Maria Sharapova has revealed that retiring from tennis was not a last-minute decision, saying she spent years preparing for life after the sport.

The five-time Grand Slam champion explained that she always knew a tennis career had an expiration date, which is why she started building her future long before announcing her retirement in 2020.

“I recognized from an early age that as a woman, my career would end much sooner than in other professions. I was like, ‘I’ve got to hustle. I’ve got to start learning from other people.’”

Instead of seeing injuries and breaks from the tour as setbacks, Sharapova turned them into opportunities to learn.

She said she attended business school, completed internships and even spent time shadowing NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.

“When I was injured, or I had a break, I’d go to a business school… I would take internships. I went to the NBA for a few weeks to shadow Adam Silver.”

Sharapova also began investing while she was still competing, believing those decisions would help her build a successful career beyond tennis.

Looking back, she said personal growth away from the court was just as important as her success on it.

“There are elements of growth that even though you’re progressing in one arena, I thought it was really critical and important to help grow in others.”

Sharapova retired from professional tennis in 2020 after winning five Grand Slam singles titles and spending years among the sport’s biggest stars.

Ireland will play their opening summer game against Australia in the Southern Hemisphere Series at 11.10am Irish time on Saturday.

Andy Farrell’s side will play Joe Schmidt’s Wallabies at a sold-out Allianz Stadium, Sydney. with live coverage on Virgin Media Ireland.

Dan Sheehan will captain the Ireland rugby team for their inaugural Nations Championship fixture.

Hugo Keenan will start at fullback for Ireland, with Rob Baloucoune and Jamie Osborne on the wings.

Andy Farrell has chosen Garry Ringrose and Stuart McCloskey to start in midfield, with Sam Prendergast partnering Jamison Gibson-Park in the half-backs.

Alongside Sheehan in the front row will be Tom O’Toole and Tadhg Furlong.

Joe McCarthy and James Ryan are in the second row.

The back row is made up of Cian Prendergast, Josh van der Flier and Jack Conan.

The forwards on the bench are Rónan Kelleher, Jeremy Loughman, Thomas Clarkson, Tadhg Beirne and Nick Timoney.

Farrell’s backline options are Craig Casey, Ciaran Frawley and Bundee Aki.

Ireland Team

15. Hugo Keenan (UCD/Leinster), 14. Rob Baloucoune (Enniskillen/Ulster), 13. Garry Ringrose (UCD/Leinster), 12 Stuart McCloskey (Bangor/Ulster), 11. Jamie Osborne (Naas/Leinster), 10. Sam Prendergast (Lansdowne/Leinster), 9. Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster).

1. Tom O’Toole (Ballynahinch/Ulster), Dan Sheehan (Lansdowne/Leinster)(captain), 3. Tadhg Furlong (Clontarf/Leinster), 4. Joe McCarthy (Dublin University/Leinster), 5. James Ryan (UCD/Leinster), 6. Cian Prendergast (UCD/Connacht), 7. Josh van der Flier (UCD/Leinster), 8. Jack Conan (Old Belvedere/Leinster).

Ireland Replacements

16. Rónan Kelleher (Lansdowne/Leinster), 17. Jeremy Loughman (Garryowen/Munster), 18. Thomas Clarkson (Blackrock College/Leinster), 19. Tadhg Beirne (Lansdowne/Munster), 20. Nick Timoney (Queen’s University/Ulster), 21. Craig Casey (Shannon/Munster), 22. Ciaran Frawley (UCD/Leinster), 23. Bundee Aki (Galwegians/Connacht).

Ireland Facts

Ireland arrive in Sydney having won four of their last five matches, with victories over Scotland, Wales, England and Italy in the 2026 Six Nations.

Ireland have won all five of their most recent head-to-head meetings with Australia, including three victories in Dublin and two on Australian soil.

Stuart McCloskey was Ireland’s standout performer in their most recent match, earning a match rating of 9.1 with 17 carries, 7 defenders beaten and 2 try assists.

Ireland won 100% of their lineouts in the last meeting with Australia in November 2025, while the Wallabies managed just 68% of their own lineout ball in the same fixture.

LiveScores Now Available at IrishScores.com

The kick-off time of England’s last-16 clash with Mexico at the World Cup 2026 looks set to be brought forward by six hours in order to avoid potential storms in Mexico City.

Media in Mexico, citing sources with knowledge of the matter, have suggested the game, which is scheduled to kick off at 1am BST on Monday morning (6pm local time on Sunday) will now start at 7pm BST (12pm local) instead. The BBC are also reporting that they understand the game has been brought forward.

That is because of a significant risk of storms in the area when the match is currently scheduled and Mexico already saw their last-32 match against Ecuador earlier this week delayed due to rain.

Under tournament safety rules, any lightning strikes detected within eight miles of the stadium result in an automatic 30-minute delay to play, something that affected France’s group-stage clash with Iraq.

Meanwhile Fifa regulations for the tournament state it has the right to “cancel, reschedule or relocate” matches “at its sole discretion”.

Fifa is yet to confirm or deny that the kick-off time has been moved but an earlier start would suit fans at home in England, with 7pm being much more palatable than the wee small hours.

Outgoing prime minister Sir Keir Starmer has relaxed licensing laws to allow pubs in the UK to stay open until 5am and it is unclear how a change would affect that decision.

There is also an ongoing debate over whether children should be allowed to start school later on Monday morning in order to watch the match.

A 7pm BST start could pose problems for Fifa however, with the last-16 clash between Brazil and Norway scheduled to start at 9pm BST. If the England match went to extra time, or even if there was a particularly large amount of injury time, then the two games could overlap – something Fifa avoids at World Cups outside of the final round of pool matches.

However, suggestions are that Fifa would move the kick-off of Brazil v Norway back, in order to avoid any potential clash.

Jürgen Klopp is the overwhelming favorite to be Germany’s new head coach. In recent years, the charismatic 59-year-old was seen as the ideal candidate. In recent weeks, he has been the boss in waiting. With Julian Nagelsmann’s departure now confirmed, Klopp’s arrival looks a formality, especially after the German FA (DFB) announced talks had begun and that Klopp had shown a “willingness” in principle to take up the job.

Germany’s last three World Cups have ended in disappointment, with two group-stage exits and the most recent knockout defeat to Paraguay in the round of 32. Euro 2024 was more positive, but generally Germany have not enjoyed a successful tournament since Euro 2016. For a four-time World Cup winner and a three-time European champion, a decade long span of disappointment sits far below expectation.

A candidate in waiting

Klopp’s approach to the Germany job has been a long time coming. Even as far back as late October 2024 when he took the job as “Head of Global Soccer” for Red Bull, there were reports that either his contract included a clause allowing him to become Germany head coach in the future or he had a gentleman’s agreement to do the same.

And during this World Cup, his role as a pundit for MagentaTV seems to have moved him ever closer to the job. His analysis has been seen as on point, but Klopp caused a stir whe he said, “Luckily, it’s Julian Nagelsmann who’s picking the team. For now.” Those two words hung over Nagelsmann, and even though Klopp apologized, it almost felt like he knew his time was fast approaching.

After the loss to Paraguay, Klopp continued to distance himself from the job, saying it wasn’t time to talk about that.

“When the next tournament comes around and whoever is head coach is asked, what is your goal? If they don’t say, ‘European champion’ then people will say, ‘have you got no ambition? We are Germany!’ No, we were football Germany. In order to become that force again, we’ve really got to give it our all,” Klopp said on MagentaTV.

Klopp had been providing “strategic vision and support” as well as helping “coaches develop” in his job at Red Bull. However, his role in the dismissal of RB Leipzig head coach Ole Werner after just one season has been seen critically in the media. Werner guided RB Leipzig to third place in the Bundesliga and returned the club to the Champions League.

A popular figure

His success in the dugout combined with his warm, funny character has made him a fan favorite in most places in Germany. After playing in Mainz, he took the club to the Bundesliga for the first time. His departure was emotional, as both Klopp and many of the crowd shed tears.

At Borussia Dortmund, he won back-to-back Bundesliga titles, and took the club to the Champions League final in 2013. More recently, he spent nine years with Liverpool, where he delivered a first league title in more than a quarter of a century, as well as glory in the 2019 Champions League final. He has a history of leading clubs with strong working-class roots to success, allowing him to maintain a bond to the core values of the clubs in question. In combination with his holistic style of coaching, Klopp is seen as one of the best coaches in the world.

During his break from coaching, Klopp was awarded the highest civic award in Germany as a result of his outstanding contribution to democracy and his impact on the football world. He was credited with becoming a role model, a football ambassador and someone who has improved the image of Germany around the world, particularly  in the United Kingdom.

Recently, his face has been hard to miss. Famous for being in a raft of adverts, Klopp has cemented his status as one of the most famous Germans rather than just a great football coach from Germany.

Could Klopp lead Germany to Euro 2028 glory?

With Euro 2028 in the United Kingdom and Ireland, Klopp will be familiar with a lot of the stadiums and the way football works in the country. He will have a long run-up at the title, though.

His first game in charge would be in Amsterdam on September 24 against the Netherlands in the Nations League. This will mark the start of a new format of international break. Unlike in previous years where there have three two-week international breaks in September, October and November, the 2026-27 season will see September and October’s breaks merge into one. November’s will be the same.

This means Klopp’s first time in charge of the team would be for a three-week break in late September, which will see Germany play Greece in Augsburg three days after the Amsterdam game. Four days after that, Germany will play Serbia in Munich before closing out the international break in Thessaloniki against Greece on October 4. This longer break would offer Klopp a chance to hit the ground running and generate a real clarity over his playing style and who the core of his Germany team would be.

While it might be a while before the official announcement comes, there will be no stopping Germany fans daydreaming of what their team will look like under Klopp. Heavy metal football, as Klopp once famously described his style of play, might well be on the way for a team that is currently out of tune.

Edited by: Chuck Penfold

In an 11-year Major League Baseball career, Aaron Hicks flashed more than warning-track power. The former outfielder launched 109 home runs, most of them during his tenure with the New York York Yankees.

These days, though, it’s on the golf course where he really lets it fly.

Since stepping away from baseball after the 2024 season, Hicks, 36, has returned to the game he excelled at as a kid, and the results have been impressive. He is already a multiple winner on the Pro Tour, a circuit for current and former professional athletes from other sports. His prodigious length — he can drive it more than 400 yards — has become a calling card.

Appearing this week on GOLF’s Subpar podcast with Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz, Hicks revealed that he routinely produces ball speeds north of 200 mph, with a personal best of 207 mph. For perspective, the average PGA Tour player hovers around 175 mph. Hicks’ numbers are north of those of Rory McIlroy, closer to the neighborhood of Bryson DeChambeau.

Power has never been his problem. Neither, it seems, has golf.

Growing up in Southern California, Hicks was a standout junior player. He learned the game from his father, Joe, a former minor leaguer and avid golfer, and competed on many of the same courses where Tiger Woods honed his skills. (These days, Hicks has another connection to the Woods family: He’s married to former LPGA player Cheyenne Woods, Tiger’s niece.)

Why did he not stick to golf as a kid?

On Subpar, Hicks shared the story of the moment he abandoned the game for baseball.

His father had promised him a new set of clubs if he won a junior tournament. Hicks did exactly that. But when it came time to collect, Joe Hicks had changed his mind.

“Clubs don’t make the player,” his father told him. “The player makes the clubs.”

His dad may have been right, but the lesson was lost on his young son.

“‘You ain’t kept your promise,’” Hicks recalled thinking. “‘I’m going to play baseball.’”

That decision worked out pretty well for him. But after hearing the kind of speed Hicks now generates with a driver, it’s hard not to wonder what might have happened had he stuck with golf all along. You can listen to the entire episode here. You can watch the entire video below.

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