The AW MD and 1984 Olympic silver medallist speaks to Tim Hutchings about her athletics career and life in the sport

The AW Podcast series kicks off with Wendy Sly talking to Tim Hutchings as the AW managing director and 1984 Olympic silver medallist shares insight into her athletics career and her life which has revolved around the sport.

“I don’t know what my life would have been like without athletics,” says Sly, who moved into publishing and team management following her elite running career.

“I’m approaching 50 years of being in the sport, which is quite scary.

“From a young girl and it being my social life, to it being my professional life, then stepping away a little bit and focusing on becoming a good publisher to then doing team management and now coming back and running AW, it has always been there.

“I love still being a part of it. It has shaped me, I suppose.”

Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro will have surgery after re-fracturing his right kneecap during his victory over Denis Shapovalov at Queen's.

The world number 12 slipped as he slid for a volley in the second set and later withdrew from the tournament.

Del Potro - a quarter-finalist at Wimbledon in 2018 - has only played five events since suffering the initial fracture in Shanghai last October.

The 30-year-old was due to play at Wimbledon, which starts on 1 July.

Del Potro underwent medical exams after withdrawing from Queen's due to pain and swelling in his knee.

"The surgery will take place in the next couple of days with a date and location to be determined," said his team.

Del Potro, who beat world number 25 Shapovalov 7-5 6-4, was seeded third in the singles at the tournament and has also withdrawn from the doubles with partner and compatriot Horacio Zeballos.

World number one Naomi Osaka followed up her early French Open exit with a shock second-round loss to Kazakhstan's Yulia Putintseva in Birmingham.

The Japanese 21-year-old could fall in the rankings after losing 6-2 6-3.

Roland Garros champion Ashleigh Barty, 23, may soon replace Osaka at the top after reaching the quarter-finals.

In Mallorca, 2018 Wimbledon champion Angelique Kerber beat Maria Sharapova, who missed the clay-court season after having shoulder surgery.

The German 31-year-old defeated Sharapova, who has dropped to 85th in the world rankings, 6-2 6-3.

The Mallorca Open was 32-year-old Russian Sharapova's first tournament since she withdrew from a second-round match at the St Petersburg Ladies Trophy in January.

Barty beat American Jennifer Brady 6-3 6-1 and is now close to taking the world number one ranking from US Open and Australian Open champion Osaka, who was beaten by unseeded Czech player Katerina Siniakova in the French Open third round.

Osaka would have stayed top if she had reached the final in Birmingham, but if Barty wins the title she will become world number one.

"The stars have aligned a little bit for me and I think when you get those opportunities you have to do your best to take them with both hands," said Barty, who has now won nine matches in a row.

Five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams, 39, also reached the quarter-finals with a 6-3 6-2 win against Chinese sixth seed Wang Qiang.

The Birmingham Nature Valley Classic and Mallorca Open are grass-court tournaments which take place in the run-up to Wimbledon.

Australian Nick Kyrgios accused a line judge of "rigging the game" and swore at the umpire in his first-round win at Queen's.

Kyrgios, 24, also berated himself for "playing Fifa until 3am" before beating Spain's Roberto Carballes Baena.

The world number 39 ranted at umpire Fergus Murphy after losing a set point which he claimed should have been called as a double fault.

"It couldn't have been further out. What are you doing?" he said.

Kyrgios was given a code violation for unsportsmanlike behaviour after his first tirade, although that did not stop him continuing to question the integrity of the officials and threatening to walk off court.

"The ball was this far out on the second serve. I'm going," he added.

"I'm not going to give 100% when I've got linesmen rigging the game; I don't want to play."

His other antics included peering over a fence at a changeover to watch Gilles Simon's match against Kevin Anderson on the adjacent court, trying to fist-bump with a line judge and mocking the umpire's choice of headwear.

"It's a joke, man. It's a serious joke," he said to Murphy. "Like your hat looks ridiculous, also. It's not even sunny."

Despite his angry outbursts, Kyrgios went on to win 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 to set up a second-round match against Canadian teenager Felix Auger-Aliassime, which will take place later on Thursday following a rain-disrupted week in west London.

Britain's Kyle Edmund was knocked out of Queen's 6-3 7-5 in the first round by Greek top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Trailing 6-3 3-3 when bad weather ended play on Wednesday, Edmund was unable to turn the match around on Thursday as British interest in the singles ended.

Edmund, 24, saved six match points before the 20-year-old Greek clinched victory with a backhand down the line.

Tsitsipas returned later to beat Jeremy Chardy 4-6 7-6 (7-0) 7-6 (7-4) and secure his place in the quarter-finals.

He will face eighth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime after the 18-year-old Canadian ended the challenge of Grigor Dimitrov 6-4 6-4 and controversial Australian Nick Kyrgios 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-3) 7-5.

Three first-round singles matches had to be completed at the start of play on Thursday after Tuesday's play was washed out and only a handful of matches were completed on Wednesday.

But the highlight on day four was the return of Andy Murray alongside Spain's Feliciano Lopez after five months out following a hip operation.

The pair's match against Colombia's Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah is the fifth match on centre court at the Fever-Tree Championships in London.

Tsitsipas punishes Edmund

Edmund was making his competitive return after retiring from the French Open with a knee injury earlier this month.

The Yorkshireman did not look his sharpest in the first set on Wednesday as he struggled to cope with Tsitsipas' power and precision.

Flashes of sunshine greeted them when they returned on Thursday lunchtime as Edmund looked to make a quick start.

The world number 30 was unable to convert a break point in the seventh game and it proved costly when Tsitsipas eventually ended his resistance by taking his seventh match point when a Hawk-Eye replay showed his backhand had just clipped the line.

Champion Cilic, Anderson & Wawrinka all beaten

Croatia's defending champion and fifth seed Marin Cilic was a surprise second-round casualty, losing 6-4 6-4 to Queen's Club debutant Diego Schwartzman.

Argentine Schwartzman, 26, secured early breaks in both sets to wrap up only his third career win on grass.

Second seed Kevin Anderson, who beat Britain's Cameron Norrie in round one, lost in three sets to France's Gilles Simon.

The big-serving 33-year-old South African - last year's Wimbledon runner-up - has missed most of the season because of an elbow injury and his rustiness told as Simon ran out a 6-1 4-6 6-4 winner.

Seventh seed Stan Wawrinka was also knocked out, losing 3-6 7-5 7-6 (7-2) to 37-year-old world 191 Nicolas Mahut.

Mahut will face fellow Frenchman Simon in the next round.

Britain's Andy Murray came through his first match since a career-saving hip operation with an impressive victory in the Queen's doubles.

Murray, 32, was seemingly set for retirement before having his hip resurfaced in January.

Five months later the Scot was back on court alongside Spain's Feliciano Lopez at the Fever-Tree Championships.

The pair won 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 against Colombian top seeds Robert Farah and Juan Sebastian Cabal.

"It was brilliant. I enjoyed it a lot," Murray told BBC Sport. "I was a bit slow at the beginning and got better as the match went on.

"I'm fortunate to be back playing again.

"Leading up to the match I was quite relaxed but I was a bit nervous when we started walking to the court.

"You want the nerves and the butterflies in the stomach and I had that."

Analysis

BBC tennis correspondent Russell Fuller

Punching the air at regular intervals and seemingly loving every minute after five months on the sidelines, Murray returned as a winner.

He was at his sharpest in the second set - executing a high backhand volley with a high degree of difficulty, and then hitting two thumping forehand returns to get the decisive break of serve.

Murray also took a tumble, to no ill-effect, and there was no sign of the on-court limp we had become so accustomed to before his surgeon worked her magic.

More soon.

Scarlets have signed three new players, including lock Danny Drake from New Zealand province North Harbour.

The 24-year-old's signing came at the same time Scarlets announced two recruits who are moving from Welsh rivals.

Scrum-half Dane Blacker is leaving Cardiff Blues for Parc y Scarlets and tight-head prop Alex Jeffries is joining them from Ospreys.

"I'm really excited to touch down on Welsh soil," said Drake.

Former Wales Under-18s and 20s lock Blacker has played in the Pro14 and European Champions Cup and arrives following the departure of Scotland scrum-half Sam Hidalgo-Clyne.

Jeffries is also a former Wales age-grade international and made 18 senior appearances for Ospreys.

Drake will have a fellow New Zealander as company at lock in Sam Lousi, who joins from Super Rugby side Hurricanes under new coach Brad Mooar.

"Danny, Dane and Alex are talented young players who will be excellent additions to our squad," said Scarlets general manager of rugby Jon Daniels.

"We have worked hard to ensure we have put together a group of players capable of competing for silverware and re-signing players of the calibre of Johnny McNicholl, Jon Davies, Ken Owens, Rob Evans and others have been crucial to that."

For the latest Welsh rugby news follow @BBCScrumV on Twitter.

Former England Sevens star Ruaridh McConnochie and Harlequins' back rower Alex Dombrandt are two of the uncapped players included in England's preliminary World Cup training squad.

Northampton's Lewis Ludlam and Gloucester prop Val Rapava Ruskin have also both been called up to a senior squad for the first time.

As expected, the quartet of Danny Care, Chris Robshaw, Nathan Hughes and captain Dylan Hartley all miss out.

Hartley has not played since December.

The hooker, 33, led England to back-to-back Six Nations titles in 2016 and 2017 under head coach Eddie Jones, but has been struggling with a knee problem.

The World Cup will take place in Japan from 20 September-2 November.

England's 29-man training group is made up mainly of players who were not involved in the Premiership semi-finals at the end of May.

According to protocols agreed with the Rugby Players' Association, all players are guaranteed a five-week rest after the end of their season.

However, Ludlam and Rapava Ruskin both featured in the Premiership semi-finals, while Dombrandt and fly-half Marcus Smith - who is also named - were involved in an England XV against the Barbarians on 2 June.

The RFU say these players will have their workload monitored to ensure the correct rest periods are fulfilled.

While a place in the final 31-man World Cup squad, to be named in mid-August, looks a long shot at this stage, McConnochie and Dombrandt have both come from nowhere to force their way into contention.

Bath's McConnochie was playing rugby sevens as recently as last year, while Dombrandt is in his first season as a professional after finishing his university studies.

Ludlam has also enjoyed a breakthrough season at Franklin's Gardens, while Rapava Ruskin comes into the frame after the injury to Mako Vunipola and retirement of Joe Marler.

While Marler is considering his options, he has not been named in this training squad and remains in international retirement.

Elsewhere, the dropping of Robshaw and Care represent two of the biggest selection decisions made by Jones.

Both were central parts of the first three years of the Australian's regime, before falling out of favour.

By dropping them at this point and not bringing them into camp, Jones has shown he already knows the main composition of his final World Cup squad.

On this note, Jones has resisted the temptation to bring Hartley into the set-up to continue his recovery from his chronic knee problem.

It means the hooker's chances of making the World Cup squad are all but over, with Owen Farrell set to captain in his absence.

However Leicester prop Dan Cole and Harlequins full-back Mike Brown, both surplus to requirements of late, have made the squad, while Wasps scrum-half Dan Robson has recovered from deep vein thrombosis.

"The first two England training camps are designed to improve individual players' fundamentals to allow them to compete for a place in the Rugby World Cup squad," said head coach Jones.