Three sportswomen given Saudi citizenship as part of royal order

The athletes given Saudi citizenship included three women: French tennis player Maysan Hussein (L), Muay Thai fighter Tasneem Al-Qassab (C) and American footballer Maryam Al-Tamimi (R). (Social Media)
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Updated 07 July 2024
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Three sportswomen given Saudi citizenship as part of royal order

  • The decree aims to grant Saudi citizenship to people whose distinguished expertise serves the nation in various fields

RIYADH: A number of athletes have recently been granted Saudi citizenship after a royal order issued on Thursday.

The decree aims to grant Saudi citizenship to people whose distinguished expertise serves the nation in various fields, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

It is also in line with Saudi Vision 2030, which aims to create an environment that attracts, invests in, and retains exceptional creative minds, SPA added.

The athletes given Saudi citizenship included three women: American footballer Maryam Al-Tamimi, French tennis player Maysan Hussein, and Muay Thai fighter Tasneem Al-Qassab.

Al-Tamimi was picked by head coach Monica Staab for the women’s national team. She is registered with the Saudi Football Federation and was influential in securing her former side — the Sharqiya Flames — first place in the Eastern Province League in 2021. She has since signed for Al-Ittihad in a deal that runs until 2025.

French teenage tennis player Hussein, who is 15 years old, was also given citizenship. She has won several girls’ championships in Saudi Arabia.

She finished 41st in the Asian Tennis Federation’s U14 competition and won the Mahdia Open Tennis Championship in Tunisia in the U16 category.

She was also runner-up in the women’s singles at the 2023 Saudi Games.

Syrian Muay Thai fighter Al-Qassab, also a teenager, was among those granted citizenship. She won the 2021 Saudi Women’s Championship, held in Riyadh, and came third in the Virtual World Championship, held in the same year amid the COVID-19 pandemic, during which she represented Saudi Arabia.


Mbappe shows fallen Real Madrid new road to riches

Updated 16 sec ago
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Mbappe shows fallen Real Madrid new road to riches

  • Much of Real Madrid’s season has been a balancing act and they finally fell completely off the rails on Sunday as Barcelona sped away from them on the way toward reclaiming the Spanish title

BARCELONA: Much of Real Madrid’s season has been a balancing act and they finally fell completely off the rails on Sunday as Barcelona sped away from them on the way toward reclaiming the Spanish title.
Kylian Mbappe scored a hat-trick but the Catalans came from two-goals down to win 4-3 and the margin of victory might have been larger still, were it not for some contentious refereeing calls in the final stages in Madrid’s favor.
Coach Carlo Ancelotti understood early on this season that fitting last summer’s marquee arrival Mbappe and established stars Vinicius Junior, Jude Bellingham and Rodrygo Goes in the same side was going to be difficult while keeping the team stable.
After losing just twice across all competitions on the way to winning La Liga and the Champions League in 2024, this year Madrid have suffered 14 defeats — four of those against Barca — and will end up without a major trophy.
Defeat by Barcelona at the Olympic stadium on Sunday leaves them seven points behind the Catalans with three matches left to play.
That the Clasico was close at all came down to Mbappe, whose treble took him above Robert Lewandowski to lead Spain’s scoring charts with 27 league goals.
“Mbappe was the only resistance,” wrote newspaper Mundo Deportivo.
“Madrid faced the Clasico with one tank and 10 tin soldiers, and Barca knocked them all down.”
Mbappe’s goals also made him the club’s top goalscorer in a first season at Madrid with 39, beating Ivan Zamorano’s record of 37 set in 1993.
“The team’s flagship figure is Mbappe,” wrote AS, noting that although he has not been at his personal peak this season, he has still been one of the club’s best players, and “among the ‘fantastic four’, undoubtedly the standout.”
Madrid conceded 16 goals in their four Clasico defeats by Barcelona this season, scoring seven, with Mbappe netting five of those goals.
The French forward scored in every final Madrid played in, netting in European Super Cup and Intercontinental Cup triumphs, as well as in the Copa del Rey and Spanish Super Cup defeats.
By contrast, Vinicius and Bellingham did not score in any of the four games against Barcelona.
“The changing of the guard is real,” added AS. “Heading into next season the roadmap is clear: Mbappe and 24 others.”
Mbappe failed to deliver in the Champions League against Atletico Madrid and then Arsenal as Madrid were eliminated in the quarter-finals, but his hat-trick against Manchester City was the kind of display Los Blancos expected from him.
With the team built around him and a sturdier defense and midfield, Mbappe can take Madrid to the silverware they demand.
“He did well,” said Ancelotti of Mbappe, pleased with the way the forward got in behind Barcelona’s high line, but upset at his team’s woeful defending.
“It was quite obvious that we defended badly,” said the Italian bluntly.
Ancelotti is set to depart at the end of the season to be replaced by Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso, who will inherit the puzzle of how to use Madrid’s attacking stars effectively.
With Vinicius and Rodrygo struggling for form for months and Bellingham’s first season heroics long since faded, it is evident that Mbappe will spearhead Madrid’s next project.


Zverev says out-of-form Djokovic can become dangerous again

Updated 15 min 49 sec ago
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Zverev says out-of-form Djokovic can become dangerous again

  • “There’s no question about his ability at all,” said Zverev, who advanced to this year’s Australian Open final after Djokovic retired injured midway through their clash

Novak Djokovic’s tennis prowess is beyond question despite a sharp dip in form during the European claycourt swing and the veteran Serb can return to his devastating best again if he wants to, world number two Alexander Zverev has said.
Djokovic turns 38 three days before the French Open, which begins on May 25, and the 24-times Grand Slam winner’s preparations have been far from ideal, with opening losses at Masters tournaments in Monte Carlo and Madrid last month.
After skipping the ongoing Italian Open without giving a reason, Djokovic will make one final attempt to rediscover his rhythm at next week’s Geneva Open after accepting a wild card and Zverev warned against writing off his friend completely.
“Maybe he didn’t play up to his standard or his liking, but who does sometimes? If you’re a top guy and you’re not winning the tournament, you always go home a little bit upset,” Zverev told reporters in Rome on Sunday.
“I believe once he finds his game, he’s still one of the most dangerous players in the world.”
World number six Djokovic, who is chasing his 100th tour-level title, has struggled to assert his dominance after winning three out of the four Grand Slams in 2023.
However, he stepped up his game at the Paris Olympics last year to win gold, outclassing four-times major champion Carlos Alcaraz in the final at Roland Garros.
“There’s no question about his ability at all,” said Zverev, who advanced to this year’s Australian Open final after Djokovic retired injured midway through their clash.
“It’s more whether he still wants to put in the work. That’s a question to him. His tennis ability is above everyone else’s.”
Second seed Zverev, who beat Lithuanian qualifier Vilius Gaubas 6-4 6-0 in Rome on Sunday, meets Frenchman Arthur Fils next in the third round.


PSG defender Achraf Hakimi named top African player in French league

Updated 18 min 47 sec ago
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PSG defender Achraf Hakimi named top African player in French league

PSG defender Achraf Hakimi has been voted the top African player in the French league after helping his club win a record-extending 13th Ligue 1 title and reach the Champions League final.
The 26-year-old Moroccan won the the Marc-Vivien Foe award ahead of Nice forward Evann Guessand, from Ivory Coast, and Senegalese midfielder Habib Diarra, who plays for Strasbourg.
The prize is named after the late Foe, the popular Cameroon player and two-time African champion who collapsed and died on a field in France in 2003 while playing for his country.
Hakimi, regarded as one of the best right-backs in the world, scored last week as PSG defeated Arsenal 2-1 in the second leg of their Champions League semifinal.
He is the second defender to win the award after Congolese player Chancel Mbemba in 2023. He’s also the fourth Moroccan, following Marouane Chamakh in 2009, Younès Belhanda in 2012 and Sofiane Boufal in 2016.
PSG is hoping for its first-ever treble this season. In addition to the Champions League final against Inter Milan on May 31, it faces Reims the week before in the French Cup final.
Gabon striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang won the honor in 2024.


Chelsea’s Jackson must learn from red card, Maresca says

Updated 12 May 2025
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Chelsea’s Jackson must learn from red card, Maresca says

  • “Jackson is our nine, the other one is Marc Guiu, who has been injured for three months and is close to being back,” added Maresca

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca said forward Nicolas Jackson must learn from his mistakes after his red card in Sunday’s 2-0 defeat at Newcastle United left the London side without a striker to lead the line for the final two games of the season.
The 23-year-old was sent off in the 36th minute, following a VAR review, for serious foul play and will miss Chelsea’s home game against Manchester United on Friday and the trip to Nottingham Forest on May 25.
“I didn’t speak to Nico, it’s not the moment. We will speak in the next day. No doubt he has to learn from it, especially at this stage of the season,” Maresca told reporters.
“You have to avoid this kind of thing. You need all your squad available. It happened, and he will be out. Hopefully he can learn for the future.”
With Christopher Nkunku still sidelined with injury and Marc Guiu not yet fully fit, Maresca has a shortage of attacking options for the run-in.
“Jackson is our nine, the other one is Marc Guiu, who has been injured for three months and is close to being back,” added Maresca. “We need to find a different solution.”
Chelsea are fifth, which would be good enough to qualify for next season’s Champions League, but with Aston Villa below them only on goal difference and Nottingham Forest just a point behind, Maresca is feeling the heat.
“My feeling is you need to win both games (to qualify for the Champions League),” he said of their final two fixtures.


India great Virat Kohli retires from test cricket

Updated 12 May 2025
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India great Virat Kohli retires from test cricket

  • Kohli, 36, announces retirement only days after Rohit Sharma stepped down from test cricket as well
  • He scored 9,230 runs including 30 centuries and 31 half-centuries at a test batting average of 46.85

NEW DELHI, India: India great Virat Kohli retired from test cricket Monday after playing 123 matches in his glorious 14-year red-ball career.

“As I step away from this format, it’s not easy — but it feels right,” Kohli posted on Instagram. “It’s been 14 years since I first wore the baggy blue in Test cricket. Honestly, I never imagined the journey this format would take me on. It’s tested me, shaped me, and taught me lessons I’ll carry for life.”

The 36-year-old Kohli’s retirement comes only days after Rohit Sharma stepped down from test cricket, taking two senior batters out of selection contention for India’s tour to England.

Kohli scored 9,230 runs including 30 centuries and 31 half-centuries at a test batting average of 46.85. He also led India in 68 test matches and was India’s most successful captain with 40 test wins.

Kohli said the traditions and ebbs and flows of the five-day format were special to him, including “the quiet grind, the long days, the small moments that no one sees but that stay with you forever.”

“I am walking away with a heart full of gratitude — for the game, for the people I shared the field with, and for every single person who made me feel seen along the way,” he wrote. “I will always look back at my test career with a smile. #269, signing off.”