Penulis: Agus S

On 13 June 1925, the International Football Association Board voted to reduce the required number of opponents between an attacker and the goal line from three to two

Paris, SaturdayAt the annual meeting of theInternational Board, held at the offices of the French Association Federation here this morning under the presidency of Mr White (Scotland), two important decisions modifying the laws of the game were adopted.

The first altered the offside rule so that a player shall not be offside if two instead of three opposing players are between him and the opposing goalline.

The second decision was that a player throwing in from touch must stand outside the line instead of with his feet thereon.

The delegates present were: – Messrs McKenna, Pickford, and Wall (for England); Messrs White, Campbell, and McConnell (for Scotland); Messrs. Thomas, Nicholls, and Robbins (for Wales); Messrs. Bride, Small, and Watson (for Ireland); and M Delaunay (for France).

There is a small item in the weekend news which, for all its seeming insignificance, will be read with a deep and understanding interest by the bulk of the male population of this country. Nothing that a mere parliament or a League of Nations is likely to do will come home to the masses who follow professional League football, or even to the average schoolboy, so much as the news that the International Board has adopted the alteration of the offside rule.

At present an Association player is offside who on receiving or being about to receive the ball has not three of the opposing players (as a rule the goalkeeper and the two full backs) between him and the goal. Many are the games which, viewed as a spectacle, are spoilt by the rigid application of the rule. Many are the occasions on which a side, having secured the lead or in order to make a draw, play the “one-back game,” the second full back insidiously moving down the field and leaving one or more of the opposing forwards in an offside position and destined to be penalised by the referee if the ball is sent to any one of them.

There is nothing in professional football except perhaps the application of the rule about foul play, which, checks the free run of the game so much as “offside,” and it is probably this, rather than the deliberate use of the device as a piece of tactics, that has led the authorities to make a change.

In future a man will only be offside if he has not two players – one in addition to the goalkeeper – between him and the goal. Under these circumstances the point of the “one-back game” will be lost; a “no-back game” would be too risky, because if the referee refused to grant “offside” the goal would almost certainly be captured; and there will be far fewer interruptions of the play. “Offside” has always been to the League crowd an occasion of the most violent controversy, but on a tree so rich one branch will not be missed.

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After years of existing only as a fever dream inside the shiny, spacious cranium of Fifa’s greatest showman, Gianni Infantino, the first edition of an expanded, summertime Club World Cup that nobody asked foris finally here. Infantino’s most ambitious vanity project to date is about to collide with reality, and as students of the Swiss school of football farce, we’re excited. It’s not so much a question of what will go wrong over the next 30 sun-baked days in an increasingly dystopian USA USA USA, but what might actually go right. Saturday’s opener pitches Egyptian giants Al-Ahly (who qualified by winning the 2021 African Big Cup) against MLS middleweights Inter Miami (who qualified by having Lionel Messi in their team) at the 65,000-capacity Hard Rock Stadium. Fifa has denied reports that fewer than 20,000 tickets have been sold for the game in Miami, but the tournament’s dynamic pricing model is trending in one direction: from $349 in December, some tickets are now cheaper than $60.

In an effort to fill seats, local college students havereportedly been offered a multi-buy dealat $4 a seat. Other early highlights include Bayern Munich v Auckland City, an amateur side who claimed Oceania’s only qualifying spot and may be hoping to avoid a baseball scoreline in Cincinnati. PSG v Atlético Madrid on Sunday might sound a more bearable prospect – but the game will beplayed in 30-degree heatat the Rose Bowl, a roofless arena on the outskirts of a city in turmoil. Donald Trump’s response to protests against deportations in Los Angeles has been to send in the military; hosting glorified pre-season friendlies is the last thing on anyone’s minds right now. It may come to pass that Gianni’s great white elephant is obscured by the elephant in the room.

LAFC, who face Chelsea in Atlanta on Monday, are a club with deep roots in their city’s migrant communities. Earlier this week, their fansheld a silent protestagainst ICE raids in the city during an MLS game. Suddenly, Liam Delap’s potential debut is far from the biggest story in town. The main thing Infantino should be asking himself – save forwhere that bloody key has gone– is whether Trump’s increasingly visible and emboldened hostile environment is a suitable backdrop to a global football jamboree featuring 32 teams from 20 nations. Long derided as a half-baked joke, the rebooted Copa Gianni has landed in a furnace of political tension – and suddenly doesn’t seem so funny any more.

On the eve of the tournament, US Customs and Border Protection have confirmed they will be “suited and booted, ready to provide security for the first round of games,” in a social media post that could scarcely have sounded more ominous. Fifa’s best chance of any kind of atmosphere at this month’s matches will come when Latin American sides meet, attracting expat fans – like River Plate v Monterrey at the Rose Bowl, for instance. Now, the only people in America who actually want to go and watch these games might fear what awaits them at the venue. “It’s perfectly reasonable to be scared,” the American Immigration Council told Reuters. “We haven’t seen large-scale immigration enforcement actions at sporting events like this historically, but this is also a moment that is not like any other in US history.” Good job there’s not a 48-nation World Cup taking place there in exactly 12 months’ time, then. Wait, what’s that? Oh, Gianni!

The time has come for me to move on. But, even as I leave, I know I have left a big piece of my heart at Brentford, not just at the football club but with the community and, of course, the incredible and loyal supporters. For my family and I, it has been a privilege to be allowed to be part of such a special community – it’s an experience and adventure that we will cherish for life” – Thomas Frank pens a love letter to Brentford fans afterracing round the North Circularfor a different kind of adventure at the Cirque du Spurs.

On the dawn of the ‘it doesn’t matter what you call it, it’s a disgraceful monstrosity that shouldn’t exist’, can I make a plea that we just ignore it? I mean, I know any reputable sports writer, or someone who has to knock out The Daily, can’t, because of journalism etc, but surely, the 1,057 can keep the letters section free of any mention of the wretched thing. C’mon folks, pedantry, nostalgic whimsy, godawful puns and lengthy diatribes about the state of it all suffused a sense of powerlessness and angst. We’ve got this. Maybe still go easy on the puns” – Jon Millard.

Good luck to Crystal Palace fans, if Woody Johnson does buy John Textor’s shares (yesterday’s News, Bits and Bobs, full email edition). The Jets are an absolute clown show and have been so forever. Johnson is generally regarded as the stupidest owner in the league, and there’s admittedly tough competition. So, yeah, could be fun in south London” – Joe Pearson.

Re: Trent Alexander-Arnold’s fluent unveiling (yesterday’s Football Daily). I assume Florian Wirtz will be busy reading and learninghis scousein time for the new season” – Kevin Quinn.

When the new manager of Spurs inevitably reproduces his appalling starts suffered at his previous clubs, will the headline be ‘Frank’s side bottom’, accompanied by an image of Thomas’s spherical fibreglass head?” – Peter McHugh.

If you do have any, please send letters tothe.boss@theguardian.com.Today’s winner of our prizeless letter o’ the day is … Kevin Quinn, la. Terms and conditions for our competitions, when we run them, can be viewedhere.

Is there anything you have always wanted to ask the USWNT and former Chelsea coach Emma Hayes?Then now is your chance.

This is an extract from our daily football email … Football Daily. To get the full version,just visit this page and follow the instructions.

Former Watford manager back in the dugout in Devon

Buckingham and Barry-Murphy in frame for Cardiff post

Tom Cleverley has been handed a three-year deal as Plymouth Argyle’s new head coach. The club, relegated to League One, appointed the 35-year-old former Watford manager after being impressed in further talks this week. Cleverley succeeds Miron Muslic, who left for Schalke at the end of last month.

Cleverley,sacked by Watfordlast month after finishing 14th in the Championship, had been identified as Plymouth’s number-one target after final interviews with four candidates on Wednesday. Discussions are believed to have been held with Jack Wilshere and Des Buckingham but neither made the final stages. The St Mirren manager, Stephen Robinson, is thought to have made the last round of talks. The recruitment has been led by David Fox, their former player who was recently appointed head of football operations, and the former Norwich sporting director Stuart Webber, a consultant.

The Plymouth chairman Simon Hallett told the club website: “Ever since Miron’s departure, and knowing Tom was available, we identified him straight away as the perfect person to be our next head coach and targeted him immediately. When we spoke to him he was completely aligned with the vision and ambitions of the club and it was clear throughout that Tom was the right fit for us.

“He is fully invested in our long-term plans and will play a key role in helping us achieve them. He is young, passionate and did a great job at Watford. We are thrilled to bring him to Argyle and look forward to seeing the impact he has on the talented squad at his disposal.”

Managerless Cardiff City have held advanced talks with Buckingham about their vacancy but the Leicester coach Brian Barry-Murphy is also thought to be in the frame. Buckingham is out of work after being sacked by Oxford. Barry-Murphy joined Leicester in December after three years coaching in Manchester City’s academy. Barry-Murphy’s only previous management role was at Rochdale.

Aaron Ramsey was a candidate for the job on a permanent basis after taking interim charge following Omer Riza’s sacking in April but the Wales midfielder has agreed to prolong his playing career in Mexico with Pumas after his Cardiff contract expired. The 34-year-old is expected to sign a deal until the 2026 World Cup, for which Wales hope to qualify under Craig Bellamy.

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On Wednesday Cardiff conceded the recruitment process “had taken longer than expected”. In a statement, the club said: “Having started with a blank canvas, we are proud of the final options presented to the board for consideration. This is an appointment that everyone wants to get right for the future of Cardiff City.”

Fee of £100m plus £16m add-ons is possible British record

Coveted playmaker will seal move when window reopens

Liverpool have agreed a club-record deal to sign Florian Wirtz fromBayer Leverkusen. The Premier League champions will pay a guaranteed £100m for the coveted Germany international, plus potential add-ons of £16m that would make Wirtz the most expensive British transfer of all time.

Richard Hughes, Liverpool’s sporting director, has been engaged in negotiations for the attacking midfielder for several weeks and a deal was finally struck on Friday morning. Leverkusen had wanted €150m (£127.6m) for the 22-year-old, who had also attracted interest from Bayern Munich, Manchester City and Real Madrid, but made it clear to the German club that Anfield was his preferred destination. He will undergo a medical in the coming days and finalise the transfer once the window reopens next week. Personal terms have already been agreed, with Wirtz understood to have rejected more lucrative offers from elsewhere.

Liverpool made it clear throughout negotiations that they would not meet Leverkusen’s asking price but, after settling on a guaranteed £100m, the past few days have centred on the extent and the structure of the add-ons. Wirtz will become a British record signing, eclipsingChelsea’s £115m purchase of Moisés Caicedo, if sustained success at the highest level activates the extra £16m.

The fee will comfortably be a record investment by the club. ­Liverpool’s previous record transfer wasthe £85m dealthat brought Darwin Núñez to Anfield from Benfica in June 2022. The champions hope to recoup most of that sum this summer by selling the Uruguay international, who has interest from the Saudi Pro League and European clubs.

Liverpool’s ability to fund the Wirtz deal has been made possible thanks to frugal spending in the previous three transfer windows. Federico Chiesa, another forward who could leave this summer, was the club’s only incoming before Arne Slot’s debut season as head coachfor £10m plus £2m in add-ons from Juventus. The club’s faith in the squad rebuilt by Jürgen Klopp was vindicated as Slot’s team won arecord-equalling 20th league titlewith four matches to spare.

Liverpool consider Wirtz a world-class and potentially transformative talent. His signing is, therefore, in keeping with the approach that saw Alisson Becker and Virgil van Dijk bought for then record transfer fees, and not a departure in transfer strategy by owners Fenway Sports Group.

The club had expected Wirtz to join Bayern, or possibly remain with Leverkusen, but the player’s desire for a fresh challenge outside Germany and his talks with Slot tilted the fight in their favour.

City claim they pulled out of a deal for Wirtz due to the overall costs involved in signing the attacking ­midfielder, who can play across the front line, on a five-year contract. Reports in Germany, however, have suggested Wirtz was unconvinced about City due to doubts over Pep Guardiola’s long-term future at the club.

Hughes also remains in talks with his former club Bournemouth over the signing of left-back Milos Kerkez, who is valued at £45m. Liverpoolhave already signed Jeremie Frimpongfrom Leverkusen for £29.5m while the Georgia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili will complete his move from Valencia following last summer’s £29m deal. Liverpool have so farsold Caoimhín Kelleher to Brentfordfor a fee that could rise to £18m and made £10m from allowing Trent Alexander-Arnold to join Real Madrid 29 daysbefore his contract was due to expire. There will be further outgoings during Liverpool’s ambitious summer revamp.

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Meanwhile, the former Arsenal midfielder and Rangers manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst is set to join Arne Slot’s backroom staff as a replacement for John Heitinga. Van Bronckhorst has been out of work since being sacked by Besiktas in November and has extensive coaching experience with Feyenoord, Slot’s former club, the Chinese Super League side Guangzhou and Rangers, whom he led tothe 2022 Europa League final.

The 50-year-old was sacked by Rangers later that year after a poor start to the 2022-23 campaign. Heitinga was appointed head coach of Ajax last month on a two-year contract.

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Slovenian ‘super happy’ after beating Jonas Vingegaard

World champion now holds 43-second lead overall

Tadej Pogacar soloed to victory in the sixth stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné on Friday to reclaim the yellow jersey and put himself firmly in contention for overall victory.

With this 97th victory of his career, the Slovenian, who cruised in 1min 1sec ahead of Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard, becomes the active rider with the joint-most victories – on a par with the French sprinter Arnaud Démare. The Belgian Remco Evenepoel, who was leading the overall classification, finished fifth at 1min 50sec.

Pogacar now has a 43sec lead over Vingegaard, 54sec over Germany’s Florian Lipowitz, and 1min and 22sec over Evenepoel.

The Slovenian UAE Team Emirates XRG rider had already worn the yellow jersey before in this 77th edition of the Dauphiné after claiming victory in the first stage last weekend. “I’m super happy to be back in yellow. It was a very good day for us,” said Pogacar. “I’m getting very good answers from this Dauphiné. I wasn’t too stressed after the time trial [on Wednesday] and the shape is here.”

On Friday, in the first of three mountain stages and competing under a baking sun, he took his revenge on Vingegaard on the Côte de Domancy, where the Dane had outclassed him in a time trialat the 2023 Tour de France. The world champion put in an acceleration with 7km to go that left everyone in his wake. Only Vingegaard managed to hang on to his wheel for a few metres before settling back, unable to keep up with his rival.

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It was an important marker for Pogacar to put down to his leading Tour de France rivals before his title defence following the 26-year-old’s sub-par showing inWednesday’s time-trial at the Dauphiné. Saturday’s queen stage is a mountainous 132km run from Grand-Aigueblanche to Valmeinier 1800.

Biles apologizes for personal attack on Gaines

Fox News airs 17 segments on Biles-Gaines row

Host calls Biles ‘mentally weak’ after apology

Simone Biles has apologized for making personal remarks about Riley Gaines in a heated online exchange over transgender athlete participation in sports, even as conservative media figures continued to attack the gymnast.

The most decorated gymnast in history, Biles had called Gaines “truly sick” and a “sore loser”in a viral social media postafter Gaines misgendered a Minnesota high school softball player who is transgender. Biles later said her frustration was directed at the system that puts athletes in difficult positions and that singling out an underage player crossed a line.

“It didn’t help for me to get personal with Riley,” Biles wrote in a follow-up post. “These are sensitive, complicated issues that I truly don’t have the answers or solutions to, but I believe it starts with empathy and respect.”

The apology came days after Gaines, a former collegiate swimmer turned anti-trans activist, lashed out at Biles for her comments. The two clashed after Gaines mocked a Minnesota state high school softball championship’s post by pointing out a transgender girl on the winning team, referring to the player as “a boy” and claiming the title was “hijacked”.

Biles, who has often advocated for mental health awareness and athlete welfare, responded sharply: “You’re truly sick. All of this campaigning because you lost a race. Straight up sore loser.” She followed with additional posts criticizing Gaines for “bullying” and suggested that sports organizations create a transgender division as an inclusive alternative.

Gaines, who tied for fifth place with trans swimmer Lia Thomas at the 2022 NCAA championships and has since become a prominent figure in right-wing media, quickly pushed back. “Men don’t belong in women’s sports and I say that with my full chest,” she wrote, reposting fan responses and accusing Biles of undermining women’s spaces.

While Biles has since walked back the personal tone of her remarks, she stood by the broader point. “I believe sports organizations have a responsibility to come up with rules supporting inclusion while maintaining fair competition,” she posted. “We all want a future for sport that is fair, inclusive, and respectful.”

Yet the apology did little to defuse the backlash from the American right. Fox News’ website has published no fewer than 17 stories about the dispute since it began on Saturday. On the highly rated Fox panel show The Five on Wednesday, co-host Jesse Watters called Biles “mentally weak” and mocked her decision to apologize.

“We have to make sure she medals [at LA 2028], OK? So I’m gonna lay off her,” Watterssaid sarcasticallybefore likening it toElon Musk’s walking back of his feudwith Donald Trump. “But I will say this, she pulled an Elon. ‘Oh, I’m sorry for some of the things I said.’ Come on.”

The segment included further ridicule of Biles’s mental health advocacy, with Watters alluding to her high-profile withdrawal from events at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. “This shows the power of Fox,” he said. “This woman, Riley Gaines, did the full Kilmeade: six shows in 48 hours and just put so much pressure on Simone.”

The right-leaning sports outlet Outkick, where Gaines is a contributor, also published multiple stories criticizing Biles for “bullying” and accused her of contradicting herself on inclusion and fairness.

Despite the pile-on, many of Biles’s supporters praised her for defending a transgender minor against public attacks. A coach from the Minnesota team told local media after the championship game, “She’s a great kid and a great teammate. Her teammates love having her out there.”

Biles, for her part, appears ready to move on. “We’re all passionate about sport and the direction it’s going,” she wrote. “But we need to be able to talk about it in ways that don’t tear each other down.”

Dutch four-time world champion rose to fame as something of a scoundrel and has showed signs of reverting to type

Max Verstappen rose to fame as something of a villain. As the Formula One circuit hops back across the Atlantic for the weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix, he appears on the verge of reclaiming the role.

Like Tim Robbins’ strong-armed and hot-headed Nuke LaLoosh character in the baseball film Bull Durham, the brash Dutch phenomenon announced his presence with authority – undeniable skills and unfortunate lapses in judgment or focus. He became well acquainted with the walls of many a race circuit and earned a gentle warning from F1 management.

His ascendance to theworld championship title in 2021 at Abu Dhabiwas also controversial – some might instead say farcical, as if the rule book was tossed out of one of Abu Dhabi’s growing array of 300m-tall buildings. Race officials had no truly coherent reason for allowing some cars to “unlap” themselves while following a safety car, allowing Verstappen to start the final lap right on Lewis Hamilton’s tail, with a fresher set of tyres … and everyone knows what happened next.

Since then, though, the Dutchman’s narrative has changed. He is no longer the impudent youngster with one tarnished championship. He’s a four-time winner, following up his breakthrough by taking the 2022 and 2023 titles with dominance not seen since Michael Schumacher’s heyday in the 2000s.

But while he held off Lando Norris to winhis fourth straight title in 2024, for the past 12 months the wins haven’t been coming quite as easily. This year, he stands in third place and may be losing contact with the McLaren duo of Norris and Oscar Piastri. As his results have reverted to his late-2010s form,so has his temper. After taking out his frustration on George Russell in Spain and being demoted to 10th, he is on the precipice of a suspension, not a fifth title.

After the incident in Spain, Italian taxi drivers fought back against the accusation thatVerstappen drives like they do. Anyone who has spent time in Italian taxis would agree that being compared to a four-time F1 champion would, under most circumstances, be considered a compliment. Not now.

So Verstappen the Villain is well and truly back. Russell expressed surprise in Montreal on Thursday that the Dutchman had even offered an apology of sorts but suggested he would be unlikely to change his aggressive approach even if he did accumulate the 12 penalty points that would result in a ban. The question for F1, now and for the foreseeable future: is this a good thing? Does the sport do better when it has someone to root against as well as many drivers to root for?

Other sports benefit from having foils for the fan favorites. If a supporter’s favorite team loses, there’s always a chance the New York Yankees or Manchester United might lose as well, and there’s comfort in schadenfreude. Consider Nascar, where fans either loved or hated Dale Earnhardt’s “Intimidator” style and often distrusted Jeff Gordon because he was a smooth-talking Californian, not a rough-edged man with a southern state drawl.

Nascar also has long benefited from its unpredictability. In the modern era, champion drivers typically win no more than 25% of the races in a given season. In F1, Verstappen cruised to the 2023 title by winning 19 of 22 races.

But F1 has been doing just fine during the era of Verstappen dominance, especially in North America. The 25 May F1 race in Monaco drew the third-highest TV rating in US history, ESPN claims, with an average of 2.3 million viewers and a peak of 2.6 million. Imagine what could happen this Sunday, with F1 on a less glitzy but less predictable circuit than the traditional but tedious Monaco streets. Last year, the Canadian GP averaged a robust 1.76 million viewers in the US, ESPN reports. In Canada itself, the ratings were reported at a record 1.4 million, with 3.5 million viewers on all platforms – nearly 9% of the country’s population.

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Credit the Netflix documentary series Formula 1: Drive to Survive with showing that the people who drive and service these cars are human – or superhuman, in the case of the fiery crash from which Romain Grosjean emerged like a phoenix or a Targaryen and stunned doctor/YouTuber Dr Mike and countless others. Drivers have been shown to have delightfully quirky personalities, such that the top story on the 6.1 million-strong F1 Reddit sub on Thursday was a debate over the veracity of a photograph that may or may not show that longtime title contender Valtteri Bottas has broken a Colorado restaurant’s record by consuming 51 tacos in one hour. (A cursory check of Yelp finds a review from August 2019 confirming that the 51-taco record dates back at least that far, so at best, Bottas tied the record.)

But the biggest development this year is that the title chase is far from a foregone conclusion. The season is still young, and Verstappen’s powerhouseRed Bullteam may respond well to F1’s in-season rules adjustments. But he’s nearly 50 points off the pace set by the Australian Piastri, with Piastri’s fellow McLaren prodigy Norris a close second.

Verstappen the Villain surely is a boon for F1 fandom. But Verstappen the Vulnerable may have an even greater impact. He did set the pace in opening practice on Friday, though he fell to ninth in second practice, when Russell went quickest. Norris was second fastest second time around, with Russell’s teammate Kimi Antonelli setting the third-best time to underline Mercedes’s speed. Piastri was only sixth in second practice, with Lewis Hamilton eighth.

Charles Leclerc suffered a heavy accident after nine laps in first practice. He crashed into the barrier on the entry to turn four and sustained significant damage to the left-hand side of his Ferrari. Leclerc’s survival cell on his Ferrari needed replacing, which sidelined him for the remainder of the day.

British No 1 cannot match world No 5 who wins 6-2, 6-4

Raducanu loses after two impressive straight-sets wins

Under suffocating pressure to hold on to her serve at all costs against one of the best players in the world, it came as no surprise whenEmma Raducanufaltered. Although she had fought hard and rallied after conceding a convincing first set against an imperious Zheng Qinwen, in truth she was never in control.

Up 4-3 in the second set but down break point, Raducanu double faulted. A few minutes later, the match was over. The tension felt by the British No 1 in those decisive moments was a reflection of the constant pressure imposed on all contenders by the best players in the world, a challenge that she continues to struggle with.

Her positive week at Queen’s Club ended at the hands of an impressive Zheng, the top seed and world No 5, who overpowered Raducanu to reach the first grass-court semi-final of her blossoming career with a 6-2, 6-4 win.

After two months of trying to adapt her game to suit slow, unfamiliar clay courts, the grass-court season on home soil has provided Raducanu with a helpful boost. She put together straight-sets wins against theSpanish qualifier Cristina BucsaandRebecca Sramkova, the world No 41, and she will regain her status as the British No 1 next week. Still, while she has performed well against players ranked outside of the top 30, her  game has often looked underpowered compared with the best in the world.

Zheng and Raducanu are just one month apart in age. They first met at the Orange Bowl under-12s and they sometimes speak with each other in Chinese. While Raducanu broke through at 18, Zheng’s rise has been gradual but much more certain. Over the past year, she has established herself as a top contender, winning the Olympic gold medal in Paris. However, she has had minimal experience on grass. She entered this season 3-8 on the surface.

This inexperience is countered by the massive weapons at her ­disposal, which means she is more than capable of being effective on grass. Although it can be inconsistent, Zheng’s first serve is a devastating, precise shot that is complemented by her vicious forehand. The 22-year-old is also one of the better athletes on the tour.

Although Raducanu tried to impose her game on Zheng by attacking second serves on the rise and injecting pace into her forehand, she was overwhelmed by the Chinese player, who served brilliantly in the opening set and controlled the baseline with her far heavier weight of shot throughout.

Raducanu entered Queen’s Club still uncertain about her physical condition after a recurrence of her back spasms. Before the start of the second set, she took an off-court medical timeout to address her back.

“It’s been lingering for the last few weeks, and I have had back issues before. I think it’s just a vulnerability of mine,” she said afterwards. “I know I need to take good care of it. I’m not overly concerned that it’s something serious, but I know it’s something that’s very annoying and needs proper and careful management.”

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As Raducanu returned to court, Zheng eventually fell back down to earth. Her first-serve percentage plummeted and her forehand errors began to pile up. Raducanu suffocated Zheng’s second serve and remained consistent as she twice broke for a 3-0 lead. Yet despite her fast start to the second set, the lead was never convincing.

As soon as Zheng regained her rhythm on serve and range on her forehand, she took full control of the baseline again. At 4-3, Raducanu double faulted on break point to relinquish the second break as Zheng rolled through four consecutive games from 4-2 down to close out a strong win.

“I think returning is one of my big strengths, and I think Qinwen served really well,” said Raducanu. “I didn’t see many second serves. And she hit her spots really well in some big moments. Credit to her. She kind of took away one of my bigger strengths. I think I have a lot of work to do, to be honest.”

It remains to be seen how her back will hold up, but Raducanu will next head to the WTA 500 event in Berlin in search of more matches with the best players in the world.

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We open with what will surely be the finale at Lord’s on day four. South Africa are 213-2 in their second innings, needing 69 more to win, after a wonderful partnership between Aiden Markram and an injured Temba Bavuma. Join Geoff Lemon on our over-by-over report, before he joins Ali Martin, Andy Bull and Simon Burnton to review all of the action.

Bath are aiming to roll back the years by claiming their first league title since 1996 against another of the game’s storied clubs at Twickenham. Under Johann van Graan the regular-season table-toppers have already enjoyed a bumper season, claiming silverware in the Premiership Rugby Cup in February and European Challenge Cup last month. What chance a treble 12 months on from their 25-21 final defeat by Northampton? Staging something of a grand farewell party are Tigers, who have a host of key figures bidding a last hurrah: Ben Youngs, Dan Cole, Mike Brown, Julián Montoya, Handré Pollard and the head coach, Michael Cheika, all bow out after the final – and signing off with English rugby’s prime silverware would be quite the sendoff. Your live host Lee Calvert keeps the updates flowing while Robert Kitson and Michael Aylwin report from a sold-out Twickenham.

Saturday’s first semi-final will see Germany’s 37-year-old Tatjana Maria take on second seed Madison Keys, while Chinese first-seed Qinwen Zheng will play American Amanda Anisimova. Sean Ingle is our reporter courtside in west London.

Nine years ago, the last time Oakmont hosted the US Open, Scottie Scheffler was a 19-year-old amateur when he made an opening 69. Although he went on to miss the cut in 2016, the American world No 1 is back as a heavy favourite to win back-to-back major titles following his US PGA Championship triumph. That would give Scheffler the third leg of a career grand slam and he would join a list of Oakmont winners which includes Gene Sarazen, Sam Snead, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus and Ernie Els. Scott Murray keeps you updated with rolling coverage of the third round while Ewan Murray reports from Pennsylvania.

Max Verstappen will have to keep out of trouble as he chases an unprecedented fourth Canadian Grand Prix win in succession, with only a penalty point between the defending champion and a race ban. The Red Bull driver has won for the past three years in Montreal, the last time after starting alongside Mercedes’s pole-sitter, George Russell – the same rival he clashed with two weekends ago – in a qualifying draw. How Verstappen will respond is an open question but others are sure to want to take whatever advantage they can of the situation at a circuit famed also for changeable weather. Yara El-Shaboury keeps track of the action with our rolling blog.

Alexander Abnos is your host as Fifa’s billion-dollar global club tournament gets under way in Miami. Thirty-two teams take part, with the matches staged across 11 cities in the United States, the month-long event involves the English clubs Chelsea and Manchester City. Inter Miami’s involvement rests on their winning the MLS Supporters’ Shield for the best performance in the regular season, even though LA Galaxy went on to win the actual MLS playoffs and were left out. That meant organisers could shoe-horn in the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi as well as Luis Suárez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba. Barney Ronay reports from the Hard Rock Stadium.

Lee Carsley is confident there is more to come from his young squad after the holders opened their campaign with a 3-1 win over the Czech Republic. They next face Slovenia in Nitra, before their last group fixture against Germany. “I definitely expect us to keep improving, the longer we can stay in the tournament,” says Carsley, who had seen his side fail to pick up victories in their last two warm-up matches against the Netherlands and Spain, alongside a 5-3 defeat by France in March. Rob Smyth helms our minute-by-minute coverage.

Scott Murray returns to provide expert commentary on the closing stages at Oakmont where many of the big names have struggled. The tournament will come to the boil at a venue with a history of dramatic finishes, including Dustin Johnson’s fraught finale in 2016, Ernie Els’s three-way tussle in 1994 and Johnny Miller’s barnstorming surge to victory in 1973.