theSIGNAL SPORT
5 September 2026
"Champions are defined not by how many times they win, but by how they rise when they fall."
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Sport

Kolisi calls on Soweto's soul

Siya Kolisi is not letting anyone pretend Saturday is just another Test match. Standing on the edge of Soweto, South Africa's first black captain has urged his Springboks to draw strength from the township's history — from the 1976 student uprising that helped crack apartheid, to the football legacy embedded in the 94,736-seat FNB Stadium where Africa first hosted a World Cup. "So many heroes have come from there," Kolisi said. "All of that gives us more to play for." He went further, naming assistant coach Mzwandile Stick alongside himself as living proof of what those sacrifices made possible.…
  • Can sport ever truly honour a political struggle, or does it risk trivialising it?
Sport

Tax Break Push for Women's Sport TV

Twenty-five executives from the FA, RFU, ECB, Sky Sports, ITV, and YouTube have written to Chancellor John Healey demanding tax credits for women's sport production — the same relief independent films have enjoyed since 2004. Their trigger: only 13% of televised sport watched in Britain last year featured women, a figure they call a market failure with real economic and public health consequences.
  • Should governments use tax policy to correct imbalances in sports media coverage?
"
After the first set you wondered if Serena and Venus would be able to find their mojo — but, boy, they did.
Chanda Rubin, former professional tennis player and commentator
Photo: J. Schiemann / Unsplash
Venus and Serena Williams acknowledge the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd after their narrow three-set defeat.
Sport

Williams Sisters Lose, but Arthur Ashe Roars

Serena and Venus, aged 44 and 46, push 14th seeds Chan and Joint to a dramatic match tie-break on a packed Ashe night court.

It is 11 p.m. on a Friday in New York, and 20,000 people are holding their breath. A first-round women's doubles match has never headlined the US Open night session before — but then, no doubles pairing has ever been quite like this one.

Serena Williams, 44, and Venus Williams, 46, stride onto Arthur Ashe Stadium to a reception that shakes the upper deck, four years after they last walked this court together. The first set is a warning. The sisters look rusty, disconnected, and 14th seeds Chan Hao-ching and Maya Joint take it 6-3 with businesslike efficiency. Commentator Chanda Rubin — who lost to the Williams sisters in the 1999 US Open doubles final — voices what the crowd is thinking: after that first set, you wonder if they can find their mojo.

Then, gradually, they do. The second set unravels into a tie-break that Serena and Venus claim 8-6, and the decibel levels inside Ashe climb back to something approaching the opening roar. The deciding set becomes a rollercoaster. Chan and Joint surge to 4-1, and the stadium falls quiet.

What follows, though, is vintage Williams — two players who have built extraordinary careers on refusing to accept the obvious outcome.

🎾
8
Singles titles won by the sisters on Ashe
Discuss
  • Why do you think the Williams sisters' comeback attracted so much public attention worldwide?
  • Chanda Rubin said the match was 'unbelievable' in its competitiveness. What makes a losing performance still feel like a victory?
  • Should athletes in their mid-forties be encouraged to keep competing professionally, or does it risk harming their legacy?
  • How does crowd atmosphere affect the performance of athletes, based on what you read in this article?
  • If you were Serena or Venus, would you retire after this match or continue competing? What factors would influence your decision?
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theSIGNAL IN THE LAB
1VOCABULARY
businesslike efficiencyunravels
rollercoastervintageembedded
soaked inmarket failure
2GRAMMAR FOCUS
Dependent prepositions — verb/adjective + preposition patterns
Many verbs and adjectives in English are always followed by a specific preposition; this combination is fixed and must be learned as a chunk (e.g. 'insist on', 'ready for', 'soaked in').
for · from · in · of · on · to · beyond
  1. Kolisi urged his Springboks to draw strength the history of Soweto and the sacrifices made during the apartheid era.
  2. The crowd fell quiet as Chan and Joint surged ahead, and many fans began to despair a Williams comeback.
  3. Venus Williams said she should not be forced thinking about retirement after her early singles exit.
  4. The executives argued that the 13% figure was proof a real market failure in the coverage of women's sport.
  5. The weight the Springboks carried on Saturday went well the scoreboard, according to Siya Kolisi.
  6. Serena and Venus looked destined the second round after sprinting to a 5-0 lead in the match tie-break.
3PHRASAL VERBS
Match the phrasal verb (1–6) to its definition (A–F). All six appear in today's articles.
  1. 1. walk out onto (a court or stage)
  2. 2. gradually become less controlled or structured
  3. 3. recover ground after falling behind
  4. 4. refuse to participate in something
  5. 5. leave a competition at a particular stage
4CRITICAL THINKING
The tax relief letter describes the 13% figure as 'a market failure' rather than simply a cultural preference. What is the difference between those two framings, and does the distinction matter when deciding whether government intervention is appropriate?
5CREATIVE · HEADLINES
Write a headline for the Williams sisters' match in each of the following styles. One line each, no explanation:
  • TABLOID NEWSPAPER
  • LUXURY MAGAZINE
  • ACTIVIST BLOG
6WRITING
Kolisi connects a rugby Test match to the Soweto uprising and the sacrifices of an earlier generation. Write a short speech (80–100 words) that a captain from any sport might deliver before a match played at a historically significant venue — making the link between past and present feel genuine rather than hollow.
7DEGREES OF EXTREMITY
Complete each ladder from mild to strong using words from the articles or related vocabulary. Fill in the missing steps.
  • quiet applause→→
  • a little tired→→
  • comfortable→→
  • ___________→→
  • a minor imbalance→→
  • meaningful→→
8SPEAKING
  1. Which sister do you think faces more pressure returning — why?
  2. Does Kolisi's speech make the match result matter less?
  3. What would make the 13% coverage figure change fastest?
  4. Should sporting venues carry political history permanently?