Winners & Losers: Alexandra Eala gets Wimbledon moment; Ruben Love finds a way in new

The hype suddenly engulfing Eala tells one story: the stage can make all the difference.

For one, this wasn’t her first win over Swiatek. Eala also claimed a straight sets win over the Polish star in 2015 and now leads their head-to-head series 2-1.

Eala actually began her year playing in Auckland’s ASB Classic and was the breakout star of this year’s tournament on her way to a semi-final exit, playing an attacking brand of tennis and making plenty of time for the fans.

Speaking to the Herald after her semi-final exit, Eala said there was plenty she would take from the tournament and into the rest of the year with “more experience in the bag”.

“I’m happy with how I kept my calm and in the end I think that’s also a reason I was able to complete some good comebacks,” she said.

She proved as much at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.

Winner: Love finds a way

His tenure in the All Blacks’ No 10 jersey probably couldn’t have got off to a worse start for Ruben Love.

A yellow card in the second minute of Saturday night’s test against France for a high tackle meant he had to wait just a little bit longer before getting his chance to run the offence.

And while such a moment in a pressure situation might shake a young player’s confidence, Love returned and got straight back to business.

In a high-tempo attack, Love had plenty of good involvement with his running and passing game. His kicking in open play left a bit to be desired, but it wasn’t an option he went to often. But his effort in other areas was to be applauded too, particularly joining Hurricanes teammate Billy Proctor in a counter ruck late in the game that saw the All Blacks storm over the ball and score the deciding try a couple of phases later.

There were plenty of signs that Love can be a key figure in the sort of attack the All Blacks are trying to play.

Loser: Suspending the suspension

Justification can go a long way.

Americans were rejoicing this morning at the news of Fifa’s suspension of star striker Folarin Balogun’s ban for receiving a red card in their Round of 32 win at the World Cup. Balogun will be free to play in the side’s Round of 16 clash against Belgium, with a 12-month suspension of his ban.

It’s not the first time Fifa have used their power to overturn a ban in relation to this World Cup.

Earlier in the year, Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo received a three-game ban for striking Irish defender Dara O’Shea during Ireland’s 2-0 win in a World Cup qualifying game.

However, he had the second and third games of that ban suspended for a year, which made him free to play in Portugal’s first two World Cup games.

Article 27 in Fifa’s disciplinary code allows them to make such decisions at their discretion, suspending a ban and instead putting the player on a probationary period, where the ban is immediately reinstated if a similar infringement happens.

Adjustments were also made to an article in the competition regulations, to say bans would not be carried into the World Cup, making Nicolas Otamendi (Argentina), Moises Caicedo (Ecuador), and Qatar’s Tarek Salman all eligible to play in their side’s opening games of the tournament.

Balogun’s case, however, does seem to be a bit different as the New York Times reported US President Donald Trump called Fifa boss Gianni Infantino and asked him to review the red card.

While some have suggested improper use of VAR led to the red card, Fifa did not provide any justification for its decision to suspend Balogun’s ban when announcing their decision. Without any reasoning, it’s not hard to see why fans might jump to the conclusion that the co-host nation are getting special treatment. It seems that if it benefits Fifa for a banned player to feature in a game, they’ll make it happen.

Winner: Liam Lawson stays hot

Another week, another points finish for the Kiwi Formula One driver, who is emerging as a star on the track.

Finishing sixth in the British Grand Prix – and claiming a point for eighth in the sprint earlier in the week – Lawson has now surpassed his haul for their entire 2025 season with 15 points-scoring opportunities still to come.

With 39 to his credit now, he’s just three behind Alpine’s Pierre Gasly in the Best of The Rest battle and has scored points in seven of nine grand prix races so far this year.

Any confidence he lost from the demotion from Red Bull early last year is well and truly back with the 24-year-old.

Loser: A lack of faith?

One of baseball’s greatest feats is for a pitcher to throw a perfect game; allowing no opposition baserunners in an entire contest. A step down from that is a no-hitter, where batters only reach a base through a walk, error or being hit by a pitch.

It used to feel like most pitchers in those situations late in a game were given the runway to try and close it out by their managers. Now, it feels more and more like managers go to the bullpen to try and finish off the starter’s good work.

As a fan of the sport, seeing pitchers pulled later in a perfect game bid or a no-hit bid is one of the most deflating moments. Such achievements are part of why fans romanticise baseball. And surely, if you’re a pitcher in that situation, you want to have it in your control.

Such a moment happened on Monday when Miami Marlin starter Eury Perez, in his third start back from a leg injury, was perfect through seven innings against the Athletics with his team up 8-0.

He then had to watch as the perfect game bid ended with the first hitter in the eighth innings, the no-hit bid ended with the second and the shutout bid ended with the third. Rough.

Marlins manager Clayton McCullough told media after the game it was a decision made with the hopes of playing in the postseason in mind – which, you know, fair enough, I guess.

Miami ended up winning 9-8.

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