Zeynep Sonmez ‘inspired’ by tennis friends as she marches through at Hong Kong Open

The answer to the question of just how far a group of athletes and coaches could go relying almost entirely on passion was perhaps found out there on the court at the Ma On Shan Sports Centre on Sunday. It was the fourth and final stage of the Chinese Men’s Handball Super League. On the final day, Hong Kong, taking part as an invited team, narrowly beat Anhui 29-28 in the play-off for third place to secure a podium finish on their national league debut. Head coach Hui Man-pong heaped praise on...

Venus Williams has left the door open to quitting tennis after the American great slumped to a 17th consecutive singles loss on Monday, going down in straight sets to compatriot Mary Stoiana in the opening round of the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open. A shadow of the player who claimed 23 grand slam titles in her pomp, Williams dropped her serve four times and did not create one break point in a 6-2, 6-3 defeat by world No 113 Stoiana that ended her 2026 singles campaign. “I haven’t made any...

After 28 years, British adventurer Karl Bushby arrived back home on Monday after a 50,000km (31,000-mile) trek from Chile across four continents without using any transport to progress. Bushby, who set off on his odyssey from South America in 1998, had two golden rules for his journey: avoid all forms of transport to advance and not return until he completed his challenge. He was met on Monday in the centre of Hull, northeast England, by a crowd of up to 1,000 cheering people, and thanked...

Cristiano Ronaldo has been rested for Al-Nassr’s AFC Champions League trip to Uzbekistan, a week after the club’s previous game in the competition was postponed, and amid concern that the security situation in Saudi Arabia would continue to affect Asia’s top football tournaments. Ronaldo, who scored a hat-trick in a 5–3 win over Al-Kholood in the Saudi Pro League last week to reach 985 career goals, was left off the roster by coach Ange Postecoglou for Monday’s match against Pakhtakor in...

Repeatedly launching the bowling of Ben Stokes into a steamy Indian night to win the 2016 T20 World Cup final grew to feel like a “burden and a curse” for Carlos Brathwaite. As the giant West Indian all-rounder sent a fourth successive delivery from the England star over the ropes, prompting scenes of jubilation and desolation in equal measure inside Kolkata’s Eden Gardens stadium, commentator Ian Bishop bellowed: “Carlos Brathwaite. Remember the name.” “That immortalised the moment,” Brathwaite...

Frankie Lor Fu-chuen couldn’t be happier with Numbers and Massive Sovereign as he prepares for a dual-pronged assault on Sunday’s Group Three Sa Sa Ladies’ Purse (1,800m) at Sha Tin. Lor will unleash Numbers for the first time this season after a terrific four-year-old campaign, which included Group Three glory in the Centenary Vase (1,800m) and seconds in the Hong Kong Derby (2,000m) and Group One Champions & Chater Cup (2,400m). Massive Sovereign heads into the feature fresh from a...

Formula ⁠1’s youngest champion Kimi Antonelli has nothing to prove and could be ⁠one of the greats, according to his Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff. The 20-year-old clinched the title in Mexico City on Sunday to also become the first Italian Formula 1 world champion in 73 years. Wolff, whose team took Britain’s Lewis Hamilton to six of his seven championships and also Germany’s Nico Rosberg to the crown in 2016, said Antonelli had exceeded all expectations and was likely to take more titles in...

Fresh from a successful comeback from injury, British jockey Hollie Doyle will return to Hong Kong for another winter stint from November 29 to January 31. The Jockey Club confirmed on Monday that Doyle has been granted a visiting jockey’s licence “with a view to start accepting race riding engagements on December 2”. The 30-year-old was sidelined for five months by a complex lower-leg fracture suffered in a fall in May, but returned with victory in her first ride back at Southwell on...

A former bodybuilder who grew up in a Pakistani refugee camp and idolises Arnold Schwarzenegger has captained Afghanistan to victory in a cosmopolitan Hong Kong Cricket Sixes that “showcased this vibrant city to the world”. He was aided by the unheralded Imran Mir, who had mustered one run from his previous two innings in the tournament, but smote 53 from 14 balls in the final as the Afghans chased 116 to beat Australia by four wickets on Sunday and become the Sixes’ eighth different...

Francis Lui Kin-wai and Karis Teetan heaped praise on Turquoise Velocity after the consistent sprinter broke through for a deserved victory in Sunday’s Class Two Kwangtung Handicap Cup (1,200m) at Happy Valley. Placed in three consecutive starts heading into Sunday’s race, the Zoustar gelding impressed his trainer and jockey with his ability to chase and win after leading all the way in his previous triumphs. Sent out the $3.1 favourite, Turquoise Velocity tracked the pacesetter Rising Force and...

Vincent Ho Chak-yiu took a huge step towards a berth in next month’s Longines International Jockeys’ Championship (IJC) with a double at Happy Valley’s only day meeting of the season on Sunday. The four-time Tony Cruz Award winner entered the day fourth in the jockeys’ premiership and already in position for a coveted slot at the IJC, but a brace of winners put him right where he needs to be with seven meetings to go until the cut off. With Zac Purton already confirmed for the IJC as Hong Kong’s...

Hong Kong tennis star Coleman Wong Chak-lam settled for second best in yet another ATP Challenger final after losing 7-6, 3-6, 7-6 to France’s Térence Atmane at the Seoul Open on Sunday. The defeat pushed Wong’s career ATP Challenger finals record to 1-7, with his only victory coming in Jiujiang in China in May, when he edged Adam Walton of Australia 7-5, 7-6 to become the first Hongkonger to ever win an ATP title. Last weekend, Wong lost to Australia’s Tristan Schoolkate in the final of the ATP...