‘This is the worst nightmare a top tennis player can have’: Iga Swiatek struggles after Miami Open defeat

In the gloomy surrounds of a makeshift mixed media zone situated inside a dark corridor under the Hard Rock Stadium, Iga Swiatek needed a brief moment to let some of her emotions go before another wave of questions struck her.An hour earlier, Swiatek had experienced one of her most difficult defeats in years, losing in the second round at the Miami Open against her compatriot Magda Linette in a messy three-set affair. Between the Polish and English sections of her post-match media duties, Swiatek retreated to a corner of the room and, with her back to her audience, she wiped tears from her eyes.Swiatek emerged a minute later speaking with admirable candidness about her struggles and how difficult things had become for her on court. Tennis, the Pole said, felt complicated in her head these days even though it is supposed to be simple

World Cup-winning captain Johnson urges England to think about summer break for players

England’s legendary World Cup-winning captain Martin Johnson says the current management should consider resting key players this summer to boost the chances of history being repeated in Australia next year. Johnson was among several senior squad members who did not tour Argentina in the buildup to their 2003 global triumph and suggests a similar policy could assist England’s 2027 campaign.In 2002 England beat the Pumas 26‑18 in Buenos Aires with only eight of their subsequent World Cup-winning squad involved. Johnson is fully aware that post-game recovery and conditioning techniques have moved on significantly but believes the current captain, Maro Itoje, and others require careful handling if they are to prosper in 2027.“If it’s the right thing for a guy who’s just had a big Lions tour to have a summer off and not go on the trip, that’s just managing your player with the World Cup in mind,” said Johnson, who also led a British & Irish Lions squad to Australia in 2001

Ben Duckett pulls out of £200,000 IPL deal in bid to save England Test spot

Ben Duckett has pulled out of the upcoming Indian Premier League and now faces a three-year ban from the tournament after deciding he needs county cricket to shore up his place in England’s Test team.The opener was signed by Delhi Capitals at the IPL auction in December in a deal worth £200,000 and, with the competition starting on Saturday, he was due to miss the first two months of the English season.But a combination of a poor Ashes series – playing all five Tests in the 4-1 defeat for a highest score of 42 – and heavy travel after reserve duties at the recent T20 World Cup has convinced Duckett to turn out for the county champions Nottinghamshire instead.“It was a very difficult decision, and I want to apologise to everyone at Delhi that I won’t be coming,” Duckett told the Telegraph.“I’ve spent a lot of time away from home in different places, and it felt like the best thing for me to do to be ready to play for England is to be here right now, at home, refreshing my mind and body

World Snooker Championship to remain at Crucible until at least 2045 with revamp

Barry Hearn concedes he has let his heart rule his head for the first time in his career after striking a remarkable new long-term deal to keep snooker’s world championship at the Crucible Theatre – before hinting that his son Eddie was among those who were against the decision.The tournament has been played at the 980-seat venue in Sheffield since 1977, and it will remain there until at least 2045 with an option to extend to 2050 after World Snooker Tour and Sheffield city council agreed a contract to ensure snooker’s most prestigious event will stay at its spiritual home.As part of the agreement, the Crucible will undergo a renovation after the 2028 tournament, with the venue securing £45m of government investment that Hearn admitted was decisive in keeping snooker in Sheffield. An extra 500 seats will be installed at the theatre, taking capacity to 1500.It is a striking and notable agreement for the sport, not least because Hearn himself had made loud noises in recent years about the need for a completely rebuilt Crucible with at least 3,000 seats if the world championship was to remain in Sheffield amid interest from places such as Saudi Arabia and China

West Ham stadium stance could block London’s World Athletics Championships bid, warns Coe

Sebastian Coe has warned that London’s bid for the 2029 World Athletics Championships could be scuppered by West Ham’s refusal to allow their stadium to be used in September.World Athletics has made it clear to bidding cities, which it is understood also includes Rome, Munich and Nairobi as well as a mooted Indian city, that the world championships should be the grand finale to the athletics season.West Ham, however, are so far refusing to vacate their stadium for around three weeks in September, despite the London bid having the strong backing of the government and the mayor’s office.“It’s really difficult for me because I have a view, but I have to be scrupulously neutral, because London is clearly not the only bid out there,” Lord Coe said.“All I would say is that I would hope that there is a recognition that outside the Olympic Games and the World Cup, this is the third-largest sporting gathering in a four-year cycle

The Breakdown | Fiji and the beautiful south reveal rugby’s soul but northern money talks loudest

They’re present in every top-flight club in Europe. They pack down for teams in France and Scotland. They run the show from half-back in England and Italy. They provide heft through the midfield and dazzle out wide in Ireland and Wales.There are 257 of them in total, drawn from 12 nations including Chile, Zimbabwe and the Cook Islands