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Tennis: Serena Williams (picture) will rest for a week after withdrawing from the Swedish Open due to an elbow problem but is confident the injury will not derail her preparations for the US Open. Williams, who will bid to complete a rare calendar grand slam at Flushing Meadows, withdrew ahead of her second-round match against Klara Koukalova after sustaining the injury during practice. “As much fun as we have been having the past 8 or so weeks I have to take some time to let my elbow heal,” Williams said.
Motor Racing: Max Chilton has dedicated the first Indy Lights victory of his career to former Marussia team-mate Jules Bianchi. Bianchi died on Friday night after he succumbed to the devastating brain injuries he sustained in a crash at the Japanese Grand Prix last October. The Frenchman was in his second Formula One season with Marussia when the accident happened in Suzuka. Chilton, 24, had been his team-mate at the British-based team. “It’s been a difficult nine months, to be brutally honest with you,” said Chilton, who led 87 of the 100 laps in Iowa. “I’ve learned a lot from him, and he was part of that win. I probably thought of him every five or 10 laps, because he was a driver destined to probably be a world champion. I’m dedicating this to Jules.”
Rugby Union: Wallabies flyhalf Quade Cooper looks set to back out of a move to French club Toulon and stay at home with the hope of making Australia’s rugby sevens team for next year’s Olympics, Fairfax media reported yesterday. The mercurial 27-year-old, who played his 54th test for his country in Saturday’s victory over South Africa in Brisbane, had signed a “pre-commitment” to join the European champions in April. However, there has been ongoing speculation that his agent, Khoder Nasser, was trying to find a way to keep Cooper in Australia.
Sailing: The United States and Uruguay finished first and second in their women’s sailing event at the Pan American Games on Saturday to qualify for the Rio Olympics while Guatemala advanced on the men’s side. In women’s laser radial, American Paige Railey won the gold medal to qualify for Rio as top finisher from North America while Uruguay‘s Dolores Moreira took silver and went through as the top finisher from South America. In the men’s laser, Guatemala’s Juan Maegli Aguero won the gold medal and punched his Rio ticket as the event’s top finisher from North America. Brazil’s Robert Scheidt took second.
Rugby League: Italy edged closer to qualification for the 2017 World Cup with a 40-12 win over Ukraine in a European Championship B match in Irpin. A six-minute hat-trick from winger Nicola Bellotti was the highlight of a victory that lifts them into second place in the table behind Serbia and secures their place in the 2016 European qualifiers for the next World Cup. Oldham full-back Richard Lepori and Sheffield Eagles second rower Santino Decaro, on his debut, were also among the tryscorers for the Azzurri, whose win relegated Ukraine to Championship C.
Surfing: Australian surfer Mick Fanning survived a shark attack in yesterday’s final of the World Surfing League’s J-Bay Open, fighting off the circling predator with his fists. Fanning, three-times world surfing champion, was paddling out to ride his first wave when the unidentified species of shark surfaced next to him, knocking the 34-year-old off his board. The Australian managed to fight off the predator, hitting it on its back before it swam off, leaving him shaken as he waited for a support boat.