There are a lot of similarities between Aryna Sabalenka and Naomi Osaka.

Both have won four Grand Slam titles, been top of the world rankings and built their legacies on hard courts.

The big-hitting pair broke through on the WTA Tour around the same time, but their journeys have been very different.

While one peaked early, the other had a longer wait for success.

After they first met at the 2018 US Open – with Osaka going on to win her maiden major – they did not face each other again until 2026.

The pair have now faced each other three times in the space of three months – and today ( Sunday)  they will go head-to-head again in a blockbuster fourth-round clash at Wimbledon.

(BBC)

Iran’s ambassador to China says ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz would be charged new fees  but added that China and other “friendly” countries would be granted “special considerations”.

An initial deal signed by Iran and the United States last month to halt hostilities stipulated that commercial ships would transit the key waterway free of charge for 60 days, but it remained unclear what policies will be in place after that period.

While negotiations on a permanent settlement are ongoing, the US has said Iran will not be permitted to charge tolls or fees for vessels transiting the strait under any final agreement.

Speaking to the World Peace Forum in Beijing on Saturday, Ambassador Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli said Iran was working in “collaboration and cooperation” with Oman on “new arrangements” for the strait.

“As a country where the Hormuz is part of its territorial waters, we will definitely charge service fees,” Fazli said in translated remarks while insisting that such fees would not be a “toll”.

“These new arrangements will be concerning guaranteeing the security of passage through the Straits of Hormuz, supervision of the passage of the vessels … and also guaranteeing and dealing with the environmental consequences of the massive number of ships,” he said, according to the AFP news agency.

Iran’s NourNews agency also quoted him as saying that “special considerations” would be applied to China and other friendly nations in determining the level and type of service fees for vessels passing through the waterway.

In peacetime, one-fifth of the world’s crude oil and liquefied natural gas was shipped through the strait, which was all but closed by Iran during the war launched by the US and Israel in late February, sending energy prices soaring.

In April, the US imposed a corresponding naval blockade on Iran’s southern ports in a bid to stem Iranian oil exports.

Fazli stressed that the strait has become a “security” issue since the four-month war waged by the US and Iran.

Fazli added that new arrangements concerning the Strait of Hormuz would be made in cooperation and partnership with Oman.

Iran and Oman, which sit on both sides of the strait, have established a joint committee to determine how this strategic waterway will be managed.

[Aljazeera]

Shan Masood has been removed as Pakistan’s Test captain, with Babar Azam taking over the reins for the second time in his career. The decision came as part of Pakistan’s squad announcement ahead of their upcoming two-match Test series in the West Indies, starting later this month.

The end of Masood’s tenure brings down the curtain on a historically poor stint. Appointed nearly three years ago, Masood captained Pakistan in 16 Tests and lost 12 of them. No captain in Test history has ever lost 12 of their first 16 Tests, and despite ten men having captained Pakistan in more Tests, only Misbah-ul-Haq, who lost 19 of his 56 Tests, has overseen more defeats than Masood. They have also lost their last seven Tests, the joint-highest across Pakistan’s history.

Aaqib Javed, Pakistan’s high-performance director, said it was the repetitive nature of Pakistan’s Test defeats, and their tendency to give up losing positions, that led them to decide they needed a change at the helm.

“We saw many close Test matches [under Shan’s captaincy]. But a few things were not being addressed. Like the Centurion Test, South Africa’s two batters at No. 10 [for the tenth wicket] put on a 60-70 run partnership [51 runs]. The game was in our hands. Against the West Indies in Multan, in the  second Test, the team was rolled over easily.

“The captain has a responsibility of finishing games. Same with the South Africa Tests at home. Some things are the responsibility of the team, some are the responsibility of the selectors, and some are the responsibility of the captain. The captain’s responsibility also includes maintaining the team’s over rate, taking DRS decisions, making the right call at the toss.”

Masood’s tenure began with what has always proved Pakistan’s biggest challenge, an away series in Australia, which they lost 3-0. It was a bad start from which Pakistan never really recovered, going on to lose 2-0 at home to Bangladesh; the first time they lost even a Test to them. A come-from-behind win over England later that year was the high point of his time; notably, however, it was the only high point. It was the only one of seven series under his leadership Pakistan won as they lost four, leaving them at the bottom of the World Test Championship 2023-25  table.

That Masood kept his place in the side was a reflection of his personal form with the bat, which has seen an upswing with the armband on. His average as captain rose to 34.06, nearly six runs higher than the 28.51 before his appointment. It included two centuries, one in South Africa, as well as seven half-centuries, including two in a game at the MCG.

Aaqib said the change of change of captaincy was a separate decision to Masood’s place in the team. “Shan’s own performance during his tenure has been good, but as captain, he has not been able to bring the desired results,” Aaqib said. “We wanted to look for a captain who comes in and leads the team better.”

Pakistan’s decision to return to Babar, the man from whom Masood took over, perhaps reflects the dearth of attractive candidates the PCB had available. In the years since he was last captain in 2023, Babar has struggled with his form across formats, but especially in Test cricket, where he has averaged just over 27 under Masood.

His time as captain of Pakistan, however, was a markedly happier stint – Pakistan won ten of the 20 Tests Babar led in, starting off with a 2-0 home win over South Africa, and included clean sweeps away from home in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. It was also when Babar’s form with the bat was close to its best; as captain, he averaged over 50 in Test cricket. However, there was still plenty of disappointment, too, most notably a crushing 3-0 home series whitewash at England’s hands, the only such defeat in Pakistan’s Test history.

Babar takes over at a busy time in Test cricket. The series against the West Indies is immediately followed by a three-match series in England, Pakistan’s first to the country in six years. A busy home winter season comes soon after, and includes Tests against New Zealand and Sri Lanka.

[Cricinfo]