Tennis

Washington,United States: Alexandra Eala stunned former world number one Naomi Osaka 6-4, 6-2 on Saturday to reach the women's final of the WTA and ATP Washington Open, where she will face third-ranked Jessica Pegula. The 21-year-old Philippines left-hander delivered an impressive victory over the four-time Grand Slam winner from Japan to reach her second career WTA final, having dropped the first last year at Eastbourne. (Photo by Emilee Chinn / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP) Giant killer Eala, ranked 28th, had previously ousted second seed Elina Svitolina for her sixth top-10 victory of the year after dethroning 2025 Washington champion Leylah Fernandez. Osaka, ranked 13th, was thwarted in her bid for an eighth career WTA title and first since taking the 2021 Australian Open. Pegula, seeking her 12th career WTA title and third of the year, eliminated Russia's Diana Shnaider 7-5, 6-4 in the other semi-final. Pegula, who won her first WTA title in 2019 at Washington, fell behind 5-2 at the start, but the 32-year-old American top seed battled back to reach her fourth final of the year. "I found a little rhythm on the return, served a little bit smarter and I was able to play some good tennis, kind of take control of the momentum," Pegula said. Pegula beat Eala in a 2025 Miami semi-final in their only career meeting. "It's going to be a battle," Pegula said. "Alex, I'm a big fan of her. She's the future of the tour and she's already here." In the first set, Eala took a 2-1 lead by breaking when Osaka sent a backhand wide but Osaka broke back in the fourth game when Eala netted a forehand volley. Osaka saved three break points in the ninth game but followed with two errant forehands to surrender a break and Eala held at love on a service winner to capture the set in 38 minutes. Osaka double-faulted away a break to begin the second set and netted a backhand to surrender another break and hand Eala a 5-2 edge. Naomi Osaka of Japan serves during a women's singles match against Alexandra Eala of the Philippines on day six of the Mubadala DC Open 2026 at William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center on August 01, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Emilee Chinn / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP) Eala, who reached the fourth round last month at Wimbledon, then held serve to end matters after 76 minutes. Pegula, a semi-finalistat this year's Australian Open, has lifted trophies at Dubai and Charleston this season. Pegula won the last five games of her opening set to seize command after 45 minutes. In the second set, Pegula broke in the fifth and seventh games. Shnaider broke in the eighthbut Pegula served for the match again in the 10th game and smashed a forehand winner to capture her WTA-best 38th match triumph of the year.

Qatar Sport

Doha: Qatar Football Association (QFA) President and Minister of Sport and Youth H E Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Thani has welcomed FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s decision not to proceed with the FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal, describing it as a step taken in the best interest of the international football community. In a statement, Sheikh Hamad said that while the proposal contained ideas worthy of consideration, the decision to prioritise the unity of all FIFA member associations reflected sound judgment at an important time for world football. “The QFA commends the prioritisation of maintaining the unity of all member national associations at this time and the wisdom behind this decision,” he said. Sheikh Hamad also reaffirmed the QFA’s full support for President Infantino’s continued efforts to develop and promote football across the world.

Football

Nyon: The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) has welcomed FIFA's decision to withdraw its plan to sell a stake in its competitions -including the World Cup- into private hands. "The proposal was unanimously rejected by UEFA's national associations and by many other federations and confederations of all sizes around the world, whose job it is to protect football," UEFA said in a statement today. "UEFA will begin work immediately with partners and stakeholders all over the world and right across the game to propose a new way of distributing resources through the existing FIFA Forward programme," the statement said. UEFA's stance followed FIFA's decision to abandon the project, after similar criticism from the Asian Football Confederation, while other federations expressed reservations about the proposal. FIFA President Gianni Infantino announced in a statement on Saturday that the organization was backing down from its plan to open the world's governing body of football to private sector investors, following a wave of criticism and concerns about commodifying football, amid questions about potential conflicts of interest. Infantino said: "After carefully listening to all points of view, it became clear that the project had created divisions that no longer served the fundamental purpose for which it was launched." Infantino's reversal comes at a time when FIFA is facing additional pressure following the recent resignation of its chief advisor, Carlos Cordeiro. Last Tuesday, FIFA had unexpectedly unveiled a plan to increase funding for football development to USD 10 billion over the next four years, but the plan was met with widespread criticism regarding its content and the way it was presented.