English
Indian
العربية
Español
Deutsch
Türkçe
Русский
Français (Afrique)
Elena Rybakina joins elite with US Open title but questions remain over coach | Tumaini Carayol
New world No 1’s relationship with her previously banned coach, Stefano Vukov, remains under spotlight despite her rise to the top
In the bitter aftermath of her straight-sets defeat by Elena Rybakina at the WTA Finals last November, an inconsolable Aryna Sabalenka walked over to her courtside player box and slumped into a chair. She had been completely overpowered by her opponent, a strange and unusual feeling for such a powerful player, and she was seething. Sabalenka eventually settled on a popular Russian idiom to explain Rybakina’s untouchable form, which she believed was fortunately timed: “Once a year, even a stick shoots,” she said. freshyourfeel.org
That stick, it turns out, has spent the past year shooting straight at Sabalenka in every significant match. Rybakina’s performance in Riyadh was a clear warning and she has dominated the hard‑court grand slam tournaments this year, beating Sabalenka in the Australian Open and US Open finals.
Continue reading...Cyberpunk 2077 is coming to Battle.net for some reason, and Geralt will be in Diablo 4
Wouldn't it be nice if more of Blizzard's classic games were available on Steam? People could easily play them on their Steam Decks! But no, that's not happening. Instead, we're getting Cyberpunk 2077 on Battle.net.
After announcing at GamesCom that The Witcher 3's upcoming remastered version would release on Battle.net as well as the expected platforms, Blizzard and CD Projekt have announced at BlizzCon that Cyberpunk 2077 and its expansion will release there later this year. They'll be joining other non-Blizzard games everyone forgets are available on Battle.net like Sea of Thieves, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4, and The Outer Worlds 2.
Diablo 2 Resurrected, Diablo 4, and Overwatch remain the only Blizzard games available on Steam. The original Diablo is still on GOG, though the first two Warcraft games were pulled from that storefront when they were remastered a couple of years ago.
The collaboration between Blizzard and CD Projekt will also be bringing Geralt to Diablo 4 in the form of a skin for the barbarian class, which will be available to players who prepurchase The Witcher 3's Songs of the Past DLC on Battle.net, with more "Witcher-themed content" threatened for 2027. Next year will also see Edgerunners-themed cosmetics coming to Overwatch. The show's second season will premiere on Netflix on October 20.
The Witcher 4: What we know about Ciri's story
Witcher 3 mods: Good hunting
The Witcher books: Where to start
Witcher 3 console commands: Cheat death
Diablo 5's narrative lead is a BioWare vet who says the new caravan system gives the ARPG the "best elements of traditional RPGs" like Dragon Age and Baldur's Gate
The newly announced Diablo 5 is a significant departure from series convention in a number of ways. Chiefly, the game won't feature any towns or safe zones and will instead offer adventurers the lesser but still cozy comforts of a team of followers that form a caravan around the player, acting as something of a moving barrier between the myriad monsters creeping and crawling around Sanctuary. This idea comes directly from the influence of Diablo 5's narrative director, Jennifer Hepler, a BioWare veteran and key writer on Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, and Dragon Age: Inquisition.
Hepler joined game director Joe Shely and executive producer Matt Zitterman at a panel during BlizzCon 2026, attended by GamesRadar+, and she explained how her eight years of writing experience with BioWare helped bring traditional RPG roots to Diablo's well-worn ARPG formula. Specifically, she says it's that caravan system that adds just a little bit of Baldur's Gate and Dragon Age DNA to Diablo 5.
"The caravan brings some of the best elements of traditional RPGs into Diablo's ARPG format by giving you that sort of Baldur's Gate or Dragon Age campsite where you can interact with your followers," says Hepler. "They're not going to be Dragon Age followers where you level up their skills and give them clothing and stuff, but they will be followers with personalities... so I think that my experience with traditional RPGs has definitely been a strength in building that out."
The Diablo and Path of Exile-style ARPG is a distinctly different, even diametrically opposed, experience compared to conventional RPGs like Dragon Age and Baldur's Gate, so it's interesting to hear how Hepler's lead role on the narrative team is influencing more fundamental design decisions like the caravan system. I'm curious to see which other elements of Diablo 5 are changing due to her involvement.
Schuster plötzlich außen vor: Brinkmann erklärt die Gründe
Über zwei Jahre lang stand Marco Schuster beim F.C. Hansa Rostock stets in der Startelf, in Köln musste er nun zum dritten Mal in Folge zunächst auf der Bank Platz nehmen und kam erstmals seit August 2024 gar nicht zum Einsatz. Trainer Daniel Brinkmann erklärte im Nachgang die Hintergründe.
Dirkner und Fatkic derzeit gesetzt
Dass Franz Pfanne trotz seiner Kapitänsrolle noch ohne Drittliga-Einsatz in dieser Saison ist und in Köln – wie schon zuvor in Saarbrücken – erst gar nicht zum Kader gehörte, ist bei der Kogge mittlerweile schon ein gewohntes Bild. Doch dass auch Vize-Kapitän Marco Schuster inzwischen nicht mehr zur Startelf gehört, überrascht dann schon. Zumal der 30-Jährige seit August 2024 immer gesetzt war und auch die ersten beiden Partien dieser Saison über die volle Distanz absolviert hatte.
Dass der defensive Mittelfeldspieler auch bei Viktoria Köln am Freitagabend nicht zur Startelf gehörte, begründete Trainer Daniel Brinkmann bei der Pressekonferenz nach der Partie damit, dass Hansa zuvor ohne Schuster in Saarbrücken gewonnen und gegen Wiesbaden "mit die beste fußballerische Leistung" in dieser Saison gebracht habe. In beiden Spielen bildeten Jonas Dirkner und Kenan Fatkic, der als dritter Kapitän die Binde trug, die Doppelsechs.
Weiter "ganz klar Teil unseres Weges"
Näher auf diese Personalentscheidungen eingehen wollte der Hansa-Coach aber nicht: "Am Ende liegt die Bewertung dieser Personalien bei uns und die brauchen wir auch nicht an die Öffentlichkeit tragen." Allgemein hielt Brinkmann aber fest, dass es "ganz logisch" und "nichts Neues" sei, dass die Karten bei einem Misserfolg neu gemischt werden würden. Schuster und Pfanne seien aber "ganz klar Teil unseres Weges", betonte der 40-Jährige.
"Und wenn wir uns dafür entscheiden, sie zu bringen, dann werden sie bald auch wieder spielen." Womöglich schon am Mittwochabend gegen Stuttgart II, nachdem die Defensive in Köln alles andere als gut aussah. Dass es nach dem desolaten Auftritt zu Änderungen in der Startelf kommen wird, gilt bereits als sicher.
‘No stopping him’: Hamilton admits defeat as Antonelli charges towards F1 world title
Retirement in Madrid leaves Hamilton 101 points back
Antonelli leads way by 81 points after Spanish GP win
Lewis Hamilton has conceded his Formula One world title hopes are over as he praised the championship leader, Kimi Antonelli, saying there was no stopping the Italian after his victory at the Spanish Grand Prix.
Hamilton, in third place in the championship, had to retire from the race at the Madring with a brake problem on lap six. After Antonelli’s victory it leaves the seven-time world champion 101 points behind the 20-year-old Italian, who took over his seat at Mercedes when Hamilton joined Ferrari.
Continue reading...