.@ClaireHanna: "Last week, in a very high profile case, the murder of Natalie McNally, the judge.. talked about a frenzied knife attack, he talked about wounds so bad the cause of death was unable to to be determined. There were no riots over the perpetrator of that brutal crime"
A 24-year-old Polish tennis player arrived in Paris last week ranked 114th in the world, with no sponsors, no guaranteed income, and no certainty she could even pay for her hotel room.
She had to win three qualifying matches just to enter the French Open main draw. Prize money is only paid at the end of the tournament, so a Polish sports drink brand quietly stepped in and covered her hotel bill.
Her name is Maja Chwalinska. And today, she plays in the French Open final.
Before this tournament, she had won exactly one Grand Slam main draw match in her entire career. She had battled depression so severe that in 2021 she couldn't get out of bed. She underwent knee surgery in 2022. She spent years grinding through small tournaments across Europe just to stay afloat.
Then she arrived in Paris, won three qualifiers, and kept winning. Zheng Qinwen. Elise Mertens. Maria Sakkari. Diana Shnaider. Nine straight matches. One set dropped.
She is now the first qualifier in French Open history to reach the final. The last time a qualifier reached a Grand Slam final, it was Emma Raducanu at the 2021 US Open. Raducanu won.
By simply making the final, Chwalinska has earned more prize money than her entire career combined. The runner-up cheque alone is $1.6 million. If she wins today, she takes home $3.25 million.
One week ago she couldn't pay for her hotel room.
I don't think you will see this clipped up by LBC because it shows Ferrari handed his arse by someone who knows what they are talking about. In this case by Sir Richard Dalton a former senior member of the British Diplomatic Service. The question and response at 3'20" is a personal favourite - Ferrari's head nearly explodes when he's told 'What a daft question?'. Enjoy.
🔥 Kemi Badenoch has sent a shot — and it landed.
A clear message to Rob Jenrick, Suella Braverman and Nadhim Zahawi:
Sorry you lost the leadership race.
Sorry you didn’t make the Shadow Cabinet.
Sorry you didn’t get a peerage.
But don’t pretend this is about principles. You disagree with none of our policies and offer no plan to fix Britain.
This is a tantrum dressed up as politics. 🎯
Trump: "I ended wars that were considered insoluble. Azerbaijan and Albania. It went on for many years."
The legendary battle between Azerbaijan and Albania for a place in his head lasted for decades. Trump lives in a parallel universe where he is a Nobel laureate for peace between Pokemons.