At just 17-years-old, Nagalakshmi has been through more than most.

Born in India, the avid cricketer grew up in care homes in Chennai after her parents felt unable to look after her and she endured a childhood void of safety and stability.

Moving between temporary houses, the teenager pined for an education but was instead faced with difficulties from the other children in care.

But now, through sport, Nagalakshmi has finally found her voice.

Representing India South, she was one of 80 young people participating in the Street Child Cricket World Cup — an event which invited street children from across the world to take part in an international cricket tournament in the UK.

Former England bowler Monty Panesar attended the event as an ambassador for Street Child United and hoped cricket could be a driver for change for the children.

“I think cricket is a powerful tool and you can see how this charity is helping kids get off the streets globally,” said the 37-year-old, who has 167 Test wickets for England.

“Cricket has done wonderful things for me and it’s great that these children are getting this opportunity that they probably won’t get again in their lifetime.

“We are sometimes fortunate for what we have in our lives but to see these kids loving it is so refreshing.”

England player Siraj Qazi (R) said the tournament “showed the children how talented they are.”

As the participants celebrated their achievements, an emotional Wroe was confident that the World Cup was an effective way of improving the lives of millions of children.

“Ultimately, I want no child to be living on the streets anywhere in the world. This can help start that and bring change about. It’s going to happen country by country, we’ve already has some great results in Pakistan and India,” he said.

“What this does is get people from their country on their side, to make them be proud of these children so they’re no longer invisible. They are wearing their countries shirt at Lord’s in a World Cup. It will make people take responsibility.”

Read more at: https://edition.cnn.com/2019/05/09/sport/cricket-world-cup-street-child-united-india-england-lords-ground-spt-intl/index.html

As a player who has long chased the past, the Swiss superstar’s historic victory over Gael Monfils in the Mutua Madrid Open third round is another jaw-dropping achievement of longevity.

He will now set his sights on the 1,274 match wins record of American Jimmy Connors, who is also the all-time titles leader with 109 crowns. Connors earned his 1,200th match win in October 1988 on the indoor carpet of Toulouse and this week, in the Spanish capital, Federer is vying to capture his 102nd trophy.

Read more at: https://www.atptour.com/en/news/federer-1200-match-wins-tribute-madrid-2019

MADRID — As Roger Federer sauntered onto the clay for a tennis match for the first time in three years, “comeback” did not seem quite the right description.

Federer might have been out of sight at this time of year since 2016, but he has hardly been invisible the rest of the year, winning major titles, returning briefly to No. 1 and defying the passage of time.

But tennis on clay is not like tennis on any other surface, as Federer is well aware after growing up playing on it in Switzerland and after spending some of his adulthood trying and failing to keep pace on it with Rafael Nadal.

The footwork and ball bounces are distinct, the shot selection and mentality, too. It is also, beyond any statistical doubt, Federer’s weakest surface, although he is hardly a weakling on it. But he is up for a challenge, even at 37 with little left to prove on any tennis court. And he certainly met the challenge on Tuesday, disposing of Richard Gasquet, a familiar foe, by 6-2, 6-3 in just 52 minutes at the Madrid Open.

Read more at: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/07/sports/roger-federer-madrid.html

President Donald Trump bestowed Tiger Woods with the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, on Monday evening in the White House Rose Garden, hailing Woods as a “global symbol of American excellence.”

Read more at: https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/06/politics/tiger-woods-medal-of-freedom-trump/index.html

“My first challenger was on clay, my first satellite was on clay, my first player I beat was on clay,” he said, referring to tennis’s minor-league professional circuits. “So clay came first.”

“It didn’t come like, hey, French Open this is it,” he said, snapping his fingers. “That was always going to be Wimbledon. I remember seeing Becker, Edberg and Sampras all holding up that trophy, and all three of those guys didn’t do that at the French. So my heroes did it at Wimbledon, so naturally Wimbledon was always going to be my No. 1.”

Read more at: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/03/sports/roger-federer-clay.html

When Naomi Osaka was a 10-year-old tennis player in Florida, her mom, Tamaki Osaka, sent a letter to the Yonex president in Japan asking for product support. Yonex had the U.S. team to take a look at the youngster and the now 21-year-old has been with the brand ever since.

Osaka isn’t the only young tennis star to sign with a brand with a 40-year history in tennis. Yonex also has American rising star Frances Tiafoe, Australian Nick Kyrgios and plenty of others: Angelique Kerber, Denis Shapovalov, Stan Wawrinka, Caroline Garcia, Steve Johnson, Genie Bouchard, Anastasija Sevastova, Belinda Bencic and Monica Puig.

Read more at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/timnewcomb/2019/05/02/naomi-osaka-young-tennis-stars-turning-to-yonex-rackets/#4253bad466e6

Roger Federer last tested his ability on European dirt at the Rome Masters in 2016, before opting to concentrate on the world’s hard surfaces and grass courts which have yielded the majority of his 101 titles.

But with his career in its twilight, the Swiss has decided to re-enter a realm of tennis for so long dominated by rival Rafael Nadal — and Madrid seems the logical venue.

Federer has won two of his 11 clay titles in the Spanish capital where the high altitude helps him negate the traditionally pedestrian pace of the dusty surface.

Read more at: https://www.foxsports.com.au/tennis/in-no-mans-land-roger-federer-starting-from-scratch-in-threeyear-first/news-story/a104a54f232f15f8e69b360d210fae2e