Serena Williams began her search for her record-equaling 24th Grand Slam with a challenging win over fellow American Kristie Ahn in the first round of the French Open. The 39-year-old trailed twice by a break in the opening set, eventually winning in a tie break before decisively sweeping aside 28-year-old Ahn. It took Williams one…

Lewis Hamilton says race stewards are “trying to stop me” after he was denied a record-equaling 91st career win at the Russian Grand Prix on Sunday. Hamilton was penalized for performing practice starts outside his designated area and was handed two five-second penalties that saw him drop out of contention. The six-time world champion had…

Jamie Vardy scored a hat trick as Leicester City thrashed Manchester City 5-2 in the Premier League at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday. Riyad Mahrez’s thunderbolt opened the scoring in the first half but Vardy’s first penalty of the afternoon leveled the scores just before halftime. The English striker’s clever flick gave Leicester the lead…

Valtteri Bottas won his second Formula One race of the 2020 season, easing to victory at the Russian Grand Prix after teammate Lewis Hamilton was hampered by two separate five-second penalties. Hamilton was penalized for performing practice starts outside his designated area as he left the pits. Bottas, who started third in Sochi, moved into…

Manchester United got its first Premier League points of the season thanks to a 100th-minute penalty from Bruno Fernandes to finally win 3-2 in an enthralling game against Brighton and Hove Albion. Brighton opened the scoring, a coolly finished Neal Maupay penalty giving the hosts the lead before Lewis Dunk put the ball into his…

The tennis world waited seven months for the return of grand slams. Now, like buses, two have come along at once. Having been moved from its usual May start date, the French Open gets underway on Sunday, two weeks after the conclusion of the US Open and a week after the Italian Open, the traditional…

Rather than “moving the goalposts” it was a case of shortened ones ahead of Thursday’s Europa League game between Tottenham Hotspuur and North Macedonian side Shkëndija. Upon inspecting the frame of the goal, Spurs head coach Jose Mourinho sensed something was amiss. It turned out the crossbar was five centimeters lower than it should have…

The “Manchester Derby” between Manchester United and Manchester City usually determines if the city is red or blue. But now the city is fully red, white and blue with the arrival of four members of the 2019 Women’s World Cup winning USWNT side in Manchester. Tobin Heath and Christen Press are at Manchester United while…

Former Australia cricketer Dean Jones has died of cardiac arrest at the age of 59, Indian broadcaster Star India confirmed in a statement on Thursday. Jones, considered to be one of the greatest batsmen of his generation, had been commentating on the Indian Premier League (IPL) in Mumbai and his sudden death prompted tributes from…

It seems a script you simply couldn’t write. Actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have been named as potential investors in Wrexham AFC, a Welsh soccer team currently playing in English football’s fifth tier. The club’s supporters trust confirmed that Reynolds, known for appearing in blockbusters such as “Deadpool,” and McElhenney — co-creator and star…

TV viewers tuning in to Thursday’s UEFA Super Cup can be excused for thinking they’ve stumbled across highlights of a months-old fixture, so accustomed have they become to seeing sparse — or no — crowds in attendance. In the age of coronavirus, the sight of more than 15,000 fans in the Puskas Arena will be…

Oklahoma City Thunder star Chris Paul says NBA players are acutely aware of the current social justice movement and feel empowered to make a difference. Paul, the president of the National Basketball Players Association, has been one of many leading voices from the sport to speak out on a number of social issues. Stars from…

A leading director or football has strongly defended his club’s decision not to take a knee before games. Queens Park Rangers director Les Ferdinand, a former England international, said on Monday he feels the impact of players taking a knee “has now been diluted” and that the gesture was now “not dissimilar to a fancy…

Veteran striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic fired AC Milan to a 2-0 victory over Bologna on Monday in its opening game of the new Serie A season. The 38-year-old, who referred to himself as Benjamin Button on social media, defied his age once again to score a brace and help extend Milan’s unbeaten run in all competitions…

American golfer Bryson DeChambeau won the 120th edition of US Open Championship Sunday at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, New York. The win marks the first victory for DeChambeau at one of golf’s major championships. DeChambeau, who turned 27 this week, won the tournament by a comfortable margin of six strokes. DeChambeau’s final score…

Tadej Pogacar became the first Slovenian to win the Tour de France as the famous three-week race ended on the Champs-Elysees in Paris on Sunday. Pogacar, who celebrates his 22nd birthday on Monday, is the youngest winner since 1904, sealing his triumph with a sensational performance in the mountain time trial on the penultimate stage.…

Since Gareth Bale joined Real Madrid for a then world record fee in 2013, only Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema have scored more goals for Los Blancos. By every tangible metric, the Welshman’s stay in the Spanish capital was a success; four Champions Leagues, two La Liga titles and one Copa del Rey, as well…

For LeBron James, breaking NBA records has become a habit. And on Wednesday, he broke yet another, becoming the player selected to the most All-NBA teams when it was announced he was selected to his 16th in his 17-year career. The Los Angeles Lakers star moved past Hall of Famers Tim Duncan, Kobe Bryant and…

Four-time WNBA champion Maya Moore has tied the knot with Jonathan Irons, the man whose wrongful conviction she helped overturn. The pair met in 1998 in a prison ministry when Moore was a teenager and Irons was serving a 50-year sentence for burglary and assaulting a homeowner with a gun — a conviction that was…

The former head of athletics’ governing body, Lamine Diack, has been sentenced to two years in prison after being found guilty on charges of corruption related to the Russian doping scandal, a Paris courthouse announced on Wednesday. Diack, 87, was found guilty of soliciting $4.1 million (3.45 million euros) from athletes suspected of doping to…

The late Kobe Bryant announced his retirement from basketball in November 2015 in a poem entitled “Dear Basketball.” In his final game, on April 13, 2016, at the end of the LA Lakers’ worst-ever season as they went 17-65, Bryant gave fans one final glimpse of his greatness by scoring 60 points in victory over…

Lionel Messi may not have got his desired move away from Barcelona this summer, but he still has one billion reasons to be happy off the pitch. The Argentine has topped this year’s football rich list, according to Forbes, to become just the second player in history — after Cristiano Ronaldo — to reach $1…

The European Union says it condemns “in the strongest terms” the execution of Iranian champion wrestler Navid Afkari. Afkari was executed in Iran on Saturday, according to Iran’s state-run news agency IRNA, despite a high-profile international campaign calling for the sentence not to be carried out. The 27-year-old was executed at a prison in Shiraz,…

Newly-crowned grand slam champion Dominic Thiem has dedicated his US Open triumph to his family for making “so many sacrifices” over the years in support of his career. The Austrian, 27, came from two sets down against good friend Alex Zverev in a brutal, nerve-shredding four-hour marathon to finally win the first major of his…

Paris Saint-Germain forward Neymar says he was the target of a racist slur during the French champions’ 1-0 defeat by Olympique Marseille in Ligue 1 on Sunday. The player at the center of the storm is Marseille’s Álvaro González. The 28-year-old was one of five players sent off during the match at PSG’s home stadium,…

Lewis Hamilton wore a T-shirt remembering Breonna Taylor on the six-month anniversary of her death when he took to the victory podium Sunday after winning the Tuscan Grand Prix at Mugello, Italy. The six-time Formula One champion’s shirt had “ARREST THE COPS WHO KILLED BREONNA TAYLOR” written on the front and “SAY HER NAME” above…

Lewis Hamilton won a chaotic Tuscan Grand Prix at Mugello on Sunday marked by two spectacular multi-car collisions and a miserable afternoon for Ferrari in its 1,000th Formula One race. Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas finished second, with Thai-born Briton Alex Albon an excellent third for Red Bull. Ferrari duo, Charles Leclerc and four-time world…

Canada’s Brooke Henderson charged into the joint lead with Nelly Korda at the second women’s major of the season with a seven-under 65 in the third round of the ANA Inspiration on Saturday. With the temperature gauge topping 100 degrees late in the day, Henderson’s red-hot display matched the conditions as she tied the front…

Mo Salah scored a hat trick to secure a 4-3 victory for English Premier League champion Liverpool in a breathtaking opening day match with Marcelo Bielsa’s swashbuckling Leeds United side at Anfield on Saturday. The away side came from behind three times and looked set to be earning a precious point until Salah converted an…

Nadhim Shaker, one of Iraq’s most famous soccer stars in the 1970s and ’80s, has died from Covid-19, health officials told CNN on Saturday. He was 63. Shaker died Friday in a hospital in the northern Iraqi city of Erbil, officials said. Shaker was one of the greatest defenders in Iraqi soccer history and a…

Iranian champion wrestler Navid Afkari has been executed in Iran on Saturday, according to Iran’s state-run news agency IRNA, despite a high-profile international campaign calling for the sentence not to be carried out. The 27-year-old was executed at a prison in Shiraz, according to IRNA. He had been sentenced to death in relation to the…

It wasn’t a classic five-setter, but Alexander Zverev might not mind. Zverev came from two sets down to beat Pablo Carreño Busta 3-6 2-6 6-3 6-4 6-3 at the US Open and reach his first Grand Slam final. “I looked at the scoreboard after two sets,” Zverev told reporters. “I thought to myself, ‘Look, I’m…

Two-time golf major winner John Daly has revealed he’s been diagnosed with bladder cancer. The 54-year-old underwent a procedure to remove the cancer, but said there is a high probability of it returning. “[The doctor] said there’s an 85 percent chance it comes back,” Daly told the Golf Channel. “I’ve got to go back and…

Members of the Miami Dolphins say they will “stay inside” for both “The Star-Spangled Banner” and the “Lift Every Voice and Sing” — known as the Black National Anthem — before their game against the New England Patriots Sunday. The powerful video, posted on Twitter Thursday, was over two minutes long and featured players who…

Serena Williams enjoyed her best start at this year’s US Open on Thursday but it was a familiar foe, Victoria Azarenka, who finished the stronger to halt her friend and fellow mom’s quest for a record 24th grand slam title. Blown away in the first set by Williams’ serves and powerful, accurate drives, Azarenka rallied…

Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel will remain in Formula One after signing a deal with the Racing Point team, which will rebrand itself as Aston Martin from next season. There had been some doubt as to whether the German would continue in F1 after Ferrari announced in May that McLaren’s Carlos Sainz would be taking…

Four-time major winner Brooks Koepka has pulled out of next week’s US Open because of injury. Koepka called an end to his PGA Tour season after failing to make the cut at the Wyndham Championship in August but reportedly had planned to take part in the US Open, which starts September 17 at Winged Foot…

The World Players Association (WPA) has called for the head of the Iranian judiciary to grant an immediate stay of execution to Iranian champion wrestler Navid Afkari, who faces the death penalty. Afkari has been sentenced to death in relation to the murder of the Iranian government’s water and sewage department’s security agent Hasan Turkman…

Two-time Olympic champion Caster Semenya has lost an appeal against the restriction of testosterone in female athletes, it was announced Tuesday. Under World Athletics guidelines introduced last year, Semenya would have to take testosterone-reducing drugs in order to compete in races from 400m to a mile, which the 29-year-old has chosen not to do. Switzerland’s…

Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 100th international goal on Tuesday, becoming just the second man in history to reach the milestone. The evergreen 35-year-old reached the landmark with a stunning free kick just before half time in Portgual’s Nations League match against Sweden and went on to score his 101st goal for his country…

An unusual step is paying big dividends for Jennifer Brady, who surged to her first Grand Slam semifinal on Tuesday at the US Open. Brady overpowered Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva 6-3 6-2 in just over an hour in New York, a continuation of her outstanding form since tennis restarted amid the coronavirus pandemic. The 28th seed…

The US Open normally marks the end of the grand slam season. But the coronavirus pandemic changed that and having another major just around the corner could be exactly what Novak Djokovic needs to overcome the lowest point of his career. That is the thought of his friend and former coach Radek Stepanek, and former…

Dustin Johnson will be waking up on Tuesday $15 million richer. Not bad for a weekend’s work. The world No. 1 clinched the season-ending Tour Championship with a three-shot victory to win the FedEx Cup and equal the biggest single payout in PGA Tour history, matching the $15 million earned by Rory McIlroy for winning…

World No. 1 Ashleigh Barty will not be in Paris to defend her French Open tennis title. The Australian said in a statement that she would not be traveling to Europe in part because of the Covid-19 pandemic as well as factoring in her lack of preparedness to play at Roland Garros. “It has been…

Two footballers for England’s men’s national team have had to leave the squad after breaching Covid-19 protocols in Iceland, manager Gareth Southgate announced Monday. Phil Foden and Mason Greenwood will not travel to Denmark for the upcoming UEFA Nations League game and will instead return to the UK. Icelandic media outlet DV reported the two…

Ansu Fati became the youngest player to score for Spain during his country’s 4-0 win over Ukraine in the UEFA Nations League on Sunday. Aged just 17 years and 311 days, the Barcelona forward broke the 95-year record that was set by Juan Errazquin — who scored his first international goal aged 18 years and…

The US Open was supposed to be a slam dunk for Novak Djokovic but instead of moving closer to Roger Federer in the Grand Slam record books, the world No. 1 was defaulted Sunday when he struck a line judge with a ball. The Serb had just been broken to trail 6-5 in the first…

Serena Williams’ quest for a 24th Grand Slam title continued Saturday but she had to rally against a rejuvenated Sloane Stephens at the US Open. Williams lost the first set before prevailing 2-6 6-2 6-2 to reach the fourth round, her serve — and legendary desire to win — playing a big factor at Arthur…