Tennis stars urged to vaccinate before Aus Open

Published

3 years ago

October 12, 2021

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8:03 PM ET

International tennis stars have been urged to get vaccinated if they are serious about playing in next year’s Australian Open.

“If I was an ATP or WTA player, I’d be getting vaccinated,” Victoria’s sports minister Martin Pakula told Melbourne radio station SEN on Monday.

“That will give them the best opportunity to play in the Australian Open with the more minimal restrictions that might be in place for those people.”

The Victorian state government this month introduced a vaccine requirement for authorised workers, which includes professional sportspeople.

Tennis Australia has yet to reveal detailed plans around how the players will arrive for the summer of tennis, and what rules will apply for them in Melbourne.

Ahead of the US Open at the end of August, around 50 percent of ATP and WTA tour players had been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Victoria’s vaccination mandate could rule world No. 1 Novak Djokovic out of vying to become the outright record holder for most Grand Slam titles.

Djokovic is tied with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal on 20 Grand Slam wins, but the world No. 1 would start as hot favourite to make it 21 in January given he has won a record nine finals at Melbourne Park.

The Serbian superstar has made clear his intentions on vaccination.

“I’m opposed to vaccination, and I wouldn’t want to be forced by someone to take a vaccine in order to be able to travel,” he said in April 2020.

Pakula said it was too early to say how governments and tennis authorities dealt with unvaccinated tennis players from overseas.

“Whether or not unvaccinated people are allowed in (to Australia) at all, I don’t know the answer to that yet,” he said.

“That’s going to be the subject, I suspect, of discussion at national cabinet and amongst the federal cabinet.

“As for the rules that might apply around the Australian Open, specifically, we’re in discussions with Tennis Australia and the department of health about that.”

Players were required to undertake two weeks quarantine ahead of this year’s Open, but have been able to travel around the world freely for the majority of the season.

Sports

Harris return short-lived as Ole Miss WR exits

Published

3 hours ago

November 23, 2024

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Harris return short-lived as Ole Miss WR exits

Andrea Adelson, ESPN Senior WriterNov 23, 2024, 02:43 PM ET
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- ACC reporter.
- Joined ESPN.com in 2010.
- Graduate of the University of Florida.

Ole Miss standout receiver Tre Harris aggravated an injury in the first half at Florida on Saturday and was ruled out for the remainder of the game, a 24-17 Gators win.

Harris initially injured his hip/groin area against LSU on Oct. 12. He returned against Florida, only to go down after a catch late in the second quarter.

During the broadcast, ABC’s Molly McGrath reported it was an aggravation of the original injury.

Harris was seen in street clothes on the sideline to start the second half. He had one catch for 43 yards and a touchdown before exiting.

Harris came into the game as one of the top receivers in the nation, leading the No. 9 Rebels with 987 yards and six touchdowns.

Sports

Ward breaks Kosar’s season passing yards record

Published

3 hours ago

November 23, 2024

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Ward breaks Kosar's season passing yards record

Associated Press

Nov 23, 2024, 01:44 PM ET

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Another week, another pair of records for Miami quarterback Cam Ward, breaking 40-year-old marks by Bernie Kosar in both cases.

Ward, Miami’s Heisman Trophy contender who already holds the Hurricanes’ single-season record for touchdown passes and is on pace to break the school mark for completion percentage, on Saturday eclipsed Kosar’s school records for both passing yards in a season and completions in a season in the Hurricanes’ 42-14 win over Wake Forest.

Ward completed 27 of 38 passes for 280 yards, plus ran for a score. Ward now has 3,774 yards on 268 completions this season. Kosar threw for 3,642 yards on 262 completions in 1984.

Ward’s 13-yard completion to Damien Martinez with 1:27 left in the second quarter gave him 3,643 yards for the season. Kosar’s mark of 3,642 yards was set in 1984.

Later Saturday, Ward threw a 15-yard pass to Xavier Restrepo for his 263rd completion of the year, topping Kosar’s mark of 262, also set in 1984.

“Congrats #CamWard,” Kosar posted on social media. “U R Awesome.”

Ward is on pace to break Miami’s single-season completion percentage mark of 65.8% set last year by Tyler Van Dyke. He also is on pace to top the Miami career mark (among those with at least 300 attempts) of 64.3% set by D’Eriq King in 2020 and 2021.

Sports

Woodward returns to Dodgers as first-base coach

Published

4 hours ago

November 23, 2024

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Woodward returns to Dodgers as first-base coach

Associated Press

Nov 23, 2024, 12:11 AM ET

LOS ANGELES — Chris Woodward has been named first-base coach by the Dodgers, marking his second stint on manager Dave Roberts’ staff.

The Dodgers made the announcement Friday night. Woodward was the Dodgers’ first-base coach from 2016 to 2018 before leaving to take over as manager of the Texas Rangers.

Woodward fills the opening created after former first-base coach Clayton McCullough recently became manager of the Miami Marlins.

Woodward had a 211-287 record in nearly four seasons with the Rangers. He has been a senior adviser on the Dodgers’ major league and player development staff for the past two seasons.

Dodgers executive vice president and general manager Brandon Gomes said Woodward will take over baserunning and infield responsibilities with third-base coach Dino Ebel shifting to outfield duties.