Sinner Re-Appoints Former Fitness Coach Ferrara 

Italy's Jannik Sinner shows the trophy from the balcony of Centre Court after beating Carlos Alcaraz of Spain to win the men's singles final at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP)
Italy's Jannik Sinner shows the trophy from the balcony of Centre Court after beating Carlos Alcaraz of Spain to win the men's singles final at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP)
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Sinner Re-Appoints Former Fitness Coach Ferrara 

Italy's Jannik Sinner shows the trophy from the balcony of Centre Court after beating Carlos Alcaraz of Spain to win the men's singles final at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP)
Italy's Jannik Sinner shows the trophy from the balcony of Centre Court after beating Carlos Alcaraz of Spain to win the men's singles final at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP)

Wimbledon champion Jannik Sinner has re-appointed his former fitness coach Umberto Ferrara with immediate effect, the Italian world number one confirmed on Wednesday.

Sinner parted ways with Ferrara and physiotherapist Giacomo Naldi last year following the investigation into his positive tests for banned substance clostebol.

"The decision has been made in alignment with Jannik's management team as part of ongoing preparations for upcoming tournaments, including the Cincinnati Open and US Open," a statement from Sinner's team said.

"Umberto has played an important role in Jannik's development to date, and his return reflects a renewed focus on continuity and performance at the highest level."

Sinner served a three-month suspension earlier this year after agreeing a settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in February after authorities accepted that the anabolic agent clostebol had entered his system inadvertently via massages from Naldi at Indian Wells in March 2024.

WADA had appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against an independent tribunal's decision last August to clear Sinner of wrongdoing.

Sinner, who returned to action in May and lost to Carlos Alcaraz in the French Open final before beating him to win Wimbledon, said clostebol, which can build muscle mass, entered his system after Naldi applied an over-the-counter spray to a cut on his own hand before carrying out treatments on Sinner.

The spray had been given to Naldi by trainer Ferrara.

Sinner was cleared of fault or negligence by an independent tribunal.

Speaking at last year's US Open, Sinner explained his decision to part ways with Ferrara and Naldi.

"Now, because of these mistakes, I'm not feeling that confident to continue with them. I was struggling a lot in the last months. I was waiting for the result. The only thing I need right now is some clean air," he said.

Ferrara, who had laid the blame for the incident on Naldi, worked with Sinner's fellow Italian Matteo Berrettini this year.

Sinner, 23, had split with Marco Panichi and Ulises Badio, his trainer and physiotherapist, before Wimbledon.



Morocco Refer AFCON Champions Senegal to CAF and FIFA

 Senegal's Idrissa Gueye calls players to walk off the ptich during the Africa Cup of Nations final soccer match between Senegal and Morocco, in Rabat, Morocco, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP)
Senegal's Idrissa Gueye calls players to walk off the ptich during the Africa Cup of Nations final soccer match between Senegal and Morocco, in Rabat, Morocco, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP)
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Morocco Refer AFCON Champions Senegal to CAF and FIFA

 Senegal's Idrissa Gueye calls players to walk off the ptich during the Africa Cup of Nations final soccer match between Senegal and Morocco, in Rabat, Morocco, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP)
Senegal's Idrissa Gueye calls players to walk off the ptich during the Africa Cup of Nations final soccer match between Senegal and Morocco, in Rabat, Morocco, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP)

The Moroccan Football Federation said Monday it has formally referred to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and FIFA incidents involving Senegalese players and supporters protesting a penalty to Morocco in the Africa Cup of Nations final.

Senegal's protest in added time of normal play during Sunday night's clash in Rabat led to the match being paused for nearly 20 minutes as the players walked off the pitch in anger.

Some Senegalese fans at the opposite end of the stadium threw chairs and other objects and attempted to get onto the field of play.

The AFCON hosts' football federation said these acts "had a significant impact on the normal course of the match and on the players' performance", with Morocco then missing the penalty that could have granted them their first African title in 50 years.

The federation said "it will resort to legal procedures" with CAF, the tournament's organizing body, and FIFA "in order to rule on the withdrawal of the Senegalese national team from the field"... "as well as on the events that accompanied this decision".

It said the referee's decision to grant the Atlas Lions a penalty was "deemed correct by unanimous opinion of specialists".

FIFA president Gianni Infantino condemned "some Senegal players" for the "unacceptable scenes".

Senegal scored the game's only goal just four minutes into extra time after the players returned to the pitch following an appeal from star forward Sadio Mane.

Several Moroccan media outlets on Monday criticized Senegal for a lack of fair play and unsporting behavior.


Man City Announce Signing of Defender Marc Guehi

Soccer Football - Premier League - Crystal Palace v Sunderland - Selhurst Park, London, Britain - September 13, 2025 Crystal Palace's Marc Guehi applauds fans after the match Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge
Soccer Football - Premier League - Crystal Palace v Sunderland - Selhurst Park, London, Britain - September 13, 2025 Crystal Palace's Marc Guehi applauds fans after the match Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge
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Man City Announce Signing of Defender Marc Guehi

Soccer Football - Premier League - Crystal Palace v Sunderland - Selhurst Park, London, Britain - September 13, 2025 Crystal Palace's Marc Guehi applauds fans after the match Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge
Soccer Football - Premier League - Crystal Palace v Sunderland - Selhurst Park, London, Britain - September 13, 2025 Crystal Palace's Marc Guehi applauds fans after the match Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge

England defender Marc Guehi has signed for Manchester City from Crystal Palace on a five-and-a-half year contract, the Premier League club announced on Monday, AFP reported.

City stepped up their pursuit of Guehi in a deal reportedly worth £20 million ($27 million) after suffering an acute injury crisis at centre-half and confirmation of the move had been widely expected.


Djokovic Reaches 100th Australian Open Match Win in Hunt for 25th Grand Slam

 Tennis - Australian Open - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia - January 19, 2026 Serbia's Novak Djokovic celebrates after winning his first round match against Spain's Pedro Martinez REUTERS/Tingshu Wang
Tennis - Australian Open - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia - January 19, 2026 Serbia's Novak Djokovic celebrates after winning his first round match against Spain's Pedro Martinez REUTERS/Tingshu Wang
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Djokovic Reaches 100th Australian Open Match Win in Hunt for 25th Grand Slam

 Tennis - Australian Open - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia - January 19, 2026 Serbia's Novak Djokovic celebrates after winning his first round match against Spain's Pedro Martinez REUTERS/Tingshu Wang
Tennis - Australian Open - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia - January 19, 2026 Serbia's Novak Djokovic celebrates after winning his first round match against Spain's Pedro Martinez REUTERS/Tingshu Wang

Novak Djokovic began his ​hunt for a record 25th Grand Slam title with a 6-3 6-2 6-2 win over unseeded Spaniard Pedro Martinez in the Australian Open first round on Monday, the Serb easing pre-tournament concerns about his fitness with a sparkling display.

Doubts had been raised about Djokovic's preparedness for the major he has won a record 10 times after the 38-year-old skipped the Adelaide tune-up event and cut short practice on Sunday, but he had no trouble sealing his 100th ‌match win at ‌Melbourne Park, Reuters reported.

The flawless performance means Djokovic has reached ‌a ⁠century ​of match ‌wins in three of the four Grand Slams, with 95 at the US Open.

"What can I say? I like the sound of it - centurion is pretty nice, it's a nice feeling to be a centurion," Djokovic said as a montage of his greatest Melbourne moments on Rod Laver Arena played out on the big screen.

"History-making is great motivation, particularly in the last five to 10 years of my career. ⁠Once I got myself into a position to eventually make history, I was even more inspired to ‌play the best tennis, and that's what I've done.

"I ‍was very fortunate early on in ‍my career to encounter people who taught me and guided me to ‍play the long shot, not burn out too quickly, to take care of my body and mind and try to have as long a career as possible.

"I'm blessed to be playing at this level and another win here tonight is a dream come true."

A ​potentially tricky start against first-time opponent Martinez turned into a routine workout when Djokovic seized control with a break and never loosened ⁠his grip under the bright lights of the main showcourt to take the opening set.

Despite last playing in November when he claimed his 101st career title in Athens, Djokovic barely missed a beat as he let rip a fiery crosscourt winner en route to breaking early and wrapping up the second set.

While the spotlight has largely swung toward reigning Melbourne champion Jannik Sinner and world number one Carlos Alcaraz, Djokovic reminded the duo of his threat with some sublime tennis to power through the third set and prevail at his favourite hunting ground.

"It's definitely my favourite court, a court that has given me so much," added Djokovic, who will ‌hope to return when he takes on Italian qualifier Francesco Maestrelli.

"I always try to give back and I hope you enjoyed the tennis."