Tag: Britain

Nadal will play at Queens club this summer

Rafael Nadal remains one of the biggest names in the sport of tennis, and is still many fans’ favourite despite having now not won one of the Grand Slam tournaments since 2014. But those fans will be delighted to hear that the Spaniard will be partaking in this summers Queens club tournament due to start on June 13th.

The 29-year-old is currently ranked 5th in the world and has played at Queens club on six different occasions, and even won the event back in 2008.

Nadal told the press that Queens club gives players the “perfect conditions” to prepare for Wimbledon, which begins a week after the conclusion of Queens on June 27th.

“I love playing at the Queen’s Club and I am very happy that I will be back this year. I will never forget winning the title in 2008; it was a special moment, and going on to win my first Wimbledon.

“Holding that trophy again would be amazing, although I am well aware of the difficulties because the tournament always has so many good players.”

Andy Murray has also confirmed his presence at the event, and will attempting to retain his crown having won last years tournament.

The Scot was left heartbroken after losing the Australian Open to Novak Djokovic in recent weeks, but will be looking to make amends back on home soil.

A recent post from the ‘Rafa Nadal Academy’ which looks to find the tennis stars of the future.

Speedway: British ace Tai Woffinden becomes the new World Speedway Champion

Team Great Britain star Tai Woffinden is back on top of the world after securing his second FIM Speedway World Championship title at the Marian Rose Motoarena in Torun, Poland on Saturday night.

25-year-old Woffinden now has an unassailable lead going into the final round of the season, the DON Smallgoods Australian FIM Speedway Grand Prix, at Melbourne’s Etihad Stadium on October 24, where he will also be presented with the World Championship trophy.

The 2015 Championship is Woffinden’s second world title in three seasons and the Scunthorpe-born racer becomes only the third Brit to win speedway’s biggest prize twice, following in the footsteps of both Freddie Williams and Peter Craven.

He also joins Swedish legend Tony Rickardsson, Aussie star Jason Crump, Danish racer Nicki Pedersen and American icon Greg Hancock in the elite band of riders who have won multiple titles since the World Championship series was established in 1995 and is the 16th multi-time world champion in speedway history.

Formula 1 2016 season to begin at earlier date

It has been announced by the FIA today that next season’s Formula 1 season will begin two weeks earlier than what had been originally scheduled, due to team complaints.

The season was supposed to begin on April 3rd, what would have been the latest start in decades, but now the changes to the dates have been confirmed the season will start two weeks prior on March 20th.

The main opposition from the race teams was due to the later start it would be more difficult to fit in a record 21 races in such a short period of time.

The opener in Australia is scheduled to be followed by Grand Prix’s in Bahrain, China and Russia all with two week intervals in between, with the Grand Prix heading to Britain on July 10th.

Fans of F1 can find the revised scheduled here:

April 3 – Australia
April 10 – China
April 24 – Bahrain
May 1 – Russia
May 15 – Spain
May 29 – Monaco
June 12 – Canada
June 26 – Britain
July 3 – Austria
July 17 – Europe (Baku)
July 31 – Germany
August 7 – Hungary
August 28 – Belgium
September 4 – Italy
September 18 – Singapore
September 25 – Malaysia
October 9 – Japan
October 23 – USA (Austin)
October 30 – Mexico
November 13 – Brazil
November 27 – Abu Dhabi

The season still finishes on November 27th in Abu Dhabi as had been agreed to before today’s announcement.

The current campaign is still underway, with Lewis Hamilton currently leading the standings on 277 points, whilst his closest rivals Nico Rosberg and Sebastien Vettel both sit on 229 and 218 points respectively.

Good man Murray to donate £50 to Unicef for every ace

Andy Murray has announced that he will donate £50 to Unicef for every ace he completes for the remainder of the season, in a bid to aid the ongoing refugee crisis, which is something the Scot has clearly taken to heart.

The occasional tennis watcher may watch Murray’s occasional tantrums on court and judge him for doing so, but for the tennis enthusiasts, this generous news will not come as so much of a surprise.

Murray said he felt he needed to act and help in anyway he could after following the news updates of the thousands of refugees, who are making their way across Europe to seek asylum, escaping the conflict in their home nations.

“I felt I had to do something to help the millions of children and their families who have been forced to flee their homes.

“I’ll get that little bit more satisfaction from each ace I hit.”

Following Murray’s generous proposal, one of his sponsors, the Association of Tennis Professionals and the Lawn Tennis Association have also agreed to match his £50 pledge – meaning each ace will be worth £200 to Unicef.

The British number one takes on Thanasi Kokkinakis on Friday at 1pm in the Davis Cup, as his British teammates look to reach the final for the first time in 40 years as they take on Australia.