Rugby Union: Australia back Kurtley Beale could miss this summer’s three-Test series against the British and Irish Lions after the Melbourne Rebels announced he will take an indefinite leave of absence from rugby to resolve personal issues. Beale was suspended by the Rebels for the weekend clash with the Blues after breaching ‘behavioural guidelines’ – the second time this season his con-duct has come under scrutiny.
Snooker: Mark Selby was named snooker’s Player of the Year. Selby won two of snooker’s biggest tournaments during the 2012/13 season, the UK Championship and the Masters, as well as two European Tour events in Germany. He finished the season on top of the world rankings. Performance of the Year went to Ronnie O’Sullivan for his sensa-tional victory in the World Championship. Preston’s Ian Burns was named Rookie of the Year after an excellent debut season in which he climbed to number 68 in the world.
Golf: Tiger Woods held on to clinch his second Players Champion-ship by two strokes on Sunday after long-time adversary Sergio Garcia spectacularly imploded on his last two holes. Garcia shared the lead on 13-under with Woods when he teed off at the short but treacherous 17th, but hit into the water twice to crash to a quadruple bogey, after the world no.1 had parred the famed island hole.
Tennis: Venus Williams was blown away 6-3 6-2 by rising British left-hander Laura Robson at the Rome Masters tennis yesterday. With clay dust swirling around the tree-lined Foro Italico courts, the American former world number one suffered a scrappy, undig-nified exit as her fabled power game misfired. Robson will now try to complete a rare double as top seed Serena Williams, winner in Madrid, awaits in round two. Venus has been out of action since early April when she lost to sister Serena in the semis at Charleston.
Athletics: Sally Pearson is unlikely to race again until July after re-injuring her hamstring but the Olympic 100m hurdles champion should be fit to defend her world title in August, Australia head coach Eric Hollingsworth said yesterday. The 26-year-old hurdler suffered what is believed to be a grade-one hamstring tear at the Asian Grand Prix Championship in Sri Lanka on Sunday after missing the domestic season with the same injury.