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[FILE IMAGE] McLaren’s Lando Norris in action during a race
Starting with tennis, Jannik Sinner wins the Australian men’s singles, Madison Keys the women’s title
Jannik Sinner retained his Australian Open title with an emphatic 6-3 7-6(4) 6-3 win over Alexander Zverev, breaking new ground for Italian tennis and leaving his German rival smarting after a third Grand Slam final defeat.
Sinner became Italy’s first player to win three Grand Slam crowns, moving past Nicola Pietrangeli who won back-to-back men’s titles at Roland Garros in 1959-60.
Sinner’s success was not without controversy, however, as in February he accepted a three-month ban for doping, having tested positive for a banned substance in 2024, making a settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
Sinner had tested positive for anabolic agent clostebol which he said had entered his system from a member of his support team through massages and sports therapy.
The Australian women’s singles title was won by American Madison Keys, who produced an inspired display to beat defending champion Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus 6-3 2-6 7-5 and capture her maiden Grand Slam title.
The 29-year-old, who became the fourth-oldest first-time Grand Slam champion in the professional era, ended top seed Sabalenka’s bid for a third straight Melbourne Park crown.
Carlos Alcaraz wins the men’s French Open title while Coco Gauff triumphed in the women’s singles
Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz battled from the brink to outlast top seed Jannik Sinner 4-6 6-7(4) 6-4 7-6(3) 7-6(10-2) in a French Open final for the ages to retain his crown and cement his status as the Prince of Clay in Roland Garros’ post-Rafa Nadal era.
In a scintillating showdown between the torch-bearers of a new generation, Alcaraz saved three match points in the fourth set to continue his dominance over Sinner with his fifth straight victory to end the Italian’s 20-match winning run at the majors.
The duo were locked in a fierce battle full of dramatic momentum shifts in the first major final between two men born in the 2000s.
Alcaraz showed his steely determination to win the epic in five hours and 29 minutes – the longest final at Roland Garros – soaking up the ovation from a thoroughly entertained Parisian crowd long used to Nadal’s reign during his run of 14 titles.
Second seed Coco Gauff became the first American woman to win a French Open title since 2015, defeating top seed Aryna Sabalenka 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-4 in Paris.
Gauff needed two hours 38 minutes to win her second Grand Slam title. She won the U.S. Open in 2023.
Gauff battled from a set down to lift her first French Open crown and her second Grand Slam title after the 2023 U.S. Open.
Jannik Sinner wins the Wimbledon men’s singles, Iga Swiatek the women’s title
Jannik Sinner defeated Carlos Alcaraz 4-6 6-4 6-4 6-4 in a high-octane final to claim his maiden Wimbledon trophy and fourth Grand Slam crown avenging his loss to the Spaniard in their epic French Open final.
The hard-fought win over the two-times defending champion on the famous lawns of London ensured that Sinner became the first Italian to secure a Wimbledon singles title.
Iga Swiatek thrashed American Amanda Anisimova 6-0 6-0 to become the first Polish player to win a Wimbledon women’s singles title, ending a ludicrously lop-sided final in 57 minutes.
The eighth seed was merciless as she took brutal advantage of Grand Slam final debutant Anisimova’s leg-sapping nerves in front of a stunned Centre Court.
It turned into a nightmare afternoon for 13th seed Anisimova who became the first player to lose a Wimbledon final 6-0 6-0 since 1911 and the first to do so at any Grand Slam since Steffi Graf beat Natasha Zvereva at the 1988 French Open.
Swiatek, who had never gone beyond the Wimbledon quarter-finals before this year despite winning four French Open crowns, could never have imagined that claiming her sixth Grand Slam title could have been as easy.
Carlos Alcaraz wins the men’s U.S. Open title while Aryna Sabalenka takes the women’s singles
Carlos Alcaraz ended the reign of Jannik Sinner with a 6-2 3-6 6-1 6-4 win to claim the U.S. Open title and tighten his grip on their rivalry.
In a perfect echo of the triumph that first propelled him to the number one spot in 2022, Alcaraz’s second New York title lifted him back to the top of the world rankings as the Spaniard displaced Sinner and took his Grand Slam trophy haul to six.
A dejected Sinner was left to contemplate another Grand Slam final loss to Alcaraz this season after coming up short in their French Open epic in June, although he beat the Spaniard to take his Wimbledon crown the following month.
Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka defeated American eighth seed Amanda Anisimova 6-3 7-6(3) in the women’s singles final.
Top seed Sabalenka successfully defended her title to take her Grand Slam tally to four.
The battle between two of tennis’ hardest-hitting, biggest-serving women boiled down to unforced errors as Sabalenka kept them to 15 compared to 29 from the racket of her opponent.
Italy beat Spain to win the Davis Cup
Italy captured a remarkable third consecutive Davis Cup title with Matteo Berrettini and Flavio Cobolli winning their singles matches for a 2-0 triumph over Spain in the best-of-three tie in Bologna.
Inspired by loud support from the home crowd, Berrettini dispatched Pablo Carreno Busta 6-3 6-4 in the opening match before Cobolli overcame Jaume Munar 1-6 7-6(5) 7-5 to seal the triumph for Filippo Volandri’s side.
The victory over six-times winners Spain marked Italy’s fourth Davis Cup crown overall, following wins in 1976, 2023 and 2024.
Italy also became the first nation to win three consecutive Davis Cup titles since the Challenge Round was abolished following the 1971 event.
Both teams were missing key players, with Spain deprived of Carlos Alcaraz and Italy without Jannik Sinner and Lorenzo Musetti.
GOLF
Ryder Cup
What looked certain to be a comfortable Europe win unexpectedly turned into a thrilling Ryder Cup finale as they withstood a ferocious challenge from the U.S. on the final day to capture golf’s biggest team prize in a nail-biting 15-13 victory.
Europe, a close-knit team that had done everything right for two days at Long Island’s Bethpage Black, needed two points from the 11 singles matches that were played to retain the Ryder Cup, but the U.S. made them sweat it out until the bitter end.
It wasn’t until the eighth match of the day that Ireland’s Shane Lowry drained a two-metre birdie at the last to tie Russell Henley, getting Europe to 14 points on the week and guaranteeing they would retain the Ryder Cup they won two years ago in Rome.
Then it was Englishman Tyrrell Hatton, in the penultimate match, who secured the outright victory with a half-point from his battle with Collin Morikawa that put Europe at the 14-1/2 points needed to win the Ryder Cup.
Europe have now won 11 of the last 15 Ryder Cups dating back to 1995 and their latest triumph marks the fifth time they have won on foreign soil.
The Americans, who even had U.S. President Donald Trump on hand to offer support on Friday, failed to put up a fight over the first two days of the event while rowdy home fans launched all manner of verbal abuse at the Europeans.
Despite the hostile conditions, Europe produced remarkable shotmaking and clutch putting through the foursomes and fourball sessions, all while displaying a level of camaraderie and intensity the U.S. side could only dream of.
The Masters
Rory McIlroy beat Britain’s Justin Rose on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff at the Masters to become the sixth player, and first European, to complete the career Grand Slam of golf’s four majors.
Northern Irishman McIlroy, who squandered a four-shot lead on the back nine during regulation, wasted no time in the playoff as he hit his approach at the par-four 18th two feet from the cup for a tap-in birdie after Rose missed his 5-metre putt.
When the winning putt dropped, McIlroy raised his arms toward the clear sky and let his putter fall behind him as he dropped to his knees overcome with emotion.
For McIlroy, who was making his 11th attempt at completing the Grand Slam, the feat marked a crowning achievement in his career and delivered his first major title since August 2014.
PGA Championship
Scottie Scheffler won the PGA Championship by five strokes at Quail Hollow Club.
It wasn’t as easy as many expected, but Scheffler collected his third major title with an even-par last round of 71 that was enough for the Olympic champion to pick up something much bigger than a gold medal — the huge Wanamaker Trophy.
He finished at 11-under 273, while fellow Americans Bryson DeChambeau (70), Harris English (65) and Davis Riley (72) tied for second at 6-under.
World No. 1 Scheffler previously won the 2022 and 2024 Masters.
US Open
American J.J. Spaun sank an improbable 20-metre birdie putt at the 18th hole to cap his stunning first major victory, emerging from the pack in the wild, waterlogged final round of the US Open at Oakmont Country Club.
Spaun finished the round birdie-birdie to card a 2-over 72 and finish 1-under-par 279 for the week, two better than Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre.
Spaun had just one prior victory on the PGA Tour. He held the first-round lead, hung around through Friday and Saturday and then won a war of attrition in horrid weather conditions.
British Open
Scottie Scheffler delivered a commanding performance to win his first British Open title by four shots after a closing 68 at Royal Portrush.
The world number one, four clear of the field overnight, picked up three early birdies before his only significant error when he failed to get out of a bunker at the first attempt on the way to a double-bogey at the eighth hole.
Scheffler was never seriously threatened, however, as he claimed his fourth major crown and second of the year after winning the PGA Championship in May.
Scheffler finished on 17-under, with Harris English and Chris Gotterup completing an all-American top three.
MOTOR SPORTS
F1
McLaren’s Lando Norris celebrated his first Formula One championship and ended Max Verstappen’s four-year reign with a nervy third place at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Verstappen, winner of more races (eight) than any driver this year, triumphed in the season-ender with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri second.
Norris, who became Britain’s 11th Formula One world champion, ended the season with 423 points to Verstappen’s 421 and Piastri’s 410.
McLaren, who secured the constructors’ championship in October for the second year in a row, won both titles in the same season for the first time since 1998.
World Rally Championship
Toyota’s Sebastien Ogier secured a record-equalling ninth world rally title in Saudi Arabia to equal the tally of fellow Frenchman Sebastien Loeb and become the sport’s oldest champion at 41.
Ogier won six titles consecutively from 2013-18 and added two more in 2020 and 2021. He has found success with three different manufacturers — Volkswagen, Ford and Toyota.
He had announced his intention to retire from full-time rallying at the end of 2021 but has continued part-time and won his latest title despite being absent from three of the 14 rounds, winning six.
The Frenchman will be 42 on December 17 and is now the oldest driver to win the world championship. The previous oldest was Finland’s Hannu Mikkola at 41 years and 183 days in 1983.
MotoGP
Ducati’s Marc Marquez clinched his seventh MotoGP championship at the Japanese Grand Prix, his first since 2019, when he took an unassailable lead in the world championship with five rounds to spare.
Marquez needed to outscore his brother and title contender Alex of Gresini Racing by three or more points by the end of the weekend, and finished second behind his Italian teammate Francesco Bagnaia in the race to clinch the title.
Marc had his head in his hands after he crossed the line and when the magnitude of the accomplishment hit him, the Spaniard let out a scream.
CYCLING
Tour de France
Tadej Pogacar claimed his fourth Tour de France title, cementing his status as the most dominant rider of his generation and moving alongside Britain’s Chris Froome on the all-time winners’ list.
The 26-year-old Slovenian, who triumphed in 2020, 2021 and 2024, delivered a near-flawless performance, even coming close to prevailing on a spectacular final stage on the Champs Elysees after an epic duel with Belgian Wout van Aert.
The world champion effectively sealed his victory in the Pyrenees, with a brutal attack on the climb to Hautacam and a commanding victory in the uphill individual time trial, leaving chief rival Jonas Vingegaard more than four minutes behind.
Pogacar equalled Froome (2013, 2015–17) and now only trails cycling greats Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, Jacques Anquetil and Miguel Indurain, who share the record with five titles.
