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Spanish tennis great Rafael Nadal expressed gratitude after his exit from the Barcelona Open. Paula Badosa had an emotional breakdown after an injury forced her to retire during the 2024 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart. Two-time world champion Kento Momota announced retirement from international badminton at the age of 29.
Have a look at what happened in the sporting world in the last 24 hours.
Tennis
I had the chance to say goodbye here on court: Rafael Nadal on Barcelona's exit
Spanish tennis great Rafael Nadal expressed gratitude after his exit from the Barcelona Open. After losing to Alex de Minaur, he said, “At least, how things went, for me I had the chance to say goodbye here on court. That means a lot to me because I probably felt one week ago that I was not able to play in this event. That would have been painful, so at least I played, I enjoyed the game, and now is the moment to keep going.” He added, “I didn’t practise a lot, so that [performance] encourages me to keep going. It tells me that, if I’m able to spend days on the Tour and keep practising with the players, I really hope and believe that I can keep being competitive. If my body allows me to push the way that I need.”
Paula Badosa breaks down in Aryna Sabalenka’s arms after injury retirement
Paula Badosa had an emotional breakdown after an injury forced her to retire during the 2024 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart. Badosa injured her left thigh midway through her encounter with Aryna Sabalenka. While she kept a brave face initially, the 26-year-old broke down while hugging the world number 2 at the net. The Belarusian offered her words of encouragement, which led her to Badosa sobbing in her close friend’s arms.
I want to meet Coco Gauff: Zendaya expresses admiration for American tennis star
Globally popular actress and singer Zendaya expressed her admiration for the young tennis star Coco Gauff and said that she wants to meet her. She said, "I love Coco, I haven't met her yet but I sure hope so. Brad is her coach so I'm like 'I want to meet her. I feel I think I speak on behalf of all of us that we’re incredibly grateful that people are actually here. I was thinking like nobody’s gonna be at this screening so I’m so surprised that people are actually here.”
Novak Djokovic teases Grigor Dimitrov about his love for bracelets
24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic teased Grigor Dimitrov for his love of bracelets as the latter participated in a light-hearted Q&A session and responded to questions from other players. Djokovic asked him, "All right Grigor, we know that you are a great fan of the Van Cleef bracelets. How many of those you got?" Dimitrov said, "Novak, more than you can put on your wrist, man. I am a big fan of the Van Cleefs.”
Football
Manchester City to face Chelsea; Manchester United favourites against Coventry City in FA Cup SF
The oldest football competition in the world - the Emirates FA Cup, is back to keep fans on the edge of their seats in what promises to be an enthralling semi-final stage. In the first semi-final fixture, the reigning champions Manchester City FC take on London giants Chelsea FC in a clash of heavyweights. On the other hand, Championship side Coventry City faces silverware-hungry Manchester United. These blockbuster fixtures will be aired live from Wembley Stadium, exclusively on the Sony Sports Network.
They asked me to go out: Guardiola explains Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland's substitution
After the UEFA Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola made a shocking revelation about why striker Erling Haaland and midfielder Kevin De Bruyne were stubbed out. He said, Guardiola, in his post-match press conference, said, "Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne asked me to go out. They could not continue. In the game they were amazing. I didn’t plan to make a lot of substitutions but they asked me to go out because they could not continue."
Major football results
Champions League QF
Bayern Munich 1-0 (3-2) Arsenal
Man City 1-1 (7-8) Real Madrid
Argentina-Primera Nacional
Almirante Brown 0-3 Estudiantes de Rio Cuarto
Brazil Serie A
Juventude 2-0 Corinthians
Chile-Primera Division
Palestino 2-0 Huachipato
Badminton
Everyone has got their chance: HS Prannoy on India’s opportunity to secure Olympics 2024 badminton medals
Indian star Shuttler expressed confidence in India’s opportunities to secure badminton medals at the Paris Olympics 2024. He told the Times of India, “I think if you look at the last 4-5 years I would say we have done exceptionally well in the bigger events. I think even if it is the Commonwealth Games, World Championships we all had good results in the past. So I think getting into the Olympics say from Sindhu's perspective or Satwik-Chirag's perspective everybody has got their chances. Tanisha also qualified and looking from a medal perspective everybody has got their chance.”
Japan’s former world number 1 Momota Kento announces retirement from international badminton
Two-time world champion Kento Momota announced retirement from international badminton at the age of 29, putting an end to the career that never recovered from a car crash four years ago. Momota will participate in the Thomas Cup later this month, and it will be his last tournament. The former World number 1 will feature only in domestic competitions in Japan after that and not on any World Tour. He said, “I have made this decision because it feels like I have reached my physical and mental limit in trying to get back to being the best in the world.”