Valentino Rossi is an Italian former professional motorcycle road racer and nine-time Grand Prix motorcycle racing World Champion. Nicknamed The Doctor, he is widely considered to be one of the greatest motorcycle racers of all time, with some labelling him as the greatest ever. He has nine Grand Prix World Championships to his name, seven of which were in the premier 500cc/MotoGP class. He holds the record of most premier class victories, with 89 victories to his name. He won premier class World Championships with both Honda and Yamaha. He is also the only road racer to have competed in 400 or more Grands Prix, and rode with the number 46 for his entire career.
Sania Mirza is an Indian former professional tennis player. A former doubles world No. 1, she won six major titles – three in women's doubles and three in mixed doubles. From 2003 until her retirement from singles in 2013, she was ranked by the Women's Tennis Association as the Indian No. 1 in singles. Throughout her career, Mirza has established herself as one of the most known, highest-paid, and influential athletes in India.
Kevin Michael Harvick is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 4 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing.
Richard Gabriel Cyr Gasquet is a French professional tennis player. His career-high ATP singles ranking is world No. 7, attained on 9 July 2007. He has won 16 singles titles on the ATP Tour equal eight most among active players. He is also fourth among active players with over 590 career match wins. His best performances in Grand Slam singles tournaments have been three semifinal appearances, two at the Wimbledon Championships and once at the US Open. His best performance in ATP World Tour Masters 1000 singles tournaments was being the runner-up in Hamburg in 2005 and Toronto in 2006 and 2012. He won the mixed doubles title at the 2004 French Open, partnering with Tatiana Golovin. He also won the men's doubles Olympic bronze medal in 2012 with his doubles partner Julien Benneteau.
Stanislas Wawrinka is a Swiss professional tennis player. He reached a career-high Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) singles ranking of world No. 3 for the first time on 27 January 2014. His career highlights include three Grand Slam titles, those being the 2014 Australian Open, 2015 French Open and 2016 US Open, where he defeated the world No. 1 player in the final on all three occasions. Other achievements include reaching the final of the 2017 French Open, winning an ATP Tour Masters 1000 title at the 2014 Monte-Carlo Masters, and reaching three other Masters finals. Representing Switzerland, Wawrinka won gold in doubles at the 2008 Beijing Olympics with teammate Roger Federer, and was also pivotal in the Swiss team's victory at the 2014 Davis Cup. Wawrinka considers clay his best and favorite surface, and his serve and backhand his best shots. John McEnroe once said that Wawrinka has one of the most powerful backhands ever, and in 2009 said he possessed "the best one-handed backhand in the game." He has been described by The Economist as "Tennis's great latecomer", owing to finding success late in his career. Prior to the 2014 French Open, he requested and was granted a formal change in his name from "Stanislas Wawrinka" to "Stan Wawrinka", stating that he plans to use the abbreviated name in tournament draws and press conferences.
Martin Kližan is a Slovak former professional tennis player. The winner of the 2006 French Open boys' singles title, Kližan turned pro in 2007 and had a career-high singles ranking of world No. 24, achieved on 27 April 2015, and world No. 73 in doubles, achieved on 4 May 2015.
Joseph Thomas Logano, is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 22 Ford Mustang for Team Penske. Logano is the 2018 and 2022 NASCAR Cup Series champion. He previously drove the No. 20 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing from 2009 to 2012, scoring two wins, 16 top-five finishes, and 41 top tens. He also competed in the No. 02 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing and the No. 96 Toyota Camry for Hall of Fame Racing, both in 2008 on a part-time basis.
Irina-Camelia Begu is a Romanian professional tennis player. She reached a career-high singles ranking of No. 22 in the world, in August 2016. Two years later, she reached her highest WTA doubles ranking, also No. 22. Begu has won five singles titles and nine doubles titles on the WTA Tour. She also has won two singles titles on the WTA Challenger Tour, as well as 12 singles and 19 doubles titles on the ITF Circuit.
Jordan Alexander Spieth is an American professional golfer on the PGA Tour and former world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking. He is a three-time major winner and the 2015 FedEx Cup champion.
Danka Kovinić is a Montenegrin professional tennis player.
The 2014–15 UEFA Europa League was the 44th season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the sixth season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League.
Andrew Gilding is an English professional darts player who plays in events of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). He made his television debut in 2011. He won his maiden televised title at the 2023 UK Open.
The 2015–16 UEFA Europa League was the 45th season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the seventh season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League.
The 2015 NHL Entry Draft was the 53rd NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on June 26–27, 2015, at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida. The first three selections were Connor McDavid going to the Edmonton Oilers, Jack Eichel going to the Buffalo Sabres, and Dylan Strome going to the Arizona Coyotes.
The 2016 NHL Entry Draft was the 54th NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on June 24–25, 2016 at the First Niagara Center in Buffalo, New York. The first three selections were Auston Matthews going to the Toronto Maple Leafs, Patrik Laine going to the Winnipeg Jets, and Pierre-Luc Dubois going to the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The Asian section of the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification acted as qualifiers for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, held in Russia, for national teams which were members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). 4.5 slots in the final tournament were available for AFC teams.
The Men's team pursuit event of the 2015 UCI Track Cycling World Championships was held on 18–19 February 2015.
The Men's keirin event of the 2015 UCI Track Cycling World Championships was held on 19 February 2015.
The Women's keirin event of the 2015 UCI Track Cycling World Championships was held on 22 February 2015.
William McComas Byron Jr. is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Hendrick Motorsports. He won the 2015 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Championship and the Sunoco Rookie of the Year award in the 2016 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season. The following season he won both the 2017 NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship and 2017 Sunoco Rookie of the Year. Byron also won the 2018 MENCS Sunoco Rookie of the Year award.
