Top 5 Quotes the World of Sport Gave Us in 2025
The world of sports is a rich resource for quotes, ranging from the outright bizarre to truly inspirational. Throughout history, great sporting legends from Michael Jordan to Mohammed Ali have come up with quotes that have stood the test of time and get plenty of references even in 2025.
Think of the “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take” by ice hockey legend Wayne Gretzky, and Kobe Bryant’s inspirational “The moment you give up is the moment you let someone else win” quote. Sports personnel get cameras and microphones shoved in front of their faces all the time, so getting a little more up to date, let’s have a look at the best quotes of 2025 by those who are famous at the court, ring or at the pitch and who appear in sports betting predictions like Legalbet UK tips which include reasoning of why selections have been made.
Persistence on Court
“It’s time for me to sit back and to look at those finals and to maybe learn something, because I didn’t want it to happen again and again and again.” Aryna Sabalenka
2025 was a strange year for tennis superstar Aryna Sabalenka, who, in terms of titles and dominance at the top of the world rankings, was unsurpassed. But major failures at the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon left her on the brink of closing out the year without a Grand Slam title.
After the setback of losing in Paris, she made the above quote, a brave insight into admitting that she had made mistakes with her mindset in previous final defeats. It seemed to work as she gathered herself to win the US Open Grand Slam title in September and shake off those demons.
Snarky Comeback
“I won the fight with a jab” – Oleksandr Usyk.
Easily the best bit of boxing trash talk from 2025 so far came ahead of the Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois rematch in July. The two had met previously in August 2023, when Dubois was deemed to have caught Usyk with a controversial punch that sent Usyk to the canvas.
As the referee had judged the shot a low blow, Usyk was given time to recover, and he came back to stop Dubois in the ninth round after a barrage of shots. Ahead of the rematch, while rebutting claims from the other camp that he had acted to con the referee, the Ukrainian simply stated, “You are right, I deserve an Oscar. Listen, you must teach your fighter to punch clean, but I won the fight with a jab. Enough”
Amazing Foresight
“If we meet again, you can’t play in this system because we will solve it.” Oliver Glasner
In April 2025, Crystal Palace visited Man City in the Premier League and suffered a heavy 5-2 loss. In a reaction to the result, Palace boss Oliver Glasner came up with the above prescient quote, as he felt that deep down he had the key to beat the Citizens and sent his warning shot to City boss Pep Guardiola.
Just over a month later, the two teams met at Wembley for the FA Cup Final, where Palace were underdogs. But in a tremendous effort of defensive blocking, discipline and passion, the Eagles held out to take a 1-0 victory and secure the biggest result in the club’s history.
History Making
“Alright, I gotta go get a green jacket,” – Rory McIlroy.
Northern Ireland’s golf superstar Rory McIlroy joined a very exclusive club earlier this year by winning the Masters at the Augusta National Golf Club via a playoff against Justin Rose. The title completed a career Grand Slam for McIlroy, who became just the sixth man to win all four of the sport’s majors.
While buzzing around on the green after winning the title, McIlroy quipped, “Alright, I gotta go get a green jacket,” to the assembled gallery, in reference to the famous Green Jacket that the Masters winner earns, but one that had eluded him for so long.
The Comeback Kid
“Thank you to everyone who wrote me off, I’m grateful.’ – Chloe Kelly.
At the conclusion of one of the Women’s Euro 2025, England footballer Chloe Kelly, who had been so inspirational for the Lionesses throughout the knockout stages, was the star of the show. After helping England defeat Spain in the final via a penalty shoot-out, Kelly, who admitted her career had been in a ‘dark time” earlier in the year, reflected on her hardships saying, ‘Now a Euros final, I’ve won that, so, thank you to everyone that wrote me off, I’m grateful.’
