Sports News from Friday, May 1st, 2026

Alexander Blockx arrived at the Madrid Open expecting to play the qualifying rounds, but the Belgian has made the most of his late promotion to the main draw after a string of withdrawals, riding a wave of confidence to the semi-finals.

Kei Nishikori will hang up his racquet at the end of the 2026 season, the 36-year-old said on Friday, bringing down the curtain on a professional career that saw him break new ground for Japanese tennis.

Jason Holder's display in Gujarat Titans' four-wicket IPL win over champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru was exactly what the team was looking for when they bought the West Indies international, director of cricket Vikram Solanki said.

Tadej Pogačar made it two wins in two days for UAE Team Emirates XRG at the Tour de Romandie in Switzerland, with the race leader picking the spoils from a reduced bunch sprint on stage 2.

Nottingham Forest's Chris Wood smashed a penalty into the top corner to secure a 1-0 victory over Aston Villa in the first leg of their all-English Europa League semi-final on Thursday.