Jannik Sinner ‘very sad and disappointed’ as knee injury puts him out of US Open

The Guardian

• World No 1 makes ‘difficult decision’ to miss slam

• ‘New York has a special place in my heart’

Jannik Sinner will miss the US Open with a right knee injury. The world No 1 has not played a match since beating Alexander Zverev last month to successfully defend his Wimbledon title, missing the Masters 1000 events in Canada and Cincinnati.

The news comes a day after his great rival Carlos Alcaraz, whom the Italian lost to in the final in New York 12 months ago, revealed he will make his comeback from four months out with a wrist injury at Flushing Meadows.

August 21st 2026, 11:14 am

Tadej Pogacar looks unstoppable as he sets sights on another slice of history at Vuelta

The Guardian

Slovenian is aiming to become the ninth rider to win all three Grand Tours, and it doesn’t look like anyone can stop him

Who’s coming second? That’s the question being most frequently asked as the peloton convenes for the final Grand Tour of 2026, the Vuelta a España, which rolls away from the start line in Monaco on Saturday.

The unrelenting Tadej Pogacar, making his first appearance in the Spanish race since 2019, is the overwhelming favourite to take the top spot on the podium in Granada on 13 September, with his cowed rivals already seemingly accepting of his supremacy.

August 21st 2026, 9:30 am

Premier League 2026-27 preview No 20: Tottenham

The Guardian

Optimism abounds that De Zerbi and new signings can lead to a big improvement after two 17th-place finishes

Guardian writers’ predicted position: 6th (NB: this is not necessarily John Brewin’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)

Last season’s position: 17th

August 21st 2026, 9:30 am

Former Alabama basketball player wins $9.25m in defamation case against New York Times

The Guardian

• Kai Spears incorrectly linked to death of young mother

• Times says it had not lost libel case in more than 50 years

An Alabama jury has awarded $9.25m in damages after finding that the New York Times defamed a college basketball player by incorrectly reporting that he was at the scene of a fatal shooting.

Kai Spears, who played for the University of Alabama men’s team, sued the Times in 2023 after it published a report, citing a person familiar with the investigation, that said he was a passenger in a car involved in the shooting. The Times reported that the person had spoken “on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.”

August 21st 2026, 9:30 am

WNBA commissioner says ‘haters’ trying to stir up debate about trans athletes and league

The Guardian

• Transgender woman has never played in the league

• Engelbert says league being used as ‘political football’

The WNBA commissioner, Cathy Engelbert, has denounced people she said are trying to “sow divisiveness” as the league grapples with a debate over transgender athletes.

Engelbert made the comments on Thursday before the Indiana Fever’s loss to the Dallas Wings at the home of the Dallas Mavericks. Demonstrators showed up outside American Airlines Center, as they have at other venues since the Fever’s Sophie Cunningham voiced support for barring transgender girls and women from girls’ and women’s sports.

August 21st 2026, 9:30 am

Premier League returns, Wan-Bissaka joins Villa, Iraola on Liverpool’s ‘thin squad’: football – live

The Guardian

⚽ All the latest football news, comment and previews
⚽ This weekend’s fixtures | Read Football Daily | Mail Will

Nothing like a bit of exclusive news to kick off the shift. Can we keep this momentum going? We shall see!

Uefa and Concacaf have begun talks about setting up a combined Nations League tournament featuring all 96 European and North and Central American and Caribbean countries, in another direct challenge to Fifa.

August 21st 2026, 6:30 am

From Showtime to Insurance Time: how the LA Lakers became a $12.5bn hedge fund play

The Guardian

Bob Iger and Josh Kushner’s $12.5bn bid to buy the Lakers shows that NBA teams are no longer family dynasties, but quick flips for private equity sharks

For years, the NBA was built on the alliance of patient money and marketing pizzazz, and no team captured that curious mixture better than the Los Angeles Lakers. Through Showtime in the 1980s and the dominance of the Shaq-Kobe years, the Lakers became the benchmark for a league and a sport intent on global conquest: charismatic, ambitious, and flashy, a sporting-cultural amalgam in which athleticism and celebrity held equal rank. Through careful front office recruitment, savvy coaching, and the harnessing of Hollywood’s star power, the Lakers evolved from a team into a “brand,” establishing a template that virtually every other outfit in the NBA has felt compelled to mimic in the years since. But the razzle-dazzle on the court – the Laker Girls, Magic flinging no-look passes, Shaq smashing the glass, Jack Nicholson smiling his Joker smile in the front row, all eyebrows and mischief – depended on a far more staid and stable arrangement off it. Real estate investor Jerry Buss bought the Lakers for $16m in 1979, and remained the majority owner until his death in 2013, when his children assumed control of the franchise.

When Jerry Buss died, the Lakers were valued at $1bn. Now, the team looks set to be sold to former Disney CEO Bob Iger and venture capitalist Josh Kushner, the brother of Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared, for $12.5bn. The sale is still under negotiation and will need to be approved by the NBA’s board of governors; the Buss siblings are also now bickering over whether to join the stampede and sell their minority 17.8% stake in the franchise to Iger and Kushner, which has added a subplot of Shakespearean family intrigue to proceedings. But in the likely event it goes through, the sale would make the Lakers the most valuable franchise in basketball. It would also signal an acceleration in private equity’s scramble to get its claws into the world of sport.

August 21st 2026, 5:15 am

‘The friendship disappeared’: López faces Romero after years of sparring and support

The Guardian

Boxing’s most mercurial star is putting an old friendship aside as he moves up to 147lb to challenge Rolly Romero for the welterweight title he won from Ryan Garcia

For more than a decade, Teófimo López’s friendship with Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero endured through amateur tournaments, Las Vegas sparring sessions and the mismatched peaks and troughs of two volatile careers. That friendship ended, López says, the moment they signed to fight one another.

On Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena along the Vegas Strip, the 29-year-old López will challenge for Romero’s World Boxing Association welterweight title. The former lightweight and junior-welterweight champion is moving up to 147lb in pursuit of a belt in a third division. For Romero, himself a three-weight belt-holder after stacking titles at 135lb and 140lb, a victory would add another marquee name to a résumé transformed by last year’s upset of Ryan Garcia. The fight will be broadcast globally on Dazn pay-per-view and will see the champion go off as a roughly 2-1 underdog.

August 21st 2026, 5:15 am

Uefa and Concacaf discuss joint Nations League in latest challenge to Fifa

The Guardian

• Biennial tournament could launch as early as 2028

• Confederations are seeking to oust Gianni Infantino

Uefa and Concacaf have begun talks about setting up a combined Nations League tournament featuring all 96 European and North and Central American and Caribbean countries, in another direct challenge to Fifa.

The Guardian has learned that having come together to push for Gianni Infantino’s removal in the light of the World Cup sell-off controversy, the two confederations are now working on creating their own biennial tournament, which could launch as early as 2028 after the next European Championship.

August 21st 2026, 5:15 am

Premier League: 10 things to look out for as the new season kicks off

The Guardian

Manchester United’s new-look midfield, Ipswich’s ambition is tested and Kevin Keegan tributes at Newcastle

While Myles Lewis-Skelly looks likely to remain at the Emirates, the same can’t be said for Ethan Nwaneri. The 19-year-old was outstanding in his breakthrough season for Arsenal in 2024-25 but barely featured last season and was sent on loan to Marseille. That didn’t really work out and Arsenal are now exploring another temporary move to ensure Nwaneri gets regular football this season. Milan, RB Leipzig, Dortmund and Fulham are all thought to be interested, with Nwaneri unlikely to feature on the bench for Friday’s opener against Coventry as a result. Whether Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus are available remains to be seen as Arsenal attempt to find suitors for the Brazil duo. Ed Aarons

Arsenal v Coventry City, Friday 8pm (all times BST)

Hull City v Manchester United, Saturday 12.30pm

Everton v Crystal Palace, Saturday 3pm

Ipswich Town v Sunderland, Saturday 3pm

Nottingham Forest v Leeds, Saturday 3pm

Brighton v Aston Villa, Sunday 2pm

Manchester City v Bournemouth, Sunday 2pm

August 21st 2026, 4:01 am

Double-elimination, reseeding and 20 teams: MLS plans potential overhaul of playoffs

The Guardian

• Format would resemble that of Australian rules football

• League will ditch conferences for five-division setup

Major League Soccer is planning a significant overhaul of its playoff format, multiple league and club sources told the Guardian this week. The changes, which would debut in 2028 alongside the league’s shift to a fall-to-spring schedule, could include a “double-elimination” component and see as many as 20 teams feature. Sources spoke on the condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to discuss the league’s plans.

The Guardian has viewed a potential schedule for the new format, in which the playoffs start in late April and unfold over roughly three weeks with MLS Cup being played on Sunday 21 May 2028. The changes to the playoff format would pair with long-reported changes to MLS’s regular season, with the league going to a five-division setup in place of its current Eastern and Western Conference structure.

August 20th 2026, 7:28 pm

Liverpool see £50m bid for Yankuba Minteh rejected by Brighton

The Guardian

• Minteh targeted as replacement for Mohamed Salah

• Winger sidelined after recovering from leg surgery

Liverpool have had a £50m bid for Yankuba Minteh rejected by Brighton. The club are looking to add two wide forwards to Andoni Iraola’s squad before the transfer deadline, with their pursuit of Paris Saint-Germain’s Bradley Barcola continuing.

Liverpool’s shortlist of targets also includes Minteh but Brighton, who have lost Danny Welbeck to Chelsea and have Kaoru Mitoma out injured, have rebuffed the approach for the 22-year-old winger.

August 20th 2026, 7:28 pm

Premier League 2026-27 preview No 19: Sunderland

The Guardian

Sunderland fans hope Régis Le Bris and his talented squad can continue to surprise the pundits and Opta

Guardian writers’ predicted position: 14th (NB: this is not necessarily Louise Taylor’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)

Last season’s position: 7th

August 20th 2026, 7:28 pm

Missing British Athletics coach Leon Baptiste in Marrakech prison

The Guardian

• Coach had not been heard from for two months

• Baptiste serving a custodial sentence in Morocco

Leon Baptiste, the British Athletics coach who had not been heard from since visiting Morocco two months ago, is being held in prison in Marrakech.

The 41-year-old, who coaches a number of elite athletes, is believed to have gone to Morocco for the weekend with friends. As of last weekend he had not been heard from since by his athletes or the UK Athletics officials who pay him as a Loughborough-based consultant, with messages to his phone not returned.

August 20th 2026, 7:28 pm

‘Why would you want to retire me?’: Novak Djokovic is still driven by doubt

The Guardian

A revealing Prime Video documentary out Thursday explores the stubbornness, childhood scars and siege mentality still driving Novak Djokovic at 39

The moment comes roughly 20 minutes into the thoughtfully done Prime Video documentary, Novak Djokovic: The Wolf in Winter, where Djokovic, winner of 24 grand slam titles and owner of the most-ever total weeks atop the ATP rankings (428), gets to the core of what has driven him to tennis royalty.

Djokovic can rightfully claim the title of the greatest male tennis player who has ever lived (“It is as clear as it gets – he is the best of all time,” Andre Agassi says in the doc) but how tennis fans feel about him has always been more complex than the universal love adorned on contemporaries Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

August 20th 2026, 7:28 pm

Max Verstappen signs new Red Bull contract to stay in F1 until 2030

The Guardian

• Dutch driver was linked with Mercedes and McLaren

• Verstappen: ‘I never felt that desire or need to change’

Max Verstappen has ended speculation about his future in Formula One by signing a new contract with his Red Bull team that will extend to the end of 2030, after almost 18 months of uncertainty around the Dutchman.

After being linked with moves to Mercedes and McLaren, Verstappen’s commitment to Red Bull ensures that all the major seats in the leading F1 teams are now locked in for next year, just as the sport’s silly season in terms of transfer speculation is beginning.

August 20th 2026, 7:28 pm

‘Here we go’: Carlos Alcaraz confirms US Open return after four-month injury absence

The Guardian

• Seven-time major winner has not played since April

• Spaniard missed French Open and Wimbledon

• US Open announces record $108m prize fund

Carlos Alcaraz has won his battle to be fit for the US Open.

The seven-time grand slam champion has not played on the ATP Tour since April due to an ongoing wrist issue, but enlisted the help of football transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano to announce his comeback.

August 20th 2026, 7:28 pm

Ronaldinho, 46, on mission of love and happiness – and maybe goals – at Serie C’s Ravenna

The Guardian

Brazilian legend pledges excitement at his unveiling for a comeback that is winning over initially disbelieving fans

It seemed like a joke, a hoax, when at 10pm on 19 June, Ravenna broke the news of Ronaldinho’s signing. The Brazilian, a former Ballon d’Or winner and one of the most recognisable figures in world football, had played his last official match in 2015 for Fluminense; a professional signing in Serie C at 46 years of age seemed unrealistic, to say the least. With football’s attention taken by the World Cup, the game was shocked by this bolt from the blue. For the most part, it remained in disbelief.

There was much discussion, in the city and around the world, about the real value of this operation, and we talked about it too, speaking with the mayor, the fans, and the president of Ravenna, Ignazio Cipriani, scion of the family known globally for Harry’s Bar, who is giving his city much more than a dream.

August 20th 2026, 7:28 pm

Premier League returns and Arsenal sense opportunity with rivals in flux

The Guardian

New managers galore suggest many of the usual suspects will struggle to dethrone the champions, but their own hunger could be the key

Mikel Arteta wants to get his messaging absolutely right. According to him, Arsenal are not about to defend their Premier League title. They are set to attack another one.

Remember Win the dog, who the manager brought in to the club’s training ground a few years back? She must now be called “Won”. But it is when Arteta quibbles over another bout of semantics that he highlights why he is entering the new season with such energy and optimism.

August 20th 2026, 7:28 pm

Michele Tafoya: from unassuming NFL sideline reporter to rightwing firebrand

The Guardian

The former Sunday Night Football stalwart is now one step from a seat in the US Senate. And she could cause a shock in liberal Minnesota

As the third leg of NBC’s Sunday Night Football crew alongside play-by-play man Al Michaels and the tart-tongued analyst Cris Collinsworth, Michele Tafoya was a paragon of deference and neutrality for 11 years as an NFL sideline reporter, dutifully relating boilerplate tactics, talking points and injury updates when she wasn’t nodding along to softball interviews or fumbling through hammy production gimmicks for viewers who might have been too offline to get the bit. She was almost pathologically committed to not doing anything to draw attention to herself or her gender in an era when sideline reporting was a fast track to national celebrity. Even her football takes hewed to the middle. (“New Orleans doesn’t want to lose to Atlanta twice in a season …”) Anyone who says they saw the 61-year-old emerging as a rightwing firebrand was watching a different game.

And yet here we are. Last week, Tafoya was the decisive winner of Minnesota’s US Senate Republican primary, earning the party’s nomination for November’s general election. Even more striking: she beat back eight challengers, not least Adam Schwarze, the party-endorsed pro-gun, pro-military ex-Navy SEAL, and Royce White, the anti-leftist, anti-trans NBA flameout currently testing WNBA gender norms.

August 20th 2026, 7:28 pm

Jon Rahm’s stunning 62 puts him in contention at PGA Championship

The Guardian

• Rahm and Lowry level at top of leaderboard at Wentworth
• LIV rebel Patrick Reed says he has ‘felt welcome’

Spain’s Jon Rahm faced an anxious wait to see if his stunning final round of 62 was enough to win the PGA Championship at Wentworth.

Rahm started the day six shots off the lead, but carded two eagles and seven birdies to overhaul the early clubhouse leader, Patrick Reed, and set a testing target of 16 under par.

September 11th 2022, 12:37 pm

Verstappen leaves Ferraris in his wake at Italian GP to put F1 title in sight

The Guardian

• World championship leader wins ahead of Leclerc in Monza
• Russell ends third for Mercedes with Sainz’s Ferrari fourth

Max Verstappen won the Italian Grand Prix in another dominant run for the Red Bull driver who came through the field from seventh on the grid. He beat the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc into second place at Monza, where the Scuderia tried an alternative strategy but once more were simply unable to match the pace of Verstappen. George Russell was third for Mercedes, Carlos Sainz fourth for Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton came back from 19th on the grid to take fifth. Sergio Pérez was sixth for Red Bull.

Verstappen was absolutely on top almost from the off in what was ultimately a rather pedestrian Italian GP. Such is the world champion’s composure and pace at the moment, once he had made the initial passes of the race cleanly the result never really seemed in doubt. Indeed after the Dutchman had the lead he was all but untroubled at the front for his first win at Monza.

Verstappen has now taken five wins in a row in an indomitable run that has ensured he has one hand on his second championship. His 31st career win is his 11th this season and in another remarkable display of dominance and controlled skill in coming through the field. It is the third time he has won from seventh or lower on the grid this year.

He now leads Leclerc, who is in second, by 116 points and with six meetings to go and 164 points available, he can potentially seal the title at the next round in Singapore or barring that almost certainly the following race in Japan. Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel’s shared record of 13 wins in a season is also now well within his compass.

This was another masterclass from the world champion who is demonstrating a control and composure that has left his rivals reeling.

Leclerc had just held his lead from pole through the first chicane from Russell but Verstappen’s determination was immediately clear as he made up two places through the first corner. The Dutchman then took fourth, passing Pierre Gasly at Ascari, while Daniel Ricciardo promptly fell on the straight on lap two, taking him to third.

He had closed to within a tenth of Russell by lap four with the two front runners simply having no time to open a gap to Verstappen. A lap later he had a strong run down the start-finish straight to dive past the British driver up the inside at turn one.

Hamilton from 19th was unable to make such swift progress, making up one place by lap five. Sainz in the Ferrari was swiftly advancing however up from 18th to sixth by lap 12.

Verstappen was two seconds back from Leclerc and seemingly unstoppable. The Monegasque driver stuck at it however, with Verstappen taking only a tenth a lap out of his lead. His gains were, nonetheless, inexorable and the gap was down to a second by lap 12.

September 11th 2022, 11:28 am

Carlos Alcaraz and Casper Ruud face off for world No 1 spot in US Open final

The Guardian

The 19-year-old Spaniard would be youngest ever men’s world No 1 if he can beat another emerging star in Norway’s Ruud

Over the course of an intense, chaotic and wildly entertaining US Open semi-final between Carlos Alcaraz and Frances Tiafoe, as their combined creativity, athleticism and joy merged to create entertainment in its purest form, Alcaraz absorbed so many blows. He conceded a difficult first set tiebreak with a double fault, then after establishing his dominance, he couldn’t hold on. Alcaraz continually lost his serve, failed to take a match point and found himself in a fifth set.

There were so many moments when the momentum could have dangerously shifted, but no matter how the match twisted, he maintained his intensity until the end. Across the three consecutive five-set battles that have led him to the final, this resilience has been his defining characteristic. It will make him so hard to put away as he faces Casper Ruud for the men’s US Open title on Sunday.

September 11th 2022, 10:10 am

Graham Potter asks Brighton fans for forgiveness after leaving for Chelsea

The Guardian

• Manager pens open letter after new five-year deal in London
• ‘At this stage in my career, I had to grasp a new opportunity’

Graham Potter has asked Brighton fans to forgive him for leaving the club to become Chelsea’s new manager. Potter, 47, signed a five-year deal at Stamford Bridge on Thursday to succeed Thomas Tuchel, who was sacked earlier in the week.

In an open letter written on Thursday and published on Brighton’s website on Sunday, Potter said he would cherish “three wonderful years” at Brighton but accepted some fans would not be able to forgive him.

September 11th 2022, 10:10 am

Verstappen and Leclerc battle for lead at Italian Grand Prix: F1 – live!

The Guardian

• Lap-by-lap updates from the race at Monza
• Any comments? You can email Daniel | tweet Daniel

Nyck de Vries, a late call-up for his first GP, tells us he’s changing his seating position and that he’s got some shoulder-bruises, but he doubts he’ll notice once we’re away. He affects proper confidence and I’m looking forward to seeing how he does, not just today but in the coming years.

We were talking about Hamilton having already started next season, but do we think he’ll still be at Mercedes then? I’m not sure where else he could go, but I can’t see him hanging around if he’s not certain things are going to get much better. I also wonder if, at some point, Mercedes plan for George Russell to be their number one driver...

September 11th 2022, 10:10 am

Returns and retirement: the best photos from US Open 2022

The Guardian

As the final grand slam of 2022 draws to a close, we take a look at some of our favourite images from Flushing Meadows

September 11th 2022, 10:10 am

Rory McIlroy poised for ‘sprint finish’ in PGA Championship at Wentworth

The Guardian

• McIlroy one shot behind leaders Hovland and Kjeldsen
• Event was reduced to three rounds after Queen’s death

On a day that many believed would inevitably feel different from the norm Rory McIlroy supplied the sense of familiarity. A 65 means he will begin the third and final round of the PGA Championship one shot off the lead.

The scale of support for McIlroy and the cheers as he pieced together his latest excellent round of 2022 were perfectly typical. As McIlroy walked towards the clubhouse on completion of media duties, giddy autograph hunters chanted his name. In fact, bar a two-minute silence in honour of the Queen and the donning of black ribbons by players, this proved as normal an occasion as onlookers could expect. McIlroy’s pizzazz played a huge part in that. Afterwards he addressed the bigger picture.

September 10th 2022, 11:23 pm

Iga Swiatek holds off Ons Jabeur rally to win US Open women’s singles

The Guardian

• Pole wins 6-2, 7-6 (5) for second slam title of 2022
• Tunisian a 2022 slam runner-up again, after Wimbledon

Iga Swiatek and Ons Jabeur entered Arthur Ashe Stadium as the two best players in the world, the ones who have outperformed the rest of the field this year. Yet by the end of the match, the landscape of women’s was even clearer. Jabeur gave all she could, she forced her way back into the match from the verge of a crushing defeat, but Swiatek is the singular dominant force in the sport.

After navigating her various struggles through the summer and the tournament, the 21-year-old played with total freedom with the title on the line and then held off a late surge from Jabeur, holding on to win the US Open for the first time in her career with a tense 6-2, 7-6(5) win.

September 10th 2022, 11:23 pm

‘He just won’t waver’: what Chelsea can expect from Graham Potter

The Guardian

His former players recall how the manager cut his teeth at Östersund and Swansea, before rising to further prominence

“Which way do you want to die?” That was the question Graham Potter posed his players in the pre-match meeting before his Swansea side tackled Manchester City in the FA Cup three years ago. “It was: ‘They can either beat you with you laying on your back, tickling your belly, or they can beat you if you give it a right good go,” says Matt Grimes, a fixture under Potter during his sole season in charge of Swansea and now captain of the club.

“Because if you sit in a 10-man block, they’ll break you down and beat you anyway, so you might as well make a fist of it while you’re doing it. That’s how he sold it, we were all on the same page and in the end we ran them really close.”

September 10th 2022, 11:04 pm

Has in-game coaching changed tennis at the US Open?

The Guardian

Communication between player and coach has been seen as a benign infraction for years. But in New York this year it has become legal

To the casual tennis fan, there’s likely a sense that the US Open has looked and felt different this fortnight from prior years. And that impression would be entirely accurate. Aside from the return of full attendance in Flushing Meadows following the Covid intrusion upon all live events in 2020 and 2021, several rule changes implemented over the last 13 months have changed the look, action and rhythm of the competition.

In 2020, Novak Djokovic was defaulted in the first set in his fourth-round match against Pablo Carreno Busta when, in a moment of intense frustration, he smacked a ball away, hitting a lineswoman in the neck. His tournament came to an immediate halt.

September 10th 2022, 11:04 pm

Charles Leclerc takes pole for F1 Italian GP with British pair behind

The Guardian

• George Russell and Lando Norris second and third
• Max Verstappen demoted to seventh after grid penalty

With Monza’s parklands swathed in a ribbon of red, Ferrari need no reminder as to what is required of them at the Italian Grand Prix. Yet at this home race the pressure has been applied with an added frisson of intensity. Their president, John Elkann, warning before qualifying that failure is no longer an option. Doubtless then there was a collective sigh of relief in the scarlet garage as the Scuderia rose to the occasion with Charles Leclerc securing pole position.

During a season littered with team and driver errors, reduced to the level of farce when they managed to bring only three tyres to a pitstop at the last round, Elkann had fired off a stern warning as Ferrari entered the cauldron of Monza.

September 10th 2022, 10:58 pm

NFL season is here but I won’t be following anymore. I can’t un-see the harm it causes

The Guardian

After 20 years as a fan, I can’t justify supporting the ongoing carnage in football. As a sociologist who studies violence, gender and labor in sports, perhaps it was just a matter of time

On Sunday, the NFL season will kick off in earnest. Sports news websites, team message boards and social media are already awash in coverage. To the unbridled joy of many, football is back. But for the first time in almost 20 years, I won’t be following.

This summer, I decided I’m out – done with football. I can’t justify supporting the ongoing carnage in the sport. As a sociologist who studies violence, gender and labor in sports, perhaps it was just a matter of time.

September 10th 2022, 10:56 pm

Carlos Alcaraz beats Frances Tiafoe in five-set thriller to reach US Open final

The Guardian

• Spanish teenager beats American 6-7, 6-3, 6-1, 6-7, 6-3
• As it happened: Beau Dure’s game-by-game report
• Ruud books final spot with battling win over Khachanov

Carlos Alcaraz is one win away from a maiden grand slam title – and the world No 1 ranking – after outlasting Frances Tiafoe of the United States in a sensational five-set US Open semi-final on Friday night.

The 19-year-old Spaniard and sentient highlight reel, whose sublime shotmaking and dogged hustle have seen him tabbed as the new face of the sport, came from behind in a 6-7 (6), 6-3, 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-3 thriller to book a place in Sunday’s final opposite fifth-seeded Casper Ruud, who battled past Karen Khachanov in the day’s first semi-final.

September 10th 2022, 2:26 am

Premier League clubs fear more games will be postponed next weekend

The Guardian

• Policing and logistical issues could force further call-offs
• London games most vulnerable before Queen’s funeral

Premier League clubs are fearful of losing further fixtures next weekend due to policing and logistical issues after deciding to postpone the entire programme this weekend as a mark of respect to the Queen.

The clubs met in London on Friday morning and heard the league’s board unanimously recommend the postponement of the most immediate round – a move at odds with most other major sports, who have decided to play on.

September 10th 2022, 2:26 am

Iga Swiatek and Ons Jabeur make year-long dominance tell at US Open

The Guardian

Polish world No 1 has won a slam and all her six finals in 2022 while Tunisian wants to make up for losing Wimbledon final

The two best players in the world will face off in the final of the last grand slam tournament of the year. It is not a situation that has occurred much in the past few years of women’s tennis, but it is the defining narrative of the US Open final as Iga Swiatek and Ons Jabeur stare each other down on Saturday.

With just a few notable exceptions – Ashleigh Barty for a year and Naomi Osaka on hard courts for a short period – in recent years women’s tennis has been characterised by its openness. Seemingly anyone has been able to win on any given day, few players able to maintain their form for long. The last major final of the year, however, pits the No 1 and the No 2 in the WTA race against each other in what could well be a new rivalry in the sport.

September 9th 2022, 2:55 pm

Pitch clocks and shift limits: MLB adopts sweeping rule changes for 2023

The Guardian

• MLB approves pitch clock, shift limits and bigger bases
• New rules aim to shorten games and increase offense

Major League Baseball adopted its first pitch clock, limits on defensive shifts and larger bases for next season in an effort to shorten games and increase offense in a tradition-bound sport.

The decision on the clock and shift restrictions by the sport’s 11-man competition committee was made Friday over the unanimous opposition of the panel’s players, who approved the larger bases. The changes had long been pushed by baseball commissioner Rob Manfred in an effort to combat the increase in dead time over four decades and suffocation of offense in the age of analytics.

September 9th 2022, 2:55 pm

Premier League, WSL and EFL weekend games off but other sports to continue

The Guardian

• Cricket Test and Wentworth golf hopeful of Saturday return
• Rugby league poised to go ahead as St Leger racing is moved

All this weekend’s English football matches have been postponed after the Queen’s death as a mark of respect. The news was announced at 11.30am BST despite official guidance to sports telling them there was no obligation to postpone fixtures during the official mourning period.

The cancellation of English football is total, meaning the Women’s Super League will not start as scheduled and no grassroots matches will be played. A statement from the Scottish Football Association said “all professional football matches” in Scotland would be postponed.

September 9th 2022, 7:39 am

Connecticut Sun surge past Sky to book WNBA finals showdown with Las Vegas

The Guardian

• Sun rally in fourth, beat Sky 72-63 to advance to WNBA finals
• Connecticut will face Las Vegas for WNBA title starting Sunday

Jonquel Jones had 15 points and 10 rebounds and the Connecticut Sun overcame an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter, beating the Chicago Sky 72-63 Thursday night in the decisive fifth game of the semi-final series and advancing to the WNBA finals.

Connecticut scored the final 18 points of the game to overcome a 63-54 deficit with 4:46 remaining.

September 9th 2022, 7:39 am

Iga Swiatek downs Sabalenka to set up US Open final against Ons Jabeur

The Guardian

• Jabeur wins 6-1, 6-3 over Garcia to reach first US Open final
• Swiatek fights back to defeat Sabalenka in other semi-final

Very few things that Ons Jabeur has achieved in her trailblazing, increasingly distinguished career has come easily or quickly. Her success has been the culmination of slow, gradual growth, no steps missed. The transition from her towering junior career to the top 100 was challenging enough, and her rise ever since has taken time. But it means that she has built a solid foundation and she has rarely ever taken a step back.

The latest step up for Jabeur came earlier in the summer when she reached her first grand slam final at Wimbledon. Although she did not win, it has only imbued her with even more confidence and calm in the important moments.

September 9th 2022, 7:39 am

Chess: Hans Niemann hits back over ‘cheating’ controversy in St Louis

The Guardian

The 19-year-old grandmaster, whose win against the world champion led to Magnus Carlsen withdrawing from a tournament for the first time, says there is a campaign against him

Magnus Carlsen’s shock withdrawal from the $350,000 Sinquefield Cup in St Louis following his third-round defeat to the newcomer Hans Niemann has triggered a variety of “cheating” claims. It is potentially the most serious such case for international chess since the 2005 Toiletgate world championship match, when Veselin Topalov accused Vlad Kramnik of analysing games in the lavatory.

Carlsen’s loss to Niemann, 19, was his first for several years with White to a much lower rated opponent, and it was the first withdrawal of the Norwegian’s entire career. His only explanation was a cryptic video clip of the football manager José Morinho saying “If I speak I am in big trouble,” during a press conference about referees.

September 9th 2022, 7:39 am

Josh Allen leads Buffalo Bills to victory over LA Rams in NFL season opener

The Guardian

• Buffalo Bills 31-10 Los Angeles Rams
• Bills quarterback throws three TDs and rushes for one

Josh Allen passed for 297 yards while accounting for four touchdowns, Von Miller had two of Buffalo’s seven sacks, and the Bills stamped themselves as a clear contender for the Rams’ Super Bowl crown with a 31-10 victory over Los Angeles on Thursday night.

Gabe Davis, Isaiah McKenzie and Stefon Diggs caught touchdown passes as the two-time defending AFC East champion Bills opened the NFL’s 103rd season by overcoming four turnovers and running away with a blowout win in the same stadium where the Rams won the Super Bowl nearly seven months ago.

September 9th 2022, 7:39 am

Is Aaron Rodgers America’s most interesting athlete or its most annoying?

The Guardian

The Green Bay Packers quarterback offers a reconciliation of sorts for the rival camps of a sport torn between conservatives and progressives

In late July, as NFL players across the country were dragging their battered bodies back to pre-season camp, the Green Bay Packers posted a slow-motion video of Aaron Rodgers on social media. “Let’s do this,” the caption read, while the quarterback, dressed in a wife beater tucked into a pair of relaxed fit denim jeans, hair swept back, facial scruff untamed, strode purposefully across a parking lot. The clip was, of course, a tribute to Nicolas Cage’s performance in 1997 action classic Con Air. A few weeks later, Rodgers revealed that he had been sent a bust of Cage’s head. The bust now sits in Rodgers’s locker, next to his shoulder pads, calmly looking on as the NFL’s reigning MVP goes about the torrid business of trying to turn himself into a figure of cross-cultural significance.

Is Rodgers America’s most interesting athlete, or its most annoying? For much of the 38-year-old’s career in the NFL – now entering its 18th season – the question did not even present itself. Quarterbacks are the focal point of every football team, usually the only players with the star power to transcend the sport. But even as he rose to prominence around a decade ago, leading the Packers to the Super Bowl in 2011 and nabbing two league MVP awards in 2011 and 2014, Rodgers remained an extremely talented but mostly unremarkable fixture of the American sporting scene. If he was seen as anything away from the field, it was as something of a social activist. He went on the record with his support for The Enough Project, a nonprofit raising awareness about the use of conflict minerals in cellphone batteries. He traveled to India with the Starkey Hearing Foundation to fit hearing aids on deaf children, taking a detour to see the Dalai Lama. And in 2015, after a fan broke a minute’s silence at a Packers game held out of respect for victims of the Paris terrorist attacks with the cry “Muslims suck!”, Rodgers used his post-game press conference to eloquently admonish the fan: “It’s that kind of prejudicial ideology that I think puts us in the position that we’re in today, as a world,” he said.

September 9th 2022, 7:39 am

Sport in mourning with British events suspended in tribute to the Queen

The Guardian

• Emergency meeting called on Friday to discuss sport schedule
• Test match with South Africa paused and could be cancelled

Sport will hold a day of mourning for the Queen on Friday, with the third Test between England and South Africa and the PGA championship at Wentworth among the events to be paused for at least a day as a mark of respect.

All Football League fixtures on Friday and the third day of racing’s St Leger festival at Doncaster have also been called off, while the RFU will announce in the morning whether Bristol v Bath and Sale v Northampton will go ahead. However, rugby league’s Super League elimination playoff between Catalans and Leeds will still take place as it is in Perpignan.

September 8th 2022, 8:41 pm

Stephanie Gilmore underlines surfing greatness with record eighth world title

The Guardian

• No 5 seed beats Carissa Moore at WSL Finals to claim title
• Australian now has one more world title than Layne Beachley

Stephanie Gilmore has made surfing history, becoming the first woman to win eight world titles. The Australian beat Hawaiian great Carissa Moore, the defending champion, two heats to nil on Thursday at Lower Trestles in southern California.

It was a dream match-up between Gilmore and Moore, the five-time world champion. Gilmore was in tears when she won the second heat in the best-of-three final 15.23 to 11.97, having taken out the opening heat 15.00 to 10.90.

September 8th 2022, 8:41 pm

Ons Jabeur v Caroline Garcia: US Open tennis semi-final – live!

The Guardian

• Jabeur faces Garcia in first of two women’s semi-finals
• Top-seeded Swiatek goes against Sabalenka in nightcap
• Were Alcaraz and fans victims of US Open scheduling?

Bryan will be here shortly. In the meantime here’s Tumaini Carayol’s lookback at Wednesday night’s (and Thursday morning’s) absolute cracker of a men’s quarter-final between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.

September 8th 2022, 6:52 pm

Manchester United lose at home to Real Sociedad to stall Ten Hag’s progress

The Guardian

Football was an obvious irrelevance after the evening’s news but, once Uefa ruled the game should go ahead, Manchester United duly fulfilled their Europa League fixture against Real Sociedad.

The death of Queen Elizabeth II threw a veil of sorrow over Old Trafford and a heartfelt tribute before kick-off brought those present together in a minute’s silence in respect to the monarch. The players and officials wore black armbands, the flags over the stadium flew at half-mast, pitch-side advertising hoardings turned off, and United issuing a statement that offered condolences and gratitude for the monarch’s “immense contribution to public life”.

September 8th 2022, 6:28 pm

Serena Williams had to be so good no one could deny her. Black women can relate | Leslie Jones

The Guardian

Sports is a male-dominated space, just like comedy. I know Serena’s dad told her the same thing my dad told me: ‘Hey, you’re good, but you’ve got to be better than everybody else’

What people don’t understand about strong Black women is that we were raised strong. We have a different experience. The one thing I remember my father always telling me was: ‘Hey, you’re good, but you’ve got to be better than everybody else.’ That’s what Serena Williams represents to me. What sets her apart is her endurance to keep going and keep going no matter what the obstacle is to reach that higher standard. To be undeniable.

It’s just harder for us. We all know this. Racism is the dumbest thing I’ve ever had to deal with. The fact that she’s dealt with that and still made it to No 1 and never used it as an excuse is something else. We know her as a Black phenomenon, but she just wanted to go into her field like all of us want to go into our fields, as actresses or comics or tennis players. We don’t want to be the first Black this, the first Black that – it’s great when it happens, we’re not scared to be first either – but what stands out is how hard she had to fight just to get a seat at the table.

September 8th 2022, 6:28 pm

Hamilton vows not to quit F1 as talk of Ricciardo to Mercedes gathers pace

The Guardian

• Seven-time champion says he has no plans to walk away
• Mercedes rumoured to be targeting Ricciardo as reserve driver

Lewis Hamilton has insisted he has no plans on leaving Formula One in the near future after speculation that Mercedes were lining up Daniel Ricciardo as a potential replacement should the seven-time champion retire.

Ricciardo would not confirm or deny he was in talks with Mercedes but admitted he was exploring all possible options.

September 8th 2022, 6:28 pm

The late show: were Alcaraz and tennis fans victims of US Open scheduling?

The Guardian

The teenager’s quarter-final ended at 2.50am on Thursday. Does the timetable at Flushing Meadows need to change?

In yet another late-night epic that concluded just short of 3am on Thursday, Carlos Alcaraz advanced to the semi-finals of the US Open with a thrilling five-set comeback victory over another young star, Jannik Sinner. It was a match full of abrupt momentum shifts, remarkable shot-making, stellar sportsmanship and an extraordinary high level of energy that those in attendance were lucky to be part of.

But for many millions of American tennis fans watching on the east coast – and west coast for that matter – the riveting conclusion came too late for their tired eyes. With a return to school and work for many, after enjoying the last fleeting days of summer, it was too tough an ask of fans to stay up well past midnight yet again. And that’s not to mention those who stayed to watch in the stadium, some of whom had to navigate New York’s public transport system in the early hours of the morning, which is never an enticing prospect.

September 8th 2022, 6:28 pm

FC Zürich v Arsenal: Europa League – live!

The Guardian

• Europa League updates from the 5.45pm BST kick-off
• Live scoreboard: the latest from Thursday’s matches
• And you can contact Will by email or on Twitter

Zurich: Brecher, Kamberi, Kryeziu, Aliti, Boranijasevic, Dzemaili, Selnaes, Guerrero, Krasniqi, Aiyegun, Okita. Subs: Kostadinovic, Omeragic, Santini, Marchesano, Hornschuh, Conde, Avdijaj, Vyunnyk, Rohner, Hodza, Mets, De Nitti.

Arsenal: Turner, Tomiyasu, Holding, Gabriel, Alencar, Sambi Lokonga, Xhaka, Tierney, Vieira, Martinelli, Nketiah. Subs: Ramsdale, White, Saka, Odegaard, Gabriel Jesus, Saliba, Zinchenko, Smith, Hein, Cirjan, Cozier-Duberry.

September 8th 2022, 11:56 am

Chelsea confirm Graham Potter as new manager after deal struck with Brighton

The Guardian

• Potter signs five-year deal and will start with game at Fulham
• He takes over from Thomas Tuchel after German sacked

Graham Potter has been confirmed as Chelsea’s manager on a five-year contract, taking over from Thomas Tuchel, who was sacked on Wednesday.

Potter joins from Brighton after compensation – understood to be about £16m – was paid to release him. He arrived at Chelsea’s training ground on Thursday afternoon to sign his contract after a smooth series of negotiations.

September 8th 2022, 11:56 am

Graham Potter verbally agrees to take Chelsea manager’s job

The Guardian

• Terms must be finalised but Chelsea confident of appointment
• Brighton would receive compensation of about £16m

Graham Potter has verbally agreed to take the Chelsea manager’s job after holding talks. Terms are not finalised for the 47-year-old to join from Brighton but Chelsea are confident of appointing him.

Chelsea made Potter their No 1 target after sacking Thomas Tuchel on Wednesday and swiftly received permission from Brighton to speak to him. A substantial compensation payment – understood to be about £16m – will need to be paid. If all goes smoothly Potter will be in place for Saturday’s game at Fulham.

September 8th 2022, 8:10 am

Klopp calls for Liverpool to ‘reinvent ourselves’ after humbling by Napoli

The Guardian

• ‘It is a difficult period … we have to improve,’ says manager
• ‘Our owners are calm and expect me to sort the situation out’

Jürgen Klopp apologised for Liverpool’s humiliating defeat by Napoli and admitted his team needs to reinvent itself following a miserable start to the season.

Liverpool were abject as they suffered one of their heaviest European defeats to leave Klopp raising his hands in apology to the away fans at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.

September 8th 2022, 8:10 am

US Open Cup final: Orlando City silences Sacramento Republic for maiden trophy

The Guardian

• Orlando City beats Sac Republic 3-0 for US Open Cup title
• Sacramento Republic’s unlikely journey to Cup glory

Facundo Torres broke through with a goal in the 75th minute, then converted on a penalty to give Orlando City their first-ever trophy with a 3-0 victory over Sacramento Republic in the US Open Cup final on Wednesday night.

Torres’ penalty kick in the 80th all but sealed it for the Lions, who had not won a title since joining Major League Soccer in 2015. Orlando native Benji Michel added a stoppage time goal.

September 8th 2022, 3:55 am

Top seed Iga Swiatek sees off Jessica Pegula to reach first US Open semi-final

The Guardian

• No 1 Swiatek wins 6-3, 7-6 (4) to reach first US Open semi-final
• Polish star advances to face No 6 seed Sabalenka in last four

Iga Swiatek’s game is most effective, her mind most at ease, on red clay courts, where her two grand slam titles so far arrived.

She sure seems to be getting the hang of this hard-court thing at the US Open, though.

September 8th 2022, 3:55 am

Trans Gaelic footballer Giulia Valentino: ‘I’d like to leave a legacy of inclusion’

The Guardian

Exclusive: In her first interview since being targeted on social media, Valentino argues for trans inclusion

It was the game that triggered a backlash and compelled Ireland’s Gaelic sports authorities to review whether transgender women can compete in female teams.

Ireland’s first openly LGBTQ+ club, Na Gaeil Aeracha, was playing Na Fianna’s ladies E team in a minor championship at the end of July.

September 8th 2022, 3:55 am

NFL 2022 predictions: is this the season the Buffalo Bills finally end their drought?

The Guardian

The season kicks off on Thursday night. Will Josh Allen lead his team to glory? Is Tom Brady set for one last shot at glory? And which new stars will shine?

The AFC West. Every team in this division improved except arguably the Kansas City Chiefs, who will always be fine with Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid. Every team is a legitimate division contender … and every team strongly dislikes the other three. Get ready for some entertaining, well-played battles and look out for three playoff teams to emerge from the division. MJ

September 8th 2022, 3:55 am

‘I’ve been Maced, I’ve been to jail …’ Can 25-year-old Maxwell Frost now be the first Gen Z member o

The Guardian

The gun-control activist has been endorsed by Bernie Sanders and won a Democratic primary in Florida – but he still drives an Uber to make ends meet. Can he now make history?

It’s been a decade since Maxwell Alejandro Frost launched his first big campaign. He was 15 years old, coming off a stint volunteering on Barack Obama’s reelection bid and desperate to attend the president’s second inauguration. In an online search for tickets, Frost stumbled across a page soliciting applications to perform in the inaugural parade. So he submitted what he thought was the perfect act to represent central Florida, the region he calls home: his nine-piece high-school salsa band, Seguro Que Sí (translation: “of course”). “I got some videos together, wrote about our band and how we would love to represent Florida and specifically the growing Latino population,” says Frost.

Weeks later, he received a call while in class from the inaugural committee inviting his band to play if they could get a US senator to vouch for them and fund the trip to Washington DC themselves. When Frost totted up the costs of transport, lodging, food and the band’s float, he arrived at a figure of $13,000. His headteacher told him the school did not have the funds or the pull to make the trip happen and suggested backing out. But Frost was undaunted.

September 8th 2022, 3:55 am

Carlos Alcaraz prevails over Jannik Sinner in latest ever US Open finish

The Guardian

• Spaniard through to semis after winning five-set classic
• Match sets new mark in New York, finishing at 2.50am

Carlos Alcaraz won a spellbinding battle of the young guns against Jannik Sinner to reach his first grand slam semi-final in the US Open’s latest ever finish.

Spanish teenager Alcaraz finally clinched a 3-6, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (0), 5-7, 6-3 victory at 2.50am after five hours and 15 minutes of full-throttle tennis, setting up a clash with Frances Tiafoe on Friday. Remarkably, three matches had previously finished at 2.26am, while this was the second time Alcaraz had played beyond 2am in succession, after his fourth-round win over Marin Cilic finished at 2.23am.

September 8th 2022, 3:55 am

Iga Swiatek beats Jessica Pegula: US Open tennis quarter-final – as it happened

The Guardian

• No 1 seed beats home hope to claim place in semi-final
• Sabalenka returns to semis with dominant win over Pliskova

*Swiatek 3-3 Pegula (* – denotes next server)

Ouch – Pegula has an easy smash lined up to go up 40-0, but she hits too far. The next rally ends early when Pegula hits a lazy shot well wide.

September 7th 2022, 9:48 pm

Humiliation for Liverpool as vibrant Napoli rip them to shreds

The Guardian

A rupture occurred in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius. It was Liverpool, ripped apart and destroyed by Napoli on a humiliating night when Jürgen Klopp’s team resembled Champions League novices not seasoned finalists from three of the past five years.

The worst European performance of Klopp’s near seven-year reign – it is hard to think of another that comes close to the unwanted accolade – produced one of Liverpool’s heaviest European defeats. And a rare, necessary apology from Klopp to the travelling fans afterwards.

September 7th 2022, 9:48 pm

Tuchel’s strange sacking only makes sense if you are in charge of Chelsea | Barney Ronay

The Guardian

The abrupt dismissal of a manager after a big transfer splurge is what we have come to expect at Stamford Bridge

Some continuity, finally, at Chelsea Football Club. Sacking your manager seven games into the season, with more than £250m spent on players and a couple of whispered wobbles behind the scenes. This feels like home, safety, a club coming back to what they know. Nature is healing itself.

As of Wednesday morning 10am Chelsea no longer have Tommy Tuchel. Tuchel no longer, in the view of the board, knows exactly what they need. But it seems Graham Potter just might, if Chelsea really do feel like taking a punt on talent, brains and method over having actually spent a single minute of your professional career at the level the club hope to operate at.

September 7th 2022, 9:48 pm

Frances Tiafoe rolls over Andrey Rublev to reach US Open semi-finals

The Guardian

• Tiafoe wins 7-6 (3), 7-6 (0), 6-4 to reach US Open semi-finals
• No 22 seed is first American to reach men’s semis in 16 years

Andrey Rublev and Frances Tiafoe first stared each other down as rivals on the courts of Flushing Meadows in 2014. They were both 15 years old then, Tiafoe born three months later in January 1998, and as two of the most hyped youngsters of their time they knew each other well. They battled to the death in a fierce contest in the quarterfinals of the US Open juniors, with Tiafoe toppling the top seed in a tight three-setter. Afterwards, they saluted each other in a warm embrace.

While Rublev rose swiftly towards the top of the game as they transitioned to the professional tour, Tiafoe’s path has been far less clear. His progress has at times been arrested by inconsistency, lapses of concentration and far too many tight, brutal losses after great performances. But finally, on the biggest court of those same grounds, Tiafoe made his move to the top of the sport in his own time.

September 7th 2022, 9:48 pm

Richarlison’s first Tottenham goals punish Marseille for Mbemba’s red card

The Guardian

There was the obligatory pre-match footage of Lucas Moura’s winner at Ajax and then the declaration on the big screen at Tottenham’s magnificent stadium, one that is built to stage these kind of Champions League nights. “We’re back.”

For so long, it appeared that the grand return after a two-season absence would fall flat, even when Marseille were reduced to ten men in the 47th minute following Chancel Mbemba’s last-man foul on Son Heung-min. It was a dreadful misjudgment by the former Newcastle centre-half.

September 7th 2022, 9:48 pm

Napoli v Liverpool: Champions League – live!

The Guardian

• Live updates from the Group A opener, kick-off 8pm BST
• Tottenham v Marseille: Champions League – follow it live!
• Get in touch! You can email Scott with your thoughts here

All jokes and smiles between captains Giovanni Di Lorenzo and James Milner, and the match officials, as everyone clasps hands in a very friendly fashion. Then the hosts get the party started. A huge roar from the home fans as their heroes kick off.

The teams are out! Napoli wear their famous azure blue, redolent of the water of the Gulf of Naples, while Liverpool sport their storied first-choice red. Shock breaking news: there’s one hell of an atmosphere at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, lending a little burst of extra heat to an already warm, clear night on the western coast of southern Italy. We’ll be off in a minute or two, after a quick blast of Zadok the Priest (Version).

September 7th 2022, 4:12 pm

Tottenham v Marseille: Champions League – live!

The Guardian

• Live updates from the Group D opener, kick-off 8pm BST
• Napoli v Liverpool: Champions League – follow it live!
• Get in touch! You can email Barry or tweet him

1 min: Tottenham kick off, their players in white shirts, shorts and socks. The players of Marseille are a vision in Lynx Aqua-Marine.

Not long now: Both sets of players march out on to the White Hart Lane sward and line up either side of the team of match officals for the Champions League anthem. Kick-off is just a few handshakes, an exchange of pennants, a coin-toss and a shrill blast of the referee’s whistle away.

September 7th 2022, 4:12 pm

US Open quarter-finals: Pliskova v Sabalenka followed by Rublev v Tiafoe – live!

The Guardian

• Live updates from the last-eight action at Flushing Meadows
• ‘Devastated’ Kyrgios exits after thriller with Khachanov
• Get in touch! You can email Niall or tweet him

First set: Pliskova 0-3 Sabalenka* (*denotes next server) Karolina Pliskova in early trouble, then – but she’s come from a set down in her last two matches, against Victoria Azarenka and Belinda Bencic. She is having real trouble getting her serve going – a third double of the match, and a slow second serve, hand Sabalenka another two break points. On the second, she squeezes her return over the net and Pliskova puts her volley wide. Double break!

First set: *Pliskova 0-2 Sabalenka (*denotes next server) Sabalenka looks in control of her first service game, until a double fault at 40-15 up. Despite another double, she is hitting the ball more cleanly than her opponent and eventually backs up the break.

September 7th 2022, 12:39 pm

Civil war rages on as European Tour chief attacks ‘LIV propaganda machine’

The Guardian

• Keith Pelley also hits out at Sergio García in extraordinary rant
• Tensions high due to LIV involvement at PGA Championship

From a normally sedate corner of Surrey, the European Tour Group’s chief executive, Keith Pelley, issued the most passionate defence yet of his organisation against “the LIV propaganda machine.” Golf’s civil war shows no sign of abating.

During an extraordinary 45-minute press conference on the eve of the PGA Championship, Pelley took aim at Sergio García, blasted “fictitious” claims about a supposed offer from Golf Saudi and insisted the DP World Tour, formerly the European Tour, has never been in better health.

September 7th 2022, 8:55 am

Fifty years on, Matthews and Collett are owed an apology for their Olympic expulsion

The Guardian

The Americans’ actions at the 1972 Games had echoes of Tommie Smith and John Carlos. But today their story has been largely forgotten

Fifty years ago this week, two African American athletes, Vincent Matthews and Wayne Collett, won gold and silver respectively in the 400m at the Munich Olympics. At the medal ceremony they threw themselves into the maw of history.

During the US national anthem, the athletes shared the top tier of the podium – which would usually have been reserved for Matthews alone as the winner – an act of unity that broke Olympic protocol. They angled their backs away from the American flag and chatted casually, looking uninterested. Matthews rubbed his chin pensively before folding his arms. Collett stood barefoot, jacket open with hands on hips. As they departed, Matthews twirled his medal on his finger while Collett thrust a clenched fist into the air.

September 7th 2022, 7:26 am

Frances Tiafoe’s incredible US Open ride comes after journey like no other

The Guardian

The 24-year-old could end America’s long wait for a men’s slam champion having beaten the odds in so many ways

No sooner had Frances Tiafoe walked off the court after completing the biggest win of his career to reach the US Open quarter-finals than he looked up at his player box where his parents, Frances Sr and Alphina Kamara, beamed down with pride amid deafening roars from the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd.

“To see them experience me beat Rafa Nadal?” recalled Tiafoe, a 24-year-old from Hyattsville, Maryland, who is seeded 22nd at Flushing Meadows. “They’ve seen me have big wins, but to beat those Mount Rushmore guys, for them, I can’t imagine what was going through their heads. They’re going to remember today for the rest of their lives.”

September 7th 2022, 7:26 am

Chelsea sack Thomas Tuchel and target Brighton’s Graham Potter

The Guardian

• Pochettino and Zidane also on Chelsea’s shortlist
• Owners ‘believe it is the right time to make this transition’

Chelsea have sacked Thomas Tuchel as manager after their 1-0 defeat at Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League and are expected to approach Brighton for permission to speak to Graham Potter.

Potter is understood to be Chelsea’s first choice but Mauricio Pochettino and Zinedine Zidane, both of whom are out of work, are also on their shortlist.

September 7th 2022, 7:26 am

Sacramento Republic’s unlikely journey to US Open Cup glory

The Guardian

Sacramento Republic of the second-tier USL are 90 minutes away from a historic trophy and the biggest triumph in a long-overlooked city’s sports history

Sacramento, as a city, has always had a chip on its shoulder. Despite its 2.5 million residents and status as the capital of California, it has long been overshadowed by the likes of the Bay Area’s Silicon Valley and Los Angeles.

That dynamic inevitably spills over to sports, where its soccer team, Sacramento Republic of the second-tier USL, was infamously spurned last year by Major League Soccer only 17 months after it was very publicly awarded an expansion slot.

September 7th 2022, 7:26 am

Sue Bird’s career ends as Las Vegas Aces quell Seattle to reach WNBA finals

The Guardian

• Las Vegas win 97-92 to send Seattle star Sue Bird into retirement
• Aces’ Gray scores 15 of team-high 31 points in fourth quarter
• Stewart ties WNBA playoff record with 42 points in losing effort

This time there were tears, on the court and in the stands. The finality of the situation finally hitting Sue Bird and the thousands that showed up hoping to see her career continue for at least 40 more minutes.

Chelsea Gray was simply too good, sending the Las Vegas Aces to the WNBA finals beating the Seattle Storm 97-92 in Game 4 of their semi-final series Tuesday night.

September 7th 2022, 7:26 am

Top chess player Hans Niemann admits cheating in past but says he is now ‘clean’

The Guardian

• Magnus Carlsen leaves Sinquefield Cup after defeat to US player
• Niemann denies any wrongdoing at tournament in St. Louis

A top US chess player accused of cheating after Magnus Carlsen quit a prestigious tournament has admitted to doing so as 12 and 16-year-old – but insisted that he was now “clean” and was even prepared to play naked to prove his innocence.

Hans Niemann, the 19-year-old who stunned world champion Carlsen by beating him with the black pieces at the $500,000 Sinquefield Cup on Sunday, promised that he was a reformed character after revealing that he illegally benefited from computer assistance while playing chess on the internet as a child.

September 7th 2022, 7:26 am

USA see off Nigeria in final outing ahead of Wembley showdown with Lionesses

The Guardian

• Lavelle’s goal powers USA women in 2-1 victory over Nigeria
• Americans extend unbeaten streak on home soil to 71 matches
• Top-ranked US head to England for next match on 7 October

Super sub Rose Lavelle scored the winner and the US women’s national team won their 13th straight match with a 2-1 victory over Nigeria on Tuesday night.

The United States also benefitted from an own goal to extend the team’s unbeaten streak on American soil to 71 matches.

September 7th 2022, 12:10 am

Nick Kyrgios v Karen Khachanov: US Open tennis quarter-final – live!

The Guardian

• Caroline Garcia beats Coco Gauff 6-3, 6-4 to reach semi-final
• Email Beau with your thoughts or tweet @duresport

*Gauff 1-4 Garcia (* – denotes next server)

A few shouts get the crowd going at 30-15, and Garcia responds with an unforced error. Then Gauff pounds Garcia’s second serve for a backhand winner down the line, and all of a sudden, Gauff has a break point.

September 6th 2022, 11:25 pm

Coco Gauff’s hopes of home glory end with US Open loss to Caroline Garcia

The Guardian

• US teenager beaten 6-3,6-4 in quarter-final by No 17 seed
• Garcia will play Ons Jabeur for place in US Open final

Coco Gauff’s dreams of a grand slam breakthrough on home soil came to a screeching halt on Tuesday night in the US Open quarter-finals against the in-form Caroline Garcia.

Garcia, the No 17 seed who has been the hottest player on the women’s tour all summer, took the match by the scruff from the start and didn’t let up in a straightforward 6-3, 6-4 win over the 12th-seeded American to reach her first career major semi-final only weeks before her 29th birthday.

September 6th 2022, 11:25 pm

Magnus Carlsen leaves Sinquefield Cup amid Niemann chess ‘cheating’ furore

The Guardian

• World Champion withdraws from tournament after defeat
• Hikarua Nakamura says Niemann ‘probably cheating’

The chess world is in turmoil after the world champion, Magnus Carlsen, pulled out of a major tournament for the first time in his career with frenzied speculation over whether an opponent cheated.

On Monday, organisers of the $500,000 (£433,000) Sinquefield Cup announced additional anti-cheating precautions, including a 15-minute delay in the broadcast of the moves and increased radio-frequency identification checks. But Carlsen had already withdrawn from the event, announcing it in a tweet with a video of José Mourinho saying: “If I speak I am in big trouble. Big, big trouble.”

September 6th 2022, 6:12 pm

Eden Hazard rounds off Real Madrid’s devastating second-half blitz at Celtic

The Guardian

A game that began and ended in a torrent of noise. The important part, though, was what came in between. Three second-half goals and an immaculate display of second-half possession gave Real Madrid the perfect start to their title defence. Was it deserved, did it follow the run of play, did it make any kind of sense? For Madrid, these are questions that have long since ceased to trouble them. This is simply what they do. They enter your house, sniff the air, and then take what they came for.

For Celtic, a valuable learning experience at the highest level. The roar of pride and belief that greeted them at the final whistle was a deserved salute for a team that had left every fragment of themselves on that Parkhead pitch.

September 6th 2022, 6:12 pm

Casper Ruud has No 1 slot in sight after US Open rout of Matteo Berrettini

The Guardian

• Ruud beats Berrettini 6-1, 6-4, 7-6 (4) to reach semi-finals
• Norwegian’s progress signals further changing of the guard

As Frances Tiafoe basked in the glory of his quarter-final upset of Rafael Nadal on Monday night, he was reminded that at some point soon the big three would retire, with more opportunities to come.

He responded with a cynical smile, not missing a beat: “Been saying that for how many years now?” But what is clear is that a new men’s grand slam champion will be crowned at the US Open, and this tournament will provide another glimpse into the future of men’s tennis.

September 6th 2022, 4:26 pm

Mislav Orsic makes Chelsea suffer as Dinamo Zagreb secure famous victory

The Guardian

This wasn’t exactly how Thomas Tuchel would have imagined his 100th match as Chelsea manager. In the competition where he found such success just 17 months ago in the final against Manchester City, the German was powerless to stop Dinamo Zagreb recording a famous victory courtesy of Miroslav Orsic’s well-taken goal.

With their owner Todd Boehly watching on from the stands, Chelsea were outclassed in almost every department as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang endured a debut to forget after his deadline-day move from Barcelona, mustering a grand total of no shots on target from his 59 minutes on the pitch. It wasn’t much better for Tuchel, who was uncharacteristically haphazard with his tactics throughout and even deployed Raheem Sterling in central midfield for a large part of the second half. For the first time since he succeeded Frank Lampard, Chelsea have lost three consecutive away games and their problems are mounting.

September 6th 2022, 4:26 pm

Billy Horschel hits out at LIV Golf ‘hypocrites’ playing PGA Championship

The Guardian

• Jon Rahm also critical of those just seeking ranking points
• LIV players Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter in Wentworth field

In the latest instalment of golf’s war of words Billy Horschel and Jon Rahm have made clear their belief that LIV rebels should not be competing in this week’s PGA Championship.

Members of the LIV series – including 15 who played in Boston last week – are in the field at Wentworth, as is permitted until a legal case relating to eligibility is heard. While Rahm sought to distinguish between long-term members of the European Tour – now the DP World Tour – and others, Horschel sees no difference between the rebel players. “Even though Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter have been stalwarts for the European Tour, I don’t think those guys really should be here,” said the defending champion. “Abraham Ancer, Talor Gooch, Jason Kokrak: you’ve never played this tournament, you’ve never supported the DP World Tour. Why are you here? You are here for one reason only and that’s to try to get world ranking points because you don’t have it [via LIV].

September 6th 2022, 4:26 pm

Celtic v Real Madrid, Sevilla v Manchester City: Champions League – live!

The Guardian

• Live scoreboard! Follow all the 8pm BST kick-offs
• Any comments? You can mail Barry or tweet him
• Match report: Dinamo Zagreb 1-0 Chelsea

Sevilla: Bounou, Carmona, Gudelj, Kouassi, Alex Telles, Jesus Navas, Rakitic, Delaney, Acuna, Isco, Gomez.

Subs: Dmitrovic, Montiel, Rekik, Dolberg, Suso, Jordan, Januzaj, Mir, En-Nesyri, Fernando, Salas, Flores.

September 6th 2022, 4:26 pm

David Squires on … the great VAR and refereeing crisis of 2022

The Guardian

Our cartoonist picks over a weekend of sense-numbing, contentious decisions in the Premier League

• Like what we do? Consider supporting our journalism
• Buy your very own copy of this cartoon in our print store

September 6th 2022, 12:24 pm

Europe’s richest clubs have made the Champions League far too predictable | Philipp Lahm

The Guardian

Huge transfer fees ensure the continent’s elite competition remains a closed shop only a handful are capable of winning

Barcelona, with their Johan Cruyff-influenced idea of the game, were once more than just a club. Today, despite high debts, they operate like all the rest. They invest on a scale that very few can afford. Barça officials know that the market will grow for years. So the annual balance sheet doesn’t count for them; they calculate in decades.

Barça bought Robert Lewandowski, among others, for €45m from Bayern Munich this summer. He is 34 and does not represent the continuation of tiki-taka. But he has been top scorer in the Bundesliga seven times.

September 6th 2022, 12:24 pm

‘Here come Miss Ann’: Black people know the likes of Margaret Court all too well

The Guardian

People were annoyed rather than upset at the Australian’s criticism of Serena Williams. After all, they knew what to expect

Tennis fans had yet to shed their party clothes from the Serena Williams farewell fest when Margaret Court crashed the party and released a funk that got folks up in arms.

In an interview with the Daily Telegraph’s Oliver Brown published on Monday, Court said of Serena, “I’ve admired her as a player … But I don’t think she has ever admired me.” Has Court called Serena to express this admiration? If not, why make up what Serena may or may not feel? In the interview Court – a 24-time grand slam singles champion – also raises her issues with Serena’s sportsmanship, abilities after giving birth and the comforts of life on tour in the modern era.

September 6th 2022, 12:24 pm

LIV Golf recruit Cameron Smith nominated for PGA player of the year

The Guardian

• PGA Tour has suspended players who defected to LIV series
• Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler also up for gong

A few days after teeing up for the first time in the LIV Golf series, the Saudi-backed circuit which is challenging the sport’s old order, Australia’s Cameron Smith has been named one of three player of the year nominees for the establishment PGA Tour.

This is not surprising given Smith had a stellar year winning the British Open and Players Championship and rising to world No 2. However, LIV’s arrival has split golf with legal cases aplenty and growing personal animosity between the two camps.

September 6th 2022, 12:24 pm

Aaron Judge turned down $213.5m. Now he’s on his way to a home-run record

The Guardian

The slugger turned down a huge contract extension from the Yankees and bet on his own abilities. It looks like he made the right decision

Aaron Judge started 2022 by turning down a seven-year, $213.5m contract extension from the New York Yankees. That deal would have given the now 30-year-old one of the largest contracts in MLB history. But Judge thought he was worth more, opting to play out this season and see what he could fetch in free-agency. In an era in which the phrase “bet on yourself” has become ubiquitous, perhaps nobody placed a larger bet than Judge. And that bet is paying dividends.

On Monday against the Minnesota Twins, Judge launched his 54th home run of the season, the latest installment in a special campaign from the 6ft 7in, 280lb right fielder. Judge’s effort puts him on track to finish the season with 64 home runs, which would take him past the American League record of 61, set by fellow Yankee Roger Maris in 1961. Beyond that is MLB-record territory, where the murky, steroid-bound legacies of Barry Bonds (73 home runs in 2001), Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa (70 and 66 respectively in 1998) are the subject of endless fan debate.

September 6th 2022, 12:24 pm

Frances Tiafoe shocks Rafael Nadal in US Open fourth-round thriller

The Guardian

• American prevails 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 to reach quarter-finals
• Tiafoe will face Andrey Rublev after biggest win of his career

Frances Tiafoe took an enormous step towards fulfilling his great potential as he pulled off by far the biggest win of his career, upsetting the second seed Rafael Nadal 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 to reach the US Open quarter-finals for the first time in his career.

In front of a rowdy home crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium, the 22nd seed became the first man to beat Nadal on court in a grand slam this year. It also marks the first time since Wimbledon 2017 that Nadal has lost before the quarter-final stage of a grand slam.

September 6th 2022, 1:54 am

Tyson Fury offers Anthony Joshua WBC title fight in December

The Guardian

• Fury posts video proposing ‘battle of Britain’ with Joshua
• Joshua reacts positively to proposal of December date

Anthony Joshua said he will “be ready in December” after Tyson Fury offered him the chance to fight for his WBC heavyweight title. Joshua responded on social media after Fury posted a video earlier on Monday in which he gives the Londoner “a few months’ notice” to prepare for “a battle of Britain”.

Joshua said: “Yea calm. I don’t do the online discussions just for clout, so if your really about it shout 258mgt. I’ll be ready in December. Khalas.”

September 6th 2022, 1:54 am

Jessica Pegula dismantles Petra Kvitova to make debut in US Open quarter-finals

The Guardian

• No 8 seed beats multiple grand slam champion 6-3, 6-2
• US No 1 will face world No 1 Iga Swiatek in the last eight

It may not be immediately obvious from the minimal fanfare she generates compared with many of her compatriots, but Jessica Pegula is the highest ranked US tennis player, man or woman, and throughout this summer she has continued to back it up.

On Arthur Ashe Stadium against an in-form multiple grand slam champion, Pegula, the No 8 seed, took another significant step forward in her career by routinely dismantling Petra Kvitova 6-3, 6-2 to reach the US Open quarter-finals for the first time.

September 6th 2022, 1:54 am

US Open 2022: Norrie v Rublev, Kvitová v Pegula, Tiafoe v Nadal and more – live!

The Guardian

• Updates from the last 16 matches at Flushing Meadows
• Send your thoughts to Daniel by email or on Twitter

Sometimes you look at an order of play and think goodness me, today is a day. And there are other times when you like at an order of play and think goodness me, today is a day. Well, mates, today is a DAY.

We begin on Armstrong with Cameron Norrie and Andrey Rublev, the number seven seed versus the number nine seed, both men looking to establish themselves as second-week staples. Then, on Ashe, we’ve got Petra Kvitová, trying to rediscover the brilliance that made her a double Wimbledon champion, taking on Jessica Pegula, the veteran whose best slam performances have all come this year; not bad.

September 5th 2022, 10:53 am

Margaret Court says Serena Williams played in ‘much easier’ era

The Guardian

• Australian has record of 24 major titles to American’s 23
• Court says she has been affected by views on same-sex marriage

Margaret Court has questioned Serena Williams’ legacy after the American’s apparent retirement from tennis following her defeat at this year’s US Open.

Court holds the record for grand slam singles titles with 24, one ahead of Williams. But it is Williams who is usually described as the greatest player of all time.

September 5th 2022, 10:24 am

Lewis Hamilton insists a win is near after coming close at F1 Dutch GP

The Guardian

• ‘We’re going to be fighting for a win and that’s amazing’
• Hamilton sorry for angry response to team after coming fourth

Lewis Hamilton has insisted he can still fight for a win this season after his performance at the Dutch Grand Prix, despite his anger and frustration at his Mercedes’ team strategy call that cost him a shot at victory in Zandvoort.

The seven-time champion delivered several expletive-heavy messages to his team as his race in the Netherlands fell apart, dropping him from the lead to finish fourth . He later apologised to his team and the race was won by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen but for the first time this season Mercedes’ original tactical plan and pace had put Hamilton in with a shout of taking a victory.

September 5th 2022, 8:38 am

Are the Lions edging towards relevance with blood-and-thunder Dan Campbell?

The Guardian

Detroit’s last playoff win came in the 1991 season. While that record looks unlikely to end this time around there are encouraging signs of progress

September 5th 2022, 6:24 am

MLB’s Art Shires: hitter, peacock, boaster, boxer and accused killer

The Guardian

The Texan was a hothead who beat up his own manager, pursued an off-season fighting career and was implicated in the deaths of two people

Bearing in mind that everyone has easy access to baseball bats, serious violence is rare in Major League Baseball. Breaches of the peace such as 23 August’s cleared benches at Minute Maid Park are usually theatrical, the emphasis more on posturing than punching.

Still, there are exceptions, the kind of confrontations that might interest the police, rather than the compilers of SportsCenter highlights, if they happened anywhere else but a sports field. Rougned Odor lamping José Bautista in 2016, for example, and the infamous Giants-Dodgers fracas in 1965 that led to John Roseboro suing Juan Marichal for injuries sustained when he was whacked above the left eye.

September 5th 2022, 3:51 am

Antony’s Manchester United debut was cinematic and apparently fearless

The Guardian

The winger entertained the crowd – not least with his singular goal celebration – in his first appearance at Old Trafford

Dance like 70,000 people aren’t watching. Whatever Antony might go on to achieve from here on the fraught, treacherous, potholed path of becoming, for now, Manchester United’s second most expensive signing of all time, we’ll always have minutes 33 to 34 of his full debut, an interlude that was a kind of highlights reel on its own, me-time, a man intent on painting some part of this day a shade of Antony.

First he took possession on the right touchline and performed a kind of freestyle solo, shimmying both ways, waving his foot over the ball like a pavement magician hiding a ball under a cup. It was funny, gratuitous and kind of pointless. But also, not pointless. United would go on to win this game 3-1, helped by two fine second-half finishes from Marcus Rashford and some killer passing from central midfield.

September 5th 2022, 3:39 am

Spivs and charlatans: the murky tale of Luis Figo’s transfer to Real Madrid

The Guardian

A new documentary film explores the story of a move that led to a pig’s head being thrown at the Portuguese superstar

Research conducted by Edward Geiselman, a former Professor of psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles, corroborated the theory that somebody who is lying will often break eye contact and glance away at a crucial moment during interrogation. Although it’s easy to read far too much into somebody’s tics or mannerisms, it is quite telling that in the recently released Netflix documentary The Figo Affair, on two separate occasions when the eponymous subject is asked directly about his seismic transfer from Barcelona to Real Madrid, he gives one-line replies during which his normally inscrutable stare is broken by a noticeable glance off camera.

The two answers came 22 years apart. “Look I have a contract and I expect to fulfil it,” he told one inquisitor in July 2000, before his extremely contentious departure from Barcelona, his eyes flicking sideways towards the end of the sentence. Over two decades on, as a more than willing participant in the documentary that chronicles a deal that heralded the beginning of Real Madrid’s galáctico era, Figo is asked directly if he’d meant it when he’d insisted he would not be leaving Barcelona just a few days before his departure. “Yes at the time I thought so,” he says, glancing away to his left, with the hint of a smile playing on his lips.

September 5th 2022, 3:39 am

Premier League: 10 talking points from the weekend’s action

The Guardian

Scott McTominay is flourishing under Erik ten Hag while Brendan Rodgers faces a battle to fix Leicester’s leaky defence

Erik ten Hag said the reason for Casemiro being kept on the bench against Arsenal was “Scott McTominay is playing really well”. The Scotland midfielder looked set to be a victim of Casemiro’s arrival from Real Madrid but has improved under Ten Hag, a sign of what quality coaching can provide. Against Arsenal he kept things simple; in the first half he achieved 100% passing accuracy, taking 27 touches and winning two tackles. He provided the base to allow Christian Eriksen and Bruno Fernandes freedom to make a difference further up the pitch. Casemiro’s arrival has pushed McTominay on, knowing his previous best will not be good enough to earn a starting spot. Seeing what Casemiro does in training will be helpful because he has had no role model at the club in recent years and only got his chance due to the paucity of options. Finally he looks like a United player, but he still has a fight on his hands to keep his spot. Will Unwin

Match report: Manchester United v Arsenal

Match report: Everton 0-0 Liverpool

Match report: Aston Villa 1-1 Manchester City

September 5th 2022, 3:39 am

Cameron Smith finishes fourth on LIV Golf debut but still pockets over $1m

The Guardian

• Australian drops out of contention for three-way playoff
• Dustin Johnson sinks 35-foot eagle putt to secure victory

Cameron Smith has fallen just short of victory in his maiden LIV Golf tournament but still banked over $1m for his efforts in Boston.

Australia’s world No 2, who became the highest-profile golfer to join Greg Norman’s Saudi-funded league last week, shared the lead with two holes to play but sent his tee shot into the bushes, with his first bogey of the round a costly one.

September 5th 2022, 1:23 am