‘I wish we’d taken the train’: athlete Innes FitzGerald welcomes Thunberg comparisons

Innes FitzGerald is a young athlete on a mission: to win medals for Britain while saving the planet. While most sports stars are media trained to say as little as possible, the 18-year-old from Devon is refreshingly bold in her beliefs – and her determination to make a difference.That much is clear when FitzGerald, who this year has lowered Zola Budd’s longstanding indoor 3,000m record by a staggering 16 seconds on her way to earning selection for the European Indoor Championships in Apeldoorn, is asked about how she travelled to the Netherlands.It turns out the British squad, which was announced only last week, all flew. “But I do feel like I should have got the train,” says FitzGerald

‘Transformational’ maternity leave scheme unveiled for top tennis players

The Women’s Tennis Association has become the first international sports body to introduce up to 12 months of paid maternity leave for players, in what it has hailed as a defining moment for women’s sport.Under the new policy, funded by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, players will also get access to grants for fertility treatments, including egg freezing and IVF.The WTA said that at least 320 of the world’s top players would be entitled to access the fund, which also includes two months of paid leave to anyone who becomes a parent via partner pregnancy, surrogacy or adoption.The two-times grand slam winner Victoria Azarenka, who is a representative on the WTA players’ council, told the Guardian that the response from her colleagues to the new WTA PIF Maternity Fund programme had been “incredible”.“The players are extremely excited and some were really surprised that we are creating this,” she said

Ben Stokes in frame for England ODI captaincy and Harry Brook for T20 role

Rob Key could offer Ben Stokes the chance to take on the captaincy of England’s one-day team – and potentially put Harry Brook in charge of the T20 side – after admitting it would be “stupid” not to consider his Test talisman for an expanded role.Speaking at Lord’s on Thursday, less than a week after England completed their winless Champions Trophy campaign, the director of men’s cricket held his hands up to “a lot of errors”. There was also an admission his players lacked the competitiveness that Stokes brings.While stressing he is “not feeling the pinch” as regards his own role, Key and his head coach, Brendon McCullum, face a pivotal decision over how best to replace Jos Buttler as white-ball captain.With 11 Tests, 27 white-ball matches and a T20 World Cup in the next 12 months, picking one multi-format player raises inherent issues

Fred Stolle obituary

Popular Australian tennis player who excelled at doubles, winning 17 major tournaments in addition to two singles championshipsThe Australian tennis player Fred Stolle, who has died aged 86, won the French Championship in 1965 and the US Championship in 1966, along with a hatful of doubles titles around the world. But he could never quite get over the line at Wimbledon, where he lost in three consecutive finals between 1963 and 1965.Typically, however, Stolle did not allow his frustrating failure to win Wimbledon to deter him from making the most of his ability as a world-class player, or to douse the huge enjoyment he derived from being one of the game’s most popular personalities. He played in an era when, outside Wimbledon and a couple of other grand slams, the nocturnal hours were to be enjoyed as much as sunlit days on the courts of the world’s most glamorous locations.This did not mean the players of his era were unfit

Charles Barkley calls athletes who won’t visit Trump’s White House ‘stupid’. I disagree | Etan Thomas

Since Donald Trump took office for his second term, he has taken a blowtorch to America. He has pardoned January 6 rioters, started the gutting of the federal government, eliminated diversity, equity and inclusion programs, insulted who we thought were the country’s allies, and vilified immigrants.While there have been voices of dissent in the sports world – such as former NFL punter Chris Kluwe and soccer coach Jesse Marsch – athletes have largely stayed silent on Trump’s policies, a stark contrast to his first term in power. In recent months, Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce spoke of their pride in playing in front of Trump at the Super Bowl, while the Philadelphia Eagles are reportedly keen to visit the White House to celebrate their NFL title, a decision supported by Charles Barkley, who believes boycotts make the nation more divided.I couldn’t disagree more with Barkley

‘It shows how far we’ve come’: how women’s boxing powered its way to the Royal Albert Hall

Lauren Price, Natasha Jonas and Cindy Ngamba believe groundbreaking all-female bill offers the sport the chance to set aside its problems and show pride in its progress“It’s maddening and sad to think that, not so long ago, women were banned from being fighters,” says Lauren Price as she prepares to face Natasha Jonas in a fascinating world welterweight title unification bout that headlines Friday’s all-female bill at the Royal Albert Hall. But, first, the Olympic gold medallist and world champion pauses to remember those who preceded her.In August 1998, the British Boxing Board of Control were taken to court by Jane Couch, a professional fighter who had been forced abroad because women’s boxing was banned in her country. Bernard Buckley, the board’s solicitor, told the judge that “many women suffer from premenstrual tension which makes them more emotional, labile and accident-prone. They are too fragile to box and bruise easily