Wealthy players asking for more money may feel wrong but the big four tournaments are not sharing the revenue fairly
At some point in the quiet buildup to her opening match at the Italian Open, Aryna Sabalenka decided to attack one of the most contentious subjects in her sport with the same force as her forehand. In her press conference, the subject of the top players’ attempts to attain a greater revenue share from the grand slam tournaments prompted the world No 1 to make a drastic prediction: “I think at some point we will boycott it, yeah,” she said. “I feel like that’s going to be the only way to fight for our rights.”
It marked an escalation in a pay dispute that, until this point, had played out in a series of polite letters and public statements. Over a year ago, in March 2025, the players sent their first letter to the grand slam tournaments. Their requests focused on the grand slams offering a greater percentage of their revenues to the players, contributions to player welfare initiatives, such as pension funds, and closer consultation through a grand slam player council. To the frustration of the player group, the grand slams have still not issued substantial responses to the first two requests.
Continue reading...Footballer has 664 million followers but his boring presence is a reminder of how reel-life destroys what it touches
Buy the backpack airlines hate. Fawn strangely at a child athlete. This TV presenter drank olive oil for a month and absolutely nothing happened. The streets (no actual streets involved) won’t forget (robots can’t forget) Paul Pogba (or equivalent coding).
Nineties dance hits. Ruben Amorim loyalists. Argue with fake fans over a fake photo of fake empty seats. Buy a backpack that hates you because you once thought about buying a backpack, and like a Hungarian grandmother it will never, ever forget and you will be punished.
Continue reading...We used to have the back and forth of actual conversation. Now we have phones filled with our friends’ rambling soliloquies
The message I most dread receiving on WhatsApp isn’t “Call me” or “I can’t believe what you did last night”. It’s “I’m just going to vn you, it’ll be easier”. I roll my eyes as I fish my grubby headphones out of my bag to listen to yet another voice note.
Voice notes were fun when WhatsApp introduced them in 2013, but what was once a novelty has become too many people’s go-to method of communication. We are now faced with what feels to me like a voice note epidemic. Side effects may include the cheapening of conversation and a startling increase in narcissism.
Annabel Martin is a lifestyle and culture writer
Continue reading...Charlotte Proudman’s comments follow trial of Christopher Trybus, who was acquitted of all charges against wife Tarryn Baird
A barrister has suggested that a “dead woman was put on trial” in the case of Christopher Trybus, who was cleared of manslaughter by a jury.
Charlotte Proudman’s comments came after Trybus was found not guilty by a jury of eight women and four men, who deliberated for more than 40 hours. He was acquitted of all charges: manslaughter, coercive and controlling behaviour and two counts of rape.
Continue reading...De Straat van Hormuz is op het moment van schrijven iets rustiger dan gisteravond, toen het Amerikaanse leger twee Iraanse olietankers aanviel die de Straat probeerden te passeren om een Iraanse haven te bereiken. Maar dan kennen ze de Amerikaanse blokkade, gek genoeg, nog niet. CENTCOM deelt de spectaculaire beelden van het ingrijpen en schrijft dat de Iraanse schepen M/T Sea Star III en de M/T Sevda onschadelijk zijn gemaakt. Daarvoor werd een F/A-18 Super Hornet van de Amerikaanse marine gebruikt die afkomstig is van vliegdekschip de USS George H.W. Bush. Reden genoeg voor de Garde om het bericht 'OPPASSEN' te sturen aan andere tankers die zich door de Straat wagen.
Toch moet Iran niet treuren want de mismaakte ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei heeft alles onder controle. Althans, hij heeft volgens Amerikaanse inlichtingen nog altijd de touwtjes in handen en bepaalt goeddeels de strategie van het land, zo schrijft CNN. Voor de volledigheid: "US intelligence assesses that Iran’s new supreme leader is playing a critical role in shaping war strategy alongside senior Iranian officials, according to multiple sources familiar with the intelligence. The reports found that precise authority within a now-fractured regime remains unclear, but that Mojtaba Khamenei is likely helping direct how Iran is managing negotiations with the US to end the war." Er zit meer achter Mojtaba dan we dachten!
Wie ook touwtjes in handen heeft: Trump. Die benoemde tijdens een persmoment voor zijn vertrek van het Witte Huis dat de VS zo weer kunnen beginnen met escortmissie Project Freedom als Iran niet alles ondertekent. Maar, en hier komt-ie, dan zal het wel Project Freedom PLUS zijn. En dat is vast heel veel meer dan de normale versie van maar liefst twee dagen. Enfin, we blijven het in de gaten houden en gaan snel weer live.
Update 09:19 - De VS gooien het over een andere boeg en kondigen een bak nieuwe sancties aan om Iran economisch te raken. The New York Times schrijft: "The United States on Friday announced a flurry of new sanctions intended to increase pressure on Iran’s economy, targeting people and companies in China and Hong Kong that have been helping the Iranian military gain access to supplies and war equipment." Allemaal onderdeel van de brede oorlog excursie.