分类： sports

In a landmark Saturday at Epsom Downs, legendary Irish trainer Aidan O’Brien etched his name deeper into horse racing history, becoming the first conditioner to claim four straight Epsom Derby titles after longshot entry Christmas Day claimed a comfortable victory in Britain’s most prestigious flat race.

The 56-year-old trainer did not just notch another Derby win – he crossed a once-unthinkable threshold, securing his 50th victory in British Classic races, while extending his own all-time record for the most Epsom Derby titles to 12. Christmas Day, sent out at 7/1 odds as one of O’Brien’s four entries in the 14-horse field, was not the betting favorite going into the race. But jockey Ronan Whelan, in only his second season working with O’Brien’s stable, delivered a masterclass ride to guide the three-year-old colt to his first career Derby win.

An unusual incident added an unexpected twist to the race after the finish. O’Brien’s pre-race favored entry Benvenuto Cellini, which crossed the finish line well down the rankings, was later officially declared a non-runner after stewards confirmed the horse had become caught in the starting stalls with one hind leg before the race got underway.

Speaking after the win, O’Brien highlighted his colt’s steady improvement and endurance that made the victory possible. “We fancied his chances as he is improving all the time and stays,” he said. “Ronan gave him a beautiful ride. He is a tough hardy horse.” True to his longstanding habit, O’Brien deflected praise for the historic 50th Classic win onto the large team of stable staff back at his Irish base, saying: “It is unbelievable, but I am just a small part of a huge team.”

For Whelan, who became the ninth different jockey to win a Derby under O’Brien’s training, the race felt almost effortless from the saddle. He credited fellow stable jockey Wayne Lordan, who rode O’Brien’s other entry Action, for setting a perfect early pace that let Christmas Day conserve energy down the hill to the finish. “It was so easy to be honest! I had Wayne there to do the fractions and he never gets it wrong from the front,” Whelan explained. “The horse loves the ground and it felt so effortless for him. I can’t thank everyone enough. It’s my second season (with O’Brien) and I’ve made friends for life down there. It hasn’t sunk in yet. When we were running down the hill and Wayne was smacking away, I knew I had loads left. I wish I was as cool a customer as the horse was!”

Once Christmas Day moved to the front of the pack in the final finishing straight, no challenger ever seriously threatened his lead. Maltese Cross crossed the line in second place, while James J Braddock, trained by O’Brien’s son Joseph O’Brien, rounded out the top three. Remarkably, the Epsom win marked O’Brien’s second Derby title in just seven days: the week prior, he trained the first three finishers to claim victory in the French Derby, cementing his status as one of the greatest trainers in modern horse racing history.

Tennis history was made on the red clay of Roland Garros on Saturday, as 19-year-old Russian rising star Mirra Andreeva claimed her maiden Grand Slam crown with a dominant straight-sets victory over Polish qualifier Maja Chwalinska in the women’s singles final. Finishing the clash 6-3, 6-2, Andreeva etched her name into the tournament’s record books as the youngest women’s singles champion at Roland Garros since then-18-year-old Monica Seles captured her third consecutive Paris title back in 1992.

Beyond this milestone, Andreeva also made history as the first player of any gender born after 2005 to lift a Grand Slam singles trophy. This major win adds another prestigious accolade to Andreeva’s already impressive young career, which has seen her collect two WTA 1000 titles to date, and the iconic Coupe Suzanne Lenglen will now take pride of place in her growing trophy collection.

Speaking to the crowd on centre court immediately after her victory, an emotional Andreeva shared that the win fulfilled a lifelong dream. “I’ve been watching Roland Garros on TV since I was very, very young, so it’s also a big dream of mine to win this tournament and I honestly cannot believe that I’m holding this trophy right now,” she said, before extending thanks to her support team, singling out her psychologist for special recognition. She also paid tribute to Chwalinska’s incredible run through the event: “Congrats to Maja for these amazing three weeks, passing through qualies, winning so many matches, beating so many great players.”

For Chwalinska, ranked world No. 114 entering the tournament, the final defeat brought an end to a Cinderella run that already secured her place in tennis history. The Pole became the first qualifier ever to reach the women’s singles final of the French Open in the Open Era, after winning nine consecutive matches across qualifying and the main draw in Paris. While she fell short of the title, the run will catapult her rankings to No. 21, guaranteeing her direct entry and regular competition in all future Grand Slam tournaments.

In her post-match remarks, Chwalinska graciously congratulated Andreeva on her win, joking: “Congrats to Mirra, you’re such an incredible player. You’re so young and talented, it’s so annoying. I wish (the spectators) could see a better match today, but Mirra was just too good for me, so I guess it’s her fault.” Adding of her breakthrough run, “I will definitely not forget these three weeks. Paris will stay forever in my heart.”

The final got off to a tense start, with Chwalinska dropping two opening serves into the net on the very first point of the match. Blustery wind conditions on centre court amplified the pressure of the occasion for both players, who had never faced each other before, with the match opening with four consecutive breaks of serve. After the initial flurry of breaks, each player held serve once as they began to test one another’s strengths and weaknesses.

Andreeva soon dug in and seized control of the set, showcasing greater consistency than her opponent to claim three straight games and build a 3-0 lead. Though Chwalinska briefly pulled back a game to cut the deficit, Andreeva held firm, showing impressive mental mettle for a player of her age to retain her advantage. She quickly closed in on the set, and though Chwalinska refused to surrender easily — holding serve to make it 5-1 before breaking Andreeva when she served for the set — the young Russian would not be denied. She closed out the set in the very next game, and carried her momentum through the second set to claim the historic win.

When the winning backhand flew past Chwalinska, Andreeva collapsed to her knees in celebration, surpassing a milestone set by her own coach: former top player Conchita Martinez, who finished as Roland Garros runner-up in 2000. That 2000 final was won by Mary Pierce, who was in attendance for Saturday’s trophy ceremony — a detail Andreeva highlighted in a playful quip, saying “I don’t know if I should thank you, Mary, as you beat my coach here in the final. But I’m joking of course, thank you so much!”

In a historic display of teenage tennis talent at Roland Garros, 19-year-old Russian rising star Mirra Andreeva captured her maiden Grand Slam title on Saturday, outclassing Polish qualifier Maja Chwalinska in a straight-sets 6-3, 6-2 victory in the women’s singles final.

Andreeva’s breakthrough win carries landmark significance beyond her first major crown. She becomes the youngest women’s singles champion at the French Open since 18-year-old Monica Seles claimed her third consecutive Paris title back in 1992, and also makes history as the first player of any gender born after 2005 to lift a Grand Slam trophy. The Coupe Suzanne Lenglen will now take pride of place in Andreeva’s fast-growing collection of silverware, which already includes two WTA 1000 titles earned earlier in her young career.

For Chwalinska, the run to the final capped a truly astonishing underdog journey through the tournament. Starting her campaign in the qualifying draw, the world No. 114 won nine consecutive matches in Paris to become the first qualifier ever to reach the French Open women’s singles final in the Open era. While she fell just short of a fairy tale title, her remarkable run will catapult her to a career-high ranking of No. 21, guaranteeing her direct entry and regular competition in the sport’s biggest major events moving forward.

The final unfolded with early tension amplified by blustery conditions on Philippe Chatrier Court, which threw off both players’ rhythm from the opening points. Chwalinska showed immediate nerves, dumping two opening serves into the net, and Andreeva survived a seven-minute opening game to secure the first break of serve. But the Pole responded instantly, breaking back when Andreeva overhit a backhand down the line after a prolonged rally of looping defensive exchanges.

Blustery winds that sent spectators’ straw hats flying off the stands contributed to two more consecutive breaks, leaving both players still searching for their footing. Chwalinska was the first to settle, holding serve to love and winning over the Paris crowd with a spectacular display of shot variety: a deft drop shot drew Andreeva to the net, before she pulled off a perfectly weighted lob to take a 3-2 lead.

But Andreeva showed the poise of a veteran far beyond her years. She fought through her first service hold of the match, closing the game out with a blistering winner up the line followed by an unreturnable ace. From that point, the 19-year-old seized control of the match. She pounced on a Chwalinska service game heavily disrupted by the wind to re-take the lead, held comfortably, then broke the Pole once more with a clinical crosscourt backhand winner to close out the first set.

Andreeva carried her momentum into the second set, jumping out to an early lead as Chwalinska’s error count climbed. Though the Polish underdog pulled one break back to briefly threaten a comeback, Andreeva displayed immense mental toughness to hold serve and move ahead 3-0, putting Chwalinska firmly on the back foot. Andreeva won the next two games to move within one game of the title, but Chwalinska refused to capitulate, holding serve to make it 5-1 and breaking Andreeva when the teen served for the championship.

That small comeback was not enough to derail Andreeva’s historic run. She broke straight back in the next game, sealing the title with a decisive backhand winner before collapsing to her knees in celebration. The win also sees her surpass the achievement of her own coach, Conchita Martinez, who finished as Roland Garros runner-up back in 2000. The victory lifts Andreeva to a new career-high ranking of world No. 6, announcing her as one of the leading new forces in women’s tennis.

A bitter diplomatic row has erupted between Iran and the United States just days before the kickoff of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, co-hosted by the U.S., Mexico and Canada, after Washington denied entry visas to a large contingent of key support staff for Iran’s national football squad. The dispute broke into the open Saturday as Iran’s first-team players prepared to depart their weeks-long training camp in the Turkish coastal resort of Antalya for a pre-tournament base in Mexico.

On Friday, U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack took to social media platform X to announce that all members of Iran’s national team had received their travel visas, praising the U.S. Embassy in Ankara for its efficient processing work. But Iran’s Embassy in Ankara issued a sharp, immediate rebuke the following day, contradicting Barrack’s account and accusing Washington of deliberate, discriminatory targeting of the national squad.

“Why do you not say that visas were denied to a large portion of the managerial and executive staff, technical advisers, and others who are an integral part of any national football team?” the Iranian mission wrote in its public X post. The statement added that the U.S. had “escalated the deliberate and discriminatory treatment against Iran’s national football team to its highest level.”

According to Iranian domestic news outlets and leading Iranian sports outlet Verzesh3, the visa rejections include high-profile figures such as Mehdi Taj, the president of the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran, alongside multiple executive committee members and team analysts.

Tensions between the two nations have remained dangerously elevated since a joint U.S.-Israeli military bombing campaign against Iranian targets began in late February, which erupted into open hostilities. A fragile ceasefire agreed on April 8 has steadily unraveled in recent weeks, with both sides resuming offensive strikes and exchanging escalating threats.

Despite the diplomatic fallout from the visa dispute, Iran’s senior players have proceeded with their planned travel itinerary. Team Melli’s chartered flight departed Antalya at 15:20 local time (1220 GMT) Saturday, with a scheduled stopover in Spain en route to Mexico. The squad is expected to touch down in Mexico at 01:30 local time (0730 GMT) on Sunday.

Unlike the original plan that would have placed the team’s pre- and in-tournament training base on U.S. soil, Iran relocated its camp to the Mexican border city of Tijuana months ago, a change made in direct response to heightened geopolitical tensions between the two nations stemming from the ongoing conflict. Even with the team based in Mexico, all three of Iran’s Group G group-stage matches will take place across the U.S. border.

Iran is scheduled to kick off its World Cup campaign against New Zealand in Los Angeles on June 15, followed by a second group match against Belgium in the same city six days later. The squad will wrap up group play against Egypt on June 26 in Seattle.

In the lead-up to the tournament, Iran held two warm-up friendlies at their Antalya training camp: a 3-1 victory over Gambia on May 29, and a 2-0 shutout win against Mali in their final preparation match on Thursday.