Sport Tennis
Athletics
DIAMOND LGE (Birmingham).-Men, 100m: 1 Y
Blake (Jamaica) 10.07s; 2 A Gemili (GB) 10.07; 3
M Rodgers (US) 10.09; 4 C Belcher (US) 10.13; 5
A De Grasse (Canada) 10.13; 6 T Tracey (Jamaica)
10.14. 400m: 1 A Bloomfield (Jamaica) 45.04; 2
O Igbokwe (US) 45.53; 3 M Hudson-Smith (GB)
45.55. 400m hurdles: 1 Y Copello (Turkey)
49.08; 5 T Barr (Rep of Ireland) 50.16; 7 J Paul
(GB) 50.71. High jump: 1 B Starc (Australia)
2.30m; 6 C Baker (GB) 2.19. Javelin: 1 C-T
Cheng (Taipei) 87.75m.
Women, 200m: 1 S Miller (Bahamas) 22.24; 2 D
Asher-Smith (GB) 22.36; 3 S-A Fraser-Pryce
(Jamaica) 22.50; 4 D Schippers (Holland) 22.81; 5
B Okagbare (Nigeria) 22.83; 6 D Bryant (US)
22.84. 100m hurdles: 1 D Williams (Jamaica)
12.46. 800m: 1 A Wilson (US) 2:00.76; 2 L
Sharp (GB) 2:01.09; 3 R Rodgers (US) 2:01.40; 4
R Lamote (France) 2:01.46 5 A Bell (GB) 2:2.41.
Mile: 1 K Klosterhalfen (Germany) 4:21.11; 3 E
McColgan (GB) 4:24.71; 6 J Reekie (GB) 4:27.00;
12 S Healy (Rep of Ireland) 4:40.72. 3 000m stee-
plechase: 1 B Chepkoech (Kenya) 9:05.55; 13 E
Bird (GB) 9:50.97; 15 R Clarke (GB) 9:54.25; 16 A
Pratt (GB) 9:58.68. Long jump: 1 N Thiam
(Belgium) 6.86m; 3 K Johnson-Thompson (GB)
6.85; 7 L Ugen (GB) 6.61. Pole vault: 1 K
Stefanidi (Greece) 4.75m; 6 H Bradshaw (GB)
4.55. Discus: 1 Y Perez (Cuba) 64.87m.
Baseball
MLB: Arizona 6 San Francisco 11-Atlanta 4 Los
Angeles Dodgers 3-Boston 4 Baltimore
0-Cincinnati 6 St Louis 1-Colorado 11 Miami
4-Kansas City 1 New York Mets 4-LA Angels 6
Chicago White Sox 5-New York Yankees 6
Cleveland 5-Oakland 8 Houston 4-Philadelphia 3
San Diego 5-Pittsburgh 0 Chicago Cubs 2-Tampa
Bay 1 Detroit 0 (13 innings)-Texas 7 Minnesota
12-Toronto 3 Seattle 4-Washington 14 Milwaukee
15 (14 innings).Bowls
NATIONAL CH'SHIPS (Royal Leamington Spa).-
Men’s Senior Pairs final: Buckinghamshire (D
Labrum & M Drage) bt Herefordshire (Martin
Smith and Mark Atkins) 22-15.
Men's Junior Singles final: J Avery (Folkestone
Park, Kent) bt T Newman (Avon, Wilts) 21-11.
Women's Pairs final: Dunholme, Lincs (P
Strong) bt Kings, Devon (N Chestney) 19-18.
Women's Junior Pairs final: Essex (H Kenny & J
Wilson) bt Hertfordshire (D Cooper & R Tremlett)
23-5.
Walker Cup final: Lincolnshire bt
Northamptonshire 37-32 (Rink scores,
Lincolnshire names first: L Catchpole, L Cooke, P
Strong, A Dunham lost to A-M Waters, M Harris,
K Smith, R Wigfield 20-21; C Cullum, R Hill, C
Tomlin, A Gowshall bt A Dring, P Bodily, S
Tansley and Y McKee 17-11.Cycling
BINCK BANK TOUR (Holland & Belgium).-Stage
6 (ITT, Den Haag, 8.4km): 1 F Ganna (Italy) Team
Ineos 9m 16s. Stage 7 (Sint-Pieters-Leeuw to
Geraardsbergen, 178.1km): 1 O Naesen
(Belgium) AG2R La Mondiale 3h 52m 40s; 2 G
Van Avermaet (Belgium) CCC Team at same time;
3 L De Plus (Belgium) Team Jumbo-Visma +4s.
Final overall: 1 De Plus 21h 29m 55s; 2 Naesen
+35s; 3 T Wellens (Belgium) Lotto Soudal +36; 4
Van Avermaet +37; 5 M Hirschi (Switzerland)
Team Sunweb +44secs, 61 S Bennett (Rep of
Ireland) Bora-Hansgrohe +19-42.
ARCTIC RACE OF NORWAY.-Stage 3 (Sortland to
Storheia Summit 176.5km): 1 O C Eiking
(Norway) Wanty-Gobert 4h 7m 32s. Stage 4
(Lodigen to Narvik, 165.5 km): 1 M Hoelgaard
(Norway) Uno-X Norwegian Development Team 3h
35m 32s; 2 A Grondahl Jansen (Norway) Team
Jumbo-Visma at same time. Final overall: 1 A
Lutsenko (Kazakhstan) Astana Pro Team 14h
59m 27s; 2 W Barguil (France) Arkea Samsic +1s;
10 S Cummings (GB) Dimension Data +1m 12s.
VUELTA A BURGOS (Spain).-Stage 5 (Sto.
Domingo de Silos - Lagunas de Neila 146 km): 1 I
Sosa (Colombia) Team Ineos 3h 33m 53s; 2 R
Costa (Portugal) UAE Team Emirates +8s.
Final overall: 1 Sosa 18h 53m 44s; 2 O
Rodriguez (Spain) Euskadi Basque Country-Murias
+31s; 3 R Carapaz (Ecuador) Movistar Team +42.Golf
BMW CH'SHIP (Medinah, Illinois).-Leading final
scores (US unless stated): 263 —J Thomas 65 69
61 68; 266—P Cantlay 66 67 68 65; 268—H
Matsuyama (Japan) 69 63 73 63; 270—T Finau
67 66 68 69; 272—J Rahm (Spain) 68 69 66
69; B Snedeker 66 71 67 68; 273 —L Glover 66
69 69 69; C Conners (Canada) 69 66 69 69;
274—A Scott (Australia) 67 71 69 67; K Kisner
68 68 69 69; 275 —T Fleetwood (GB) 70 66 70
69; K Tway 69 67 70 69; L Oosthuizen (S
Africa) 70 69 68 68; R Fowler 67 70 68 70;
S Im (S Korea) 70 72 66 67; 276—J Poston 68
74 66 68; R Sabbatini (Slovakia) 67 68 67 74;
V Taylor 73 70 67 66; 277—R McIlroy (GB) 69
67 70 71; J Kokrak 65 73 70 69; X Schauffele
67 68 70 72; M Leishman (Australia) 72 71 67
67; P Reed 68 71 68 70; 278—B Koepka 68 71
72 67; J Dahmen 66 71 69 72; P Casey (GB) 70
70 67 71; W Simpson 70 72 67 69; 279—A
Ancer (Mexico) 68 72 69 70; B-H An (S Korea)
71 70 69 69; S Woo Kim (S Korea) 70 67 71 71;
280—E Grillo (Argentina) 72 70 68 70; W Clark
69 73 65 73; J Niemann (Chile) 74 65 69 72;
I Poulter (GB) 70 70 71 69; G Woodland 70 73
64 73; C-T Pan (Taiwan) 71 67 70 72;
281—T Woods 71 71 67 72; B Horschel 71 73
69 68; S Piercy 67 73 70 71; C Howell III 70
69 73 69; J Spieth 70 71 70 70; R Moore 71
69 69 72.D+D REAL CZECH MASTERS (Prague).-Leading
final scores (GB & Ireland unless stated): 269—T
Pieters (Belgium) 67 67 66 69; 270—A Arnaus
(Spain) 71 65 65 69; 272—S Horsfield 69 66 69
68; A Pavan (Italy) 68 68 71 65; 274—H Leon
(Chile) 66 69 67 72; L Johnston 67 69 68 70; R
Karlberg (Sweden) 69 67 66 72; E Van Rooyen
(S Africa) 65 72 66 71; M Schwab (Austria) 70
65 69 70; 275 —R Karlsson (Sweden) 67 68 67
73; 276—H Porteous (S Africa) 69 70 69 68; Z
Lombard (S Africa) 68 70 73 65; K Koivu
(Finland) 66 72 70 68; 277—R Wattel (France)
68 71 69 69; K Reitan (Norway) 66 71 66 74; J
Singh Brar 69 68 67 73; E Molinari (Italy) 66
66 70 75; 278—B Evans 72 69 68 69; A
Chesters 70 68 71 69; M Kawamura (Japan) 72
68 65 73; D Gavins 71 67 68 72; A Levy
(France) 70 70 70 68; 279—I Cantero Gutierrez
(Spain) 71 67 72 69; A Bjork (Sweden) 71 68 69
71; P Dunne 70 71 69 69; R Macintyre 69 72
68 70; B Henson (US) 70 68 72 69; G
Fernandez-Castano (Spain) 70 70 67 72; J
Kruyswijk (S Africa) 69 67 71 72; 280—D
Howell 69 71 70 70; P Waring 70 71 70 69; M
Southgate 70 70 69 71; D Fichardt (S Africa)
67 74 72 67; J Morrison 73 68 68 71; J B.
Hansen (Denmark) 66 70 72 72; J Scrivener
(Australia) 67 71 70 72; B Wiesberger (Austria)
67 70 71 72; J Catlin (US) 70 69 72 69.
Also: 281—L Slattery 65 71 71 74; S Jamieson
72 67 70 72; A Rai 72 69 69 71.Hockey
EURO CH'SHIP (Antwerp).-Men, Pool A: England
2 Wales 2-Spain 5 Wales 1-England 0 Belgium 2.
Pool B: Germany 9 Scotland 0-Holland 5 Ireland
1-Ireland 3 Scotland 3-Germany 2 Holland 3.
Women, Pool A: Spain 11 Russia 0-Holland 1
Belgium 1. Pool B: Germany 13 Belarus 0 –
England 2 Ireland 1.Motor Racing
BRITISH TOURING CAR CH'SHIP (Thruxton).-
Race 1: 1 S Tordoff (GB) Honda 20m 55.872s; 2
D Cammish (GB) Honda 20:56.275; 3 A Morgan
(GB) Mercedes Benz 20:56.586. Race 2: 1 J Cook
(GB) Honda 20:55.108; 2 A Morgan (GB)
Mercedes Benz 20:57.081; 3 M Neal (GB) Honda
21:03.468. Race 3 : 1 D Cammish (GB) Honda
19:48.732; 2 R Collard (GB) Vauxhall 19:50.706;
3 Neal 19:53.402. Standings: 1 C Turkington
(GB) BMW 249pts; 2 A Jordan (GB) BMW 219; 3
Cammish 215.Motorcycling
BRITISH SUPERBIKE CH'SHIP (Cadwell Park).-
Race 1: 1 D Buchan (GB) Kawasaki 26m
16.459s; 2 J Brookes (Australia) Ducati
26:17.506. Race 2: 1 Brookes 26:10.925; 2
Bridewell 26:11.401. Standings: 1 Brookes
271pts; 2 S Redding (GB) Ducati 259; 3 Bridewell
243; 4 Buchan 191.Database
‘There’s lots of alcohol abuse – that
is just how people deal with tennis’
T
o the casual observer,
the life of a
professional tennis
player is nothing but
glamour – the money,
the fame, thoseimmaculate white clothes. The
reality for the majority is
altogether different. It is a grind, a
place where mental and physical
exhaustion, alcohol abuse and
depression are prevalent.
The American player Noah
Rubin, ranked just inside the
world’s top 200, is part of this
majority. He sensed he was not
alone in struggling with the
lifestyle on the pro circuit, and so
earlier this year set up the
Instagram account Behind The
Racquet. Each post sees someone
from tennis open up about their
struggles – their identity known
but their face concealed.
Players, including in May the
British youngster Katie Swan,
discuss issues from self-esteem to
injury worries to financial
concerns. In one especially
powerful edition, 2017 US Open
finalist Madison Keys revealed that
she struggled with an eating
disorder as a teenager. “It’s a really
tough sport,” Rubin tells The Daily
Telegraph. “I’m trying to open
people’s minds and eyes to what’s
really going on in tennis.”
Rubin, a 23-year-old New
Yorker, won the Wimbledon boys’
event aged 18. He was marked out
as a future star, but is yet to crack
the world’s top 100 and has spent
the majority of his career on the
second-tier Challenger Tour. This
week he is competing in the US
Open qualifying event in his home
city, and as someone who has
experienced the lows of minuscule
crowds in far-flung places such as
INTERVIEW Panama and New Caledonia to the
highs of taking on Roger Federer
at the Australian Open, he is
well-placed to offer a 360-degree
view of the state of tennis in 2019.
Rubin stresses that he enjoys the
job and loves the sport, but that for
tennis to stay appealing to athletes
and spectators, it needs to make
major changes. Broadly speaking,
these are Rubin’s two main
concerns: that the current
structure is destroying the players
and putting off fans by being too
drawn-out and prioritising
quantity over quality.
When asked what tennis needs
to do first and foremost, Rubin’s
response is instant: “Shorter
seasons. Eleven months is brutal.In every other sport
they have a proper
break.
“And if you’re not top
50 and so trying to get
as many points as
possible, you’re forced
to play too many
tournaments and that’s
a real problem, because
you’re just hurting
yourself more.”
As well as
contributing to
injuries – Rubin has
struggled physically
for much of the year- the relentlessness of
the tour has other
damaging effects.
“The season is 11 months long
and you’re mostly alone,” he
says. “People see Federer lifting
the trophy, but they don’t see the
Challenger in Germany or in
Mexico.”
These feelings of loneliness and
exhaustion even cause players to
grand, that’s great, that covers
expenses.
“Not getting enough money
overall from the tournaments is
another huge problem.”
The Association of Tennis
Professionals can point to prize
money going up from a total of
$64 million (£52.8 million) outside
the majors in 2008 to $139.4 million
(£115 million) this year in response
but the issue, as discussed by John
Isner in a recent article for Forbes,
is whether the current amounts
are sufficient to cover escalating
costs.
At lower levels, players often do
not even get paid on time. Greet
Minnen, ranked outside the
world’s top 100, told The Telegraph
that it took three months before
she was paid for reaching the
quarter-finals of an International
Tennis Federation tournament in
Istanbul this year.
For Rubin, the problem is more
deep-rooted: “My argument goes
further than prize money, it’s about
building a sport that people want
to pay more to see. Take the grand
slams out of it, and there are empty
seats everywhere.”
Again the picture here is
complicated. The total attendance
for non-grand-slam events was at a
joint-record high of 4.57 million
last year, but it is jarring seeing big
matches often played in front of
small audiences.
“I don’t want to ask the ATP or
USTA for more money,” Rubin says.
“We just have to build a sport that
takes in more money.
“The sport is dying out, we’re
not getting that same intensity, the
same love, or new fans any more.
You can’t tell an eight-year-old to
watch a match for four hours. We
don’t need best-of-five sets.”
These are not straightforward
debates and they are easy to ignore,
especially during the grand slams,
when tennis can feel almost
utopian.
This apogee of the sport should
be celebrated, but through Behind
The Racquet, Rubin is determined
to shine a spotlight on tennis’s
darker side.‘It all adds up, the
loneliness, the
failure – you feel
like a failure
constantly’
Noah Rubin’s Instagram
tells how players below
elite level are suffering,
writes Charlie Eccleshare
port
pernot top
to get
as
forced
y
d that’s
because
nghas
cally
year
ness of
er
s.
s 11 months long
ly alone,” he
e Federer lifting
hey don’t see the
ermany or ins of loneliness and
n cause players tothrow matches – and this is
separate from tennis’s acute
match-fixing issue, described as a
“tsunami of corruption” by an
independent report in 2018.
Earlier this year, Argentine
player Marco Trungelliti revealed
he had been shunned by many of
his peers after blowing the whistle
on match-fixing to the Tennis
Integrity Unit.
“As well as match-fixing, a lot of
tanking goes on, because people
are tired, or they’ve got planes to
catch,” Rubin says. “People are
like, ‘They must be getting money
for this’, but often they just don’t
want to be out there.”
Rubin (below) lets out a sigh and
continues: “It all adds up, the
loneliness, the failure – you feel
like a failure constantly. There are
some real problems on tour, a lot of
people take time off. Depression is
prevalent, there’s lots of alcohol
and substance abuse because that’s
just how people deal with tennis.”
On the depression point, a
Telegraph investigation last year
revealed how widespread mental
health challenges are in the sport.
Underpinning these difficulties
is the immense financial cost of
being a tennis player. Outside
the world’s top 100, most
players barely break even
once the cost of travel,
accommodation and
coaching staff –
something Rubin
cannot afford – is
factored in.
“Top-heavy
money is a huge
problem,” Rubin
says. “The guy
who wins a
grand slam gets
roughly an extra
£400,000 these
days. It’s just
not necessary.
If you put that
into everyone
who loses in
qualies
[qualifiers],
and they get
an extra two24 ** Monday 19 August 2019 The Daily Telegraph
RELEASED BY "What's News" VK.COM/WSNWS TELEGRAM: t.me/whatsnws