Wimbledon to Scrap Day of Rest From 2022

Tennis - Wimbledon Preview - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - June 30, 2019 General view over empty courts. Reuters
Tennis - Wimbledon Preview - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - June 30, 2019 General view over empty courts. Reuters
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Wimbledon to Scrap Day of Rest From 2022

Tennis - Wimbledon Preview - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - June 30, 2019 General view over empty courts. Reuters
Tennis - Wimbledon Preview - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - June 30, 2019 General view over empty courts. Reuters

Wimbledon organizers announced on Tuesday that the traditional day of rest in the middle of the tournament would be scrapped from 2022 as they fine-tune plans for this year's event.

The tournament -- the only Grand Slam played on grass -- is returning this year after it was cancelled in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam that has a day off during the fortnight but this provides scheduling challenges, particularly when there is bad weather in the first week.

At the tournament's spring press briefing, All England Club chairman Ian Hewitt said developments in the care of grass courts meant 14 days of play was now deemed possible.

The change means fourth-round matches, which have all been played on a packed day known as "manic Monday", will be held across two days.

"That second Monday was popular with many people but it did create significant challenges," said Hewitt. "I am not sure if it did full justice to that day's tennis and we feel spreading it over two days does it more justice.

"I think it is important for the development of the sport that Wimbledon should be even more accessible to those who wish to watch it."

England is on track to drop all Covid restrictions on June 21 after a successful vaccination drive, with Wimbledon due to start the following week.

Organizers are planning for a minimum spectator capacity of 25 percent at the event in southwest London, with the hope that this can be increased. Tickets are expected to go on sale in June.

"The reality we are dealing with is how to deliver a tournament under today's (government) guidance," said All England Club chief executive Sally Bolton.

"June 21 is a not-before date and as you can imagine it would be reckless to plan a tournament when one does not know what the conditions are going to be after that

"We are planning the tournament as of what today's conditions are but also capable of showing flexibility and agility if they change."



Bayern Munich Advances in Club World Cup with 2-1 Win over Boca Juniors

Football - FIFA Club World Cup - Group C - Bayern Munich v Boca Juniors - Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida, US - June 20, 2025 Bayern Munich's Harry Kane celebrates scoring their first goal. (Reuters)
Football - FIFA Club World Cup - Group C - Bayern Munich v Boca Juniors - Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida, US - June 20, 2025 Bayern Munich's Harry Kane celebrates scoring their first goal. (Reuters)
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Bayern Munich Advances in Club World Cup with 2-1 Win over Boca Juniors

Football - FIFA Club World Cup - Group C - Bayern Munich v Boca Juniors - Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida, US - June 20, 2025 Bayern Munich's Harry Kane celebrates scoring their first goal. (Reuters)
Football - FIFA Club World Cup - Group C - Bayern Munich v Boca Juniors - Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida, US - June 20, 2025 Bayern Munich's Harry Kane celebrates scoring their first goal. (Reuters)

Michael Olise fired Bayern Munich into the knockout stages of the Club World Cup, scoring in the 84th minute for a 2-1 win over Boca Juniors on Friday night.

German champion Bayern made it two wins in Group C and advanced to the round of 16 with a game to spare.

Olise secured the victory at Hard Rock Stadium after Miguel Merentiel had put Boca in position for a draw with a brilliant solo goal in the 66th.

Bayern, which tops the group, took the lead on Harry Kane's clinical finish in the 18th and went on to miss of a slew of chances before Merentiel's equalizer.

South American teams had been unbeaten in their first nine games of this expanded Club World Cup.

Bayern looked like it would be held until Olise's cool finish. Collecting Kane's layoff inside the box, the forward curled a powerful first-time effort low into the bottom corner.

Bayern has the luxury of resting players for its final group game against second-place Benfica on Tuesday, which could be bad news for Boca. Argentine giant Boca, which plays Auckland City, needs Bayern to beat Benfica to have any chance of advancing to the next round.

“We knew it wasn't going to be easy, we knew we were coming into a hostile environment, hot weather, it was tough. It's a massive tournament. We are playing against the best teams in the world. We just have to compete to our highest level and we should be able to beat most teams,” said Kane.

“We have to find a way (to advance). A draw would’ve been great but it’s up to us to compete and do our best and I would not be surprised if that happened,” said Boca Juniors coach Miguel Angel Russo.