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Thailand will once again host the opening round of the MotoGP season in 2027, with Buriram's Chang International Circuit set to usher in a new era for the world championship. MotoGP confirmed the Thai Grand Prix will take place from March 5 to 7, making it the third consecutive year that Buriram stages the season opener and the first race to be contested under the championship's overhauled technical regulations.

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The 2027 rules represent MotoGP's biggest technical shake-up in more than a decade, including engine capacity being reduced to 850cc, Pirelli replacing Michelin as the championship's sole tyre supplier and the usage of fully sustainable fuel. The beginning of the new era will also coincide with one of the busiest rider markets in recent memory, with four former MotoGP world champions already confirmed to change teams. Jorge Martin will leave Aprilia to join new team-mate Ai Ogura at the factory Yamaha team, while Francesco Bagnaia will form an all-Italian line-up with Marco Bezzecchi at Aprilia Racing. Fabio Quartararo will end his long association with Yamaha to join Honda HRC, while Joan Mir will race for Gresini Racing.

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There will also be new faces on the grid, as Daniel Holgado will step up from Moto2 to partner Mir at Gresini, while former Moto3 world champion David Alonso has secured a multi-year deal with Honda ahead of his premier-class debut. With fresh technical regulations and an evolving rider market, the 2027 Thai Grand Prix is set to mark one of the most significant opening rounds in MotoGP history.

Former world number one Venus Williams and Kazakhstan's Alexander Bublik headline the latest wave of entries confirmed for the revamped 2026 US Open mixed doubles championship. The U.S. Tennis Association announced 13 additional pairings on Monday, bringing the total number of entries to 29 for the event, which will be held during the US Open Fan Week from August 24 to 26. Among the new teams are married couples Elina Svitolin/Gael Monfils and Katie Boulter/Alex de Minaur. Other notable pairings include Karolina Muchova/Jakub Mensik, Emma Navarro/Tommy Paul, Maria Sakkari/Karen Khachanov, Anna Kalinskaya/Lorenzo Musetti and Jelena Ostapenko/Marcelo Arevalo.

 

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The latest additions join an initial entry list announced last week that featured newly crowned Washington Open winner Alexandra Eala partnering Canadian world number four Felix Auger-Aliassime, as well as Aryna Sabalenka/Novak Djokovic, Iga Swiatek/Casper Ruud, Naomi Osaka/Kei Nishikori, and Jessica Pegula/Jack Draper. The mixed doubles championship adopted its standalone Fan Week format last year in a bid to attract more of the world's leading singles players. Six teams will earn direct entry based on their combined singles rankings after entries close on August 17, while eight wild cards and two qualifying spots will complete the draw. Italian duo Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori return as the two-time defending champions after defeating Swiatek and Ruud in last year's final.

Rafael Nadal congratulated Alexandra Eala after the Filipina captured the first WTA Tour title of her career with a stunning comeback victory at the 2026 Washington Open. The 22-time Grand Slam champion, whose academy in Mallorca helped shape Eala's development from the age of 13, celebrated the 21-year-old's historic achievement on social media following her 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 victory over world number three Jessica Pegula in the final. "Congratulations, Eala! What an incredible week in Washington! A well-deserved trophy for all your hard work. Congratulations as well to the Philippines and the entire Rafa Nadal Academy team!" Nadal wrote. Eala graduated from the Rafa Nadal Academy in 2023 and has maintained a close relationship with the Spanish great, who has repeatedly acknowledged her progress throughout her professional career.

 

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The title win marked another milestone in Eala's rapid rise, making her the first Filipino to win a WTA Tour-level singles title. It also capped a memorable week in Washington, where she defeated Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen, defending champion Leylah Fernandez, world number 10 Elina Svitolina and four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka before overcoming Pegula in the rain-delayed final. The latest triumph continued her breakthrough season that included winning the WTA 125 Birmingham Open, reaching the fourth round at Wimbledon and climbing to a career-high 20th in the world. Eala will next continue her North American hard-court swing at the Canadian Open and Cincinnati Open before taking on the US Open challenge, where she is entered in the women's singles and will partner Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime in the revamped mixed doubles event.

 

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MotoGP returns from its summer break this weekend as Silverstone hosts the 2026 British Grand Prix. Ahead of the action, live on SPOTV NOW, here are five things to know.

Closest title race after 11 rounds

The 2026 MotoGP title fight resumes with only 24 points separating the top five riders after the opening 11 rounds. It is the closest championship battle at this stage of the season since the pandemic-affected 2020 campaign, when the leading five were covered by 29 points. By comparison, the gap between championship leader Marc Marquez and second-placed Alex Marquez had already stretched to 83 points at the same stage last year.

 

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Silverstone's streak of different winners

The British Grand Prix has produced 11 different MotoGP winners across its last 11 editions, with Jorge Lorenzo starting the sequence in 2013 before Marco Bezzecchi extended it last season. The next-longest active streak is just six races, shared by Qatar, Barcelona and the Circuit of the Americas, underlining Silverstone's reputation as one of MotoGP's most unpredictable venues.

Winners at Britain's two MotoGP venues

Several riders have won Grands Prix at both Donington Park and Silverstone across different categories, but only three have achieved the feat in the MotoGP class: Casey Stoner, Valentino Rossi and Andrea Dovizioso. Stoner triumphed at Donington in 2007 and 2008 before winning at Silverstone in 2011. Rossi's victory in 2015 came after seven premier-class wins at Donington, while Dovizioso added Silverstone success in 2017 to his maiden MotoGP victory at Donington eight years earlier.

Feast or famine for Marc

Silverstone has rarely produced an ordinary weekend for Marc Marquez. Across 10 MotoGP starts at the circuit since 2013, the Spaniard has claimed four podium finishes, with his sole win in 2014, but also suffered four retirements. He finished fourth in the other two races. In other words, Marquez has stood on the podium, finished just off it or failed to finish altogether in every MotoGP appearance at Silverstone, highlighting the circuit's all-or-nothing nature for the eight-time world champion.

More racing action for fans

The British Grand Prix weekend also features two support championships alongside MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3: the Moto4 British Talent Cup and the Harley-Davidson Bagger World Cup. The latter will feature former MotoGP rider Bradley Smith, who has received a wildcard to race in front of his home crowd.

 

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