Sports News

Rafael Nadal has said he will miss the Madrid Masters tournament later this month. This comes as he continues his recovery from a hip injury, a significant blow to his French Open preparations. The Spaniard has not played since losing in the second round of the Australian Open in January. He is hoping for a record-extending 15th French Open title at Roland Garros in May.

The Nigeria Football Federation has said it would no longer beg any player to play for the national team. This comes following the poor run of outings by the Super Eagles and the U-23 men’s team. Coach Salisu Yusuf’s U-23 team came short of making it to this year’s U-23 AFCON after losing 2-0 to Guinea in the second leg of their final qualifying fixture.

Emma Raducanu's first clay-court match of the season ended in a one-sided defeat by Jelena Ostapenko. Raducanu struggled to deal with ferocious hitting from the Ostapenko and lost 6-2 6-1 in 59 minutes. Ostapenko will play Tunisia's third seed Ons Jabeur in the last 16.

Manchester City has submitted a planning application to expand the capacity of their Etihad Stadium to more than 60,000. The plans will add around 7,000 new seats to the stadium as well as a new covered fan zone, club shop, museum and 400-bed hotel. Last week, the Etihad was included on the list of 10 stadia which would host matches if the UK and Ireland’s joint bid for organising Euro […]

Manchester United defender, Lisandro Martinez, has successfully undergone surgery after being ruled out for the season due to a fractured metatarsal bone. Martinez, who made 45 appearances for United, was carried off the pitch during their 2-2 draw with Sevilla in the Europa League. His injury comes with United looking to cement third place in the Premier League and capture the Europa League and FA Cup titles.

Commonwealth Games reigning champion, Chioma Onyekwere has set a new African record in Discus. Onyekwere, struck gold with a distance throw of 64.96m at the Oklahoma Throws series to break the African record held by South Africa’s Elinza Naude. She now joins the league of Nigerian stars like Vivian Chukwuemeka (Shot Put), Ese Brume (Long Jump) and Annette Nneka Echikunwoke (Hammer Throw) to reign supreme in field events in Africa.

Nigerian-born Italian volleyball star, Julia Ituma, has died after a suspected fall from a hotel room window in Turkey. Turkish police said Ituma was staying on the sixth floor of a hotel in Istanbul. The body of the 18 year old Italian-born athlete of Nigerian origin was discovered in front of the hotel.

Novak Djokovic loss in three sets to Lorenzo Musetti in the third round at the Monte Carlo Masters. Djokovic, won the opening set but eventually lost 4-6 7-5 6-4 in a match interrupted by a one-hour rain delay. It marked the biggest win of Musetti's career and he will play compatriot Jannik Sinner in the quarter-finals.

Al Nassr has announced that head coach, Rudi Garcia has left the club by mutual agreement. Garcia has been fired due to his poor relationship with the dressing room. He has also failed to live up to the expectations set out in his club’s ambitious project.