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      As the Tennis Party in Australia Begins, an Uncertain Year Awaits

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The Coronavirus OutbreakliveLatest UpdatesMaps and CasesSee Your Local RiskVaccine InformationWuhan, One Year LaterAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyAs the Tennis Party in Australia Begins, an Uncertain Year AwaitsOfficials in Australia moved mountains to make the country’s annual professional tennis swing happen. That will be far more difficult after the tour leaves this isolated, island nation.Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece was in action on Wednesday during his ground stage match against Alex de Minaur of Australia in the ATP Cup in Melbourne, Australia.Credit…Loren Elliott/ReutersFeb. 3, 2021Updated 3:17 p.m. ETMELBOURNE, Australia — By sheer force of will, professional tennis inched toward normalcy this week, with a flurry of events in a country that has managed to nearly smother the coronavirus.The three tournaments and a men’s team competition called the ATP Cup, in which players compete for their countries, have turned Melbourne Park into a sea of matches with the gates open to spectators. Hundreds of matches were scheduled this week at the tennis complex, which is on the banks of the Yarra River, just a few hundred yards down a hill from this city’s downtown. The smaller events lead into the Australian Open, the centerpiece of the summer tennis season here, which is scheduled to begin on Monday.A stern reminder of the challenge to public health represented by the events came Wednesday when Australian Open organizers said a hotel quarantine worker had tested positive for the virus. That prompted a suspension of play on Thursday and orders for all of those associated with the tennis events at the hotel to isolate in their rooms until they return a negative test.The positive test ended a 28-day run of zero community transmission in the state of Victoria, The Age, a newspaper in Melbourne, reported. The Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament of the year, was not immediately affected, but the positive test made clear that the event — with all its planning and precaution — could be upended if more people are infected.Before the latest setback, the word “lucky” kept flying out of the mouths of the players — lucky that their sport happens to begin its year in an isolated, island nation that decided months ago that it would do nearly anything it could to limit the spread of the coronavirus. The federal and state governments specially allowed more than a thousand people to travel from overseas for the tournament, requiring them to serve 14 days in varying degrees of lockdown to reduce the risk of bringing Covid-19 back into the community. For the players, that was the ante to compete for more than $80 million in prize money for all the events.And yet the massive effort of holding these competitions has illuminated an unpleasant truth for a sport that normally hopscotches the globe for 11 months each year. No one knows exactly what will happen to professional tennis for the rest of 2021 when the competitions in Australia conclude at the end of the month.The problem is that two of the main ingredients for tennis to be successful are open international borders and large crowds in big cities, neither of which are in abundance at the moment.There are tournaments on the calendar everywhere from the Middle East to South America and Florida, but it’s anyone’s guess how they might take place, what officials in those countries will require of anyone who wants to enter their borders, or whether players will be able to travel freely in and out of their own countries.“Everything is continuously ever-evolving,” Johanna Konta of Britain, a member of the WTA player council, said when asked recently what the rest of the year looked like both for her and her sport. “I don’t know how it will be. I don’t know how the quarantines will be. I don’t know how things will shape up.”With this week’s tuneup events shoehorned into the schedule and moved to Melbourne from their usual locations elsewhere in Australia and New Zealand, attendance has been sparse, but a trickle of spirited fans does stream through the gates each day — especially the native Serbs screaming for Novak Djokovic. A player hits a terrific shot, and a roar echoes through the courts, just as it is supposed to. Players are going through their usual routines of practice sessions, matches and massages, plus meals and coffee dates among locals in the city’s downtown restaurants.Getting to this point took months of negotiations with government officials, tens of millions of dollars, 17 chartered jets to fly the players and other essential tennis workers to the country and the hiring of hundreds of people to manage the two-week quarantine. The payoff comes next week when the tournament will allow up to 30,000 fans a day who will be sectioned off into three zones to limit each person’s exposure to someone who might potentially test positive.Healthcare workers stood at a personal protective equipment station inside one hotel where players were staying.Credit…James Ross/EPA, via Shutterstock“In Europe, it’s going to be I think far more challenging to experience something that we are experiencing here,” said Djokovic, the world No. 1 and the leader of a nascent players’ association. “We might as well enjoy it as much as we can.”As Andrea Gaudenzi, chairman of the Association of Tennis Professionals, put it Tuesday night, “We live in the now.”The Coronavirus Outbreak More

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      Margaret Court to Get a Top Australian Honor, Drawing Outrage

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      AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyTop Honor for a Tennis Player With Intolerant Views Draws OutrageMargaret Court, an Australian record breaker known for her homophobic comments, is set to receive one of the nation’s highest public service awards.Margaret Court at the Australian Open last year, during a ceremony marking 50 years since she won the Grand Slam.Credit…Asanka Brendon Ratnayake for The New York TimesJan. 22, 2021Updated 7:03 a.m. ETMELBOURNE, Australia — Australia has conferred one of its highest civilian honors upon former prime ministers, elite athletes, philanthropists, actors and academics for “the highest degree in service to Australia or humanity at large.”But when news broke on Friday that the public service award would be handed next week to the tennis legend Margaret Court, whose sporting legacy has been marred by her vocal homophobia and opposition to same-sex marriage, it sparked outrage in many corners of the country.Condemnation poured out from Australia’s political opposition, with Daniel Andrews, the premier of the state of Victoria and a member of the Labor Party, asking at a news conference why her views, “which are disgraceful, hurtful and cost lives, should be honored.”Nick McKim, leader of the progressive Greens party, said in an email, “Margaret Court has spent more of her life campaigning against marriage equality than she ever spent on the tennis courts.” He added that the award was “a disgraceful insult to everyone Margaret Court has harmed by voicing support for apartheid and her decades-long campaign against L.G.B.T.I.Q.+ rights.”Ms. Court did not immediately respond to a phone call seeking comment. She told a local TV station that she had “never had anyone out in the community come to me and say, ‘Well we don’t like you,’ ‘we don’t like your beliefs’ or anything else. I’ve had thousands come up to me and tap me on the shoulder and say, ‘Thank you.’”Asked about Mr. Andrews’s comments, she said, “Well, I’ll call him blessed.”Ms. Court is scheduled to be awarded the Companion of the Order of Australia on Tuesday, Australia Day, for her service as a tennis player and as a mentor to young athletes. The honor falls under the Order of Australia, which confers public recognition for “outstanding achievement and service.”Nominations are made by an independent council and approved by the governor general. Hundreds of Australians receive the Order of Australia every year, and it has four tiers. The Companion award is the highest tier, and it is bestowed on only a handful of people each year. In 2020, just five people received it.Ms. Court, 78, was named an Officer of the Order of Australia — the second-highest tier — in 2007 for her unparalleled achievements in tennis.As Australia’s most successful female tennis player, she has 64 majors titles across singles, doubles and mixed doubles categories. She is a 24-time Grand Slam singles winner, a record that no male or female player has been able to beat. Serena Williams is next in line, one Grand Slam title away.Since retiring, Ms. Court’s legacy has been increasingly overshadowed by her intolerant views, and she has alienated many in the tennis world. In 1991, she said that lesbianism had ruined women’s tennis. A Pentecostal minister, she has vocally opposed same-sex marriage, compared L.G.B.T.Q. education to the work of the devil and denounced transgender athletes.There are ongoing calls to strip Ms. Court’s name from Melbourne Park’s second-biggest stadium, which was named after her in 2003 and is one of the sites of the Australian Open, set to begin next month. Referring to the annual eruptions of anger surrounding Ms. Court, Mr. Andrews, the premier of Victoria, said, “Do we really have to do this every single summer?”Tennis Australia, the country’s governing body for the sport, has resisted pressure to rename the stadium while seeking to distance itself from Ms. Court. Last year, when it recognized the 50th anniversary of her 1970 Grand Slam, it put out a disclaimer: “Tennis Australia does not agree with Court’s personal views, which have demeaned and hurt many in our community over a number of years.”Prime Minister Scott Morrison, when asked about the new award at a news conference on Friday, said he could not comment, given that the recipients had not been publicly announced. (The news about Ms. Court has been circulating online.) He added that they had been chosen via an “independent set of processes” and that the system “recognizes Australians from right across the full spectrum of achievement in this country.”Last year, the Order of Australia awards were overshadowed by controversy around one recipient, Bettina Arndt, a vocal campaigner against what she describes as the “demonization of men in our society.” Ms. Arndt was widely condemned for praising a police officer for “keeping an open mind” about whether a man accused of murdering his wife and children had been “driven too far.”Following that public backlash, the Council for the Order of Australia released a statement noting that its recommendations “are not an endorsement of the political, religious or social views of recipients, nor is conferral of an honor an endorsement of the personally held beliefs of recipients.”It added, “In a system that recognizes hundreds of people each year, it is inevitable that each list will include some people who others believe should not be recognized.”AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      Australian Open: See How Tennis Players Train in Quarantine

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The Coronavirus OutbreakliveLatest UpdatesMaps and CasesU.S. Travel BanVaccine InformationTimelineAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyNo Courts, No Going Outside: How Tennis Players Are ImprovisingThe athletes waiting in quarantine for the Australian Open are figuring out creative ways to stay busy (and swing a tennis racket) before they can hit the court.Roberto Carballés Baena waits in his hotel in Melbourne.Credit…William West/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesJan. 21, 2021, 5:00 a.m. ETMELBOURNE, Australia — Thump, thump, thump on the ceiling. Thwack, Thwack, thwack on the wall.After seven days restricted to a hotel room as part of a 14-day quarantine ahead of the Australian Open, it’s fair to wonder if paranoia has entered like a stealth intruder. Are the thumps and thwacks my version of Edgar Allan Poe’s beating heart?Thank goodness, no. The player in the room directly above is practicing footwork drills. The player directly next door is hitting balls against our shared wall.This is what final preparations for this year’s Australian Open look and sound like for more than three dozen players forced into a hard 14-day lockdown after people on their chartered flights tested positive for coronavirus after arriving in Melbourne.The other athletes lucky enough to have traveled with nobody who tested positive? They get five hours outside their rooms each day to practice, train and eat.Novak Djokovic, right, hitting on a hotel room balcony with a support staff member in North Adelaide, South Australia.Credit…Morgan Sette/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesPlaying a Grand Slam tennis tournament in a country that has managed to contain the coronavirus – and wants to keep it that way – was always going to require the fearlessness of Rafael Nadal and the ingenuity of Hsieh Su-wei. If, in addition to singles and doubles, this year’s tournament were to add another category – suites – the hands-down favorites would be Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay and Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan.Sven Groeneveld, the Dutch tennis coach, riding a stationary bicycle in his hotel room.Credit…William West/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesTo practice his groundstrokes, Cuevas has turned a spare bed into a vertical backboard.Once he is finished, he converts the bed to … a surfboard.Putintseva has created a doubles-alley-sized course in her room.She set up plastic cones to complete her cardio-blast agility drills.But at one point, her self-isolation was breached by a Melbourne mouse, prompting a change in rooms. (She had to change rooms again because of a second mouse.)Creativity, unlike the quarantined players, knows no boundaries. Tennys Sandgren of the United States demonstrated on his social media feed how to get double the fun out of an exercise bike, taking hold of the one in his room to whip out a set of clean-and-jerk lifts.Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic affixed rectangles made of tape across her picture window and directed forehands and backhands at the small targets.The motto of the 2021 Australian Open: Where there’s a wall, there’s a way.Ben Rothenberg contributed reporting from Washington.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      Rash of Coronavirus Cases Poses Early Challenge for the Australian Open

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The Coronavirus OutbreakliveLatest UpdatesMaps and CasesVaccine InformationF.A.Q.TimelineAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyRash of Coronavirus Cases Poses Early Challenge for the Australian OpenWith several positive tests among people arriving from abroad, and a strict quarantine, the Australian Open is not going the way organizers expected it would.Australian Open officials have been criticized for tough measures after a rash of virus cases.Credit…Mike Owen/Getty ImagesJan. 18, 2021, 4:44 p.m. ETMELBOURNE, Australia — It was late December, and Craig Tiley was feeling good. After months of negotiations with government officials and the world’s top tennis players, Tiley, the head of Tennis Australia, finally had the green light to stage the Australian Open in the middle of the pandemic.Health officials and government leaders had come around to the idea of more than a thousand people arriving from overseas, including hundreds of players who would enjoy privileges during their 14-day quarantine period that Australian citizens could not. And the players had agreed to spend virtually their entire day in their hotel rooms for two weeks and to limit their on-court practice time to just two hours each day.“The players are being great,” Tiley said then of the deal for a limited quarantine period. “They realized if they didn’t want to do it, there would be no Australian Open, no lead-in events and no chance at $83 million in prize money.”A month later, Tiley, a native of South Africa and a former college coach in the United States, is at the center of mounting anger from every side after six people on three chartered flights tested positive for the coronavirus upon their arrival in Melbourne.The positive tests have rankled citizens, some of whom complained that Tennis Australia was putting residents at risk to placate millionaire tennis players. The chief health officer for the state of Victoria took action, ordering everyone on the chartered planes, including 72 players who were supposed to be able to practice and spend time in the gym at the tennis center, to stay in their hotel rooms for 14 days, even though none of the players had tested positive.Then came a report that the top-ranked men’s player, Novak Djokovic, the leader of a nascent players’ association, issued a series of demands, including reducing the isolation period for players who continued to test negative and moving as many players as possible to private homes with a tennis court to facilitate training. Health officials quickly rejected them.“We’ve been knocked around because of the flights and the challenges,” Tiley said Monday afternoon during a teleconference with some of the people in quarantine. “I have not had any place I can hide.”In a matter of days, Tiley has gone from one of the most visible cheerleaders for Australian sports to its leading punching bag, while his organization’s signature tournament has transformed from a potential celebration in the rare corner of the world where the virus has been kept under control to yet another symbol of virus uncertainty.Craig Tiley, the tournament director, has defended the quarantines that are rankling the players. Credit…Michael Dodge/EPA, via ShutterstockIn the past 48 hours, government officials, including members of parliament and the agriculture minister, David Littleproud, went on television and attacked the decision to prioritize tennis over what they believed were more essential needs, such as bringing in seasonal workers, easing state border restrictions or allowing some 40,000 Australians to return from overseas. They cannot, in part, because of strict limits on daily international arrivals.The limits remain even though Australia long ago ended one of the world’s strictest virus-related lockdowns. In Melbourne, the police enforced a nearly four-month assault on the virus. During that time, schools and businesses were closed and residents were allowed outside for just one hour (and later two) each day, either to exercise or to go to the grocery store or the pharmacy. They also had to remain within three miles of home unless they had a permit.The Coronavirus Outbreak More

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      With Positive Tests, the Rules Change for Some Players in Australia

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The Coronavirus OutbreakliveLatest UpdatesMaps and CasesVaccine InformationF.A.Q.TimelineAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyWith Positive Tests, the Rules Change for Some Players in AustraliaAfter some passengers on charter flights tested positive for the coronavirus, 47 players will not be allowed to practice for two weeks.Players, coaches and officials arriving at a hotel in Melbourne where they will be required to spend most of their time before the start of the Australian Open.Credit…William West/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesMatthew Futterman and Jan. 16, 2021MELBOURNE, Australia — Organizers of the Australian Open faced a rebellion from players after passengers on two charter flights bringing them to Melbourne tested positive for the coronavirus, prompting orders for everyone aboard to go into quarantine for two weeks.The flights carried 47 players — including several top competitors who had just played the first event of the women’s tour last week in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates — as well as some journalists, coaches and others.Passengers were asked to have negative test results for the virus within 72 hours of the flights’ departures from Los Angeles and Abu Dhabi. They were tested again after landing in Melbourne, and four people on the flights were found to have the virus as of Sunday afternoon, prompting health officials in the Australian state of Victoria to order that all passengers remain in their hotel rooms for 14 days.For the players on the flights, that means stricter restrictions than they had planned on before the Australian Open, the first major tennis tournament of 2021, which is scheduled to begin Feb. 8.Entrants in the tournament agreed to stay in their rooms for 19 hours a day and were allowed five hours daily at the tennis center to practice, train and eat.Those rules got even tighter Saturday for the 47 players on the two charter flights, who were told they could not leave their hotel rooms at all.Tennis officials appealed for more leniency for players who repeatedly test negative in their first days in Australia, but government officials declined to soften the rules. Players and tennis officials were not aware when they moved ahead with plans to stage the tournament that the government might impose such restrictions.“We are communicating with everyone on this flight, and particularly the playing group whose conditions have now changed, to ensure their needs are being catered to as much as possible, and that they are fully appraised of the situation,” said Craig Tiley, the chief executive of Tennis Australia, which is organizing the tournament.Tiley held a series of difficult videoconferencing sessions with players to explain the changes.In a livestream on Instagram on Saturday night, Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine told her fellow player Paula Badosa of Spain that she had been blindsided by the ruling and would have to compete on an uneven playing field.“It’s about the idea of staying in a room for two weeks and being able to compete,” said Kostyuk, who could not remember the last time she did not pick up a racket for two weeks. “We have to stay in quarantine, but we have to fulfill expectations.”The Coronavirus Outbreak More

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      Tennis Players Mull Competition or Rest at Start of New Season

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      AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyTennis Players Mull Competition or Rest at Start of New SeasonWith the Australian Open looming, the first big decision for 2021 contenders was whether to play in the first tennis tournaments of the year.Aryna Sabalenka was among the players who decided to compete in the first tournaments of the tennis season. Some are skipping the events to focus more squarely on the Australian Open.Credit…Francois Nel/Getty ImagesJan. 10, 2021, 1:00 a.m. ETFiguring out where and how to start the tennis season is usually pretty easy for the world’s top players. They catch a flight to Australia around Christmas, spend a few days getting over the jet lag, then compete for two weeks in warm-up tournaments ahead of the Australian Open.But with the sport’s calendar upended by the coronavirus pandemic, which prompted a three-week delay of the Australian Open, players have had to make difficult calculations about the value of traveling to compete now, as infection rates are still soaring in many parts of the world.As the 2021 professional tennis season began this week, several of the top players opted not to attend the only opening tournaments before they have to quarantine for two weeks in Australia. This year, they cannot simply show up in Australia and compete right away.Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, ranked No. 1 and No. 2 among the men, remained on their practice courts rather than venturing to Turkey or Florida for the first events on their tour (Roger Federer is out with a knee injury). Andy Murray of Britain, a three-time Grand Slam winner, was supposed to play in Florida, then grew skittish about traveling during the pandemic and pulled out. On the women’s side, the American stars Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka skipped the event in Abu Dhabi.The plans for those three tournaments were announced only in late December, as the organizers of the Australian Open decided that the start of their Grand Slam event would be delayed until Feb. 8 and that all participants would be required to heavily restrict their movements for two weeks ahead of the tournament.“I was ready to go and ready to play matches,” said Cam Norrie of Britain, who played in the Florida tournament, the Delray Beach Open, after practicing indoors in London since late November. “But for a lot of players since it was sprung on them a bit last minute, they were not ready and didn’t want to compete.”The schedule follows an off-season that, for most players, was longer than the usual six-week break. The pandemic forced the women’s tour to cancel its fall Asia swing. On the men’s side, for all but the top players, there has not been a tournament since early November.Sofia Kenin, 22, the reigning Australian Open champion, went to Abu Dhabi and said at a news conference this week that opting to play was a “last-minute decision” motivated in part by a desire “just to get out of the house.”Also competing there were Karolina Pliskova, a former world No. 1, and Coco Gauff, the rising American teenager.For most top players, the decision to play or not to play this week ultimately came down to whether they thought playing real matches now would help them get mentally and physically prepared for the rigors of a Grand Slam.“I need some time to get back into rhythm and play more matches,” Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, who won the last two tournaments of 2020, told reporters as she competed in Abu Dhabi this week. She won her 11th consecutive match on Friday.The open question for Sabalenka and other players is how their individual choices during the first weeks of the season might play into the unusual routines for this Australian Open.During the quarantine, players will be allowed to practice for only two hours each day, initially with just one practice partner and then with two more in the second week. They will also get to spend about two hours in the gym, and one other hour at the tennis center in Melbourne. They must spend the 19 other hours in their hotel rooms.After the quarantine, the men’s and women’s tours will hold three competitive events in Melbourne in the week before the Open.Craig Morris, a former coach for the Australian Samantha Stosur, who won the 2011 U.S. Open, said that given how little tennis took place last year, competition this month would be valuable. “Anything they can get under the belt is going to help,” he said.Tennis players are constantly searching for the optimal rhythm — to hit the ball cleanly on nearly every shot and to feel confident about their strokes regardless of the situation. It’s not something that can easily be turned on and off, and for many players that zone is reached through the right combination of practice and match play.The coronavirus is just the newest twist to that hunt.Murray, 31, was ready to play this week, but announced in a news release on New Year’s Eve that he was too concerned about the pandemic to make the trip.“Given the increase in Covid rates and the trans-Atlantic flights involved, I want to minimize the risks ahead of the Australian Open,” Murray said.Several other notable players, including the Italians Matteo Berrettini and Fabio Fognini, plus John Isner of the United States and Adrian Mannarino of France, were competing in either Turkey or Florida.Plenty of players competed this week because they knew they could use some prize money after so many competitive opportunities were canceled last year, when the tour was shut down for about five months. Many also wanted to see if the off-season work they put in was paying dividends on the court.Leylah Fernandez, 18, a fast-improving Canadian, said making the trip to Abu Dhabi was “a very difficult decision,” but with all the uncertainty hanging over the tennis schedule — and all sports in 2021 — she and her team took the bird in hand.“We wanted to get as many matches under my belt as we could,” Fernandez said after winning her first match on Wednesday.Tommy Paul, an American who spent the off-season training at the tennis complex in Delray Beach, Fla., said the realigned schedule had shifted his approach to the weeks leading up to a Grand Slam. Paul, 23, said in an interview Wednesday that he spent the off-season trying to turn himself into more of an all-court player by coming to the net more often.The Delray Beach tournament, he said, offered him an opportunity to measure his progress and figure out what he still needs to work on. The two-week quarantine in Australia, where his hitting partners will be the Americans Steve Johnson and Sam Querrey, will give him the chance to work on the weaknesses he identifies in competition at the Delray Beach event. Paul won his first round match Thursday over Nam Ji-sung of South Korea, 6-1, 6-4.“If there is something I don’t like about my game I have time to fix it.” Paul said.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      From cardboard fans and skateboarding cholitas to mourning Kobe and Maradona.. the most memorable sport pictures of 2020

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      A PICTURE is worth a thousand words… but no one image could even come close to telling the full story of 2020.
      As the world was plunged into the biggest health and economic crisis of a generation, sport took it upon itself to reintroduce some form of normality.

      With spectators penned into their homes, iconic venues became vast, empty caverns where each star’s rallies and cries were heard like never before.
      Champions were still crowned but not all were of the traditional sort, with eSports heroes carrying the mantle like never before to satisfy the most basic fans’ urge – of having something to watch.
      But while kings and queens found their own way to mark their inevitable rise, legends were lost in the most heart-wrenching of ways.
      Here, SunSport takes you through our photos of the year.

      From the time before the world stopped… A packed Rod Laver Arena takes in January’s Australian Open semi-final between Novak Djokovic and Roger FedererCredit: AP:Associated Press

      Orange wildfire smoke hangs heavy over San Francisco Giants’ Oracle Park home following California blazes in September – with no fans present to see itCredit: AP:Associated Press

      Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce and coach Andy Reid react to the NFL side’s first Super Bowl win for 50 years in FebruaryCredit: AP:Associated Press

      A scene from Ecuador’s annual Llama racing event in Los LlanganatesCredit: AP:Associated Press

      LA Lakers center Dwight Howard hangs off the basket after scoring for the eventual NBA championsCredit: AP:Associated Press

      NASCAR team owner Richard Petty puts an arm around Bubba Wallace, the sport’s only black driver, the day after he found a noose left in his garage at Talladega SuperspeedwayCredit: AP:Associated Press

      A Bolivian youngster dons a facemask while skating in indigenous clothing as part of the ‘Skate Imillas’ groupCredit: AP:Associated Press

      Just one of several memorials dedicated to the tragic passing of basketball legend Kobe Bryant in FebruaryCredit: AP:Associated Press

      LA Dodgers fans watch their team march to World Series supremacy from a drive-inCredit: AP:Associated Press

      A spectator peers over his balcony to watch Rayo Vallecano’s match with Albacete in Spain’s Segunda DivisionCredit: AP:Associated Press

      IndyCar racer Tony Kanaan practices on his sim setup with motorsport wiped out in the early months of the pandemic Credit: AP:Associated Press

      Lucas Hernandez takes the facemask guideline to a new level after Bayern Munich’s Champions League crowningCredit: AP:Associated Press

      A facemasked Rafa Nadal celebrates his French Open win in NovemberCredit: AP:Associated Press

      Athletic Club’s famous home San Mames – which translates as The Cathedral – watches on empty for a match with Real MadridCredit: AP:Associated Press

      Cardboard cutout fans are lined up for a New York Mets baseball gameCredit: AP:Associated Press

      The year that took so many from us took one more legend in its final weeks – as a fan in Buenos Aires mourns the passing of Diego MaradonaCredit: AP:Associated Press

      From Caroline Flack and Barbara Windsor to Sean Connery and Maradona – we bid a final farewell to those we lost in 2020 More

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      The 17 most explosive sporting bust-ups in 2020 including Keane vs Klopp, Lloris vs Son and Tyson Fury vs SPOTY

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      WE all know 2020 has been a year like no other – but we can still rely on sport to provide a sense of normality with explosive bust-ups galore.
      From boxing heavyweights to fighting team-mates to Jurgen Klopp over and over again, the last 12 months have certainly delivered.

      Hugo Lloris vs Son Heung-min was one of the biggest bust-ups of the yearCredit: Sky Sports

      Jurgen Klopp was involved in his fair share of spats with fellow managers, broadcasters and punditsCredit: Sky Sports

      So SunSport takes a look back over some of the most bonkers, bizarre and brutal clashes of the year…
      Hugo Lloris vs Son Heung-min
      Where else can we start? Arguably the biggest in-match bust-up of the year came just before half-time in Spurs’ 1-0 win over Everton in July.
      Spurs goalkeeper Lloris was furious with his team-mate’s failure to press and attempt to win the ball back.
      And he raced up to Son as the teams headed down the tunnel, shouting furiously and shoving the South Korean – before things continued in the dressing room. 

      Tottenham Hotspur’s Hugo Lloris and Son Heung-min separated by team mates after furious row during Everton clash
      Roy Keane vs Jurgen Klopp
      Just like in his playing days, Keane refuses to dodge an argument and is not afraid to speak his mind during his punditry. 
      The Sky Sports man labelled Liverpool’s 3-1 win over Arsenal in September as ‘sloppy’ with Klopp taking exception to the assessment and firing back – forcing Keane to clarify.
      He added: “I said there were sloppy moments, but I think you have been outstanding, I’ve been giving the club nothing but praise. I’m not sure you’ve heard me correctly.”

      Roy Keane was at his prickly best throughout the year during his work with Sky SportsCredit: Sky Sports
      The Irishman then muttered: “Very sensitive, imagine if he’d lost,” once Klopp had gone.

      Keane also clashed with presenter Dave Jones over his beard as well as fellow pundits Jamie Carragher and Micah Richards.
      Anthony Joshua vs Kubrat Pulev
      Joshua got back inside the ropes for the first time in a year when he saw off Pulev in December.
      But the Bulgarian certainly got under AJ’s skin at the weigh-in with his trash talk.

      Kubrat Pulev did plenty of talking at the weigh-in with Anthony Joshua but the Brit had the final word come fight nightCredit: ©Mark Robinson/Matchroom
      Tensions rose and tempers flared as the Brit branded his opponent a ‘p****’ and they were pulled apart.
      Joshua had the last word, though, with a ninth-round knockout to retain his world titles.
      Lionel Messi vs Barcelona
      Messi’s fallout with the Barcelona board almost led to one of the most incredible transfers of all time.
      Poor results on the pitch and power struggles off it, as well as the treatment of close pal Luis Suarez, led the captain and legend to hand in a transfer request and threaten legal action to force an exit.

      Lionel Messi had a major and public fallout with the Barcelona board, threatening to take legal action to quit the clubCredit: AP:Associated Press
      Fans revolted and demanded president Josep Maria Bartomeu’s head instead – eventually getting their way as Messi made a dramatic U-turn to see out the final year of his contract.
      But things are far from resolved and the six-time Ballon d’Or winner may well still leave the Nou Camp next summer.
      Eric Dier vs Tottenham fan
      In one of the most dramatic moments of the sporting year, Dier clambered his way up the stand at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium following the FA Cup penalty shootout defeat by Norwich in March.
      The England star’s frustrations boiled over at one fan’s repeated ‘f*** you’ right in front of Dier’s brother so he confronted him.

      Eric Dier climbed up into the stand and confronted a fan in spectacular scenes after defeat to Norwich in the FA CupCredit: PA:Empics Sport
      It landed the Spurs defender in hot water with the FA, who banned him for four matches and fined him £40,000.
      Speaking on the Amazon Prime documentary, he said: ““Our parents have to stand there and have someone two rows in front call you a c*** and f***ing son of a b****, and a p**** and s*** and this — and they think it’s OK.”
      Tyson Fury vs SPOTY
      All the way back in February, in the pre-lockdown age, Fury dethroned Deontay Wilder to become WBC heavyweight champion of the world.
      That spectacular night in Las Vegas earned the Gypsy King a spot on the six-name shortlist for the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year award.

      Tyson Fury pleaded with his fans not to vote for him in the BBC Sports Personality of the YearCredit: Instagram @gypsyking101
      But he demanded he was removed – which the Beeb rejected – before telling his fans not to vote for him.
      Thankfully for all involved, the public toed Fury’s line and crowned Lewis Hamilton the champ.
      John Fury vs David Haye
      Staying with the Fury family… despite his new love of poker, Haye insisted he doesn’t like to bet and was in no mood to accept Fury Sr’s wager.
      In a fiery exchange before his son’s rematch with Wilder, Fury was willing to stump up £100,000 to back the Gypsy King – but Haye, who fancied the Bronze Bomber, was having none of it. 
      And John was back in November to challenge Haye yet again, this time offering odds of 2-1 that Fury Jr would beat Anthony Joshua – if he bet £1million. 
      Haye’s response? “No, let’s definitely not go with £1m.”

      “Shall we start with £1,000,000?!” 🤬”No, let’s definitely not go with £1,000,000!” 😂Big John Fury tried to make ANOTHER bet with David Haye, this time about #FuryAJ…Full episode of the Heavyweight Debate drops tomorrow night! pic.twitter.com/iXBMGJbMsn
      — Boxing on BT Sport 🥊 (@BTSportBoxing) November 23, 2020

      Jurgen Klopp vs Frank Lampard
      Klopp has enjoyed his fair share of arguments over the course of 2020 – as well as lifting the Premier League trophy.
      In fact, it was on the same night they finally got their hands on the silverware that Klopp and Lampard went at it on the touchline.
      A questionable refereeing decision against Chelsea had the Blues boss seething and it resulted in a fiery exchange between the pair, with Lampard telling Klopp to ‘sit down’ before getting more irate when the Reds gaffer repeatedly instructed him to ‘calm down’.

      Frank Lampard accused Liverpool of ‘arrogance’ as tempers boiled at Anfield in JulyCredit: AFP or licensors
      Lampard then hit back: “If he’s going off at me I’ll f****** say something,” before turning to Klopp’s assistant Pep Lijnders and shouting: “You can f*** off and all.”
      Afterwards, Lampard labelled Liverpool ‘arrogant’ while Klopp responded by warning his opposite number he ‘has a lot to learn’.
      Danny Rose vs Jose Mourinho
      The All or Nothing series also revealed details of Rose’s bust-up with manager Mourinho – which resulted in a loan to Newcastle last season and being banished to the Under-23s this term.
      The left-back confronted his boss about a lack of playing time in Mourinho’s office at their Enfield training base. 

      Danny Rose made his feelings clear to Jose Mouirnho in a fiery conversation at the Spurs training groundCredit: Getty Images – Getty
      Rose fumed: “Gaffer, I was just wondering what the problem is? You know exactly what I mean. How I’m being treated.
      “You know I was very excited when you came in as manager but if you don’t want me to play I’d rather you just tell me now and I’ll stay at home gaffer and I’ll train at home.”
      Gary Anderson vs Mensur Suljovic
      There may not have been dressed-up Shreks, Christmas trees or bananas at Ally Pally this time around – but there is still plenty of spice. 
      Anderson hit out at Suljovic’s excruciating slow play and placing his darts on the wrong table in their December World Championship grudge match.

      Gary Anderson was fuming with Mensur Suljovic after his opponent’s antics at Ally PallyCredit: Getty Images – Getty
      And the Flying Scotsman was so angry he threatened to QUIT the sport if he felt he was ever subjected to similar ‘joke’ gamesmanship tactics again.
      Mark Noble vs West Ham
      Noble let rip at his own employers when they announced the sale of exciting youngster Grady Diangana to rivals West Brom.
      The decision sparked fury among the London club’s supporters – angry at one of their brightest prospects being offloaded to bring in funds.
      Captain Noble took to Twitter to vent his frustration – with his tweet ‘liked’ by Declan Rice – saying: “As captain of this football club I’m gutted, angry and sad that Grady has left, great kid with a great future!”

      West Ham captain Mark Noble made his feelings clear after the club sold Grady Diangana to West Brom
      Dani Ceballos vs David Luiz
      Ceballos has certainly been at the thick of things off the pitch for Arsenal this season – more so than on it.
      The Spaniard had been going in hard on some of the younger players, forcing Luiz and Rob Holding to step in during one training session in November.
      But tempers boiled over to the point where a scuffle unfolded and the Brazilian drew blood from the on-loan midfielder’s face. 
      During the warm-up before the opening-day victory against Fulham back in September, Ceballos left a foot in on Eddie Nketiah resulting in a pushing match between the pair.  

      Arsenal’s season had not even got underway when Dani Ceballos clashed with Eddie Nketiah during the warm-up at Fulham
      Nick Kyrgios vs Novak Djokovic & Alexander Zverev
      One of the most controversial moves of 2020 was the organisation of the Adria Tour in Europe during the height of the pandemic.
      World No1 Djokovic and other top players gathered with fans and no social distancing – then a number tested positive for coronavirus, including the Serb.

      Novak Djokovic, centre, and Alexander Zverev, back right, were both blasted by fellow tennis ace Nick KyrgiosCredit: Reuters
      Outspoken Aussie Kyrgios slammed Djokovic as ‘bone-headed’ then labelled fellow pro Alexander Zverev as ‘selfish’ after he was spotted partying six days after saying he would self-isolate. 
      Djokovic’s disqualification from the US Open was also a major event of the sporting year as he was booted out of the tournament for carelessly hitting a ball into a line judge’s throat.
      Jurgen Klopp vs Des Kelly 
      Klopp is back once again for his final bust-up of the year – as he went toe to toe with BT Sport’s Des Kelly. 
      In similar fashion to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer just weeks earlier, the Anfield boss raged at the broadcast company for scheduling his side in the Saturday lunchtime kick-off slot – citing the lack of recovery time for the high numbers of injuries to his squad. 
      But Kelly refused to back down and stood his, and the industry’s, ground admirably in the live on-air row.  

      Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, like Klopp, went on the offensive in a TV interview live on BT SportCredit: Getty Images – Getty
      Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Mark Allen
      O’Sullivan is never too far away from a spot of controversy and so it proved during his Champion of Champions quarter-final clash with Mark Allen in November.
      The Rocket claimed his opponent had stood up and was ‘moving in my eyeline’ – but Allen strenuously denied any gamesmanship and accused O’Sullivan of ‘bullying’ behaviour. 
      But it was the Essex man who came off worse, going on to lose the frame and therefore the match.

      Karim Benzema vs Vincius Jr
      As one of the most senior players at Real Madrid, it was not a great look from Benzema when he claimed team-mate Vinicius Jr was ‘playing against us’.
      The French striker was talking to his compatriot Ferland Mendy in the tunnel at half-time of the 2-2 draw with Borussia Monchengladbach in the Champions League.
      Benzema said: “Don’t play with him. On my mother’s life, he [Vinicius] is playing against us.”
      Incredibly, boss Zinedine Zidane claimed his No9’s outburst was a ‘good thing’ and denied any rift between the two players. 

      Karim Benzema told Ferland Mendy not to pass to Vinicius Jr during a Real Madrid matchCredit: TELEDOT DIRECT
      Zlatan Ibrahimovic vs FIFA
      Despite being used in EA Sports’ flagship game for years and years, suddenly Ibrahimovic decided he had had enough and kicked up a storm when FIFA 21 was released. 
      The Swede questioned how the developers managed to get the rights to his name and likeness for the game and called for an investigation. 
      Mino Raiola, Gareth Bale and allegedly another 300 players supported the move to get to the bottom of the issue – but EA defended their position due to the deals they have in place with clubs and leagues.

      Zlatan Ibrahimovic called for an investigation into EA Sports’ use of his name and likeness in FIFA 21

      Somebody is making profit on my name and face without any agreement all these years.Time to investigate
      — Zlatan Ibrahimović (@Ibra_official) November 23, 2020

      Other notable mentions must also go to Matchroom boss Eddie Hearn’s spat with his former man Kell Brook.
      There is also the ongoing feud between Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Manchester United on one side with Paul Pogba and his agent Mino Raiola on the other as well as UFC man Colby Covington threatening to make LeBron James ‘eat the canvas’.

      Former Matchroom boxer Kell Brook clashed with his former promotor Eddie Hearn in 2020Credit: News Group Newspapers Ltd

      LeBron James was called out by UFC fighter Colby Covington in a bizarre spatCredit: Getty Images – Getty More