National Sports

By Matias Grez, CNN (CNN) — Aryna Sabalenka finalized her preparations for the US Open with an impressive 6-3 7-5 win over Jessica Pegula in the Cincinnati Open final. It was as close to a perfect week as Sabalenka could have hoped for, with the new world No. 2 not dropping a single set en

By Ben Church, CNN (CNN) — World No. 1 Jannik Sinner saw off the challenge from home favorite Frances Tiafoe to win the men’s Cincinnati Open title on Monday. The Italian admitted he was struggling with fatigue after a taxing tournament, but still found a way to beat his American opponent in the final in

By Daniel Renjifo, CNN (CNN) — Dricus du Plessis quietened his critics by submitting Israel Adesanya and defending his UFC middleweight title against one of MMA’s best fighters in Perth, Australia. The South African had rattled some cages back in late January with comments about being the first fighter to “take the belts” to Africa,

By Ben Church, CNN (CNN) — Hideki Matsuyama survived a nervy ending on Sunday to dramatically win the FedEx St. Jude Championship. Matsuyama had thrown away a five-shot overnight lead on the final day of competition in Tennessee, before recovering his form to win the postseason playoff opener at TPC Southwind. The Japanese star, who

By Thomas Schlachter, CNN (CNN) — A motorbike racer has died following injuries he sustained during a qualifying session for the 2024 Manx Grand Prix, organizers confirmed Sunday. Irish rider Louis O’Regan was injured during an accident on the 37.73-mile (60 kilometer) circuit of the Manx Grand Prix, a set of motorcycle races held annually

By Sam Joseph, CNN (CNN) — The 2024 NFL preseason is in full swing. Players are getting their reps in and putting on a show, rookies are getting to grips with playbooks, and we are starting to get a glimpse of what each team will look like in the upcoming campaign. Preseason performances are far

By Matias Grez, CNN (CNN) — Aryna Sabalenka needed 10 match points to seal a 6-3 6-3 win over Iga Świątek and book her place in the Cincinnati Open final, where she will face the USA’s Jessica Pegula on Monday. It is the first time in her career that Sabalenka has beaten Świątek in straight

By George Ramsay, CNN (CNN) — Jordan Spieth has announced that he will miss the remainder of the golf season to have surgery on a wrist injury first sustained last year. Spieth finished tied for 68th at the FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis, Tennessee, on Sunday, failing to advance in the FedExCup Playoffs. It

By Matias Grez, CNN (CNN) — Defending Spanish champion Real Madrid had to settle for a 1-1 draw against Mallorca in its La Liga season opener. In Kylian Mbappé’s league debut, Real survived a sluggish start to take the lead through Rodrygo’s wonderful, curled effort after 13 minutes, latching onto Vinícius Jr.’s backheel. But Vedat

By Ben Church, CNN (CNN) — Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese dominated in college basketball, and now the pair keep making history in the WNBA. On Sunday, Clark led the Indiana Fever to a 92-75 win over the Seattle Storm and broke another league record in the process. In addition to scoring 23 points, the 22-year-old also recorded

By Issy Ronald, CNN (CNN) — Katarzyna ‘Kasia’ Niewiadoma won a thrilling edition of the Tour de France Femmes by just four seconds, holding off a blistering long-range attack on the final stage from defending champion Demi Vollering as the race was decided on the iconic Alpe d’Huez. Niewiadoma began the day in the yellow

By Issy Ronald, CNN (CNN) — Iga Świątek and Jessica Pegula headline the Cincinnati Open semifinals on Sunday after they battled through their respective quarterfinals. Facing 17-year-old rising star Mirra Andreeva, Świątek overturned a one set deficit to eventually earn a 4-6 6-3 7-5 victory and book her spot in a semifinal against longtime rival

By Wayne Sterling, CNN (CNN) — The New York Liberty became the first WNBA team to clinch a playoff berth following their 79-67 road victory against the defending champion Las Vegas Aces on Saturday. Sabrina Ionescu, Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones led the way for the Liberty at Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas; Ionescu

By Patrick Sung, CNN (CNN) — There have been plenty of highlight reel moments in NFL superstar Patrick Mahomes’ career – and then there was what happened on Saturday afternoon in Arrowhead Stadium. On third down and three with 6:16 left in the first quarter of a preseason game against the Detroit Lions, the Kansas

By Issy Ronald, CNN (CNN) — Barcelona kicked off its La Liga season with a 2-1 away victory against Valencia on Saturday, marking a winning start to new manager Hansi Flick’s tenure. A brace from Robert Lewandowski, reuniting with Flick after their time together at Bayern Munich, overhauled a 1-0 deficit and secured the first

By Issy Ronald, CNN (CNN) — Cheering crowds filled the streets of Tiaret, Algeria on Friday evening to welcome boxer Imane Khelif back home as she returned from the Paris Olympic Games where she won a gold medal. She posted a video of the parade to her Instagram story on Friday, leading the crowd in

By Thomas Schlachter, CNN (CNN) — In the build-up to the WNBA’s return after the Olympic Games, Caitlin Clark said she had been ready to get going again for a while. In Friday’s matchup against the Phoenix Mercury, the star rookie looked like she’d never been away as the 22-year-old lit up the game with

By Issy Ronald and Thomas Schlachter, CNN (CNN) — As Carlos Alcaraz slipped to a shock defeat against Gaël Monfils in the second round of the Cincinnati Open, he became so frustrated that he smashed his racket against the court several times, bending the frame out of shape while the crowd looked on stunned. The

By Thomas Schlachter, CNN (CNN) — The Premier League is back, albeit without a bang. Manchester United and Fulham played out an opener which lacked the fireworks fans were hoping for but saw the Red Devils start the season with an important 1-0 win. There was a bright spark in the game, though, coming in

By Homero De la Fuente and Joe Sutton, CNN (CNN) — Late model dirt racing icon Scott Bloomquist has died in a plane crash near his home in Mooresburg, Tennessee, according to local officials. He was 60 years old. A single-engine Piper J-3 plane crashed into a barn around 7:50 a.m. Friday, according to the Federal Aviation