbadian counterparts and number 1 seed of Eboni Atherley and Joanna Atkins 2-1. The Jamaican duo had to overcome a 1-set deficit to defeat the Bajans in a closely contested final; 9/11; 11/6, 11/9.
In the Girls U19 catergory, Jamaica had two competitors, Katherine Risden, the #1 seed, and Sanjana Nallapati (Captain and #3 seed) vying for the top spot but they were denied gold both at the racquet of the eventual champion, Eboni Atherley of Barbados. Atherley dispatched Nallapati in the semis and Risden in the finals both with 3-0 victories. Risden and Nallapati captured silver and bronze respectively in the U19 girls individual competition.
In her first Junior CASA tourney, Varenya Singh reached the semifinal of the U11 competition. Singh played with composure and grit for someone so young. She secured a 4th place finish in the U11 girls individual competition.
The Jamaican Girls continued their winning ways in the Team event by earning the silver medal losing out to Barbados after the matches were knotted at 3 games a-piece.
Jamaica started strong in the final with Risden overturning her individual loss to Atherley by winning 3-0. Captain Nallapati and U17 Girls Champion Mehar Trehan secured 3-0 victories. However, Barbados needed the final tie at U13 to equalize and force a count back in games.
Marley Price fought valiantly but lost to the #2 seed forcing a tiebreak. The tiebreak was broken on a countback of games won between the two teams. Throughout the team event, various team members played key roles to ensure Jamaica reached the final. In particular, Marley Price secured one game in the semifinal match which ensured Jamaica reached the final on game countback.
Coach Tahjia Lumley stated, “the team is one of the best in terms of their fighting spirit and camaraderie. From the youngest to the oldest we are not far off! Gold in doubles and the girls going all the way in the team event! This was an extremely young boys team with many playing up in age-group. This has been an amazing experience for them and they are looking forward to continue to improve for next year’s event.”
Jamaica finished 4th in the overall standings with the girls in 2nd place and boys team finishing in 8th place.
Jamaica’s medal haul was 2 gold; 3 silver; and 1 bronze.
The team was coached by Tahjia Lumley and managed by Nathlee Boreland.
Donna Vekic is through to the Wimbledon semi-finals for the first time in her career after coming from behind to beat Lulu Sun.
After losing her previous two grand slam quarter-finals in straight sets, Vekic rallied to beat the qualifier 5-7 6-4 6-1 on Court No.1 on Tuesday.
After a slightly shaky start, Sun held her nerve brilliantly in the fourth game of the opener, holding out through 10 deuces and successfully defending break point three times.
Sun took full advantage of that let-off, getting the all-important break in the 11th game before holding strong to take the first set.
It was a different story in the second, Vekic continuing to show aggression in her serve before finally gaining an edge with her first break and holding out to force a decider.
The Croatian picked up where she left off in the third set, scoring 10 points in a row as she raced to a 3-0 lead, before clinching a second straight break.
Sun, who has spent the most time on court so far in the women's draw, avoided a bagel with her final service game of the match before Vekic finished it off.
She will face Jasmine Paolini or Emma Navarro in the semi-finals.
Data Debrief: Vekic too strong
Vekic is into her first grand slam semi-final on her 43rd major main-draw appearance. In the Open Era, only four players have made their first semi-final after more major appearances.
It is the fourth time at this edition of Wimbledon that Vekic's matches have gone the distance, and the second time she has had to bounce back from losing the first set.
Sun was bidding to become the first qualifier to reach the semi-finals at the All England Club since Alexandra Stevenson in 1999, but she fell just short.
Paul George admitted he did not want to leave the Los Angeles Clippers, but felt his hand was forced when he was offered a "disrespectful" first contract extension offer.
Last week, George signed a four-year maximum contract reportedly worth $212million for the Philadelphia 76ers.
However, the nine-time All-Star's move happened after he failed to come to an agreement with the Clippers over a new contract.
"I never wanted to leave L.A.," George said on his podcast, 'Podcast P with Paul George'.
"L.A. is home, this is where I wanted to finish at, and I wanted to work as hard as possible to win one in L.A.
"That was the goal, to be here and be committed to L.A. As it played out though, the first initial deal was, I thought, kind of disrespectful.
"In all of this, no hard feelings, no love lost...it's a business. So, the first initial deal was like two years, 60. So I'm like, whoa, whoa, whoa.
"That's crazy! I'm like, 'Naw, I'm not signing that'."
The Clippers gave Kawhi Leonard a three-year $150million extension, something George said they refused to give him if he had a no-trade clause attached.
"Then I hear wind of what they're going to give Kawhi, so I'm like, 'Just give me what Kawhi got'," George added. "'Y'all view us the same. We came here together; we want to finish this s*** together.'
"Y'all give him that, give me that. They didn't want to do that."
The guard, who played 74 regular-season games – his most since being traded to Los Angeles before the 2019-20 season – acknowledged his link-up with Leonard did not quite go as planned but had hoped to build on it in the future.
"We couldn't remain healthy as a unit," George said. "But I thought I did enough to earn that [three-year, $150-million deal with a no-trade clause].
"They didn't want to do it. So, it was just a stalemate. Ultimately it was like, all right, that ship has sailed.
"I love Steve [Ballmer], I love Lawrence [Frank], but at that point, it didn't even feel right to come back with that type of energy and be comfortable playing back in L.A."
After Sean Murphy tied the game with a two-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning, the Atlanta Braves scored once in the 11th to rally for a 5-4 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday in a clash of 2023 National League play-off teams.
Marcell Ozuna drove in the eventual winning run with a sacrifice fly in the 11th that plated designated runner Austin Riley, who had advanced from second to third on an infield single by Matt Olson.
Riley homered earlier in the game and Murphy went 2 for 4 as the Braves took the opener of this four-game series and won their third consecutive contest.
Atlanta's bats were largely quiet for much of the night thanks to an impressive MLB debut by Arizona starter Yilber Diaz, but came alive against struggling closer Paul Sewald with the Braves trailing 3-1 in the ninth.
Sewald retired the first two hitters in the inning before Eddie Rosario extended Atlanta's chances with a single. Murphy then drove a 1-1 pitch over the wall in right center field to hand Sewald a third blown save in his last three appearances.
Diaz was in line for the victory after allowing just one run on four hits through six innings.
Both teams scored once in the 10th, with the Braves getting a sacrifice fly from Ozzie Albies and the Diamondbacks the same from Luis Perdomo.
Ozuna's fly ball in the 11th put Atlanta back ahead, and Joe Jimenez stranded the tying run in the bottom of the inning to record his second save of the season.
Atlanta closer Raisel Iglesias earned the win after working two innings and permitting one unearned run.
Riley's 12th homer of the season gave the Braves an early edge in the first inning, and the Diamondbacks were held scoreless by Bryce Elder through the first five innings before breaking through in the sixth.
Perdomo led off the bottom of the sixth with a bloop single and took second when Braves shortstop Orlando Arcia mishandled the ball on the play, then scored on Corbin Carroll's single to tie the game at 1-1.
Elder then walked the next two batters to load the bases before being relieved by Grant Holmes, who walked Christian Walker on four pitches to give Arizona the lead. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. followed with a sacrifice fly to provide the Diamondbacks a two-run cushion.
Elder was charged with three runs allowed on four hits over five-plus innings.
Late error allows Tigers to edge Guardians
Jake Rogers scored the game's lone run on a Cleveland error in the eighth inning as the suddenly surging Detroit Tigers came through with a 1-0 victory over the American League Central-leading Guardians to open a four-game series.
Rogers greeted reliever Scott Barlow with a double to open the eighth and took third on Wenceel Perez's second hit of the night. Two batter later, Mark Canha hit a grounder that eluded the glove of Guardians' shortstop Brayan Roccio to allow the Detroit catcher to cross the plate and break the scoreless tie.
The Guardians couldn't mount a baserunner after the seventh inning, as Tyler Holton retired all five batters he faced to record the win and Shelby Miller threw a perfect ninth to close out the Tigers' fourth consecutive victory.
Detroit went 8-18 from June 5-July 4 before sweeping a three-game series on the road from the Cincinnati Reds this past weekend.
The game featured a strong duel between starting pitchers that didn't factor in the decision. Detroit's Keider Montero allowed just three hits over 6 1/3 scoreless innings in his third career major league start, while Cleveland's Gavin Williams struck out five over 5 1/3 scoreless innings in his second start back from an elbow injury that had sidelined him since spring training.
Cardinals stay hot with shutout of Nationals
Alec Burleson homered and drove in three runs to back a sharp start from Miles Mikolas as the St. Louis Cardinals recorded a series-clinching 6-0 win over the Washington Nationals.
Paul Goldschmidt added a solo homer among his two hits to help the Cardinals take three of four meetings of the wraparound series. St. Louis improved to 33-18 since May 12, the best record in the National League over that stretch.
MIkolas (7-7) scattered six hits without a walk over 6 1/3 innings before relievers Andrew Kittredge and JoJo Romero finished the shutout by working 1 1/3 innings each.
Washington starter Mitchell Parker (5-5) was hung with the loss despite yielding two runs - one earned - and striking out six over seven innings.
The Cardinals' first run off Parker came courtesy of an error by Washington shortstop CJ Abrams, who threw wildly to first base on a double-play attempt to allow Nolan Gorman to score from second in the third inning. Gorman and Michael Siani had opened the frame with back-to-back infield singles.
Goldschmidt's homer off Parker in the fourth extended the lead to 2-0, and Burleson increased it further with a solo shot off Jacob Barnes in the eighth. Goldschmidt reached on an error later in the inning and came home on Brendan Donovan's two-out double for a 4-0 St. Louis advantage.
Donovan finished 2 for 4 and extended his streak of reaching base safely to 21 straight games.
The Cardinals tacked on two more runs in the ninth when Gorman and Siani each singled before both later scored on Burleson's base hit.
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