Clijsters steps up comeback with World Team Tennis
New York: Four-time Grand Slam singles champion Kim Clijsters is all-set to ramp up her professional comeback when she participates in the World Team Tennis (WTT) tournament starting Sunday.Clijsters, who returned to professional tennis in February this year after a gap of eight years, will team up with Mardy Fish, Jack Sock, Sabine Lisicki, Neal Skupski and Kveta Peschke for the New York Empire.WTT had earlier announced that every player will play the entire three-week regular season, which is currently scheduled to be played between July 12 to 30. The semifinals will be played on August 1, followed by the final on August 2.”I have girlfriends now who at times struggle to find ‘me time’ and find their passion and find the time to live for their passion and still balance being a mum,” Clijsters was quoted as saying by ‘Tennishead’ in April.”I know in four years I’m not going to be able to do this challenge.”I know that if I want to be able to compete with these girls then I’m going to have to be the fittest that I’ve ever been and to be able to move like I did in the past. I think that’s going to be a lot tougher now than it was nine years or so ago,” she added. (IANS)
Kalou set for Botafogo move
Rio de Janeiro: Botafogo have reached a deal to sign former Chelsea forward Salomon Kalou, according to press reports in Brazil.The 34-year-old has agreed to an 18-month contract pending a routine medical exam, the Globo newspaper reported on Wednesday, citing Botafogo executive board member Carlos Montenegro.Kalou’s contract with Germany’s Hertha BSC ended on June 30. The Ivorian will arrive in Rio with his Brazil-born partner, Karina Ferreira, next week on a flight from Berlin with a stopover in Frankfurt, the newspaper said.He is the second high-profile signing for Botafogo in less than six months following the arrival of Japanese playmaker Keisuke Honda in February.Kalou’s 17-year professional career has included spells at Feyenoord, Chelsea and Lille. The 34-year-old has been capped 97 times for the Cote d’Ivoire national team, scoring 28 goals.The Brazilian Serie A season is set to begin in August, having missed its scheduled May start because of the coronavirus pandemic. (Xinhua)
MLS returns to action
Kissimmee: Nearly 200 players took the field for an 8-minute, 46-second moment of silence to protest racial injustice before Major League Soccer’s return to action. Players wore black T-shirts, black gloves and black facemasks emblazoned with Black Lives Matter on Wednesday night. The shirts had varying slogans that included Black And Proud, Silence Is Violence and Black All The Time. The players walked toward midfield, raised their right arms one at a time and held the pose so long that some could be seen stretching fatigued muscles afterward. It was a poignant moment that put two of the nation’s most prominent changes over the last four months — masks and movements — at the forefront of the sport’s return. (AP)