LEGENDINFO

Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina secured the last qualifying spot for the season-ending WTA Finals in Riyadh after advancing to the Pan Pacific Open semi-finals in Tokyo on Friday. Rybakina , who has won two WTA 500 titles this season, beat Canada's  Victoria Mboko   6-3 7-6(4)  in the Tokyo quarters. The 26-year-old will be making her third consecutive appearance at the Riyadh showpiece, which runs from November 1-8. Russians  Mirra Andreeva , 18, and  Ekaterina Alexandrova , 30, were named as the first and second alternates. Former Wimbledon champion Rybakina joins world number one  Aryna Sabalenka ,  Iga Swiatek , defending champion  Coco Gauff ,  Amanda Anisimova ,  Jessica Pegula ,  Madison Keys  and  Jasmine Paolini  in the draw.

  Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a career-high 55 points to lead reigning champion Oklahoma City over Indiana 141-135 in double overtime on Thursday in a historic rematch of last season's NBA Finals. Hours after the league was rocked by a massive illegal gambling probe, reigning NBA Most Valuable Player  Gilgeous-Alexander   dragged the Thunder to victory . The Canadian added eight rebounds and five assists while hitting 15-of-31 shots from the floor and 23-of-26 free throws to lead a 45-of-51 Thunder effort from the line. The 27-year-old guard, last season's top NBA scorer, netted nine points in the second overtime to lift  Oklahoma City  over a determined Pacers squad. After the Thunder won their season opener at home Tuesday over  Houston  125-124 in double overtime, they became the first club in NBA history to go into double overtime in their first two games of a campaign.

  Injury-hit Barcelona expect to have Lamine Yamal back fit to face Girona in La Liga on Saturday, in a welcome boost as the Catalans aim to bounce back from a damaging defeat with the Clasico in their sights. Hansi Flick's side were hammered 4-1 by Sevilla before the international break and must regroup before facing  Real Madrid  on October 26. Midfielder  Pedri Gonzalez  said  Barca 's performance in Seville was the team's worst under Flick, and since then  Robert Lewandowski  and  Dani Olmo  have suffered injuries to deepen their plight. However,  Yamal  and  Fermin Lopez  returned to training this week and  are expected to be fit to face Girona , while  Raphinha  is also nearing a return. Teenage star Yamal missed the thrashing by Sevilla and then Spain's World Cup qualifiers with the recurrence of a groin problem but should feature against  Girona  in a derby clash.

By the end of the day, all semi-finalists will be known in Shanghai and Wuhan, as heavyweight names battle it out to take a major step closer to glory. The Tennis Tracker will, as usual, keep you updated with all the latest results and news. 07:40 CET -  Good morning and welcome back to the Tennis Tracker this Friday, with some fantastic quarter-final action ahead of us in China! There has already been one result from Wuhan, with  Jessica Pegula  coming from behind to claim a  2-6, 6-0, 6-3  win over  Katerina Siniakova , moving into the semi-final as a result. Currently on court, three-time defending champion  Aryna Sabalenka  is facing  Elena Rybakina  for a 13th time, with the former leading the head-to-head 7-5. That will be followed by a meeting between  Coco Gauff  and 37-year-old  Laura Siegemund , before  Iga Swiatek  looks to improve her 6-0 record against  Jasmine Paolini  in the last quarter-...

UEFA said on Thursday it had held informal discussions with A22 Sports Management, the company behind plans to revive a European Super League, but stressed that no changes were being considered to the format of its elite club competition. "We can confirm reports that (UEFA general secretary) Mr Theodore Theodoridis had met with (A22 Sports Management co-founder) Mr Anas Laghrari on a few occasions in public settings. "No formal outcomes resulted from these conversations,"  UEFA told Reuters on Thursday. "We categorically reaffirm that there are no plans to change the format of the UEFA Champions League." Media reports said earlier on Thursday that A22 had entered exploratory talks with UEFA officials to discuss a possible framework for a new competition.

  The head coach of  Benin Republic, Gernot Rohr , has claimed FIFA’s decision to deduct three points from South Africa is coming very late. On Monday, the world football governing body announced the award of three points and three goals to Lesotho. It is punishment for Bafana Bafana fielding an ineligible player in their 2026 World Cup qualifier on March 21. The outcome of the judgement means Benin Republic are now top of Group C with 14 points. South Africa also have 14 points, but with a lesser goal difference. “The decision of FIFA to deduct three points from South Africa is a logical one but it’s coming very late, six months already that they had to do it,” Rohr said on Brila FM while reacting to the decision.

Sixteen-year-old  Rio Ngumoha  came off the bench to score a 100th-minute winner for  Liverpool  against 10-man  Newcastle United  at St James’ Park, leaving the Magpies winless in 18 league H2Hs (D5, L13). Despite it being clear that he would represent neither side in this fixture, all of the pre-match chat surrounded  Alexander Isak  and the transfer saga that has dominated the summer window. As a result, tensions were high on Tyneside, with the home fans showing their support for manager Eddie Howe before play got underway. Both sets of players got stuck in right from the off with tackles flying in, resulting in a booking for  Ryan Gravenberch , who was making his return from suspension. Newcastle looked the more dangerous side in a frantic opening quarter-hour, but it was Nick Pope who was first called into action to deny  Florian Wirtz ’s curling effort.  The intensity remained incredibly high, as  Anthony Gordon  had...

Athletic Club laboured to a narrow 1-0 win over Rayo Vallecano de Madrid, meaning it is now 36 La Liga matches since the side from Bilbao lost a game in which they were favourites. After their action-packed 3-2 opening weekend victory against Sevilla, the first half proved to be a drab rude awakening for the home fans, as  Athletic Club  produced a first half littered with mistakes and calamities. The tone of a frustrating half was set in the opening two minutes, as a wayward pass allowed  Vallecano  forward  Jorge De Frutos  in on goal, and his tame effort somehow crept through the legs of  Unai Simon  but was cleared off the line. De Frutos proved to be an industrious nuisance to the home side’s jittery defence but, in keeping with the match itself, struggled to convert his work rate into any genuine chances. Ernesto Valverde’s men arose from their slumber shortly after the break, as a moment of rare quality produced the first real chance of the...

N ottingham Forest have signed French striker Arnaud Kalimuendo from Ligue 1 side Rennes on a five-year deal, the Premier League club said on Monday. Financial details of the transfer were not revealed but British media reported  Forest  paid about 26 million pounds ($35.19 million) for the 23-year-old. Kalimuendo  came through  Paris St Germain 's academy and had two loan spells at  Lens  before joining  Rennes  in 2022, scoring 40 goals from 112 appearances in all competitions. At Lens, he netted 21 goals in 65 appearances. Kalimuendo was impressive in 2024-25, with 18 goals and four assists in 34 matches for Rennes. He was part of the France squad that won silver at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. "This is a proud moment for me, joining a team who had a strong season last year and a club with great history,"  Kalimuendo said. "I'm ready for the challenge, and I arrive here with good experience. I had a good season last year with goals and as...

  Borussia Dortmund needed a superb finish by forward Serhou Guirassy in the 79th minute to break the resistance of third-division club Rot-Weiss Essen and earn a nervous 1-0 victory in the German Cup on Monday. Dortmund  found it hard going in their first competitive game of the season against the disciplined  Essen  backline, who were working overtime to keep the visitors' chances to a minimum. The hosts almost took the lead themselves in the 41st minute, but Dortmund keeper  Gregor Kobel  denied Romien Safi from close range. Essen remained bold after the break, stifling most Dortmund attacks early while lurking on the break. But they could do nothing when Guinea international  Guirassy  picked up the ball at the edge of the box, battled with two Essen defenders before unleashing an unstoppable, low drive past the keeper for a 79th-minute lead. Dortmund, who start their Bundesliga season on Saturday with a trip to  St Pauli , held on to the...

D’Tigress star, Amy Okonkwo has been named Most Valuable Player, MVP, at the just concluded 2025 FIBA Women’s AfroBasket , DAILY POST reports. Okonkwo was instrumental in Nigeria’s successful outing at the competition. Rena Wakama’s side defeated Mali 78-64 in the final of the competition at the Palais des Sports de Treichville, Abidjan , Cote d’Ivoire on Sunday night. It was D’Tigress’ fifth consecutive title, and the seventh time they will be lifting the FIBA Women’s AfroBasket trophy. DAILY POST recalls, Okonkwo also won the MVP award at the previous edition of the competition hosted by Rwanda. The 28-year-old is the second Nigerian to win back-to-back MVP honours at Women’s AfroBasket following Mfon Udoka’s in 2003 and 2005.

  Atletico Madrid became the first European side to exit the FIFA Club World Cup, despite a late 1-0 win against Botafogo in Pasadena. The Brazilians duly secured second place in the group, after seeing their five-game winning streak come to a losing end. Atléti  knew they would need to win by at least three goals to advance if results elsewhere went against them, but they started slowly as the Brazilian champions looked comfortable in the early exchanges. Jefferson Savarino  had the first real chance of the game on nine minutes as he raced through on goal, but perhaps spooked by the imposing figure of  Jan Oblak  bearing down on him, he could only produce a timid finish which was easily saved. The Spanish side eventually created a golden chance of their own five minutes before the interval, but  Julian Alvarez  shanked his effort wide after turning on the edge of the six-yard box.  A moment of controversy then arrived in added time, with VAR reco...

Red Bull Salzburg went top of Group H at the FIFA Club World Cup after they defeated Pachuca 2-1 in a weather-impacted game at TQL Stadium. It was  Pachuca  who had the first effort of note on 10 minutes, as  Christian Zawieschitzky  batted away captain  Salomóon Rondon ’s effort from a narrow angle in the  Salzburg  goal. The 18-year-old debutant also repelled  Elias Montiel  shortly before his side enjoyed a period of dominance in the middle of the half, albeit without testing  Carlos Moreno . Rondon again came close to an opener on the half-hour mark, but Zawieschitzky brilliantly tipped the Venezuelan’s header onto the crossbar. Some of the Mexican supporters in the stadium were on their feet five minutes later, yet  Agustín Palavecino ’s volley rippled the wrong side of the netting. I sraeli international  Oscar Gloukh  had been testing the  Pachuca  defence, firing a shot over the bar on 40 minutes, shortly...

Captain Harry Kane said England must improve quickly if they are to contend for next year's World Cup after slumping to a 3-1 home friendly defeat by Senegal on Tuesday. A first-ever defeat against African opposition has put  England  boss Thomas Tuchel under pressure just four games into his reign. After struggling past minnows Andorra 1-0 in World Cup qualifying on Saturday, Tuchel's 10 changes had little effect as  Senegal  ran out deserved winners in Nottingham thanks to goals from Ismaila Sarr, Habib Diarra and Cheikh Sabaly. "Not good enough. We had moments, but with and without the ball, things aren't clicking, we're not finding the right tempo,"  said  Kane , who opened the scoring with his 73rd international goal. "We've lost that aggressive nature that we had." Former Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain boss Tuchel was hired with the task of taking England one step further to m...

  Thomas Tuchel suffered his first defeat as England manager after Senegal came from a goal behind to claim an impressive 3-1 victory at the City Ground, extending their unbeaten run to 16 matches (W11, D5) while becoming the first African nation to defeat the Three Lions, after seeing Stephanie Frappart disallow a late equaliser for the hosts. Having flattered to deceive in Saturday’s 1-0 win at Andorra, Tuchel’s side knew an improved display was needed against  Senegal . It was the West African nation, however, who nearly took a shock lead inside five minutes when Nicolas Jackson’s low strike was thwarted by the legs of Dean Henderson. Grateful for that reprieve, the hosts broke the deadlock just two minutes later, with Harry Kane tapping home from six yards after Anthony Gordon’s initial effort was spilled by Édouard Mendy.  Determined to find a swift response, Senegal showed plenty of attacking threat as the first half progressed....

Jannik Sinner will seek to light up the night session on Monday as the top seed clashes with Andrey Rublev, while Russian starlet Mirra Andreeva will face hitting-partner and ex-compatriot Daria Kasatkina for a place in the French Open quarter-finals. Elsewhere, world number two  Coco Gauff  will meet Ekaterina Alexandrova in the last 16 and 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic will renew his rivalry with Cameron Norrie. Third seeds Alexander Zverev and Jessica Pegula will also take to the court in fourth-round action against Tallon Griekspoor and Lois Boisson, respectively. Italy's  Sinner  will look to continue his quest to make it three Grand Slam titles in a row when he takes on Russian 17th seed Rublev. The pair have met nine times in their career, with Sinner holding the edge with six wins to three, but the former world number five emerged the victor in their only previous meeting at Roland ...

Coco Gauff reached a fifth successive French Open quarter-final on Monday as the world number two brushed Russian 20th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova aside 6-0, 7-5. Gauff  raced through the opening set, backed by three breaks of serve. Alexandrova put up more of a fight in the second se,t but Gauff eventually closed out victory in 82 minutes. The 21-year-old Gauff will play reigning Australian Open champion  Madison Keys  or unseeded Hailey Baptiste in an all-American quarter-final.

Jelena Ostapenko is starting to show shades of the form that saw her crowned French Open champion eight years ago with the Latvian knocking over the top two players in the world en route to winning the Stuttgart Open title on Monday. Ostapenko  became the first woman to beat the world number one and number two in the same claycourt event since Serena Williams at Madrid in 2012 by beating Aryna Sabalenka in the final and Iga Swiatek in the quarters. Her ninth tour-level title, and just her second on clay, lifted Ostapenko six places in the world rankings to 18th, marking her out as a dark horse ahead of Roland Garros, which begins on May 25. "Honestly, I didn't tell anyone, but I felt confident since the first day. I had a strange feeling in a good way," she told reporters in Stuttgart. "When I came here, I felt like something's going to happen this week. I pretty much felt that I can win this tournament. "I think I'm improving day by day and I'm p...

The Los Angeles Clippers bounced back from a game-one defeat, beating the Nuggets 105-102 in Denver behind a brilliant 39-point performance from Kawhi Leonard. Leonard  made 15 of his 19 shot attempts and the Clippers withstood NBA Most Valuable Player  Nikola Jokic 's triple-double of 26 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists to level their Western Conference series at 1-1. It was another pulsating contest in  Denver , where the Clippers bounced back from a narrow game-one overtime defeat thanks to a vintage performance from Leonard - an NBA champion in 2014 and 2019 who has been hindered by injury in recent seasons. He set the tone early, making nine of his 10 shots in the first half and sending the Clippers into half-time up 55-52 with a buzzer-beating three-pointer. In a game that featured 18 lead changes, the Nuggets tied it at 100-100 with 2:07 to play on a three-pointer by  Murray . But  Norman Powell  came up with a steal and drained...

Failing a collapse at Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday, Hansi Flick has Barcelona on track for the Champions League semi-finals and a return to the European elite after a rocky decade in Catalonia. A semi-final placing, where  Barcelona  would likely be favourites to make the final, would represent the high-water mark so far for the Catalan giants in the post-Lionel Messi era. Four points clear of Real Madrid in the league with seven games remaining, and also facing Los Blancos in the Copa del Ray final, Barcelona are enjoying their best season since Messi's departure. Since winning it all in Berlin in 2015, Barcelona have only once made it back to the semi-finals of the Champions League. That came in 2018-19, although the match-up is one the Catalans would rather forget. In that tie, Barcelona became a footnote in the story of an incredible comeback from title-bound Liverpool, letting a 3-0 first-leg win slip in a 4-0 defeat at Anfield. The following season, Barcelona were thumpe...