Keyword – Football
Trefwoorden – World Cup 2026, World Cup, Football, Spain, France, Argentina, Brazil, England, Sport, Scotland, South Korea, Mexico, Czechia, South Africa football team, Canada, Qatar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Morocco football team, Haiti football team, USA, Turkey, Australia national football team – Socceroos, Paraguay, Germany, Ecuador, Côte d’Ivoire football team, Curaçao, Netherlands, Japan, Sweden, Tunisia football team, Belgium, Iran, Egypt football team, New Zealand, Uruguay, Saudi Arabia, Cape Verde, Senegal football team, Norway, Iraq, Austria, Algeria football team, Jordan, Portugal, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo football team, Uzbekistan, Croatia, Panama, Ghana football team, US sports, Australia sport, Switzerland
Title – Bracketology: predict a path to World Cup victory | World Cup 2026 | The Guardian
Author –
Link – Bracketology: predict a path to World Cup victory | World Cup 2026 | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-04T10:00:48.000Z
Category – Sport
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/football/ng-interactive/2026/jun/04/bracketology-predict-a-path-to-world-cup-victory

Groups Touch and drag teams into predicted finish order

Third-place teams Pick eight sides to advance to the last 32

Knockouts Tap a winner from each match to plan your route to the final

The progress of the World Cup from match to match is determined from
the beginning: there are no further draws to decide who plays whom in
subsequent rounds.

To maximise the spectacle, the competition is structured, broadly, to
ensure that the “bigger” teams don’t face each other (and knock each
other out) too early in the competition, and to ensure that all 48
teams have an incentive to field their strongest side for every
fixture.

The top two teams from each group automatically qualify to the next
round. Because the winner of a group will face a second- or
third-placed team from another group, the hope is that France, for
instance, will not rest on their laurels once they have enough points
to qualify for the knockouts but will try to win their last game to
get what in principle are easier opponents in the next round, the last
32.

At the other end of the table, a team who know they will come at best
third in their group still have an incentive to give their all in that
last group game because the eight best-performing of the 12
third-placed teams also go into the last 32.

Let’s take the example of England, wholly arbitrarily. If England top
their group, they will face a third-placed team in the first knockout
round (technically any one of 20 other teams, but plausibly a team
such as Côte d’Ivoire or Algeria). If they come second, they will play
the runners-up from Group K, plausibly Colombia. And if they come
third but have a better points total or goal difference than four of
the other third-placed teams, they get a tougher fixture, against the
winners of Group K, possibly Portugal. The simulator includes the
predetermined routes for all 495 possible combinations of groups
yielding the eight best third-placed teams.

This simulator allows you to change the outcome of each group and see
the effect that those changes have on the last 32, and then to imagine
the winner of each knockout game to plot each team’s possible route to
the final.

Editorial: James Dart, Marcus Christenson and Philip Cornwall

Design and development: Barry Ainslie, Georges Lebreton,
Seán Clarke, Harry Fischer, Petter Nitter and Freddie Preece

Groups Touch and drag teams into predicted finish order

Third-place teams Pick eight sides to advance to the last 32

Knockouts Tap a winner from each match to plan your route to the final

Your winner

The progress of the World Cup from match to match is determined from
the beginning: there are no further draws to decide who plays whom in
subsequent rounds.

To maximise the spectacle, the competition is structured, broadly, to
ensure that the “bigger” teams don’t face each other (and knock each
other out) too early in the competition, and to ensure that all 48
teams have an incentive to field their strongest side for every
fixture.

The top two teams from each group automatically qualify to the next
round. Because the winner of a group will face a second- or
third-placed team from another group, the hope is that France, for
instance, will not rest on their laurels once they have enough points
to qualify for the knockouts but will try to win their last game to
get what in principle are easier opponents in the next round, the last
32.

At the other end of the table, a team who know they will come at best
third in their group still have an incentive to give their all in that
last group game because the eight best-performing of the 12
third-placed teams also go into the last 32.

Let’s take the example of England, wholly arbitrarily. If England top
their group, they will face a third-placed team in the first knockout
round (technically any one of 20 other teams, but plausibly a team
such as Côte d’Ivoire or Algeria). If they come second, they will play
the runners-up from Group K, plausibly Colombia. And if they come
third but have a better points total or goal difference than four of
the other third-placed teams, they get a tougher fixture, against the
winners of Group K, possibly Portugal. The simulator includes the
predetermined routes for all 495 possible combinations of groups
yielding the eight best third-placed teams.

This simulator allows you to change the outcome of each group and see
the effect that those changes have on the last 32, and then to imagine
the winner of each knockout game to plot each team’s possible route to
the final.

Editorial: James Dart, Marcus Christenson and Philip
Cornwall

Design and development: Barry Ainslie, Georges Lebreton,
Seán Clarke, Harry Fischer, Petter Nitter and Freddie Preece

Keyword – Money
Trefwoorden – Consumer affairs, Consumer rights, Money, Monzo bank, Banks and building societies, Banking, UK news, Scams, Paris, France, Europe
Title – Paris taxi scam cost £493 but Monzo won’t help me | Consumer affairs | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/annatims
Link – Paris taxi scam cost £493 but Monzo won’t help me | Consumer affairs | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-22T07:00:02.000Z
Category – Lifestyle
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/money/2026/jun/22/paris-taxi-scam-monzo-bank-money-chargeback

I went to Paris to recover from the grief of losing my dog.

All was going well until I took a taxi from a rank outside Musée d’Orsay to my hotel near Notre Dame – a 12-minute journey.

The meter showed €9.70 (£8) and the driver asked me to get out of the cab and pay on the card reader through the car window as the internet connection was poor. While I was doing that he surreptitiously altered the amount on the screen, and when I returned to my hotel I realised he had charged me €570 .

I immediately filed a fraud report with my bank, Monzo. It rejected my claim because I have no evidence of the agreed price.

This a common scam as far as I can tell, and it relies on the fact that you don’t pre-agree a price with a cab driver, or get an invoice or receipt.

This will keep happening to people unless banks start clawing the money from the scammers.

RG, London

This is a similar scam to the case of the £600 slice of cheese in Brazil , which I reported last month. Whether it’s cheese or taxis and wherever you are in the world, con artists take advantage of tourists’ unfamiliarity with local currency and furtively adjust the price on the card reader in between the customer approving the sum and presenting their card.

Because it is a face-to-face card transaction, it does not qualify for the protections offered to victims who are tricked into paying fraudsters by bank transfer, a scam known as authorised push payment fraud.

The voluntary chargeback schemes offered by debit card issuers, which allow a disputed payment to a merchant to be reversed, tend not to work in these cases because there is no invoice, or receipt, to prove the price was inflated.

However, Mastercard, which is what you paid with, has recently changed its chargeback rules for disputed amounts, and a bank statement on its own will now suffice unless the vendor produces evidence that the correct sum was charged.

I pointed out Mastercard’s new rules to Monzo but it refused to budge. “We’re confident in our decision not to raise a chargeback because we believe it wouldn’t have been successful without the supporting evidence required,” it says. “We urge customers to always double-check the amount before making a payment.”

I disagree with its reasoning. The driver would have to support a challenge with evidence that the fare was correct. You could therefore escalate your case to the Financial Ombudsman Service, citing Mastercard’s new rules.

We welcome letters but cannot answer individually. Email us at consumer.champions@theguardian.com or write to Consumer Champions, Money, the Guardian, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Please include a daytime phone number. Submission and publication of all letters is subject to our terms and conditions .

Keyword – Sport
Trefwoorden – Tennis, Sport, US sports
Title – Frances Tiafoe beats Taylor Fritz in all-American Halle final for biggest title of career | Tennis | The Guardian
Author – Reuters
Link – Frances Tiafoe beats Taylor Fritz in all-American Halle final for biggest title of career | Tennis | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-21T16:53:11.000Z
Category – Sport
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/jun/21/frances-tiafoe-taylor-fritz-halle-title

Frances Tiafoe beat fellow American Taylor Fritz 6-4 6-4 to win the ⁠Halle Open on Sunday, sealing the biggest title of his career and becoming the first American since 1993 to lift the ATP ⁠500 grass-court trophy.

Tiafoe ⁠set the ​tone early, breaking serve in the opening set and remaining composed on his own delivery to keep Fritz from settling. He carried ⁠that momentum into the second set, again striking early and dictating from the baseline to wrap up the win and snap a seven-match losing streak ⁠against Fritz since his first victory in 2016.

“I don’t even know what clip I was ​serving in the first set, but I ‌felt like I couldn’t ‌miss one,” Tiafoe said. “I returned really well. I had no troubles on my serve the ‌whole match, and it just feels good to get this done. “He’s a hell of a player and a hell of a competitor too. I knew he was going to make it hard out there at the end and I played some great tennis. Luck was on my way a little bit.”

The 28-year-old dropped just seven points ‌on serve in the final to cap a memorable debut appearance at the German grass event, as well as claiming his fourth career title and ​first in three years.

He also registered three top-10 wins during the week, including victories over world No 10 Flavio Cobolli and No 4 Felix Auger-Aliassime. Before Sunday, Tiafoe had gone 0-4 in finals above ATP 250 level, including a defeat to Fritz in Tokyo in 2022, and ⁠had suffered a 5hr 26min fourth-round loss to Matteo Arnaldi at the ​French Open earlier this ​month.

“This is big. I just want ​to say one of my favorite scriptures: ‘The pain that you’re feeling does ​not compare to ‌the joy that is ​coming.’ Obviously, that ​has been proven very true,” Tiafoe said. “It’s something I’ve been living by.”

The Halle triumph will see Tiafoe climb nine places to No 19 in the ATP rankings on Monday, boosting his prospects ahead of Wimbledon, which begins 29 June.

Keyword – Food
Trefwoorden – Vegetables, Food, Tofu, Sauces and gravies, Noodles, Main course, Vegan food and drink, Vegetarian food and drink, Japanese food and drink
Title – Meera Sodha’s vegan recipe for lime and sesame cold noodles with miso ‘meatballs’ | Vegetables | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/meera-sodha
Link – Meera Sodha’s vegan recipe for lime and sesame cold noodles with miso ‘meatballs’ | Vegetables | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-20T05:00:53.000Z
Category – Lifestyle
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/food/2026/jun/20/lime-sesame-cold-noodles-miso-meatballs-vegan-recipe-meera-sodha

W hat’s your favourite hot weather food? Mine’s gazpacho. I’m joking – gazpacho’s lovely, but cold noodles are my top pick because, in the summer, they meet me exactly where I am in both the cooking and the eating. They don’t need much by way of cooking, and they can be dressed and paired with many a store-cupboard ingredient – in today’s case, tahini, miso and sesame oil. Best of all, cooling the noodles shocks the starches, which makes them firmer and gorgeously “QQ”, a Taiwanese term used to describe food that’s delightfully bouncy and springy. Which personally, is how I’d like to feel all summer long.

Lime and sesame cold noodles with miso “meatballs”

You’ll need a food processor to make these.

Prep 10 min Cook 35 min Serves 4

280g very firm tofu , drained and roughly chopped ( Tofoo ’s is by far the firmest I’ve come across) 60g dried breadcrumbs 4 tbsp white miso paste 2 tbsp agave syrup Fine sea salt 2 tbsp rapeseed oil 250g ramen noodles 2½ tbsp tahini 3 tbsp lime juice (from 2-3 limes) 2 tbsp toasted sesame oil 150g radishes , thinly sliced 150g cucumber , quartered and sliced 30g mint , leaves picked to get 18g

First make the “meatballs”. Put the tofu in a food processor with the breadcrumbs, two tablespoons of the miso, half a tablespoon of agave syrup and an eighth of a teaspoon of salt (in other words, a big pinch). Pulse or blend until the mix comes together into a dough, then tip out, break into roughly 20g pieces and roll into balls.

Put the rapeseed oil in a nonstick frying pan on a medium heat and, when it’s hot, fry the miso meatballs for 10 minutes, shaking the pan every so often so they fry evenly (and don’t catch and burn).

Meanwhile, cook the noodles according to the packet instructions, then drain, rinse under cold water, until they’re cold, and leave to drain.

Now make the dressing. Whisk the remaining two tablespoons of miso with the tahini, lime juice, the remaining tablespoon and a half of agave syrup, the toasted sesame oil and three-quarters of a teaspoon of salt.

Put the drained noodles and dressing in the empty noodle pan, add the radishes, cucumber, mint and meatballs, and mix well. Transfer to a large platter or divide between four bowls, and serve.

Keyword – World news
Trefwoorden – World news, Europe, Ukraine, Russia, Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Title – Zelenskyy pledges to ‘bring war back to Russia’ after drones swarm toward Moscow – Europe live | World news | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/jakub-krupa
Link – Zelenskyy pledges to ‘bring war back to Russia’ after drones swarm toward Moscow – Europe live | World news | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-22T09:08:32.000Z
Category – News
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/jun/22/zelenskyy-ukraine-russia-drones-europe-heatwave-trump-meloni-latest-news-updates

Trump doubles down on his criticism of Italy’s Meloni

Following Trump’s extraordinary criticism of Meloni in a brief interview with Italy’s La7 on Fridayand her absolute denial that she was “begging” him for a photo, as we reported before the weekend, the US president doubled down again on Sunday.

In a post on Truth Social, he said:

“After spending Trillions of Dollars on Nato, Italy, and its Prime Minister, wouldn’t even think of becoming involved with the Islamic Republic of Iran and their very serious Nuclear Threat. For decades, we defend them but, when tested, they are not there to defend us, and the rest of the World. Not good! ”

E5 leaders to meet in Berlin for talks on Ukraine this week, Italy says

Starmer has pledged to continue in the job until his successor is chosen, and it looks like this will take him to Germany this week.

The leaders of Europe’s top military powers will meet on Wednesday in Berlin, Italy said.

The Italian government said prime minister Giorgia Meloni – fresh from another clash with the US president, Donald Trump – would attend the meeting along with her British, French, German and Polish counterparts.

Starmer’s proposed timetable – with the nomination process starting on 9 July – could be intended to coincide with the Nato summit in Ankara, ending the day before.

UK prime minister Starmer announces plans to resign from post

Oof.

Over in the UK, Keir Starmer has announced his intention to resign from the post of the leader of the Labour Party and the British prime minister.

He wants the party to set out a timetable with nominations for his successor opening on 9 July, and to be completed by the summer recess. If there is a contest on who should succeed him, he hopes it will be completed before the parliament returns in September.

Starmer will stay on in post until the process is complete.

He is the sixth British PM out of the job in the 10 years since the Brexit referendum in 2016, the anniversary of which is tomorrow.

And a group of protesters outside 10 Downing Street are playing the EU’s anthem, Beethoven’s Ode to Joy, on a loudspeaker as he speaks.

More details on our UK live blog:

Ukraine and Poland’s bitter dispute over past casts shadow on contemporary relations

Separately, Ukraine and Poland are embroiled in a bitter dispute over Kyiv’s decision to rename a contemporary Ukrainian army unit after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA).

Poland holds it responsible for ethnic killings of up to 100,000 Poles in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia during the second world war – and in 2016 adopted a parliamentary resolution calling it a genocide – but it is celebrated in Ukraine for their fight for Ukrainian independence and resistance against the Soviet forces.

On Friday, Polish president Karol Nawrocki stripped Volodymyr Zelenskyy of the country’s top honour in retaliation for the move , prompting three former Ukrainian presidents and other senior officials ⁠to also return their state awards to Poland.

Announcing his decision on Friday night, Nawrocki said :

“ Poland has repeatedly signalled the particular importance of this issue to the Ukrainian side. We conveyed our position and expectation that the consequences of this decision for relations between our states be reconsidered. Ultimately, the position of the Ukrainian side did not change. History should not be an obstacle to the future, but a good future can only be built on truth.”

In an interview posted on X last night, Zelenskyy said Ukraine and Poland cannot ​be “anything but ​partners and friends,” but warned that a ​political struggle could end in a “very dangerous escalation.”

But he blamed the Polish president for the conflict, claiming he is on political manoeuvres ahead of Poland’s 2027 parliamentary elections.

“Our service members ​choose a ‌heroic name for ​their unit themselves, ​and as president and supreme commander-in-chief, I must support them,” he said. “ Without Ukraine, no one will be able to defend Poland. It is simply impossible.”

Poland’s pro-European prime minister Donald Tusk – who previously distanced himself from Nawrocki’s decision – said that rekindling the old disagreements was “a strategic mistake that will harm both sides: business-wise, geopolitically, and reputationally.”

Zelenskyy was widely expected to attend the Ukraine Recovery Conference in the Polish city of Gdańsk later this week, but this is no longer certain, putting the hosts in a potentially embarrasing position of having to talk about Ukraine without its leader.

One to watch this week.

Morning opening: Ukrainian drones briefly disrupt Moscow’s airports as Zelenskyy pledges to ‘bring war back to Russia’

Nearly 60 Ukrainian drones were intercepted heading for Moscow last night, forcing the capital’s airports to briefly suspend its operations during the attack.

In total, Russia reportedly downed just over 300 drones across the country.

Meanwhile, a Russian drone attack killed ⁠three members ⁠of ​one family, including ⁠a 13-year-old boy, in ⁠Ukraine’s northern ​Sumy ‌region, regional ‌prosecutors said, as quoted by Reuters.

Last night, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview that “our defence industry, our defence forces … have begun the process of bringing the war back to Russia.”

“The Russians are attacking us every day – and we will strike back every day. Our response will grow stronger with each passing day.”

It is the latest sign of the momentum shifting in the Russian aggression of Ukraine, as discussed by the G7 and EU leaders last week.

Elsewhere, I will be obviously keeping an eye on the UK where prime minister Keir Starmer could announce plans for his exit from the post today, on the eve of the 10th anniversary of the Brexit referendum in 2016.

Our main UK coverage, led by Andrew Sparrow, is here:

But I will be also looking at yet another day of extreme temperatures across Europe , two high-profile diplomatic spats between Trump and Italy’s Meloni and Zelenskyy and Poland’s Nawrocki, and other news lines from across the continent.

It’s Monday, 22 June 2026 , it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live .

Good morning.

Keyword – Football
Trefwoorden – World Cup 2026, Egypt football team, New Zealand, World Cup, Football, Sport
Title – Egypt claim their first World Cup win after roaring from behind to beat New Zealand | World Cup 2026 | The Guardian
Author – Reuters
Link – Egypt claim their first World Cup win after roaring from behind to beat New Zealand | World Cup 2026 | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-22T03:11:14.000Z
Category – Sport
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/jun/22/new-zealand-egypt-world-cup-group-g-match-report

Mohamed Salah inspired Egypt to their first-ever World Cup win as they came from a goal down ⁠to beat New Zealand 3-1 with a brilliant second-half display, moving top of Group G and boosting their hopes of reaching the knockout stage.

After ⁠a relatively quiet first ⁠half that saw ​them go in behind at the break, Egypt and Salah turned up the heat in the second period as the 34-year-old winger showed he ⁠is still capable of conjuring magic from his boots.

“It’s a great achievement for all the players,” Salah said as he took the plaudits among his teammates. “It’s a great win. It’s a great vibe. The next game is very ⁠important.”

Egypt, who drew 1-1 with Belgium in ​their opener, moved top of the group with ‌four points from two matches. ‌The All Whites, held 2-2 by Iran in their opener, are bottom with one point. Belgium were held ‌0-0 by the Iranians earlier on Sunday.

New Zealand’s first-half gameplan was as simple as it was effective, kicking long when they needed to and keeping possession when they could, and defender Finn Surman broke the deadlock from a corner, losing marker Ahmed Fatouh before steering a powerful header into the net.

“At half-time I told the players we were not going back out on to the pitch unless we were determined to win, and to draw confidence from the pride we feel from that support,” Egypt coach Hossam Hassan said.

“To the Egyptian football community, we needed time to ‌build confidence, to capitalise on our strengths and reflect on our journey to qualification, as well as the hard work of previous generations ​who tried to create these opportunities.”

The stern half-time message appeared to work. Though Callum McCowatt had a glancing header tipped over the bar early on for New Zealand, Egypt ‌piled on the pressure after the break and they levelled through Mostafa Ziko, who headed home Mohamed Hany’s cross from the right in the 58th minute.

Salah then finally ​gave the crowd what they wanted nine minutes later, breaking forward down the right and playing a one-two with Ziko before slotting the ball into the far corner.

Salah almost scored his second in the 81st minute, cutting in from the right and firing a deflected shot over, but he notched an assist from the resulting ⁠corner as substitute Trézéguet dived to head home at the near post.

The New ​Zealanders gave it all they ​had to reduce the deficit and ​Hossam Abdelmaguid had to be replaced late on with a suspected concussion, his eye ​swelling up as he ‌left the field.

By the ​10th minute of stoppage ​time, the Egyptian fans were whistling loudly for the referee to end the game.

When he did, an ear-splitting roar went up as Salah and company made history with the country’s first World Cup win and Hassan lapped the stadium with an Egyptian flag.

“Salah worked hard on the pitch ​and this is something you should know,” Hassan said.

“I am maybe ​the first coach ‌to let him ​play in a ​position that matches his danger, that matches his capabilities and qualities. We worked on so many things and I am sure we are going to see more from him.”

New Zealand coach Darren Bazeley rued his side’s poor second-half display.

“It’s frustrating,” he said. “We played ​so well in the first half. We scored ‌a great goal, created lots ‌of chances, felt like we were dominating possession a lot of the time in the first half, and ‌we were comfortable. We weren’t really getting hurt.

“We talked well at half-time, looked at some things we can do a little bit better, we went out second half and we just weren’t able to recreate the tempo and quality that we showed in the first half.“

Keyword – UK news
Trefwoorden – UK news, Cambridge
Title – Wowcher apologises for email referencing toddler crocodile attack | UK news | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/harry-taylor
Link – Wowcher apologises for email referencing toddler crocodile attack | UK news | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-21T21:34:51.000Z
Category – News
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/jun/21/wowcher-apologises-for-email-referencing-toddler-crocodile-attack

The discount voucher website Wowcher has apologised after appearing to make reference to a crocodile attack on a toddler at a zoo in an email promoting its offers.

A spokesperson for Wowcher said it was urgently reviewing its marketing content after the subject line of an email on Saturday urged customers to “Snap up these deals quicker than a croc can catch a kid!”

A three-year-old was taken to Addenbrooke’s hospital in Cambridge, after an incident at Old Hurst zoo in Huntingdonshire on Thursday lunchtime during which the boy ended up in an enclosure with Nile and saltwater crocodiles.

The toddler was taken to hospital with serious injuries. He is in a critical but stable condition. A 30-year-old man from Norfolk has been bailed while further inquiries take place.

Wowcher said it was “extremely sorry” for the “unacceptable” wording.

In a statement a spokesperson said: “It should never have been written, it was never approved for use. The responsibility sits with us and we are urgently reviewing how our processes failed.

“We recognise the hurt and distress it has caused, particularly for the young child’s family at this unimaginably difficult time.”

They added: “We are reviewing all scheduled marketing content while we urgently strengthen our creative, approval and signoff safeguards.

“There is no excuse for this. We apologise unreservedly and will take the necessary steps to make sure this does not happen again.”

The Times reported on Sunday that detectives were scrutinising CCTV from the zoo to establish whether they would take further action.

The man arrested on suspicion of attempted murder has been released as detectives believe he is not fit to be interviewed, police said on Friday.

He was not known to the alleged victim. He has been bailed until 18 September.

Keyword – Sport
Trefwoorden – Jack Draper, Andy Murray, Wimbledon 2026, Wimbledon, Tennis, Sport
Title – Jack Draper energised for return at Eastbourne with inspiration from coach Murray | Jack Draper | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/tumaini-carayol
Link – Jack Draper energised for return at Eastbourne with inspiration from coach Murray | Jack Draper | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-21T18:02:44.000Z
Category – Sport
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/jun/21/jack-draper-energised-for-return-at-eastbourne-with-inspiration-from-coach-murray

Jack Draper believes his “very special” relationship with Andy Murray and the faith the Scot has in him will help him to find a way through the toughest period of his career as he returns to the circuit at Eastbourne after an injury-ravaged 11 months.

Draper is due to compete for the first time in two and a half months at the Eastbourne International on Monday after being sidelined for the vast majority of the past year due to chronic arm and knee injuries. As he tries to be ready for Wimbledon , which begins next a week on Monday, this will also be his first tournament since asking Murray, his childhood idol and a friend, to join his team as coach.

“His tennis knowledge is incredible,” Draper said of Murray. Of his own circumstances, he said: “My tennis is actually in a really, really good spot. [I have] lost a lot of confidence in my body over the last year that I’m rebuilding back again.

“Having someone who believes in you as a person, as a player who’s one of your biggest inspirations … I have a great relationship with him off the court – our relationship is very special – and that gives me a bit more energy, especially in a moment where I’m coming back and I need to have that good energy around me.”

A year ago, it seemed as if Draper had finally found his way, a lengthy period of good health allowing him to rise up the rankings to a career high of world No 4. Instead, he has spent the past 11 months stuck in a cycle of injuries and pain. The 24-year-old last competed in early April at the Barcelona Open, where he retired because of knee tendinitis. His knee injury had come soon after a seven-month layoff due to a bone bruise in his left arm. He has fallen to No 113 in the rankings.

Although he always thought he would come back, Draper admitted he was “absolutely not” mentally OK over the past year. “It’s been an incredibly difficult year,” he said. “I’m someone who’s all-in with my tennis. I’m obsessed with improving and getting better and being the best in the world and doing all the right things.

“Outside of tennis, there’s not a lot going on for me. So it’s obviously been very difficult, very isolated, a lot of tough days, a lot of training. As a competitor, all you want to do is feel the buzz of being out there competing. I’ve had to be incredibly patient with my body.”

Draper has had to come to terms with the fact his arm injury “might never go away” but he is adamant he can have the career he deserves. “I was top 10 in the world, doing great things, and you’re losing your ranking every week,” he said.

“It’s not like a football team where you can have a substitute come in and take your place. It’s like you’re watching your decline. So it’s tough, but I think I’ve learned a massive amount about my body in the last year and my recovery.”

The silver lining for Draper is that he believes this period will give him the edge against his rivals. “Before, in the position I was, I still felt like maybe there’s mental levels I needed to go to to get to where I wanted to be,” he said.

“And even though my ranking slipped and I haven’t played, when you go through a lot of struggles and a lot of setbacks, it definitely gives you the mental fortitude to think: ‘I’ve got something a little bit extra to these guys because of what I’ve gone through.’”

Keyword – News
Trefwoorden – World news, UK news
Title – Twins marrying twins and summer solstice celebrations: photos of the weekend | World news | The Guardian
Author –
Link – Twins marrying twins and summer solstice celebrations: photos of the weekend | World news | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-21T12:27:08.000Z
Category – News
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/news/gallery/2026/jun/21/a-kyiv-far-right-protest-and-summer-solstice-celebrations-photos-of-the-weekend

Keyword – US news
Trefwoorden – US news, Health & wellbeing, US healthcare, Health, Pharmaceuticals industry, Drugs
Title – The peptide boom: how the US got hooked on unregulated ‘miracle’ drugs | On the Ground | US news | The Guardian
Author – Adam Gabbatt
Link – The peptide boom: how the US got hooked on unregulated ‘miracle’ drugs | On the Ground | US news | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-16T09:16:37.000Z
Category – News
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/video/2026/jun/16/the-peptide-boom-how-the-us-got-hooked-on-unregulated-miracle-drugs-on-the-ground