2 . Famous tennis coach Nick Bollettieri considered tennis star Roger Federer the greatest player of all time, saying he is “in a class of his own”. The Swiss maestro (大师) won his record eighth Wimbledon title this month, defeating Croatian Marin Cilic in the final, and going to the entire tournament without dropping a single set.

The 36-year-old now has 19 Grand Slam titles, the most in history for a male tennis player. Bollettieri, who has coached some of the most successful tennis players ever including Andre Agassi and Jim Corurier, believes Federer stands out from the rest due to all the efforts he makes on and off the court. “When you get to know the greatest player of all time, I believe you will join with many commentators in saying Roger is standing in a class of his own,” Bollettien told Saturday Sport. “He is magnificent in expecting what to do. He has improved his backhand and also he is hitting the ball much earlier, and he is one of, if not the best placement server (发球员) in the game.”

His management team headed by Tony Godsick takes care of his mind and body, time with his family, time with his foundation and time with rest. He also respects the game and his opponents (对手). Despite his impressive record, Federer has struggled against the other top players of this generation, including Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. Along with Andy Murray, they are known as tennis “big four”, and Federer has a combined 50-57 record against the other three during his career.

However, Bollettieri doesn’t think that will have any impact on Federer’s greatness if he keeps on playing the way he is at his age. Bollettieri said, “Age is only a number. It is how you feel inside you. I believe a lot of people today can do a lot better if their mindset is to say I will get better every day and never use the word “retirement”. When you worry about losing, it is more difficult to win.”

4 . The Olympic spirit is about a lot more than winning medals and setting records. Just look at the story of swimmer Eric Moussambani.

The Equatoguinean found his passion for swimming shortly after high school. Unfortunately, football is far and away the most popular sport in Moussambani’s home country. Living in such a football-crazed country, it was difficult for Moussambani to find a place to train consistently (持续地). Eventually, he found a 13-meter-sized hotel pool that he only had access to three hours a week. On days he could not use the pool, he trained in rivers.

After about eight months of swimming, he gained entry into the 2000 Summer Olympics through a program where the International Olympic Committee gave wild cards to developing nations to promote their sport further. In Sydney, Moussambani saw an Olympic-sized swimming pool for the first time, which was so big that Moussambani said he was “so scared” to compete in it.

The day of the 100m freestyle came. Moussambani made an energetic start in the first 50 meters, but in the final half of the race, he struggled to stay afloat (漂浮着), so much so that those on the sidelines considered jumping in and helping him out of the water. “It was then that I heard the crowd screaming and shouting, encouraging me to ‘Go, go, go.’ It gave me the strength to finish,” Moussambani said.

Moussambani finished the race with a time of 1：52.72, the slowest recorded time in Olympic history, but the fans did not care, cheering him as if he had broken the world record. “This is what the Olympics are all about,” a commentator said. “The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning, but taking part. The essential thing in life is not defeating others, but fighting well,” he said.

Moussambani serves as the national swim team coach for Equatorial Guinea now. Gone are the days when Equatoguinean swimmers needed to train in open water. They now have two Olympic-sized swimming pools. Moussambani hopes to grow the sport in his country.

6 . On Sunday, Tigst Assefa of Ethiopia shocked the running world by breaking the women’s world record for the marathon by over two minutes. Assefa finished the Berlin Marathon in just 2 hours, 11 minutes, and 53 seconds.

But Assefa’s record was far beyond what most people expected. After all, it was only her third time running a marathon.

“I wanted to break the marathon world record,” she said, “But I couldn’t imagine that it would result in a time under 2:12.”

When Assefa was younger, she started by running short races, called sprints. Then she became a middle-distance runner, running the 800 meters (half mile) race. Her best time in the 800 meters was 1 minute and 59 seconds.

Last March, she ran her first marathon. Then last September, she entered the Berlin Marathon. She won, and set a new women’s record for the course, finishing in 2:15:37.

This year, she ran almost four minutes faster than she did last year. In both races, Assefa ran faster in the second half of the race than she did in the first half.

Her time of 2:11:53 was over two minutes faster than the old women’s record (2:14:04), which was set in Chicago in 2019 by Brigid Kosgei of Kenya.

When she finished the race, Assefa kneeled down and kissed the pavement before raising her arms in victory.

Though Assefa made it look easy, she said winning the race “…was the result of hard work.” Assefa was coached by Gemedu Dedefo, who has helped train many Ethiopian star runners.

7 . World number one Ashleigh Barty surprised tennis on Wednesday by announcing her retirement (退役) from the sport aged just 25, saying she had realized her dreams and was “spent physically”.

Barty dropped the bombshell weeks after becoming the first home Australian Open champion in 44 years and so winning a Grand Slam (大满贯) crown on three different surfaces.

In a tearful social media video message with her close friend and former doubles partner Casey Dellacqua, Barty said she was “so ready” to call it an end after achieving her life-time goal to win Wimbledon last year.

“Success for me is knowing that I’ve given absolutely everything I can. I know how much work it takes to bring the best out of yourself,” said the three-time Grand Slam winner.

She began playing tennis as a child in the Queensland state capital Brisbane and went on to win the junior Wimbledon title as a 15-year-old in 2011.

But the expectations that came with success hurt her badly and she made a shock decision three years later to ditch (放弃) tennis for cricket, signing for Brisbane Heat in the Women’s Big Bash League.

The attraction of tennis was never far away and she returned after a season out, breaking through for her first Grand Slam triumph (胜利) at the French Open in 2019 and becoming Australia’s first women’s world number one since Evonne Cawley 50 years ago.

Barty finally won a Wimbledon crown last year before her Australian Open triumph at Melbourne Park in January, storming back from 5—1 down in the second set against American Danielle Collins.

Barty has been world number one for more than two years and said after her Australian Open win that she wanted time to consider her next move.

8 . American gymnast Simone Biles flies through the air as though she was made for it. She has won more World Championship gold medals than any other female gymnast in history. She is also the first women gymnast to win three World all-around titles in a row. A complicated flip (翻转动作) she introduced in the 2013 World Championships is one of four skills that are named after her, and some consider her the greatest of all time.

Athletes are under pressure, and a small mistake can result in serious injury. At the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, Biles experienced something gymnast call “the twisties,” which is when a gymnast has no idea where his or her body is in the air. Instead of putting herself and her team at risk, Biles gave up the competition. However, she worked out in a private gym and was able to compete in the last-scheduled individual event: the balance beam, winning the bronze medal.

When she was young, Biles was raised by her grandfather Ron, and was introduced to gymnastics at the age of 6 on a school field trip to a gym. She saw some gymnasts practicing, began copying their moves and insisted that her parents send her for gymnastics lessons. A coach at the gym also recognized her talent and sent a letter home asking her parents to send her for lessons.

Throughout her career, Biles has kept her passion for the sport, which can be seen clearly in the huge smile she often wears while competing. But she also wants people to know the importance of putting mental health first and not ignoring how stress can influence them.

In Biles’ 2016 memoir (回忆录), titled Courage to Soar, the book tells in her words “how my faith and my family made my wildest dreams come true. And how embracing a dream can give you courage to soar.” Biles’ ability to perform at the highest level has inspired new generations of athletes, but her willingness to be honest about her struggles inspires everyone.

9 . Female squash (壁球) player Karthik, who partnered with Sandhu to claim India’s first-ever gold medal in squash mixed doubles on Thursday — defeating traditional powerhouse Malaysia — said she hoped their victory would motivate more young women in her homeland to play the sport.

“It’s unbelievable,” said Karthik, the world champion in mixed doubles and women’s doubles, and the first Indian woman to rank in the world’s top 10. “If you asked us a few years back if we would be part of this team or where we are standing and winning gold, I don’t think we would have believed it. We really put in the effort and the hard work back home, and I’m very glad it worked out.”

Karthik began playing squash at age 10 and competed in her first professional tournament at age 15. She became the first Indian female squash player to win an-individual medal at the Asian Games when she took singles bronze at the 2014 Games in Incheon, Republic of Korea. But she took a break from the sport between 2018 and 2022 to get married. After giving birth to twin sons in 2021, she returned to training later that year and returned to competition at the 2022 World Doubles Championships in Glasgow. She and Saurav then became the first Indian squash players to win a gold medal at the world doubles championships, following their victory in the mixed event at the 2022 edition in Glasgow. Later, she won the women’s doubles title alongside Joshana Chinappa to become the first Indian player to win multiple titles at the tournament.

“Being an athlete is tough, but being an Indian woman athlete is tougher, especially when you compete for the country. But it’s heartening to see so many women taking up sports because of strong role models like (Indian boxer) Mary Kom, (Indian badminton player) PV Sindhu and others.”

The 32-year-old said she believed women athletes are earing more attention in India, partly because of their performances. “I think just a little bit of encouragement for women will go a long way, ” Karthik said. “Hopefully, we can get more opportunities; We hope that women in sports and women in the workplace can receive more attention and recognition whether in sports or in the workplace.”

Deng Yaping, one of the best table tennis players, is the first woman player     1     (win) the championships in all the international     2     (event).

In 1984, she     3     (compete) for the Henan table tennis junior championship and won     4    . However, it's a     5     (fail) for her to join Henan team because of her height. She tried to work harder and be     6     (positive) about her skills. In 1988, even     7     she won the national championship, she couldn't join the national team for the same reason. Later in November1988, Deng never gave up her ideal     8     made it finally. In 1989, she and her teammate Qiao Hong won the world championship. In 1991, Deng won the singles world championship. Those three years was the     9     (good) time for her sports life.

Deng got 18 gold medals and was the best woman player in the world for several years. After     10     (leave) the national team in 1997, she went to Tsinghua University.