WWE fans in Jeddah enjoy Champions Village entertainment ahead of Night of Champions

WWE fans in Jeddah were treated to a day of fun and excitement at the Champions Village ahead of the the Night of Champions event on Saturday. (AN Photos/Abdulrhman BinShalhuob)
WWE fans in Jeddah were treated to a day of fun and excitement at the Champions Village ahead of the the Night of Champions event on Saturday. (AN Photos/Abdulrhman BinShalhuob)
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Updated 27 May 2023

WWE fans in Jeddah enjoy Champions Village entertainment ahead of Night of Champions

WWE fans in Jeddah enjoy Champions Village entertainment ahead of Night of Champions
  • Saudi wrestling superfans got to enjoy an immersive WWE experience
  • Got a chance to see their favorite WWE superstars up close and personal

JEDDAH: WWE fans in Jeddah were treated to a day of fun and excitement on Friday at the Champions Village ahead of the the Night of Champions main event on Saturday.

Saudi wrestling superfans got to enjoy an immersive WWE experience with games, activities, a ring entrance experience and a chance to see their favorite WWE superstars up close and personal, such as Cody Rhodes, Gunther, AJ Styles, Trish Stratus and Becky Lynch.

Mustafa Ali was one of the crowd favorites, with fans chanting his name during his segment with Gunther to hype up their upcoming Intercontinental Title match.

The American Nightmare Cody Rhodes, who will face Brock Lesnar, told Arab News the he feels lucky.

“I mean, it’s never exciting when you tell the whole world about a broken arm, and it’s going to be four to six weeks in a special cast, but I think luck plays a huge part of my career,” he said. “I don't want to say it's all luck because you work so hard to get the spots but every now and then you need a little lady luck,” he added.

The longest reigning women’s champion of the modern day era, Bianca Belair, told Arab News it was amazing to be back in the Kingdom.

“It feels amazing sometimes, you know, time flies by so fast here in WWE, and I've had a lot of amazing title reigns. I'm just appreciative of the people that I've gone up against and so it feels amazing to be standing here. I just feel blessed and fortunate,” she said.

And Belair, who faces Asuka on Saturday, feels confident about her match.

“I'm ready, it’s been a rough couple of weeks. It’s a different Asuka, it's a rematch from Wrestlemania, but this is a different Asuka, she's coming for more than just my title,” she said.

“I know that I have to approach her differently tomorrow to walk out as champion. So, I'm excited, I'm nervous, but more than anything, I'm ready for Asuka,” she added.

AJ Styles, who will face Seth Rollins in the tournament finals for the World Heavyweight Championship, told fans to expect a phenomenal showdown.

“Well, you’re going to see a fight, you’re going to see two guys who want to be the World Heavyweight Champion, you got two guys who’ve been all over the world competing,” he said. “It’s a lot of experience in the same ring together and so I expect nothing less than a incredible matchup.”

Saturday also sees Roman Reigns surpass 1,000 days as the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion, as he and Solo Sikoa compete in a monumental title defence against WWE Tag Team Champions Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens.


Coco Gauff comes back to beat Mirra Andreeva in all-teen clash at French Open

Coco Gauff comes back to beat Mirra Andreeva in all-teen clash at French Open
Updated 13 sec ago

Coco Gauff comes back to beat Mirra Andreeva in all-teen clash at French Open

Coco Gauff comes back to beat Mirra Andreeva in all-teen clash at French Open
  • After a tight first set, Gauff pulled away to reach the fourth round in Paris with a 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-1 victory over Andreeva
  • In men’s action, No. 22 Alexander Zverev eliminated No. 12 Frances Tiafoe 3-6, 7-6 (3), 6-1, 7-6 (5)

PARIS: Not all that long ago, Coco Gauff was always the kid on the court, the unknown underdog, younger and less experienced than every opponent she faced on a big stage.

Now, still just 19, Gauff is well-versed in the professional tennis tour, already a Grand Slam runner-up in singles and doubles, and seeded No. 6 at this French Open. On Saturday at Roland Garros, the American was the veteran in Court Suzanne Lenglen under the cloudless sky, the one with the steady hand and steady head, in an all-teen showdown against Mirra Andreeva, a 16-year-old qualifier from Russia who is ranked 143rd and was making her debut appearance at a major tournament.

After a tight-as-can-be first set, one Gauff was two points from winning but eventually ceded, she grew her game and proved to be the better player. She pulled away to reach the fourth round in Paris with a 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-1 victory over Andreeva, who was warned by the chair umpire for unsportsmanlike conduct after smacking a ball into the stands.

Gauff, who lost to Iga Swiatek in last year’s French Open final, might see a bit of herself in Andreeva. Knows what it’s like to be the newcomer no one has scouting reports on. What it’s like to hear plenty of discussion about her youth. To feel the freedom of performing without the burden of expectations. Gauff was just 14, after all, when she became the youngest qualifier in Wimbledon history, then beat Venus Williams along the way to the fourth round there in 2019.

So by now, Gauff is a bit tired of that whole subject — which she explained in a good-natured manner Saturday.

“People love to say, ‘You’re only this, you’re only that.’ When I’m on the court, we’re not thinking about our age. I don’t think she was thinking, ‘Oh, I’m only 16 and she’s 19, she’s older.’ If she was thinking that, she wouldn’t win a match, because she beat people older than me. And at my age, I wasn’t thinking about that,” Gauff said. “I was just thinking about playing the ball. Age is important to mention, sometimes, but as a player, and going through it, yes, it gets a little bit annoying. ... I don’t need to be praised because of my age or anything. I prefer just to be praised because of my game.”

Her talent is undeniable, especially when it comes to her serve and backhand, as is her maturity. Against Andreeva, she never let the rough way the first set ended carry over. Indeed, it was Andreeva who sent a ball into the crowd late in the tiebreaker — she was contrite afterward, acknowledging it was a “stupid move” and “really bad” — then bounced her racket off the court early in the second set.

Most of all, Gauff remained patient. After 19 unforced errors in the first set, she made just seven the rest of the way.

“I didn’t feel like she was lacking experience,” Gauff said about Andreeva. “She plays beyond her years.”

They practiced together in Paris and could have many more encounters that count down the road.

Some day, perhaps soon, Andreeva will earn kudos because of her game, not just her age, but forgive us for mentioning this: She is the youngest player since 2005 to win a match in the women’s main draw at the French Open.

Asked what might be to come, Andreeva replied: “I’m just Mirra, who loves to play. ... I hope I will stay the same person in the future. But the future is the future, so I cannot know what will happen.”

For Gauff, a possible quarterfinal looms next week against No. 1 Swiatek, who beat Wang Xinyu 6-0, 6-0 in 51 minutes on Saturday. Swiatek has won all six sets she’s played so far, four via 6-0.

“I always try to kind of be careful, because you don’t want to get lazy after winning these matches,” said Swiatek, bidding for a third French Open title and fourth major overall. “But on the other hand, sometimes all your head can remember is the score, and I always want to kind of be ready for every situation.”

She now faces Lesia Tsurenko, who overwhelmed 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu 6-1, 6-1. Gauff gets Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, a 6-1, 6-3 winner against American qualifier Kayla Day. Other fourth-rounders: No. 14 Beatriz Haddad Maria against Sara Sorribes Tormo, who moved on when Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina withdrew because of an illness; and Bernarda Pera against No. 7 Ons Jabeur.

In men’s action, No. 22 Alexander Zverev eliminated No. 12 Frances Tiafoe 3-6, 7-6 (3), 6-1, 7-6 (5) at night and next meets No. 28 Grigor Dimitrov. Tiafoe was the last American man remaining in the bracket after losses earlier Saturday by No. 9 Taylor Fritz and Marcos Giron.

Other men’s fourth-rounders: No. 4 Casper Ruud, last year’s runner-up to Rafael Nadal, against Nicolas Jarry, No. 6 Holger Rune against No. 23 Francisco Cerundolo, and No. 27 Yoshihito Nishioka against Tomas Martin Etcheverry.

“Last year, I could sort of just do my work in the shadow,” said Ruud, who had never made it to a Slam quarterfinal until his run at the 2022 French Open, which was followed by a run to the US Open final, too. “This year, it’s a little more eyes on me. ... I feel the pressure a bit different.”


McIlroy tied for lead at Memorial by making fewest mistakes

McIlroy tied for lead at Memorial by making fewest mistakes
Updated 56 min 28 sec ago

McIlroy tied for lead at Memorial by making fewest mistakes

McIlroy tied for lead at Memorial by making fewest mistakes
  • Thirteen players were separated by two shots, nine more were only three shots out of the lead
  • The big move came from Keegan Bradley, who made the cut on the number

DUBLIN, Ohio: Rory McIlroy realized Muirfield Village was playing so tough that he set a goal of just trying to break 70. He didn’t quite get there, and his 2-under 70 still was enough for him to share the lead Saturday in the Memorial.

It helped that Hideki Matsuyama went from leading to dropping off the leaderboard in a span of six holes. And that Patrick Cantlay went into the water and over the green on his way to a triple bogey. David Lipsky bogeyed his last two holes.

What remained amid a few rumbles of thunder — but no weather delays — was an opportunity for just about everyone who had a tee time Sunday.

Thirteen players were separated by two shots. Nine more were only three shots out of the lead.

Lipsky’s two closing bogeys gave him a 72, while Si Woo Kim overcome two double bogeys for a 71. They joined McIlroy at 6-under 210.

It’s the highest 54-hole lead since 1990, when the weather was so atrocious that the final round was canceled and Greg Norman won at even-par 216.

McIlroy ran into trouble in the right rough on the 10th and had to scramble for a bogey. He pulled his tee shot on the par-5 11th and caught a break when it stopped short of going into the creek. That’s when he set his goal for the day to break 70 by avoiding mistakes and picking up some birdies on a few of the more scorable holes.

It didn’t quite work out that way. He chipped in for birdie on the dangerous par-3 12th. He also hit an approach to a back pin on the 17th that rolled past the cup to 7 feet and set up one of only eight birdies on that hole all round.

Just as sweet was the 18th, where his putt from the back of the green to a front pin ran nearly 10 feet by the cup and he holed that for par. McIlroy had several par putts from between 5 and 8 feet, all of them important on a day like this.

“I was really happy with how I scored out there, and how I just sort of hung in there for most of the day,” McIlroy said.

He will be in the final group with Kim, who one-putted his last seven holes, saving par from a front bunker on the 18th.

All this was made possible largely by Matsuyama, a former Memorial winner, who birdied his first two holes and looked to be on his way. And then it quickly fell apart — a bad chip on the par-3 eighth, a three-putt on the ninth and his big blunder on the par-3 12th — tee shot into the water, then over the green from the drop area and a triple bogey.

Cantlay, a two-time Memorial winner, had only one big mistake. He went for the green from the rough on the par-4 sixth and came up short and into the water, then went long into the rough and didn’t get up-and-down, making a triple bogey.

Otherwise, Cantlay made 14 pars, a pair of birdies and a bogey. He and Matsuyama, despite a big number on each of their cards, were two shots behind going into Sunday.

The big move came from Keegan Bradley, who made the cut on the number. He teed off at 8:15 a.m. and finished as the leaders were just starting to warm up. Bradley made nine birdies in his round of 65, and now he’s only two shots behind.

Viktor Hovland (69) and Mark Hubbard (72) were in the large group one shot behind at 5-under 211. Hubbard bogeyed his last three holes for the second time this week. He didn’t let it bother him on Thursday, and he felt the same way Saturday.

“I’m not happy with my finish again, but at the same time, I made three pretty good bogey putts,” Hubbard said.

His strategy on a day like this: “Just try and make a lot of birdies on the par 5s and not make doubles on the hard holes.”

Justin Suh, the 36-hole leader, didn’t stay there for long. He started bogey-bogey, then found the water on No. 3 for a double bogey. He didn’t make his first birdie — his only one — until the 14th hole. Suh had a 77.

He was still only three shots behind, along with Jordan Spieth (72).

Of the 22 players separated by three shots, nine have never won on the PGA Tour. One of those was Lipsky, who doubts he’ll get too wrapped up in looking at the leaderboard.

“It’s too hard to focus on anything else but your game,” he said.


Mbappe wins record 5th French golden boot, Rennes earn Europa League spot, Auxerre relegated

Mbappe wins record 5th French golden boot, Rennes earn Europa League spot, Auxerre relegated
Updated 04 June 2023

Mbappe wins record 5th French golden boot, Rennes earn Europa League spot, Auxerre relegated

Mbappe wins record 5th French golden boot, Rennes earn Europa League spot, Auxerre relegated
  • Mbappe celebrated by holding up a shirt with seriously injured backup goalkeeper Sergio Rico’s name on it
  • French champions PSG and second-placed Lens qualified for the group stage of the Champions League next season

PARIS: Paris Saint-Germain striker Kylian Mbappe won a record fifth straight French golden boot on Saturday while Rennes clinched a Europa League spot and Auxerre were relegated.

Mbappe’s goal in a 3-2 loss to Clermont finished his league tally on 29 and made him the top scorer for the fifth time, tied with French great Jean-Pierre Papin and retired Argentine strikers Carlos Bianchi and Delio Onnis.

French champions PSG and second-placed Lens qualified for the group stage of the Champions League next season and third-placed Marseille earned a spot in the third qualifying round of the lucrative European competition.

Rennes edged Brest 2-1 with first-half goals from Benjamin Bourigeaud to leapfrog Lille into fourth place.

Lille booked a playoff spot for the Europa Conference League after drawing with Troyes 1-1. Bafode Diakite opened the scoring for Lille in the second half and Troyes winger Rony Lopes equalized.

Monaco were third in the previous two seasons but missed out on European football after losing to Toulouse 2-1 to finish sixth. Toulouse substitute Rhys Healey scored the winner in stoppage time. After 34 rounds, Monaco had a five-point lead over Lille and were eight points clear of Rennes. But Monaco collapsed during the run-in with just one point from the last four games.

PSG finished only one point clear of Lens after the home loss to Clermont, which also marked Lionel Messi’s farewell match for the club. Messi was booed before kickoff.

PSG led 2-0 after a header from the departing Sergio Ramos and a penalty from Mbappe. Mbappe celebrated by holding up a shirt with Sergio Rico’s name on it. Rico, the PSG backup goalkeeper, was seriously injured after getting hit by a loose horse in Spain last Sunday.

Clermont leveled before halftime with goals from Johan Gatien and Mehdi Zeffane. Grejohn Kyei scored the winner by converting a cross in the 63rd.

Cameroon forward Ignatius Ganago helped former powerhouse Nantes stay up by netting the lone goal in a 1-0 win over Angers.

Nantes snapped a 14-game winless streak in the league to leapfrog Auxerre into 16th place.

Auxerre lost to Lens 3-1 and will be demoted to the second division alongside Angers, Ajaccio and Troyes. Four teams are relegated because the league will shrink from 20 clubs to 18 next season. Lens midfielder Alexis Claude-Maurice scored twice before Belgium international Lois Openda sealed the win.

Elsewhere, Clement Vidal scored in Ajaccio’s 1-0 win over Marseille.

Lyon striker Alexandre Lacazette failed to find the net in a 3-1 loss at Nice, finishing with 27 goals as the second best scorer.

Montpellier beat Reims 3-1. Reims striker Folarin Balogun scored a consolation to raise his tally to 21 in his breakthrough season. Born in New York, Balogun played for England at youth level but opted to play for the United States at senior level in May.

Also Lorient beat Strasbourg 2-1.


Nkunku helps Leipzig defend German Cup title

Nkunku helps Leipzig defend German Cup title
Updated 03 June 2023

Nkunku helps Leipzig defend German Cup title

Nkunku helps Leipzig defend German Cup title
  • A year after scoring a second-half goal which sent the 2022 final to penalties, Nkunku broke the deadlock after 71 minutes
  • "When you win something like this, then you just have to celebrate -- and that's what we'll do," Leipzig midfielder Konrad Laimer told Germany's ZDF network

BERLIN: A Christopher Nkunku-inspired RB Leipzig won their second straight German Cup title on Saturday, beating Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0 in Berlin.
A year after scoring a second-half goal which sent the 2022 final to penalties, Nkunku broke the deadlock after 71 minutes, his low shot taking a deflection and into the goal against the run of play.
A shellshocked Frankfurt, who had the better of the second half looked to equalize but Leipzig scored again, Dominik Szoboszlai sweeping in an Nkunku pass on the counter.
After featuring in four of the past five German Cup finals, Leipzig’s second title in two years firmly establishes themselves alongside Borussia Dortmund as challengers to Bayern Munich’s throne.
“When you win something like this, then you just have to celebrate — and that’s what we’ll do,” Leipzig midfielder Konrad Laimer told Germany’s ZDF network.
Frankfurt captain Sebastian Rode said Nkunku’s goal was the turning point, telling ZDF “we just didn’t have the power in behind” after the strike.
The victory spoiled Frankfurt manager Oliver Glasner’s farewell, with the Austrian leaving the club at the end of the season, one year after taking them to the Europa League title.
Despite the victory, the immediate future is uncertain for Leipzig, who could lose several stars including Nkunku, Szoboszlai and Laimer in the summer.
Sporting director Max Eberl confirmed a possible exit for Nkunku, telling German TV “it could be” the France striker’s last match for Leipzig.
Pre-game, the match had been billed as a clash of conflicting ideologies in German football.
In one corner, nouveau riche Leipzig, playing in just their 14th season, against the tradition of Frankfurt, one of only four clubs remaining from the first Bundesliga season in 1963-64 guaranteed to play in next year’s top division.
The Frankfurt stadium announcer played into the conflict just before kickoff, saying “tradition can’t be bought,” a direct jab at the Red Bull-owned Leipzig.
Unbeaten in their last 11 cup games, Leipzig burst out of the blocks, Werner latching onto a Dominik Szoboszlai pass just four minutes in before blasting straight at the ‘keeper.
Leipzig dominated possession but Frankfurt caused problems on the counter, France striker Kolo Muani probing a defense missing the commanding presence of the suspended Josko Gvardiol.
The best chance of the first half fell to Nkunku in the shadows of halftime, the France striker cannoning the ball into the side netting past the outstretched fingers of Frankfurt goalie Kevin Trapp.
Fresh from extending his deal in Frankfurt by one year until 2026 on Friday, 2014 World Cup winner Goetze grabbed control of the game early in the second stanza.
The veteran of four German Cup final wins, two with Dortmund and two with Bayern, put Kolo Muani through on goal with a perfect threaded path before forcing a desperate close range save from Janis Blaswich.
With a Frankfurt opener looking likely, Leipzig scored against the run of play, Nkunku’s shot from the edge of the box taking a sharp deflection of defender Evan Ndicka and into the net.
Frankfurt made multiple changes pushing for an equalizer but Leipzig scored again, Szoboszlai hammering in after a sweeping counterattack with five minutes remaining to seal the win.


Barcelona win Women’s Champions League with stunning comeback against Wolfsburg

Barcelona win Women’s Champions League with stunning comeback against Wolfsburg
Updated 03 June 2023

Barcelona win Women’s Champions League with stunning comeback against Wolfsburg

Barcelona win Women’s Champions League with stunning comeback against Wolfsburg
  • “We didn't make it easy for ourselves,” Barcelona and England defender Lucy Bronze said in a pitchside interview after securing her fourth Champions League crown
  • Fridolina Rolfö capped the fightback by calmly firing the winner into the far corner of the net after a mix-up in the Wolfsburg defense in the 70th minute

EINDHOVEN, Netherlands: Midfielder Patricia Guijarro ignited a stunning second-half comeback as Barcelona overturned a 2-0 deficit to beat Wolfsburg 3-2 and win their second Women’s Champions League title on Saturday.
“We didn’t make it easy for ourselves,” Barcelona and England defender Lucy Bronze said in a pitchside interview after securing her fourth Champions League crown.
She won it three years in a row with Lyon.
Fridolina Rolfö capped the fightback by calmly firing the winner into the far corner of the net after a mix-up in the Wolfsburg defense in the 70th minute.
Guijarro is one of 15 Spanish players, including Bonmati and four other Barcelona teammates, who renounced playing for Spain last year, citing differences with their coach. They have not played since their participation in this summer’s Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand are in serious doubt.
Wolfsburg led 2-0 at the break thanks to goals from Ewa Pajor and Alexandra Popp.
But Barcelona kept believing they could win, easing the pain of last year’s final when the Catalan team never recovered after Lyon scored three times in the first 35 minutes. Barcelona lost 3-1.
“We have grown up. We didn’t break down,” Guijarro. “We have improved from last year.”
Bronze added: “We were never worried about scoring three goals.”
Barcelona earned their second league crown — the first was in 2021 — from their fourth final since 2019 in front of 33,147 fans at PSV Stadium, a record crowd for a women’s game in the Netherlands.
Guijarro’s double in the 48th and 50th minutes swiftly overturned a first half in which Wolfsburg’s pressing play and clinical counterattacking earned two goals.
First, the Barcelona midfielder slammed the ball into the roof of the net in the 48th. Aitana Bonmatí then made room for herself on the right before crossing for Guijarro to head past Merle Frohms for the equalizer. Guijarro was named player of the match but wasn’t satisfied until Rolfö sealed the win.
“I thought, two goals, we needed more. We needed to keep going,” she said.
It was a remarkable turnaround for coach Jonatan Giráldez’s Barcelona in a thrilling match.
Wolfsburg took the lead inside three minutes when tournament top scorer Ewa Pajor robbed Bronze of the ball close to the Barcelona penalty area and fired a powerful shot that goalkeeper Sandra Paños touched but could not stop from flying in. The goal improved Pajor’s tally in the competition to nine.
It was a rocky start for Bronze, who returned to the Barcelona lineup for the first time since she was injured in the semifinal first leg against Chelsea and underwent knee surgery.
Wolfsburg doubled their lead when veteran forward Alexandra Popp ran into space between two defenders and headed a cross from the left by Pajor past Paños from close range in the 37th. Popp equaled Ada Hegerberg’s record of scoring in four finals.
Wolfsburg goalkeeper Merle Frohms made sure her team went into the break without conceding by racing off her line in stoppage time to smother an effort by Salma Paralluelo.
But she couldn’t stop Barcelona’s onslaught after the break.
“It really hurt,” Wolfsburg coach Tommy Stroot said. “We did so many things right. We were so close to have a big sensation here tonight, to win the title.”
With Barcelona leading and the minutes ticking down, Giráldez brought on two-time Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas, who has recently recovered from an ACL injury. Barcelona’s vocal fans in Eindhoven roared as Putellas replaced Bonmatí.
It was Putellas who accepted the trophy from England coach Sarina Wiegman after Wolfsburg players formed a guard of honor for their opponents as they walked up to collect their medals.