Li Na, China's double grand slam winner, forced to retire with knee injury

Li Na, China's double grand slam winner, forced to retire with knee injury

Li Na Li Na with the Australian Open trophy in January, the second of her two grand slam titles. 

Li Na, a two-time Grand Slam champion from China who took tennis in Asia to a new level, has retired due to recurring knee injuries.

The 32-year-old Li posted a statement on social media sites Friday, ending a week of intensifying speculation that she would announce her retirement ahead of the new WTA event in Wuhan, her home town.

Li won the 2011 French Open, becoming the first player from China to win a grand slam singles title, and clinched the Australian Open title in January in her third appearance in the final at Melbourne Park.

Li Na sends a backhand return to Dominika Cibulkova. Li Na in action.

The win took her to a career-high No. 2 ranking but she has not played since a third-round defeat at Wimbledon, withdrawing from the US Open citing a knee injury.

“Most people in the tennis world know that my career has been marked by my troubled right knee,” Li said in the open letter she posted online. “After four knee surgeries and hundreds of shots injected into my knee weekly to alleviate swelling and pain, my body is begging me to stop the pounding.”

After three operations on her right knee, dating back to March 2008, Li said her most recent surgery in July was on her left knee.

“After a few weeks of post-surgery recovery, I tried to go through all the necessary steps to get back on the court,” she said. “While I’ve come back from surgery in the past, this time it felt different.

Li Na of China Li Na was a ‘trailblazer’ for the sport in China. 

“One of my goals was to recover as fast as I could in order to be ready for the first WTA tournament in my hometown. As hard as I tried to get back to being 100 percent, my body kept telling me that, at 32, I will not be able to compete at the top level ever again. The sport is just too competitive, too good, to not be 100 percent.”

Li started her career in the Chinese sports system, but had a keen sense of individuality. She bucked the system at times during her career giving up tennis for two years to do media studies at a university earlier in her career and later insisting on selecting her own coach.

The announcement that she had parted ways with coach Carlos Rodriguez, ending an almost two-year working relationship with the former long-time mentor for Justin Henin, followed her Wimbledon defeat in July.

Li won millions of admirers with her tough-as-nails approach on court, and her warmth and charm outside the arena. Her frequent jokes about life with Shan Jiang, her former coach and husband since 2006, in courtside interviews helped Li become a hit at the Australian Open.

Li Na talks about her husband after winning the Australian Open in January 2014.

Among her list of milestones, Li was the first Chinese player to win a WTA tour title (Guangzhou in 2004), the first to reach a grand slam singles quarterfinal (Wimbledon in 2006), first to break into the top 20, first to reach a grand slam final (Australia in 2011) and first to win a singles major, her breakthrough win at Roland Garros.

“I’ve succeeded on the global stage in a sport that a few years ago was in its infancy in China,” Li said. “What I’ve accomplished for myself is beyond my wildest dreams. What I accomplished for my country is one of my most proud achievements.”

Li rose to second in the rankings after her win in Australia in January, but dropped to sixth this month due to her injury-enforced inactivity.

In the immediate future is the establishment of a Li Na Tennis Academy, providing scholarships for future Chinese players. In the not-too-distant future, she’s hoping to start a family.

The Women’s Tennis Association described Li as a Chinese tennis trailblazer in a statement celebrating her 15-year professional career.

“Li Na has been a fun, powerful, and wonderful player on the WTA tour and, along with her fans, I am sad to hear that she has retired,” WTA chief executive Stacey Allaster said.

R&A golf club ends 260-year ban on women members

R&A golf club ends 260-year ban on women members

Natalie Gulbis playing at the Women's British Open held at St Andrews in 2013. 

The independence referendum was not the only historic decision made in Scotland on Thursday, with the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews finally voting to accept female members for the first time in its 260-year history.

The R&A, which is the historic home of golf and the game's governing body outside the US and Mexico, belatedly conceded in March that the time had come to vote on whether to accept women as members after years of mounting pressure.

Its 2,400 all-male membership had been urged by club secretary Peter Dawson to "do what's right for golf" in the postal vote, making the outcome far easier to predict than the other ballot that day.

They voted "overwhelmingly" to back a change to their outdated rules and the R&A will now approach 15 women already identified as having made a large contribution to the sport to be fast-tracked through the application process.

More than three quarters of the club's membership took part in the ballot, with 85% voting in favour of women becoming members in a result announced outside its famous clubhouse on Thursday evening.

"This is a very important and positive day in the history of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club," said Dawson. "The R&A has served the sport of golf well for 260 years and I am confident that the club will continue to do so in future with the support of all its members, both women and men."

Ten years ago, the R&A span off its commercial arm, which organises the annual British Open, but women effectively remained excluded because committee members could only be drawn from the membership list.

Three other courses on the Open Championship rota maintain men-only membership policies – Royal Troon and Muirfield in Scotland and Royal St George's in Kent – and pressure will now increase on them to change their policies.

The matter came to a head at the 2013 Open at Muirfield, when several politicians boycotted the event and the ban on women members overshadowed events on the course.

Dawson failed to quell the storm when he said the club's "natural reaction is to resist these pressures, because we actually don't think they have very much substance".

But before the vote, which coincidentally fell on the same day as the referendum and the week before Scotland hosts the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles, he urged members to do what was "right for golf".

The long overdue change of heart was welcomed by campaigners and politicians. Women's Sport and Fitness Foundation chief executive Ruth Holdaway said it was "brilliant news", adding: "The admittance of female members is a symbolic step in the move towards full equality in sport and for golf in particular."

Sports minister Helen Grant said: "This is positive news for the sport and I hope we will now see other golf clubs that still have outdated same-sex policies follow suit."

Leicestershire’s two-year drought set to continue against Essex

Leicestershire’s two-year drought set to continue against Essex

 Jesse Ryder justified his elevation to share the Essex new ball by taking five Leicestershire wickets. 

On yet another grim day – in which they were eight wickets down at lunch and already 15 runs behind by the close – Leicestershire took further significant steps towards eclipsing their neighbours Northamptonshire from the record books.

Sunday marked the second anniversary of the county’s last County Championship victory, in the final match of the 2012 summer against Gloucestershire, meaning that if they are unable to win here – which already looks a pretty safe bet – or at Derby next week, Leicestershire will become the first team to go through two full seasons without a win since Northamptonshire before the second world war.

They still have some way to go to match the impressive ineptitude of that Northamptonshire side, who went 99 games without a win between the Mays of 1935 and 1939 – when they ended their sequence one short of a century with an innings victory against, you guessed it, Leicestershire.

This feeble Leicester run is a comparatively modest 30 matches and counting, but it has still become deeply demoralising for everyone involved with a county who were champions twice in the 90s, and won the last of their three Twenty20 Cups only three seasons ago.

Leicestershire are continuing to produce a decent supply of players but are finding them increasingly difficult to keep. In addition to the trio of internationals poached by Nottinghamshire in recent years – Stuart Broad, James Taylor and Harry Gurney – they will lose Nathan Buck to Lancashire and Shiv Thakor to Derbyshire at the end of this season. Ned Eckersley, Greg Smith and the captain Josh Cobb are thought to remain vulnerable to further raids. Even their efforts to sign the Australian bowler Clint McKay are thought to have been frustrated by the big-spending rivals at Trent Bridge.

The situation has prompted Neil Davidson, a former chairman whose eventful tenure ended in bitter acrimony with his last appointment as captain Matthew Hoggard, to stand for re-election to the board. Leicestershire are also hunting for a new chief executive, with Mike Siddall to stand down at the end of the season, and there could be a chink of light in the suggestions that Wasim Khan, the former Warwickshire and Sussex batsman who has won widespread admiration and the MBE for his work with the Cricket Foundation’s Chance to Shine initiative, is interested in the role.

Leicestershire actually started this summer more brightly than last but suffered an early blow when Ramnaresh Sarwan returned for a second season as their overseas player with a back problem. In contrast Essex have received good value from Jesse Ryder as he continues to battle back from injury and personal problems away from the international spotlight. Not for the first time the New Zealander justified his elevation to share the new ball, bowling throughout the morning session from the Bennett end to earn season’s best figures of five for 50 by wobbling the ball both ways at a lively medium pace.

Ryder owed at least a couple of his wickets to David Masters, who bowled manfully at the other end. The 36-year-old is still a thoroughly unpleasant handful on mornings such as this, with grey clouds and a green pitch at a ground he knows better than most. It was undeniably a good toss for James Foster to win, but Dan Redfern put a poor Leicestershire batting performance into context with a sensible unbeaten half century until he ran out of partners shortly after lunch.

Essex still have an outside chance of pinching the second promotion place behind Worcestershire, and their hopes of closing the 22-point deficit on Hampshire were boosted as Kent made 312 for three on the first day at the Ageas Bowl, with Daniel Bell-Drummond and Sam Northeast reaching unbeaten centuries.

Somerset, for whom Craig Kieswetter made 69 from 80 balls in the Division One game against Middlesex in his first innings since suffering serious facial injuries two months ago, hope to announce their new coach by the end of the week, with the former England coach Ashley Giles among those who have been interviewed in Taunton.

Colombian women’s flesh-coloured cycling kit ‘unacceptable’, says UCI

Colombian women’s flesh-coloured cycling kit ‘unacceptable’, says UCI

 UCI president Brian Cookson tweeted that the Bogota Humana's kit design was 'unacceptable by any standards of decency.' Photograph: Twitter

The design of a new flesh-coloured kit that makes a Colombian women’s cycling team look naked below the waist has been described as unacceptable by Brian Cookson, the president of the UCI.

Photographs of the Bogota Humana team were taken at the Tour of Tuscany, showing six women wearing red and yellow kit with flesh-coloured material immediately above and below the waist. It is unclear if the team intend to wear a similar uniform next week while representing Colombia at the road world championships in Ponferrada, Spain.

After the pictures went viral on social media, Cookson tweeted: “To the many who have raised the issue of a certain women’s team kit, we are on the case. It is unacceptable by any standards of decency.”

Cycling’s governing body later confirmed that it was investigating the issue. “The UCI will be sending a letter to the Colombian federation reminding them of their responsibility … in the control of regional and club team kits that compete in international events,” read a statement.

Among some of the leading riders criticising the outfits was the former Commonwealth, Olympic and world road race champion Nicole Cooke, who tweeted: “This has turned the sport into a joke. Girls stand up for yourselves – say no.”

Rory McIlroy needs break after FedEx excess to recharge for Ryder Cup

Rory McIlroy needs break after FedEx excess to recharge for Ryder Cup

 Rory McIlroy shows signs of tiredness after missing out on the $10m bonus in the FedEx Cup at East Lake in Atlanta. Photograph: Jason Getz/USA Today Sports

Rory McIlroy is well enough versed in the success of Tiger Woods to fully appreciate the level of mental intensity associated with the 14-times major winner’s previous dominance of golf. More than that, this year has offered McIlroy a practical snapshot.

McIlroy’s failure to claim the FedEx Cup in Atlanta on Sunday was hardly a disaster. Those who had paid close attention to him in recent weeks would have seen traces of the mental fatigue which is a natural consequence of a stunningly successful summer. By his own admission, McIlroy could not summon the energy for one final tilt at glory. Competing comes at a cost.

McIlroy has only appeared at the FedEx play-off finale twice, this year and in 2012, with opportunities to claim the $10m (£6.1m) bonus attached to victory evading him on both occasions.

“I really wanted to win,” he said. “I really wanted to cap this year off well, even though it’s still been a great year. I was coming in with really high hopes and expectations, and I haven’t quite been able to play the golf to live up to those.

“It’s still been a great season for me and there’s still a little bit of golf left. I’m looking forward to this little bit of time off and getting back at it, maybe next weekend, to get ready for the Ryder Cup.”

The Open and US PGA champion’s year is far from over. McIlroy will compete at the Ryder Cup and in individual events in Bermuda, Dubai, China and Australia before the end of 2014. Sunday at East Lake looked like an important moment, though, with McIlroy feeling the strain of four FedEx events in succession.

“It’s been a long four weeks,” McIlroy said. “You know, if I had to do it all over again, I probably would have taken a week off somewhere in this stretch of tournaments.

“It’s tough because these sponsors that are sponsoring the tournaments and the FedEx Cup play-offs, they’re putting up an awful lot of money to get the best players in the world to their event. Not that you feel obliged, but you want to support the events, you want to show up and give the sponsors something to be happy about and proud of.

“I’ve got a great relationship with BMW and that was probably the only reason why I did play in Denver [at the BMW Championship] last week. But at the same time, if I had to do it again, I probably would have taken a week off just to feel a little fresher coming to Atlanta.”

The back-to-back FedEx series is unlikely to be repeated. It was understood to be the idea of Tom Watson, who wanted a clear break before he leads the United States into the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles from Friday 26 September.

Two years ago, the Tour Championship immediately preceded the Ryder Cup, a matter Watson identified as troublesome during his discussions over the USA captaincy. That is notable, given the number of players who have made it clear that a hectic tournament run this time around has taken its toll.

“I think a week off will do a lot of us a world of good,” said McIlroy, who was far from alone in citing East Lake tiredness. “It really will. As I said already, I don’t want to see my clubs for a few days and I’ll pick them back up again probably at the weekend.

“Having these five days off is going to be big and I think a lot of guys will do the same thing. I don’t think tiredness or fatigue will play a part in the Ryder Cup,” McIlroy said. “Now that all this is over, I’ll start thinking about it a lot more over the next few days and obviously get very excited about it. It’s a great way to get right back on the horse and get back at it. It’s always a phenomenal week and I’m sure it’ll be the same this time.”

Saeed Ajmal extended elbow by 40 degrees during ICC bowling tests

Saeed Ajmal extended elbow by 40 degrees during ICC bowling tests

  Saeed Ajmal, right, in action for Pakistan against Sri Lanka during the first Test in Galle last month.
 

The suspended Pakistan off-spinner Saeed Ajmal had an average elbow extension of well over twice the allowable limit during testing of his bowling action in Australia last month.

Ajmal recorded an astonishing 40 degrees with a relatively small standard deviation of 2.5 degrees at the National Cricket Centre in Brisbane, according to a 23-page report on the tests last month. The rules allow for an elbow extension of 15 degrees.

The report says none of the deliveries by Ajmal during the eight overs of testing – some overs were not of the usual six balls – came close to meeting International Cricket Council regulations. During testing, Ajmal bowled off-spin from both over and around the wicket, the doosra, and quicker balls.

Ajmal, the world’s top-ranked bowler in one-day internationals, was suspended by the ICC on Tuesday.

Yorkshire seal first County Championship in 13 years

Yorkshire seal first County Championship in 13 years

 Ryan Sidebottom of Yorkshire celebrates taking the wicket of Chris Read, one of his nine wickets in the game.
Yorkshire completed their surge to a first County Championship title in 13 years as Ryan Sidebottom led the way against his old club Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge.

The veteran seamer finished with six for 30, and nine wickets in the match, as Yorkshire bowled their hosts out for 177 to win by an innings and 152 runs and confirm the 32nd championship in their history.

It was a personal triumph too for Sidebottom, Yorkshire-born and the sole survivor in this team from his native county’s last title-winning season but also twice a winner in the same competition in his seven years with Nottinghamshire.

Fittingly, Sidebottom took the final wicket when James Taylor looped a shot to the substitute fielder Rich Pyrah, who was on for the injured Gary Ballance, for 75.

Sidebottom put Yorkshire on the fast track with two wickets in successive overs, after Notts had resumed under initially cloudy skies on the final day.

He swung one past the nightwatchman Gary Keedy’s defensive bat to hit off-stump, and doubled up with a more significant breakthrough with the home captain Chris Read caught-behind to a very good delivery which nipped away off the angle.

He and Yorkshire then had to wait another half-hour for their next step to glory, Luke Fletcher pushing forward and edging compliantly to second slip.

Joe Root’s decision to replace Jack Brooks with Adil Rashid at the Radcliffe Road end brought immediate reward, Jake Ball misreading the leg-spinner to go lbw.

Then, shortly after 11.30am, Sidebottom administered the final blow - with his fourth wicket for six runs in 7.2 overs when Taylor advanced to him and smashed a drive on the up straight to point.