Sports
Osaka remains top as Wimbledon approaches
Naomi Osaka retained a top place in the WTA rankings on Monday in an unchanged top 20 with two weeks to go to Wimbledon.
Osaka and French Open winner Ashleigh Barty are playing on the grass in Birmingham this week in preparation for Wimbledon.
American Alison Riske moves up 12 places to 49th following her win over Kiki Bertens in the final of the s’Hertogenbosch tournament in the Netherlands on Sunday.
WTA rankings as of June 17 (changes in brackets):
1. Naomi Osaka (JPN) 6,377 pts
2. Ashleigh Barty (AUS) 6,125
3. Karolina Pliskova (CZE) 5,685
4. Kiki Bertens (NED) 5,425
5. Petra Kvitova (CZE) 4,925
6. Angelique Kerber (GER) 4,675
7. Elina Svitolina (UKR) 3,967
8. Simona Halep (ROU) 3,963
9. Sloane Stephens (USA) 3,682
10. Aryna Sabalenka (BLR) 3,565
11. Serena Williams (USA) 3,411
12. Anastasija Sevastova (LAT) 3,366
13. Belinda Bencic (SUI) 2,953
14. Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) 2,833
15. Qiang Wang (CHN) 2,752
16. Marketa Vondrousova (CZE) 2,746
17. Madison Keys (USA) 2,615
18. Johanna Konta (GBR) 2,430
19. Julia Gorges (GER) 2,400
20. Anett Kontaveit (EST) 2,335
Selected
49. Alison Riske (USA) 1,153 (+12)
Sports
CAF Crowns Ademola Lookman As African Footballer of the Year
Super Eagles winger, Ademola Lookman, has been named the CAF Footballer of the Year for the past year.
Lookman was announced as the winner at an elaborate event in Marrakech, Morocco on Monday night.
The Atalanta star won the prize ahead of Ivory Coast’s Simon Adingra and PSG’s Achraf Hakimi, Guinea striker Serhou Guirassy and South Africa goalkeeper Ronwen Williams.
It has been an incredible year for Lookman, who became the first player to score a hat-trick in the Europa League/UEFA Cup final since 1975, netting the three goals within 26 minutes against Bayer Leverkusen.
Lookman was included in the Team of the Year for the Europa League, and ended the season having had a direct hand in 18 top flight goals for La Dea.
The 27-year-old was ranked the 14th best player during the Ballon d’Or gala on October 28.
Sports
Panel Clears Mbappe of Rape Allegation
The Swedish Prosecution Authority announced today that the inquiry into rape allegations against French footballer Kylian Mbappé has been closed due to a lack of sufficient evidence to proceed.
This is according to multiple reports on Thursday morning.
The allegations had drawn international attention, casting a shadow over the football star’s career.
Mbappé, who had consistently denied the allegations, has yet to make an official statement regarding the decision
His legal team had previously emphasised his commitment to due process.
Mbappe was “linked to rape investigation in Sweden” and that he intended to reserve any explanations for the Swedish justice system “if necessary,” according to his lawyer, Marie-Alix Canu-Bernard.
“He prioritises providing his explanations, if required, to the Swedish judiciary,” Canu-Bernard told AFP, while strongly condemning “media allegations suggesting that Kylian Mbappé had commented on the events of his trip to Stockholm.”
The case, which began earlier this year, involved accusations stemming from an alleged incident in Stockholm. The prosecutor’s decision not to press charges marks the end of months of scrutiny and speculation.
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