Luke Littler showed he had wheels, the women’s sport excelled, Ange Postecoglou took refuge in a box set and Ben Stokes reignited an old feud with Ian ‘Beefy’ Botham.
In 2025, the story of sports is shaped not just by what is done, but by what is said. Here are some of the best quotes of the year.
“I’m 35 and he’s 17. A star is born every 17 years.”
Back in January, 17-year-old Luke Littler made sporting history by defeating Michael van Gerwen in the final of the World Darts Championship.
– Luke Littler Effect: How ‘The Nuke’ changed darts like Tiger Woods changed golf
“There must be a tectonic shift.”
Wales were hurt in 2025. After a tumultuous 2024 for Welsh rugby, in which there were hopes that things could turn around in the past year, former Wales star Alun Wyn Jones has given a harsh but fair assessment of the fate of rugby in both countries after a 68-14 defeat to England handed them the wooden spoon of the Six Nations.
“I won’t get much sleep tonight, but I’ll be fine.”
In the most classic French Open final of all time, three match points separated Jannik Sinner from glory at Roland Garros. Please enter, Carlos Alcaraz. The Spaniard won the trophy in an epic five-set, adrenaline-filled battle that lasted five hours and 29 minutes.
“They’re all great TV series. Season 3 is better than Season 2.”
Ange Postecoglou promised to deliver a trophy in his second season at Spurs, and he delivered. After leading Tottenham to the Europa League trophy, he declared there was more to come. However, he later accurately predicted the plot twist.
“I should have thought about it a little more because I could have killed the main character.”
Sixteen days after taking the Europa League trophy back from Bilbao to north London, Spurs sacked Postecoglou.
“I asked Emma if she wanted to play doubles with me. She took a while to reply.”
For the first time ever, the U.S. Open featured a 16-team mixed doubles event featuring dynamic duos from the top of the men’s and women’s tours. Emma Raducanu seemed calm when Alcaraz asked her to be his partner.
“I’m sorry your team always came in last place. It’s time to say goodbye.”
After 26 years in the hot seat, Gary Lineker has signed on as host of Match of the Day. In November 2024, he apologized for sharing anti-Semitic social media posts and announced that he would step down from the football program and retire at the end of the 2024-25 season.
– Gary Lineker to leave BBC early, won’t feature in 2026 World Cup – Reactions
“The stadium went silent. It went silent. There was no energy coming back from the stands.”
England manager Thomas Tuchel was furious at the lack of atmosphere at Wembley during England’s 3-0 friendly win over Wales.
– Tuchel slams Wembley crowd who were ‘silent’ during England’s win over Wales
“Are our voices loud enough?”
Fast forward to the next game and England’s away fans reacted in Latvia.
– England manager Thomas Tuchel responds in good spirits to fans’ provocations
“In that case you’ll be playing Mario Kart. Then you’ll have to attach bits to your car so you can throw bananas.”
Max Verstappen has come up with a plan to make the Monaco Grand Prix more interesting.
“I never miss a penalty twice.”
Lioness Chloe Kelly saves a penalty in the Euro 2025 semi-final. She stepped up to win European glory for the second year in a row and scored the winning kick in the final against Spain.
“It’s okay if it’s your first time or if you’re a minor.”
Although he had failed several theory tests in the past, Luke the Nuke successfully passed his driving test for the first time. Littler, who has won well over £1.5 million in prize money in his short career so far, reminded the world that despite his incredible success, he is actually still only 17 years old.
– Luke Littler’s highlight in driving test after expensive traffic stop
“The thing I was most disappointed about was the people who came to see it that day.”
Amanda Anisimova reflected on her crushing 6-0, 6-0 loss to Iga Swiatek in the Wimbledon final.
“It’s really crazy, I’ve never played so well in a game before.”
Ronnie O’Sullivan made two 147 breaks in the same match at the Saudi Masters.
“You can’t go to a race and be handed the keys to a Honda Civic and say, ‘I want you to drive it like a Ferrari.’ That’s not going to happen.”
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has been left perplexed by the club’s transfer business. Fissures began to appear in the second half of the season, when Celtic were eliminated from the Champions League by Kazakhstan side Khairat Almaty.
– Rodgers resigns as Celtic manager after poor start to season
“Our recent failures are not due to our structures or models, but to one individual’s desire for self-preservation at the expense of others.”
Dermot Desmond, Celtic’s majority shareholder, had a less than happy farewell to Rodgers after he resigned.
“Everyone, shut up!”
Rory McIlroy reacted in the same way to the Americans’ wild heckling at the Ryder Cup, but their noise didn’t get the best of Team Europe to victory.
– Ryder Cup 2025: The best moments of the final round
“We hope we can inspire young girls to go pick up a ball, any kind of ball, any sport, and do whatever they want in the world, because if you dream big enough, you can have it.”
England Rugby Union captain Zoe Aldcroft hopes the Red Roses’ victory at the Women’s World Cup will inspire the next generation of girls.
“There are quite a few reasons why we can’t prepare as well as we have in the past.”
England captain Ben Stokes had Sir Ian Botham and Michael Vaughan in his sights before Ashes.
“It’s like Tiger Woods going to the Masters and playing some crazy golf and hitting a few windmills and saying he’s ready.”
Vaughan doubled down after his first Test drubbing.
