Roger Federer may have seen his dreams of Olympic gold dashed this week, but he can celebrate that t-shirts, racquets, and shoes from his trophy-laden tennis career proved a treasure trove at auction. The sports legend saw every single item that went under the hammer at a two-phased Christie’s auction sold, raking in $4.7 million.   The combined proceeds from an online and a live auction — over three times more than his 1-million target — will go to the Roger Federer Foundation, which supports educational projects in southern Africa and his native Switzerland. “I am overwhelmed by the generosity and enthusiasm of the support from around the world,” Federer said in a statement. The auction of items the 20-time Grand Slam winner’s career happened in two phases.   A live sale on June 23 in London focused on Federer’s career at the four Grand Slams: Wimbledon and the Australian, French and US Opens. The subsequent online sale from June 23 to July 14 featured 300 lots from other tournaments spanning 21 years — dating back to his first Olympics appearance at the Sydney 2000 Games, aged just 19.   The items sold online found buyers from 44 countries and across six continents, Christie’s said.  The highlight of the online sale was a …

Singer Britney Spears on Wednesday won the right to choose her own lawyer to help her end a 13-year-long conservatorship and tearfully pleaded for the court to oust her father immediately from the role of controlling her business affairs.Her father, Jamie Spears, has been a major figure in the conservatorship since he set it up in 2008 when his daughter had a mental health breakdown. He is currently the sole person in charge of her $60 million estate.”You’re allowing my dad to ruin my life,” Spears told the Los Angeles judge by phone. “I have to get rid of my dad and charge him with conservatorship abuse,” she added.Speaking for about 10 minutes on Wednesday, Spears, 39, said she had always been “extremely scared of my dad.”She said she was fed up with multiple psychological evaluations in the last 13 years and wanted the conservatorship brought to an end without another one.“I’m not a perfect person … but their goal is to make me feel like I’m crazy,” Spears said. Details of Spears’ mental health issues have never publicly been disclosed.Last month, she called the legal arrangement abusive and stupid in a 20-minute public address.Los Angeles Superior Court judge Brenda …

Guernsey’s Auction House in New York is auctioning off pieces of music history this week. Evgeny Maslov has the story, narrated by Anna Rice. Camera: Michael Eckels    Producer: Barry Unger …

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson vowed Wednesday to enact measures to protect British professional soccer players from online abuse. Punishment for someone found guilty of such abuse could include banishment from games. The move comes after online abuse, some of it racist, was directed at three Black players for the English national team who missed their penalty shots in the Euro 2020 final shootout on Sunday, leading to an Italian win. According to the Guardian newspaper, an analysis of 585,000 social media posts directed at the English team during the entire Euro 2020 tournament found that 44 messages were explicitly racist. More than 2,000 were “abusive.” “I do think that racism is a problem in the United Kingdom, and I believe it needs to be tackled. And it needs to be stamped out with some of the means that I’ve described this morning,” Johnson told Parliament as he announced his plan. “I repeat that I utterly condemn and abhor the racist outpourings that we saw on Sunday night. And so, what we’re doing today is taking practical steps to ensure that the football banning order regime is changed, so that if you are guilty of racist abuse online of footballers, then you will not be …

In less than two weeks, Courtney Frerichs will face off in Tokyo against some of the world’s fastest runners. But like every elite athlete preparing for the Summer Olympics, her focus is not only on preparing to compete. Frerichs, a middle-distance runner from the United States, is also using the final days of her training to make sure she complies with the elaborate set of rules meant to ensure the Tokyo Games don’t become a COVID-19 superspreader event.  “It’s a lot,” Frerichs told VOA in a recent phone call between training sessions in Portland, Oregon. “We’ve just been trying to review the protocols and everything to make sure that we’re checking all of our boxes and getting all the stuff done, just prior to arriving in Japan.” Frerichs, who is competing in the steeplechase event in Tokyo, is quick to point out that she understands why the rules are necessary. “But it certainly adds another level of stress to everything,” she said, laughing. “Like the Olympics wasn’t enough.” Athletes like Frerichs shrug off the suggestion that COVID-19 regulations, along with other precautions such as the absence of cheering fans, will hurt their performance. But one thing is certain: this Olympics will feel different than any other.  Do’s and don’ts The official rules for athletes are laid out in a 70-page “Playbook,” which basically reads …

“The Crown” tied with “The Mandalorian” for the most Emmy nominations Tuesday with 24 apiece, but the Marvel universe also got bragging rights with runner-up “WandaVision.” The nominations reinforced the rapid rise of streaming, with the top-nominated scripted shows on services that largely emerged in the past two years. In the top three categories — drama, comedy and limited series — only the NBC show “This Is Us” snagged a nomination. Netflix’s “The Crown” received its fourth nomination for best series, and is likely the streaming service’s best chance to win its first-ever top series trophy. The British royal drama moved closer to contemporary events with its version of the courtship and rocky marriage of Prince Charles and Diana Spencer, played by Josh O’Connor and Emma Corrin. “These nominations represent the work done in television through the most challenging year I can think of,” TV academy chief executive Frank Scherma said before the first nominees were announced. “While many of us in our medium worked remotely throughout the last 18 months, I have to say it feels so good to be getting back on a set. Making great television is a collaborative group effort where the sum equals more than …

The White House announced Tuesday that first lady Jill Biden will lead the official U.S. delegation at the Tokyo Olympics on July 23 without her husband, U.S. President Joe Biden. News of her trip comes days after Tokyo officials, upon consultation with Olympic officials, decided to hold the Olympic games without fans, after recent surges in COVID-19 cases prompted the Japanese government to declare a state of emergency in Tokyo and the surrounding area.   White House Press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters in a recent briefing that a White House advance team had been sent to Tokyo to assess the feasibility of Jill Biden’s visit. Last week, she said that despite the increase in coronavirus cases, the president still supports U.S. athletes traveling there for the competition.   The trip will be the first lady’s first solo international trip since her husband took office. She previously accompanied the president on his trip to Britain for the G-7 leaders’ summit and has kept a busy domestic travel schedule in recent months as part of the administration’s efforts to encourage vaccinations.  Some information for this report was provided by the Associated Press and Reuters news services. …

Last year, the COVID pandemic saw Turkey canceling one of the world’s oldest sporting events: the centuries-old Kirkpinar oil wrestling tournament. For Turkish and international fans, the festival’s return offers hope that pandemic restrictions are finally ending. Dorian Jones reports from Edirne in northwestern Turkey.  …

A new and unique park opened in New York City in late May and since then it has become a city gem and tourist magnet.  For VOA, Evgeny Maslov reports from “Little Island” in New York City. Anna Rice narrates. Camera: Vladimir Badikov, Vladimir Tolkachev  …

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson condemned racist social media attacks against Black players on Britain’s soccer team following its 3-2 loss to Italy in the Euro 2020 championship Sunday. After the Italy and Britain remained 1-1 following regulation and extra time play, the teams were forced into a penalty shoot-out to decide the game. Black players Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka missed kicks, giving Italy the victory.   While most comments on social media were positive towards the British team, the three players started receiving racist comments immediately following the game.   On his Twitter account, Johnson said the team deserves “to be lauded as heroes, not racially abused on social media. Those responsible for this appalling abuse should be ashamed of themselves.”  Likewise, London Mayor Sadiq Kahn, from his Twitter account, said there was no place for racism in soccer or anywhere else. He said those responsible must be held accountable. The Football Assocation, British soccer’s governing organization, also issued a statement condemning all forms of racism and standing by its players. London’s police department tweeted it was aware of the comments, called them unacceptable and said they would be investigated.   England’s players have made a …

Last year, the COVID pandemic saw Turkey canceling one of the world’s oldest sporting events: the centuries-old Kirkpinar oil wrestling tournament. For Turkish and international fans, the festival’s return offers hope that pandemic restrictions are finally ending. Dorian Jones reports from Edirne in northwestern Turkey.  …

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson condemned racist social media attacks against Black players on Britain’s soccer team following its 3-2 loss to Italy in the Euro 2020 championship Sunday. After the Italy and Britain remained 1-1 following regulation and extra time play, the teams were forced into a penalty shoot-out to decide the game. Black players Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka missed kicks, giving Italy the victory.   While most comments on social media were positive towards the British team, the three players started receiving racist comments immediately following the game.   On his Twitter account, Johnson said the team deserves “to be lauded as heroes, not racially abused on social media. Those responsible for this appalling abuse should be ashamed of themselves.”  Likewise, London Mayor Sadiq Kahn, from his Twitter account, said there was no place for racism in soccer or anywhere else. He said those responsible must be held accountable. The Football Assocation, British soccer’s governing organization, also issued a statement condemning all forms of racism and standing by its players. London’s police department tweeted it was aware of the comments, called them unacceptable and said they would be investigated.   England’s players have made a …

Europe’s soccer champions returned home at dawn Monday to the ecstatic cheers of Italians who spent the better part of the night honking horns, setting off fireworks and violating all sorts of coronavirus precautions to celebrate their team’s 3-2 penalty shootout win over England at Wembley.   Captain Giorgio Chiellini, his fist pumping the air, and coach Roberto Mancini hoisted the trophy high over their heads as they descended from their Alitalia charter flight at Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci airport. Amid cheers from airport workers, defender Leonardo Spinazzola hopped down the steps on one foot, his other one in a cast after he injured his Achilles tendon earlier in the tournament. “Grazie Azzurri,” read a banner on the tarmac — a sentiment felt across the country after Italy took home its first major trophy since the 2006 World Cup.   The national team was being feted officially by President Sergio Mattarella and Premier Mario Draghi later Monday, joined by tennis player Matteo Berrettini, who had given Italians another reason for pride Sunday by reaching the Wimbledon singles final. Berrettini lost to Novak Djokovic, but he joined Mattarella at Wembley Stadium to watch the Azzurri finish 1-1 after extra-time Sunday and …

Three Black players who missed penalty kicks for England in the decisive European Championship shootout against Italy on Sunday night were subjected to racist abuse online, prompting the English Football Association (FA) to issue a statement condemning the language used against the players. Bukayo Saka, at 19 one of the youngest players on the England squad, missed the penalty that gave the title to Italy and denied England its first international trophy since the 1966 World Cup. It was England’s third straight failure from the penalty spot in the shootout, with Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho also missing. The FA said in a statement it was “appalled” by the abuse of the three players. The team had taken a knee before games at the Euros to signal its support for an end to racial inequality, and the young, multi-ethnic squad won the hearts of the soccer-mad country before the shootout failure brought out the all-too-familiar messages of hate. “We will do all we can to support the players affected while urging the toughest punishments possible for anyone responsible,” the FA statement said. “We will continue to do everything we can to stamp discrimination out of the game, but we implore government to act quickly and bring in the appropriate legislation so this …

Italians celebrated the European Championship soccer title as a new beginning not only for their youthful national team but for a country that’s been yearning to return to normalcy after being hit hard and long by the coronavirus pandemic. A cacophony of honking cars, fireworks and singing fans filled the night in Rome as thousands of people took to the streets after Italy beat England in a penalty shootout Sunday to win its first major soccer trophy since the 2006 World Cup. “We are coming out of a difficult year and a half which has left us exhausted, like other countries in the world,” said Fabrizio Galliano, a 29-year-old from Naples who watched the match on a big screen in downtown Rome. “This means so much. Sports is one of the things that unites us, among all the things that separate us. But to finally be able to feel that joy that we’ve been missing, it goes beyond sports.” Many Italians saw the European Championship as a relaunch for a country that spent much of the past 16 months in various stages of lockdown. Italy was the first country outside Asia to get hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and suffered immensely, particularly in the spring of 2020 when hospitals …

Olympic officials have barred spectators from the games amid spiking coronavirus cases in Japan.  Organizers have long said they will push forward with the Olympics, but experts say the highly transmissible delta variant should give them pause.  VOA’s Arash Arabasadi has more.Produced by: Arash Arabasadi   …

Argentina won their first major title in 28 years on Saturday and Lionel Messi finally won his first medal in a blue-and-white shirt when an Angel Di Maria goal gave them a 1-0 win over Brazil and a record-equaling 15th Copa America.   Di Maria, starting for just the second time in the Copa, justified his selection by scoring the opener midway through the first half.   Renan Lodi failed to cut out a long ball forward from Rodrigo De Paul and Di Maria lobbed the stranded Ederson with aplomb. Brazil piled on the pressure in an exciting second half but even with five strikers on the field they could not get an equalizer against an Argentine defense protected by the outstanding Rodrigo De Paul.   “First, we have to congratulate our opponents especially for the first half when they neutralized us,” Brazilian defender Thiago Silva said. “In the second half, there was no contest — only one team tried to play football, the other just wasted time as we knew they would. It’s not an excuse, we didn’t do what we had to, principally in the first half.” Argentina’s win was a particular triumph for Barcelona striker Messi, who picked up his first-ever title in a blue-and-white shirt after more …

This is not how USA Basketball expected to open its Olympic summer. Nigeria probably didn’t expect it, either. If there was any expectation of invincibility for the Americans heading into the Tokyo Olympics, it’s already gone — after Nigeria shocked the U.S. 90-87 on Saturday night. Nigeria pulled off an international shocker with a roster primarily filled of little-known NBA players that found a way to beat a group of All-NBA, All-Star and max-contract performers. “I thought that the Nigerian team played very physically, did a great job in that regard and knocked down a lot of 3s,” U.S. coach Gregg Popovich said. “Give them credit.” Gabe Nnamdi, who goes by Gabe Vincent when playing for the Miami Heat, led Nigeria with 21 points. Caleb Agada scored 17 points, Ike Nwamu added 13 and Nigeria outscored the U.S. 60-30 from 3-point range. Kevin Durant, who had never before played in a loss for USA Basketball in 39 senior international games, had 17 points. Jayson Tatum added 15, Damian Lillard had 14 and Bam Adebayo 11. “Just goes to show that we have to play better,” Tatum said. The Americans had gone 39-0 in their last three Olympic seasons — including pre-Olympic exhibitions — on their way to gold medals and …

Top-seeded Ashleigh Barty became the first Australian to win the Wimbledon women’s singles tennis title in 41 years on Saturday in London.Barty defeated the Czech Republic’s Karolina Pliskova 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-3 to claim the title in the first three-setter in a Wimbledon final since 2012.It’s the second Grand Slam title for Barty, who won the French Open in 2019.”I didn’t sleep a lot last night. I was thinking of all the ‘what ifs,’ but when I came out on this court today I felt at home, in a way,” Barty said. “… And I think being able to share that with everyone here and share that with my team is incredible.”Barty, 25, became the first woman from Australia to win the Wimbledon final since seven-time major winner Evonne Goolagong Cawley did it in 1980. She’s also just the fourth player in the Open era to also have won the title as a junior (2011).It was also the 50th anniversary of Goolagong Cawley’s first Wimbledon title. “I hope I made Yvonne proud,” Barty said. Barty recorded seven aces and converted six of eight break opportunities in improving to 6-2 for her career against Pliskova, who is now 0-2 in Grand Slam …

A sealed cartridge of The Legend of Zelda for the old Nintendo NES console has sold for a world record sum of $870,000, auction house Heritage Auctions said in a statement Friday.The cartridge, dated to 1987, is still in its original packaging and trumps the previous world record sale of a video game — $660,000 for a 1986 Super Mario Bros cartridge sold in April — according to the auction house.The game was the “masterpiece” in a sale of 443 lots that runs until Sunday, Eric Bradley, spokesperson for the Dallas-based company, told AFP.The auction house has not revealed the identity of the buyer.Blending adventure, action and exploration in a magical universe, Zelda is one of the most significant titles in the history of video games and one of Nintendo’s best-known series.Retro video games have become increasingly popular with nostalgic collectors in recent years, driving up prices for old-school consoles and cartridges at auctions.  …

In less than two weeks, more than 11,000 of the world’s best athletes will descend on Tokyo to compete at the most unusual Olympic Games in decades. Athletes will compete in empty stadiums after Olympics organizers reversed course Thursday and barred spectators in response to a major coronavirus resurgence. The decision came after Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga declared a state of emergency in Tokyo, citing the rising rates of COVID-19. “Taking into consideration the impact of the delta strain, and in order to prevent the resurgence of infections from spreading across the country, we need to step up virus prevention measures,” Suga said.  Anti-Olympics protesters hold up signs and banner outside the event venue of the Tokyo 2020 Torch Relay, in Tokyo, Japan, July 9, 2021.The news that virtually no one would be allowed into the games was met with frustration from ticket holders and athletes but relief from many Japanese citizens, who have been protesting the games for months. A national survey conducted in May found that 83% of voters wanted to postpone or cancel the Olympics.Tennis player Nick Kyrgios announced his withdrawal from the games on Thursday via Twitter, citing the lack of fans and a leg injury. Ever since COVID-19 …

Hannah Kumari has been an English soccer fan since childhood, but she never wanted to fly an England flag. Until now.Kumari is one of millions of fans ecstatic that England’s men’s team has reached the final of a major tournament for the first time since it won the World Cup in 1966. But like many British people of color, she’s had an ambivalent relationship with symbols of Englishness.Yet embracing them has come more easily thanks to the young, multi-ethnic squad that is on the cusp of triumph in the European Championship. After beating Denmark 2-1 in a semifinal on Wednesday that was watched by half the country’s population, England faces Italy in the final at London’s Wembley Stadium on Sunday.”When I woke up this morning I thought, ‘I’m going to buy a St. George’s flag to hang out the window for Sunday,’” Kumari, who was born and raised in England to an Indian mother and Scottish father, said the day after the Denmark game.”I’ve never owned an England shirt,” the actor-writer said.”Something has definitely changed,” she said. “I feel almost like that team has given me permission to feel like I can wear an England shirt.”England’s Raheem Sterling celebrates a …

At the age of 55, Alisa Leht fell in love with ballroom dancing. Today – at 71 – she is on the dance floor every other day, training for hours and taking part in dancing competitions. Liliya Anisimova met with Leht to talk about her passion. Anna Rice narrates her story.  Camera: Liliya Anisimova      …

The Olympic flame arrived Friday in Tokyo, but the public will be kept away at a low-key welcoming ceremony because of coronavirus fears, the day after a “heartbreaking” announcement that spectators would be banned from most games events.On a rainy morning exactly two weeks before the opening ceremony of the biggest sporting event since the pandemic began, the flame was brought on stage in a lantern and handed to Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike.Tokyo 2020 organizers and government officials announced Thursday night their decision to bar fans from Olympic events in the capital, which will be under a virus emergency throughout the games.It means the pandemic-postponed games will be the first to take place largely behind closed doors. A handful of competitions will take place outside the capital.The torch relay was meant to build excitement for the games, but it has been pulled from public roads in the capital to prevent crowds spreading the virus as infections rise.Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra members perform during the unveiling ceremony of the Olympic flame at the Komazawa Olympic Park General Sports Ground in Tokyo, July 9, 2021.Before the flame arrived, five male trumpet players dressed in suits played a rousing melody under a gazebo …