European golf success and Bobby Charlton death among best and worst sporting moments of 2023

Best and worst sporting moments of the year

It has been another astonishing year of sporting drama, featuring triumphs for Europe’s Ryder Cup team, a near-miss for England’s women footballers and a nightmare title defence for the men’s cricketers.

Here, we look back on five of the best and worst sporting moments of 2023.

Best moments

Darting perfection in World Championship final

Michael Smith fired a stunning nine-dart finish in one of the greatest legs in the history of the World Championship during the early stages of the final with Michael Van Gerwen.

In the third leg of the second set it was Van Gerwen who had the first chance at perfection, only to miss double 12. Smith, throwing second, was right behind him though, and made no mistake, following seven-successive treble 20s with a treble 19 and the prized double 12 to send the Alexandra Palace crowd wild. Smith’s perfect leg was the just the second in a World Championship final and he went on to complete a 7-4 victory.

Unseeded Vondrousova wins Wimbledon

Marketa Vondrousova defeated favourite Ons Jabeur in straight sets to make history as the first unseeded women’s singles champion at Wimbledon. The Czech player took advantage of a nervous performance from Jabeur to claim a 6-4 6-4 victory, just eight months after being ranked outside the world’s top 100 and winning a somewhat less prestigious tournament at The Shrewsbury Club in Shropshire.

With the Princess of Wales and tennis royalty Martina Navratilova and Billie Jean King watching from the front row of the Royal Box, Vondrousova recovered from 4-2 down in the opening set and 3-1 behind in the second to secure a first grand slam title.

Europe retain Solheim Cup after thrilling tie in Spain

Home favourite Carlota Ciganda played a starring role as Europe retained the Solheim Cup after a thrilling 14-14 draw with the United States, the first in the biennial contest’s history.

Trailing 4-0 after the opening foursomes, Suzann Pettersen’s side rallied magnificently at Finca Cortesin and it fittingly fell to Spanish star Ciganda to ensure the trophy would remain in Europe with her fourth win from four matches.

Pettersen, who will also captain the side in Virginia next year, said: “This is one of the best things I’ve been a part of and this is what makes Solheim Cups so special.”

Double gold for Britain in World Athletics Championship

Katarina Johnson-Thompson completed a stunning comeback to reclaim her world heptathlon title, edging out American favourite Anna Hall by just 20 points in Budapest.

It represented a remarkable return to the top for the 30-year-old following a ruptured Achilles in 2020 and a calf injury at the Tokyo Olympics which forced her to quit after day one. Three days later, Josh Kerr succeeded compatriot Jake Wightman as world champion over 1,500m as he outsprinted odds-on favourite Jakob Ingebrigtsen in the home straight.

Europe regain Ryder Cup in Rome

Two years after suffering a humiliating defeat by a record 19-9 margin at Whistling Straits, Europe regained the Ryder Cup from the United States in impressive fashion at Marco Simone.

Captained superbly by Luke Donald, who had inherited the role when Henrik Stenson was sacked for joining LIV Golf, the home side made the ideal start with an unprecedented 4-0 whitewash in the opening foursomes and never loosened their grip, with Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Viktor Hovland living up to their star billing.

Worst moments

Adam Johnson dies after accident in ice hockey game

Ice hockey and the wider sporting world was shocked by the death of Nottingham Panthers player Adam Johnson  in what the club described as a freak accident.

The 29-year-old American died on October 28 after being hit in the neck by an opposition player’s skate during a match at Sheffield’s Utilita Arena. Minnesota-born Johnson played for Pittsburgh Penguins in the National Hockey League before spending the 2020-21 season in Sweden with the Malmo Redhawks.

WTA Finals leaves top players feeling ‘disrespected’

For the third year in succession a late decision was made about the venue for the season-ending showpiece, with Cancun in hurricane season unsurprisingly proving a poor choice.

World number two Aryna Sabalenka easily won her opening match but then took to social media to criticise the arrangements for players, who were only able to practise in the temporary arena for the first time the day before matches got under way.

“I am very disappointed with the WTA and the experience so far at the WTA Finals,” Sabalenka wrote. “As a player, I feel really disrespected by the WTA. I think most of us do. To be honest, I don’t feel safe moving on this court a lot of the time.”

Sir Bobby Charlton dies

Tributes flooded in from the world of football following the death of Sir Bobby Charlton in October at the age of 86. He was a key member of England’s victorious 1966 World Cup team and also enjoyed great success at club level with Manchester United, who became the first English club to win the European Cup in 1968.

That triumph came 10 years after the Munich air disaster, which Charlton and team manager Sir Matt Busby survived but which claimed the lives of eight of Charlton’s team-mates. Charlton played in the World Cup final alongside his brother Jack – who died in 2020 – and won 106 caps for England, scoring 49 goals. His death means Sir Geoff Hurst is the only surviving member of the side from the World Cup win.

Luis Rubiales overshadows Spain’s World Cup triumph

Spain’s victory over England in the Women’s World Cup final in Sydney was overshadowed by the actions of Spanish Football Association president Luis Rubiales, who celebrated his nation’s victory by grabbing his crotch while standing alongside Spain’s Queen Letizia and 16-year-old Princess Infanta Sofia in a VIP box and then kissed Jenni Hermoso on the lips during the trophy presentation ceremony.

Hermoso said the kiss was not consensual and, after a long-running saga which included his mother staging a brief hunger strike, Rubiales eventually resigned and was banned by FIFA from all football-related activity for three years.

England’s Cricket World Cup defence

England arrived in India as reigning champions and well fancied to cement their legacy as the premier white-ball side of their generation. They departed after six long and chastening weeks with tails planted firmly between their legs, having conjured a calamitous cocktail of muddled selection, tactical naivety and rank bad form in the middle.

Captain Jos Buttler personified their struggles as they endured their worst-ever sequence of results at the tournament, unable to make a dent with the bat as his side were humbled by Jonathan Trott’s Afghanistan and a Sri Lanka side helmed by sacked England coach Chris Silverwood. A seventh-placed finish somehow flattered them.