عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Sports

American Star Pegula Pulls Out of French Open

Jessica Pegula will miss the French Open but 'will definitely be back for a full grass season'. Rich Storry / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP
Jessica Pegula will miss the French Open but 'will definitely be back for a full grass season'. Rich Storry / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP
TT
TT

American Star Pegula Pulls Out of French Open

Jessica Pegula will miss the French Open but 'will definitely be back for a full grass season'. Rich Storry / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP
Jessica Pegula will miss the French Open but 'will definitely be back for a full grass season'. Rich Storry / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP

World number five Jessica Pegula announced her withdrawal from the French Open on Thursday, saying she had not yet sufficiently recovered from an injury.
"Unfortunately pulling out of @rolandgarros this year," the American posted on Instagram.
"I'm just about back to practicing normal (haven't had any issues for weeks) but played it super safe with recovery & return to play.
"If I had another 5-7 days I would have been there 100%."
Pegula, 30, has not played an official match since the Billie Jean King Cup in mid-April, said AFP.
She then withdrew from the Madrid Open after "hurting herself", without giving any further details on the nature of her injury.
She also missed the Rome Open, the last big clay-court tournament prior to Roland Garros.
Pegula, however, is confident she will soon return to competition.
"I will definitely be back for a full grass season and the rest of the summer and grinding out the rest of the year," she posted.
Last year, Pegula, 30, was eliminated in the third round of the French Open by Belgium's Elise Mertens.
Her best result at Roland Garros is a quarter-final appearance in 2022 when she lost to eventual winner Iga Swiatek.
The draw for the French Open, which begins at the weekend, takes place later on Thursday.

Most Viewed

 
 
Sports

UEFA Investigates Türkiye Player Merih Demiral for Celebrating a Goal with a Nationalist Gesture

Demiral scored both goals Tuesday in a 2-1 win over Austria to earn a place in the quarterfinals. - The AP
Demiral scored both goals Tuesday in a 2-1 win over Austria to earn a place in the quarterfinals. - The AP
TT
TT

UEFA Investigates Türkiye Player Merih Demiral for Celebrating a Goal with a Nationalist Gesture

Demiral scored both goals Tuesday in a 2-1 win over Austria to earn a place in the quarterfinals. - The AP
Demiral scored both goals Tuesday in a 2-1 win over Austria to earn a place in the quarterfinals. - The AP

UEFA is investigating Türkiye soccer player Merih Demiral's “alleged inappropriate behavior” after he celebrated a goal at Euro 2024 by displaying a hand sign associaDemiral scored both goals Tuesday in a 2-1 win over Austria to earn a place in the quarterfinals.ted with an ultra-nationalist group.

After scoring the second goal he made a sign with each hand that is used by Turkish nationalists and associated with the Turkish ultra-nationalist organization Ulku Ocaklari, which is more widely known as the Gray Wolves, according to The AP.

After the game, Demiral said it was an innocent expression of his national pride and that there was “no hidden message or anything of the sort.”

He said he had the celebration in mind before scoring.

“It has to do with this Turkish identity, because I’m very proud to be a Turk. And I felt that to the fullest after the second goal. So that’s how I ended up doing that gesture. I’m very happy that I did that,” Demiral said. “I saw people in the stadium who were doing that sign. So that reminded me that I also had that in mind.”

Later, he was asked again about the gesture.

“How can I explain this?” he replied. “Of course we’re all Turkish. We’re all Turks in Türkiye. We’re very proud. I’m very proud as a person to be a Turk. So that’s what I did. That was the meaning of the gesture. It’s quite normal.”

Demiral said he hoped he'd get “more opportunities to do the same gesture again.”

UEFA confirmed Wednesday that it had appointed an inspector to investigate Demiral. It didn't outline when the case might conclude. Türkiye's next game is against the Netherlands in Berlin on Saturday.

German interior minister Nancy Faeser called on UEFA to punish the player for making the gesture.

“The symbols of Turkish right-wing extremists have no place in our stadiums. Using the soccer European Championship as a platform for racism is completely unacceptable,” Faeser said on X.

The spokesman for Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s party, Omer Celik, responded by saying Faeser’s comments and UEFA’s investigation are “unacceptable.”

“It would be more appropriate for those looking for racism and fascism to focus on the recent election results in different European countries,” Celik wrote on X.