Sports
Osaka: ‘I don’t have any regrets’ after WTA Finals debut vs Stephens
US Open champion Naomi Osaka had already done disappointment by the time she arrived for her post-loss press conference at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
“I took my five minutes of being really sad,” she said after a 7-5, 4-6, 6-1 defeat to 2017 US Open winner Sloane Stephens. “From then, I don’t know. I just tried to think that you learn more when you lose, so what can I learn from this match and try to apply it to the next match?
“All the players that you play here are the best in the world, and you expect to have a really hard battle every match. In a way, you can only get better every match you play.”
While Osaka aims to improve her comfort level with the Singapore Indoor Stadium’s Center Court – admitting to feeling out of rhythm for large swaths of the two hour, 24 minute epic – there wasn’t much the Japanese star would change about her WTA Finals debut.
“Usually after I lose, I have very specific things that I think would have changed the match. But I don’t really have any regrets for me. This entire match was a really hard battle. I think she played really well, and I think she deserved to win the match.”
Two things she does hope to address: her “disappointing” first serve percentage, and her attitude, apologizing for a few emotional outbursts after the match.
“That was something I’m not really proud of. I feel like for me I play better when no one knows what I’m thinking. But it’s also something I am learning how to do, because it’s not like I have been consistently able to do that. It shows like my ups and downs.”
It was the first match for both Osaka and Stephens, who spent Friday’s Gala evening getting to know one another before finding out they’d been drawn into the same round robin group.
Manchester City star Oscar Bobb is set to leave the club after being slowly forced out of the club.
Following the arrival of Antoine Semenyo, Bobb, who rarely featured under manager Pep Guardiola, has been pushed aside in recent weeks as the club seek to offload the teenager.
The 22-year-old has featured 19 times in 2025-26 following further injury concerns and despite his recent return, he has been absent from the side who are winless so far in 2026.
Now, as reported by journalist Ben Jacobs, Bobb is set to be sold as City cash in on the youngster who is very unlikely to be handed any more opportunities in the side.
“Oscar Bobb could leave Manchester City this month on a permanent transfer. As revealed in December, Fulham are keen.
“Discussions are now advancing, as @FabrizioRomano called.
“Dortmund also have Bobb on their radar.
“Manchester City prefer a sale to a loan and value Bobb in the region of £30m-£35m depending on the structure.
“Understand Bobb is now Fulham’s top priority. Fulham also still working on USMNT forward Ricardo Pepi despite his injury.”
Manchester United have made a move for Borussia Dortmund coach Niko Kovac.
While they have Michael Carrick in place after sacking Ruben Amorim, United only see their former midfielder as a stop-gap to the end of the season.
Sky Deutschland says United have made contact with Kovac’s camp seeking information on the Croatian’s plans.
Kovac took charge of Dortmund a year ago and penned an extension to 2027 at the start of this season.
However, it’s understood the 54 year-old holds an ambition to work in the Premier League.
Dortmund sit second in the Bundesliga, 11 points off near-perfect Bayern, and are tenth in the Champions League.
The Moroccan Football Federation said Monday it has formally referred to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and FIFA incidents involving Senegalese players and supporters protesting a penalty to Morocco in the Africa Cup of Nations final.
Senegal’s protest in added time of normal play during Sunday night’s clash in Rabat led to the match being paused for nearly 20 minutes as the players walked off the pitch in anger.
Some Senegalese fans at the opposite end of the stadium threw chairs and other objects and attempted to get onto the field of play.
The AFCON hosts’ football federation said these acts “had a significant impact on the normal course of the match and on the players’ performance”, with Morocco then missing the penalty that could have granted them their first African title in 50 years.
The federation said “it will resort to legal procedures” with CAF, the tournament’s organising body, and FIFA “in order to rule on the withdrawal of the Senegalese national team from the field”… “as well as on the events that accompanied this decision”.
It said the referee’s decision to grant the Atlas Lions a penalty was “deemed correct by unanimous opinion of specialists”.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino condemned “some Senegal players” for the “unacceptable scenes”.
Senegal scored the game’s only goal just four minutes into extra time after the players returned to the pitch following an appeal from star forward Sadio Mane.
Several Moroccan media outlets on Monday criticised Senegal for a lack of fair play and unsporting behaviour.
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